“We as a culture have become fixated on facts and data while becoming oblivious to the much-at-once and the More that contains our Possibility. As a result, many of us feel empty, have become bored, unbalanced, have wondered until we’ve lost our place and the pulse and music of being.”
–Bruce Wilshire, The Much-at-Once
Dedication
Jeffrey Edelman & Bruce Wilshire
———————————-
CHARACTERS
NARRATOR – male, forties, refined.
JOE – thirty-five, writer/director. It’s his idea to do “Don Juan in Hell – the Musical” in hopes of saving his parents theater. He wants to do something meaningful and grand. He is bright, thoughtful, creative, but he has a history of “visions”. He is George and Bella’s son.
FRIEDA – mid-thirties, wary, wise.; she is Joe’s love interest. She loves Joe but is uncertain about a future with him.
GEORGE – sixties, Joe’s father. A writer of books. In a playful tug-of-war with his best friend and editor (who he calls Devil). Along with his wife, Bella, he owns a struggling professional theater.
BELLA – sixties, Joe’s mother. Speaks her mind. Very concerned about the financial viability of the theater. Like George, she loves Joe.
DEVIL – sixties but looks younger. Wise. He is George’s best friend; also, his editor. He is called Devil, and he often plays along, assuming the role.
The following are the actors who enact “Don Juan in Hell – the Musical”. All four actors are bright, capable, interested primarily in doing a good job for Joe. All are pleased to be working on a play they feel has depth, a change from the more light-hearted fare to which they typically apply their talents. NOTE: “Don Juan in Hell – the Musical” takes place in Hell.
REGGIE – thirties/forties or older, plays the part of Don Juan. Don Juan is sharp, ready to engage but also gracious, refined.
LEON – thirties/forties or older, plays the part of the Commander. The Commander is a bit gruff, a military man. He is full of himself but earnest. Wants to understand what is being argued. He is Dona Ana’s father.
ALICE – thirties/forties or older, plays the part of Dona Ana. Dona Ana is a former love of Don Juan’s and is, as well, the daughter of the Commander. She is smart, nobody’s fool, skeptical but open.
TED – thirties/forties or older, plays the part of the Devil. The Devil is smart, world-weary, not about to fall for Don Juan’s formulations. At the same time, he is a gentleman.
NOTE: There are two characters referred to as the Devil, George’s editor, and the Devil within “Don Juan in Hell – the Musical”.
EXTRAS: a nightclub singer (sings one song); a few dancers for the nightclub scene; and critically, a dancer who appears briefly in scenes throughout the play. She is the metaphor or representative image for the key theme of the play.
SETTINGS
Several settings: George and Bella’s home, a nightclub, theater stage, street, park, café.
MUSIC
Timetable included sixteen songs by composer Jeffrey Edelman. Songs and lyrics not included here.
———————————-
OPENING
NARRATOR
(NARRATOR walks to the center of the stage)
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome.
Tonight, we offer you a play concerned with but one question:. Why are we so seldomly in awe of our situation? Actors without wonder and awe.
(Light comes on GEORGE and BELLA when NARRATOR mentions their names and stays on as he introduces them. GEORGE, BELLA stand expressionless.)
Meet George and Bella. Married for forty-four years, George and Bella worry that the community theater to which they have devoted their lives will have to close its doors. They need a production that will rescue it… something to bring in the public.
(Light comes on JOE. JOE is expressionless.)
This is Joe, George and Bella’s son. Joe selects and directs the plays at the theater. He is a gifted director, but he suffers from spells of withdrawal, depression, flights of fancy. Hard to know what to call it. George and Bella are counting on Joe.
(Light goes out on GEORGE, BELLA, and JOE.)
ACT ONE
Scene 1
SETTING: GEORGE and BELLA’S living room.
AT RISE: GEORGE sits in his easy chair.
JOE enters the room.
GEORGE
(happy to see him)
Oh, Joe, it’s you.
JOE
(upbeat)
Hi, Pops.
GEORGE
(welcoming)
Come in, come in.
(GEORGE climbs out of his easy chair, opens his arms, the two men embrace.)
JOE
Mom said you haven’t been yourself…
GEORGE
Six do-nuts this morning, son. What’s that tell you?
JOE
All is not well, Pops.
GEORGE
I’m fine…as well as the next guy.
JOE
Well then?
GEORGE
It’s been days. Cut off, you could say.
(Stage lights dim as light comes up on female dancer, beautifully adorned; back of center stage; her several veils catch the light as she spins. Beautiful. Hypnotic. [Perhaps in the haute couture of Iris Van Herpen. Lighting extending the veils in all directions. Or perhaps it is some other effect, something that suggests the aliveness within which we are situated. For the purposes of this script, however, it is a dancer as described above, the dancer as metaphor for the much-at-once.] JOE and GEORGE observe the dancer, transfixed, expressionless. When dancer sequence ends [it is brief], stage lights return. JOE and GEORGE notice that each has noticed the dancer and then both return to the play.)
BELLA enters the room having overheard the conversation. BELLA did not see dancer.
BELLA
(good natured)
What’s he complaining about?
GEORGE
You know what I’m complaining about.
BELLA
(redirecting GEORGE)
I love you, George.
GEORGE
(good natured)
I love you, too, my dear.
JOE
Come on, Pops. We’re getting you out of here.
BELLA
You’ve been cooped up for a week.
GEORGE
You’re what?
BELLA
Your editor is joining us.
GEORGE
(surprise)
Who?
BELLA
You heard me.
GEORGE
That man is the Devil!
BELLA
He’s your best friend.
GEORGE
The man’s a literalist.
JOE
He’s a part of our family. No?
GEORGE
He lacks poetry, son. Unless it’s right in front of him, he can’t see it!
BELLA
(slight impatience)
Oh, come now…
GEORGE
The beatific. He can’t see it. You know that.
JOE
He’s the Devil. Right, Pops?
GEORGE
Without a doubt.
BELLA
Are we ready?
JOE
(handing GEORGE’S jacket to BELLA)
Pops, your jacket…
(as JOE exits)
I’ll save us a table…
GEORGE
See you there, son.
(GEORGE and BELLA are left alone.)
BELLA
(helping GEORGE on with his jacket)
George, where’s your faith?
GEORGE
The theater.
BELLA
Yes, the theater.
GEORGE
It hasn’t broken even in a year.
BELLA
Joe will make things work out.
GEORGE
Joe, I fear, is not well.
BELLA
He’s perfectly well.
GEORGE
He got interrupted.
BELLA
Oh, come now.
GEORGE
Like the rest of us.
BELLA
The rest of us?
GEORGE
Not everyone. Nearly everyone.
BELLA
It’s been months, close to two years.
GEORGE
Yes, and not a day goes by but what I don’t worry about it.
BELLA
(interrupting)
Your perspective, George…
GEORGE
He’s beautiful, too. Don’t get me wrong.
BELLA
We gave him a life in the theater. The theater is soul-forming. Isn’t that what you say?
GEORGE
Never. Or, if I did say it, I can’t imagine why now.
BELLA
(pleading)
George, my dear husband, can we please enjoy the evening?
GEORGE
With you know who along?
BELLA
Stop it! He is our oldest, dearest friend.
GEORGE
You need to be on my side. The man is wily.
BELLA
Both of you. You act like you’re in a play. You’re never real with one another.
GEORGE
Real? Did you say real?
BELLA
(exasperated, departing)
And an evening without philosophy… is that too much to ask?
GEORGE
(playfully serious, earnest with a wink, GEORGE’S arm around BELLA. BELLA’S amused sigh of acceptance)
That strikes me as unthinkable, my dear.
BELLA
It’s like you’re not happy.
GEORGE
(arm around BELLA as they depart)
Happy? Please. You’re being silly. Long ago you made me a happy man, or hadn’t you noticed?
BELLA
Is that so, George?
GEORGE
Rough spots. That’s all. Come, my dear, that Devil awaits.
(BLACKOUT)
(END OF SCENE)
———————————-
Scene 2
SETTING: Nightclub
AT RISE: GEORGE, BELLA, DEVIL, and JOE are seated at a table listening to the NIGHTCLUB SINGER.
NIGHTCLUB SINGER
NIGHTCLUB SINGER performs a song that involves a great deal of scat singing. Singer is carried away by scat singing, seems to lose her way but then recovers and finishes the song. Two to three couples dance until scat singing at which point they stop to observe singer with some puzzlement, and then continue dancing when song picks up again.
Applause by people and dancers in the club. Dancers return to their tables.
JOE
(JOE addresses GEORGE, BELLA, and DEVIL, all seated at their table)
There. The scat singing. Did you see what happened? That’s the way I think it is.
BELLA
The way it is?
JOE
You go along. Everything seems fine and suddenly, you’re lost. You don’t know where you are.
GEORGE
But you find your way back, right son?
DEVIL
Or maybe you can’t find your way back.
GEORGE
Ah, yes, that’s what you count on. Am I right, old friend?
BELLA
(shushing)
George!
(to DEVIL)
Doesn’t that annoy you?
DEVIL
I hardly notice.
(to GEORGE)
Book sales, old boy?
GEORGE
(slight irritation)
What have you got against the soul, old friend?
