Police Cops: The Musical

The show opens with five news reporters dressed in spandex, telling us the latest news and firmly planting us in the United States in the 80s (“U. S. Eighties”). Jimmy Johnson is working at his father’s dead-end diner, where his older teenage sister Billie encourages him to stand up to his dad and find his dream. She promises him to not unexpectedly die tonight, obviously hinting at something that is about to happen (“If I Should Unexpectedly Die Tonight”). During the song, we meet Rosa, a young girl in Jimmy’s class. Both Jimmy and Rosa are fond of each other, but like many pre-teens, are too shy to admit it to anyone. Later that night, Billie is shot in a drive-by shooting. This fuels Jimmy’s promise to her to follow his dream of becoming the best damn police cop ever. Alone and confused, he confronts his feelings and wonders how he can live up to the American dream, finally believing he has what it takes to be a great cop (“Am I an Americant”).

The end of “Am I an Americant” finds