We're in the Double Digits!

Katharine sees Nathan and Lindsay makkin'. She tips off Agnes and then, once everyone else has passed out, she sings:

10. All Together, All Alone

KATHARINE
All together
All alone
Driving in circles in the dark.
We're all wondering how
We're gonna find our way
And if we'd know it if we got where we're going.

All together
All alone
Trying to do the best we can.
A little over our heads
Maybe misunderstood
But all we want is just to know what we want

We're just kids
Who feel old.*
Still looking for answers to questions
We don't know how to ask.

KATHARINE & NATHAN
All together
All alone
Wondering where to go from here.**
But we wear a brave face
And let ourselves go numb
An wait for something to change.

KATHARINE, NATHAN & CHORUS
We're just kids (All together, all alone)
Who feel old. (All together, all alone)
Still looking for answers to questions
We don't know how to ask.***

GROUP 1
All together
All alone
Wondering where to go from here,
GROUP 2
All together
All alone
Driving in circles in the dark,
GROUP 3****
All together
All alone
Trying to do our best,*****

ALL
But we wear a brave face
And let ourselves go numb
And wait for something to change.

All together...

KATHARINE
All alone.

*I feel like that a lot. Like when I was in grade 12. And on my 20th birthday.
**For these three lines, Nathan sings it a bit later than Katharine, and they overlap.
***Chorus on the left, Katharine and Nathan on the right. Similar overlapping for the last two lines, with the chorus, then Kath and Nath.
****Usually Nathan and Katharine.
*****Similar overlapping.

Niner!

After Agnes' unsuccessful attempt to get evidence from Katharine of the party, the focus shifts to Nathan and Lindsay as:

9. You're Good Enough for Now

(NATHAN tries to smoke pot, can't, and begins coughing hysterically. They talk:)

LINDSAY
See? It's easy!

NATHAN
Am I making any sense?

LINDSAY
Some...

NATHAN
You see, when I get drunk, I get less... articulous...

LINDSAY
You're cute.

NATHAN
Lindsay... how can I put this?
(sings):
I have this weird feeling.
I'm afraid it's here to stay
'Cause I'm pretty sure drinking more
Won't make it go away.
And since you're really hot
I don't know what to do.
I guess I'm sort in love with you, a little.

This is happening so fast.
Will it last? I can't see how.
But we might as well.
What the hell.
You're good enough for now.*

LINDSAY
I thought you were stupid.
I actually still do.
And I thought that you were immature
And I still think that too.
But I'm so bored right now
That from my point of view
I guess I'm sorta in love with you, a little.

This is happening so fast.
Will it last? I can't see how.
But we might as well.
What the hell.
You're good enough for now.

NATHAN
Maybe we're meant to be.

LINDSAY
Maybe I feel a spark.

BOTH
Maybe people just seem better-looking in the dark.

NATHAN
I'm not saying let's move in.

LINDSAY
I'm not saying let's get pets.

BOTH
I'm just saying one night might be worth all the regrets.**

I'm willing to settle
'Cause you have shown me how.
You're out of mind when you're out of sight
But I see you right now.
We're not a perfect match
You're not my dream come true
But I guess I kinda maybe might be slightly sort of almost nearly somewhat rather fairly relatively
In love with you.***

CHORUS
Ahh, ahh.

NATHAN & LINDSAY
A little.
And that's love enough for now.
CHORUS
Ooh...

This is happening so fast
Will it last? I can't see how.

NATHAN & LINDSAY
But we might as well.
What the hell...

*This song sounds sweet at first listen. Or, it did for me. Then I actually listened to the lyrics, and discovered that it's hilairmo.
**I told that to someone once. It must have been someone who was in the show, and got the reference. I wonder what I was talking about...
***AWESOME line!

After, 8

Agnes has set up camp outside Jay et al.'s room. She's waiting. Intermission. After that, the party starts with:

8. Alcoholeluia
I put in boldface the lines corresponding with the pictures they precede.

JAY emerges from his room. He stands on his balcony, above the entering crowd, like a priest. Everyone masses like a creepy Gothic chorus below him. He begins to sing in Gregorian-style chant.

JAY
Brothers and sisters, we are gathered here tonight
To worship the defining of the college experience.

ALL
(turning to the audience)
Ahh...

JAY
To celebrate the one thing that unifies us all.