DEVIL
I believe in the soul, as you well know! I believe in the unseen.
GEORGE
Then tell me, Devil-man, why have my books never sold?
DEVIL
(matter of fact)
It’s not you.
GEORGE
Ah, but you think it is me, don’t you?
DEVIL
They haven’t found you, that’s all.
GEORGE
THEY? Who is “they”?
DEVIL
How would I know? What do you want me to say?
GEORGE
Something that makes sense.
BELLA
Gentlemen, please!
DEVIL
It’s not you. I know that to be true.
GEORGE
And how do you know that?
DEVIL
Because you, Sir, are a man of quality, with insight. And you have something to say.
GEORGE
Did they teach you to say such things in that school you attended, wherever it was. How to manage the disgruntled writer.
DEVIL
No, dear Sir. I am skillful by nature.
GEORGE
(musing)
I yield. For now. Shall we have another round, old friend?
DEVIL
Indeed, Sir. Waiter! Another round!
DEVIL and GEORGE signal the need for another round. They then turn their attention to BELLA and JOE. FRIEDA, sitting with friends at the table on the other side of the stage, stands and waves to JOE.
BELLA
(BELLA notices FRIEDA)
Joe, who is that woman waving to you?
JOE
Someone I want you to meet. A friend.
BELLA
Aren’t you going to introduce us?
JOE
I will. I mean, I want to. Excuse me for a moment.
JOE goes over to FRIEDA… walks her to the door. They kiss. Hold each other and kiss again. FRIEDA departs. JOE watches FRIEDA depart.
BELLA
George. They kissed!
GEORGE
(wistful)
I miss kissing.
BELLA
Stop it! We kiss. You sound like an old man!
GEORGE
Eros. Right, Devil-man?
DEVIL
Right you are, my friend.
GEORGE, feeling the effects of his second round, sings acapella: “Kissing is Very Important”. People at adjoining tables notice, laugh, and with GEORGE sing: “Kissing is very important”. GEORGE rises and improvises a dance with more grace than might be expected while he sings a bluesy song about the importance of kissing.
Applause and laughter from those in the club. GEORGE, pleased with himself, sits down.
JOE returns to the table but does not sit.
BELLA
(to JOE, inquiring)
Just a friend?
JOE
Maybe more. I hope so. Her name is Frieda.
GEORGE
Lovely, son.
JOE
I’m sorry I couldn’t introduce you. Anyway, I have to run. Pops, maybe I’ll see you tomorrow?
GEORGE
Definitely, son. Tomorrow.
JOE exits.
GEORGE
(to BELLA and DEVIL, wistful)
The attraction between two people. Ah, the mystery of it!
DEVIL
It happens when your God wills it. There is nothing to be done. You must follow it!
GEORGE
(to BELLA)
There. You see, my dear. The mask is off!
DEVIL
(continuing to play his role)
He breathes into you the longing for another.
BELLA
And thank goodness he does, gentlemen.
GEORGE
I’m with you, my dear.
(raising his glass)
To the fine and altogether lost art of kissing!
BELLA
(raised glass)
To the sweetness of life, George!
DEVIL
(raised glass)
Yes, and to book sales! Right old boy?
BELLA
(raised glass)
And to life-long friends!
Light fades on toast tableau. Light comes on DANCER at back center of stage. Very brief appearance, touch of beauty, less dramatic than first appearance but gives accent to the moment..
(BACKOUT)
(END OF SCENE)
———————————-
Scene 3
SETTING: Next day. GEORGE and BELLA’S theater, where JOE is the director.
AT RISE: Rehearsal of new play is underway.
GEORGE and DEVIL enter the theater and are greeted by JOE. JOE’S friend, FRIEDA, is present. Actors in background are reading and memorizing scripts.
GEORGE
Joe, my boy. Tell me, what have you in store for us?
JOE
Our next play… I thought you might like to see how it’s coming along.
GEORGE
Yes, of course.
(to FRIEDA)
I’m George, Joe’s father.
FRIEDA
Yes, I know. I’m Frieda. So good to meet you. I’m sorry I couldn’t meet you and your wife last night.
GEORGE
No problem at all. I don’t believe you’ve met my friend, the Devil.
DEVIL
(warmly to FRIEDA)
I’m his editor. He’s very sensitive.
FRIEDA
Very nice to meet you.
GEORGE
Joe, what is this play? Four actors… musicians…
JOE
It’s Don Juan in Hell, Pops.
GEORGE
(not sure he heard it correctly)
It’s what?
JOE
We’re making it a musical. The actors are excited about it. The musicians. My friend’s music…
DEVIL
(playfully)
Don Juan in Hell. How I loved that play!
GEORGE
(to FRIEDA)
Do you know the play, Frieda?
FRIEDA
No, I don’t. Joe tells me I will love it.
GEORGE
As GEORGE explains the play, the actors, standing in the background holding scripts, bow or otherwise acknowledge their part in the play.
Don Juan, (REGGIE bows indicating that he is playing DON JUAN), a former love of Don Juan’s (ALICE gestures, smiles, and says: “The beautiful DONA ANA”), the former love’s father (LEON salutes and says: “I prefer to be called, COMMANDER”), and my friend here, the Devil (as GEORGE puts his arm around his editor, TED bows, and says: “At your service”)… they all meet in Hell. There they discuss… well, you could say they discuss nearly everything. It’s quite the play.
FRIEDA
It sounds wonderful!
GEORGE
It is wonderful. The original… I’m just not sure…
JOE
(interrupting, sensing concern)
We’re re-writing much of it. We pretty much have to… With the music, there’s a lot we’re fitting together.
GEORGE
Yes. But Don Juan in Hell… A musical? We’re in the red, son.
JOE
(interrupting)
The music makes it work, Pops. You’ll see. The songs, the lyrics, all the necessary themes.
DEVIL
(playfully)
Like sex, Joe? Since you’re talking about necessary themes.
JOE
Well, no,… I’m afraid there’s no sex in the play.
DEVIL
(playfully)
Not a good idea, Joe!
GEORGE
(redirecting the discussion, GEORGE addresses JOE; when GEORGE mentions Don Juan, a light briefly comes on REGGIE/Don Juan)
Joe, Don Juan makes a rather crucial decision in the play, does he not?
JOE
(slight hesitation)
Well, yes… ah… He chooses the Life Force, allegiance to the Life Force. I know… it sounds… but you don’t have to worry…
GEORGE
(concern)
Joe, is everything okay?
JOE
(a little defensive, recovering)
There are other themes, not just that one.
FRIEDA
Like love, Joe? Maybe not my place to ask, but is that one of the themes?
GEORGE
Yes, Joe, that one. There’s an audience for that.
JOE
Yes, well…
GEORGE
(interrupting)
Or, the struggle to find your footing in this crazy world. Give the play a comic twist. Actors tripping over themselves. (GEORGE and Actors enact a stumble.)
DEVIL
(playfully)
Or the struggle to right the world, Joe? The whole world. I’m not for it, mind you.
JOE
Well, yes… to a degree, it’s all there.
GEORGE
(earnest, slight concern)
But Joe, a musical?
JOE
I understand, Pops. But that’s good, don’t you think? Unexpected. We’re on to something. You’ll see.
GEORGE and DEVIL prepare to leave.
GEORGE
I have only a father’s concern, son. Well, a businessman’s concern, as well. Financially… well, you know…
(to DEVIL)
Shall we?
DEVIL
(playfully)
Joe, if I need help spicing it up…
GEORGE
Frieda, lovely to meet you. We’ll see you again soon, I hope.
FRIEDA
I hope so, as well. Good to meet you both.
GEORGE and DEVIL depart. The actors, holding scripts, continue in the background to rehearse. JOE and FRIEDA are alone, front of stage.
FRIEDA
(turning to JOE)
Love, Joe. Why write about anything less?
JOE
Truthfully, well, I think it’s at the heart of the play. I didn’t think to look at it that way but yes, it’s there.
FRIEDA
(reticent)
Joe…
JOE
I’m glad you said something. Yes, love is throughout the whole thing.
FRIEDA
(reticent, serious tone, the real topic)
Joe, we have to slow down.
JOE
Slow down?
FRIEDA
I love you, Joe; but we’re in the enchantment…
JOE
(interrupting)
The enchantment? Whatever… I like who I am when I’m with you….who we are. What else?
FRIEDA
You’ve sunk everything into the play, Joe. Everyone is proceeding on faith. There is love between us. Respect. I admire what you’re doing. But we’re under the spell. Maybe that doesn’t happen often, I don’t know. Or maybe it does. All I know is that life has made me wary. A little afraid.
JOE
More time. That’s all. Things arrange themselves around what we have. I don’t know how it works but I know that it does….
FRIEDA
That’s mysticism, Joe.
JOE
So be it, then. More time. You and me. That’s all.
JOE and FRIEDA embrace warmly, reassuringly. JOE walks back toward the ACTORS. FRIEDA turns to leave. As she leaves, she notices a microphone at one side of the stage. She steps to the microphone and sings a song about love and the fear of moving forward. JOE walks to the microphone on the other side of the stage and joins in the singing of the song.
Light fades.
