History AudioPlay / TheDollsOfNewAlbion

* DysfunctionalFamily: The [=McAlistairs=]; Annabel is stated to have been emotionally abused by her parents, when she dies her heartbroken young son Edgar never quite recovers, an adult Edgar ends up blackmailing his love Fay into marrying him, leading to her hating him and raising their son to hate him as well. "The Old Trunk in the Attic" even goes over various mementos of other, unseen [=McAlistairs=] who are implied to have had their own tragedies, from broken hearts to children who died young.

** Annabel successfully figures out how to raise the dead but her UnrequitedLove CameBackWrong.

* DysfunctionalFamily: The [=McAlistairs=].

** All of the dolls in New Albion are this really.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: [[spoiler: Jasper, after four generations of begging for death, finally gets his wish--at the cost of Priscilla's life.]]

* CameBackWrong: Pretty much the driving force of the novel. The Dolls go ''somewhere'' when they die and being removed from it results in them being near-catatonic even if they are recognizably the people they were before to their loved ones.

* {{Dystopia}}: [[spoiler: After Act III, New Albion becomes this.]]

* HeroicSacrifice:
** [[spoiler: Priscilla sacrifices her life so Jasper can die (again).]]

* IncompatibleOrientation:
** Amelia to Byron. Have we mentioned AllLoveIsUnrequited?
** To make this worse for poor Amelia, Byron later does marry a lady for political purposes, as the fourth generation focuses on his daughter Priscilla. [[spoiler: Amelia is dead by then and even if she'd been alive, it would unlikely be happy for Byron at least...]]

* LoveMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler:Fay dumping Edgar for someone else does not make him happy.]]

* MadScientist: Annabel, of course, and Edgar as well, to a lesser extent.

** Edgar makes this his life's mission after [[spoiler: Fay leaves him. Once he succeeds, Fay vows revenge unto him.]]

** [[YouAreNumberSix Soldier 7285]] eventually vows this [[spoiler: upon the government of New Albion after Priscilla's death.]]

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Annabel/Annabelle/Annabella.
* {{Steampunk}}: The Dolls of New Albion: ''A Steampunk Opera''.
* SuicideByCop: [[spoiler: Priscilla sacrifices herself to let Jasper return to the afterlife by doing this.]]

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Annabel struts around New Albion with a life-sized mechanical doll and no one seems to care, probably because there is a lot of weirder stuff going on.
-->'''Narrator:''' "New Albion today / With bustling streets, machines, cafes / And the nice, the wise, the eccentric and insane"

* LovingAShadow: The source behind Annabel and Byron's love for Jasper, wanting a submissive partner (or father figure) they can project whatever they want onto for their own emotional problems rather than an actual person. Notably Priscilla is the only [=McAlistair=] who learns how to have a conversation with him.

** Priscilla [[spoiler: dies to protect Jasper despite the fact he doesn't want to live.]]

** Abigail successfully figures out how to raise the dead but her UnrequitedLove CameBackWrong.

** Jasper stays alive despite wishing to return to the afterlife because [[spoiler: if he is caught, his entire family will be killed.]]

* {{Cult}}: The Voodoopunks.

*

** Anabelle's overachieving parents raised her with conditional, minimal love and constant pressure to be successful.
** Edgar forcing Fay to marrying him caused Byron to resent him, seek a new father figure in a doll and seek to cause anarchy in order to destroy "[his] father's world."

** "Elysium", for Jasper's constant plead for death.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: At the end of Act 3, [[spoiler: Byron gives a speech to try and rally the population back to his side after the song being played by the dolls leads Amelia to kill herself. This involves telling them that they're pushing a doll into the position of Mayor and that their kids are all dancing each night with the dead.]]
-->'''Narrator:''' [[spoiler: "Kill the dolls! Kill the dolls!" everyone screamed.]]
-->'''Byron:''' Now hold on, this isn't at all what we mean!
* OnlyChildSyndrome: All four generations of [=McAlistairs=] are only children.
* {{Revenge}}:
** Edgar makes this his life's mission after [[spoiler: Fay leaves him. Once he succeeds, Fay vows revenge unto him.]]
-->'''Edgar:''' One day, you will learn, and you will burn like my heart burns!
** [[YouAreNumberSix Soldier 7285]] eventually vows this [[spoiler: upon the government of New Albion after Priscilla's death.]]
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Annabel/Annabelle/Annabella.
* {{Steampunk}}: The Dolls of New Albion: ''A Steampunk Opera''.
* SuicideByCop: [[spoiler: Priscilla sacrifices herself to let Jasper return to the afterlife by doing this.]]
* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler:Priscilla's]] song at the very end [[spoiler: suggests she expects to see Jasper again in the afterlife after they've both been killed by the police.]] The third installment in the series shows that [[spoiler:this won't happen, as Priscilla repeatedly reincarnates, making this a subversion.]]
* UnwantedRevival: From the moment Annabel brings him back, Jasper just wants to be dead again.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Annabel struts around New Albion with a life-sized mechanical doll and no one seems to care, probably because there is a lot of weirder stuff going on.
-->'''Narrator:''' "New Albion today / With bustling streets, machines, cafes / And the nice, the wise, the eccentric and insane"
* VillainSong: "Edgar Builds a Business" is a cheerful, carnival-esque tune about Edgar building a massive fortune, and then using it to utterly ruin his romantic rival and extort Fay into getting back together with him.
* YouAreNumberSix: Soldier 7285.