ALL
(turning to the audience)
Ahh...

JAY
To participate in the miracle that occurs on
Campuses across America every Thursday, Friday
Saturday, and sometimes the other days too.
ALL
Ooh...


JAY
(spoken)
Eddie! Tap the keg!

ALL
(as EDDIE taps the keg:)
Ooh...ahh!

Gospel-rock feel begins.**

ALL
Life is hard but never fear
Your one true calling is ever clear
So come commit to getting lit today.
If you believe, then you will see
The pointlessness of sobriety
With Jack in hand your problems float away!

Send your conscience on vacation
And embrace annihilation.
Let the beer be your salvation
As you sing...

Alcoholeluia!
Alcoholeluia!
Grab a brew.
Let it guide you through the night, ahh!
Alcoholeluia!
Get a few into ya.
Oh Lord!
We've seen the Miller Light.


(spoken):
LINDSAY
Hey, Nathan -- don't you look cute!

NATHAN
Thanks -- I changed shoes! Hey, do you know if Katharine's gonna be here tonight?

LINDSAY
I haven't seen her. Aren't you two in a fight?

NATHAN
I guess so...
(LINDSAY touched him flirtatiously as she walks away, and NATHAN spills his drink on himself.)

(sung):
WOMEN
Every day new troubles come
But you can't let them distract you from
The only faith with proof that you can see.

MEN
We speak in tongues and dance and shout
And get so happy that we pass out***
And isn't that the way that life should be?


JAY
So I'll loan ya a Corona.
It'll change your whole persona.
We'll get you in the zone and
Then you'll sing...
ALL
Ooh, ah ah ah ah
Ooh, ah ah ah ah
Ooh, ah ah ah ah, ahh

ALL
Alcoholeluia!
Alcoholeluia!
Drink with me, there's no need to be uptight. Ahh!
Alcoholeluia!
Feel it flowing through ya!
Oh Lord!
We've seen the Miller Light.


(Dance break with overlapping chanting; each group continues as the next joins in.)

GROUP 1
Boot and rally. Boot, boot and rally.
Boot and rally. Boot, boot and rally.

GROUP 2
Shit I have to piss again! Shit I have to piss again!
Shit I have to piss again! Shit I have to piss again!****


GROUP 3
Oh my god! I love this song!
Oh my god! I love this song!

GROUP 4
Notice me. Please, notice me. Why won't you
Notice me. Please, notice me. Why won't you


GROUP 5
This guy! Look at this guy. Hey! This guy right here's amazing!
This guy! Look at this guy. Hey! This guy right here's amazing!


JAY
Have a shot of half a handle.
Nothing else can hold a candle
To liquor on demand! You'll
Start to sing...

ALL
ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!
(The group huddles together like an a capella group, each holding a shot.)
Alcoholeluia!
Alcoholeluia!
Pretty soon
It'll start to taste all right.
(shot)
Ahh!
(throw their shots/cups)


Alcoholeluia!
It's what you gotta do, duh!
Oh Lord!
We've seen the Miller Light.
Ahh!

Alcoholeluia!
Alcoholeluia!
Be born again
Feel the spirits and unite, ahh!
Alcoholeluia!
Then boot and start anew, ya,
Sing Lord!
We've seen the Miller Light, ahh...
Oh Lord!
We've seen the Miller Light.

*We were all wearing dark hoodies for this part, with our heads bowed so you couldn't see our faces. It was quite eerie.
**And this is when we pulled off our hoods and it got all bright and junk.
***Here, I passed out. Yes, I fell again. And not for the last time in the show, either.
****Our girls said pee instead of piss. By the way, groups 1, 4, and 5 were guys; 2 and 3 were girls. I was in group 4.

Ending Seven

Okay, so number 7 doesn't end the first act, but it is the last song in act one. Well, where we had the intermission. The script doesn't actually have an intermission written into it.
Anyway, after "Tired," Jay announces another party for that night. Nathan argues with his parents over the phone, making for something of an awkward situation for the others. Everyone leaves but Nathan, Will, and Sarah. While Nathan sits at Simon's desk, Will and Sarah begin to talk:

7. We're Who I Am*

(spoken):
WILL
I'm just... I'm not the greatest when it comes to the little things in our relationship. I get stressed out, and maybe I'm not always as considerate as I could be... I often don't return your e-mails, or your voicemails, or your text messages... I've never remembered your birthday, or our anniversary... at parties I ignore you, and I flirt with other girls... or I go out without you and I come home drunk... and I never wanna cuddle--

SARAH
(cutting off WILL and the music vamp)
Will, stop. Seriously.

