Storyline
Summary
On Election Day, November 2024, Jason, a charismatic, snarky host leads a panel of ten voters through a series of political debates set to song. The voters represent the demographics of the US electorate, as well as the US cultural-political spectrum from extreme left to extreme right and points in-between. To spice things up, Jason seats the panelists in chairs colored to signify their cultural politics – blue for liberals, red for conservatives, and purple for centrists.
The debates tackle all the hot-button issues of the day with healthy doses of both humor and sobriety. The debates become increasingly contentious, with the final debate ending in violence. The violence is the backdrop for the closing number – an inspirational call for civility and for everyone to recognize and celebrate all we share as members of one American family.
Over a six-year span from 2016 to 2022, an ambitious young reporter, Jason, hosts a series of election day focus groups just outside a polling station in notional ‘Wexler County’ USA. During the first election in November 2016, Jason’s producer, Stan, finds ten voters exiting the station to volunteer as focus group panelists. The ten voters represent the ethnic, social, and political demographics of the US electorate. To spice things up, Jason seats the panelists in chairs colored to signify their cultural politics – blue for liberals, red for conservatives, and purple for centrists.
The focus group is convened five times over the six-year span and the panelists engage in a rolling series of debates about the hot-button cultural-political issues of the moment. Each debate allows for satire about the positions and strawman arguments of the extremists, followed by more thought-provoking reasoned arguments from the less extreme on both sides.
With each successive debate, the polarization between the red and blue ‘tribes’ increases and so does the heat. The penultimate debate devolves into a verbal altercation and the final debate ends in tragic violence. The tragedy spurs all characters to come together to plead for more thoughtful discourse on the things about which we disagree, and greater recognition of the more plentiful and important things binding us in our common humanity.
Scene 1
Minutes before going on air live, assistant producer, Clara, informs TV host, Jason, that one of the ten panelists is not going to make it to the set. Jason begs, cajoles, and charms a reluctant Clara to sit in for the absent panelist.
Song 1 - Turn It Up!
Jason describes the color-coded chair scheme and what kind of panelists will sit in them. He promises to make the debate show exciting, and tells the audience, “I’ll take you on the ride of your lives”.
Jason introduces the ten panelists. As he’s about to start the debates, the cheery centrists, egged on by Clara, hijack Jason’s agenda to deliver a cheesy public service announcement.
Song 2 - Make It Happen
Centrists extol the importance and significance of voting to preserve the health of the democracy.
Jason initiates the first debate about whether political partisanship is necessary.
Song 3 - Go Tribal
Each member of the Red and Blue Tribes takes a verse to recommend voters ‘go tribal’ to fight for their ideals and to save the country. Centrists, Clayton and Cristy, warn that tribalism can go too far and lead to destruction. We should recognize we’re all one tribe.
Jason initiates three more debates.
Song 4 - The Flow
Panelists debate immigration.
Song 5 - 22 Weeks
Panelists debate abortion rights / restrictions.
Song 6 - Not Enough
Panelists debate LGBTQ rights.
Jason encourages a heated exchange between the Blue and Red Tribes over the shortcomings of the opposition candidate.
Song 7 - What's Wrong With You?
Panelists hotly debate qualifications of Trump and Harris, as well as the sanity of their supporters.
When the show takes a commercial break, Eric, the extreme right panelist, reveals his inner sociopath to centrist panelist Craig (a cop). Also, Clara admonishes Jason to temper the debate before it gets out of hand. Jason counters saying the audience wants conflict and he needs to deliver it to boost viewership.
Scene 2
The broadcast resumes and Jason initiates two new debates
Song 8 - Madness
Panelists debate gun control.
Song 9 - Just Comply
In response to a question about the need for police reform, Craig, the cop, admonishes everyone to ‘just comply’ with police commands under all circumstances during detention and arrest on the street.
Debate about complying with police evolves into the tribes bickering over information bias.
Song 10 - Tribal Truth
Jason demonstrates how information bubbles provide wildly disparate views of reality by having the tribes give their versions of the legitimacy of the 2020 Election, January 6 attack on the capital, and Biden’s character and performance.
Song 11 - You're Gone
Group hotly debates motivations of opposing sides. Left accuses right of being driven by anger and fear of change, leading them to reject science and liberal democracy, and embrace fascism. Right accuses left of being driven by arrogance and ungrateful disdain for tradition and real America, leading them to embrace woke ideology and socialism. Exchange devolves into Elaine, extreme left panelist) and Eric (extreme right panelist) hurling insults at one another.
Elaine slaps Eric and berates him until he pulls his gun. Craig pulls his gun. Two panelists are shot dead.
Song 12 - Turn it Up (Reprise)
Jason, recognizing his role in the deaths, sings an ironic and mournful version of a verse from the opening number ending with ‘I’ll take you on the ride of your lives”.
Scene 3
Song 13 - Turn it Down
Opposing bookend to Song 1: ‘Turn it Up’. The cast, no longer in character, sing to the audience as their authentic selves. They call for more civility in discourse, and for us to recognize we have so much more in common than the things that tear us apart. We are all members of a single tribe – Tribe USA.
End.