The Devil and Aunt Meany

Title: “The Devil and Aunt Meany” 

Broadway Libretto, Music & Lyrics by Allan Jay Friedman 

Logline: Aunt Meany makes a deal with the devil to obtain a sacred artifact by New Year’s Eve. If she does, she gets fortune and status. If she doesn’t, she becomes a pauper and the devil will own her soul forever.

Genre: Staged Musical Fantasy

Setting: Current day New Orleans.

Plot Overview:

Aunt Meany, a high-end modern-day matchmaker, hosts a party for her wealthy clients, including some iconic fairytale characters. At the party, she meets the flamboyant Monsieur Demonico, Satan in disguise. Aunt Meany makes a deal with the devil to gain untold fortune and become the pinnacle of society. In return, she must retrieve a sacred artifact, the Spear of Destiny for him by New Year’s Eve, or else she will become a pauper, and her soul will belong to the devil.

Bartholomew Wingate, III, is looking for a mate and currently possesses the Spear of Destiny but is unaware of its significance. Aunt Meany sees her beautiful niece, Aurora (Rori), as the key to winning the bet. 

Aunt Meany convinces her sister and Rori’s mother, Marjorie, to let her transform Rori into a sophisticated woman to support her family. Despite Marjorie’s suspicions about Aunt Meany’s motives, Rori goes along with the plan, seeing it as an opportunity to help her sick mother. Aunt Meany and Rori embark on a makeover spree, transforming Rori into a mind-driven, material-loving American Princess. 

During this time, Rori meets Jonathan, a heart-driven artist painting Aunt Meany’s portrait. They fall in love instantly and he paints a beautiful portrait of Rori. 

Aunt Meany convinces Rori to break up with Jonathan, claiming he is a distraction. Jonathan, heartbroken, tries to convince Rori to have the faith and courage to defy her aunt and follow her heart and not her mind. Should that happen, he makes a vow with Rori to meet at the top of the Empire State Building at 12:05 am on New Year’s Eve.

Rori’s transformation culminates in an elegant Christmas Eve party, where she wins the approval of the party-goers and Bartholomew, who agrees to give Aunt Meany the Spear of Destiny in exchange for this perfect mate. It seems Aunt Meany’s plan is working, but Rori starts to realize the phoniness of her new life and the true nature of her aunt and others surrounding her. It’s when we see the truth: that Rori is Rapunzel at heart and Aunt Meany is the evil witch. 

With the help of Bertha, Aunt Meany’s outspoken maid, Rori begins to see through the illusions and reconnect with her heart-driven self. Inspired by Bertha’s wisdom, Rori decides to leave Bartholomew and her aunt, even at the risk of losing everything.

Meanwhile, Jonathan’s painting of Rori receives rave reviews and is featured at the Guggenheim in New York City on New Year’s Eve. As Jonathan confronts Satan’s attempts to control him with fear and doubt, he listens to his heart and the whisper from God, ultimately overcoming Satan’s mind games.

Rori, standing atop the Empire State Building on New Year’s Eve, as Rapunzel stands in her tower, reflects on her journey. Just as she is about to leave, Jonathan arrives, having passed his test of faith and courage. They reaffirm their belief in love and dreams as the true reality. 

Bartholomew, rejected and alone, fails to win Rori’s heart. Aunt Meany, unable to deliver the Spear of Destiny, loses her soul to the Devil. Satan’s plan to control the world through the Spear of Destiny is thwarted once again.

Marjorie, Rori, and Jonathan find happiness and success by following their hearts, while Aunt Meany and Marjorie’s positions in life are reversed. Aunt Meany, now a pauper, buries her sorrows in alcohol with the Devil as her companion.

Themes: The power of love and faith. Heart-driven inner power vs. the dangers of mind-driven materialism. The importance of staying true to oneself.

Tone and Style: The musical blends elements of fantasy and modernity, using fairytale characters in contemporary settings to explore timeless themes of love, ambition, and self-discovery.