“BUKOWSICAL!” SYNOPSIS


“Bukowsical!” is a musical in the form of a backer's audition being held by a fictional theatre company, the Los Angeles-based Sacred Angel Fist Circle of Note Gang Theatre (SAFCNG). SAFCNG's illustrious Founder/Artistic Director, who serves as the audience's narrator and guide, introduces the (improbable) show that he intends to fully develop with the audience's financial support: a musical about the life of famed scabrous and besotted writer Charles Bukowski, which they know will transform what musical theatre can accomplish.

The “Bukowsical!” Opening gives a quick primer about the sordid world of Bukowski, before the Founder takes us back to Buk's beginnings in “Art Is Pain,” where young Bukowski is tormented by fellow students, teachers and his Father…all of which will spur him onto later greatness as an artist. The next step: liquor. In “Take Me,” Sweet Lady Booze brazenly loads him with alcohol in order to tap into the resources he needs to become a true writer.

Armed with hate, rejection, pain, and liquor, Buk sets out on “The Derelict Trail” to discover his muse, then returns to Los Angeles where the ghosts of William Faulkner, William S. Burroughs, Sylvia Plath and Tennessee Williams give him a "Writing Lesson": write dirty to win acclaim. While getting beaten up in seedy L.A. bars, Buk meets a boozy broad who becomes his One True Love in the duet "Chaser of My Heart" and he learns the joys of free, wild sex. Sadly, 1950's America is not ready for that, or Buk's work, and TV preacher Bishop Fulton J. Sheen sings "Slippery Slope" to warn America about these dangers.

Buk tries to stick to his work, but is distracted by his One True Love and other women and bemoans his plight in “Love Is (a Dog From Hell).” Even worse is a dead-end job in a “Post Office,” where he is driven to the brink of suicide. At this point, unforseen events halt the show and the Founder launches his company into "That's Los Angeles," an anthem celebrating L.A. and its "culture."

The show continues. Buk's work begins to get published and in “The Derelict Trail Reprise,” he realizes the tide is turning in his favor. He is seduced by the Bitch Goddesses of Fame and Fortune and becomes a "Bestseller." Inevitably, Hollywood beckons when director Barbet Schroeder auditions Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke for the film role of Bukowski in “Through a Glass, Barfly." Flush with success, Buk pushes his One True Love away for good and she sings “Remember Me,” which begins touchingly but turns into a suicidal plea for attention.


Bukowski is devastated by his One True Love's death and sings a dramatic (and profane) aria in "Elegy." The Furies from his past return to tear him apart when the Pink Elephant of Redemption appears and drives Buk's demons away. The Pink Elephant turns out to be the SAFCNG Founder, a former alcoholic who implores Buk to trust him because life really is like a musical and it only takes “12 Steps of Love” to admit he needs help to put his life back on track. As Bukowski admits, “I'm an alcoholic,” the Founder tells us that, yes, maybe this did not really happen to Charles Bukowski but…maybe it should have. After a final plea for the audience's financial support, there is a reprise of the “Bukowsical!” Opening.