DAVID 302
SCENE THREE
MRS GONZALEZ IS FRANTICALLY WEAVING HER WHEELCHAIR AMONGST THE BARBELLS AND BENCHES OF THE GYM FLOOR. SHE COMES DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO HEAVY WEIGHTS AND MOVING MACHINES AND MEMBERS UNAWARE OF HER PROXIMITY. SHE IS SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING ON THE FLOOR.
(ENTER DAVID STAGE RIGHT)
DAVID: Mrs. Gonzalez, what are you doing here? It's dangerous for you to--
MRS. GONZALEZ: I've lost it! Oh no, I've lost it!
DAVID: Lost what?
MRS. GONZALEZ: I know I had it with me.
DAVID: What did you lose?
MRS. GONZALEZ: I have to find it.
DAVID: What is it?
MRS. GONZALEZ: Oh I have to find it. I need it.
DAVID: Mrs. Gonzalez...
MRS. GONZALEZ: I just have to!
DAVID: Mrs. Gonzalez...
MRS. GONZALEZ: I know I had it! (On the verge of tears) I have to. I have to.
DAVID: Mrs. Gonzalez...
MRS. GONZALEZ: I have to find it! I have to find it! My ride is here, but I have to--
DAVID: Consuela...
(STARTLED BY THE USE OF HER NAME, MRS. GONZALEZ IS QUIET FOR A MOMENT)
DAVID: What did you lose?
MRS. GONZALEZ: My pictures! My little album with my pictures of my son and daughter! I have to find it. I have to find it. I know I had it this morning!
DAVID: But why would it be here? You never come into this area, because it's too dangerous with all the weights--
MRS. GONZALEZ I know! I know! That's why I asked one of the young ladies if they would wheel me across because I didn't want to go all the way around. So I must have dropped it in here because I've looked everywhere else. Everywhere!
DAVID: Well, let's do this...why don't you go home, and I'll look for it.
MRS. GONZALEZ: No! I--
DAVID: Or we have a lost and found. Someone is bound to find it Or we'll find it when we clean up tonight.
MRS. GONZALEZ: No! No! You don't understand.
DAVID: I do understand.
MRS. GONZALEZ: No! I need it! I need it because I'm not strong enough yet! I'm not strong enough yet.
DAVID: Okay, okay...just calm--
MRS. GONZALEZ: You don't understand. I'm not strong enough yet!
DAVID: Mrs. Gonzalez...
MRS. GONZALEZ: I need it. But I need it.
DAVID: Consuela...
MRS. GONZALEZ: I..............
DAVID: Remember? (Pause) I do understand.
(MRS. GONZALEZ CAN BARELY KEEP HERSELF UNDER CONTROL...BUT SHE IS QUIET)
DAVID: Now, let me take you to your ride, and then I'll look for it, and I'll have Gina help me. How's that? And I'll even have Josh look when he comes in later and I'll stay near him, huh? He has to be careful with his crutches, so he's good at watching out for things on the floor.
MRS. GONZALEZ: (Nods)
(ENTER GINA STAGE RIGHT)
GINA: I'll take her.
DAVID: Thanks. (To Mrs. Gonzalez) I'll call you at home when I find it.
MRS. GONZALEZ: All......right.
(EXIT GINA AND MRS. GONZALEZ STAGE RIGHT. DAVID BEGINS TO SEARCH THE FLOOR. ENTER BRAD STAGE LEFT)
BRAD: You think it's a good idea to let that little girl roam around here too?
DAVID: She knows not to come into this area.
BRAD: It's just not right to have a little girl and a crazy old lady in a gym.
DAVID: You afraid they're gonna show you up?
BRAD: Huh?
DAVID: Afraid they're stronger than you? Because in some ways, they are.
BRAD: Yeah, right.
