Music and Lyrics by Scotty Arnold
Book and Lyrics by Jenny Stafford
Extended Stay is a 4-person musical set in rural Indiana that tells the story of Emma, a young woman struggling to quit drinking who gets a job at a hotel and begins to fall for Owen, a reclusive guest there. Things are complicated by the presence of Emma's boss/AA sponsor and the arrival of Owen's adventurous childhood best friend. The piece explores the challenge of pulling yourself out of bad situations and changing your life--acknowledging how hard that is, but ending with hope. It has the small town lonely middle America vibes of What's Eating Gilbert Grape or Annie Baker's writing with a singer-songwriter angle similar to Once and a recovery narrative akin to 28 Days.
