Good-Bi

Written by Anela Rei Tan

Music by Dorothy “Dodie” Clark

Characters in Scene
Poppy Davis
Thomas “Tommy” Adler
Characters Mentioned but NOT in Scene
Dorothy Carter
Characters NOT Mentioned or in Scene
Sam Beckett
Poppy’s Mother (speaking ensemble role
Poppy’s Father (speaking ensemble role)
Ensemble

Play Synopsis: Poppy, a 16 year old, just wants to get

through her last years of high school smoothly. So
far, she has it all. The looks, the grades, and the
boyfriend. But her life takes a sharp turn when she
cheats on her boyfriend, Tommy, with one of her
childhood best friends, Dorothy. Poppy then questions
her sexuality has and, through confiding in her friend
Sam, figures out who she loves and the future that she
truly wants for herself.

Scene Synopsis: After months of torment and abuse from

Tommy, Poppy decides it’s time to reveal her affair
and sexual orientation to him. In a heated argument
between the two, Poppy finds herself aggressively
explaining her true feelings on how Tommy treats her
within their relationship.
NOTE: Main monologue is highlighted in a purplish-pink
color. The rest of the dialogue is in the project,
but mostly to give context, rather than being the main
focus itself.

ACT II, SCENE TBD

[​TOMMY ADLER’S bedroom, Saturday night. POPPY DAVIS is at

TOMMY’S house, claiming she is only going to hang out with him
but in reality, is preparing to come out to him as bisexual.
She also plans to reveal that she has been cheating on him with
one of their best friends, DOROTHY CARTER.​]

POPPY (nervously): Babe, we need to talk…

TOMMY: Uh oh, those words are never good!

*​TOMMY​ lets out a small laugh and flops onto his bed.*

What? Are you planning to cheat on your next test and want me
to help you get away with it?

POPPY: I’m serious Tommy… this… this is serious…

TOMMY: Or did you rob a bank? And you need me to be a getaway
driver for your next heist!

POPPY: Tommy, cut it out…

TOMMY: Ooh! Or even better, you murdered someone and you need
me to hide the body!

POPPY (annoyed): Tommy, stop!

*A short silence falls between the two of them.*

TOMMY: Well if it’s so important, how come you haven’t told me
what it is yet?

*​POPPY​ sighs out of frustration. She sits on the edge of

TOMMY’S​ bed as he lays down.*

POPPY: There’s no real easy way to say this.

TOMMY (slightly aggravated): Well then find an easy way to say

it so the words can come out of your mouth for God’s sake.

POPPY: Don’t rush me Tommy.

TOMMY: Well that’s the only way I’m going to get you to tell me,
now isn’t it?

POPPY: If you’d let me finish-

TOMMY (interrupting, clearly upset): Goddamnit, just tell me

already!

POPPY (yelling back): I cheated on you!

*A longer silence. ​TOMMY​ is taken aback while ​POPPY​ is almost

mortified as to what she has said but slowly regains confidence
and composure.*

There. I said it, are you happy now?

TOMMY: You. Did. What?

POPPY: I cheated on you. I’ve been having an affair, a liaison,

a fling, a whatever-you-want-to-call-it with Dorothy.

TOMMY: You’ve been seeing Dorothy behind my back? But you’re

straight!

POPPY: Well ain’t that the next surprise!

TOMMY: But how? You’ve been dating me but you’re secretly a
lesbian? What kind of psycho are you?

POPPY: Bisexual. I’m bisexual, Tommy.

TOMMY: Who cares what you are?

POPPY: ​I do!

*Another pause happens. P ​ OPPY​ is trying to choose her words

carefully while ​TOMMY​ is trying to control his temper.*

Thomas Adler, you are going to sit here and listen to what I
have to say-

*​TOMMY​ gestures to interrupt, but ​POPPY​ continues.*

Without interrupting, so help me God. You are going to listen

and maybe, just maybe, for once, you’ll get some information
through that thick skull of yours. For the first few months of
our relationship, you were a dream. You treated me better than
you did when we were only friends. You gave me loads of
attention, lots of love… you made me feel like I was your queen.
Your everything. But then things got worse. You’d have
outbursts, you’d throw tantrums, you’d make everything about you
and only you. Sometimes you would go days without talking to me
or texting me and I could never tell if it was because you were
mad at me, you died, or because you just forgot I existed. You
stopped caring about me, or even thinking of us as a team.
Instead, I was dead weight. I became this burden to you or this
piece of property that you felt was some sort of obligation for
you to keep and maintain. You could’ve treated me any way you
wanted and yet you chose to go from a dream to a nightmare. You
went from my king to the devil’s incarnate, Tommy. Trust me, I
could say worse because we both know you’ve done worse things to
me, but that’s for another discussion. So when I felt like I
was alone in all of this, Dorothy came to save me like the angel
she is. I told her everything you did to me. I told her how I
was considering leaving you and she told me that if I was hers,
she’d never do that to me. I was so enamored with the thought
of having a peaceful relationship that when she asked me out, I
said yes. At first I thought, maybe I don’t really like girls
like that. Maybe this is all in my head and I’m still only in
love with guys and with you, but I was wrong. I genuinely fell
for her and I loved every minute of it. So yeah, I cheated on
you but I’m not asking for forgiveness. What I am asking is
that you understand and accept me for who I am. Because truth
be told, I’m done caring what you think or what anyone else may
think. What matters is how I feel and I feel absolutely
ecstatic saying this in front of you: I. Am. Bisexual.

*​TOMMY​ is shocked at ​POPPY’S​ words and thinks of how he wants to

handle the situation*

TOMMY: And now, it’s my turn.

POPPY: What?

​
*​TRACK # - “MONSTER” starts to play.*