A dark fall night in 2062, an older PRESENT ARTHUR NEGLOTSKI enters a cemetary, looking as if he hasn't slept in years. He greets the audience with guilt, but doesn't let on what he's done yet. Arthur goes on to set the scene for the audience, taking us back to the teenage years of his brother, Jake. ( Overture - Asteroseismology into Arthur's Monolouge )
Early November, 2022. A past memory from titular boy next door, JACOB "JAKE" NEGLOTSKI. We see him rejoyce to be alive when the sun is shining, while present Arthur sings of regret and sorrow. (Sunshine!) Jake gets called downstairs by his parents, DELILAH AND DAVID NEGLOTSKI who inform him that they are dropping him off at his friend's house for a few weeks, while they visit their eldest daughter, SADIE NEGLOTSKI , for her 30th birthday. Jake questions why he isn't also coming, but Delilah assures him there was no mistake in this decision. As they get in the car to drop him off, they remark that they "certainly won't miss this". (Jake Jake Jake) Jake, unbenownst to the coming events, monolouges internally about how being left behind will be his tragic backstory when he becomes a hot-shot celebrity. (Internal Monolouge of a Future Star!)
Flash forward to school on Monday, LOUISE CHEDDAR, hearing word of Jake's situation, decides to make it the next school-wide spectacle, spreading her exaggerated version of the tale to all of her friends. (People Begin to Talk) REBECCA SAWYER, catching wind of this, decides to ignore it, and continues spending her time with Jake. (Rebecca - The Days Go On) Meanwhile, the rest of the Neglotskis celebrate Sadie's birthday. (Sadie's Birthday Bash!) As the party thrives, Delilah pulls aside her eldest son, the recently impoverished PAST ARTHUR NEGLOTSKI, to offer up a vile deal: A large sum of money to murder his little brother Jake by next Tuesday. Arthur refuses, calling his mother monstrous for even proposing such a thing, but under the promise that it will be a "true act of brotherhood", he is eventually coaxed into it. (A Deal Worth Killing For)
Insert Act Three Here