* CityOfWeirdos: Annabel struts around New Albion with a life-sized mechanical doll and no one seems to care, probably because there is a lot of weirder stuff going on.
-->'''Narrator:''' "New Albion today / With bustling streets, machines, cafes / And the nice, the wise, the eccentric and insane"

** Jasper. After Annabelle brings him back [[spoiler: and then kills him because he asked her to, Edgar brings him back AGAIN.]]

* ChekhovsGun: Annabelle's notes on raising the dead, which Edgar finds in a trunk in the attic.
* CityOfWeirdos: Annabelle struts around New Albion with a life-sized mechanical doll and no one seems to care, probably because there is a lot of weirder stuff going on.

** Jasper stays alive, despite wishing to return to the afterlife because [[spoiler: if he is caught, his entire family will be killed.]]

** [[spoiler: When Priscilla dies, the Narrator reverses her lines from Annabelle has a Doll.]]
** [[spoiler: Also, Priscilla reverses Annabella's lines back in Annabelle Raises the Dead.]]
** [[spoiler: Jasper also mimics the "Be my angel" lines from Annabelle, which may be more or less ironic since he actually knew her and heard those lines.]]
* LightningCanDoAnything: The exact process Annabelle uses to bring Jasper back to life is never said, but the line "With voltage I invoke!" seems to imply this.

* MadScientist: Annabelle, of course, and Edgar as well, to a lesser extent.

-->'''Byron:''' Now my friends just hold on, that is not what we mean!

[[caption-width-right:350:"Years before, a Monk and Gambler embarked..."]]

* BreatherEpisode: The Ballad of the Monk and the Gambler is a fun and carnival-esque song separating [[spoiler: the (almost) burning of Byron's love]] and [[spoiler: the dystopian New Albion of Act 4.]]

* GreenEyedMonster: Edgar, big time. [[spoiler: Destroyed the home and livelihood of the man his girlfriend left him for in order to make her desperate enough to give into his blackmail.]]

* LovingAShadow: The source behind Annabel and Byron's love for Jasper, wanting a submissive partner they can project whatever they want onto for their own emotional problems rather than an actual person. Notably Priscilla is the only [=McAlistair=] who learns how to have a conversation with him.

* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler:Priscilla's]] song at the very end [[spoiler: suggests she expects to see Jasper again in the afterlife after they've both been killed by the police.]]

The other two parts of the trilogy, [[AudioPlay/TheNewAlbionRadioHour The New Albion Radio Hour]] and The New Albion Guide To Analogue Consciousness, are available for your listening pleasure. The entire albums are available [[http://mochalab.bandcamp.com/album/the-new-albion-radio-hour-a-dieselpunk-opera here]] and [[https://mochalab.bandcamp.com/album/an-atompunk-opera-the-new-albion-guide-to-analogue-consciousness-the-complete-album here]].

* WordOfGod: Paul Shapera has a [[http://steampunkopera.wordpress.com/ blog]] where he sometimes gives extra background information about the world and the characters.

''The Dolls Of New Albion: A Steampunk Opera'' is a 4-Act play composed and written by Paul Shapera. So far, there has only been a workshop performance, but the audio version of the entire play can be found [[http://mochalab.bandcamp.com/album/the-dolls-of-new-albion-a-steampunk-opera here]].

* AllKnowingSingingNarrator
* AllLoveIsUnrequited: The only character with a requited love interest [[spoiler: marries her ex-fiancee when he threatens to keep her from her father, whom he just brought back from the dead.]]
** Also, even though all of the [=McAlistairs=] are strangely in love with Jasper, Priscilla is the only person he truly loves back. [[spoiler: It doesn't end well]]

* BackFromTheDead: Jasper. After Annabelle brings him back [[spoiler: and then kills him because he asked her to, Edgar brings him back AGAIN.]]

* BreatherEpisode: The Ballad of the Monk and the Gambler is a fun and carnival-esque song separating [[spoiler: the burning of Byron's love]] and [[spoiler: the dystopian New Albion of Act 4.]]
* ChekhovsGun: Annabelle's notes.

