SYNOPSIS
SPOILER ALERT
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SPOILER ALERT -
As Trevor sleeps, his mind conjures a series of images, sounds, and feelings: the childhood memory of his skin turning green and scaly; the flapping wings of a dragon wings; and something new—the face of an entrancing and terrifying woman with blonde hair, who sings to him (“Overture”). Who is she?!?
Trevor snaps awake, and is alone—like always. His imaginary friends (the superheroes Siren, Storm, and Jinkx Monsoon) remind him that today is Monsterfest—the culty city-wide festival that commemorates the twenty-year anniversary of a dragon-slaying on the playground of Point Defiance Elementary School. Whoa…Trevor realizes he hasn’t left the house for an entire year, since last Monsterfest. He vows to finally get out of the house—but how? Trevor downloads Grindr (a “dating” app), creates a profile, and—to his surprise—gets a message (“4th & Vine”). Trevor accepts the guy’s invitation to come over, and feels nerves and excitement—what might happen next? Who or what might he discover? (“Things I Want”).
Trevor arrives at the apartment, and Cary immediately starts putting the moves on Trevor. Trevor recoils—he is flattered but overwhelmed. Cary mistakes Trevor’s green skin for the popular Monster Fest costumes he’s been seeing on the streets, and Trevor is insulted and ashamed. Embarrassed, Trevor tries to leave, but Cary kindly and comically coaxes him to stay by improvising a song (“Cary’s Song”). Trevor is charmed and chooses to stay. Trevor spots the scary, blonde woman from his dreams—“the Girl of My Dreams"—on the cover of a magazine on Cary’s coffee table. He learns her name is Siren and she’s playing a show tonight at a club, The Crocodile. Flash-forward! It is a couple hours later at The Crocodile, and Siren is finishing her set. She is ferocious (“A Terrible Ride”). She heads backstage and, drawn to her, Trevor follows—leaving Cary behind. Siren and Trevor have an inexplicable and strange connection, and reveals that she believes in the conspiracy theory about a “Dragon Apocalypse”—tonight, on the twentieth anniversary of the dragon massacre, she believes dragons will return and destroy civilization. Wow...weirrrrrd.
Flash backward! It is couple hours earlier at Cary’s apartment, where Trevor has just found out Siren’s playing a show tonight. Cary reveals he is new to town and asks what exactly Monster Fest is, and Trevor reluctantly explains (“Recess”):
Monster Fest is now an annual citywide cult festival—where people dress up as soldiers, fireman, lizards, and dragons—to commemorate the explosion of the Mount St. Helens volcano, the massacre of a dragon at Point Defiance Elementary, and the urban myth of “The Lizard Boy of Point Defiance”. Surprise! The festival is sort of about Trevor, who explains that when Mount St. Helens erupted twenty years ago, it unleashed a giant, green, winged dragon that an army of soldiers chased all the way to the kindergarten playground of Point Defiance Elementary School. All the other students were successfully evacuated, but Trevor and five other schoolchildren remained on the playground and witnessed the soldiers’ violent attack of the dragon: whenever they shot the dragon, it miraculously healed. Eventually, the soldiers defeated the dragon with decapitation, by cutting its head off. As the six kids stood there—frozen with fear, witnessing the massacre—they were spattered with bits of dragon blood. Trevor was covered in dragon blood—drenched from head to toe.
Trevor expresses the isolation, loneliness, and shame he has carried—and the yearning he has felt to look different, and to be different. Cary thanks Trevor sharing his story and suggests the possibility that the dragon wasn’t attacking anyone—maybe the dragon was protecting the students, or Trevor, from something. Cary lightens the mood, apologizes for coming on too strong, and he asks for a do-over: he offers to take Trevor out for one drink, on a walk in Sculpture Park, and to eat burger at Dick’s. Trevor agrees, as long as they can stop at the Crocodile to check out Siren’s show. It’s a date!