(CUE ORCHESTRA: SOMETHING I COULD DO)
(BRAD EXITS STAGE RIGHT)
WITHOUT AUDIBLE DIALOG, DAVID TELLS A FEW MEMBERS TO KEEP THEIR EYES OPEN FOR MRS. GONZALEZ'S PICTURE ALBUM. SLOWLY, THE MEMBERS MAKE THEIR WAY TO OTHER PARTS OF THE GYM AS DAVID SEARCHES ALONE. A FEW MOMENTS LATER, HE FINDS THE ALBUM ON THE FLOOR AND, LOOKING TIRED, HE SITS ON A BENCH. HE BRIEFLY LEAFS THROUGH IT AND THEN LOOKS OFF INTO THE DISTANCE.
(CUE: LIGHTS DIM TO 20%)
(CUE: SOFT SPOTLIGHT ON DAVID)
SOMETHING I COULD DO
DAVID
I don’t know what to say
to “You should make them pay
if they want company, or respite from their lust.”
For to be truly fair
I see a need that’s there,
and a hopelessness that’s never well discussed.
And if I am a prize
viewed with rapacious eyes
why do their dreams you feel compelled to so condemn?
And even worse, I think,
their hopes begin to sink
for even musing that I’d smile or talk to them.
Do those in loneliness
see beauty any less?
And do their dreams of love just stop or fly away
because they don’t express
your view of comeliness,
or have the jaunty social graces you display?
Why should she feel compelled
to void dreams dearly held
of a fine man who has eyes for only hers,
because this decade or this century
or some designer does decree
that monstrous is what being plump infers?
Why should that slim young man
feel that he never can
enjoy the admiration of a girl or boy
because his arms are thin
and so he’ll never win
advances men with bigger muscles so enjoy?
What can I do?
What can I do?
What greater strength than to uplift a heavy heart?
What can I bend?
What can I mend?
A broken boy or girl or mind that's torn apart.
Why cant they see?
It isn't me.
If someone tells them that they're ugly,
look how quickly they believe.
Yet when they're told that they are beautiful,
it's just impossible for them to quite conceive.
If I could close my eyes
and by some spell devise
a magic moment when their eyes could see anew,
the smile more than the face,
the strength in an embrace,
there'd be my wish fulfilled,
a something I could do.
And if they found that light,
that strengthens seer and sight
they'd find a loveliness inherent in us all.
And stranger still to see,
reverse causality
that makes the viewer who sees beauty, beautiful.
(CUE: VIOLIN SOLO)
When darkness of the soul,
endeavors to control
a hopeless heart, it whispers coldly in my ear
that I can't save them all.
I answer, standing tall,
that it can't have them all, so therefore it should fear...
...the truth that there may be
a day we might just see
the fact that loving them was something I could do.
(END: SOMETHING I COULD DO)
(APPLAUSE)
ENTER MR. SAMUELS, A CLANDESTINE CUSTOMER OF BRAD'S. MR. SAMUELS IS THE LAST MEMBER TO LEAVE THE GYM FOR THE DAY. HE EXITS THE LOCKER ROOM, STOPS AT THE WATER FOUNTAIN FOR A MOMENT AND THEN TURNS TO EXIT THROUGH THE GYM. BRAD EMERGES FROM THE SHADOWS.
BRAD: You're keeping late hours these days. I hope you got some energy left for me.
MR. SAMUELS: Brad! How are you my boy?
BRAD: You are looking fine these days. But you know the rules. No getting bigger than me.
MR. SAMUELS: (Laughs) No chance of that! Though it would be nice to give you a run for your money.
BRAD: That an invitation?
MR. SAMUELS: Well actually...(looks left and right)...that's what I was thinking about. You and I need to go over some figures again, I'd say.
BRAD: Yeah. Like mine.
MR. SAMUELS: Well now believe it or not, that's exactly what I was thinking.
BRAD: How I do know my customers.
MR SAMUELS: You certainly do. And I just love knowing you. But as they say, after the loving, I want an update on your little business venture.
BRAD: No problem's so far. Nobody's caught on, and when it happens, there won't be any way to trace it back to me. I appreciate your pointers.
MR. SAMUELS: That's just fine. Say, what are you doing Saturday?
BRAD: Oh sorry. I got a date. And I don't think I can reschedule.
