History Theatre / LoveInHateNation

''Love In Hate Nation'' is an original musical written by Joe Iconis of Theatre/BeMoreChill fame. It premiered at the Two River Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey in November 2019. Set in TheSixties, it tells the story of sixteen-year-old Susannah Sonn, a Black aspiring musician who is sent to a girl's juvenile hall following a [[DrivenToSuicide suicide attempt]]. Run by the tyrannical Miss Asp, National Reformatory for Girls, or "Nation" for short, is a decrepit and oppressive institution where Susannah encounters all kinds of misfits - including their leader, resident bad-girl Sheila Nail. Romances blossom, fights break out, and revolutions are born, all set to some catchy vintage tunes.

** More subtly, Judith Ramone could be a reference to the [[Literature/BookOfJudith Biblical Judith]], who beheads an enemy general who lusted after her. Famously, Renaissance artist Artemisia Gentileschi depicted the scene with herself as Judith and her rapist as Holofernes. Judith Ramone's crime? [[spoiler: She castrated her father after years of enduring his sexual abuse, removing another 'head'.]]

* Hypocrite: Miss Asp, big time.

* IHaveNoSon: [[spoiler: Daughter in Miss Asp's case, to a [[CruelandUnusualDeath monstrous extent]].]]

* ILied / TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil: [[spoiler: After Judith inquires about when she'll get transferred to another juvie hall per Miss Asp's promise, Miss Asp reveals that she never really intended to transfer Judith anywhere.]]
* ImprovisationalIngenuity / {{MacGyvering}}: The girls manage to plan a [[spoiler: successful]] revolution using only the resources obtainable from a juvie hall.

* ImprovisationalIngenuity: The girls manage to plan a [[spoiler: successful]] revolution using only the resources obtainable from a juvie hall.

* DrivenToSuicide: A major theme of the show. Susannah's birth mother and [[spoiler: Harriet's pianist girlfriend]]. Additionally, Susannah is imprisoned for a botched attempt, which she bonds over Sheila with, as the latter reveals in detail during "The Three Failed Escape Attempts of Sheila Nail" that she's tried and failed as well.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: Sheila and Susannah [[spoiler: finally get together after all their trials...twenty-two years after having to separate]].

* ElectroconvulsiveTherapyIsTorture: Electroconvulsive "therapy" is explicitly portrayed as torture throughout "Love in Hate Nation," especially when it is revealed that [[spoiler: Harriet was killed by being burnt alive by electroconvulsive "therapy."]]

* EvilMatriarch: [[spoiler: Miss Asp puts her own daughter into solitary for being with another girl and inadvertently(?) ''kills'' her.]]

* FreudianExcuse / DrivenToVillainy: Miss Asp became a villain by being treated just as viciously as the inmates, thus having a schema of having to do the same to others in her mind.

* NostalgiaFilter: Miss Asp wears one constantly. In "Miss Asp's Song II," Miss Asp lists things that she misses about the even more conservative 1940s and 1950s:

* OlderIsBetter: See Miss Asp's [[NostalgiaFilter Nostalgia Filter]].

--> '''Susannah:''' ...how do you ''keep getting in here?!''

* SlippingaMickey: Judith's plan to sedate Buzz so that he can't catch Rat stealing the confiscated alcohol or the inmates partying.

** "Oh, Susannah, you're gonna find a way
Oh, Susannah, to make it through the day
Believe me when I say it's gonna be okay
It's gonna be okay, hey, hey"

* TraumaCongaLine: Arguably the entire cast get put through one.

* FamilyOfChoice: Despite their differences, once they finally band together to take down Nation, the girls, who have been orphaned, abused, abandoned, betrayed or otherwise forgotten by their families, all view each other as such, as they state in "Revolution Song".

* FriendshipSong: "This Is The Way" for the girls in Juvie.

* HatesBeingAlone: Susannah does not like her solitude and wants a group in which to be the center of attention as described in "The Other One."

* LastHetRomance: Though the audience doesn't know what happens to Susannah in [[spoiler: intervening twenty-two years before she and Sheila reunite]], we can assume that [[spoiler: her "romance" with Francis is this.]]

* LightIsNotGood: Miss Asp wears hyperfeminine pastels and florals, but her clinging to traditional expectations of womanhood is her weapon of choice in her truly heinous acts. Additionally, she chooses to be racist with her whiteness.

* OrphansOrdeal: Sheila was treated cruelly in an [[OrphanageOfFear Orphanage of Fear]].

* MortonsFork: [[spoiler: When Miss Asp finds Susannah and Sheila about to kiss, if Susannah tells the truth and confesses that she wanted to kiss Sheila, she and Sheila would both potentially suffer [[CruelandUnusualDeath the same fate as Harriet]] and [[DriventoSuicide her lover.]] On the other hand, if Susannah lies and says Sheila forced the kiss on her, she will be "free" to live with the other inmates, but Sheila will be the one in pain. Susannah takes the latter option in this case.]]

