"Psych: The Musical" is a Season Seven episode of Psych, but it aired as a two-hour musical special on December 15, 2013, at 9/8c, outside of the rest of the season. The events of the episode occur before the Marlowe-Lassiter wedding. Shawn and Gus dive into a world that's equal parts mystery and melody to track down a mad playwright who burnt down a theater after locking a critic inside.
Plot Summary[]
Shawn senses that Santa Barbara — the "Murder Capital of the World" — is about to come to grips with another killer and that he's the only one who can stop it ("Santa Barbara Skies"). Gus, however, thinks Shawn is full of it and that nothing can permeate their sleepy town. Shawn is proven correct, though, when a security guard at the Willowbrooke Psychiatric Hospital gets knocked out by a patient, who subsequently escapes.
The escaped patient is identified as Zachary Wallace Zander, or "Z", a former playwright and composer who spent seven years working on a Jack the Ripper musical. On the night before previews, he went crazy, locked a critic in the theater, and burned it to the ground.
Z is seen approaching a lonely man sitting on a park bench. At the man's urging, Z opens up about his past, explaining that his musical, called Ripper!, was set in old London. Years of endless changes weighed on Z's psyche, but he vowed to make the show perfect. These dreams took a major hit when the cast and crew found out that critic Andrew Scheck was let into the theater before previews. It turns out that Andrew had seen the run-through the day before and was prepared to write a scathing review, essentially guaranteeing that Ripper! wouldn't see opening night. Z spotted Andrew going into the dressing room and tried to follow him, but the door was locked. Determined to stop Andrew ("Z's Lament"), he barged through the dressing room door. Some time later, he woke up on the floor next to Andrew's body, the room engulfed in flames. In the present, the man is confused as to why Z would confess murder to him. Z reveals that he's a patient at the institution and has been watching the man from his window every day. He then lunges at the man as if to strangle him.
The institution's head doctor, Dr. Adair, tells Lassiter and Juliet that cameras lost Z once he hit the street. Lassiter believes that Z went up the street to the bus station, where he would blend in with the crowd. However, the "spirits" tell Shawn that Z went across the street to the park. He and Lassiter argue over their theories, with Shawn eventually leading the group to the park ("I've Heard It Both Ways"). Shawn "psychically" brings them to the bench where Z confronted the loner and theorizes what went down. Soon after, they come across a discarded security jacket from the institution; the loner's hat and glasses have also been left behind. The group thinks that this is just the beginning of Z's rampage.
Dr. Adair reveals that after seven years of silence, Z just started speaking again and that his confidant at the institution was another patient — Yang. The group walks in on Yang singing a Christmas song for her fellow patients ("Sleigh Bells and Songs"), despite the fact that it doesn't appear to be the holiday season. She lights up when she sees Shawn. In private, she tells the group that she knows what Z's plan is and hints that there may be multiple victims. However, in exchange for that information, she demands to have a day of fun away from the institution and to be brought to the theater where the fire took place.
The original set is still standing, albeit quite a bit charred from the fire. Yang hesitates to give out any information regarding Z's plan, saying that everything in her head is a musical and that she needs the group to perform for her. Much against Lassiter's wishes, Shawn indulges her and sings her a song while playing the piano ("(When You're) Making Up a Song"). The performance is acceptable, but Yang still won't divulge what she knows, saying that Shawn needs to figure it out psychically. Shawn's attention focuses on the balloons Yang released and sees that they sit outside of a door that leads to a room above the stage.
The partially furnished room is where Z was staying towards the end of Ripper!'s run, as constant changes necessitated that he be present at the theater at all times. Shawn spots a dust void and "psychically" figures out that Z had been there recently. He then spots a cast and crew roster for Ripper! nearby with the name Miles Thornton, the show's producer, seemingly the focus of Z's attention. Miles' current work address is the California theater, which is where Shawn and Gus head to next.
There, they speak with Roland Armitage, the owner of the theater and the showrunner for the current show about to premiere. Roland is concerned that Miles' behavior is becoming more erratic and that it's happening at the worst possible time. When Shawn makes his way into the theater, he suddenly realizes why Z escaped — Roland is resurrecting Ripper!, set and all.
Roland is surprised to hear that Z is on the loose, but he insists that they're not doing his play; they're doing a Jack the Ripper story. He says that his play and Z's play are two different concepts, for Z's version was "crazy". Miles is working on the set design for the new play, while the director, Ben Skyler, has written a newer, better script. Shawn and Gus thumb through the script and are impressed with the style of writing, down to songs that actually rhyme. Roland explains that when he first got to Santa Barbara, the theater fire was in all of the headlines. However, the more he learned about the play that was to be put on, the more intrigued he became by the story and how successful it could become in the right hands. Roland vows to put the play on, saying that the cast and crew have worked to hard to have it derailed by a "deranged individual." He suddenly cuts the conversation short when he spots someone standing in the shadows; the person is gone by the time Shawn turns around to look.