MR. SAMUELS: How about Monday?
BRAD: Ooo, sorry. Booked on that night too.
MR. SAMUELS: Oh Brad, my boy! It's me! Don't I always make it worth your while?
BRAD: Course, but uh, you know how it is. I got to set priorities.
MR. SAMUELS: Well what would it take to make me a priority on Monday?
BRAD: What would it take?
MR. SAMUELS: I like to get what I want.
BRAD: I know you do!
MR. SAMUELS: I'm sure we can make some kind of agreement. What do you say? After all, I am lending my services as a consultant in your little venture. The least you can do is lend your services to me.
BRAD: You know I can't say no to you.
MR. SAMUELS: That's my boy!
BRAD: Well, maybe.
MR. SAMUELS: Come on. What's it take? Who's more important than me?
BRAD: Now you know you're number one.
MR. SAMUELS: And that's the way it's going to stay, right?
BRAD: No question about it.
MR. SAMUELS: Any chance you could bring your friend?
BRAD: My friend?
MR. SAMUELS: That blue eyed beast that works with you. What's his name? David?
BRAD: Oh. Him.
MR. SAMUELS: Now, now, now. Don't start getting jealous. When I go out to a buffet, I like to taste everything. But I always come back to my favorite.
BRAD: I tell you what. You want to talk business? Ok, let's talk business. Let's make a deal.
MR. SAMUELS: Okay.
BRAD: How much pull have you got with the other health clubs around here?
MR. SAMUELS: Mmmm let me see. All the big chains go through us. The little ones don't meet our volume requirements. Some of the little ones process their transactions as a collective though. What do you want done?
BRAD: Something I've wanted for a long time.
MR. SAMUELS: You've got my interest piqued. Anything can be done at my level. If I get what I want, that is. There's always a way to make it untraceable. What is it?
BRAD: Well, it's not a money thing. Not exactly..
MR. SAMUELS: What is it?
BRAD: How much pull do you have as to who could get hired at one of those gyms?
MR. SAMUELS: (Sighs) I could get you in, but there's no way you'd be able to skim the same amount of money you do here. Everything is--
BRAD: Oh no, no. You don't get it. I don't want to get hired anywhere. I got my little gold mine right here. Especially after next week. I want to know if you can prevent someone from getting hired. For instance, well, I don't like to name names, but I've done business with a couple of people who work mmmm....fairly close to the Human Resources part of two of the big gym chains, and--.
MR. SAMUELS: Alex Ramsey one of them?
BRAD: Well, (laughs) you know how it is. I can't say that he is, and I can't say that he's not.
MR. SAMUELS: The old dog! I knew he had good taste in men!
BRAD: (Smiling) What I was wondering is, can you make it so that someone can't be hired anywhere?
MR. SAMUELS: (Pauses) Theoretically.
BRAD: Cuz ya see, I think I got a way for you to have your cake and eat it too.
MR. SAMUELS: I love when people say that to me.
BRAD: You want Dave for a night?
MR. SAMUELS. Absolutely.
BRAD: Well, get in line.
MR. SAMUELS: (Laughs)
BRAD: To tell you the truth Mr. Samuels, I can't think straight when he's around either. But he'd be a big asset to my business, if I could bring him around. People would pay through the teeth to have him. On the other hand, I took a knife and stuck it in my calendar, right through tthe date he walked in here. He makes me just want to puke. I would do anything to see him brought down a notch, but at the same time, I want him right under my thumb. But more than that,...I...want...his...ass...right under my hips!
MR. SAMUELS: Keep going. I'm listening.
BRAD: I've been trying to get him to come on board for the longest time. But even in his sorry financial state, he's just like a big tall glass of milk and a slice of apple pie. Next week, when I take over here, I'm sure everyone is gonna ask if they can stay, including him. I'll give him one last chance. And if he comes on board, you can have second crack at him.
MR. SAMUELS: Second?
