Just in Time (musical)

Act I

As the show begins, the theatre announcements introduce the specific actor playing Bobby Darin via an overture medley that leads into "The Start of Something Big" and "Just In Time". The performer personally welcomes the audience, and notes the similarities in Bobby's career and their own, as performers who value connection amongst peers. The actor then enters character as "Bobby" and sets the scene to be his childhood in New York City, where he was born as Walden Robert Cassotto ("Beyond the Sea").

Walden explains that he was chiefly raised by his grandmother Polly and older sister Nina. Due to a serious congenital heart condition, he is not expected to live past 16 years of age, leading Polly to instill a sense of urgency and Nina to care for him overbearingly. Upon graduating from the Bronx High School of Science, Walden realizes he wants to make the most of his limited time by working in music. However, his early efforts are limited to commercial jingle songwriting ("Orange Furniture Store"). One job puts him in contact with lowly-but-talented singer Connie Francis, and the two are almost instantly smitten ("First Real Love"). Despite similar Italian-American heritage, their relationship is forced to be clandestine due to the aggressive disapproval of Connie's dad. In an effort to raise his profile and to win him over, he changes his name to "Bobby Darin" after a broken Chinese restaurant sign and accepts a sudden opportunity to sing on television, despite his own initial hesitancy to become a singer.

Bobby's television appearance goes awry when he forgets many of the lyrics live on-air ("Rock Island Line"). His label does not give up on him, though, and he begins to climb the charts using derivative recordings of other popular songs from contemporaries like Elvis Presley ("Imitation Medley"). He continues to write these songs and submits one to popular New York City DJ Murray the K. Dismissive at first, following a friendly call with his mother, he challenges Bobby to write a song about taking a bath as an exercise in songwriting. Murray's initial doubts are shattered when Bobby writes the full song about it in 15 minutes, and the song ends up being a major hit single that catapults Bobby to national renown ("Splish Splash").

While visiting Connie before a performance, her father walks in on them while Bobby is in a bathrobe from a "Splish Splash" set piece, and he is chased out at gunpoint. Despite his pleas and proposal, Connie ends the relationship due her father's rejection of Bobby ("Who's Sorry Now"). Reaffirming his passion for performance, Polly inspires a depressed Bobby to embrace his fame to take a shot at playing her favorite venue, the Copacabana nightclub ("That's All"). His first teen-oriented song is a success ("Queen of the Hop"), but before he is able to perform at the Copa, Polly dies, disillusioning Bobby ("The Good Life"). His managers help cheer him up when he impromptu performs one of Polly's favorite jazz standards ("Up a Lazy River"), and he proposes transitioning away from original songs to do an entire album of them; particularly, an experimental pop rendition of a selection from Bertolt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera, to their surprise. They refuse, citing it as too ambitious and expensive for a low payoff, even when Bobby offers to put the money up himself. Despite the road block, he personally funds the studio sessions to record it ("Mack the Knife").

Act II

Bobby has become a global superstar after the success of "Mack the Knife", winning two Grammy Awards and being cast in films ("Dream Lover"). His latest film is being shot in Italy, where is introduced to younger co-star Sandra Dee. Her own overbearing stage mother has meant she did not have much of a proper childhood, thrust into maturity at an early age ("Not for Me"). Bobby falls for her and devises schemes to win her heart ("Multiplication"), eventually doing so by wooing her mother ("Eighteen Yellow Roses"). Sandra and Bobby fall in love ("Irresistable You") and eventually wed and have a child ("Things"). However, constant touring schedules and dedication to his persona drive a wedge into their marriage, leading to Sandra to become an alcoholic. Torn between both personal fulfillment and his relationship, he chooses the former and divorces Sandra ("Rainin'").

In the aftermath of the divorce, Bobby seeks to throw his hat into political spaces, even being vetted by the Democratic party and working on Robert F. Kennedy's campaign. When he reveals to Nina that he may run for office, she expresses great concern and forbids him due to what personal information they may uncover about him. Nina reveals to a confused Bobby that she is actually his biological mother; Polly was his grandmother, who raised him as such to prevent family shame following Nina's teen pregnancy by an unknown father. Bobby casts Nina out and spirals into dejection and disillusionment ("I Am [Instrumental]"). His performances become erratic and he embraces denim, folk music, and counterculture, leading for him to get banned by the Copa and his career to be ruined. He loses everything in the divorce and becomes a recluse, moving to a small trailer in Big Sur, California alone.

Sandra visits Bobby some time later. They discuss fame and stardom, eventually leading Bobby to realize who he is and what he stands for in the face of a heart condition that should have killed him long ago ("If I Were a Carpenter"). He stages a comeback performance at the Copa; it is a massive success and revitalizes his career ("Once In a Lifetime / That's All (Reprise)"), but the performances are interspersed with heart palpitations. Eventually, Bobby dies due to a heart infection at 37. His colleagues and partners from his life continue to tell his story, and remind the audience to make the most of what they have in life. ("The Curtain Falls").

Notable replacements

• Bobby Darin: Matthew Morrison, Jeremy Jordan ^[16]

• Connie Francis: Sarah Hyland,^[17] Isa Briones,^[18] Olivia Holt

• Sandra Dee: Carrie St. Louis^[19]

• Polly: Debbie Gravitte^[19]