Full Synopsis

Act One

Delilah McPhee, 17, is weird - everyone says so. Her parents have divorced, her dad has a new family, her mom works around the clock to make ends meet and Delilah is a social outcast at her new school after accidentally injuring Allie McAndrews, the most popular girl in her grade. Delilah chooses to lose herself in books - obsessing over one story in particular, Between the Lines, a children's fairytale. ("Another Chapter"), There's a handsome (well, okay, incredibly handsome) prince, and a castle, and an evil villain, but if anyone knew how often she climbs onto the roof outside her bedroom window to reread the book (especially her cooler than cool classmates) she'd be sent to social Siberia . . . eternally. Then one day the word Help appears on the page before Delilah's eyes…and disappears before she cracks open the book again.

Disappointed, Delilah confides in Prince Oliver, the book's main character - wishing that he were real. To her shock, Prince Oliver responds. ("Between The Lines"). As it turns out, he wants out of his story just as much as Delilah wants out of hers. He wrote the word Help, hoping she would see. He's tried to communicate before, but no reader has ever noticed, until Delilah.

As Delilah and Oliver talk, they fall in love. She learns about the world he inhabits when the book is closed: The villain isn't evil but likes to paint butterflies; the boy-crazy mermaids are actually staunch feminists, and Oliver doesn't like his "true love," the ditzy Princess Seraphima. They're all just actors, playing their parts over and over, and the story resets each time someone opens the book. ("Happily Ever After Happy Hour") Although Oliver desperately wants to live a life that isn't scripted, Delilah says he should rethink that. In her world, students post fake versions of themselves on social media. In her world, when people leave you, it's forever. ("Talkin' To Oliver")

Oliver goes to Rapskullio to see if there is a spell to get Delilah into the book, and it's revealed that Rapskullio is a very sweet and soft person whole loves nature and to paint. ("Butterflies") Unfortunately, there is nothing that the wizard can do.

When Delilah asks Ms. Winx, the school librarian, if a book has ever spoken to her, Ms. Winx misinterprets this as a literary crush and suggests Delilah join creative writing club to make real friends. ("Mr. Darcy and Me"). The kids at school are cruel ("Inner Toughts"), and Delilah rebuffs the only student who tries to befriend her - Jules, who is non-binary and tells Delilah to ignore the haters.

Delilah comes home from a horrible day and tries to call her dad, with no answer. She and her mother end the evening in a fight. Delilah storms up to her room to try to remember when things weren't so bad. ("Start Again Tomorrow") Oliver and Delilah flirt and imagine what it might be like to be together in their respective worlds. ("In My Perfect World")

When Allie McAndrews teases Delilah about the fairytale ("Crazy Chemistry"), Delilah accidentally injures her again and is suspended.

Meanwhile, Oliver, tries to tell his fairytale counterparts that he's met someone special. They are horrified at first - their readers are children - but Oliver promises Delilah is different. He asks the villain Rapskullio to use magic to bring Delilah into the book, so that they can be together.

When Delilah's mom finds out her daughter has been kicked out of school, they fight. ("I'm Not Through"). Delilah escapes onto the roof outside her bedroom and opens the book to say goodbye to Oliver. Her whole life has been turned upside down by this obsession, and it will never come to any good: he's stuck in a book, and she is in the real world. ("A Whole New Story"). Before Oliver can stop her, Delilah closes the fairytale…and falls off the roof. When she opens her eyes, she is inside the fairytale.

Act Two

("Best Day Ever") At first, this is a dream come true. After meeting the fairytale characters, Oliver whisks her to a private spot where they finally kiss. ("In My Perfect World Reprise") But when the mermaids remind Delilah that she doesn't need a man to rescue her, she realizes that even if she wants to be with Oliver, she can't abandon her mother. ("Do It For You"). Delilah and Oliver visit Rapskullio to ask him if there is a spell he can cast to get Delilah back and he replies that there is nothing they can do. ("Butterflies Reprise"). Oliver reminds her that the moment the book is opened by someone, the story will reset. They share one magical dance together before Delilah disappears. ("Something To Hold Onto").

Delilah awakens in the hospital with a concussion and reconciles with her mother. ("Leaps and Bounds"). Delilah opens her book and sees that Oliver hasn't written a message to her and she fears she has lost her ability to communicate with him. Oliver tells her that he can still talk to her, but he's heartbroken that she's gone and that one day he'll forget about her. ("Something To Hold Onto Reprise").

In the book, Princess Seraphima asks Frump, another fairytale character, what to do if Oliver doesn't love her. Frump tells her that she needs to find another true love and he professes his love for her and they begin a relationship ("Out of Character").

The kids who bully Delilah are all crossing the school halls and having thoughts about the miserable lives they lead out of school ("Inner Thoughts Reprise"). Back in school, Delilah joins creative writing club, where she tells Jules about Oliver. Allie and her friends bully Delilah again and Jules tells her that she needs to stop listening to her. ("Allie McAndrews"). Instead of judging Delilah, Jules suggests that she find the author, Jessamyn Jacobs, and ask her to rewrite the ending to get Oliver out of the book. Jessamyn says that's impossible - she wrote the book years ago to help her son process the death of his father. ("Can't Get 'Em Out").

Delilah and Oliver meet one last time to say goodbye. ("Between The Lines Reprise"). Yet just when Delilah thinks there is no path to her own happily ever after, a surprise encounter reminds her that she has the power to change her own story. It turns out that Jessamyn's son looks just like Prince Oliver. They start to talk and realize how much they have in common. ("Finale - Part 1") They begin to fall in love as they write a new story together. ("Finale - Part 2").