BRAD: (Smiling an evil grin) Yeah. I want to have him first. I want him to never forget the night when I became his boss and showed him how to do the job right. And if he says no, I want him out of here. I can't have that kind of competition close by. He's got a mystique about him. But it's real. You can't buy him. You can't have him. Which makes you want to buy him and have him all the more. If he doesn't work for me, I want him out of town. Not just out of this gym or this city. I want him gone. I don't want him to find a home in any gym or anywhere in Southern California, and he's gonna need a job real, real bad.
MR. SAMUELS: I think I can do that. I can play with his financial history, credit rating, his--
BRAD: Oh that's perfect. He's going to be needing money soon.
MR. SAMUELS: I can put him into collection. He's got a loan?
BRAD: His parents do. They have a ranch. At least for now they do.
MR. SAMUELS: Oh, perfect! Where?
BRAD: Texas.
MR. SAMUELS: I know someone in Texas who could speed up a foreclosure. After that, the property would be put up for auction. I could make it look like we paid the late fees and foreclosure costs up front. That way we could outbid everyone. If your business is as lucrative as we think it will be, you could be his landlord too.
BRAD: Oh, yeah!
MR. SAMUELS: I can even invalidate most of the bids that come in, and set up a few fictitious businesses to bid alongside us. That way we'd be sure to acquire the property. If you don't have enough money to buy the place, I can give you a loan.
BRAD: Great!
MR. SAMUELS: Does he have a student loan?
BRAD: Yeah, I think so.
MR. SAMUELS: Oh ho ho! You just leave it to me! Does he have a car?
BRAD: Yeah.
MR. SAMUELS: Still paying it off?
BRAD: Yeah.
MR. SAMUELS: Not for long. Can you can get me his Social Security and driver's license numbers from the files here? Should be easy enough, right?
BRAD: Easy.
MR. SAMUELS: Excellent.
BRAD: But, you know...I guess I might tolerate seeing him flippin' burgers and mopping floors and washing dishes, just to afford bus fare. I would almost kill to see him in some place dark and dirty where no one else will see him. As long as I know he doesn't have time to sleep or go to school, I'll be happy. But you know what I'd really like? Can you make it so...for instance...he has to go home? You know, work on the ranch. Forever? I would just sleep so much better knowing that while I enjoy my private club, he's shoveling horse manure. And the only crowd he draws...is flies.
MR. SAMUELS: It might take some time, but once we build a history of outstanding warrants for outstanding debt...in Texas...it could lead to jail time and ongoing probation. That way he can have a choice; shovel dirt at your command for the rest of his life to keep you from selling the ranch, or go to jail.
BRAD: Jail?
MR. SAMUELS: Definitely.
BRAD: Oh Santa baby, that's what I want for Christmas. Do that for me, and we can talk about being partners in more ways than one.
MR. SAMUELS: Where there's a will, there's a way. But remember, that's if he doesn't agree to be your star player. If he does, once you have your way with him, I'm right behind you. (Pats Brad's butt).
BRAD: You're always right behind me!
MR. SAMUELS: (Laughs)
BRAD: But hey, listen. If we're going to make this place into a private club, we need to clean it up, and that goes for the people too.
MR. SAMUELS: Oh I'm sure we can find the appropriate staff.
BRAD: Yeah. Me too. But before you can hire someone, you've got to fire someone. (Looks toward the reception desk) And I think I know who's going to be the first to go. She's already got another job. Excuse me while I take care of some.........business.
(THE RECEPTION ARE OF THE GYM)
(DAVID RUNS FROM STAGE LEFT TO THE RECEPTION DESK. GINA IS FOLDING FLYERS FOR A MAILING. DAVID DUMPS HIS GYM BAG AND OTHER ITEMS ON THE DESK AND HURRIEDLY STARTS TO PACK THEM INTO THE BAG)
GINA: What's the rush?
DAVID: I have to get out of here.
GINA: Why?
DAVID: Because my neighbor's going to call to ask me if I can help him move.
GINA: And you don't want to be here when he calls?
DAVID: No!
GINA: The curse of being big and strong.
DAVID: (Hurrying) Exactly! This way (starts shoving things into the bag) when he calls, you can truthfully say that I'm not here!
