Our show opens at Loblolly Farms, deep in the Loblolly pine forests of North Carolina. Here we meet Bertha Malphrus, “Granny B,” a pepper pot of a native Carolinian. Bertha introduces us to the farm and its century-long legacy; she also introduces the financial hardships that the farm is facing, placing her ownership in jeopardy. Reflecting on the larger world around her, she calls on the longstanding farmhand who might be kin, Clem, to express some of the details of a world filled with “scoundrels and buffoons.” Improbably Clem, who although overall-clad looks very much like a bumpkin, speaks passable French. Thus they sing the title song,
(Song: “RUE D’AWAKENING.” Read Lyrics)

The farm specializes in cucumbers, which they supply in the form of facial masks to a local country store. Angry that the farm is facing foreclosure after so many decades of family ownership, Granny B is indignant and vitriolic, and assertively sings. (Song: “THIS LAND IS MY LAND.” Read Lyrics)

In a quieter mood she reflects on the love she feels for Loblolly Farms and the depth of her connection to it. (Song: “A FARM IS A LOVER.” Read Lyrics)

Life on the farm is demanding and challenging. 24/7. And yet "In daily life if all else fails, the dirt beneath my fingernails is somethin’ that I know that I can trust,”
(Song: “WORK IS MORE FAITHFUL THAN LOVE.” Read Lyrics)

Clem discovers that the actress Glynnis Paltrey also operates a website that sells cucumber-based products. The site, called Gloop, features a large array of clothing, cosmetics, herbal products, all of it prodigiously priced. (Song: “THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GLOOP.” Read Lyrics) Perhaps they could appeal to her financially for assistance?

Trying to imagine how they could make an appeal, they are startled by some of the site’s components for sale. (Song: “A DILDO MADE OF GLASS.” Read Lyrics)

Glynnis is in fact interested – in buying Loblolly Farms and if necessary on a hostile basis. Clem and Granny B try to create a defense, and Clem goes to work on a new and radical design for a cucumber facial mask. This includes some exotic ingredients, one called He Shou Wu, linked to enhanced sexuality and other positive virtues. (“Song: “HE SHOU WU.” Read Lyrics)

While he labors, Granny B reflects on the loss of Buck, the husband she followed when he left North Carolina, only to have him break her heart with his faithlessness. (Song: “LONGING/100 PERCENT OF THE DAILY DECISIONS.” Read Lyrics)

Clem, too, has known love – and lost it. Never one to wear his heart on his sleeve, he sings poignantly of what is no longer his. “I slept on your pillow last night/ I dreamed you were near. . .” (Song: “I SLEPT ON YOUR PILLOW.” Read Lyrics)

Things look dark for the duo. The timing is tight, and the possibility is real that Granny B and Clem will lose Loblolly Farm. (Song: “SHIT CREEK.” Read Lyrics)

Finally free of the yoke of her failed love for Buck Buckley, Granny B exults. “Well, it’s been too long since I kicked up my heels. . . (Song: “IT'S BEEN TOO LONG.” Read Lyrics)

“It’s a fine proliferation of the many ways to please/ The world of cucumber’s 22 varieties. . .” How does Clem know hip hop? Maybe you really can learn anything online. (Song: “THE CUCUMBER NUMBER.” Read Lyrics)

When a whale of mega-industry titan can’t swallow up these pure lovers of life, they say goodbye, advising "If there’s one thing that life has taught us, Take the sour with the sweet. Yes, life is just like the pickle that you’ll regret if you never eat.”

(Song: “RUE D'AWAKENING CLOSING.” Read Lyrics)