Thirteen (theatre)



13 is the story of a Jewish boy named Evan, who moves to Appleton, Indiana from New York City after his parents get a divorce. He first befriends his neighbor Patrice, whose only other friend is Archie, the terminally ill nerd. Evan decides that, in order for his Bar Mitzvah to be a hit, he will have to become popular and unintentionally gets himself involved in a fight over the quarterback Brett between best friends Kendra and Lucy. Hilarity Ensues.

With music by Jason Robert Brown and a book by Dan Elish and Robert Horn. It was the first Broadway musical with an entirely teenage cast.

Has A WMG page and a character sheet.

This work shows examples of
"Evan: The one day where everything is supposed to be happy and perfect!
 * Accidental Kiss: Brett and Archie.
 * "What's that taste?"
 * Adults Are Useless: All of the action takes place among the kids.
 * Against My Religion: Patrice jokes that bar mitzvahs are against her religion.

Patrice: See, Catholics don't have that. It would go against everything we believe in!"

"Kendra [to Lucy]: Gimme a B, gimme an R, gimme an E-T-T! What does that spell? Victory!"
 * All Guys Want Cheerleaders: Averted with Evan, who, with everyone else, it's played straight with beautiful head cheerleader Kendra.
 * Alliterative Name: Molly Madison and Patrice Parker.
 * All Musicals Are Adaptations: Subverted. There was actually a book based on the musical.
 * Although it was written before the broadway production, so Your Mileage May Vary.
 * Alpha Bitch: Playing a bit with with Kendra, played straight with Lucy.
 * The thing with Kendra is that she dated Brett when she knew that Lucy liked him, then mocked her about it after Brett asked her out...

"Brett: Hi, Cassie.
 * Angst: The opening number is angst in musical form.
 * Ascended Fanboy: Aaron Simon Gross is a Jason Robert Brown/Musical Theatre fanboy.
 * Beta Couple:  or possibly   depending on what part of the musical you're at.
 * Betty and Veronica: Brett between Kendra (Betty) and Lucy (Veronica).
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Patrice gives a pretty bad cold shoulder.
 * Big Man on Campus: Brett.
 * Bittersweet Ending
 * Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Kendra, Lucy, and Patrice (personality wise).
 * Brainless Beauty: Kendra Quaker.
 * And Brett.
 * Brainy Brunette: Averted with the nerdy Patrice. Played straight with Archie and Lucy.
 * Evan's nickname is "The Brain".
 * Cat Fight:.
 * Catch Phrase: Lucy would like to point out how hot she's looking today.
 * The Cast Showoff: "Brand New You".
 * The Cheerleader: All of the girls with names except Patrice.
 * The Chessmaster: Lucy. Seriously.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl:.

Lucy: Were you flirting with her?!"

"Patrice:The inbreeding takes up all of our time"
 * Cut Song: "Here I come" and "Opportunity" where cut from the Broadway production, although "Opportunity" was put back in the most recent version, released by MTI.
 * Dan Quayle: The characters go to Dan Quayle Junior High.
 * Home of The Quayle Quails!
 * Dawson Casting: Majorly averted with the Broadway production. The older cast member was Eric Nelsen as Brett, who was 17.
 * Dead Baby Comedy: Archie. How many terminal illness jokes are there?
 * Also, Lucy has a bit of this going. Her comments about how fat she thinks she is are Played for Laughs when she probably has an eating disorder.
 * Each character has a small epilogue at the end and one of Lucy's used to be "I got diagnosed with an eating disorder."
 * Does This Make Me Look Fat?: Lucy thinks every bad thing that happens to her her is because she's fat.
 * Dumb Blonde: Kendra and Brett.
 * Economy Cast: The cast had a grand total of 13 people.
 * Evil All Along:.
 * Extreme Doormat: Patrice.
 * Although she does stand up for herself, she's Always. Giving. Second. Chances.
 * Face Heel Turn: Lucy goes from a good friend and confidante for Kendra who (If Lucy was telling the truth) gave up opportunities for Kendra to the Alpha Bitch who stole Kendra's boyfriend.
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar: During "Getting Ready", Lucy tells Kendra that she shouldn't kiss Brett because she's a "good girl". But it sounds like they're talking about something else.
 * Let's not forget one of Patrice's lines in between verses of "the lamest place in the world"

