IMMORTAL
By
Crystal Collier and J. Matthew Collier
Rage.
Isolation. Thirst…
England, 1792. For 300 years, an immortal who survives on blood has traveled the world to escape the family hunting him.
Phineas, the current hunter, injures Lucas and loses him in the night.
Thirsty and weakened enough to break his cardinal rule (never take a victim near home),
Lucas attends a neighbor’s ball and meets Justine. His silent heart beats for the first time in centuries.
If he is capable of love, is he capable of redemption? And will Justine’s uncle, Phineas,
discover his identity and end him before he can find out?
The
Full synopsis (
warning contains spoilers
)
IMMORTAL
By Matt and
Crystal Collier
SYNOPSIS
This is a
story of hope, love, change, and overcoming bias as told by Phineas.
Kneeling
before a grave, Lucas clutches a rose, mourning. (THE WORLD IS A STORM) Phineas
narrates with the chorus, explaining his ancestors’ hunt for a bloodthirsty
creature from generation to generation. We flashback to him chasing Lucas into
his night-strewn hometown, shooting him with a crossbow. Day breaks and while
searching for the injured creature, Phineas stumbles across the life he left
behind: (LOVELY MORNIN) his brother, Richard, a rising Baron; his beloved
niece, Justine, grown and marriageable; her maid,
Sophia, Phineas’ long-ago paramour; and the crossbow bolt the
creature dug from his body. (WHERE ARE YOU HIDING)
Lucas,
“Count Delamark”, stumbles into his estate
wounded and desperate (THE HUNGER) but refuses to take a victim so close to
home. His servant suggests he grace a neighboring Lords’ ball
anonymously—several foreigners here tonight, gone tomorrow.
Justine, Phineas’ niece,
attends her first ball with Sophia cheering in the wings, driven to find love
and her own match before Father condemns her to one. (POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE)
Hunger sated, Lucas is fleeing the ballroom
when he sees her. (MY FIRST) Bewildered, he fights his stirring
heart and hope, putting her in a trance to draw near without detection. She
breaks his hold—the only person to do so in 300 years. Before she can learn his
name, he withdraws. Phineas discovers Lucas’ unconscious victim and realizes
the creature is parading as a nobleman. (WHERE ARE YOU HIDING REPRISE)
After
weeks of travel to throw off the hunter, Lucas returns home. Phineas
intrudes on Lucas and his suspicions are deflected, leaving him questioning.
Lucas’ servant hands him a letter and invitation from Justine. (MY FIRST
REPRISE) He marvels. With only a brief meeting, she was driven enough to
discover his alias? After three centuries of darkness could this be love?
The nobles
are astonished when the mysterious “Count Delamark”
attends their party. Using a game of CHARADES, Phineas hints at Lucas’ curse,
but his brother, Richard, threatens to cut him off for accosting his guest—no
more money, no more hunt. Lucas suspects Phineas is using his niece to expose
the truth and, disappointed, excuses himself. Justine follows, begging him to
stay. (TAKE MY HAND) She convinces him to pursue a relationship.
Witnessing the pieces in play, Phineas resolves to stand back and watch until
he finds proof for his brother. He places his ancestors’ journal in Justine’s
path.
In the
journal, Justine reads about an apothecary who administered a mystery elixir to
young man and turned him into a blood-drinking monster. (THE ELIXIR OF LIFE)
Over weeks, Phineas drops clues about the creature while she and Lucas secretly
court. Sophia narrates the time passage and flirts unsuccessfully with Phineas.
(PERHAPS MAYBE) Smitten with Justine, Lucas prepares to confess his
secret. She resolves to declare her love. Plotting to expose the creature,
Phineas “accidentally” scrapes Justine before she leaves with Lucas, drawing a
hint of blood.
Lucas
drives them in a carriage, attempting to share the truth, but Justine beats him
with a declaration of love. Overjoyed, Lucas leans to kiss her and smells her
blood. Jerking back, he loses control of the carriage. They crash. Injured from
protecting Justine, Lucas puts her in a trance, battling the temptation to
drink from her. (ONE CUT) Arriving at the accident, Phineas determines he won’t
risk Justine ever again—won’t let her go. Lucas realizes he must let
her go.
Wrought by
desperation, Lucas enters town and seizes the first living thing he finds.
