The Manchurian Candidate
Libretto by Mark Campbell based on the novel by Richard Condon
© 2015 by UMP Classics & Screen (BMI) International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. RNY 1429/03 ISMN 979-0-073-00328-2
Warning : Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited by Federal law, and subject to criminal prosecution.
Commissioned by Minnesota Opera a Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative Commission
CAST OF CHARACTERS
(in order of appearance)
Mrs. Lowe ...................................................Mezzo-Soprano
Sergeant Raymond Shaw ..............................................Baritone
Ed Mavole...........................................................Tenor
Bobby Lembeck ......................................................Tenor
Captain Ben Marco ....................................................Tenor
Andrew Hanley .....................................................Baritone
Eleanor Iselin, his mother .............................................Soprano
Johnny Iselin ..........................................................Bass
Dr. Yen Lo.........................................................Baritone
General Tracy .........................................................Bass
The Secretary of Defense ..........................................Bass-Baritone
Holborn Gaines ................................................Bass-Baritone
Jocelyn Jordan ......................................................Soprano
Young Raymond ....................................................Baritone
Senator Thomas Jordan ...........................................Bass-Baritone
Rosie Chayney................................................Mezzo-Soprano
Major General Bollinger ................................................Tenor
Dora, the Bartender ...........................................Mezzo-Soprano
The Nominee ......................................................Baritone
The Nominee’s Wife .................................................Soprano
Chorus of 20 that can include featured roles as well as reporters, garden club ladies, Communist officials, partygoers, conventioneers, FBI officials, etc.
TIME
Act I: 1951–1960
Act II: One day in 1960, morning to night
SETTING
An outpost in Manchuria
Various locations in New York City and Washington, DC.
THE CREATIVE TEAM
Conductor...................................................Michael Christie
Stage Director ................................................Kevin Newbury
Set Designer ....................................................Robert Brill
Costume Designer .................................................Jessica Jahn
Lighting Designer .
Japhy Weideman
Projections Designer .........................................Sean Nieuwenhuis
The Cast
Sergeant Raymond Shaw ........................................Matthew Worth
Eleanor Iselin. ..................................................Brenda Harris
Captain Ben Marco Leonardo Capalbo
Senator Johnny Iselin ...........................................Daniel Sumegi
Rosie Chayney.................................................Adriana Zabala
Jocelyn Jordan .............................................. Angela Mortellaro
Senator Thomas Jordan Christopher Job
Mrs. Lowe ....................................................Victoria Vargas
TV Announcer ............................................John Robert Lindsey
Secretary of Defense ......................................Stephen Cunningham
Dr. Yen Lo ...................................................Philip Zawisza
The Nominee . ................................................Philip Zawisza
The Nominee’s Wife ..........................................Shannon Prickett
Dora, the bartender ...........................................Shannon Prickett
Andrew Hanley ................................................Will Liverman
Holborn Gaines ...................................... Gerard Michael D’Emilio
Major General Bollinger ......................................... Cooper Nolan
General Tracy .............................................. Christian Zaremba
Young Raymond Andrew Lovato
SYNOPSIS
Act I
Scene 1—A lecture theatre somewhere in Manchuria, near the end of the Korean War. In front of Mrs. Lowe and an assembled audience, sit five members of an American platoon: Captain Ben Marco, Sergeant Raymond Shaw, Corporal Andrew Hanley, Private Bobby Lembeck and Private Ed Mavole. Mrs. Lowe jokingly announces that the platoon has been brainwashed into believing that they are present at a meeting of The Garden Club of Northern New Jersey. She further touts the power of brainwashing in the creation of a perfect assassin in Raymond Shaw. Mrs. Lowe demonstrates Raymond’s receptivity trigger—drawing the Queen of Diamonds in a game of solitaire—and then directs him to strangle Ed Mavole and shoot Bobby Lembeck. Ben Marco then repeats the command that has been planted in his brain: that he will recommend Raymond for the Medal of Honor as “a true American hero,” a sentiment that is then echoed by Andrew Hanley. The “ladies” adjourn for tea and sandwiches.