* PervertDad: [[spoiler: Judith's father is 'so' disgusting that he [[RapeAsBackstory rapes her]].]]

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: All of the inmates hate Miss Asp, [[spoiler: even Judith when she [[TheMole temporarily allies with her.]]

* ActionGirl: All the girls become Action Girls during Operation Sha-La-La when putting their [[ChekovsSkill skills]] mentioned in "Life in Hate Nation" to use. Sheila specifically has been an Action Girl since she was eight, defying authority and surviving at every turn. Judith, too, could qualify, as [[spoiler: she survived her father's sexual abuse by ''cutting his penis off''.]]

* YouAreWorthHell: Susannah risks severe punishment when she sneaks into Solitary to tell Sheila the plan to bust her out, and even risks getting caught when she plays their love song for her in the hallway despite Sheila's warnings. She is willing to face whatever Asp might do to her if it means breaking Sheila out of solitary confinement and rescuing her from abusive administration of [[ElectricTorture ECT]]. In turn, Sheila ''risks her life'' physically fighting Miss Asp and Buzz not once, but twice, to defend Susannah.

* AngryMobSong: "Revolution Song", naturally, as the girls plot and ultimately succeed in rioting and [[spoiler: burning down the prison]] to save Sheila and themselves.

--> '''Susannah:''' I should've taken the blame. I was just afraid...of my dad finding out.

* CruelandUnusualDeath: [[spoiler: Harriet is ''burnt to death'' by electroshock "therapy."]]

* DramatisPersonae: "Life in Hate Nation" may qualify as one as it serves introduce most of the cast, the exceptions being of course the two leading ladies, who get their own introductory songs.

* IconicOutfit: Sheila's black leather jacket, which gets referenced many times in song.

** ''Who'' is ''she?!'' '''JU-U-U-DITH RAMOOOOOOOONE''' GOT NO PATIENCE FOR THE NEW GIRLS!

* CabinFever: "Solitary". After the party goes south and Miss Asp starts her VillainousBreakdown, Act 2 opens with the girls getting restless and violent after being locked in their dormitory for eight days as punishment for drugging Buzz and stealing alcohol from Asp's office. Sheila, who's actually ''in'' solitary confinement, has the worst of this.

* FlirtingUnderFire: All of Susannah and Sheila's romance is this. Besides being in juvie, the two are in the racist, sexist, homophobic 1960's United States, being monitored constantly and punished severely for any hint of gayness. They risk their lives every time they flirt with each other.

--> Which I think is Delinquent for: you're charismatic, smart and sweet!

* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: During "Life In Hate Nation", every girl gets a big ensemble introduction of her name and characteristics, except for Ya-Ya, who pleadingly tries to get them to join in, establishing her place amongst the girls. They only join in when she starts crying that nobody likes her. This becomes a bit of a RunningGag with her, although the girls become more protective as the show progresses.

* OnlySaneMan: Sheila appears to be this at first, being down-to-earth, direct, relatively laid-back and the only inmate who doesn't freak Susannah out. An interesting case, considering she describes herself as being "a basket case" and "fucked in the head" [[spoiler: and indeed appears to suffer from some form of mental illness, having attempted suicide in the past]].

* ParentalAbandonment: Sheila's a "ward of the state", and mentions being raised by nuns. Susannah's an orphan too, having lost her biological mother and father. to war and suicide respectively. Both she and Kitty were thrown into Juvie at the behest of their (in Susannah's case, adoptive) fathers.

* [[SeeminglyWholesomeFiftiesGirl Seemingly Wholesome '50s Girl]]: Subverted with Miss Asp, as the audience immediately knows she is the villain upon her introduction, but she puts on a front of being the 1950s United States's ideal of a woman. She wears modest clothing, acts submissive to men, and is "polite," even when psychologically abusing and oppressing the inmates of NATION.

* {{Leitmotif}}: The "I fell in love in Juvie Hall" and "Sha-la-la" recurring melodies follow Susannah and Sheila around the show.
* LightIsNotGood: Miss Asp wears hyperfeminine pastels and florals, but her clinging to traditional expectations of womanhood is her weapon of choice in her truly heinous acts.

* MaliciousMisnaming: Kitty chewing out Judith for [[spoiler:outing Harriet to Miss Asp]] gets Judith so furious that she deadnames Kitty before attacking her.

* ParentalAbandonment: Sheila's a "ward of the state", and mentions being raised by nuns. Susannah's an orphan too, having lost her biological mother and father. to war and suicide respectively. Both she and Kitty were thrown into Juvvie at the behest of their (in Susannah's case, adoptive) fathers.