(BLACKOUT)
(END OF SCENE)
———————————-
Scene 4
SETTING: Sidewalk leading home
AT RISE: GEORGE and DEVIL walk along the sidewalk back to GEORGE and BELLA’S home.
GEORGE and DEVIL are engaged in their playful, sometimes slightly contentious back and forth.
GEORGE
I’m proud of my son.
DEVIL
As well you should be.
GEORGE
He has a gift, his own unique gift.
DEVIL
Yes, sir, he does.
GEORGE
He’ll make something of this play.
DEVIL
Something grand.
GEORGE
Why are you agreeing with me?
DEVIL
To keep the peace. A man of your age is easily provoked.
GEORGE
We are the same age.
DEVIL
(playful)
I am timeless. Never forget that!
GEORGE
(serious tone)
I’m worried, old friend. This play is a risk… Joe is investing everything.
DEVIL
And why does that surprise you?
GEORGE
His withdrawals, the depression…I don’t know what to call it… they’ve been crippling.
DEVIL
Yes. Your point?
GEORGE
Delusion, I fear.
DEVIL
You disappoint me, my friend. Is this because your books haven’t sold?
GEORGE
That is hardly the point. And they did sell…to the right people.
DEVIL
You wrote books and you thought you could change the world. THE WORLD! Please! Who, dear Sir, is more deluded, you or your son?
GEORGE
(returning to his concern for JOE)
Enough suffering, I say! Joe has lingered for too long. He lives in a dream. I take your point, but there comes a time… you either wake up or…
DEVIL
Wake up, you say! Oh my…
GEORGE
You are a difficult person. You know that, right?
DEVIL
Joe will be fine. Or he won’t be fine. Either way, you sadden me. Joe reaches upward. The play holds promise. You said so, yourself. Joe reaches upward and you say: “Too high!” What kind of a father are you?
GEORGE
His past, Devil-man.
DEVIL
Joe will let the past be past or he will continue to live in it. Just like the rest of us.
GEORGE
Just like the rest of us? I thought you were timeless.
DEVIL
Just like the rest of us.
GEORGE
(slight pause… resentful)
I sadden you?
DEVIL
Your son wants to know that he is an artist. If he were to settle for less than that, he would not be your son.
GEORGE
I am frightened for him.
DEVIL
You have had your say, old friend.
DEVIL affectionally nudges GEORGE with his elbow and then initiates a simple dance step. Pauses. Looks at GEORGE. GEORGE copies DEVIL’S step. Back and forth they go—two men in their sixties. Nimble. Soon, they are moving in a Motown/Four Tops dance sequence. They sing about a dark and indifferent world… and yet, there is comedy in the lyrics. Actors [from JOE’S play] show up to provide additional voices. Choreography continues to evolve.
(BLACKOUT)
(END OF SCENE)
———————————-
Scene 5
SETTING: GEORGE and BELLA’S home – kitchen.
AT RISE: GEORGE and DEVIL enter front door and walk to kitchen.
BELLA greets GEORGE and DEVIL. They take a seat at the kitchen table. BELLA stands.
BELLA
(with energy)
He’s doing what?
GEORGE
Yes, ma’am.
BELLA
Does he want the theater to fail?
GEORGE
We shared our concerns… Well, I did.
BELLA
Is he okay?
GEORGE
No. Nothing like that.
BELLA
Don Juan in Hell… Half the seats will be empty!
GEORGE
Well, it’s not exactly Don Juan in Hell.
BELLA
No?
GEORGE
He’s re-writing it.
BELLA
He’s re-writing it?
DEVIL
And… wait for it! George, do you want to deliver the cherry on top?
GEORGE
He’s making it a musical.
BELLA
OH, MY GOD! This is a disaster!
GEORGE
He’s all in, my dear.
BELLA
This will do him in. Not to mention us!
GEORGE
There’s no talking him out of it.
BELLA
Joe needs something to ground him.
GEORGE
Exactly what I’ve been saying.
BELLA
A love interest… something real…
GEORGE
Well, we met Frieda.
BELLA
And?
GEORGE
Lovely. Could not be lovelier. I think he’s smitten.
BELLA
Good. Invite her over. I want to meet her.
GEORGE
Joe will have to do the inviting. I’m not sure he…
BELLA
(interrupting)
A MUSICAL!
Just then, JOE knocks and comes in the front door. With him is REGGIE, one of the actors. REGGIE is well acquainted with GEORGE, BELLA, and DEVIL.
JOE
Hello, hello…It’s me and Reggie.
BELLA
Hi Reggie. Welcome.
REGGIE
Hi… Hope you don’t mind…
BELLA
No, of course not. We were just discussing the play. How are the rehearsals going?
REGGIE
Great. We’re making it up as we go. But, great.
BELLA
Making it up as you go?
JOE
(sensing concern)
Well, we’re figuring out what to do with the music, how to stage it, what instruments fit the mood, that sort of thing.
BELLA
Don Juan in Hell?
JOE
(enthused)
You raised me on it. And now…
BELLA
(interrupting)
But is it even the same Don Juan…?
JOE
Well, maybe. I think so. We’re trying to remain true to it and still make it our own.
BELLA
Remain true to it?
JOE
Reaching for something higher. That’s what I mean. All the longing and doubt that goes with it.
REGGIE
And time… the way we waste precious time. I mean, that’s one of the themes.
BELLA
(directly to JOE)
Joe, you know why we’re concerned…
JOE
Yes, of course. The theater… The play will be a success. It will be a beautiful thing.
BELLA
We’re also a business, Joe. The theater is a business… part of a great big system… y
(to GEORGE)
George, tell Joe what a system is.
JOE
I know what a system is.
BELLA
We believe in you, Joe. It’s just that… in addition to the fact that we’re in the red, we have family coming to the play. Relatives!
JOE
It’s coming together. I know you’re worried. But at some point, you have to trust that you’ve been given what you need. Right? That your history has readied you.
BELLA
That your history has readied you!
(to DEVIL)
Please, dear Sir… Talk to our son.
DEVIL
If you like. But there is only one question and I’m afraid you’ve been beating around the bush.
DEVIL stands and sings about the only question: Can you really do it? The song is playful but always returns to that question. GEORGE and BELLA join in though DEVIL has the lead. JOE and REGGIE listen.
Light comes on dancer, back of center stage, spinning slowly, veils catching the light. Lasts only a few seconds.
Light out.
(BLACKOUT)
(END OF SCENE)
———————————-
Scene 6
SETTING: Theater stage
AT RISE: JOE is rehearsing Don Juan in Hell, the Musical with ACTORS.
JOE is explaining the next scene.
JOE
Don Juan hated cults. Religious cults, political cults. For Don Juan, cult life was the end of life. Don Juan delivers a fierce indictment of the Devil’s cult. And, as you might imagine, the Devil takes offense.
(Joe assumes the DEVIL’S voice)
“Juan, you are uncivil to my friends!”
LEON
The song you have in mind works well here, Joe. But rehearsals have been rough… we’re not sure about the staging.
JOE
(JOE approximates the movements as he describes them)
Okay… As the song goes along… As the song goes along begin moving slowly, everyone move in your own way… and then, pick up the pace, not quite a frenzy but show some desperation. Then, on the final note, form a tableau, hold it until the light fades. Doable?
ALICE
Sure. Fine… Easy enough. Should we lead into the song with a few lines?
JOE
Ted, pick up with: Don Juan, it’s not madness…
Rehearsing begins. At this point, it is important to note that the acting style changes whenever “Don Juan in Hell — the Musical” is being rehearsed. From the naturalistic style characteristic of JOE, FRIEDA, BELLA, GEORGE, and DEVIL (editor) whenever they appear (characteristic, as well, of REGGIE, ALICE, LEON, and TED whenever they appear as themselves) to the more performative style of DON JUAN, DONA ANA, the COMMANDER, and the DEVIL. For the latter acting style, reference “Don Juan in Hell” as performed by Charles Boyer, Agnes Morehead, Charles Laughton, and Sir Cedric Hardwick. Deliberate, distinct, formal.
The exchange that follows between the DEVIL and DON JUAN is firm but convivial. They take issue with one another, but it is not personal.
TED/Devil
Don Juan, it’s not madness that I foster in my kingdom; but rather, a delicious form of freedom.
REGGIE/Don Juan
(disbelief)
Oh, my… freedom, you say?
TED/Devil
Indeed… for here you do and say what you please… Judging people for their foibles, their silliness, their stupidity… It’s all permitted and it’s all the rage! No obstacles here. No grand illusions. You accept your lot.
REGGIE/Don Juan
(light sarcasm)
No questioning…
TED/Devil
(interrupting)
Trust me, Juan, Heaven would exhaust you. It’s all striving. The battle with the unconscious. My, my… I’m afraid you misunderstand the options.
REGGIE/Don Juan
The options? And yet, dear Sir, you must know that a lifetime, indeed, an eternity of accepting things as they are… That is madness!
TED/Devil
A sweet, sweet madness, nonetheless, dear Juan. Nothing in mind to disturb you… The untroubled passage of time. Does that not sound ideal?
REGGIE/Don Juan
I understand the appeal, your Lordship. And true, with the striving comes hardship. But please, — and I say this with respect — you object to the striving, understandably, because it shrinks your kingdom. To be honest, isn’t that so?
