Meet Me at the Mall - The Musical

Meet Me at the Mall: a musical love story
about our favorite place

Click on any song title to view the lyrics

Song Title	Singer(s)	Theme and Purpose
If Money Isn't Love	Albert and Melissa	About to be married, Albert and Melissa equate the joys of money with those of love.
I Need to Shop	Howard	In this ballad version, Howard lays down the theme: the mall represents human striving and hope.
I Love to Steal	Karen	Karen is proud she is a shoplifter, and good at it.
As Long as It's Him	Melissa	Melissa doesn't care what she spends money on, as long as Albert Acquisition, her fiance, is writing the checks.
I See Your Face	Howard Melissa	Howard and Melissa sing at cross purposes. Howard is in love with Melissa; Melissa adores Howard, but only as her hairdresser and friend.
The Hand of Love	Brittany and Sammy Santa	Brittany asks Sammy why love has to be so difficult.
Capture Me	Karen	Karen bemoans the fact that she is still single and waits for Mr. Right to capture her.
My Victory	Granny	Granny gives her philosophy of the meaning of the mall and tells us why "shopping is its own reward."
What We Give Them is Hope	Sammy Santa	Santa sings about how the best he can do is give children hope, while they ask for so much more.
In My Little Corner of the World	Melissa	Melissa shows her self-absorbed philosophy of life.
Creaky	Sammy Santa	Sammy waltzes with Granny and bemoans the fact that they are both old.
Communication	Dion Brittany	The young lovers patch up their differences and learn to listen to each other.
An American Original	Melissa, Karen Brittany	Granny is remembered as a shopping genius, someone who could always zero in on "two for the price of one."
Don't Know What Came Over Me	Karen	Caught for shoplifting by Joe, Karen pleads that it's her first offense.
I Always Knew	Howard Melissa	The couple proclaim their love.
She's Wrong	All	Marilyn finally admits she's wrong, and everyone agrees, with full analysis.
I Need to Shop	All	Each character explains the compulsion, nay, the deep existential meaning, of the shopping experience.

If Money Isn't Love

Music and Lyrics © Elliot Essman 2002 All Rights Reserved

True wealth is the key to life
My birthright in a world built just for me
I can't accept losing, can't accept compromise
Have no time for people who can't quite seem to
Get their act together to
Live a life like me and you
We who make the rules

Money is soft and warm
It's the finest form
Of this thing called love
They make such fuss of
And if money isn't love
Then black is white and sunshine makes you wet
If money isn't love
Then charge accounts and credit cards
Don't leave you stuck so hopelessly in debt

The economic pundits tell us we can't spend like this
None of this applies to us, we who never miss
Here, hand in hand, conquering all
Here, hand in hand
We two alone dear can set the true tone here
The things we could own with a loan dear

Money is fine and sweet
For the true elite
For the cut above
It's the key to love
And if money isn't love
Then palm trees line the beaches of Tibet
If money isn't love
The future of the human race
May all depend on metaphysical space
But here inside this perfect place
We couldn't live without a little debt
And never regret
Since money is love

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I Need to Shop
Ballad Version
Music and Lyrics © Elliot Essman 2000 All Rights Reserved

I walk right through these doors and I become alive
In all this space I find a place beyond the nine to five

Funny thing, sometimes my heart will sing
When I can pick through all the shiny treasures
Shopping can bring
Just let me loose inside a perfect place
Just let me do the things I please
Just give me hope to fill my empty space
Just let me ride my fantasies

I walk right through these doors and I become alive
In all this space I find a place beyond the nine to five
No fences to my senses and I won't deprive
My mind and body when they satisfy their deepest drive

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I Love to Steal
Music and Lyrics © Elliot Essman 2000 All Rights Reserved