Flash-forward! It is a couple hours later, backstage at the Crocodile. Siren looks through Trevor’s journal and finds a drawing of her…WTF?! Trevor explains that he might have seen her in his dreams. Simultaneously, Cary urges Trevor to play a song—and Trevor appears to be in both scenes at once, playing to both Cary and Siren privately, sharing a song that expressed a deep yearning for growth (“Another Part of Me”). Siren and Cary both feel an undeniable connection to Trevor. Cary and Trevor venture out of the apartment, leading them to the Crocodile when Trevor abandons Cary and follows Siren backstage. Siren says that she feels she’s found in Trevor a friend to share the end of the world with, and Trevor dismisses that conspiracy theorist “myth” and casually reveals that he is not in a costume—this is his skin. In that moment, Siren recognizes him: this is Jason Reyes. In a frenzy, she explains that she was one of the six kids on the playground and each of them developed a power—Siren’s got her “siren song.” She asks Trevor what his power is, and he reveals that he has none—nor does he believe Siren’s theories are real. Siren compels Trevor to join her in the fight she believes is coming against the dragons (“Myth to Live By”). Trevor insists that he’s powerless, and tries to leave. Siren issues an ultimatum: if Trevor doesn’t help her, she will kill him and obtain his powers through his dragon blood. Trevor realizes Siren has killed all the other playground schoolmates, and tries to flee. Siren freezes Trevor in some magical grip—she’s controlling him with her voice! To Siren’s surprise, Trevor is able to break free and he escapes. Siren, reinvigorated with a sinister sense of hope, goes after him.
Trevor finds Cary at Dick’s eating a burger. Trevor tries to apologize, confessing that he’s not used to connecting with people, and he tells Cary that despite abandoning him at the club, he likes Cary (“Things I Worry About”). Cary accepts his apology and they start walking toward Sculpture Park to continue their date. The tension, passion, and excitement finally propel Cary and Trevor into a blissful kiss. (“The Woah Song”). Ouch!?!? The moment is cut short—Trevor has a sharp pain in his back, and something on Trevor’s back has cut Cary’s palm open; he is bleeding. Cary reveals he has a “thing” about blood—he gets a little woozy and nauseous—but Trevor mistakes Cary’s reaction for disgust. Trevor’s shame is triggered, and he cruelly accuses Cary of being shallow and fake. Trevor, ashamed and angry, begins to leave. Cary reveals to Trevor his flaw: instead of facing it, Trevor is passing his pain onto others. Trevor is gone. Siren appears from nowhere, and captures Cary—using her powers to control his movement.
Trevor wants to go back home and hide away forever (“Lizard Boy”), but he finally confronts himself and his own destructive cycle of thoughts and behavior. He realizes that he has been his own obstacle, and vows to change. Instantly, Trevor is transformed—he discovers he now has telekinetic powers, and he moves large objects around him with his mind and a small gesture. He finally accepts himself as he is: green, imperfect, and powerful.
Trevor gets a text from Cary asking to meet at Sculpture Park, but something is strange: Siren is cat-fishing him from Cary’s phone (“Sculpture Park”). Trevor discovers a new power, connecting with Siren in his mind, through an astral plane. She threatens Cary’s life and Trevor scrambles to find them in Sculpture Park (“Take Me to Bed”). He arrives and Cary is under Siren’s control. Siren make her final offer for Trevor to join her, but Trevor will not and he confronts her for the murder of their schoolmates. Siren reveals that she took the powers of their schoolmates with the same method they originally got powers: through blood. She says that she tried to recruit the other super-powered kids, but they wrote her off as crazy so she killed them to obtain their powers, which is what she plans to do with Trevor.
In an all-out brawl where she uses various superpowers and a body-controlled, knife-wielding, terrified Cary to fight Trevor, Trevor does his best to dodge every attack (“The Fight”). When she turns Cary’s knife on himself, Trevor lets out a siren song that matches the power of Siren’s—another new power! It takes a toll on him and he feels faint. When he comes to, Siren has disappeared, and Cary offers his help. But when Trevor senses something’s wrong, Cary stabs him with the knife. As Trevor falls, Cary shape-shifts back into Siren. The real Cary jumps to Trevor’s rescue, and Siren dispatches him too. Dawn approaches, and Siren has won. But she only has moments to acquire Trevor’s powers before the prophesied Dragon Apocalypse. Suddenly, a miraculous pair of giant wings burst out of Trevor’s back. Trevor rises, reborn. His green skin has healed itself, and Trevor has the wings of a dragon. Trevor understands: he was the vision that Siren foresaw.
Desperately, when Siren makes a final effort to take Trevor down, their siren songs clash and Siren is blown backward into a wall, knocking her out. Trevor laments how he couldn’t save Cary (“I Was Gonna Call You Tomorrow”)—when suddenly Cary bursts to life, having had some of Trevor’s spilt blood transfer Trevor’s healing ability! As the sun rises, they are reunited and ready to finish their date, but Siren awakes warning them that the worst isn’t over.
A rumble in the distance. The flapping of enormous wings filling the sky. Siren was right. The dragons have arrived. One enormous dragon lands in front of them with a crash. Siren begs Trevor to fight. Cary says they should run. Trevor takes a deep breathe and one careful step forward. The dragon unleashes a fierce, piercing roar. They quake with fear, but Trevor knows what to do: he cautiously raises his hand, greeting the dragon, and…
