So in an effort not to make the second act completely suck, I got rid of it. This is the new plot. Enjoy!
Matches, Act 1
(Opener) we open with Jane wandering down the street trying to sell matches. When no one will buy them from her, she sits down by a wall and lights a match to keep warm. She begins to tell us her story.
We travel back to her childhood. The year is 1932. She's 12 years old. The country is into the great depression, but Jane's family comes from old family money. They aren't worried. They have everything. And because of that, her father can afford to give her anything she wants, and often does. Meanwhile, some of the hired help are less than pleased with their wages during this depression. They plot to kidnap Jane and hold her for ransom. However, Kai, the son of one of the kidnappers overhears their plans and foils them, introducing himself to Jane in the process. They instantly become friends.
Shortly thereafter, Jane's parents are in a fatal car crash. She's adopted by her british grandmother, who comforts her by singing her a lullaby about how shooting stars are souls ascending to heaven.
A few years pass and Kai's father passes away. Kai sings a song at the funeral about how he always felt like his father was never there for him, but knows in his heart that everything he did was for Kai. Meanwhile, Jane's grandmother is pressuring her to start acting like a lady so she can find an eligible young bachelor to marry her and take care of her. Once Jane's training is complete, her grandmother holds a grand ball in her honor. Kai and his friend Frederick stand outside and laugh at all the ladies all dressed up to impress the overeager gentlemen, while, inside, Jane is fed up with the way she's treated like some kind of prize, merely a pretty face for the gentlemen to parade around. She decides to run away. Kai sees her leave the ball and follows her to her room, to find her there packing. They get into an argument, Jane trying to explain that she can't stay there anymore and be treated that way, Kai trying to convince her that it would be dangerous and stupid to leave and that she would be better off here. With him. He kisses her. She flees. Kai is left alone, contemplating his love for her, and her leaving him anyway. Kai decides to go find her, but he has no money, so he decides to join the army in an effort to look for her. He tells Frederick how he has to leave to find her because she makes his world so much brighter, and Frederick finally agrees to join the army with him.
Act 2
We find Jane living on the streets of New York, where she meets Mama Jean (name subject to literally any better suggestions.), a frisky street girl, who tries to convince her that a girl like her doesn't belong on the Streets of New York City. Meanwhile, Kai and Frederick discuss with their new platoon-mates (term?) the women they left behind - or hope to find. Kai finds out he's getting leave for Christmas, and decides to take that opportunity to visit New York City, knowing that Jane always wanted to visit there.
Meanwhile, Jane and Mama Jean are approached by a street gang who lure them in with promises of enough food and warm shelter, in exchange for pickpocketing and other street crimes. Despite Mama Jean's warnings, Jane decides it's worth the risk and discovers the high of being bad. She and the gang pull of numerous successful thefts, until one day a cop catches them and they have to scatter. A terrified Jane is separated from the group, and runs back into Mama Jean. She tells her what happened, and decides to leave the gang forever, realizing it really isn't worth the risk. Mama Jean lets her in on a great job she found in the meantime - selling matches. They're cheap to make and everyone needs them, so it's a great way to earn extra cash. She and Mama Jean talk about what they miss most about their lives back home, and Jane realizes she's in love with Kai, and always has been. She decides she has to save up enough money to go back to him, but no one will buy any matches. She collapses by a wall in the cold. Kai, who is on leave in New York comes across her a few hours later, as she is freezing to death. Kai begs her to stay with him, but she eventually succumbs to the cold. Kai wraps his coat around her and kisses her one last time. She reawakens and tells him his father sent her back to him. They live happily every after.