I love to steal
The way it makes me feel
It's that look in your eyes
When you're really despising me
The betrayal of trust
And it really should bother me
I love to steal
The only way to deal
It's that look in your eyes
When the passions arise in me
The betrayal of trust
And it really should bother me
Come see me
When you cut all your frills and still
can't pay your bills, and then
Come see me
When you work till you're dead and still
can't get ahead and then
Come see me
If it's too big a hassle
to furnish your castle
Just see me
Don't go accuse till you stand in my shoes
I love to steal
I ask for no appeal
It's that look in your eyes
When you see all the lies in me
The betrayal of trust
And it really should bother me
Come see me
When the small voice inside you
refuses to hide you, and
Come see me
When you need to have wings but want
too many things and then
Come see me
If you're struck to the grind
and still two months behind, you can
Just see me
I'll never lose what I can't even use
All the things that I choose I could never refuse
I love to steal
It makes me feel so real
It's that look in your eyes
When you see something wise in me
The betrayal of trust, it just can't be discussed
As I follow my lust, when the world is unjust
I could never adjust
And it really should bother me
The betrayal of trust
And it really should bother me

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As Long as It's Him
Music and Lyrics © Elliot Essman 2000 All Rights Reserved

Money is nice, so much warmer than ice
So easy to take it, if he'll go and make it
Shopping is nice, buying everything twice
I don't have to fake it, if he will forsake it
Adorable pets and corporate jets
Phenomenal debts that no one regrets
Wherever it went, however it's spent
As long as it's sent by him
I know a location that is my salvation
Profits don't daze them, and nothing delays them
My stimulation is finding temptation
Bills don't amaze them, as long as he pays them
Whatever I try, I'm likely to buy
I cannot deny, what makes me so high
Wherever it's made, although it might fade
As long as it's paid by him
It may be bad for his health
To accumulate wealth
To prove to himself he can do it
But for both of our sakes
The more money he makes
The less effort it takes
For me to go through it
Trust funds are nice with financial advice
So good to feel smart with, and never to part with
Electric devices to follow the prices
Money to start with and go off the chart with
I'll stake out my turf, for the best things on earth
Outrageous net worth, my privilege from birth
It couldn't be fun, to be under the gun
As long as it's done by him
By him

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I See Your Face
Music and Lyrics © Elliot Essman 2000 All Rights Reserved

Howard
I see your face
The sweetest kind of loving human face
And I look to see if I can find a trace
Of passion, love in your eyes
Passion, love in your eyes
Melissa
I see your face
It's a make me laugh peculiar funny face
I could never put another in your place
You're right there, and make time for me
Right there, make time for me
Howard
I see your face
The motivation inspiration face
A hundred thousand years could not erase
The passion, my feeling for you
Passion, feeling for you
Melissa
I see your face
For the moments when I need a friendly face
The only one who keeps up with my pace
You're right there, ready to help
Right there, ready to help
Howard
I see your face
I'm blind to any other kind of face
You put me in a special kind of space
It's passion, mixed in with hope
Passion, mixed in with hope
Melissa
I see your face
The how to get it done no-nonsense face
The special one who keeps me in the race
You're right there, with the right touch
Right there, with the right touch

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The Hand of Love
Music and Lyrics © Elliot Essman 2000 All Rights Reserved

