FLETCHER: Thrill to the Wonders of History come to life! In our Wax Museum The Greatest Villains of the Ages Plot their Diabolical Devilry! You will See their Murderous Folly! Witness the Proceeds of Sin – Up Close! Ladies, take care not to approach too near… These villains may leer at you from the shadows. (In lights: MURDER MOST FOUL.) OLD MARIE: Wax figures were poised with pistols at the ready. Posed with an axe raised high in the air. Lizzie Borden in her nightdress Hovering in the moment just before her fame. Nero, I admired for his chin and the cut of his robe. The fiddle, however, so I learned, Was not the genuine article. It would not play. And John Wilkes Booth was The first man I ever fell in love with. Chiefly for his eyes. FLETCHER: Next, to the Hall of Mirrors! This is a maze to Astound and Delight! Get Lost in your own reflection! OLD MARIE: After the Hall of Mirrors was the Penny Arcade And after the Penny Arcade was the very best part: The Palace of Science. FLETCHER: Here are the Greatest Marvels of the Animal Kingdom Hunted down from the Four Corners of the Globe At tremendous risk of Life and Limb. Behold, the Kraken! (In lights: DEVIL OF THE DEEP.) OLD MARIE: A huge oil painting depicted A great seven-masted schooner in the clutches of the Kraken: A sea creature of innumerable tentacles And fierce, sub-marine strength. Next, in a glass case hung an enormous white pelt, The hide of the Russian Yeti. (In lights: THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN. Here, Fletcher assumes a funeral air.) FLETCHER: A moment of silence, please, for the men who died, Murdered at the hands of this MONSTER, In capturing the only specimen of Yeti ever exhibited. (Pause.) OLD MARIE: The crowds would OOH and AHH And THRILL to wonders Not so wondrous in themselves perhaps But made magical in my Uncle’s telling. I remember: The rhinoceros horn… FLETCHER: Those who suffer an infirmity may stop… And touch the horn… And see if you are not, indeed, among those who share In its Fabled Healing Power. OLD MARIE: … and the gorgeous Mermaid… (In lights: SWEET SIREN OF THE WAVES.) FLETCHER: The curves of a woman, the gills of a fish! Enchantress of the seven seas! 26 x Southern Theatre x Fall 2014
She sings sailors to their watery tomb! OLD MARIE: … and the fearsome Monkey’s Paw. FLETCHER: Careful not to cast a wish in its presence! You might not want your wishes to be granted! (End of scene.) SCENE II (Marie and Thomas. A field. Dusk. He pulls behind him a red wagon, carrying a burlap sack.) THOMAS: Psst! MARIE: What? THOMAS: Psst! MARIE: What is it? THOMAS: Do you want to see? MARIE: What is it? (Thomas picks up the sack from the wagon.) THOMAS: I don’t think I’ll show you. MARIE: Thomas! THOMAS: Want to see? MARIE: Yes! THOMAS: Alright then, I suppose. (He takes from the sack a large mason jar with fireflies inside. In lights: FIREFLIES.) THOMAS: I caught ’em in a jar! Look at ’em go! MARIE: Can I hold it? THOMAS: Promise to give it back. MARIE: Yes. THOMAS: Alright then, I suppose. (Marie dances with the jar of fireflies raised above her head. She sings like a music box.) MARIE: La la la La la la THOMAS: La la la MARIE: La la la (A change: Her uncle helps her into bed. She’s still singing.) MARIE: Why is father sad? FLETCHER: He misses your mother very much. MARIE: I miss her too. FLETCHER: Of course you do, dandelion. Everyone who knew your mother Loved her. (A change: Another dusk. The field. Marie and Thomas.) MARIE: I want to see your hand. You promised you’d show it. (Thomas hides his right hand.) THOMAS: First, tell me the story again. MARIE: My mother was royalty. Her blood was royal blood (And my blood is royal blood too). And she was called a Grand Duchess And when people spoke to her they would say Very pleased to meet you, Grand Duchess, And they would curtsy and kiss her hand Like so. Now you try. (He curtsies and kisses her hand.) THOMAS: Very pleased to meet you, Grand Duchess. MARIE: That’s good. She lived in Russia which is a country in Europe. And her family all died.
(In lights: PRINCESS ANASTASIA OF THE ROMONOV FAMILY. ALL THE OTHERS SLAUGHTERED.) MARIE: And people said she was dead too But she wasn’t. She was spirited away! And no one knew where she had gone. She ran away and didn’t stop And ran and ran Until she met my father. (A change: Another night. Another bedtime story.) FLETCHER: They had the love affair of the century Your parents did! (In lights: THE LOVE OF THE CENTURY.) FLETCHER: For, you see, in his veins coursed the blood of royalty too! Our father’s father’s father’s father – (Did he ever tell you this? No? Impossible!) – was the rightful heir to the French throne – (Do you know what an heir is? Very good.) – who was imprisoned all his life in a high tower In a filthy little cell And do you know what’s worse? Do you? On his face they set an iron mask And on that mask a lock So that no one who saw him Would ever know who he really was. (pause) His rescue was long and involved A story for another day But the point is this: Your parents loved as only Kings and Queens Can love. And he mourns her now with all his heart. (pause) Goodnight. (He turns out the light.) MARIE: Is my blood the blood of royalty too? FLETCHER: Of course it is, dandelion. Blue blood in your veins. You are Marie of Romania. (In lights: ALL HAIL QUEEN MARIE. Marie regards the lights: at first critically appraising them, then with satisfaction.) (End of scene.) SCENE III OLD MARIE: At twelve years old I knew all there was to know. I knew the books in the Bible And the countries on the map All by heart. I knew how to tie knots And how to get rid of leeches And I knew why cats howled at night. I knew my father paced the floors After I had gone to bed. I would wake in the night and hear him And wake in the morning to the same footsteps So I knew he didn’t sleep. And we’d say grace at the table Often he wouldn’t touch his food He’d just put his head in his hands. And I knew that this was called mourning. And I knew that mother wasn’t really