GINA: Oh, I get it. Well, I can close up by myself. I know how.
DAVID: Oh...Manuel's still here. I told him to stay until you were done. He said he'd walk you to your car.
GINA: Who would want to attack me?
DAVID: Just walk with him, okay? Makes him feel studly. He's downstairs mopping.
GINA: Okay.
DAVID: And (frantically stuffing things into the bag) you want to know where I'm going?
GINA: Okay.
DAVID: Ain't gonna tell you! That way you can honestly say that you don't know.
GINA: (Laughs) Why don't you limp out. That way I can honestly say that I think you hurt your back.
DAVID: That's a good idea!
GINA: Well...now we can't do it because you said it was a good idea! If you're going to lie, you have to do it truthfully.
DAVID: I like my neighbor but...I'd help him,(panting for breath as he hurries) but I've got a report to write tomorrow, and he only calls me when he needs something heavy moved. My answering machine's off, and only a few people know my cell phone number, like you, in case of an emergency.
GINA: Good thinking.
DAVID: Yeah. I'm not as dumb as I look! Right?
GINA: Right. I mean, no! I mean--
DAVID: Gotcha! I'm out of here! Bye! (DAVID EXITS STAGE RIGHT)
CUE: PHONE RINGS
GINA: Uh oh. (Picks up phone) Thank you for calling Earl's Gym. This is Gina speaking. How may I help you?..............No, I'm sorry. Earl is out on a leave of absence, but he checks for messages every day. Would you like to leave a message?................................Until ten o'clock. Yes, we're closing right now. But you're welcome to come in and look around tomorrow.....................You're very welcome. Bye. (Hangs up phone)
(GINA SPIES DAVID'S WATER BOTTLE ON THE DESK.)
GINA: Oh no.
(GINA RUNS TOWARD THE ENTRANCE TO THE GYM HOLDING DAVID'S WATER BOTTLE OVER HER HEAD)
GINA: David! Wait! You forgot...(stops running)...your....(sighs)
(GINA TURNS AND WALKS SLOWLY BACK TO THE RECEPTION DESK. SHE GAZES LONGINGLY AT THE WATER BOTTLE FOR A FEW SECONDS AND THEN PLACES IT ON TOP OF THE RECEPTION DESK. SHE LOOKS UP AT THE POSTER BEHIND THE DESK)
CUE: ORCHESTRA ( VIOLIN TREMOLO)
(AS GINA GAZES AT THE POSTER, THE LIGHTS IN THE GYM BEGIN TO DIM. GINA BREAKS HER GAZE FROM THE POSTER AND GRABS HER COAT AND PLACES IT ON TOP OF THE DESK IN PREPARATION TO LEAVE. SHE TURNS OUT SEVERAL BANKS OF LIGHTS. THE GYM IS VERY DIM NOW. SHE GRABS HER COAT AND ACCIDENTALLY KNOCKS DAVID'S WATER BOTTLE TO THE FLOOR. SHE WALKS FROM BEHIND THE DESK AND PICKS IT UP AND AGAIN, SHE GAZES LONGINGLY AT IT)
CUE ORCHESTRA: (HARP GLISSANDO)
(THE GYM HAS THE DIM GLOW OF CANDLELIGHT. THE VIOLIN AND HARP CONTINUE UNINTERRUPTED, HERALDS TO A MAGICAL TRANSFORMATION. GINA SMILES AND PUTS THE WATER BOTTLE ON THE RECEPTION DESK AGAIN. STILL SMILING, SHE PRETENDS THAT DAVID IS BEHIND HER, CALLING OUT HER NAME. SHE TURNS.)
GINA: David?
(GINA SMILES AT HER IMAGINARY DAVID AND SLOWLY WALKS TO CENTER STAGE)
GINA: What's that you said?
(GINA EXTENDS HER HAND AS THOUGH DAVID IS REACHING FOR HERS)
GINA: Go with you to the dance?
