Monsters - The Musical is a stage musical by Gail Phaneuf and Ernie Lijoi.
Having hit 40 and seeing no prospects in either her career or her love life, Samantha has decided that it's time to quit her job on Wall Street and go on a soul-searching trip to Machu Picchu. Panicked by her daughter's sudden resolve, Samantha's mother urges her to reconsider and do the practical thing, and while Samantha remains committed to quitting, her mother inadvertently brings up her old insecurities and neuroses, which take the forms of monsters that come out and vex her. Further anxieties arise when a mysterious package arrives, which the monsters insist that Samantha not open, saying that it's dangerous to her. However, the sudden arrival of the Birthday Singer helps Samantha tackle these monsters.
This play contains examples of:
- Fear Song: The Fear Monster has two songs, "Be Afraid" and "You Don't Want to Know!", which both prey on Samantha's anxieties. There's also "Phobias", in which Samantha and the Birthday Singer both read through a list of phobias to try and give a specific name to Samantha's fears.
- MacGuffin: The mysterious birthday package. The monsters all insist that it's something dangerous and that Samantha should not open it, but they refuse to tell her what it is.
- Milestone Birthday Angst: It opens with protagonist Samantha despairing about turning 40, not helped by her mother declaring that half her life is now over.
- Ode to Apathy: In "What's the Point?", the Apathy Monster tries to convince Samantha that all her plans will fail and therefore she should just do nothing.
- Singing Telegram: As Samantha is overwhelmed by the Monsters who are preying on her self-confidence, the Birthday Singer suddenly shows up to deliver a birthday song for her 40th birthday. The Birthday Singer later turns out to be another, benevolent Monster, helping Sam fight back against the other Monsters.
