Act One

In a dim ice-skating rink in New Jersey, we see a teenage girl looking around for someone with her back facing the audience. She turns around and we see that her face looks like a woman in her seventies, but Kimberly is almost sixteen.

Seth, a teenage worker at the rink, announces on the loudspeaker that the rink is being resurfaced. A group of teens Aaron, Delia, Teresa, and Martin skate off the ice and sing about their crushes and their insecurities, frequently glancing at Kimberly ("Skater Planet").

Outside the rink, Kimberly waits in the snow for her dad, Buddy. He was supposed to pick her up at 7 PM but did not arrive until 10:30 because he was caught up in a bet. Kimberly asks him if he can drive because she knows he might have been drinking. Seth walks over and tells them the rink is closed and goes in to get his tuba. Buddy tells Kimberly to tell her mom that they are late because of car trouble. Seth comes back out and asks Kimberly if she has a biology class partner and asks if they can work together to do a presentation on the disease that makes her look old. Buddy is not happy with his request and announces that they are leaving.

In the family living room, a pregnant Pattie, Kimberly's mom, is sitting on the couch setting up a camera to record a video for her baby. Both her hands are in casts due to carpal tunnel from working at the Sunshine Cupcake Factory for 16 years. She tells the camera that she is dying and sings a message for her baby ("Hello, Darling"). Kimberly and Buddy arrive back home. Buddy questions where Pattie got the camera, and she tells him it's from the neighbors. He tells her to not interact with the neighbors and reminds Kimberly to never mention they are from Lodi in case her Aunt Debra gets questioned by police. The baby kicks, and Pattie says she wants this baby to be perfect. Pattie asks why they were late, and Kimberly makes up a story about them helping an old lady that slipped on the snow. She smells that Buddy was in a barroom and knows that there was no old lady. She swears and Kimberly tells her she needs to fill the swear jar. Kimberly goes to her room.

Buddy walks into Kimberly's room and apologizes for being late. When he leaves, she fills out a Make-a-Wish application that will grant her one of three wishes. She wishes to be a model for a day, for a fancy cruise, and a tree house but what she really wants is to have one normal day ("Make a Wish").

In the school hallway Teresa, Delia, Martin, and Aaron talk by the lockers. Aaron, crushing on Delia, tells her she is shining, which confuses her, and he gets embarrassed ("Skater Planet (Reprise #1)"). Delia gives the group her ideas for Show Choir. Seth asks the group if any of them need a bio partner, but they all already have one. Kimberly offers to be his partner, and they agree to meet in the library.

While studying in the library, they discuss Kimberly's condition. She tells him that the average life expectancy is sixteen years. She notices he's wearing a ring on a chain around his neck which his mother gave to him before she died. She shows him a diagram with chromosomes that explains if her parents have a kid, there's a twenty-five percent chance their baby will have her condition too. Seth asks her where she lived before moving to this town, against her father's wishes, she tells him she lived in Lodi. As he tries to create an anagram of her name, Kimberly becomes enamored with him. He settles on Cleverly Akimbo ("Anagram").

A disheveled lady in her thirties enters the library and calls out to Kimberly. It's her Aunt Debra, who has been lying low in the woods after what happened in Lodi. She had been living in the library for ten days waiting for Kimberly. She is very eccentric and makes jokes that make Seth and Kimberly uncomfortable.

By the lockers, Debra laments about them moving without notice and asks for their new address, which Kimberly refuses to give her. Debra tells Kim that she needs her help with something that might be a little illegal, and she needs a crew. The teen quartet walk in; they are working on their Show Choir pitch. Debra asks them to be in her crew and explains that she needs a one-way flight to Hawaii, arguing that she should take all the opportunities she can get in life ("Better").

At home, Pattie asks Kimberly if she wants to name the baby. She suggests Carmelita. They are interrupted by Derba trying to enter the house through the window, holding garbage bags and chemicals. Pattie asks her to leave, but De bra tells her she needs a place to stay and goes to the basement.

Bubby comes back home and gives Kimerly expired passes to Six Flags Great Adventure. Debra comes up from the basement, and Buddy warns that her she can't stay. Pattie insists that she can't kick out her own sister and it will only be a few days. Buddy is clearly drunk, and Kim leads him to bed. Debra brings in a stolen mailbox and takes it to the basement.

Pattie turns on the camera and starts recording. The baby is restless tonight, so she tries to sing it to sleep. She walks to Kimberly's room and watches her sleep ("Father Time").

The next day, Bubby drives Kimberly and Seth to school. Kimberly looks over at Bubby hoping he remembers something he forgot. Seth asks Kimberly how long she lived in Lodi, which terrifies her dad. Bubby is not a fan of the fact that Kimberly and Seth are becoming close ("Happy for Her"). Bubby screeches the car to a stop and Kimberly angrily tells him that she hates him and she hopes he drinks himself sick and dies. She then tells him he forgot to wish her a happy birthday and storms out.

At the lockers, Delia, who has a crush on Teresa, invites her to skate with her tonight. Aaron, who has a crush on Delia, asks if he could tag along. Martin, who has a crush on Aaron, wants to ask him if he could come too. Seth asks Kimberly if she is mad at him after what happened in the car and tells her his dad also forgets his birthday. She is embarrassed about what her dad did, but Seth assures her that if she wanted him to kiss her, he would regardless of what her dad thinks.

Delia and Aaron are back in the hall discussing a costume change during the number "I Am Changing." Martin walks up to ask Aaron if he will go to Skater Planet, and Aaron asks if Delia wants to come, saying they can all go together; Martin and Delia are not thrilled. Seth asks Kimberly if she wants to hang out at the rink. She agrees and is delighted ("Anagram (Reprise)").