(GINA STOPS NEAR CENTER STAGE, HER HAND EXTENDED, HER EYES FIXED ON A DAVID THAT IS NOT REALLY THERE)
GINA: I...I'd love to.
CUE: ORCHESTRA (SILENCE...5 SECONDS)
CUE: ORCHESTRA (GINA'S WALTZ)
(IN TIME TO THE EXTREMELY SLOW FIRST MEASURES OF THE WALTZ, GINA BOWS TO ONE KNEE AND LOWERS HER HEAD, STILL HOLDING HER HAND UP AND OUT TO DAVID, AND THEN, AS THOUGH DAVID HAS BIDDEN HER TO RISE, SHE STANDS. SHE PLACES HER HANDS BEHIND HER BACK AND PERFORMS A SLOW MINUET, CIRCLING THE IMAGINARY DAVID.
AS THE WALTZ ASSUMES A MORE ENERGETIC BUT STILL GRACEFULLY SLOW BEAT, GINA EXTENDS HER HAND AGAIN AND GRACEFULLY WALKS A WIDE CIRCLE WITH HER EXTENDED HAND AS THE CENTER POINT, AS THOUGH DAVID IS LEADING HER AROUND HIM. SHE SWITCHES HANDS AND IS LED THROUGH ANOTHER CIRCULAR PROMENADE IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. SHE LOOKS BLISSFULLY HAPPY. SHE LETS OUT A SMALL, STARTLED SOUND AS THE INVISIBLE DAVID SUDDENLY LEADS HER QUICKLY BY THE HAND ACROSS THE STAGE, SWINGING HER HAND BACK AND FORTH MERRILY. SHE STOPS NEAR ONE OF THE LOCKERS AND PERFORMS YET ANOTHER PROMENADE AROUND THE LOCKER, HER HAND STILL EXTENDED, AS THOUGH THE LOCKER IS DAVID. SHE'S DRAWN TO AND FRO A FEW TIMES IN A GRACEFUL EXCHANGE OF HAND HOLDING. NOW SHE IS LOOKING AT THE LOCKER WITH SLIGHT ASTONISHMENT.
FROM BEHIND THE LOCKER, THE UNMISTAKABLE SHAPE OF DAVID, COMPLETELY COVERED FROM HEAD TO TOE IN BLACK., EMERGES AND TAKES GINA INTO HIS ARMS. ALL HIS CLOTHING IS BLACK, AND HE WEARS BLACK GLOVES AND A BLACK HEAD STOCKING. THE WALTZ GAINS MOMENTUM AS THEY CIRCLE AROUND AND AROUND TO CENTER STAGE. THE FIXTURES OF THE GYM BEGIN TO SINK INTO THE STAGE THROUGH TRAP DOORS. SUDDENLY, FOUR COUPLES, ALSO DRESSED FROM HEAD TO TOE IN BLACK VELVET, RUSH FROM THEIR HIDING PLACES BEHIND THE SINKING FIXTURES. THE MEN HAVE ONE HAND BEHIND THEIR BACKS WHILE THEIR OTHER HAND HOLDS THE HAND OF THEIR PARTNER AND THEY RUSH GRACEFULLY, FROM THEIR ORIGIN AT EACH CORNER OF THE STAGE TO THE CENTER OF THE SIDE OF THE STAGE IMMEDIATELY TO THEIR RIGHT. ALL DANCERS BOW AND CURTSY, INCLUDING DAVID AND GINA,
THE NEXT STAGE OF THE WALTZ BEGINS WITH A MORE MAJESTIC TEMPO. THE FIXTURES OF THE GYM ARE GONE, AND A FEW SECONDS LATER, FOUR MORE PHANTOM COUPLES FLY FROM THEIR HIDING PLACES, CROSS TO THEIR RIGHT, AND JOIN THE SWIRL OF THE WALTZ. THEY PERFORM INTRICATE TURNS AND STATELY PROMENADES, ALL IN THREE QUARTER TIME. THE MUSIC IS INCREASING IN VOLUME, RICHNESS, AND TEMPO. ALL THE DANCERS, INCLUDING DAVID AND GINA, SHARE THE SAME RHYTHM AND SURGES OF MOVEMENT AND TURNS, AND YET GINA STANDS OUT BECAUSE SHE IS THE ONLY FIGURE NOT DRESSED COMPLETELY IN BLACK. AT TIMES, AS THE COUPLES PASS IN FRONT OF ONE ANOTHER, THE AUDIENCE LOSES THEIR DISCERNMENT OF ONE FIGURE FROM THE NEXT, AND THE WALTZ BECOMES A PULSING, TURNING MEDLEY OF BLACK WITH A FLASH OF ARM OR LEG HERE AND THERE. ONLY DAVID AND GINA, AT CENTER STAGE, REMAIN CLEAR.
