Bare: A Pop Opera

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Bare, or bare: a pop opera, is a musical by Jon Hartmere, Jr. and Damon Intrabartolo. The musical focuses on the relationship between two homosexual Roman Catholic students and the challenges they face with their own identities and others' perceptions.

The story centers on the school's theater production of Romeo and Juliet. Peter Simons and Jason McConnell have a secret relationship. Peter is comfortable with his sexuality and the relationship (and has been wanting to tell his mother he's gay since he was 12), while Jason, a popular athlete, is hesitant to come out due to his religious beliefs and his fears about the impact the information would have on his relationships with his parents, friends and life. While the first musical number, "Epiphany", features Peter having a nightmare about his fears of being shunned by everyone he knows after coming out, Peter, unlike Jason, knows that he is gay and has accepted it as a fact. Peter worries about the social impact coming out would have, but he still wants to come out. Jason, on the other hand, is still struggling with, "Am I gay or not? Is my loving Peter a sin the way the Church says it is? Wouldn't my life be ruined if everyone found out?" There are other characters, such as Jason's twin sister, Nadia McConnell (aka Plain Jane Fat Ass), Ivy Robinson (the foil to Peter; her main problem comes from falling in love with Jason), Matt Lloyd (the guy who comes in second to Jason in everything), Diane Lee (the Perfect Catholic Girl), The Priest (who perfectly parrots Catholic doctrine but who has no compassion), Sister Chantelle, Claire (Peter's divorced mother), and Lucas (the school's drug dealer).

The students experiment with drugs, sex and alternative beliefs to their religion. Hilarity Ensues. Except it doesn't.

It was never on Broadway, but briefly ran off-Broadway in 2004 after opening in Los Angeles in 2000. There are rumors that it will open on Broadway soon.

Tropes used in Bare: A Pop Opera include:

• Anguished Declaration of Love: Ivy to Jason.
• Bigger Is Better in Bed: An aside from Peter to Jason, regarding the giant penis pinata another student has brought to Ivy's party.
• Bury Your Gays: Jason.
• Busby Berkeley Number / Live-Action Disney Acid Sequence: In some productions, Peter's dream sequences are taken as opportunities to bring out the big spectacle.
• BSOD Song: Peter and Ivy both have them. As does Claire, after Peter attempts to tell her about his sexuality.
  • Jason has one, too, although YMMV on whether it's "Cross," where he looks to the priest for comfort only to be told that his sexual orientation is "not okay," or "Once Upon a Time," where he mourns his lost relationship and gives himself over to God.
• Broken Ace: Jason.
• Broken Bird: Although it appears her pregnancy is the breaking point, Ivy's song "All Grown Up" implies her broken-ness comes from years back.
• Catholic School Girls Rule: Inevitable, really.
• Coitus Ensues: Between Ivy and Jason after she goes to talk to him about their kiss at her party.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: Ivy dumps Matt for Jason. Matt does not take this well.
• Crisis of Faith: The entire cast is composed of Catholic high-schoolers. Do the math.
  • Of particular note in that vein: "Are You There" (Matt/Peter) and "Confession" (most of the cast).
• Deadpan Snarker: Nadia.
• Dreaming of Things to Come: Peter's dream - the song "Epiphany" - incorporates the first parts of Matt's graduation speech after Jason dies near the end of the opera word for word.
• Drugs Are Bad: And they're what kill Jason.
• Drowning My Sorrows: After Ivy ditches him for Jason at her birthday party, Matt digs up a bottle of communion wine and gets incredibly drunk.
• Grief Song: The finale.
• Fat Girl: Nadia. It's the particular chip on her shoulder.
• Foil: The Priest to Sister Chantelle. Nadia to Ivy. Ivy to Peter. Matt to Jason.
• Gayngst: Jason. Dear GOD, Jason.
• Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Ivy Robinson.
• Hidden Depths: Ivy is much more than the town bicycle.
• Hookers and Blow: Sex, drugs, and raves are standard for the characters. No actual hookers, of course.
• "I Want" Song: "Plane Jane Fatass" is a rather bitter one from Nadia.
• Romeo and Juliet: The school puts on this play.
• It Got Worse: And how.
• Karma Houdini: Lucas. To be fair, he didn't mean to kill Jason via OD.
• Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: At first it appears that Nadia and Ivy are being set up this way. However Nadia has an emotional hardness to her, and Ivy is a lot more fragile than she puts on.
• Mood Whiplash: May be more or less pronounced depending on the production.
• Naughty by Night: The characters party extremely hard, thanks in part to Lucas.
• Polar Opposite Twins: The twins Nadia and Jason.
• The Resenter: Matt to Jason.
• Sassy Black Woman: Sister Chantelle.
• Second Place Is for Losers: Matt Lloyd.
• Second Act Breakup: Peter and Jason.
• Secret Relationship: Peter and Jason.
• Sophisticated As Hell: Lucas.

Lucas: The apothecary's open, come get your shit.

• Star-Crossed Lovers: Romeo and Juliet, Jason and Peter.
• Straight Gay: Peter and Jason
• Teen Pregnancy: Ivy, except it's more of a subplot.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: Peter.