Synopsis
ACT 1
In 1971, at technology company Arch Industries, high school student Michael Dork is mopping the corridors of the building. As Michael sneaks his way into the firm's computer room, he communicates with his best friend and accomplice Lucas Lloyd, who brings him a storage device, onto which Michael transfers the project he has been working on to develop a digital language that would allow computers to communicate with each other. However, the security alarm sounds before completion and Lucas and Michael attempt to escape the premises ("Living In The Future Now").
The next day, Michael and Lucas await the delivery of two brand-new teletype computers to their school, while friends Marvin and Francis are hard at work building the cardboard Star Trek starship they believe will earn them first prize at the annual sci-fi competition: the opportunity to meet the esteemed crew of the real Starship Enterprise, of which Uhura is of particular interest to the group. Michael's friends begin to tease him about the hostility shown towards Michael by Eddie Arch, son of the Head of Arch Industries, to which Michael responds that the opportunity to create his computer communication coding makes it all worthwhile. As Michael attempts to download his project onto the new equipment, however, the computer unexpectedly wipes all of Michael's work, so Lucas, Marvin and Francis rally around Michael in a unified attempt to reassure him ("Don't Let 'Em Bring You Down"). Elsewhere, Holly Manson is undergoing somewhat of a self-transformation ("Little Things - Pre-Reprise") and is excited about her realisation of her identity as a proud feminist, with ambitions of being the first female astronaut, which has so far eluded her owing to her "Brains And Looks" and so has decided she needs to be less attractive to be taken seriously. Eddie, meanwhile, thinks the opposite of himself and his girlfriend Leia feels the same. She has plans for the future for Eddie and herself, which she firmly believes are a certainty owing to the duo's exceedingly good looks. The principal of the school interrupts the daydreaming with the announcement that Michael's activity at Arch Industries the previous evening has earned him a ban from the school's computer lab.
Later, during class, the principal introduces Holly to her new classmates, who mock her for her appearance, and matters are made worse when Holly announces her aspirations of going into space and her computing interests. Michael, however, realises that Holly might be his ticket to continuing his computer project, but is soon taunted by his classmates ("Slacker"), although the comments ultimately fail to distract Michael from his work. He and Lucas search for Holly after class and propose their plan to her, to which she agrees, much to the delight of the boys. Leia's friend Samantha is then seen to make allusions to her own brainy persona ("Brains and Looks - Reprise").
Some weeks later, Michael and Holly's work is advancing much slower than anticipated, while Arch Industries seem to be making a breakthrough with their own network coding project. Michael and Lucas admit their individual feelings for Holly while Eddie attempts to find out from his father which section of Arch Industries he will lead after graduation ("Little Things"). It is decided between Michael's group of friends that they will back Michael up as he asks Holly out ("Don't Let 'Em Bring You Down - Reprise"). Leia, meanwhile, is unimpressed that Eddie is being sent to military school rather than an executive position at Arch Industries and turns her back on him ("Slacker - Reprise").
At The Planetarium, a nervous Michael meets Holly and after an ineffective attempt to deliver the terrible lines fed to him by Lucas via an earpiece, Michael instead decides to speak from the heart, before illuminating the stars of the Planetarium in a romantic gesture ("We're Not Alone"). Elsewhere, a dejected Eddie discovers Holly's previous persona by way of photographs shown to him by his friend Wayne and plans his next move. The schoolkids go on to imagine how they are going to change their lives ("Ticket Outta Loserville").
ACT 2
The sci-fi convention is underway ("We're Not Alone - Reprise"), where Francis and Marvin's model starship takes second place, edged out of the top spot by Samantha's flying saucer entry, and the boys congratulate her, particularly a smitten Marvin.
Later, in the computer lab, a frustrated Michael and Holly turn down Lucas and Marvin's invitation to socialise but soon change their minds after deciding they are overworked. As Michael and Holly leave the lab, Lucas spots them and his envy towards Michael gets the better of him ("Holly, I'm The One). Eddie appears and makes a proposal to Lucas: he will present Lucas' book to the publishing department at Arch Industries if Lucas steals Michael and Holly's work. Lucas accepts the deal.
As the group try to steal the disks on which the project is held, they are caught by Holly. Eddie suspects he has an advantage over Holly and warns her that with his newly acquired photo evidence he will expose her past and ruin her ambitions of space travel if she does not agree to work with him. Holly gives in to Eddie's demands after careful consideration ("Long Run"). Meanwhile, the kids at Samantha's victory party ponder "What's So Weird About Me?" Michael turns up searching for Holly and eventually sees her in an embrace with Eddie, which unbeknownst to Michael is only because Eddie has told Holly to seal her loyalty to him with a kiss. As Michael attempts to intervene, he is brushed off by Eddie and left all alone ("Holly, I'm The One - Reprise").
Holly is not making the progress that Eddie expects of her and she is chastised by him, before being left to contemplate her frustrations towards Eddie ("Sick"). Lucas also has his own issues with Eddie as he finds out Eddie has not upheld his end of their bargain and confesses to Michael his part in Eddie's plot to tarnish Michael's work. Some time later, Holly has an idea about the missing component in the coding project so Eddie calls a press conference. Lucas, meanwhile, shows Michael the letter Holly wrote explaining her circumstances and tells Michael that Holly has informed him of the missing component: the address of the recipient, which was not taken into account by the work she had done alongside Michael. Lucas suggests that Michael demonstrates the breakthrough at the Arch Industries press conference in order to humiliate Eddie ("Genius").
At the conference, Michael sends the message as planned. Eddie's plan is foiled and Michael later reconciles with Holly ("We're Not Alone - Reprise"). As the students gather in the computer lab, Leia approaches Lucas and tells him how much she loved his book. Holly and Michael are cheered upon their entrance and the students erupt in celebration over their technological invention ("Ticket Outta Loserville").