TED/Devil
Tell me, Don Juan, for all the striving is there any less suffering in the world? Every advance, if you want to call it that, is followed by a collapse of equal degree. If not here, then there. My kingdom does not shrink, it expands and expands evermore. I take pride—forgive me but I do—and a certain delight in the futility, in the way it all works.
REGGIE/Don Juan
Shall we check the numbers, your Lordship?
TED/Devil
Waste your time, if you wish, Don Juan. Time exists in abundance here.
REGGIE/Don Juan
Still, I understand. Disavow the progress… you have a role to play. And yet, the striving continues. I see beauty in it. Without it, I am not myself. You have been a friend to me. I thank you for that. My only friend, at times. But I cannot remain in your kingdom and live with myself. With regrets, dear Sir, I must go.
TED/Devil
Then climb upward, Don Juan. Off to Heaven you go. Disillusionment will follow and, in time, you will make your way back to me. And I, gentleman that I am, will welcome you with open arms. I cannot save your soul, for what is there to save? But the music we can make together… Sublime! Shall we stop our quarreling and get on with what we do best?
REGGIE/Don Juan
Indeed, Sir, and with pleasure. I hoped we might.
TED/Devil
Always, dear friend.
REGGIE/Don Juan
I trust you take no offense at our exchanges. I would never suggest that you are anything but excellent company.
TED/Devil
None taken. Not a better way to pass eternity than to joust with you, dear Sir. Please, I take your lead…
The DEVIL and DON JUAN, assisted by ACTORS sing a song about the dangers of cult existence… The ACTORS—including DON JUAN and the DEVIL—improvise the choreography. They weave in and out, picking up the pace, dancing alone, dancing in pairs, then as a group. Singing is rapturous though movements suggest that singers/dancers are losing their grip. Tableau is formed as the music ends.
Light fades on tableau.
(BLACKOUT)
(END OF SCENE)
———————————-
NARRATOR
(NARRATOR steps to the side of the stage and addresses the audience)
For years, George and Bella have had the same conversation. And now, again. What is wrong with Joe? What is the problem? The tell-tale signs are back.
Spot lighting comes on George and Bella sitting at their kitchen table.
BELLA
It’s been two years. Everything has been fine.
GEORGE
It’s inevitable. You know it’s inevitable.
BELLA
(exasperated)
Please. Not that again.
GEORGE
He’s taken on too much. Inevitable, right?
BELLA
How do you know it’s too much?
GEORGE
The same way you know. He’s high. His eyes are spinning. Well, not literally. He’s disoriented.
BELLA
He doesn’t know where he lives. We’re back to that?
GEORGE
Exactly.
BELLA
That’s ridiculous! Of course he does.
GEORGE
I’ve tried to tell him.
BELLA
I don’t think you know where you live, if you want to know the truth!
GEORGE
I haven’t been sleeping.
BELLA
Smoothness of mind, George.
GEORGE
I’m aware.
BELLA
Joe is fine. And if the play is too much, and yes, it could be…then we’ll jump in. He’ll listen to us.
NARRATOR
Joe arrives at George and Bella’s, full of energy. He has had a breakthrough, or so he believes.
———————————-
Scene 7
SETTING: GEORGE and BELLA’S living room
AT RISE: GEORGE, BELLA, and DEVIL in conversation.
JOE shows up and interrupts the conversation. JOE has a touch of “hurry” in his voice—is that the right word? –trying to convince himself as he tries to convince others that he’s had a breakthrough. He’s pressing slightly; it’s not exaggerated, but it can be sensed.
JOE
I’ve had a revelation! Yes, that’s the word for it. It’s about the play…what the play is about.
GEORGE
(surprised)
What the play is about? I thought the play was written.
JOE
It is written. Well, mostly. No, I’m talking about the play at a deeper level.
BELLA
Isn’t it deep enough? We’ve been wondering if maybe..
JOE
(interrupting)
I see things in a new light. Certain things are clear to me now.
GEORGE
Certain things?
JOE
One thing. I should have said one thing is clear to me. Who I am. That’s the major thing.
GEORGE
(concerned)
Who you are? You already know who you are, Joe. I don’t think…
JOE
(interrupting)
Sounds funny to say, I know, but that’s what happened. It hit me hard.
GEORGE
(concerned)
What hit you hard, son?
JOE
That I am Don Juan! That’s the first time I’ve said it out loud. But yes, Don Juan.
BELLA and GEORGE
(BELLA and GEORGE pause and then, overlap one another, some mix of the following)
Uh, Joe… What?… No, Joe, I don’t think… Son, this doesn’t sound… Don Juan is not…
BELLA
(interrupting, gathering herself)
Your revelation… it told you that you are Don Juan?
JOE
Not Don Juan literally. The character. That his struggles are my struggles. Isn’t it obvious? Well, maybe not to you. You haven’t seen the play. Pops, what do you always say? Through your art you compose or create or discover yourself. That’s what I mean.
GEORGE
(concerned)
I’m not sure that’s true, son.
JOE
(interrupting, enthused)
Well, I mean to make it true.
BELLA
(earnest, concerned)
That you are Don Juan?
JOE
To be me, I must free Don Juan. Sounds dramatic but yes, my revelation.
DEVIL
I know what you mean, Joe!
GEORGE and BELLA look with surprise at DEVIL.
JOE
The only cautionary part of the revelation was… well, that I not waste time.
DEVIL
Yes. Well done, Joe!
Again, GEORGE and BELLA look with some surprise and disapproval at DEVIL.
GEORGE
Waste time, Joe?
JOE
Once you glimpse who you are, or glimpse the path to who you are, well, then, no time to waste. Right?
Slight pause… JOE interrupts the silence by getting up to leave.
BELLA
(still in thought, surprised the conversation is ending)
You’re not leaving.
JOE
I’m sorry. But the revelation… or the insight, whatever you want to call it… I couldn’t wait to tell you. I haven’t felt this sure of myself in a long time. This much possibility.
BELLA
(hesitant)
That’s wonderful, Joe.
GEORGE
(seeking clarity, supportive)
So, the play is on schedule, right, son?
JOE
(rushing)
Yes. Definitely. I was blocked. Not much. A bit. But this clears the way. You know…
BELLA and GEORGE
(speaking at the same time as JOE leaves, concern in their voices)
We love you, Joe. Glad to hear it… Be careful… pace yourself…
JOE departs – BELLA, GEORGE and DEVIL remain.
DEVIL
(to GEORGE and BELLA, direct)
Why didn’t you tell him?
GEORGE
Tell him what?
DEVIL
What you’re thinking.
GEORGE
(a bit put off)
And what, dear Sir, are we thinking?
DEVIL
That he’s gone mad.
GEORGE
Nonsense!
BELLA
(reflecting)
It seemed romantic at first… and then I felt sad, like he was lost… his claim that he is Don Juan…
DEVIL
The catharsis available through art. That’s what he was saying. It’s the heroic impulse. That’s what I heard.
GEORGE
(reflecting)
Maybe Joe is mad.
DEVIL
(speaking to a friend, empathic)
If madness, old friend, why not the holy madness.
BELLA
He might have been pressing, yes…
GEORGE
(interrupting)
Joe has forgotten how dark things got.
BELLA
It’s just that we’ve never seen him take a risk like this. Not mad. Please. It’s just that if the play fails… and now, with his so-called “revelation” — There was already enough pressure.
GEORGE
(to DEVIL, again with a degree of exasperation, defensively)
So, he’s gone mad… That’s what you think?
DEVIL
Withdrawal and sadness, yes. I’ve seen that. But madness? No. I never thought so. Never.
GEORGE
(reflecting, angry to a degree, challenging)
The holy madness… What do you know about such things?
BELLA
George! Please…
DEVIL
(empathic, direct)
I have never thought that you lost your perspective, old friend. I know that you know as well as I that no one can truly say who is the fool, and who, in their own good time, noble and divine.
GEORGE
What are you talking about?
DEVIL
I say only that Joe is on his way, not free but not so mired as you fear. I am an outsider, yes, but I am also a member of your family as much as that is possible. His enthusiasm gives me hope. We should all route for his Don Juan whatever that may mean.
Light fades out but illuminates another part of the stage where JOE stands before a microphone. He sings about catharsis, revelation, and the importance of not wasting time. ACTORS from the play within the play form the CHORUS.
Light fades. DANCER spins, light catching her veils.
(BLACKOUT)
(END OF SCENE)
———————————-
Scene 8
SETTING: Empty stage
AT RISE: DEVIL (editor) at microphone
Light comes on Devil who sings a beautiful and haunting song about the finding of one’s perfect mate and the power of the soul. Accompanied by flutist (or violinist or saxophonist).
Light fades
Scene opens on a pathway in the park. JOE and FREIDA happen upon one another. Two months have passed since they have seen each other. They stroll the walkway, Joe with guitar in hand.
JOE
(JOE sees FRIEDA first, surprised)
Frieda!
FRIEDA
(surprised)
Joe, it’s you.
JOE
It’s so good to see you. I’ve missed you. It’s been a while…
FRIEDA
I’ve missed you, too.