WILL
Sorry! I just wanna make sure it's not me you're tired of...

SARAH
(as the vamp starts up again)
Will

WILL
Yes?

SARAH
(sings)**
There must have been a time
When I kissed myself good night.
I try to think of it
But it doesn't quite ever feel right.

What was it
Like on my own?
Facing each morning alone
It wasn't long ago, I know.
And yet...

I don't remember.
We're who I am now.
Like I was
Born the day we met.
We're who I am.***

There must have been a time
When I turned around and you weren't there.
All that was guiding me
Were some daydreams and pieces of prayer.

What if our
Paths hadn't crossed?
Would I be
Wandering, lost?

Wondering what this empty life could mean?

I can't imagine.
We're who I am now.
No other
Way it could have been.
We're who I am.

(NATHAN looks up from the desk. He watches. SARAH continues, not noticing NATHAN.)

One day I disappeared.
It was scary and wonderful all at once.
I've vanished. There's only us,
And no way I could ever go back, 'cause

Who would I be then?
(WILL kisses her.)
And I don't know what I would do.
If there were no "I love you too."
I would be no one without you.
We're who I am.

*This song actually quite reminds me of "Under Your Spell," Tara's song in "Once More, With Feeling."
**When she first started this song, our Sarah was really quiet, which was a shame because she has such a nice voice. By January, though, she seemed much more confident, and had a much stronger voice.
***It seems sweet, but when you consider this side plot with her, Will, and Jay, it's actually a bit depressing.

The Real Six

Simon returns to his room, to find that now, everyone else is studying, and they're all getting mad at him for being loud. And, of course, he says, "What the hell." Katharine comes in, followed by Nathan, who's choosing to skip Spanish. Way to go, Rob. This is all your fault. Amy comes in, and quickly and energetically strings together a nearly incomprehensible series of run-on sentences concerning her participation in too many extra-curriculars. She collapses. Lindsay comes back, and Jay comes from his room. Nathan ponders his tiredness, pointing out he's done nothing all day. Amy proceeds to prove him wrong:

6. Tired

AMY
We're e-mail checkers and Ramen noodle makers,
Poster putter-uppers and party partakers.
(She accepts and drinks a Red Bull, and the music speeds up.)
We're rehearsal go-er to-ers and
Sometime laundry do-ers.
Hash connoisseurs, and piggy bank breakers.
(Chorus begins to trickle in; they're all there by the first chorus.)

WILL & LINDSAY
We're relationship havers and roommate mediators

EDDIE
Butt sitter onners

ROB
And lunatic daters.

ADRIENNE
We're soccer stars who play guitars at nursing homes, then go to bars

ALL
Knowing that we have a ten-page paper due later.
So, yeah, we're all a little tired, but
Yeah, in college that's required.
There's so much to do, and there's only one you.
So we whine and we droop and we ache
'Cause we're constantly, ceaselessly, always awake.

(spoken):
NATHAN
I guess we are pretty tired.

AMY
See?

(sung):
KATHARINE
We're midnight pizza eaters, pajama bottom wearers.

SIMON
Lecture sitter throughers and life lesson sharers.

AMY & WILL
We're on our knees* to try to please some Ph.D's and earn degrees

NATHAN
We're cell phone psychoanalysts

EDDIE
And stereo blarers, so

ALL
Yeah, we're all a little weary oh
Yeah, because we've got this theory:
No time for bed? Grab a Red Bull instead.
It's a cycle you just can't shake
When you're constantly, ceaselessly, always awake.

SIMON
I was up all night doing homework.

ROB
I was up all night playing Smash Fest.

LINDSAY
I was up all night yelling at Rob,
'Cause he was up all night playing Smash Fest.

WILL
I was up all night at the party.

NATHAN & KATHARINE
We were up all night playing phone tag.

EDDIE & ADRIENNE
We were up all night... can't remember why

ALL
Better get some sleep before I die!**

(spoken):
SARAH
(entering)
Hey guys... what're you doing?