Brittany
The hand of love can get you in its grip
And when it picks you up you'll know
But if you blink your eyes you may just slip
Or it can turn and let you go
Sammy
Sometimes your plans don't work out as they should
Love fills you up with regret
Sometimes your secrets don't do any good
Time to upset them, resolve and forget them
Both
Love can hold you, love can ignore you
Love can cloud your heart and your mind
Love can drain you, love can restore you
Love can let you see or go blind
Each pair of lines sung simultaneously
Brittany: I'll never kid myself what will I do?
Sammy: I've got no magical answers for you.
Brittany: I couldn't face it if our love were through
Sammy: Never forget one and one still make two
Brittany: I thought love was for free but it does have a price.
Sammy: When you run into love you had better think twice.
Brittany: Please can you give me some useful romantic advice
Sammy: Love isn't something specific, exact or precise
Brittany: Yes, that would be nice.
Sammy: But it can be nice.
Brittany
The hand of love can take you for a ride
Into an unfamiliar place
Or you may wait and feel the need inside
Until it stares you in the face
Sammy
Sometimes the game doesn't have any rules
Love leaves you stuck at the gate
Sometimes you think you're just one of the fools
Time to create it instead of await it
Both
Love can hold you, love can ignore you
Love can cloud your heart and your mind
Love can drain you, love can restore you
Love can let you see or go blind
Each pair of lines sung simultaneously
Brittany: I can't begin to discover a clue.
Sammy: I'll never tell you what lines to pursue
Brittany: Looking inside myself isn't taboo.
Sammy: Only a mirror can give you a view.
Brittany: I thought love would allow me to carve out a slice.
Sammy: When you know you need love nothing else will suffice
Brittany: Free from confusion, a path to my own paradise
Sammy: Love weaves a spell that can tempt and deceive and entice.
Brittany: Yes, that would be . . .
Sammy: But it would be . . .
Both
nice to feel that energy
nice to get some just for me
nice to know I have the key
when I hold the precious hand of love

Top

Capture Me
Music and Lyrics © Elliot Essman 2000 All Rights Reserved

Capture me, Capture me, Capture me, Capture me
I'll write out a headline, I'm way past my deadline
The single category is a story without any guarantee
Capture me
Capture me, Capture me, Capture me, Capture me
Just give me a slow dance, a girl must have romance
A thousand years of dating without mating isn't any way to be
Capture me
Why am I not systematic?
Is my pain psychosomatic?
Why am I undiplomatic?
Why?
Why can't I be more pragmatic?
Why can't love, be automatic?
Why on earth, can't a dramatic
Guy
Capture me, Capture me, Capture me, Capture me
My prospects grow dimmer, I just need a glimmer
A sudden flash of light from Mr. Right is all I really need to see
Capture me
Do you think I'm a fanatic
Is my joy locked in the attic?
Why does life give me such static?
Why?
Why is love undemocratic?
Do I seem much too erratic?
Why on earth can't an ecstatic
Guy
Capture me, Capture me, Capture me, Capture me
I'll try not to steal one, just give me a real one
An average kind of guy who I can try to show the better side of me
Capture me, Capture me, Capture me, Capture me

Top

My Victory
Music and Lyrics © Elliot Essman 2000 All Rights Reserved

Do I own stock in every store?
Is shopping a habit or is it much more?
Why do I come? What is it for?
Do I really need it, or is it a chore?
Shopping is its own reward
I could never cut the cord
Once I thought I knew it all
Now I've got my local mall
It may look ever the same
But it is never the same
And I feel such hope when I come in
Humanity was made to hope and dream
It's more than something to gain
And I could never explain
To you all
My victory
Shopping is its own reward
Buying all I can afford
And I tingle overall
When I walk right through the mall
It is my special domain
It keeps me out of the rain
And it feels so right to be inside
An artificial sheltering cocoon
Where I can hardly restrain
And I could never explain
To you all
My victory
Shopping is its own reward
It could never leave me bored
Winter summer spring and fall
You will find me at the mall
And I fly off to the game
Just like a moth to a flame
Lost in a shiny wonderland
A habitat created just for me
It takes my life to maintain
And I could never explain
To you all
My victory

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What We Give Them is Hope
Music and Lyrics © Elliot Essman 2000 All Rights Reserved

