The women separate for the evening, and while Mary perceives further who may be committing these horrendous murders ( Better Off Dead), Annie Chapman walks toward home ( The Tale of the Merry Maid), only to become the murderer’s next victim. The women all agree that in the brutal world of Whitechapel, no one will watch out for them except each other ( The Likes of Us). Kelly joins her friends Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, and Catharine Eddowes for drinks, and the four mourn Polly’s murder, despite the insults hurled at them by the tavern’s barman ( Poor Polly). The Press return to report on Polly’s murder ( Story of the Century – reprise). She seems to know the killer’s pattern, as it reminds her of someone from her past ( At The Brittania). When Polly’s body is discovered, the prostitutes of the district can only wonder who is next. The killer wastes no time striking again, as his thirst for blood is unending, and Polly “Mary” Nichols becomes the next victim ( Moment #1 / Finger of God).
The Gentleman of the Press fuel the fire with their fateful reporting ( Story of the Century). Another prostitute has been cut down by a mysterious killer, and the people of the slum district of Whitechapel are both terrified and fascinated by the unknown killer among them. The curtain rises on the East End of London in late August of 1888.