"Here's the problem: every minute, every second that I wait
 * "I guess you don't want what comes after the tongue."
 * What about the rocking horse line in "Hey Kendra"? Brett cuts it off before it goes too far, but not without Eddie and Malcolm making pointed references.
 * Girl Next Door: Patrice.
 * Girls Are Really Scared of Horror Movies: Kendra was screaming the whole time during the movie theater scene. But then again... someone got his penis set on fire and their eyelids torn off.
 * Give Geeks a Chance: Averted with Archie. Kendra still wants Brett.
 * Although in the book
 * Gossip Evolution: The rumor Lucy starts in 13 starts off with first base, but makes its way around the bases.
 * Growing Up Sucks: This is the theme of the musical.
 * Heel Face Revolving Door: . The audience doesn't know whether to root for him or not.
 * Heroes Want Redheads:.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Eddie and Malcolm.
 * Less so Evan and Archie.
 * Ho Yay: The movie theater scene.
 * "I Am Becoming" Song: "13/Becoming A Man"
 * Idiot Ball: Almost every character picks it up near the end because, for some reason, they all believe Lucy...
 * Intercourse with You: The first verse of "Hey Kendra".
 * Jerkass Has a Point: Subverted with Kendra and Evan's "thank you meeting" that Lucy sets up -.
 * Jerk Jock: Brett.
 * Jewish Mother: Averted with Evan's mom, who we almost never hear from.
 * Although what we've heard about her slightly fits the trope.
 * Karma Houdini: Lucy. She intentionally . When  . And the kicker?.
 * Kids Are Cruel: To Patrice and Archie.
 * Kid Com
 * Lampshade Hanging: "One day it gets better/One day it makes sense/One day I’ll stop talking in the friggin' future tense"!
 * Last-Minute Hookup:.
 * Love Hurts: Poor, poor Patrice.
 * Archie, anybody?
 * Love Triangle: Lucy loves Brett who loves Kendra who is being obsessed over by Archie.
 * Lyrical Dissonance: "Any Minute" could be considered a sweet love song, but it keeps the love song tone while Kendra and Brett are describing what is happening in the horror movie they're watching.
 * Let's not forget that although "Get Me What I Need" is catchy, there are parts where it's downright depressing
 * Let's not forget that although "Get Me What I Need" is catchy, there are parts where it's downright depressing

Might be too late

So let's face it, if I ever have a chance, the time is now

So who cares how?"

"Eddie: Hey, Lucy, I've been thinking...
 * Mean Character, Nice Actor: Lucy is a terrible person. Liz Gillies, on the other hand, is liked by the whole cast and is totally nice. or so we're told.
 * Mood Swinger: Lucy is a milder example of this.
 * Musicalis Interruptus

Lucy: Can it Hobbit, I'm here for one reason and one reason only!"

"Kendra: O-P-P, O-R-T!"
 * New Transfer Student: Evan.
 * No Fourth Wall: "My neighbor, Patrice!"
 * Not Even Bothering with the Accent: it's subtle, but oh, how it pisses this troper off. There is such a thing as an Indiana accent.
 * Oblivious to Love: Kendra doesn't know that Archie has a thing for her, and Brett doesn't know how Lucy feels until she.
 * One of Us: Aaron Simon Gross, who plays Archie.
 * Only Sane Man: Evan. And possibly Patrice.
 * Original Cast Precedent: in most productions Kendra is blonde, Lucy has dark hair, and Evan has light brown hair.
 * Subverted with Brett and Patrice, who both have brown hair in most productions, but Brett had blonde hair on Broadway and Patrice had red hair on Broadway.
 * Platonic Life Partners: Archie and Patrice.
 * Popular Is Dumb: Yes. Yes it is.
 * Purity Personified: Played for Laughs with Kendra.
 * Rewritten Pop Version: "13 (Single Version)" and "A Little More Homework (Single Version)".
 * Romance on the Set: Ariana Grande and Graham Phillips used to date.
 * They even recorded a duet.
 * Self-Deprecation: Patrice does this to her hometown during "the lamest place in the world".
 * "Shut Up" Kiss: During "If That's What It Is".
 * Six-Student Clique
 * The Head: Evan
 * The Muscle: Brett
 * The Quirk: Archie
 * The Pretty One: Kendra
 * The Smart One: Patrice
 * The Wild One: Lucy
 * Spelling Song: Lucy sees an "O-P-P Opportunity"

"Evan: "And all I have to do is...""
 * Take That: If that’s what it is/Then that’s what it is/At least until Disney can re-write it...
 * Teens Are Monsters: Most of the characters aren't but Lucy and Brett fit.
 * Tenor Boy: All of the boys
 * It is a Jason Robert Brown musical, after all.
 * Three Amigos: Evan, Patrice, and Archie
 * Thirteen Is Unlucky: All of the characters are either 13 or just about to turn 13 and they encounter the typical teenage problems.
 * Those Two Guys: Eddie and Malcolm.
 * Title Drop: The Whole. Frickin'. Opening. Number.
 * Kinda hard to avoid a title drop when it's a musical called 13 about 13-year-old kids.
 * It's sort of weird when they say "13" again in a later song, with a completely different setting and only one character from the last song is there.
 * Three Amigos: Evan, Patrice, and Archie. Subverted in that Archie is not an Unlucky Childhood Friend.
 * Well, he is. Just not to Patrice.
 * Villain Song: Although Lucy isn't really a villain, "Opportunity" still fits.
 * Voice Types: Kendra,who is mentioned repeatedly as being Purity Personified, is listed as a soprano although Delaney Moro, the original Kendra on Broadway is an alto. Patrice is a Mezzo soprano, and Lucy is an alto. (Elizabeth Gillies mentioned that she can sing "lower than any female legally should".) And all of the boys are tenors.
 * Well, they are 13.
 * Especially Richie.
 * YEAH!
 * Weirdness Magnet: Evan.
 * Where Are They Now? Epilogue: "A Little More Homework".
 * You Have to Have Jews
 * Zany Scheme: "All Hail the Brain"