Children trust us
Tell us they love us
Represent a cross section of the population
Some want it all some have imagination
Some need a word while others take the world
What we give them is hope
It's all we can do
Scattered and colored by our point of view
What we give them is hope
It's all we can do
Muddled and messy to start all anew
We can sing just one note
If we leave them with hope
Little people
Stammer and stumble
Sights and sounds pull at them from every direction
Some forge ahead while others need protection
Some need a word while others take the world
What we give them is hope
It's all we can do
Trying our hardest to reach one or two
What we give them is hope
It's all we can do
Reaching inside just to get the word through
We can sing just one note
If we leave them with hope
Looking through a pair of dark eyes
Sounding out a human note
You can only guess you cannot know
Stare and guess and hope for the best
Planners dreamers
Walkers and runners
Each a fine work of art of talent and potential
Some forge ahead some stay experimental
Some need a word while others take the world
What we give them is hope
It's all we can do
Talking to hundreds to reach just a few
What we give them is hope
It's all we can do
Using the moment to give them a clue
We can sing just one note
If we leave them with hope
What we give them is hope
All we give them is hope
We can leave them with hope
What we give them is hope

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In My Little Corner of the World
Music and Lyrics © Elliot Essman 2000 All Rights Reserved

Just show me a space where I can have all my best fantasies
Let me retreat into my own special place
Living the love that I please
In my little corner of the world I have space
In my little corner of the world I am safe
I can leave the place where hearts can break
Live for my own sake
I can build a life through thick and thin
I can win, when I'm in
My safe retreat
In my little corner of the world
My world
In my little corner of the world I have time
In my little corner of the world I can climb
Far up to the heights of fantasy
All that I can be
There'll be nobody to make me slow
Tell me no, when I go
To my retreat
In my little corner of the world
My world
In a world filled with rules
As fast as they make them
I'll just go and break them
I'm not going to take them
I'll go my way
I'll have my say
In my little corner of the world I can't lose
In my little corner of the world I can't use
All the words that people preach to me
So I can't be free
I can live my life in my own skin
I can win, when I'm in
My safe retreat
In my little corner of the world
My world

Top

Creaky
Music and Lyrics © Elliot Essman 2000 All Rights Reserved

The meter is running
Time is a cunning creditor dunning us
Extended warranties may shore up knobby knees
But the time comes when you know you're
Creaky, creaky
Broken and leaky
That's what you get
You can never forget
you are
Older, older
Easily colder
Counting each day
As it all slips away
till the
Time to check out
comes so close
Si - o - na - ra
A - di - os
Fragile, fragile
No longer agile
Every joint aches
With the trouble it takes
just for
Walking, walking
thinking and talking
Every consumer
Succumbs to the rumor
that
Life will bring what
It will bring
Life is no
forever thing

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Communication
Music and Lyrics © Elliot Essman 2000 All Rights Reserved

Communication
Communication
If you can listen to another explanation
Forget the rules you set and all your expectation
Trying not to try so very hard

Communication
Communication
If you can free yourself from all interpretation
And make the beating human heart your motivation
Trying not to try so very hard

You and I shout at the top of our lungs
Making the bad things still worse
That's not the problem I'm sure of it now
Loving each other comes first

Communication
Communication
It takes an open heart and true appreciation
It may be more a journey than a destination
Trying not to try so very hard

Communication

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An American Original
Music and Lyrics © Elliot Essman 2000 All Rights Reserved

She was an American original
A credit to us all
An American original
In the shopping mall
She could tell such tales
Of clearance sales
Two for the price of one
She was an American original
Her shopping is now done

She was an American original
She taught us how and why
An American original
Who brought us here to buy
We know our way
Around today
Our place under the sun
She was an American original
Her shopping is now done

She was an American original
Wherever she would roam
An American original
She'd bring those bargains home
The stuff they sell
She taught us well
Since she was number one
She was an American original
Her shopping is now done

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Don't Know What Came Over Me
Music and Lyrics © Elliot Essman 2000 All Rights Reserved

Don't know what came over me
A cloud just lifted for me
Whatever came over me
Was lovely

Don't know what came over me
I found the best way to be
Whatever came over me
Was lovely

I can count the things I've done
And write them down with pride
Now today I owe you one
I need you on my side