At the rink, Delia storms in to tell Teresa, Aaron and Martin that because of budget reasons, their costume request for Show Choir has been denied. Debra overhears and tells them she might have a solution. Kimberly arrives at the rink, and Seth gifts her a Big Book of Anagrams. Kimberly's parents and Debra come in to surprise her - Seth organized a surprise birthday party for her. Bubby pulls Kimberly to the side and apologizes for his actions in the morning. He promises he will stop drinking and be a better father as his gift to her. Pattie chimes in and say her gift is that she will be a better mother ("This Time"). Kim asks Pattie if they could go on a road trip, but they do not have the money for it.

Kimberly agrees to the mailbox plan with Debra for road trip money on the condition that she has a say in the plan, and no one gets hurt. The Teen Quartet, Seth, Debra, Pattie and Boddy all skate at Kimberly's party. Kimberly blows out her candle and makes a wish.

Act Two

Debra and the teens are in Kimberly's basement, along with the mailbox, a xerox machine, and a tray of chemical solvent. Since it's the end of the month, the mailbox is full of checks, and Debra wants to cash them in. Debra instructs them on "How to Wash a Check." Seth is concerned that he checks are being made out to him. The plan is that Kimberly will pretend to be his grandmother taking him to the bank to cash his birthday checks. Seth is uncertain if he wants to be a part of this mission. He has always been the well-behaved kid, unlike his brother ("Good Kid").

In the living room, Pattie is on the couch with a leg brace. Buddy comes home from jogging. Pattie is knitting Kimberly a scarf in attempt to become a better mom. Pattie leaves, and Buddy records a video for the baby ("Hello, Baby").

The teens, Seth, and Kimberly play games in the library. The group sing about how life is bigger than their town in New Jersey ("Skater Planet (Reprise #2").

Before bio class, Seth is going over last-minute presentation details with Kimberly. The teens give their presentations in front of the class ("Our Disease"). During Seth and Kimberly's presentation, the teens stare at Kimberly, making her feel like a freak on display. We go inside Kimberly's head as she takes in the other teenagers. Because of her disease, she cannot look into the future like the other students. She walks out of class, leaving Seth awkwardly alone.

In the kitchen, Buddy, Pattie, and Debra are setting up dinner. Kimberly is feeling a little weird about bio class. As they all eat dinner together, the adults notice how well things are going but wonder how long that will last ("The Inevitable Turn"). Buddy tells Debra that Costco is hiring if she needs a job so she can pay him back for the stereo she stole. The dinner does take a turn when Buddy and Debra start arguing. Buddy was the one that gave her the stereo after he hired her to scare their neighbor Mr. Zwicky for him. It is revealed they left Lodi because Debra snuck through Mr. Zwicky's window while wearing a pig mask and scared him to death. As tensions escalate, Kimberly figures out Pattie had sex with Mister Zwicky to make sure the baby would not have her disease, which is why Buddy hired Debra to beat him up. In a fit of anger, Buddy slams something on the table. Everything stops. Kimberly's face changes, and her hand goes to her chest.

In a hospital room, Buddy and Pattie are at Kimberly's bedside while she is sleeping. Buddy starts to blame himself for passing on the disease to Kimberly, but Pattie tells him it's too late to start placing blame. Debra and Seth come to visit Kimberly. She has been in the hospital for three days for a heart attack. Pattie got a response to Kimberly's Make-A-Wish letter: they are building her a tree house. When the adults leave, Kimberly opens her eyes. She was pretending to sleep. She apologizes to Seth about the bio presentation, but he admits it was wrong of him to suggest doing it on her disease. She also apologizes for ruining the bank plan. Seth tells her the plan is still on; he will just go alone. This worries her. Kimberly doesn't think she will leave the hospital, but Seth tells her not to think like that ("Now"). Kimberly decides that she will leave the hospital to help with the plan. She wants to have an adventure while she still can.

Outside the rink, Debra and the teens go over the steps of their plan ("How to Wash a Check (Reprise)"). Teresa is the driver, Aaron and Delia are the lookout, Martin is the distraction, but Debra will not be with them. They are not satisfied with their assignments and want to partner with different people. A frustrated Debra informs them about their unrequited crushes and sexualities. Kimberly comes out dressed like an old lady and tells the group she can do the mission herself because she doesn't want anyone to get hurt. Seth refuses to let her go alone so he drives her.

In the living room, Pattie and Buddy struggle to drag a crib up from the basement into Kimberly's room. Kimberly comes home with a duffle bag full of cash. She wants to talk to her parents about what happened in Lodi, but she first wants to focus on packing for a road trip. She goes into her room to discover it is being redecorated for the baby. She confronts her parents, but they say they needed room for the baby, and she can sleep on the couch. Kimberly sees that Buddy is drinking a beer. Kim feels stupid that she thought her parents could change so she packs to go on the trip herself. She tells them they can move on without her since she is not the daughter they wanted ("Before I Go").

Kimberly and Seth are on their way to The Serengeti Plains at Great Adventure. They stole her dad's car and Debra's cut of the money. Kimbrley takes out a camera to record for her sister ("Hello, Sister"). Seth promises that he will make sure Carmelita gets the video when she is older. Seth wonders if his dad will notice he is gone. Kimberly did an anagram of Seths name to "The Bitter Sweets." After a long silence, Seth and Kimberly lean in for a kiss. They realize the camera is still on. The other characters appear in pools of light, reading postcards Kimberly has sent from the road. First, we see the Teen Quartet dressed in their splashy Show Choir costumes. Then Pattie and Buddy appear. Pattie's holding the baby while Buddy reads a postcard. Debra appears in a Costco vest ("Great Adventure"). Seth and Kimbelry continue their road trip.