Scene 2—The tarmac of Idlewild Airport, many months later. Raymond returns to the United States decorated with the Medal of Honor. He is met by his mother Eleanor Iselin and his stepfather Senator Johnny Iselin, who promote Raymond’s “heroism” before a throng of reporters. Raymond is disgusted with his mother’s opportunism and announces that he has taken a position in New York with Holborn Gaines, the editor of the left-leaning Daily Press.
Scene 3—Marco’s apartment. The scene in Manchuria is reenacted, but this time with men and women from a foreign military organization. It is interrupted by Marco’s screams, who has been dreaming the scene in his apartment—revealing that he has had the same dream every night since the war ended.
Scene 4—The office of General Tracy; soon after. Marco expresses concern to General Tracy about his recurring dream; Tracy dismisses it as battle fatigue and assigns Marco a less stressful position in public relations for the Secretary of Defense.
Scene 5—A press conference, months later. Before television cameras, Senator Iselin interrupts the Secretary of Defense and announces that Communists have infiltrated the department. The news creates a media frenzy and Marco is fired.
Scene 6—An office at the Daily Press, directly after. Raymond and Holborn Gaines pick up the news of Senator Iselin’s announcement on the wire. Holborn vows to stop Iselin’s rise. He then leaves for lunch with his old friend Senator Jordon. Raymond refuses to take a call from Marco before daydreaming about the summer he spent with Senator Jordan’s daughter, Jocie.
Scene 7—The woods near the Iselin country house on Long Island, 1951. Raymond sees the younger man he was during the summer he fell in love with Jocie Jordan and the time he spent with her and her father, before Eleanor ended it.
Scene 8—A train from Washington DC to New York, soon after the press conference. An increasingly unstable Marco is befriended by an attractive stranger, Rosie Chayney, who consoles him before telling him her New York address and telephone number.
Scene 9—Raymond’s apartment in New York, later the same evening. Marco confronts Raymond about his recurring dream and Raymond reveals that Corporal Andrew Hanley sent him a letter from Alaska saying he has had the same dream. While Marco reads the letter, he voices his suspicions about what happened in Korea, along with Raymond and Andrew (in Alaska). Marco leaves, feeling he is on the brink of discovering the truth. The phone rings. Raymond picks it up and begins playing solitaire. When he encounters the Queen of Diamonds, he agrees to the demand of the caller.
Scene 1—The bedroom of Holborn Gaines’ apartment in New York; directly after. Holborn lies in bed. Raymond enters and kills him with a single bullet to his forehead.
Scene 11—The Iselin home; the next morning. While Johnny practices a speech, Eleanor reads the newspaper announcement about Holborn Gaines’ murder and remarks that Raymond will be promoted because of it. Eleanor notices that Jocie Jordan has returned from Europe and suggests holding a party for her, to gain favor with her father in the upcoming election.
Scene 12—The office of General Tracy, Washington DC; a day later. General Tracy presents Marco with some photographs. Marco describes the people in the photographs and Tracy reveals that his descriptions match those of Corporal Hanley and that they both identified people of international interest. Marco, greatly relieved that he has finally broken through the mystery, reveals that he will now, at last, be able to sleep—next to Rosie Chaynay.
Scene 13—The Iselin home. A costume party is in full swing. General Major Bollinger introduces Johnny Iselin and his nomination for vice president, while Raymond nervously awaits the arrival of Jocie Jordan. Eleanor takes Raymond to the library for a game of solitaire. She’s about to give him a directive when she’s interrupted by Johnny’s announcement that Senator Jordan has just arrived. Eleanor leaves, taking with her the Queen of Diamonds. Jocie appears from a side door. She and Raymond confess that their love for each other is unchanged after all these years and run away after Jocie has discarded her costume: the Queen of Diamonds. Eleanor solicits Senator Jordan’s help in getting Johnny nominated for vice president; Jordan refuses and leaves. Eleanor discovers that Raymond has fled with Jocie and flies into a rage. As the party returns in a wild conga line and freezes, Eleanor sets the stage for the national convention that occurs in Act Two.