Don't know what came over me
You came and threw out the key
Whatever came over me
Was lovely

Look what you've done to me
Now in your custody
Forcing me to agree
Got your own plans for me

I could beg for mercy but mag-
nificent eyes you can tell hypnotize me and
I don't stand the slightest chance
To escape from this romance

Don't know what came over me
I think it just had to be
Whatever came over me
Was lovely

Don't know what came over me
It's all so easy to see
Whatever came over me
Was lovely

I can see compassion in the
magic of your eyes
We could start a fashion when we
try it on for size

Don't know what came over me
You'll see the best side of me
Whatever came over me
Was lovely

Look what you've done to me
Now in your custody
Forcing me to agree
Got your own plans for me

I could beg for mercy but mag-
nificent eyes you can tell hypnotize me and
I don't stand the slightest chance
To escape from this romance

Don't know what came over me
But yours is easy to be
Whatever came over me
Was lovely

Don't know what came over me
Don't think of setting me free
Whatever came over me
Was lovely

Lovely

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I Always Knew
Music and Lyrics © Elliot Essman 2000 All Rights Reserved

I always knew
Knew you were in love with me
Knew I played a part for your heart
All your thoughts in the dark were of you and me
I love knowing you and you have to know I always knew

I always knew
Knew that you completed me
Knew that side by side you and I
could arrive safe and sound where we need to be
I'm right here for you and you have to know I always knew

Through the years my deepest fears were finding holes in my heart
You can seal them You can heal them
Knowing that
I love you
Knowing that
It's finally true

I always knew
Knew we had a time to come
Knew that we could wait for as long as we needed to wait to find
you and me
I've waited for you and you have to know I always knew
I always knew
I always knew

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She's Wrong
Music and Lyrics © Elliot Essman 2000 All Rights Reserved

wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong
wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong

She's wrong, after so long
A precious ray of light has called in the day for night
Perspective never was her contribution
Objective truth will be her path to happiness and absolution

She's wrong, no longer strong
Unlikely as it seems we've realized our wildest dreams
She used to rule a very strict dominion
But now it's cool to spend a dime while disregarding her opinion

wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong
wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong
wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong
wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong

She's wrong, changed her whole song
She's come out to the mall to tell us she loves us all
I know she'll match our passion and devotion
I'm sure she'll catch up to us when it comes to shopping locomotion

She's wrong, playing along
She's come to join the crowd, She's loving it right out loud
Instead of trying to subvert our action
She'll soon be buying things she doesn't need just for her satisfaction

wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong
wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong
wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong
wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong
wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong
wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong
wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong
wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong

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I need to shop shop I need to shop shop

I need to shop my life away
Need it every single day
Even if I cannot pay
I can always find a way

With a credit card or two
I could never overdo
I can shop the whole day through
It's not subject to review

With so many things to buy
You could never say that I
Couldn't ever justify
Being tentative or shy

Santa's children can beguile
When they laugh and start to smile
They all line up single file
I know all the while that

I need to shop shop I need to shop shop

I walk inside a wonderland for all to see
I can rejoice at all the choice that has been given me

I need to shop shop I need to shop shop

They didn't have the mall not many years ago
I can't conceive I can't believe that this was ever so

I can always keep my pace
When I wear my shopping face
Knowing I can find a place
Where I'll meet the human race

Find the joy I might have missed
On an enormous shopping list
Kissing lips I might have kissed
Just to prove that I exist

With so many things to get
Shopping here and on the net
I may be getting into debt
But I'll never be upset

Running down my credit file
Trying every kind of style
All for service with a smile
Knowing all the while that

I need to shop shop I need to shop shop

I walk inside a wonderland for all to see
I can rejoice at all the choice that has been given me

I need to shop shop I need to shop shop
I need to shop shop I need to shop shop

Top

Meet Me at the Mall
An Original Musical
Music, Lyrics and Book by Elliot Essman

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