Princess & Paws

A Musical by

Tiffany Schirz & Romy Fay

Synopsis

PROLOGUE

The story opens with a young mountain lion, Lior, running for his life from a raging fire and ensuing poachers, after his mother chastises him for chasing a butterfly (Lion Creed). He seeks refuge in a mysterious wizard’s cottage, where the Wizard heals his wounds. Before Lior leaves, the wizard gives him an invisibility spell that can only be used for a good cause, and a purple potion to undo it, warning that if the spell isn’t undone by sundown, Lior will vanish forever. Lior is sent off to find Mariella, a musical princess with an unusually open heart, who the Wizard believes will guide him to find his place in the world. He heads toward the sound of Mariella’s voice humming a cappella, offstage.

ACT I

Three years later, Mariella is growing weary of her royal life in the futuristic and climate-affected kingdom of New New York. The Royal family of Princess Mariella, King Darius, Queen Clarice, and younger sister Dominique, along with head servant Elena and an adult Lior (nicknamed ‘’Paws”) reveal their respective roles and foreshadow frustrations (In This Castle).

At dinner, the Queen discusses Mariella’s upcoming arranged meet-cute with a wealthy but dull suitor, Harrible Hikenhoard, who is heir to a real estate fortune. Mariella protests the meeting and bickers with Dominique, who is jealous of Mariella’s status as heir to the crown, and of all the dresses and perfume she receives as free gifts. A defeated Mariella finds Lior on the balcony; he cheers her up, and they sing joyfully about their friendship as Mariella plays her ukulele (Princess and Paws). The disapproving Queen enters and insists Mariella play a more traditional instrument (A Proper Princess Plays Piano). Mariella asks Lior about the city, burned forest, and the wizard. Lior starts to mention the spell when the Queen bursts in again, and demands to know what Mariella is daydreaming about; Mariella reveals dreams of seeing the city and the ocean, and of a life outside the castle (What I See).

The next day at lunch, the appearance-obsessed Queen feeds a dismayed Lior a special celebrity-endorsed pasta that’s meant to regrow fur in his burned-scarred bald spot. She then gives Elena a comically formal maid uniform to wear, and orders Mariella to pick out a dress for her meetup with Harrible. Mariella and Elena lament living under the narcissistic Queen’s rule (In This Castle - Reprise). Harrible arrives, and the Queen tries to sell Mariella on his wealth and looks, while Harrible revels in his vanity (Man Of Your Dreams). When he brags about his fur jacket and alludes to being a poacher, Mariella furiously kicks him out of the castle. The Queen, in retaliation, grounds Mariella and orders Lior to sleep outside. Mariella and Lior take solace in one another, vowing to stick together (Never Be Tamed) as they run and play outside.

Meanwhile, tired of feeling second-best, Dominique sneaks into Mariella’s bedroom with a plan to steal some of her things and convince the Queen that she should be the next Queen instead (Self-Care). She finds and opens the potion bottle, believing it to be perfume, and screams as it spews steam. She quickly throws it away, covers it with dresses, and abandons her plans. In the parlor, Elena asks King Darius for a small stipend to clean her enormous new uniform, and when he declines, she becomes quietly indignant. She slyly enters Mariella’s room, sees the discarded dresses and potion – also believing it is perfume – and takes them, devising a plan to strike out on her own and sell the expensive things in the city (Self-Care - Reprise). Later, grounded in her room, Mariella reaches a breaking point (Let Me Be). She enlists Lior to use his claws to cut her hair shorter, and transform her dress into a sleeveless pantsuit – a style she always dreamed of wearing.

The next day, the King and Queen leave for neighboring kingdom Just Jersey on royal business. Elena departs, ostensibly to do her dry cleaning, but with no plans to return. Lior and Mariella seize the opportunity to try the spell – but he finds the potion is missing. As Mariella searches the castle for it, Lior weighs a continued lonely life in the castle where he is unwelcome by the Queen with the possibility of disappearing forever (One Lonely Lion). His love for his best friend convinces him to make the sacrifice for her happiness and use the spell, and when she returns, he tells her that he has found the potion and packed it away. Lior casts the spell, rendering himself invisible, and the two set out for the city – but not before hilariously spooking both Dominique and the guards. Determined and emboldened, the Princess and Paws feel the glory of having found freedom together as they head toward the big city (Never Be Tamed / Let Me Be - Reprise).

ACT II

Mariella and Lior arrive excitedly in New New York City and experience its frenetic buzz for the first time (The Big City). Lior then heads to the burned forest, while Mariella meets new friends who sing and dance with her (On The Pier), and compliment her musicianship, style and pantsuit, to which she responds, “call me ‘Elle.’” She learns of their economic hardships with high costs of living. Lior finds the forest gone, but his family’s spirits reappear, and his mother learns and approves of his selfless actions to help Mariella and all species of the Kingdom, giving him the closure he needs (Lion Pride of the Forest / Lion Creed - Reprise).

The King and Queen return and find a panicked Dominique in the castle, who reports the Princess missing, and having heard and seen strange things. Frantic, the royals, guards and servants begin a search, while King Darius finally stands up to the Queen and chastises her for driving Mariella away (Missing Mariella). Dominique is remorseful for her poor treatment of her sister (My Mariella).

As the sun begins to set, Lior and Mariella head back into the forest toward the castle. Lior reveals that he doesn’t have the potion to undo the spell. Heartbroken and in disbelief of his choice, Mariella holds a weakened Lior as he fades away. She hopes that somehow she will see him again (Next Time Around). Meanwhile, at the city’s edge, a guilt-ridden Elena has a change of heart, and decides she must return her stolen things to the castle and properly resign from her job (Elena’s Creed). She then encounters Mariella in tears, who tries to explain the spell and the missing green potion. Elena has a revelation, pulls the potion she mistook as perfume out of her bag, and watches Mariella give it to Lior, who appears right before her eyes.

The three return to the castle, and the Queen, finally realizing that Mariella needs to be her own person and crediting Lior for bringing her back home, acknowledges her own flaws and accepts that her daughter is not meant for a traditional royal life. Mariella is given the choice to rule alongside Lior as the First Feline, a gesture that honors both her royal lineage and her newfound freedom. The King offers Elena a generous raise to remain in the castle, and announces he will instate a rent freeze in the Kingdom. The next day at the coronation, Queen Clarice formally introduces the incoming rulers of New New York, the Princess and Paws. Mariella, as her first order of business, names the Wizard as environmental officer, and announces plans to use one of his formulas to regrow the burned forest. She also announces plans to build a wildlife crossing so that Lior can connect with other mountain lions in Just Jersey. The townsfolk, city friends and Royals all celebrate this new, hopeful beginning for New New York (In This Castle / Princess and Paws - Reprise).