ACT ONE
Fall in New York City, 1965. ACT ONE opens with the hustle and bustle of a
busy New York Airport. Two young stewardesses (the virginal Faith Hope and
randy Janet Jones) are getting ready for their first flight, and we are
caught up in the excitement and glamour of 1960s jet travel. In fact, everyone
is PLANE CRAZY.
Janet meets Captain Brett Mansford for the first time and eagerly accepts his invitation
for a date. The two stews are quickly befriended by Holly Banks, an experienced stew
who is hoping to be discovered by Hollywood.
After the flight takes off, Faith and Janet soon learn the realities of stew life in the
1960s - a combination of back-breaking, foot-aching work and over-demanding passengers with
groping hands and frequent cries of HEY BABY. On this first hectic flight, Faith saves the
life of the choking Clive Miller, President of Webster Ramsey Templeton.
Fresh from his brush with mortality, and inspired by the real-life beauty of the Venus
Airlines stews, Clive Miller and his assistant Larry Stevens propose a new sexy advertising
campaign to Sam Crenshaw, President of Venus Airlines. By using real stews in the ads,
Clive proposes to use sex to sell seats and GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT. Clive and
Sam also hope to get a little stew action on the side.
On a typical Friday night at the Stew Zoo Faith and Janet compare life philosophies in
I WANNA GET MARRIED and MR RIGHT NOW. Faith, true to her upbringing, has remained resolutely
chaste, while Janet embraces promiscuity as a safeguard for her heart. But Faith has started
to read The Feminine Mystique, and it is awakening her feminist sensibilities. Faith is
beginning to understand the structural sexism of society in the '60s. When Holly and the
other stews discuss the harsh realities of stew life in THIRTY IS A DIRTY WORD Faith begins
to see a direction for herself - Stew Rights!
Meanwhile, Brett and Janet share their first date high above the city. Brett helps Janet
overcome her fear of heights by DANCING ON AIR, and Janet realizes Brett is not like the
other one-night-Charlies she dates and her emotional armor begins to crack. Despite many
wonderful dates with Brett, Janet denies her true feelings, and continues to play the field.
However she suddenly finds her footloose and fancy-free lifestyle compromised by an
unwanted pregnancy.
Faith goes to a meeting with Sam at Venus Airlines headquarters to be recommended for
saving Clive's life. The smooth talking Sam, sumptuous surroundings, and celebrity-laden
photographs adorning the walls prove too intoxicating for the small-town Faith and she is
distracted from her mission to advance stew rights as Sam tells her I'LL TEACH YOU HOW TO FLY.
Back at work on a particularly bumpy flight, Faith and Janet are finding it hard to conceal
their respective secrets - Faith's brief transgression with Sam, and Janet's pregnancy. Holly,
oblivious to their problems, continues to scheme for her big break. Faith's job performance
is belittled again by lascivious passengers with cries of HEY BABY (REPRISE) and Janet continues
to try to distance herself from Brett, but Holly and Faith can see that Janet is dealing
with emotional TURBULENCE.
Back at the Stew Zoo, Faith is clearly torn between the traditional world of her mother and
her new life of independence, career, and loose morals in SIMPLER TIMES. Faith and Janet's
friendship is cemented when they finally confess their secrets to one another and yearn for
SIMPLER TIMES (REPRISE).
In the final scene of ACT ONE everyone goes to the annual Venus Airlines party at THE MILE HIGH CLUB to celebrate the launch of the new advertising campaign. Faith is crowned Miss Venus by Sam.
Faith is concerned that the title of Miss Venus doesn't reflect well on her cause for stew
rights, but reluctantly accepts. An emotionally confused Janet tries to break up with Brett.
ACT TWO
ACT TWO opens with the VENUS FLYTRAP (INTRO) ad campaign shoot in progress. Dressed as Miss
Venus in a degrading Vegas showgirl costume complete with propeller pasties, Faith stops
singing mid-take, too humilitated to continue. Unable to make any headway with Sam on this
issue, Faith shocks everyone by quitting.
Clive hands over the Miss Venus pasties to Holly who goes on to lead a chorus of gorgeous
stews in the VENUS FLYTRAP. It's a kooky, over-the-top, "dancing cigarette box"-type of '60s
singing commercial that is trying to get a new dance craze called the "Venus Flytrap" to
sweep America.
After finishing the commercial shoot Janet is confronted by Brett who is still madly in love
with her, pregnant or not. Janet, emotionally overwhelmed, overreacts to his suggestion that
she needs his help with the sarcastic I NEED YOU and storms off.
Nonetheless Brett refuses to abandon Janet and pledges I WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU. Janet overhears
Brett and realizes that he's not going to leave her; that he is "the one".
On an empty Venus Flytrap set, Brett, Sam and Clive drown their sorrows and bemoan their
women troubles, asking the age old question, WHAT DO WOMEN WANT?
Back at the Stew Zoo, a mixed-up Faith is resigned that WHEN YOU CHASE A DREAM you are
bound to be disappointed. Faith acquiesces to her mother's suggestion and starts packing to
return to Toledo. Janet interrupts Faith with news that she's not pregnant after all. Together
Faith and Janet sing LISTEN TO MY HEART and realize it's no use waiting around for a Fairy
Godmother; they have to be the brave architects of their own happy ending. Faith decides to
stay and fight for stew rights; Janet decides to confess her love to Brett.
Brett and Janet happily realize they can't escape the TURBULENCE (REPRISE) of love. Janet
recruits Brett and the pilots to help the stews in their fight against Venus Airlines.
Having rallied the stews and pilots to strike, Faith leads a change in the status quo with
THAT WAS THEN THIS IS NOW. The strike is a success and the Venus Flytrap campaign is abandoned.
Back at Venus Airlines headquarters, Clive and Larry desperately try to save the account by
pitching new ideas to Sam. Holly comes up with the winning idea of wooing the female
traveler with sexy male pilots, and the four of them decide to be equal opportunity exploiters
in GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT (REPRISE).
The whole cast decide that they're still PLANE CRAZY (REPRISE). Faith and a newly married Janet
and Brett are back on the job. Holly returns as the new VP of Webster Ramsey Templeton. We
learn the future of the three stews: Faith becomes a world-wide champion of women's rights;
Janet stays happily married to Brett; and Holly becomes President of Webster Ramsey Templeton Banks.
The cast takes their bows while doing the VENUS FLYTRAP (REPRISE).
|
