Our story begins in a New Haven Country Club. The year is 1920.  Bernice is visiting her cousin Marjorie for the summer.  It is a warm evening and the young adults have gathered for a small dance to wile away the hours  [Everybody Dance The Charleston]. After the dance Marjorie complains to her mother that cousin is boring and that no one likes her.  Bernice overhears the conversation.  Humiliated and disillusioned, she makes her way to the kitchen where a family servant, Annie Johnston, encourages her not to give up. [Reach For The Stars].  The next morning Bernice confronts her cousin.  Marjorie is unmoved by Bernice’s protestations and even offers to give her money to leave.  Bernice persuades Marjorie and her friends to teach her how to be popular with the boys.  Marjorie accepts the challenge teaching Bernice how to walk, what to wear, and most importantly, what to say [Modern Art].  Bernice is a quick study and the girls plan to unveil their new prodigy at a dance the following night. As everyone awaits the arrival of the “new Bernice”, the parents sit playing cards discussing the foibles of the new generation [The Younger Generation].  The gardener’s son, Otis, is caught inside the country club trying to pass himself off as an Ivy Leaguer and is unceremoniously thrown out by the staff.  His pal, Marcus, taunts him about being thrown out of the party [They Threw You Out]. Meanwhile, Bernice arrives completely transformed and wows everyone with her wit and charm.  The boys vie for her attention [May I Have This Dance?]  Her debut a success, Bernice is escorted out of the dance by Marjorie’s boyfriend, Warren.  Otis watches from the window heartbroken [May I Have This Dance II]. Several hours later, Bernice is confronted by Marjorie and the girls as she returns home from the evenings festivities.  Bernice casually keeps them at bay, but Marjorie vows to get her revenge.  The next morning, all the eligible bachelors in town come to call on Bernice.  They delightfully escort her to the day’s garden party, leaving Marjorie to fend for herself.  Marjorie decides to get her revenge that afternoon in front of everyone.  Meanwhile, Marcus reveals to his father his desire to go to New York City and be an entertainer [This Is My Dream].  With his father’s permission he makes his plans.  At the garden party, Marjorie dares Bernice to bob her hair.  Bernice knows that if she does it, she could be ostracized from “proper society”, but she so desperately wants to fit in and be popular that she accepts the challenge.  Everyone goes with Bernice to the barber shop and watches in awe as she goes through with it [When Bernice Bobs Her Hair].  With one snip her braid is cut and her hair is bobbed, but when she comes out to show her friends, they quickly abandon her.  Bernice is left alone to reflect on what she has done [More]. When she returns home, her family scolds her for humiliating them.  It soon becomes clear that her only recourse is to run away.  That night as she makes her way out the back door, she runs into Marcus and Otis.  Both were planning on moving to New York City, and when they see Bernice attempting to run away by herself, they convince her to go with them [The Run Away Blues].  Bernice agrees but knows there is just one more thing she must do before she leaves. She quietly steals into her cousin’s room, snips of her braids as she sleeps, and absconds with the bounty. On her way out, she shares her secret with Annie and the servants.  Fearing the repercussions, the 3 runaways quickly leave before they can be caught.  The act ends as they wave good-bye to suburbia and hop the train to New York City.

Act II

Bernice, Marcus, and Otis make their way to Harlem where Marcus’ Aunt Delia runs a club [Don’t Tell Mel]. After Marcus and Otis wow the crowd with a tune [They Threw You Out Ii], Delia offers them each a job. Since Bernice is a “respectable young white lady”, Delia can’t offer her a job, but instead tells her about an audition for new Broadway show that is taking place the very next day. As Otis walks Bernice to her audition, he confides his true feelings for her [I Have A Secret]. Bernice confesses that she has a crush on him too and kisses him good-bye. Once inside, she meets Louise Brooks who convinces her to skip the audition and go to a women’s suffrage rally instead. Otis catches up with Marcus and as they walk down the streets of New York, they are approached by two shady characters.  They offer the boys $10 to unload crates from their truck.  The boys take the money and cheerfully get to work.  Within a few minutes they are caught in a prohibition sting and taken to jail. Bernice shows up at the rally and is electrified by the crowd’s enthusiasm [The Female Voice]. She vows to join the fight.  Louise takes her under her wing and introduces her to “Tex” who sets her up with a job dancing in her underground speak-easy, The Manhattan Club. Back at the jail, Marcus and Otis try to plead their innocence to Officer O’Riley.  He, of course, does not believe them, and since they have no money to post their bail, they are rudely thrown into a cell full of criminals. That night, Bernice performs with her newfound friends [SS Magee].  As she fraternizes with the audience, she finds herself drinking booze, and before she knows it, she is standing on the table spouting off highly controversial statements and causing an all out brawl [The Female Voice II].  The events make the front page of the newspaper the very next day. When the Mother Superior and her right-wing conservatives hear about Bernice, they vow to have her arrested.  That afternoon Bernice innocently shows up at Delia’s to tell Otis and Marcus about her new job. When she is confronted with the terrible news of their arrest, she runs off to the jailhouse to try and help them. The boys are happy to see her, but are concerned for her safety. She assures them she is doing very well on her own and promises to bail them out as soon as she can. As soon as she leaves, Mother Superior arrives laying out her plan to Officer O’Riley of how they will catch Bernice at the show that night. Marcus and Otis plead with their fellow prisoners to help them break out of jail to save Bernice [Good Old-Fashioned Jailbreak]. Back at the Manhattan Club, Tex is thrilled with the publicity her new star is bringing her and gives her top billing in her own political show. Just as Bernice takes the stage, Otis and Marcus rush in and reveal the trap. Bernice is unfazed and vows to continue, confidently citing her right to freedom of speech as outlined in the constitution [The First Amendment].  Mother Superior and her followers try to have Bernice arrested for indecency and conspiracy, but the Deputy Mayor and his wife take Bernice’s side. When Officer O’Riley recognizes Marcus and Otis as his two criminals from the jailhouse, he tries to re-arrest them. Bernice prevails upon the Deputy Mayor to pardon them for their indiscretions, and after careful consideration, the boys are absolved of all wrongdoing.  The famous producer, George White, has been in the audience the whole time and is so impressed by Bernice and her convictions that he offers her top billing in her own Broadway show.  Bernice realizes that bobbing her hair was the best thing she could have ever done. The show ends as she reflects on the fact that hers is a very fine life [Finale/This Lovely Day].