JOE
(reflecting, then curious)
Time is the oddest thing. It all ended so quickly. Did I do something…say something? The calls…
FRIEDA
(interrupting)
No, there was nothing… I was always going to get back to you. We should have talked. I know we should have. The days passed. It was wrong of me.
JOE
We had the enchantment… Remember?
FRIEDA
Yes. I know. I’m so sorry, Joe. Time passed… and then…
JOE
(interrupting)
There’s no point in discussing it. Not now. I knew you had reservations. You said it was the enchantment and that it would end. But it was more than that. You thought I was a problem for myself.
FRIEDA
No, Joe, I don’t want to…
JOE
(interrupting)
It’s okay. Really. I’m fine. As the heartache left, it wrote a song… that’s how it seemed. I think we’ll use it in the play.
FRIEDA
(surprise, happy to turn to another topic)
You’re still doing the play, the Don Quixote play?
JOE
Don Juan. Not Don Quixote. Don Juan. And yes. Still working on it.
FRIEDA
A song about us?
JOE
I think it can fit into the play. Don Juan meets Dona Ana, his former love, in Hell and explains how madly in love he was with her. I would not have had this song if not for you. Would you like to hear it?
JOE and FRIEDA sit on the park bench. JOE sings first line, adjust strings/tuning, clears throat, before starting over.
First time I’ve sung this out loud…
JOE sings a love song, a song of longing, the inability to think of anyone else but the object of one’s love.
FRIEDA
(enthused)
I love it, Joe!
JOE
It can be a small acknowledgement of our time together. Our secret.
FRIEDA
(apologizing)
I never thought you were a problem for yourself.
JOE
(interrupting, reassuring)
I’m sure it seemed risky…
FRIEDA
Maybe the reason I thought the play was about Don Quixote and not Don Juan…
JOE
(interrupting)
Really, there’s no need…
FRIEDA
(continuing)
Maybe the reason I thought it was about Don Quixote is because Don Quixote was such a terrible problem for himself. Sure, everyone roots for him. But his ideal cost him. He was lost in his madness. The further you got into the play, the harder it was for me to find you. I know that sounds crazy. I ran. I’m sorry, Joe. We should have talked, I know.
JOE
(explaining, perhaps assuring/convincing himself as well as FRIEDA)
Frieda, it’s fine. I’ve got a balance I didn’t have before. I think that’s true. In any event, we are friends now. Well-wishers. As I see it at this very fortuitous moment, you are Dona Ana, and we meet here.
FRIEDA
(playful)
And I am Dona Ana?
JOE
Why not? And I only wish you well. And thank goodness the Devil is not here to sow confusion. We have that over the actors in the play. They’re caught in a script already written. Well, almost written. Not us. We are free of that. Fortunate souls, are we not?
BELLA
(with hesitancy and concern)
Yes, Joe… I want to say that’s so. Is everything OK? But yes, fortunate souls…
Light fades.
(BLACKOUT)
(END OF SCENE)
———————————-
Scene 9
SETTING: GEORGE and BELLA’S living room.
AT RISE: GEORGE, BELLA, and JOE discussing the state of the play.
JOE enters the room. Increasingly in the exchange that follows, JOE is restless, uncomfortable, fidgety, doing his best to convince himself of what he is saying. There is relief that the play is done and then concern that the play is not done… and then concern for JOE as, increasingly, his uncertainty about himself comes through.
BELLA
(concern, supportive)
Joe, we’ve never taken so much time to ready a production. After your revelation and all, well, we thought…
JOE
(interrupting)
That’s the reason I’m here. I’m happy to announce: The play is written!
GEORGE
Completely written?
JOE
Well, almost. There are always changes, right up to the end. Right?
BELLA
And we’re going to have an opening night?
JOE
Of course. Did you ever doubt it?
GEORGE
It’s been a while, Joe. We wondered if…
JOE
(interrupting)
No, no, no. It’s all fine… It’s taken longer than expected, I know…
BELLA
(interrupting)
So, now… Plans for the opening?
JOE
There are always things to work out. But, yes, a rehearsal or two, some improvising through a couple of rough spots and then, we can set a date for opening night.
BELLA
Any difficult moments we should know about?
JOE
Just the usual creative blocks. We’ve worked through them.
BELLA
But you, Joe? That’s what I mean. Everything OK?
JOE
Sure, why wouldn’t it be? I’ve been fine. Frieda and I, well, you know… Since then, my focus has been on the play. That’s all.
GEORGE
Nothing to worry about, then?
JOE
Absolutely nothing. Come to the last rehearsal. You’ll see. I think I’ve got something that will save us. Save the theater, I mean.
BELLA
If we can just break even…
JOE
(rushing a bit, overstating the possibilities)
Why not do more? Make some upgrades to the building. Pay actors what their worth!
BELLA
Just break even…then the next production… maybe something less ambitious.
JOE
(rushing, responding to what he just said as he goes)
The truth is, I’ve always dreamed about this play. Since childhood. My own version…those characters… and now… Well, it’s done. Or nearly so. I mean we have some improvising to do.
GEORGE
(concern)
Joe, have you slept?
JOE
(speeded up)
Slept? Who can sleep when the stars have aligned? But don’t worry. The play is… Well, almost done.
BELLA
We sometimes worry, Joe, that maybe we put too much pressure on you.
JOE
(reassuring himself, self-concern)
I thought I was destined for something great. Isn’t that crazy? I want certain things in my life, sure…things that I imagined… but if less than that, like with Frieda, well, that’s fine, too.
GEORGE
(interrupting)
The world as we know it, son… it’s not always…
JOE
(interrupting, convincing himself, having his feelings)
A person is supposed to aim high, right Pops? My feet are on the ground, but I look up. Wouldn’t you say that… that I’ve always looked up. I mean, Don Juan in Hell… that’s aiming high, don’t you think?
BELLA
We love you, Joe. We’ve always been so impressed with who you are.
GEORGE
Balance. That’s what I’ve learned, son. A bit of balance.
JOE
We have a wonderful play. You’ll see. A few things to work out. That’s all.
Two microphones. GEORGE and BELLA step to the first microphone, JOE to the second microphone, They sing a song about discovering one’s fate, willing it, embracing it… making history as one always thought they would.
Light fades out over GEORGE and BELLA. Light comes on FRIEDA. JOE and FRIEDA look at each other from across the stage. A few seconds pass.
Light comes on DANCER, back of center stage, spinning. As with previous appearances, she is expressionless. Dance is brief, long enough to return a sense of the magical (the Much-at-Once) to the play.
(BLACKOUT)
(END OF SCENE)
End of Act One
———————————-
ACT TWO
Scene 1
SETTING: Theater stage.
AT RISE: JOE is rehearsing with actors, going over parts, improvising…
JOE addresses actors about upcoming scene.
JOE
(JOE is asking himself as much as the ACTORS)
Everyone should have their own point of view, don’t you think? That’s how it was in the original play.
TED
(lighthearted)
We are with you, Mr. Director.
JOE
And once in Hell, as you know, the characters could choose whatever age they wanted to be.
ALICE
(surprised)
They could what?
JOE
Choose whatever age they wanted to be. And change their age… Didn’t you read the play?
TED
Change their age whenever they wished?
LEON
(playful, laughing)
Not to confuse things, Joe, but that sounds like Heaven to me!
ALICE
OK, apologies… I did scan it but, well, life sort of got in the way. Sorry, Joe. We knew you’d catch us up. Sorry, sorry. So, what age did they choose?
JOE
(mildly irritated)
Well… they chose late twenties, mid-thirties. It jumped around, …a matter of fashion.
TED
(laughing, but serious)
Why not 10? That’s what I would choose. I loved being ten.
REGGIE
(playful memories)
Or 11? Or 12? Incredible ages. Care-free. Those were the days. You had laughing fits with your friends.
TED
(playful, teasing, arm around JOE’S shoulders)
Joe, dear friend: When was the last time you had a laughing fit with a friend? I mean, falling all over yourself laughter? Couldn’t stop yourself?
JOE
A laughing fit?
TED
A giggling fit. Everything striking you as funny as all get out. Who knows why?
JOE
(taking the question far more seriously than it was intended)
Well, I don’t know… I worry about that kind of thing… I
TED
Just kidding, Joe. No reason to…
JOE
I mean, I’m HERE! In this PLACE! Why aren’t I on the verge of laughing? Or laughing more often. I ask myself that.
TED
(stepping back but also continuing warmly)
Oh, no, no, no… Joe, I was only teasing. I mean, just the other day…
TED
Yes, just the other day…
LEON
We saw you!
REGGIE
(playful, warm, friendly, supportive)
Remember, we peeked in the door and there you were. Not moving. Just looking out the window…
JOE
You saw me?
REGGIE
You were looking at that big old harvest moon… And you laughing. Laughing. Tears rolling down your face. Leon thought something was wrong. That you were shaking. But not me. Not on your life. I knew you were laughing. Ten years old again. A beautiful sight it was.
REGGIE’S arm is around JOE. JOE has a tear in his eye. REGGIE and LEON are concerned that they may have taken the teasing too far.
LEON
Joe, we were only teasing… just playing around. You know us.
JOE
(recovering, calling for focus)
It’s ok. Yes, I was ten years old, that’s for sure. Quite a release it was. So, now, where were we?