At the SBPD, Lassiter admits that he had tickets to Ripper!'s opening night seven years ago, hoping that it would help him reconcile with his wife Victoria and potentially save their marriage. The play was cancelled after the fire happened, and the two continued to be at odds until the marriage was over. Juliet tries to get Lassiter to look on the bright side of things, but he stops her when he starts reading through Miles' phone records. It turns out Miles has been receiving phone calls every half hour throughout the night since Z escaped.
Shawn and Gus speak with Ben, who seems unconcerned about Z's escape, believing him to be "lost" rather than a "madman." However, he changes his tune when he finds out that Z attacked the man in the park. Shawn tells him that they're actually looking for Miles, and one of the actors says that he just saw him two minutes ago going up to the catwalk. Before Shawn and Gus can go find him, a scream is heard and Miles is seen falling from the catwalk to his death.
Woody performs Miles' autopsy and deems his death to be suicide, pointing out that Miles made no attempt to break his fall. Furthermore, the catwalk railings were too high for him to be pushed and everyone in the backstage area saw Miles walk up to the catwalk alone. When told that an escaped mental patient looked up Miles' name in an effort to track him down, Woody cautions everyone that the truth is often the opposite of what one might expect ("Often It's the Opposite (Pt. 1)"). Despite the fact that Miles was threatened and frightened, there's no evidence that someone attacked him. When Lassiter plops down the original cast and crew roster, Shawn notices that the name below Miles — actress Elisa McCardle — was also part of Z's focus. He privately tells Gus that Elisa was the only actress from the original show not invited back for the revival. They leave to go visit Elisa while Woody finishes up on his thoughts about assumptions ("Often It's the Opposite (Pt. 2)").
Shawn, Gus, Juliet, Lassiter, and Yang all go to visit Elisa at her home. Elisa admits that she's aware of Z's escape, as he called her the night before. Despite no words being spoken, she could tell it was Z based on the way he was playing the piano over the phone — in fact, he was playing her song. She rejects police protection, believing that Z is no threat to her; however, Lassiter overrules her. When Shawn asks her why she's not a part of the new show like her other castmates, Elisa reveals that she wasn't able to escape the theater fire unscathed, resulting in a permanent burn scar on her face.
Back at the SBPD, Juliet discovers that there are already talks for the new show, Midnight in Whitechapel, to go to Broadway. She and Lassiter find it interesting that while Z's original show was dead on arrival, the new show is expected to be a financial windfall for everyone involved — including Elisa, whose name is somehow on the list despite her nonparticipation in the new show. Lassiter calls McNab, who is at Elisa's house to offer police protection. Before he can ask Elisa to explain this newest discovery, he tells Lassiter that he heard something in the woods outside.
The gang rushes to Elisa's house and sees a hooded figure running into the woods. Lassiter, Juliet, and McNab give chase, with McNab eventually tackling the suspect to the ground. However, they soon discover that the person in question is the loner from the park. The man says that Z let him loose and told him to run in order to create a diversion. Shawn, who stayed behind in the squad car with Gus, Yang, and her police escort, spots Z walking through Elisa's house. By the time Shawn and Gus are able to break into the house to warn Elisa, Z has made his presence known and escaped back into the woods. Shawn gives chase, eventually coming face to face with Z, who claims that he never hurt anyone and that the police are wrong about his crimes ("I Hurt No One"). Shawn tries to put Z at ease by saying that he believes him, but Z punches him the face and runs off. Z is in the wind again, but the team has a bigger problem — Yang has knocked out her police escort and escaped, as well.
Back at the SBPD, Chief Vick blasts the team for letting both Z and Yang escape, which also resulted in Yang's police escort being put in the hospital. Shawn wonders aloud why Z would kill Miles, but not the loner in the park. Even though he could've killed the man and taken his car keys to aid in his escape, Z took the man and used him later as a decoy. In fact, the man says that Z was quite kind throughout the process. Shawn believes that there's no way Z planned this far ahead since he didn't seem to think that the SBPD would've had someone stationed at Elisa's house. The department gets another blow when it's revealed that Elisa has turned down further police protection because she actually feels safer without it. From this, Shawn believes his point has been made — Elisa doesn't fear Z, which means he might not be the murderer they think he is.