THE WALTZ CHANGES KEY, ONE NOTE HIGHER, AND THIS TIME WITH A FAR MORE GRANDIOSE FLAVOR. FOUR MORE COUPLES FLIT ONTO THE STAGE AND JOIN THE MOVEMENT. THE WALTZ HAS AN ASCENDING COUNTERSONG THIS TIME, WHICH ACCENTUATES THE APPEARANCE OF TWELVE GIANT ALMOST TRANSPARENT FABRIC PANELS THAT ARE BEGINNING TO RISE FROM SLOTS IN THE STAGE FLOOR. AT THE SAME TIME, A MASSIVE CRYSTAL CHANDELIER MAJESTICALLY DESCENDS FROM THE RAFTERS. THE PANELS ARE DESIGNED TO SUGGEST THE WALLS OF AN ORNATE BALLROOM. ONCE THE CHANDELIER HAS COME INTO FULL VIEW AND THE PANELS HAVE RISEN TO FLOAT ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE STAGE FLOOR, THE TRANSFORMATION IS COMPLETE AND THE GYM HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO A GHOSTLY, MAGICAL BALLROOM.
FOUR MORE COUPLES RUSH ONTO THE STAGE AS THE WALTZ BURSTS INTO FULL GLORY. THIS TIME, ALL FIGURES PERFORM A SIMPLE, STATELY, CLASSIC WALTZ AROUND AND AROUND THE STAGE, WITH GINA AND DAVID STILL AT CENTER, AND AS THEY DO, THE CHANDELIER BEGINS TO TURN AND THE SEMI-TRANSPARENT PANELS BEGIN TO FOLLOW IT, AS THOUGH CAUGHT IN THE CURRENT OF THE DANCERS' CIRCULAR MOVEMENT. THE ENTIRE STAGE IS NOW LIKE A GIANT MERRY-GO-ROUND WITH BRILLIANT RAINBOW FLASHES EMANATING FROM THE CHANDELIER. ALL DANCERS MOVE IN GRAND, SWEEPING GESTURES. THEIR FINESSE IS ACCOMPANIED BY A STRENGTH AND ENERGY THAT MAKES IT SEEM AS THOUGH THEY COULD INDEED CREATE A WHIRLPOOL THAT COULD MOVE WALLS. THE WALTZ BUILDS TO ITS THUNDEROUS CLIMAX, AND ON THE FINAL DOWNBEAT, ALL GENTLEMEN BOW, AND ALL LADIES CURTSY.
CUE: ALL LIGHTS TO BLACK
CUE: CHANDELIER UP AT FULL SPEED
CUE: WALL PANELS UP AT FULL SPEED
CUE: GYM FIXTURES RISE AT FULL SPEED
CUE: ALL DANCING COUPLES TO RESPECTIVE HIDING PLACES
CUE: DAVID EXIT STAGE LEFT
CUE: GYM LIGHTS ON
IN A MATTER OF SECONDS, GINA FINDS HERSELF STANDING ALONE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GYM. SHE TURNS TO SEE WHO HAS BROKEN THE SPELL BY TURNING THE GYM LIGHTS ON. SHE SEES BRAD, WITH HIS HAND ON THE LIGHT SWITCH, LAUGHING SOFTLY.
END: GINA'S WALTZ
END ACT 1
CUE: CURTAIN
INTERMISSION
2007