ALL
We're tired!

SARAH
Tell me about it!
(sings, as everyone slowly gets up):
I'm tired of my 10 AM lecture and smiling every hour;
Worrying and feeling like I have no power.
The pressure to be pretty and to leave extremely witty away messages
Just to say I'm in the shower

KATHARINE
Having roommates and professors and parents to please--

ALL
Tired!

SIMON
Conjunctivitis

ROB
And bibliographies.

AMY & WILL
Being caffeine machines who act obscene but still dress up on Halloween

ALL
We're tired of being in between, so maybe that explains why we...
Yeah, we're all a little groggy
Oh yeah, and sometimes life gets foggy
Our bodies complain 'cause our lives are insane
Maybe sooner or later they'll break.
'Cause we're constantly, ceaselessly, always awake.

(AGNES enters and sings counterpoint with the COMPANY)

AGNES
(overlapping with lyrics below:)
Why won't they just go to sleep?
I'm so tired of watching them stay up forever.
Why can't they just go to bed?
Just like normal people do?
What is wrong with you?

WILL
I'm getting tired of being in Jay's shadow.

ROB
I'm getting tired of living like a refugee.

KATHARINE
I'm getting tired of trying so hard.


NATHAN & JAY
I'm getting tired of being me.

SIMON & LINDSAY
I'm getting tired of not being respected.

EDDIE, ADRIENNE, AMY
I'm getting tired of growing up.

SARAH
I'm getting tired of wondering who I am.

ALL (Except AGNES)
Then damn, it's time to cram for an exam.

MEN
So
Yeah, we're all a little burned out.
Yeah, that's just the way it turned out.
WOMEN
(at the same time)
Yeah, we're all a little burned out.
Yeah,

ALL
We're all in so deep that we can't even sleep***
So we're certain to make some mistakes.

(Music stops when EDDIE makes some sort of mistake****. Everyone stops briefly and looks at him before:)

ROB
Ow!

EDDIE
Sorry.

ROB
Dude.

ALL
'Cause we're constantly, ceaselessly, always awake.

WOMEN
Awake!
Awake!
MEN
Yeah, we're all a little tired but
Yeah, in college that's required.

ALL
Endlessly awake!
*****

*I fell a lot in this song. At this part, we all fell to our knees, getting up at the next line.
**We all fell on die.
***Half of us (myself included) fell to the floor on this line; the other half helped us up on the next line.
****For us, Eddie allowed Rob to fall while helping him up. The on time in the whole song that anyone fell and I didn't.
*****Then we all fell to the ground. Again. By the end of show week, I had a huge bruise on the right side of my hip and my right knee, from always falling hard on that last one.

Ssssssssix (well...)

After Lindsay and Rob break up over a video game, Lindsay runs into Katharine, who's still upset about Nathan. After Lindsay tells Katharine perhaps the most hilariously awesome version of The Ant and the Grasshopper that I have ever heard, Katharine tries calling Nathan, but gets his voicemail. Then:

5A. He's a Dweeb (All Together, All Alone Preprise*)

KATHARINE
I don't get it.
He's a dweeb.
But somehow I care about that
Stupid little twerp.
Because there's something there
Even though he sucks.
Jeez.**
I wanna beat him up.
Or else make out...?

Some girls fall
For the captain of the football team or the poet.
Some girls fall
For the tall ones or the tough ones or the ones with green eyes.***
That said then,
Of course I
Fall for a guy that I kinda hate. Great.
Nice going, Kath'rine.

Still, I like him.
Like... a lot.
Even if I can't understand exactly why.
But now it's three-o-five
And I am late for class.
And my professor will not care
That I'm in love.

*Because apparently that's a word.
**That one word is spoken.
***I'm not a football player or a poet, tough or tall. But I have green eyes. WIN.

Five Years (Well, Posts) of COLLEGE

Once Agnes' songliloquy (that's my word, so back off!) is done, the guys talk and play for a bit. Then, Lindsay comes in. She's pissed at Rob because he's (as usual) playing Smash Fest. She gives him an ultimatum:

5. Click, Smash!

(spoken):
LINDSAY
That's it, Rob! You have to choose. It's me or Smash Fest.

ROB
What?

LINDSAY
Me or Smash Fest!

EDDIE
(to NATHAN)
Easiest choice ever.