* DeathSeeker: Jasper is one thought all four acts. [[spoiler: [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor Eventually he gets his wish,]] [[HeroicSacrifice but at the cost of Priscilla's life.]] ]]
* [[spoiler: {{Dystopia}}: After Act III, New Albion becomes this.]]
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Several songs are titled this way--"Annabel Raises the Dead", "Edgar Gets His Heart Broken", [[spoiler:"The Suicide"]]...

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Priscilla sacrifices her life so Jasper can die (again).]]

* IncompatibleOrientation: Amelia to Byron. Have I mentioned AllLoveIsUnrequited?
** To make this worse for poor Amelia, Byron later does marry a lady, as the fourth generation focuses on his daughter Priscilla. [[spoiler: Amelia is dead by then and even if she'd been alive, it would unlikely be happy for Byron at least...]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: At the end of Act 3, [[spoiler: Byron gives a speech to try to calm the population after the song being played by the dolls leads Amelia to kill herself. This involves telling them that they're pushing a doll into the position of Mayor and that their kids are all dancing each night with the dead.]]

-->'''Byron:''' Now my friends just hold on, that is not what I mean!
* OnlyChildSyndrome: All four generations of [=McAlistairs=] appear to be only children.
* {{Revenge}}: Big time. Edgar makes this his life's mission after [[spoiler: Fay leaves him. Once he succeeds, Fay vows revenge unto him.]]

* {{Steampunk}}: The Dolls of New Albion: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin A Steampunk Opera]]

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: [[spoiler: Jasper, after four generations of begging for death, finally gets his wish- at the cost of Priscilla's life.]]

** Also, even though all of the McAlisters are strangely in love with Jasper, Priscilla is the only person he truly loves back. [[spoiler: It doesn't end well]]

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: [[spoiler: Jasper, after four generations of begging for death, he finally get's his wish- at the cost of Priscilla' life]]
* BreatherEpisode: The Ballad of the Monk and the Gambler is a fun and carnivalistic song separating [[spoiler: the burning of Byron's love]] and [[spoiler: the dystopian New Albion of Act 4.]]

-->'''Narrator''': "New Albion today / With bustling streets, machines, cafes / And the nice, the wise, the eccentric and insane"

* DeathSeeker: Jasper is one thought all four acts [[spoiler: [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor Eventually he gets his wish,]] [[HeroicSacrifice but at the cost of Priscilla's life]] ]]

* GenerationalSaga: Each acts follows a new generation in the McAlistair family.
* GreenEyedMonster: Edgar, big time. [[spoiler: Destroyed the home and livelihood of the man his girlfriend left him for in order to make her desprate enough to give into his blackmail]]
-->'''Edgar''': There's a man they call Sillof, and he once stole my girl. I want him destroyed, all he has in this world. His business, his home, and his carriage all crushed. I want him left penniless, face down in the dust!
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Priscilla sacrifices her life so Jasper can die (again.)]]

** [[spoiler: When Priscilla dies, the Narrator reverses her lines from Annabella has a Doll.]]
** [[spoiler: Also, Priscilla reverses Annabella's lines back in Annabella Raises the Dead.]]
** [[spoiler: Jasper also mimics the "Be my angel" lines from Annabella, which may be more or less ironic since he actually knew her and heard those lines.]]

* MadScientist: Annabelle.
* {{Narrator}}

-->'''Narrator''': [[spoiler: "Kill the dolls! Kill the dolls!" everyone screamed.]]
-->'''Byron''': Now my friends just hold on, that is not what I mean!
* OnlyChildSyndrome: All four generations of McAlistairs appear to be only children.

-->'''Edgar''': "One day, you will learn, and you will burn like my heart burns!"
** [[YouAreNumberSix Soldier 7285]] eventually vows this [[spoiler: Upon the government of New Albion after Priscilla's death]]

* {{Steampunk}}: The Dolls of New Albion:[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin A Steampunk Opera]]

The other two parts of the trilogy, [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/AudioPlay/TheNewAlbionRadioHour The New Albion Radio Hour]] and The New Albion Guide To Analogue Consciousness, are available for your listening pleasure. The entire albums are available [[http://mochalab.bandcamp.com/album/the-new-albion-radio-hour-a-dieselpunk-opera here]] and [[https://mochalab.bandcamp.com/album/an-atompunk-opera-the-new-albion-guide-to-analogue-consciousness-the-complete-album here]].

* WordOfGod: Paul Shapera has a [[http://www.steampunkopera.wordpress.com/ blog]] where he sometimes gives extra background information about the world and the characters.

The Steampunk Opera follows four generations of McAlistairs, beginning with the MadScientist Annabelle, who is attempting to raise from the dead the love of her life. The story is told by an all-knowing {{Narrator}}.

!The Dolls Of New Albion: A Steampunk Opera

A Steampunk Opera is a 4-Act play composed and written by Paul Shapera. So far, there has only been a workshop performance, but the audio version of the entire play can be found [[http://mochalab.bandcamp.com/album/the-dolls-of-new-albion-a-steampunk-opera here]].

Tropes: