Twelve-year-old New Yorker Evan Goldman is soon to have his Bar Mitzvah. He wants his party to be amazing, but that might not happen because his parents are splitting up as his father starts to fall in love with a stewardess, causing his mother to file a divorce against her husband ("Thirteen/Becoming A Man"). Just as Evan thinks that maybe things will be fine, his mother calls to tell him they are moving to Appleton, Indiana. Once there, Evan finds a friend in his neighbor, Patrice, who develops a crush on Evan while telling him about Appleton, Indiana ("The Lamest Place in the World").