| ...Bacchae Revisited... | ||||||||
| Scene Four (Enter Virginia) VIRGINIA: Come on out Mr. President. You who must see these women in the mountains. Come out in your cute dress. (Enter W) You, have come a long way baby! W.: It�s so bright out here, I, I think I�m seeing two sons, and you, there are two of you, I�m seeing all doubles. (coughs) VIRGINIA: Don�t worry, you�re seeing things very well, nothing is wrong. W.: How do I look, is this how my mother stands? VIRGINIA: You know, I�d almost mistake you for her. Oh, but this curl is out of place, it�s not where I clipped it back. W.: I must have messed it up earlier when I was running around, and practicing my dancing. Do they do the Twist? VIRGINIA: Yes, of course they do, it�s one of their favorites. Now let me fix your hair, keep your head straight. W.: Sure. You arrange it. I�m in your hands. VIRGINIA: Your sash is loose, your pleats are uneven and your strap has fallen down on your shoulder. W.: Oh, well yes, but only on this side. Over here it�s hanging right. (She continues to adjust his dress, which resembles a large robe) Do you think I�ll be able to lift the mountain while the women are still on it? Should I bring a crowbar to help me loosen it? VIRGINIA: (seemingly unconcerned that he�s not making sense) You�ll have to be careful not to tip the women off the top. W.: Oh of course! Good point. A strong fist is not what conquers women. Now when we go up I�ll just hide myself in some trees. VIRGINIA: You�ll be hidden just like a secret agent sent to spy on my women. W.: Yes, I can imagine them like birds in a thicket, held in a sweet tangle of sex! VIRGINIA: Yeah, and that�s why you get to spy on them, maybe you�ll catch them...if they don�t catch you. W.: Alright, let�s go, I�m ready to leave down the main road of the city. It�ll show my natural leadership, no other respectable man would be willing to do this! VIRGINIA: Yes, only you all alone, you will bear the city�s burden and pain. I am your guide and protection, trust me, I�ll lead you up there. Someone else will bring you back. W.: (interrupting) My mother! VIRGINIA: Everyone will be impressed... W.: (interrupting) That�s why I�m going! VIRGINIA: You will be carried... W.: (interrupting) You�ll spoil me! VIRGINIA: In your mother�s arms. W.: Oh I won�t need to be carried. You�ll pamper me to pieces and make me tender, by force. VIRGINIA: Oh you bet I will. W.: I will have what I deserve, what I�ve earned. VIRGINIA: You are wonderful and intolerable, great things and atrocities await all your journeys. (Exit W) Alright girls, I�ve sent him to you now take him in. Here�s your boy Barbara, let�s win the war against him. (Exit Virginia) CHORUS: Madness flies ahead of him, and a little bit with him, on his way up to that mountain which will crumble upon him with all the force of its drugged out women. His mother on the front lines will cry for Vengeance and they will descend upon him. He is wrong, he is fighting against capitalism, and he is fighting against women. We finally got something good and soothing just for us and he rallies against it! But we will take him down. We will triumph. |
||||||||
| Back to the end of Scene 3 | Almost there! Scene 5... | |||||||