Where Elephants Weep plot synopsis

Prologue:
A traditional Chapey Singer in the Cambodian countryside announces the story with The Birth of Sam and Bopha.


Scene One:
In 1995, Cambodian-Americans, Sam and Dara have returned to Phnom Penh to become novice monks at a temple near the city. In the Cambodian Buddhist religion, young men spend a brief period as monks to pay respect to their parents. Sam, who survived the Pol Pot time as a child soldier, sings Where Your Country Is, tormented to be back in his homeland. Sam is successful in the music business in New York, and was separated from Dara in the refugee camps, but managed to also get Dara to the U.S. With Dara’s encouragement, Sam has returned to connect with his roots, and is reassured by Dara that the transition from the U.S. to Cambodia will take time.

Sam seeks forgiveness for himself, finding a moment of solace as he chants Noble Path in the temple. He is overheard in this soulful revelation by a woman, Navy, who is praying for her deceased mother at the temple—with her sister Bopha and her brother, Khan. Bopha, a popular Cambodian singer, is drawn to Sam’s beautiful voice and to his spirit, and Sam finds himself captivated by Bopha.

Navy inquires to the temple’s Abbot about this handsome, new monk and the Abbot explains that he knew Sam’s parents, who were bassac performers, but died during the Pol Pot time. The Abbot tells Navy that Sam is in the music business in New York and has returned home to cleanse his spirit. Khan, an opportunistic entrepreneur and Bopha’s manager, wants to show off Bopha’s singing to Sam and invites him to join the Abbot and the other monks at the family’s newly purchased home, to bless it. With Bopha’s money, Khan has recently purchased the luxurious compound. Navy predicts to herself that Sam and Bopha are fated to be together.


Scene Two:
Khan’s Bodyguards protect the gate of Khan’s compound, rapping Khan is Our Man as they watch the monks arrive. Sam and the monks chant to bless the new home and Khan orders Bopha to sing for her guests. Bopha sings The Gate Will Shut for Sam and they become deeply connected, falling in love. Unknown to Sam, Bopha has just become engaged to Khan’s wealthy business partner, Visal, in what is to be a traditional arranged marriage. Sam expresses his surprise at falling in love in Whoever Thought while Dara admonishes him for doing what he did back home, falling for yet another woman.


Scene Three:
Sam returns to the temple to ask permission from the Abbot to disrobe. The Abbot advises Sam that the time is not right in Calculating the Numbers, but that Dara, on the other hand, is free to disrobe and go to the orphanage where he plans to work.








Scene Four:
Sam disrobes against the Abbot’s wishes in What’s Another Wrong? remembering the violent acts he was forced to commit during the Khmer Rouge period. While Khan is absent, Sam returns to see Bopha as they sing The Gate Will Open. Sam and Bopha make love inside the house as the guards rap Monk-Turned-To-Playboy. Sam and Bopha discover how much they share. However Bopha is angry at herself for sleeping with Sam, and afraid. Sam finds a buffalo horn in her house, like the one his father used to have for calling elephants. Sam plays it for her, and they sing the lullaby No Mothers. Khan, unaware of the lovers’ union, invites Sam to join Bopha on a royal invitation to perform for the Prince. Khan believes this will continue to establish Bopha in Sam’s mind as a successful recording artist.


Scene Five:
Sam finds Dara staying in a house by the river and they share a quiet moment in The Place I Want To Stay as Dara plays his flute. Sam asks if he can bring Bopha there. Dara lashes out at Sam’s reckless behavior with Lost & Found and Sam admits how lost he feels. Dara invites Sam to come say goodnight to the orphans at the orphanage where he works, and Sam accepts.


Scene Six:
At the Prince’s house, Khan’s bodyguard raps The Prince. Sam and Bopha are urged to perform the Duet of Tum Teav based on the classic poem, Tum Teav. Dara accompanies the duet in a band with his elderly Flute Teacher. Khan, in attendance with Visal, is enraged when Sam and Bopha display their love during the song. Khan tries to stop the duet and is restrained by Navy because they are in the company of the Prince. The Prince, who remembers Sam’s beloved parents from the time they were performers before Pol Pot, finds Sam and Bopha charming. Khan takes Bopha aside, becoming violent, as Sam tries to defend her. He watches as in the trio A Strange Family Bopha denounces her brother, and Navy pleads with Khan to reconsider the arranged marriage. Khan asserts his control.


Scene Seven:
In private at Dara’s house, Sam and Bopha secretly exchange Spiritual Vows, making a pledge of love to each other. Khan lies to set in motion his plan for Bopha to marry Visal, saying that their sister Navy is very ill, forcing Bopha to return home. Sam knows Khan is being untruthful and asks to go with Bopha to protect her—but Bopha harshly refuses. She is still under her brother’s influence, and Sam is hurt and angered by her rejection.


Scene Eight:
Sam and Dara get a beer at a Beer Garden where Beer Girls perform All Night Long. Meanwhile, Khan strikes Bopha for going to see Sam and she sings Erase Me. Sam unleashes his anger in Forget as he parties in the nightclub. In pain, he leaves with a beer girl, Miss ABC. With Navy’s knowledge, Bopha bribes Khan’s guards and runs away. Navy sings What Could I Tell Her? as the company reprises Forget & Party.


Scene Nine:
Sam sleeps with the beer girl, Miss ABC, and she reprises All Night Long.


Scene Ten:
Sam finds Dara in the countryside, where Dara is having a music lesson with his Flute teacher in Just One Leaf. When the Flute Teacher sees Sam in such despair, he sings Our Land’s Compassion to help Sam to recapture the spirit of his country through happier memories and to forgive himself. In the Spirit Dance, the Flute Teacher stirs Sam to begin healing when Sam sees the spirits of his parents, who perform a bassac dance in the countryside.




Scene Eleven:
Khan’s guards rap This Wedding when Sam and Dara come looking for Bopha, whose wedding is about to occur. In I Took Her in My Arms Navy informs Sam that Bopha has run away from her arranged marriage, and is in hiding, but has left the buffalo horn for him. Khan discovers Sam and Dara talking to Navy and a fight breaks out, in which Khan orders his guards to kill Sam. Dara steps in between them and is mortally wounded. Sam and Dara reprise Where Your Country Is as Dara dies in Sam’s arms.


Scene Twelve:
Sam returns to the temple to complete his spiritual passage as a monk. Time passes as the Abbot and company reprise Our Land’s Compassion. In a private moment Sam takes out the buffalo horn, which Bopha left for him, and invokes the sacred place in his country and in himself with Where Elephants Weep. Bopha comes to the temple to see Sam. Sam and Bopha remember their vows in Always Remember This. In fear of her brother’s retaliation, Bopha must now live in hiding, and her sister Navy has also joined her. However, Bopha has found her freedom and is writing her own, new music because of Sam. She offers Sam a song she has written for him, Between the Earth and Sky. The song is rooted in her country’s sacred traditions. For now, Sam and Bopha go their separate ways to seek their needed spiritual paths and a future in Cambodia. The company reprises That We Might Leave A Trace.