Bigfoot! The Musical

BIGFOOT – Our Main Guy! Bigfoot is a giggly, happy optimist. He is Elmo. A ray of sunshine. He’s also a grown, hairy man beast who lives in the woods and is alone out there 90% of the time. Sent to the forest as a child by his mother to protect him from a harsh and violent world, his lack of socializing has led him to see the good in everything and everyone. He even sees the good in the very town hell-bent on destroying him, even though the town is named Muddirt and everyone there is 5 seconds away from a psychotic breakdown. Forbidden from ever going into Muddirt by his mother Francine, his ultimate dream is to live in town and have the most normal life possible. His optimism and love of his community never truly dampen and at times when he could lash out, he always proves himself to be the most human of anyone. A human that accidentally smashes everything he touches, the only thing stronger than his muscles is his heart. Which is nuts because he’s strong as hell. Bigfoot’s voice is high and sweet, but he can also belt it out with the best of them.
FRANCINE – Bigfoot’s Mom! Francine is a no-nonsense, caring activist and mother. She is also a stone cold horndog because women contain multitudes. The beloved mother of Bigfoot, she is so sick doctors can only diagnose her as being stricken with “everything.” Weakened by sickness but fiercely devoted to the son she raised by herself, she holds on to him as long as she can before it becomes clear the townspeople would rather kill her son then actually face their problems. If she had one more ounce of strength, she would use it to stab the Mayor, who has ruined the town and become a threat to her baby boy. Heartbroken by Bigfoot’s absence, she slowly withers away while constantly remaining vigilant in between 45-minute coughing fits. She often functions as the only voice of reason in town along with the Doctor, her friend, primary care physician and secret love. Remember the part a little while ago where we said she was a horndog? That horndogness is pointed straight at the Doctor and his flustered professionalism, however it is a love that can never be, her illness a permanent barrier between the two. With a son she can hardly see, a love she can’t have, a town that can’t function and a body that barely works, she’s got a lot going on. But none of that stops her from being a powerhouse. A sick, sick powerhouse. Her emotive voice captivates, from a tender whisper to a triumphant roar.
THE MAYOR – The Worst Person In the World! The Mayor is the drunkest person to ever do it. So drunk that you always think he’s about to pass out but he never does. If you left your car keys out, he would steal your car, sell it, gamble the money away, and then raise everyone’s taxes talkin’ bout “crime is on the rise.” Horrifyingly irresponsible, slimy and violently reactionary, the Mayor single-handedly drunk-drives the town from “Failing” to “Utterly Without Hope” by selling all of Muddirt to water park developers. He’s got the townspeople eating out of his hand. They sign over their homes and vow to kill Bigfoot. This man is like a drunk cult leader. Doing all his business from his office in the back of Bouncy’s Gentlemen’s Club (no disrespect to the girls working there it wasn’t their idea), the Mayor misappropriates funds, mismanages civic projects and miseducates Lauryn Hill. He is utterly devoted to his own enrichment, flagrantly so, taunting the Doctor and Francine when they catch on to his plans, knowing they can do nothing about it because (he thinks) the townsfolk can be easily manipulated forever. When he targets Bigfoot as a way to distract people from the sale of the town, he unknowingly sets himself and Francine and Bigfoot on a collision course that WILL ROCK MUDDIRT TO IT’S VERY CORE WHOOOOOOOOA. His voice is lively and fun. He sings a lot of punchlines, so diction – even though he’s drunk – is important.
THE DOCTOR – The Town Doctor and Friend of Bigfoot & Francine! The town Doctor has been with Francine and Bigfoot from the start. He is one of Bigfoot’s very few friends. He is kind, just and smart and honestly cares for the town, so it pains him to see everything going south. Where every other character is a big personality, he is more of a straight man. He spends most of the time we see him flustered. It’s cute! The only thing he loves more than science and reason is Francine, a love he must tragically harbor secretly, since she is so sick that feeling the actual physical manifestations of romantic love might kill her. He’s devoted to saving Francine, protecting Bigfoot and not letting the town drive him insane. His powerful tenor is an effortless mix of gospel, rock and R&B.
JOANNE – Bigfoot’s Hunter turned Best Friend! Hunter by trade, loner by birth, absolute handful by the grace of God, Joanne is the woman chosen by fate (and an ad in a magazine) to take down Bigfoot. Adept at tracking and making a trophy out of anything that moves, Joanne was raised in the woods to be hyper-vigilant and fiercely independent. Why let society dictate the rules of what you can and can’t do if you can just make those rules up for yourself? Why submit to the material bonds that society creates when you can live outside of them, in the wilderness? Why wear make-up? For any reason whatsoever? Joanne arrives to hunt down Bigfoot for the challenge of it, only to have her mind changed when Bigfoot proves her equal in combat, and the flip-side to her individualist coin. She recognizes in him another outsider with their heart in the right place. Her relationship with Bigfoot blooms, showing us the sweet side, while maintaining a dangerous edge. Joanne is a wacko in the best possible sense of the word. Highly capable, she helps Bigfoot in his daily rounds repairing things on the outskirts of town (even things he doesn’t break) and leaps to his rescue when an angry mob riled up by the Mayor come looking for Bigfoot to finish the job she never actually started. Can she and Bigfoot help save Muddirt with the power of friendship? I mean sure, but they’ll probably have to do a bunch of other stuff too. Friendship is an abstract concept. She uses her high soprano voice to belt out defiant rock and roll.
CAST – A role for an actor of any gender who functions as the head of the townspeople and additionally plays TOWNSPERSON, CEO and NEWSCASTER. This any-gender role is a harmonizer that probably has a lower voice.

• As TOWNSPERSON, they love to chime in, speak up, get loud and be heard. They hate having a consistent position. Absolutely hate it. One minute they’re up in arms over the Mayor’s blatant corruption and neglect, the next they are convinced selling their homes to a waterpark and killing someone who lives in the forest who isn’t bothering them will solve all their problems. They are constantly flip-flopping, mostly because the world has tired them to the point that anything looks like salvation and/or a threat. Townsfolk: The Problem In Every Story.
• As CEO of Splashtown, they’re a greedy CEO. They suck and they don’t care what happens to folks as long as they get that money. The only person that likes them is the Mayor. They need two things: the homes in Muddirt bulldozed, and the thing in the forest that’s smashing things to die. That’s Bigfoot, so that’s a problem.
• As NEWSCASTER, they are an opportunistic media figure. They show up to report on a water park groundbreaking and quickly change direction when the more sensational story of a potential Bigfoot sighting raises its head. They work in news. In television news.