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ONDINE
A musical theatre exploration
Time: The Middle Ages
Place: Deep in the woods and by a waterfall
SCENE 1 / "OVERTURE"
The curtain rises to reveal a storm-tossed forest. There is
thunder and lightning, and the trees thrash in the wind.
A knight in full armor enters, leaning against the wind, as a girl's voice sings a wordless tune that seems somehow to match the storm and the knight's struggle. The knight sits heavily on a log. As he rests, through the storm, a song is sung by the powers of nature and the supernatural (the Old One and his kin). It tells of a garden and a betrayal that has echoed through the ages.
The second scene is the interior of a cozy cabin somewhere in those woods. A fisherman and his wife, Auguste and Eugenie, quarrel good-naturedly about their rambunctious and capricious daughter, Ondine. She is described in a way that hints she has special mystical powers over nature.
SCENE 2
Place: A cabin
in the wood, near a lake
(We come in somewhere in the middle of the scene. The knight has arrived at the cabin and introduced himself as Hans von Wittenstien zu Wittenstein. He is offered food, and happily accepts. The discussion turns to that of his being alone in the forest.)
| AUGUSTE (The fisherrman) |
But here I am starting a conversation, and I'm sure you don't want to hear all my chatterings.... |
| HANS | My dear fisherman, after all this time alone with my own echo, you have no idea what a sweet relief it is! |
| THREE
MONTHS CRASHING THROUGH THE WOOD IN SEARCH OF A QUEST TO BE QUESTING NOW AT LAST IT FEELS SO GOOD TO BE A GUEST, AND RESTING. AND LUCKIER BY FAR, TO DINE WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS FOOD AND WINE, AND TIME TO SPEND, AND AN EAR TO LEND, TO RITTER HANS VON WITTENSTIEN ZU WITTENSTEIN. |
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| That's me. | |
| AUGUSTE | Yes, sir. |
| HANS | THERE
ARE TIMES IN THE PINES AS I'M SLASHING AT VINES THAT I WISH FOR WAR! |
| AUGUSTE | War?! |
| HANS | FOR BEFORE BATTLE
ENDS ONE IS BOUND TO MAKE FRIENDS -- THAT'S WHAT WAR IS FOR! |
| AUGUSTE | Oh. |
| HANS |
IF I FEEL LONELY, NEVER FRET BUT THEN IF YOUR RESERVES ARE
RESERVED OR YOUR TROOPS |
| AS A KNIGHT-ERRANT
[AIR ent] , I'M BORN WITH NOBLESSE, BUT I ADORE SHOOTING THE BREEZE NONETHELESS I'VE GOT A TALKATIVE NATURE, I GUESS |
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| I'VE BEEN LONE
AS A TROLL AND I'VE NOT SEEN A SOUL FOR A MONTH OR THREE, AND I'VE TALKED TO MYSELF TILL TWO WORDS WITH AN ELF WOULD BE FINE BY ME! HOW I YEARN TO MAKE A DATE TO GAB WITH THE GUYS WHO GUARD THE GATE. |
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| I'M NOT A MAN
WHO IS SUBJECT TO STRESS, (BUT) I GET UNNERVED WITH NO ONE TO ADDRESS I'VE GOT A TALKATIVE NATURE, I GUESS |
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| WHY I CHOSE TO
BE ERRANT MAY NOT BE APPARENT -- IT'S NO SPRING CRUISE -- BUT WHEN I DRAG A LASSIE FROM A DRAGON THAT'S GASSY SHE'LL KNOW THE NEWS! ANY PRINCESS WORTH HER CHALICE WILL SHARE ALL THE SCANDAL FROM HER PALACE! |
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| I LIKE MY JOB,
I AM BOUND TO CONFESS ('CAUSE) NO ONE TALKS MORE THAN A LASS IN DISTRESS I'VE GOT A TALKATIVE NATURE, I GUESS |
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| AUGUSTE | But whoever could have made you come to a dreadful place like this? |
| HANS | Who do you think? A woman! |
| AUGUSTE | Ah! Well, I'll ask you nothing more. |
| HANS | Nonsense! Good god, Auguste, I haven't talked about her for three months now! You don't think I'm going to miss this opportunity! Ask me! |
| AUGUSTE | What is her name, sir? |
| HANS | Her name, good fisherman, is Bertha. Princess Bertha, adopted daughter to the king! A beautiful name, wouldn't you say? I mean Bertha, not King. |
| AUGUSTE | Oh, beautiful, sir! |
| HANS | The other women are called Angelica, Diana, Violante. Well, I mean, anyone can be called Angelica, Diana, Violante. But only she deserves a name so solemn and thrilling and deep. I expect you want to know if she's beautiful, Eugenie? |
| EUGENIE (coming in) | The Princess Bertha? Well, of course she's beautiful. |
| HANS | Let me tell you, Eugenie: I am appointed by the king to select horses for the royal stable, and I might add that I have a keen eye for points in women, too. Not a fault escapes me. For instance, the lady Angelica has a ridge in her right thumbnail. The lady Violante has a speck of gold in her left eye. Only Bertha is perfect. |
| EUGENIE | Oh, we are glad, Sir. |
| AUGUSTE | I should think that's rather nice, though, a speck of gold in the eye. |
| EUGENIE | Be quiet, Auguste. |
| HANS | Nice, you think? Oh, you might find it amusing for a day, two days, perhaps. You'd enjoy looking at it by moonlight, by torchlight -- but really, by the third day you'd have tired of it. |
| AUGUSTE | What's it like, though? A bit of mica? |
| EUGENIE | Oh, you and your speck of gold, it's getting on our nerves. Let the gentleman go on! |
| HANS | Yes, I must say, Auguste, you seem to have taken a remarkable fancy to Violante! Well, it won't be long before you get to see her, with her great big mouth and tiny ears and flame-red hair, because you will both come to my wedding. I invite you here and now! Six months to the day after I return from Bertha's quest, come to my wedding, and you'll see how Violante matches up to my dark angel! Bertha is. . .a wonder! And I wouldn;t be here if she weren't such a stickler for custom and tradition. . . |
| YOU MIGHT SAY THAT
HER FORTE IS THE SPORT OF THE COURT, EVERY RULE AND CODE, AND SHE SENT ME AWAY FOR THREE MONTHS AND A DAY, SAYING, "HIT THE ROAD, GO FACE DANGERS, KEEP YOUR HEAD, RETURN TO ME AND WE'LL BE WED" |
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NOW I WOULDN'T COMPLAIN IF SHE
WEREN'T SO URBANE SO I PRAY, WITH HELM IN HAND, |
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| (humbly) | I'M NOT A MAN
THAT IT'S GOOD TO SUPPRESS HOW CAN I HELP IT IS I EFFERVESCE? I'VE GOT A TALKATIVE NATURE, I GUESS |
| NOTHING LIKE
SMALL TALK OR GOOD OLD B.S. I'M FOND OF ALL TALK -- BUT HOW I DIGRESS! I'VE GOT A TALKATIVE NATURE, I GUESS |
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BMI / Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, New York City. |
| ©2003 Squeaky Toy Music / Aspel Music |
Words by Adam Steinberg |