Scene 1—Raymond’s apartment, New York; a month later. Jocie and Raymond have returned from San Juan where they were married. Marco enters and tells Raymond he must talk with him and they leave. Jocie answers a ringing telephone, but no one is at the other end.
Scene 2—A bar, directly after. Marco tells Raymond that the FBI has discovered that they were brainwashed in Korea and that Raymond may be part of a conspiracy. Raymond balks at the news, while Dora the bartender tells a story in the background that culminates in telling someone to play solitaire and soak his head. Raymond yields to the suggestions before Marco shakes him out of it. Raymond then denies that anything is wrong and angrily leaves. When Raymond is gone, Marco shows that he has recorded the entire conversation on a concealed tape recorder.
Scene 3—Raymond’s apartment, soon after; Rosie’s apartment, Senator Jordan’s apartment. Raymond is falling apart. The phone rings, he answers, and starts to play solitaire. In Rosie’s apartment, Marco figures out that it is the Queen of Diamonds played in solitaire that triggers Raymond’s receptivity and runs out to find Raymond. In Senator Jordan’s apartment, Jocie and her father celebrate her marriage. Raymond enters and shoots Senator Jordan. Jocie rushes to Raymond and is also shot. Raymond’s younger self appears as Raymond kneels beside Jocie’s body and briefly sobs before running out.
Scene 4—Raymond’s apartment, soon after. Eleanor bids Raymond to play solitaire and commands him to infiltrate the convention and shoot the nominee for president, so that Johnny will become the next president of the United States. Eleanor also discloses that she is an agent for the Communist government and that she had no knowledge that her son would be part of the plot when he was abducted. She leaves after kissing Raymond on the mouth. Marco enters with a deck of cards and deprograms Raymond.
Scene 5—A small office near the convention. Marco plays from the tape recorder, revealing the plot to assassinate the nominee. The agents rush to the convention. Marco watches the convention on the monitors and from afar urges Raymond to make sure the three gunshots accomplish what he was re-programmed to do. Rosie enters and refuses to leave Marco’s side.
Scene 6—The stage of the convention. Onstage are the Nominee, his family and Eleanor and Johnny Iselin. Banners wave and patriotic music is played as the Nominee begins his acceptance speech. At the designated moment, shots ring out in the convention hall and pandemonium occurs as Eleanor and Johnny are shot dead. A third shot rings out and Marco confesses to Rosie that Raymond took his own life. They both acknowledge their fear.
CONTENTS
Act I
Scene 1. A lecture theatre somewhere in Manchuria; near the end of the Korean War ............5
Scene 2. The tarmac of Idlewild Airport, New York; many months later .....................41
Scene 3. Marco’s apartment, New York; around the same time. ............................55
Scene 4. The government office of Army General Tracy, Washington, D.C.; soon after ..........66
Scene 5. A press conference, Washington, D.C.; months later .............................69
Scene 6. An office at the Daily Press; directly after ......................................82
Scene 7. The woods near the Iselin country home on Long Island; 1951 .....................85
Scene 8. A train from Washington D.C. to New York; soon after the press conference .........103
Scene 9. Raymond’s apartment in New York; later the same evening ...................... .118
Scene 10. The bedroom of Holborn Gaines’ apartment in New York; directly after ........... .135
Scene 11. The Iselin home; the next morning ........................................137
Scene 12. The government office of Army General Tracy, Washington, D.C.; a day later .146
Scene 13. The Iselin home .157
Act II
Scene 1. Raymond’s apartment, New York; a month later ...............................199
Scene 2. A bar in New York ..................................................... .210
Scene 3. Raymond’s apartment/Rosie’s apartment/Senator Jordan’s apartment, New York ...... .226
Scene 4. Raymond’s apartment, New York ..........................................248
Scene 5. A small office near the convention, New York .................................268
Scene 6. The convention, New York ...............................................274