Just then, Shawn gets a Skype call from Yang. She refuses to turn herself in, claiming that she's not a fit for the institution. When Shawn asks her about Z's involvement in everything, she says she'll only answer questions if they're accompanied by a musical number. Unfortunately, Shawn's number is underwhelming, so he has to enlist Gus to help. After Gus livens up the performance, Yang says that the answer to Shawn's question must be "pondered under a Steinlen in good old Red 71." Shawn realizes that Red 71 is referring to a room number at the institution.
Shawn and Gus are shown to room 71, which turns out to be Z's room. The bulletin board in the room is littered with articles touting Z's greatness, perhaps there to boost his self esteem. Shawn notices that the lamp on the desk is a Steinlen brand and recalls what Yang told him. He finds a stack of unsent love letters addressed to Elisa hidden in Z's mattress that are rather well-written, which contradicts what they heard earlier about his substandard Ripper! script.
Shawn gets a call from Juliet asking him and Gus to come to a crime scene. As they arrive, Shawn once again tells Juliet that he believes in Z's innocence and that Elisa has nothing to fear.; however, Juliet leads them to Elisa's body. Lassiter gloats that Shawn appears to be wrong in this case ("I've Heard It Both Ways (Reprise 1)"), but Shawn still maintains that they're looking for another killer.
Back at the SBPD, Juliet begins to question whether Shawn is actually right despite all of the evidence pointing at Z. Lassiter thinks that she's only siding with Shawn because they're dating, but Juliet says that one must follow their heart because sometimes looks can be deceiving. After Chief Vick admonishes them once more and urges them to find Yang's hiding place, Lassiter tells Juliet that they must conduct a proper investigation and follow the facts, not just hunches ("Santa Barbara Skies (Reprise)"). As he looks through Elisa's phone records, he sees that her phone pinged a cell tower downtown two hours before her death. They follow the direction of her next ping, which put her heading towards the California theater. Sure enough, a security camera caught her entering the theater right before her death; they now know where she made her last stop.
Meanwhile, Shawn and Gus break back into Elisa's house to search for more clues. In the wastebasket in her bedroom, Shawn finds an empty envelope addressed to Z with no return address on it. Shawn figures that whatever it was, Z brought it to the house; whatever Elisa did with it afterwards may have resulted in her death. Gus is able to find the object in question — the original Ripper! script written by Z. As Gus reads through it, he notes how terrible it is; in fact, the Ripper was made out to be a good guy. Shawn paws through Elisa's box of mementos and comes across a picture of her and Z taken during one of the rehearsals of the original show. Roland Armitage is in the background, contradicting his earlier statement that he arrived in town after the fire was attracting all of the headlines. The team has a new suspect.
The group meets up at the California theater chasing two different leads. As they prepare to enter the theater, Gus spots a black Cadillac suspiciously sitting the alley. One of the show's actors, Christopher Lamberth, confirms that he was present when the theater fire happened, adding that Roland was there canoodling with Elisa. Lassiter now believes that Z started the fire as a way to seek revenge on Roland for stealing his woman, while Shawn is still set on Roland being the guilty party. The two argue once again over whose theory is correct ("I've Heard It Both Ways (Reprise 2)"). Lamberth interrupts them and informs them that Roland is in the bowels of the theater. The group finds Roland sharing some alone time with the actress who replaced Elisa. Shawn yells out Roland's name, causing him to run out of the theater. As Shawn and Gus give chase outside, they watch Roland get hit by the black Cadillac Gus saw earlier. The car then drives away.
In the hospital, Roland admits that he lied about his whereabouts at the time of the fire, as it would've exposed his affair with Elisa. He ran from Shawn and Gus because he thought they were private investigators hired by his wife to find evidence of his cheating, both with Elisa and with her replacement. Shawn thinks back to their first meeting that ended abruptly when Roland saw a figure in the shadows. He guesses that the mystery person was Roland's wife spying on him, meaning that she's already aware of his infidelities.
When Gus starts aligning himself with Lassiter's belief in Z's guilt, Shawn goes to his father for advice. He admits that Lassiter may not be that far off, since every new suspect either ends up dead or in the hospital — and every road leads back to Z. Henry encourages him to solve the first case and start over again. As they prepare to do some old-fashioned police work, Shawn gets another Skype call from Yang, which he takes in private. When Henry finds out, he's beside himself that Shawn's informant is a serial killer. He abruptly ends the call for Shawn and hands him Z's police file, noting that the disenfranchised are creatures of habit. He's circled a note that says that Z used to frequently hang out at a local establishment called Bar 88.