ROB
Oh, come on -- Lindsay, don't do this!

NATHAN
Hey! I got a kill!

WILL
You killed yourself.

LINDSAY
Don't test me, Rob.

ROB
Lindsay, it's not like that. You have to appreciate the finer points of this game!

EDDIE
Yeah, it's real cerebral.

ROB
No, seriously!
(sings)
It might seem like a wasted of time
To sit around a bid TV
But, baby, you don't realize
What animated violence means to me!
Click, smash! It gives us such a rush to
Click, smash! annihilate and crush you
Have to understand that it brings a boy joy to
Click, smash, pointlessly destroy.

LINDSAY
Rob, if you think you're gonna get through to me--

WILL, EDDIE
A huge surge of adrenaline
Accompanies each burst of flame
Hey everyone, I'm Superman*

ROB
Don't try to tell me this is just a game.

ROB, WILL, NATHAN, EDDIE
Click, smash! Hey, look! That guy's defenseless!
Click, smash! We'd better beat him senseless.
You have to understand that it brings a boy joy to
Click, smash, pointlessly destroy.

(spoken)
LINDSAY
Jesus, Rob, just stop it! Guys, this is not impressing me!

ROB
Lindsay, have you even been listening to us?

LINDSAY
Yes! You're the one who isn't listening to--

ROB
Lindsay, please. Come here, come over here!** Now take my controller.
(He gets behind her and puts his arms around her. His hands hold her hands as they both hold the controller.)
Okay, just... think of it like a romantic movie.
(sings, as the other guys do some aahs and oohs.)
I see you alone in the distance
There are thousands of stars in the sky
You look so appealing, there's no use concealing
The feelings I'm feeling inside.
I follow you out to the edge of the pier
And you turn and realize that I'm here
And the drama slowly increases...
(They are about to kiss. ROB, at the last minute, pulls away, turns to the TV and starts hitting buttons violently)
Till I smash your kneecaps to pieces!

(spoken)
LINDSAY
Dammit, Rob! Goodbye!
(She throws the controller and storms out.)

EDDIE
I think she's gone, dude.

ROB
Meh.

ALL
(sing)
They never understand that it brings a boy joy
To click, smash! Pointlessly destroy!

(A rockin' ballet dance break ensues, in which they violently but gracefully fight/dance like ballerinas. They all die, lie motionless for a moment, respawn, and continue fighting. And dancing. ADRIENNE enters.)

ADRIENNE
Hey, guys? What're you doing?

(The boys freeze, embarrassed to be caught dancing ballet.)

ROB
Playing Smash Fest...
(Pause; ADRIENNE looks incredulous.)

WILL
It's kind of a guy thing.

ADRIENNE
Can I play?
(The boys looks dumbfounded for a moment.)

ROB
Uh... sure. Eddie, hand it over.

EDDIE
Why?

ROB
Because you suck!
(EDDIE gives ADRIENNE the controller.)
Now Adrienne, the controls might take some getting used to...

WILL
Whoa!

ROB
Ah! Wait! Stop! Who's hitting me?

ADRIENNE
Sorry. My bad. Tee hee!
(All the boys turn to ADRIENNE, a mix of surprise and longing. She sings:)
It's time to show the boys who's boss.
Come on, you guys, put up a fight!
There isn't any place to hide.
Oh, Rob, I've got you in my sight!

ADRIENNE, ROB
Click, smash! I bashed you in the head, yeah!
Click, smash! It's fun to make thing dead.
WILL, NATHAN, EDDIE***
Click smash ahh
Click smash ahh

ALL
You have to understand that it brings us all joy
To click, smash, pointlessly destroy!

ADRIENNE, ROB
Destroy!
Destroy!
WILL, NATHAN, EDDIE
Click smash, smashy smashy click click
Click smash, smashy smashy click click
Click smash, smashy smashy click
Click smash!

*On this line, we did the Soulja Boy (did I spell that right) "Superman." It started out as a joke suggestion for one person to do, and it eventually got to all of us actually doing it.
**Our Rob said, "Come over here so I can holler at you for a minute!"
***I'm skipping skipping a line to indicate that these parts are sung at the same time. I can't do columns in this medium of writing.

