Misty Makes It Better

Lyrics by Jill Abramovitz • Music by Brad Alexander

Misty Riggs crafts like nobody’s watching… because nobody is.

A relentlessly upbeat teen with a glue gun and a dream, she livestreams her bedazzled DIY tutorials to an audience of zero—until one impulsive clapback at a school bully explodes online. Overnight, Misty has followers, a platform, and a brand-new sense of purpose: she’s going to use her voice for good! 

Or so she thinks. 

Despite the wary eye of her BFF (and only F) Alix, Misty appoints herself champion of the LGBTQ+ community, zeroing in on genderfluid classmate Jacey as the face of a campaign he never asked for. As Misty doubles down—curating, posting, and “advocating” at full volume—real life refuses to cooperate. Meanwhile, Alix and Jacey form a genuine connection that cuts through the noise, while Alix’s guidance-counselor mom finds her own boundaries tested in a messy entanglement with the school principal. 

With her narrative slipping out of her control, Misty raises the stakes, convinced that one more push will prove she’s the hero she’s branded herself to be. What she can’t see is the line she’s crossing: from helping… to exploiting. 

The show’s central casting conceit is that Misty is played by a middle-aged woman. Think Dear Evan Hansen sincerity meets PEN15 absurdity. In the age of livestreams and performative allyship, MISTY MAKES IT BETTER explores our enduring need to be seen and valued. Beneath its comedy, the show seriously asks: do we ever outgrow the concerns of adolescence, or do we just keep inventing more sophisticated—and dangerous—ways to camouflage them?

Developed at the Johnny Mercer Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals, New York SongSpace and the Musical Theatre Factory (in residence at Playwrights Horizons).

Visit Misty Makes It Better for more info and to stream demo tracks.