LEON
(helping the effort to re-focused)
Ten years old, Joe. That’s where we were. Given a choice I would be ten years old.
TED
Absolutely. The play is so heavy. Why not some silliness?
(TED briefly does a Charlie Chaplin Walk hoping to keep the mood light)
JOE
That’s a big departure from the original. I’m not sure that will work. I don’t see…
ALICE
(interrupting)
Why won’t it work? The Devil explains the rules: You can be any age you want. Right? Dona Ana, Don Juan, and the Commander discuss the possibilities and announce that they will be 10 or 11 or 12.
Playfully, the actors begin to improvise…
TED/DEVIL
We’ve never had anyone choose to be so young.
LEON/COMMANDER
Dear Sir, we did not make the rules.
TED/DEVIL
I can’t allow it. No, I can’t allow it!
ALICE/DONA ANA
And why not, if I may ask?
LEON/COMMANDER
Hardly seems fair to change the rules, or is it the Devil’s prerogative to spoil the fun?
TED/DEVIL
(amused at what he is about to say, chuckling as he says it)
I cannot allow it… Because dear friends, Hell is no place for children!
Actors chuckle and continue with the improvisation.
ALICE/DONA ANA
(to DEVIL)
But we are not children. We are adults caught in this darkness. And now you say we cannot choose the age that offers us refuge?
REGGIE/DON JUAN
(to DEVIL)
Indeed, Sir. Our childhood will not harm your realm, but it will make it tolerable for us. “Hell is no place for children.” Who does not know that? But here, what does it matter if for an eon we are children? Our dialogue with you goes nowhere no matter our age.
JOE
(interrupting the improvisation)
Wait a minute. Nowhere? You didn’t read the original play, did you!
ALICE
We’re improvising, Joe. That’s the plan, right? What are we missing?
JOE
You’re missing what underlies our play… Choice is available. The dialogue with the Devil is not to nowhere. If you would have read the original, you would know that you could leave Hell any time you wished.
ACTORS look at one another.
REGGIE
(to JOE, with degree of surprise)
They can leave any time they wish?
LEON
That changes quite a lot, Joe!
JOE
That’s the choice! The dialogue with the Devil is critical to deciding if you want to stay.
ALICE
But why would anyone want to stay?
REGGIE
You must admit, the age thing sounds pretty good.
LEON
I was looking forward to that.
JOE
(degree of resignation in voice)
All right. You’re all ten years old. Why not? Improvise. See where it goes. Dona Ana announces that they will be children and to their surprise, the Devil ceases to object.
(Improvisation continues.)
COMMANDER
(to Devil with surprise)
What? You are giving up your resistance?
DEVIL
The rules are the rules, Commander, as you suggest. Be children. When you tire of what I consider your ill-advised choice, I’m here to offer guidance.
JOE
(JOE breaks in)
Now set off as children to explore the Devil’s realm… laughing, observing the arrival of new souls, marveling at their numbers: their shape, size, color, dress.
Improvisation continues. Actors look out into the audience where they see the variety about which JOE speaks. Throughout the exchange that follows, actors look at the audience, moving about the stage, scanning, pointing but never at any one person, not locking eyes, but the audience feels itself involved and seen.
COMMANDER
Even as I traveled the world… I never knew we came in so many shapes and sizes…
DONA ANA
And why are so many here! They had a choice, right?
COMMANDER
It’s got to be the chance to be young again! What else?
DON JUAN
Heaven must be very strange.
DONA ANA
I have an idea!
(turning toward DON JUAN and the COMMANDER)
Why not put on a play?
DON JUAN
A play?
COMMANDER
(gesturing to the audience)
A play for the newcomers! Ease their transition.
DON JUAN
They’re probably exhausted.
COMMANDER
I was. ABSOLUTELY EXHAUSTED! Thought I’d never get here.
DONA ANA
And then, once here…
DON JUAN
…the adjustment! MY LORD!
COMMANDER
And the lighting!
DON JUAN
You can barely see a thing.
DONA ANA
A play, then…
COMMANDER
Yes. Wonderful idea!
DON JUAN
Do we tell them about the limitations?
DONA ANA
Mercy no! On their first day!
DON JUAN
A play then…
DONA ANA
Most definitely, a play.
Actors (REGGIE, LEON, ALICE, TED), in their roles as DON JUAN, the COMMANDER, DONA ANA, and the DEVIL sing a playful song about childhood, laughter, and wonder.
(slight pause, DONNA ANA turns to JOE at end of song)
How about that, Joe? Does that work?
(BLACKOUT)
(END OF SCENE)
———————————-
Scene 2
SETTING: Theater stage.
AT RISE: JOE seated in a chair facing the audience. FRIEDA, GEORGE, BELLA, and DEVIL (editor) are standing behind JOE in a semi-circle.
FRIEDA, GEORGE, BELLA, and DEVIL speak sometimes to JOE, sometimes to one another. All are concerned, urgently so as the scene develops. JOE hears them but speaks to the AUDIENCE. ACTORS and JOE are on different wavelengths.
FRIEDA
What is it, Joe?
GEORGE
You’re letting this get to you, son.
BELLA
It was an inspired idea… Don Juan in Hell – the Musical… It was just too ambitious for a small theater like ours.
DEVIL
They’re too close to you to see it, Joe. Tell them.
BELLA
Tell us what?
FRIEDA
Was it us, Joe? What happened with us…the way it ended?
JOE
(to AUDIENCE, matter of fact, earnest, vulnerable, chuckling at times. JOE speaks his truth / his dilemma to the audience)
You saw this coming, didn’t you? Perhaps it was obvious. The play isn’t done. And what is done is not what I imagined. Put yourselves in my position. You get an idea. It’s a good idea. You think it might even be divinely sent. So, you act on it. Commit yourself to it. And then… what you feared most: It’s beyond you. Completely beyond you! So, what do you do? “That’s life!” you say. I know you’re only trying to help. “Walk it off!” “Get back in the game!” Sound advice. Yes.
ACTORS pause for a moment before continuing. They look at one another as they take in JOE’S statement.
BELLA
The right medication works wonders, son.
DEVIL
This is not a medical matter.
BELLA
No?
DEVIL
It is spiritual in nature, ancient, holyl.
GEORGE
What do you know about such things…
DEVIL
I know a thing or two.
GEORGE
Joe has forgotten where he lives. It happens.
DEVIL
That is what I said.
GEORGE
I think not.
DEVIL
What else could I mean?
BELLA
Please. Both of you!
JOE
(to AUDIENCE, matter of fact, earnest, self-reflective; in a sense, JOE is discovering what he has to say as he says it)
Spiritual? How could it not be? The feeling that things are not going to work out for you… That’s a spiritual matter, right? You still have a reverence for life. That doesn’t go away. It may even intensify. But the point of it all is gone. Everyone and everything you love… Where is a Holy Man when you need him? Or, perhaps, the love of your life — where? Someone who knows that you’re caught in a troubled dream. That’s all. Nothing more.
Again, ACTORS pause before continuing. They look at one another briefly.
BELLA
(continuing to look at JOE, concern)
There must be something we can do.
DEVIL
We could chant. Help Joe remember what he must do.
GEORGE
(absurd)
I’m not chanting. Good Lord!
FRIEDA
(desperate)
I’ll chant. I want to chant.
BELLA
Chanting seems desperate to me. Medicine, I say.
GEORGE
For you, it’s always medicine.
BELLA
It’s chemistry. It’s always chemistry.
FRIEDA
Chanting? Truthfully?
JOE
(to AUDIENCE, matter of fact, earnest, chuckling here and there; revealing himself to himself as he speaks)
Do Holy Men even exist? If they did exist, I know what they would say. I’ve read the books. PERSIST! The suffering will not end… No Holy Man worth his salt would suggest such a thing. The suffering will not end but it will take its proper place, leaving room for what? For enlightenment of some sort that may or may not come? Maybe I am mad. I said I was Don Juan? What was I thinking? I’m not whining. It happens to everyone. A misstep. But why misstep so publicly?
Pause. ACTORS look at one another before continuing.
DEVIL
Joe remembers what he must do, or he does not. There is nothing any of us can do.
BELLA
(interrupting)
You’re saying he must suffer. Nonsense! There is medicine.
DEVIL
Not for matters of the spirit.
GEORGE
Matters of the spirit, please!
BELLA
Why so dramatic? This is an everyday matter.
FRIEDA
I think it could be what happened between us.
BELLA
It’s not Shakespeare. Medication. Keep it simple.
JOE
(to AUDIENCE, matter of fact, self-reflective, resolute)
I will finish the play. I crave something that the play cannot provide. I realize that now but I will persist. As for what I crave, give it whatever name you like. The Beautiful Place—I’ve heard it called that… Pops calls it that. I can finish the play. I can make it say what I would have it say. But not today. I’m in no condition. But tomorrow… Yes. Tomorrow.
Again, slight pause.
FRIEDA
I’ve never chanted… I’ll do my best.
BELLA
Chanting. Really? Are we back to that?
FRIEDA
Maybe I could help with the play. I love Don Quixote.
BELLA
Don Juan.
GEORGE
(earnest, serious, deadpan)
Son, as a man of letters, well, it’s difficult for me to chant. It’s hard to explain.
