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SYNOPSIS
ACT ONE
“Sunfish” is a contemporary musical retelling of the traditional Sim-Chung Korean folk tale, which chronicles the relationship between a poor Blind Man and his daughter, Aheh (whom he lovingly refers to as his “Baby Sunfish”) and the fantastical lengths she is willing to go to restore his eyesight (ONCE UPON A WHILE AGO).
After years of hardscrabble existence, begging door to door for milk (LULLABY/BLIND MAN’S BLUES), Aheh takes a job working as a maid for the ostentatious Madame Omi - a bizarre Kabuki-Geisha-Meets-Upper-East-Side-Socialite (MADAME OMI), who treats Aheh like her personal slave (ONCE (Reprise)/HOUSEKEEPING).
Meanwhile, the Blind Man is involved in a freak rickshaw accident with a Buddhist Monk, who promises to restore his eyesight for only three hundred bags of rice (THE DEAL). After hearing about this, Aheh becomes even more determined to find a way to save up enough rice (SO HAPPY HERE), while the Blind Man attempts to haggle with Madame Omi - but to no avail (ANYTHING).
When a group of smarmy Sailors unexpectedly blow into town in search of a virgin sacrifice and willing to pay three hundred bags of rice in return (YO, HO, HO!), Aheh decides to make the ultimate sacrifice: she volunteers her own life so that her Father can receive the three hundred bags of rice (THE WAY I’LL SAY GOODBYE).
At sunrise, unbeknownst to the Blind Man, Aheh and the Sailors strike a deal (while Madame Omi, spying on their transaction, formulates sinister plans of her own…) The Sailors immediately set sail and proceed to throw Aheh overboard as an offering to the angry Gods. All signs indicate that she will most certainly drown at sea (ANY MINUTE NOW).
ACT TWO
But Aheh does not drown. The God of the Sea, touched by her selfless act of love and sacrifice, decides to spare her life and sends Aheh back to the surface world in a lotus blossom (DOWN/HOME TO YOU).
Back at Madame Omi’s estate, Omi swindles the Blind Man out of his three-hundred bags of rice (ANYTHING (Reprise), and finally reveals the truth: that Aheh killed herself for him. Omi takes wicked pleasure in kicking the Blind Man back out to the street and using the rice for her own twisted desires. Devastated, the Blind Man laments his lost daughter (AWAY FROM HERE.)
On a distant shore, royal servants discover Aheh floating in the sea and bring her before the King - in the hopes of orchestrating a royal romance (EASY AS THAT). The King finds himself frustrated (and ultimately smitten) by her plucky personality and headstrong manner (AWKWARD). Aheh agrees to marry him, on the condition that he bring her Father to live in the Palace (NO MATTER WHAT.) Overjoyed, Aheh sends a letter to Madame Omi’s house, declaring the good news.
Meanwhile, Madame Omi has used the three-hundred bags of rice for her own extensive “augmentation and enhancement” (WHO’S AS LUCKY AS ME?), and intercepts the Blind Man’s letter (mistaking it for her own personal wedding invitation.) When Omi arrives at the palace, Aheh confronts her and is devastated to learn that the Blind Man never had his eyesight restored. Furiously, she orders that Madame Omi be arrested.
Resolute, the Prince vows to hold a great feast for all the Blind Men of the land; to search the whole world over until he is found (THE FEAST.) When it seems all hope is lost, the Blind Man finally arrives at the Feast. At last, Father and Daughter are reunited - and her great devotion and love miraculously restores his eyesight (FINALE/EPILOGUE).
“Sunfish” is a magical musical comedy about the sacrifices we make for those we love.
It is a theatrical world where anything can — and does — happen.
All material ©2006, Aheh Music, Ltd.
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