(NIGHT ATTACK)
The
continuing attacks have Justine considering the journals’ contents and Phineas
takes her to interrogate the latest victim—who was protected from the rain by
Lucas’ cloak. (SOMETHING STRANGE) When Justine holds the cloak, snatches of
memory from the carriage accident assault her. Sophia distracts Phineas
flirtatiously so Justine can sneak away to confront Lucas.
At Lucas’
estate, his servant draws the curtains, blocking out the sunlight, and takes
the cloak, confirming it’s his. When facing him, Justine recalls his grave
wounds, and now he is whole. She unwraps the evidence and he confesses his
immortality and the price: blood. Shocked, Justine flees. Lucas tries to follow
but is driven back by sunlight. Devastated, he prepares to abandon his estate.
(MY DREAM)
Justine
considers what she knows of Lucas, (WHO IS THIS MAN) fighting to hold
onto the dream. Encouraged by Sophia, she decides she loves him no matter what.
Lucas’ servant delivers a farewell letter, and she pursues him.
Justine
confronts Lucas on the road, confesses her love and begs him to make her
immortal. He refuses. (THE HUNGER II) After he unfolds the horrors of
immortality, she rebuts with a love that can last
(FOREVER)
. While
not convinced, he concedes to marry her in secret, to give her one lifetime,
though not an eternity of damnation. (FOREVER REPRISE) Justine is appeased. She
and Lucas are married in the night, but her search continues.
Justine
discovers the key to immortality in the journal: ingesting the creatures’
blood. (ETERNITY IN FLAMES)
Phineas
finally has the proof he needs—an eyewitness, one of the Count’s own servants.
He presents the servant to his brother who refuses to believe until
he confronts Justine about her “secret” courtship. (YOU DON’T LOVE HIM)
Horrified when she, stammering, confirms the accusations, he prepares to send
her to France, promising to end the Count. With Sophia’s assistance, Justine
escapes to warn Lucas. (FINAL HOUR)
Justine
confronts Lucas in his estate, ready to flee with him. He refuses to
take her, else Phineas will come after them and one or
both may die. In their farewell kiss, she bites his lip and consumes his blood.
He is horrified. She collapses in his arms (NEVER SAY GOODBYE) and hope
springs as he realizes that to protect her, she must go with
him. Before he can act, a mob bursts in and drags him away. Phineas places a
stake to Justine’s chest and raises his hammer. Heartbroken, he knows what he
must do.
Trembling,
the hunter joins the mob as they build and light a pyre around Lucas. (THE
LIVING DEAD) An explosion, and Lucas is gone.
Lucas
wakes as Phineas finishes tying him to a chair. “You will die by my hand, not
theirs.” Enraged, Lucas breaks his bonds and he and Phineas
swordfight. (MAN VS MONSTER) Lucas
wins but spares Phineas.
A
candlelit funeral. (EMPTY WORDS) Mourners depart the graveyard and Lucas places
a single rose before Justine’s tombstone, leaving himself exposed to Phineas,
ready to die (the opening scene). Rather than attack, Phineas confesses that
Justine is his child, left to Richard when her mother died and his
father swore him to the hunt. He couldn’t kill his daughter.
(NEVER SAY
GOODBYE REPRISE) Justine and Lucas are reunited. Phineas explains how he led
the townspeople on false hunts for a time, until enthusiasm waned. Richard
obsessed over the creature the rest of his days, eventually dying at sea.
Phineas married Sophia and they followed Lucas and Justine to the Americas,
eventually becoming immortal as well. They will face the joys and hardships of
ages together, forever. (FINALE)
CHARACTERS
Phineas Raybourne:
The hunter, in his 40’s. Once
a rebellious young man, he is now dedicated to his family’s cause. He has grown
closer to catching the creature than any of his predecessors. Baritone.
Lucas Delamark:
“Count Delamark,” an immortal who looks 20-30. Tall, dark,
handsome. He drinks blood because he fears the grave, but 300 years ago, after
discovering what he’d become, he vowed to never take another life. Thus, he
leaves a trail of breathing victims in his wake and is always traveling to
avoid detection. High Tenor.
Justine Raybourne:
Only child and last of
the Raybourne bloodline, sheltered and a little rebellious. She is
“of age” (21), and hopes to find freedom from her oppressive father
through marriage. Soprano.
Sophia:
Justine’s French maid and
best friend who is a hopeless romantic and infatuated with Phineas. Cute,
short, 30’s with great comedic timing. Soprano.
Richard Raybourne:
Phineas older brother,
Justine’s father, a baron. Similar to Phineas in appearance but
portlier. 40’s or 50’s. Bass.