DEVIL
The chant… Perhaps it is not a chant. Perhaps a poem.
DEVIL [editor] sings a cappella what amounts almost to a poem… a simple but lovely tune that quiets the moment.
JOE sings a song that expresses spiritual exhaustion, but also his commitment to “tomorrow”, and the finishing of the play. FRIEDA sings certain lines with JOE toward the end of the song.
In silence, the DANCER appears, standing erect, expressionless, one hand up, a dancer’s pose. She spins. JOE and FRIEDA look at DANCER. Light on DANCER is brief.
(BLACKOUT)
(END OF SCENE)
———————————-
Scene 3
SETTING: GEORGE and BELLA’S home — kitchen
AT RISE: GEORGE and BELLA sitting at kitchen table.
GEORGE and BELLA have returned from dinner, a celebration of their 45th wedding anniversary. The exchange is initially upbeat but turns serious with slight irritation at moments enroute to thoughtfulness and warmth.
BELLA
45 years!
GEORGE
I know. It’s unbelievable!
BELLA
How did we even get here?
GEORGE
I wonder the same thing.
BELLA
(reflecting)
Are you happy, George?
GEORGE
(surprised)
Of course, I am. What kind of question is that? Do you think I would have stayed in our marriage if I weren’t?
BELLA
(matter of fact)
Yes, I do.
GEORGE
(slight pause)
OK, sure, we had stretches. We stayed together. That’s the important thing.
BELLA
(earnest)
But joy… would you say there has been joy in your life?
GEORGE
(taken back, turning the tables)
Oh, come now… You tell me: Have you been happy?
BELLA
I think I’ve been happy. I’m not even sure I know what that means.
GEORGE
(slight agitation)
This is our anniversary! Why question everything? Yes, I’m happy. No, I haven’t always been happy. Most of the time it had nothing to do with you. Or with us. Forty-five years, forty-seven if you count from when we met.
BELLA
Yes, I know… But what have we been doing? I don’t even know what we’ve been doing!
GEORGE
What have we been doing? Well, for one thing, we had a son. We raised him together. He is the best of both of us. We’ve had a circle of friends. They were with us tonight. Wishing us well and many more! My books…they weren’t possible without you.
BELLA
It just seems like it started yesterday. We rode the same city bus. Remember? We looked forward to sitting next to each other. The separations were terrible, but the reunions were magic. We were under a spell. Then we had Joe. We worried. We made money. Never enough. And our dreams? Did we fulfill our dreams? That’s what I’m asking, George. Our dreams…
GEORGE
(somewhat resigned to the discussion)
I don’t know. We may have lost track of our dreams. Or maybe we didn’t interpret them correctly. We were young lovers. We didn’t speak in the language of the soul.
BELLA
But did we stop dreaming, George? That’s what I’m asking. Did you? Did I?
GEORGE
(direct, warm)
We became practical. What else was there for us to do? When we saw Joe in trouble, we scrambled to help him. But we never stopped dreaming.
BELLA
Is that what your heart tells you?
GEORGE
Yes, that’s what it tells me.
BELLA
And the suffering, the disappointment… Was that a part of the dream?
GEORGE
(direct, warm, resolving)
You asked me what we’ve been doing. I will tell you. We’ve been making each other. Sculpting each other. And when that didn’t work like we thought it might, we worked on how best to see each other, how best to see things in general. That is what we dreamed long ago… that we could do that together.
BELLA
(warmly)
Is that what you think, George?
GEORGE
That’s what I think tonight.
BELLA
Sounds good, George.
GEORGE
Forty-five years…
BELLA
I know. It’s unbelievable…
GEORGE and BELLA sing a beautiful love song, a song about how life and love take you in unexpected directions, how you only think you’re in control.
(BLACKOUT)
(END OF SCENE)
———————————-
NARRATOR
(NARRATOR steps to the front of the stage)
And so, we come to the last rehearsal of Don Juan in Hell—the Musical. The final scene. Joe is focused. Don Juan and his cohorts are no longer children. They are in their mid-thirties and in dialogue with the Devil.
A lot is riding on the success of the play. George, Bella, and Devil (editor) attend this last rehearsal, anxious to see what Joe will offer their community, holding their breath.
Scene 4
SETTING: Theater stage
AT RISE: JOE rehearsing with ACTORS
JOE and ACTORS are working on the final scene of Don Juan in Hell—the Musical. JOE is down to business.
JOE
(to ACTORS, direct and in charge)
Alright, folks, our last rehearsal. I know everyone is tired. I’m sorry I’ve been so, well, distracted… Let’s push through… Reggie, mid-way through the final scene, pick up with Don Juan saying, “Commander: Would you agree…”
DON JUAN
Commander: Would you agree that you, indeed, that everyone is interested in living sanely, vitally, ethically, the art of life, as we have discussed it?
COMMANDER
Everyone, Juan?
DON JUAN
And when, for stretches of time, you are unable to live that way, vitally, let’s say, you feel something is missing, something essential.
COMMANDER
(not sure where this is going)
Perhaps. I suppose so… Juan, I’m not sure…
DONA ANA
(interrupting)
And the thing that is missing, Juan?
DEVIL
(dry sarcasm)
Supplements, no doubt.
DON JUAN
Who can name it, Ana? Perhaps it goes by many names. William James called it the More or the Much-at-Once.
DONA ANA
The More, Juan? The Much-at-Once?
Stage lights dim momentarily as light comes on dancer who spins, veils flowing. This is brief, a few seconds. DON JUAN, the COMMANDER, the DEVIL, and DONA ANA see the spinning image. Light on dancer goes out and stage lights return.
DONA ANA
But what is it, Juan?
DON JUAN
All I know to say, Ana, is that to experience the More or the Much-at-Once is to feel fully alive, to feel the awe and wonder of existence, itself.
DONA ANA
(reflecting on the phrase and then recognizing the experience in her own life)
Then I have felt the Much-at-Once, Juan. Hasn’t everyone? Immediately following the birth of my children… I felt it then. Or as the sun rose on the day of my marriage to Octavio.
DON JUAN
Yes, an ecstasy of sort.
DONA ANA
A love of life…
DON JUAN
If you prefer.
DONA ANA
(further reflection)
Truthfully, Juan, if I think about it, I experienced what you are describing on my way here.
COMMANDER
(recognizing the experience, chuckling)
True for me as well, my dear, now that you mention it.
DON JUAN
As did I! But it was at the cost of death! We hunger for it on a far more frequent basis while still alive.
COMMANDER
We hunger for it, Juan?
DON JUAN
And we go to any length to experience it, do we not? Our addictions, our rampaging… are these other than our flailing attempts to contact the Much-at-Once…
DEVIL
(sarcasm, cynicism)
Reaching, Juan, reaching!
DON JUAN
(not to be deterred)
On the other hand, we have invented rituals, meditative practices, extreme activities of one sort or another through which we hope to experience the More. Our great works of art, what purpose do they serve more central than to conjure the awe and wonderment that lifts us out of our trance. When the last line of the great poem is read, one senses a total surround, one senses the Much-at-Once.
COMMANDER
(puzzled)
Juan, I’m still not sure…
DON JUAN
(interrupting)
The Much-at-Once gives us appetite for life, Commander. What else would you have me say? It is the seamless connection with the whole of Nature and Life. Without that experience—at least on occasion—our will to persist is weakened, our perspective distorted.
COMMANDER
But, Juan, where does it come from? That’s what I’m asking. Not its purpose or its nature, but it’s source. From whence cometh the More?
DON JUAN
Commander, I can no more tell you where the More is from than I can tell you where we are from. I could say that it comes from the world behind our world but, to be honest, I would not know exactly what I meant.
DEVIL
(sarcastically)
Ah, so very helpful, Juan!
DON JUAN
From whence cometh the More, you ask? From the world-whole, the world felt as sacred and we a meaningful part of it. Our cutoffness gone if only for moments at a time.
COMMANDER
(puzzled)
Cutoffness, Juan? This is abstract in ways that…
DON JUAN
(interrupting)
Cutoff from Nature, Commander, from one another, from ourselves. What else is at the root of our troubles? With the Much-at-Once we are by degree healed, refreshed. And without it…
COMMANDER
(interrupting but hesitant)
Juan, forgive me, but this is getting, well… frankly, it strikes me as…
DEVIL
(interrupting)
MYSTICAL HOGWASH! No other way to put it. Don’t back off, Commander. You’re right to be put off!
COMMANDER
Still, I do know the feeling… the experience of which you speak. Not often enough, mind you!
DON JUAN
There is only one thing I would add.
DEVIL
(sarcastically)
Only one thing, Juan? I feel hopeful.
DON JUAN
And here, if not before, I may indeed be reaching.
DEVIL
(sarcastically)
Ah, denouement!
DON JUAN
For with the experience of the Much-at-Once comes an overpowering interest in but one question, the most ancient of all questions… WHAT IS THIS? THIS THING WE ARE IN… WHAT IS IT?
DEVIL
(exasperation)
OH, MY LORD!
DON JUAN
And so begins the interest in how to live, in how to inhabit the world-whole so as to not lose contact with the Much-at-Once.