4444

Soon after, a game of Smash Fest (Super Smash Bros. without the copyright issues) begins, much to Simon's chagrin. A few of the boys express worry about Agnes busting the party, but Jay dismisses them. What he doesn't know, however, is that Agnes is outside, expressing anticipation for the same thing the others are expressing worry for, as well as... other feelings for Jay, in a song that quite reminds me of "Hellfire" from Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame (in general theme, not melody or specific content:

4. As Long As it Takes

AGNES
(Beginning with Agnes' March, as she sings along to it)
I hate Jay.
Oh yes. I really do.
I hate him.
Ha, ha ha you hear
That Jay? I'll get you
Soon. Hm! Hm!
Because I really... hate you...

(spoken)
So why can't I stop singing about you?*

(The music shifts, and AGNES' movement shifts with it. She begins singing and dancing beautifully.)
I don't know how you do it.
The charm, the grace, the style...
You haunt my dreams and it seems
Like every time you smile.
I can't control the lust in me
To get you into...
(uncomfortable pause)
...custody.*
So know no matter what or who you do.
For as long as it takes
As long as it takes
I'll be waiting here for you.

I can't get you out of my mind
It's the kind of a bind that could cause insanity
(gesture of insanity)
I back you into a corner
You wink and you wriggle away!
But I'm gonna fight till that one star-crossed
Night when I'll have you at last
And then I'll make you pay!

I know you think you're magic
And you might think so too.
Until today you've had your way
In everything you do.
So laugh at me and have your fun
But soon sweet justice will be done!
And till then I swear I shall not rest
For as long as it takes
As long as it takes
To end my glorious quest!

*On opening night, after she said that line, someone in the audience yelled, "No way!"
**This word was sung with a very... let's say sexy, exhalation. Kind of my favourite part of the song, mostly because of how it was delivered.

Numéro Trois

Then Agnes comes. Jay charms his way out of junk (again). Remember that tomorrow. Anyway, then everyone leaves until it's just Nathan and Simon. Katharine comes. Nathan doesn't remember her. She get pissed and storms out. In a vain effort to get rid of Nathan, Simon inadvertently kicks off

3. Nathan's Song

(spoken:)
NATHAN
It's not about you, Simon. It's about... needing a change.*

SIMON
Do not sing about it.**

NATHAN
Seeing something new...

SIMON
Nathan! Do not sing about it!

NATHAN
(sings)
Sixteen seems so long ago
I forgot how good it feels

SIMON
(spoken)
You're eighteen.

NATHAN
To have the whole world out in front of you
And a brand new set of wheels.
To not know where you're going,
But to know you're almost gone.
Watch the past get small in the rearview mirror
Turn the radio up and sing along.
Na na na na na na na na
Na na na na na na na na

I've got the keys, it's time to see
How fast this thing can go.
Roll down the windows, hit the gas
And blast into the night.
I'm gunning it down a brand new road
And going till it feels right.
Gotta make up lost time, so there's
No way I'm gonna stay.
Come if you want to, or get out of my way.

Last night I learned that I
Can have a hundred different faces
And fingerprints that shift and change
And simple choice replaces.
The person you were yesterday
With one you'd rather be.
And suddenly new energy is
Bursting out each part of me!
Na na na na na na na na
Na na na na na na na na

I've got the keys, it's time to see
How fast this thing can go.

SIMON
(spoken)
Yes, yes it is!

NATHAN
Roll down the windows, hit the gas
And blast into the night.

SIMON
(spoken)
What are you waiting for?

NATHAN
I'm gunning it down a brand new road
And going till it feels right.
Gotta make up lost time, so there's
No way I'm gonna stay.

SIMON
(spoken)
Then don't stay!

NATHAN
Come if you want to, or get out of my way.
Na na na na na na na na
Na na na na na na na na
I've got the keys!

BOTH
Na na na na na na na na
Get out of my way.
Na na na na na na na na
Get out of my way.
(as SIMON puts NATHAN in his desk chair, and rolls him toward the door:)
Na na na na na na na na
Get out of my way.
Na na na na na na na na
(Just as they reach the door, NATHAN stands up, with a new energy, much to SIMON's dismay)
Get out of my way!

*Nathan is scripted to say the word "about" a lot. I mean, a lot. And our Nathan is the only person I have EVER met who actually says "abote."

**Does it break a wall when they acknowledge breaking out into song? Like in "Once More, with Feeling?"