Who owns this hotel? Can the Jews have a room? And shouldn’t we blow up the bar and replace it with a mosque?

A Musical Play in Three Acts

by Thomas L. Friedman

Synopsis

ACT I

Scene 1
Early morning. A Bellhop is smoking outside of the service entrance. He sings ("Embrace the Future") of his misfortune. The Owner appears and castigates him angrily for wasting time ("Ultimate Confrontation State"). The Bellhop argues, and together they sing a duet ("Who Owns this Hotel?").

Scene 2
The grand lobby of the hotel bustles with workers and guests. The ensemble sings of the pains and triumphs of daily life ("Stop and Start at Will"). As the crowd disperses, the Bellhop finds himself face-to-face with a beautiful Girl, a guest. She asks him to take her bags, and he tells her that he has fallen in love with her ("True Protector"). She responds by telling him that she could love him too, but first he must make something of himself ("Bid for Primacy"). As the curtain falls, they embrace. Unseen by them, the Owner looks on in the background.

ACT II

Scene 1
In the employee lounge, the Owner confronts the bellhop about his affair with a guest ("Rejects and Recognition"). Together they sing a duet ("Disastrous and Reckless") in which the bellhop vows to pursue his dreams and the Owner laments the dreams he never fulfilled, which have left him angry and embittered.

Scene II
Alone on the beach and staring up at the brightly lit exterior of the hotel, the Bellhop sings an allegorical song ("Can the Jews Have a Room") about his position as an outsider. He prepares to return to the hotel, but is angrily confronted by the Girl's Parents ("Irreversible Threat"). He runs off into the night.

Act III

Scene I
In a hotel room, the Girl argues with her Parents. She tells them that she loves the Bellhop, and urges them to confront their own problems with alcoholism ("Blow up the Bar"). They react angrily, and the three sing a trio ("Civil War"). The girl leaves, slamming the door. The Parents come to see the error of their ways and embrace ("All of These Issues").

Scene II
The Bellhop has packed his belongings and is crossing the lobby, intending never to return. But the Owner has had a change of heart and rushes to stop him ("Great Struggles"), explaining that he has seen his own dreams crushed but wants the bellhop to have a better life. The girl arrives, pursued by her parents, and they all witness the Owner telling the bellhop that he is stepping aside and the Bellhop will now be in charge ("Earn Him Respect," "Who Owns this Hotel?: Reprise"). The bellhop and girl embrace, and the whole case sings a reprise ("Can the Jews Have a Room?" "Embrace the Future"). Curtain.