13 (musical)

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Top: Weirdness Magnet. Bottom (L-R): Dumb Blonde, Alpha Bitch, Jerkass Woobie, The Cast Showoff, Simon, Alliterative Name, Hey, It's That Guy!, The Girl Next Door, The Jerk Jock, Those Two Guys, and The Ensemble Darkhorse.

13 is a 2007 Broadway musical about 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.

Not to be confused with Thirteen.

Tropes used in 13 (musical) include:

Evan: The one day where everything is supposed to be happy and perfect!
Patrice: See, Catholics don't have that. It would go against everything we believe in!

  • All Guys Want Cheerleaders: Averted with Evan, who goes for the only girl not on the cheerleading squad, Patrice; 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.
  • 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...

Kendra [to Lucy]: Gimme a B, gimme an R, gimme an E-T-T! What does that spell? Victory!

Brett: Hi, Cassie.
Lucy: Were you flirting with her?!

  • 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.
  • 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: Brett.
  • 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"

Patrice:The inbreeding takes up all of our time

    • "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 Kendra kisses him after he writes a song for her
      • Despite what he says, he didn't get the tongue
  • 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: Brett. The audience doesn't know whether to root for him or not.
  • Heroes Want Redheads: Evan and Patrice.
  • 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 - it was how Lucy framed Kendra "cheating on Brett" with Evan.
  • 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 breaks up Kendra and Brett. When they get back together thanks to Evan, it merely takes a rumor for Brett to beat up Evan and break up with Kendra. And the kicker? Lucy ends up with Brett at the end.
  • 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: Evan and Patrice.
  • 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

Here's the problem: every minute, every second that I wait
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...
Lucy: Can it Hobbit, I'm here for one reason and one reason only!

Kendra: O-P-P, O-R-T!

  • 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"

Evan: "And all I have to do is..."

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