Shawn finds Z at the bar playing the piano. Z seems a little off, somehow believing that Elisa received his unsent love letters. However, he tells Shawn that he's thinking clearer than ever and that he figured things out while in the institution — including why his head hurt. He adds that can see the capabilities of humanity, but that nobody will listen to him because he's already been labeled as crazy. Shawn offers to help find Elisa's killer, but Z replies that he knows who it is; however, he refuses to say so that he can kill the person himself. When Shawn vows to stop Z from doing so, Z traps him up against the wall with the piano and runs out of the bar.
Shawn and Gus go back to Z's room at the institution to look for more clues. Much to their surprise, though, Dr. Adair informs them that they're actually in Yang's room. She was given mail duty and never sent the letters Z wrote. When combined with the nearby bulletin board displaying Z's many accomplishments, Shawn realizes that Yang was in love with Z and helped him escape. Unfortunately for her, Z ran right to Elisa, so Shawn figures that Yang killed her to get her out of the way. Just then, Yang calls Shawn again. When told that she's the prime suspect now, she becomes disappointed in Shawn's "gift" and threatens to leave town. She abruptly hangs up, but when she does, Shawn recognizes the background as one of the sets being used at the burned-out theater.
Shawn and Gus go the theater to seek out Yang. As Shawn yells for her from one of the set pieces, she shows herself, knife in hand. She expresses her disappointment in Shawn's belief of her guilt, saying that Z was her friend. He had told her everything, including the fact that he starting remembering things while in group therapy. Shawn is slipping in Yang's eyes, a belief put to the test when she informs him that he and Gus were followed to the theater.
Suddenly, a hooded figure emerges from behind Shawn, wraps a rope around his neck, and hoists him up in the air, strangling him. The figure leaps from the set and dismounts from the rope. Yang engages him in a battle, is able to slice him with the knife, and cuts the rope to free Shawn. However, the figure gets the upper hand and stabs Yang before departing. As she lays dying on the stage, she tells Shawn that she can't reveal who the killer is, as it would "spoil the ending." She warns that Z's going to "finish it" tonight at the new show and that it's going to be "spectacular." Despite Shawn's pleas to stay alive, she goes towards a white light and is greeted by her angel — Mary Lightly. Mary warns her that Heaven likely isn't the place she's going, but he might be able to do her favor since "he knows a guy who knows another guy" ("Promised Land").
On opening night of Midnight in Whitechapel, Shawn and Gus are on the lookout for Z; however, they can't warn anyone since they would likely be warning the actual killer. As Shawn watches the actors prepare backstage, he spots Christopher Lamberth dismounting from a rope the same way his attacker did, leading to the conclusion that Lamberth is responsible. Gus is ecstatic at this revelation — with Lamberth out of the way, he'll get to play the role of the Inspector and put his own spin on it. Shawn vows to take action immediately, as it might be too late by the time the cops arrive.
They confront Lamberth in his dressing room, where Shawn accuses of him of foul play and murder. He points out that in the original play, Lamberth was to have played Jack the Ripper; however, in the current incarnation, he's been relegated to the smaller role of the Inspector. Shawn theorizes that Lamberth killed the critic seven years ago to preserve the show and his role in it. In the present, he took out his revenge on Elisa and Miles, as well as anyone else who has a stake in the current production. When confronted about the unique way he dismounts from a rope, Lamberth explains that all actors are trained do dismount the same way. Shawn recalls that Yang sliced her attacker across the chest with her knife before she was stabbed to death, so he demands Lamberth remove his shirt to show proof of his injury. Lamberth tries running away from Shawn's grasp, but trips and falls, knocking himself out. Shawn unbuttons the unconscious Lamberth's shirt and, to his surprise, sees no signs of an injury — they've got the wrong guy.
With Lamberth due to go on stage in two minutes, Shawn takes over his role as the Inspector, ad libbing his lines in a horrendous British accent. During a scene change, he thinks back through the clues in the case and suddenly comes to a realization. He calls Juliet and tells her that Z's original script was in the empty envelope they found in Elisa's house. Z had mailed it to himself and kept it at the theater as a way of copywriting his work. The show was re-launched based off of the original script, which was subsequently ruined with constant changes. Juliet finds an early draft from 1999 amongst the case evidence, leading Shawn to reach another conclusion.
