And Nothing But the Truth

 

Book by Alan Hirsch, Music by Sarah Hirsch, Lyrics by Sarah and Alan Hirsch

 

 

Synopsis:

 

And Nothing But the Truth, a combination crime mystery and family drama, explores America’s obsession with celebrity and our flawed criminal justice system.

 

The tragi-comic story follows the trial of Angel Levos, a pop singer accused of murdering NBA superstar Big Daddy McGraw. (She claims self-defense.) The musical simultaneously observes the painful coming of age of Scott Evans, a likable if naive law student whose father represents Angel in the "Trial of the Millennium." Scott continually brushes up against three far more forceful characters pulling him in different directions: Angel, the unrepentant diva intent on using the trial as a springboard to ever-greater fame; his father Wade, the powerhouse attorney who asks him to assist with Angel's defense; and his sister Jenny, a gay physician.

 

The story also features a colorful cast of secondary characters, including Hoss Graves, the basketball player who envied McGraw and sees the trial as an opportunity to elevate himself at the expense of his deceased teammate, and Hiram Gunn, the zany expert witness whose folksy testimony will devastate the defense unless Wade can somehow puncture it.

 

The story tackles small issues like the meaning of life, what is truth, and whether America has gone mad, without ever taking itself too seriously.