where he begins one of his old numbers. But the 1981 kids boo him off the stage - they've come to hear the new punk rock group Filth and don't want a 1962 retread like Birdie. Conrad, hurt, runs out. Meanwhile, Rose has learned that her children are not at Cousin Alice's and is worried. Her concern deepens when she discovers that, disguised in pink hair and dark glasses, the guitarist for Filth is none other than Albert Jr.! Grabbing her son and interrupting the concert, Rose angrily tells Albert she's going to find Jenny, "who's gone off ringing bells somewhere," reunite the family, and go home. Albert, delighted to be back in show biz, scarcely hears her, and blithely ignores threats of million-dollar lawsuits from the concert manager and an NBC executive who is counting on Conrad for the Grammy show. Albert explains his euphoria in "Back in Show Biz Again". The first act ends with Albert in deep trouble and without Rose to help get him out of it. Act 2 Albert suddenly realizes the mess he's in: he's signed a contract to deliver Conrad, who has run away, he's being sued right and left ("Middle Age Blues"). Mae appears with a tall, beautiful young woman, "I need Rose," Albert wails. "She's the only one who can help me." "Call me Rose Number Two," says the young woman, who is a combination of lawyer, financial expert, and Wonder Woman. She quickly disperses Albert's adversaries with legal skill, fast talk, and karate. Albert, rationalizing that, after all, Rose has left him, starts to fall for Rose Two. At the compound of Reverend Sun a group of spaced-out acolytes chant and sing "Inner Peace". Rose has infiltrated their midst to rescue Jenny, and by dancing them into a frenzy manages to grab Jenny and escape. Back in Bent River Junction, Rose Two has faked the death of Conrad to evade NBC's wrath. She fends off skeptical reporters. The "dead" Conrad sits up, drinks a beer, says he's decided to announce his passing was a mistake. But first, he's going to observe his own funeral pageant. Rose Two prevents this by locking Conrad in a closet, and we hear the Tucson Tabernacle Choir, led by Mtobe, in "There's a Brand New Beat in Heaven". Rose returns with Jenny to find Albert completely smitten with the gorgeous and efficient Rose Two. He