He tells Juliet Z hasn't killed anyone — yet. After years of drafts and nonstop revisions, Z's script was ruined. Ben and Miles found themselves in financial ruin, having a tremendous stake in the success of the show. When the critic showed up and panned the show, they killed the critic. Z broke into the dressing room, was knocked out by Miles, and framed for the critic's murder. Miles then dropped a lantern in the middle of the room and ignited a fire as a way of covering up any evidence. Later overridden with guilt, Miles committed suicide. When Z found out about the show's revival, he had a revelation; unfortunately, nobody's going to believe a mental patient. So, he planned his escape to retrieve the original script he left behind and prove his innocence. Z then sent the script to Elisa, for she was the only one he could trust. Elisa confronted Ben with this evidence, so Ben killed her to keep her silent. When Shawn started investigating the case and getting close, Ben tried to take him out, as well. Now, Z is out for revenge and the police must get to the theater before it's too late ("Shawn's Breakdown"). As Shawn finishes his recap, he discovers that the spotlight is on him — and he's holding a cell phone (or "futuristic talking device") in 1888 London. Unsurprisingly, the audience is quite confused.
Shawn spots Ben standing offstage and runs off to confront him. However, he tells Gus that they still need Z to show, so Gus must find a way to keep the show going. Gus dons the Inspector outfit that Shawn was wearing and debuts his "Jamaican Inspector Man" persona he had been trying to bust out during the investigation ("Gus in the Spotlight"). His ad libbed song is met with lukewarm reception and he tries tap dancing as a way to fill the time.
Meanwhile, Shawn is informed by the stage manager that Z showed up and grabbed Ben. Shawn follows them into the bowels of the theater, with Juliet and Lassiter soon arriving and following close behind. They eventually confront Z and Ben in one of the rooms. With Z holding a knife to his throat, Ben confesses, saying that the critic was going to bury them. The ensuing scuffle resulted in the critic's accidental death, and Z, in the wrong place at the wrong time, was framed. Ben admits that they found Z's first draft and thought it was brilliant; however, they erased his name from it and took credit. Things then spiraled out of control, resulting in Elisa's death. Z threatens to kill Ben for ruining his life, but soon drops the knife and vows to live with the pain ("The Surrender"). Ben is arrested, while Z is detained and brought back to the institution. Back on stage, Gus has somehow earned a round of applause from the audience after his number. Unfortunately, the show will probably be short-lived thanks to the "issues" behind the scenes.
In the present, it turns out that Shawn was telling an embellished version of the story to Z, who is back in the institution. Z feigns his interest, making no commitment to producing a musical since he's going to be "tied up" for a while. As he's led away, Z tells Shawn that there are some parts that are too unbelievable to be included — such as Shawn's hanging scene and the fact that kerosene lamps were used in an old theater. Shawn and Gus scoff at the idea, vowing to keep the hanging scene, which did actually happen. Shawn then takes an urn of Yang's ashes and looks for Dr. Adair's car, per Yang's last request.
The episode ends with Gus giving a rousing rendition of "Jamaican Inspector". We can now see why he earned a standing ovation.
Musical Numbers[]
- "Santa Barbara Skies"
- "Z's Lament"
- "I've Heard It Both Ways"
- "Sleigh Bells and Songs"
- "(When You're) Making Up a Song"
- "Often It's the Opposite (Pt. 1)"
- "Often It's the Opposite (Pt. 2)"
- "I Hurt No One"
- "I've Heard It Both Ways (Reprise 1)"
- "Santa Barbara Skies (Reprise)"
- "I've Heard It Both Ways (Reprise 2)"
- "Promised Land"
- "Shawn's Breakdown"
- "Gus in the Spotlight"
- "The Surrender"
- "Jamaican Inspector"
Production[]
Filming for "Psych: The Musical" began on October 2, 2012. The DVD was released on December 17, 2013.
Trivia[]
- Anthony Rapp is known for originating the role of "Mark Cohen" in the musical Rent and reprising the role in the movie of the same name.
- Barry Bostwick is known as the original "Danny Zuko" from the famed Broadway production of Grease (John Travolta's role in the movie) and "Brad" from the 1975 film of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
- Ally Sheedy starred as "Hedwig" in the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch in the later half of 1999 until she quit after her erratic behavior prompted the producers to ask her to leave. The show closed in April 2000 and almost exactly 14 years later, had its Broadway premiere with Neil Patrick Harris playing the role of Hedwig for which he won the Tony Award.
- The ending reveals the bulk of the episode to be a very embellished flashback of real events recounted by Shawn and Gus.
- Gus and Juliet tell Dr. Adair that Shawn once stayed at a psychiatric institution — and he enjoyed it. This happened in S6E6 "Shawn, Interrupted".
Gallery[]
The gallery for Psych: The Musical can be found here.
Promos[]
Digital Releases[]