* NotSoDifferent: Miss Asp tries to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this when the girls revolt, citing her own abuse and troubled past, and the fact that she never had any choices. The girls aren't having it.

* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoilers: ''Love in Hate Nation'' ends with Susannah and Sheila finally reuniting after 22 years apart, and the ending only shows them starting a conversation with each other before the final [[FadetoBlack fade to black]]. The show leaves what happens afterwards to the audience's imagination.]]

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: While this mostly comes from the antagonists, Miss Asp and Francis, who respectively symbolize the conservatism the heroes must fight and the self-serving 'college revolutionary' types who are no better than those they claim to be fighting. Even some of the girls fall into this, too, it being TheSixties; outdated terms are used for Black people, many of the characters make casually racist remarks, and amongst the inmates, there's a lot of homophobia and transphobia. The difference is, of course, that the girls later overcome these views. This trope ties in pretty strongly with the themes of the show as the characters struggle with and eventually combat internalized bigotry, taking on views that are more popular today as they are inspired to form and join various social movements.
* DestructiveRomance: Susannah and Francis' romance is undoubtedly an abusive relationship: Francis dates Susannah solely because she is Black for social clout among his college friends, and he attempts to coerce her into having sex with him - not to mention Francis also being racist, sexist, and homophobic towards her.

* TheDulcineaEffect: Sheila and Susannah's [[spoiler: affirmation of their willingness to participate in Operation Sha-La-La]] is indicative that they are willing to die for each other, even though they could have known each other for as little as a week when this happens.

* [[GayngstInducedSuicide Gayngst-Induced Suicide]]: [[spoiler: Harriet's love interest stabs herself in the neck with a broken plate after hearing that Harriet got burnt alive by electroshock "therapy."]]

* GirlsLikeMusicians: Sheila finds Susannah's songwriting and ukulele playing [[EndearinglyDorky Endearingly Dorky]], and it's one of the reasons she has a crush on her ("her freaky ukulele").

* HaveIMentionedThatIAmHeterosexualToday: Susannah, when talking about Francis and her experiences with boys. She repeats over and over what a 'marvellous opportunity' marrying Francis, who is wealthy and white, would be, most likely repeating what she was told by him. When Sheila hears this, she offhandedly talks about the many flings she's had with guys...[[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial right before singing a duet where she bonds with Susannah]].

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler: Francis agrees to take Sheila to Mexico on the principle that it will make Susannah happy—not that he is normally the type of chivalrous person who would do so.]]

* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler: Miss Asp, a fire-and-brimstone tyrant who rules Nation with an iron fist first has her dreams crushed, then has Nation, which she helped build, burn down with her still in it. She's seen in her last moments desperately pointing a camera at herself, desperately trying to get that perfect picture she wanted from Life Magazine.]]

** InUniverse with Susannah's early music; Sheila points out the dissonance between the subject matter of Civil Rights songs she performs for her and her love of cheery nonsense syllables ("What's with all the sha-boop sha-boop?"), inspired by artiststhe Ronettes. Susannah insists there's place for both - something they both realize when "sha la la" becomes the ArcWords for their burgeoning star-crossed romance.

* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Susannah and Sheila ''both'' fall into this when either someone questions or they slip up about their sexualities.

** Kitty ''Minx'' prides herself on her beauty and fabulous and flirtatious demeanour.

* FinalLoveDuet: "I Was A Teen Delinquent", as Susannah and Sheila finally confess their feelings and share one last song and kiss [[spoiler: in the smoking rubble of the now-destroyed Nation, just before Sheila flees to Mexico on a motorcycle.]]

* [[SeeminglyWholesomeFiftiesGirl Seemingly Wholesome '50s Girl]]: Subverted with Miss Asp, as the audience immediately knows she is the villain upon her introduction, but she puts on a front of being the '50s United States's ideal of a woman. She wears modest clothing, acts submissive to men, and is "polite," even when psychologically abusing and oppressing the inmates of NATION.

--> '''Sheila:''' I might be ''fucked'' in my head,

* {{Adorkable}}: Susannah has a nervous stutter and is charmingly awkward, especially around her crush, Sheila. Ya-Ya, a bespectacled loudmouth inventor with a penchant for science fiction, definitely qualifies as well.

--> '''Judith:''' She means [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Total.]] ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Fucking.]]'' [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Rebellion.]]

** Yaya gets one a less intense one during the confrontation with Asp.
--> '''Yaya:''' This is for Harriet, you ''son of a bitch''.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Kitty is usually very friendly and dramatic for the fun of it; during "Solitary", however, [[Jerkass Judith's]] callousness about the [[spoiler: murder of Harriet, which she caused, and the fact that Sheila will soon meet a similar fate]] provokes her to fight dirty, with her words and then her fists.

--> '''Francis:''' I'm rescuing you! I am your only hope.