(to DEVIL)
What else, old friend, but the MYSTERY and our pursuit of it? You would distract us from it, but you, Sir, are over-matched. Your pastimes, enticing though they are, cannot compete.
DEVIL
(extended pause– respectful, appealing to DON JUAN as a person)
Juan, dear Juan, you are dreaming. I’m not saying you’re not a good person. You are. Earnest, I would say. But you are susceptible to magical thinking. If you looked closely, you would realize that throughout the ages the human being, despite your sacred More remains a herd animal. They are heading for the cliff. You know it. I know it. They know it. Are the facts too difficult to face?
DON JUAN
The sacred More, as you put it, is needed for that very reason, your Lordship… for the perspective it makes possible. The More causes us to pause, to consider where we are. Is that not needed, old friend?
DONA ANA
(interrupting)
Juan, I have listened without interruption. Nowhere in your formulation have I heard mention of love.
DON JUAN
Love of life, Ana. You said it yourself. Without the awe, the wonderment, the love, we lack the essential nourishment. The motivation. We lose interest.
COMMANDER
And your utopia, Juan, if you were to have one?
DON JUAN
As you know, Commander, we are given our lives but once. So, to everyone everywhere the right to realize their most ennobling possibility. An age-old idea.
DEVIL
(dismissive)
Age-old, musty, and undoable, Juan. Nothing new.
DON JUAN
(insistent)
Have I suggested otherwise? I have only argued that the closing in of what surrounds us gives us little choice. Only one way is open if we are to pursue the mysteries that beset us.
DONA ANA
Only one way, Juan?
DON JUAN
There is also madness, Ana. I stand corrected.
COMMANDER
Juan, I’m not…
DON JUAN
(interrupting)
Who is not mad, Commander, when prevented from pursuing what they believe to be their most noble possibility? You would not have stood for it.
COMMANDER
Quite right, my boy. Might as well deny them their life.
DON JUAN
The Russian novelist… what was his name? …he spoke about “the instinctual longing for oneself.” Deny the pursuit for oneself, one’s inherent possibility, and rage most certainly follows.
(to DEVIL)
Speaking of the Russian novelist…
DEVIL
No, Juan. He is not here.
DON JUAN
William James, perhaps?
DEVIL
Never even visited. Not once!
DON JUAN
Shakespeare?
DEVIL
No, goodness, no!
DON JUAN
Louie Armstrong?
DEVIL
Stop torturing yourself!
DON JUAN
WELL, THEN, WHO THE HELL IS HERE?
DEVIL
YOU ARE, DON JUAN. AND THE COMMANDER. DONA ANA. AND I, YOU’RE FAITHFUL SERVANT. And I, for one, find only false hope in your view. Do you ever consider the strain your view puts on the average person?
DON JUAN
Is there such a thing, your Honor?
DEVIL
Yes, there is! And your idealism strips that person of their life. It’s the same with all you Idealists. You bombard the working order with unrealistic demands. Unrealistic pursuits. INHERENT POSSIBILITY! THE MUCH-at-ONCE! Fanciful! Gone are the pleasures of everyday life.
DON JUAN
On the contrary, I am talking about deepening the pleasures of everyday life. With the Much-at-Once the spirit is nourished, enlivened. Have I not made that clear? With it, we are eager to live! Eager to realize our most noble possibilities, the pursuit for which you have only contempt. But, truthfully, my dear old friend, I am as weary of this discussion as are the three of you. I see no reason to not take my leave.
DEVIL pulls DON JUAN to the side.
DEVIL
One moment, Juan. Between old friends: Why are you so intent on the need for the More, the Much-at-Once?
DON JUAN
Because, like you, Dark Prince, I am an observer of the human story. There is a timetable. And now, factors are converging, life-giving and life-ending. The question is being posed.
DEVIL
The question?
DON JUAN
The self-destructive or the life-honoring. Isn’t that the question? Settle for greater suffering or turn the corner? On the other hand, I have observed the human story for only a short while. You have observed it for eons. Am I wrong?
DEVIL
I do not have the powers of sight you might imagine, dear Juan. But, no, I do not think you are wrong.
DON JUAN
I must take my leave.
DEVIL
If you must.
DON JUAN
I will miss our exchanges, combative though they became at times.
DEVIL
As will I, Don Juan.
DON JUAN
Dona Ana… Commander… I wish you well.
COMMANDER
Farewell, Don Juan.
DONA ANA
We will miss you.
DON JUAN vanishes in the mist.
COMMANDER
I will indeed miss him. Better company than most people gave him credit for.
DEVIL
He will be back, Commander. His kind comes back more often than you might think.
The actors put down their scripts. JOE sits down as they all sit in a circle to catch their breath and discuss the play. GEORGE, BELLA, and DEVIL stand to one side of the stage.
JOE
(to ACTORS)
No one needs to give their critique now. Sleep on it. We’ll meet tomorrow and make the final cuts. I’ll see if I can fix the smoke machine. Don Juan didn’t exactly disappear into the midst, did he? For now, the last number… as we plan to perform it… Afterwards, we’ll call it a night.
ACTORS and musicians set the stage, place microphones, etc. readying to perform the last musical number. As that goes on, GEORGE and BELLA stand for a moment to one side.
BELLA
(quietly to GEORGE)
I’m truly proud of Joe. I think I am. Is that what I’m feeling?
GEORGE
Proud? Yes. Definitely. Indeed!
BELLA
Couldn’t be prouder.
GEORGE
Quite an accomplishment, really.
BELLA
(handing her phone to GEORGE)
Call the relatives!
GEORGE
We’ll be fine. Really. I think…
BELLA
(interrupting)
Make some excuse. You’re good at that.
GEORGE
Maybe with the right publicity… word of mouth…
BELLA
A week! It will last a week!
GEORGE
I think there might be interest…
BELLA
(interrupting)
I feel light-headed.
GEORGE
(GEORGE comforts BELLA, arm around her shoulders, BELLA bending over)
Breathe from your diaphragm, dear. In and out…
BELLA
(had enough)
Shut it, George! Worry about your own diaphragm!
All ACTORS, except FRIEDA but including JOE, GEORGE, BELLA, and DEVIL are involved in performing final full stage number — a song about time, voices weaving together asking: Isn’t it time?
(BLACKOUT)
(END OF SCENE)
End of Act Two
———————————-
Epilogue
SETTING: Cafe
AT RISE: JOE and DEVIL (editor) sitting at café table.
Three years have passed.
DEVIL
I’m glad we were able to meet, Joe. It’s been too long. Since the funerals. Only a few months apart.
JOE
Yes, after my mother, well, it didn’t take long.
DEVIL
They adored each other.
JOE
They were lucky.
DEVIL
And I trust you know, Joe, that despite our heated disputes, your father and I were the best of friends.
JOE
Of course. I always thought of you as another member of the family. Never took those heated exchanges seriously.
DEVIL
I loved your father’s books… the one dedicated to you… the one about Metaphysics… quite an accomplishment.
JOE
I look through them occasionally. They influenced me more than I ever realized…
DEVIL
Speaking of which: Your play? It’s still running, more than running, right?
JOE
It’s been a surprise. We added a narrator… and then a magical element… that’s what it needed… I only wish my parents could have known of its success. It took a while.
DEVIL
They believed in it, Joe. Well, maybe not at first. A lot was riding on it. But they believed in you.
JOE
It worked out eventually.
DEVIL
And Joe, I know this is delicate… your condition?
JOE
I’m glad you ask. My father’s work… he was always talking about the More, the Much-at-Once.
DEVIL
Ah, yes, the Much-at-Once.
JOE
After the play ended… a day or two later… And suddenly, well, what was it that Pops use to say? Every instant lived in the Much-at-Once… I started noticing and I felt it, felt it deeply, and I felt at home. My interest, my fascination…. Everything called to me. It still does.
DEVIL
This is what your father wanted for you, Joe. Prayed for in his way.
JOE
I never knew what he was talking about, not exactly.
DEVIL
And the visions, the sadness…
JOE
Just a memory.
DEVIL
Wonderful, Joe. You now have the rarest form of wealth. I’m happy for you.
(pause)
So, before I leave, tell me: Anything planned? A new project?
JOE
No. I have nothing planned.
DEVIL
If ever you need me…
JOE
You know, I’m almost embarrassed to say this… I never knew your line of work. Not exactly.
DEVIL
Editing. Simplifying. Breaking wholes into parts. That’s all. Like I did for your father.
JOE
My parents loved you. They always marveled at how you never aged. It’s true. You’ve looked the same all the years that I’ve known you.
DEVIL
It’s my work, Joe. I love my work. Do take care. Remember, I’m never far away.
JOE
Wonderful to see you. And thank you!
The two men stand and embrace. DEVIL exits. JOE puts money on the table. As he looks up, FRIEDA enters the café. When they see each other, they stop and continue to look at one another. JOE sings a brief song to FRIEDA–almost a poem–expressing how wonderful it is to see her and how he has nothing planned.
FRIEDA is sitting at the table across from JOE by the end of JOE’s brief song. They lean toward each another as they begin to talk. In the background, light comes on DANCER and NARRATOR. NARRATOR bows. DANCER extends her hand. Spins. Light fades.
(BLACKOUT)
(END OF EPILOGUE)
The End