RASP
by Josepha Gutelius
Dramatis Personae:
CZAR of Russia, middle-aged, and straining not to be in crisis
CZARINA ditto; she likes to carry a fan
ALEXA their 17-year-old daughter, who is looking forward to her glittering debut into society
RASPUTIN psychic advisor and possibly lover to the Czarina; he likes wearing lots of Christian crosses
STUDENT a 19-year-old revolutionary with a troubled heart; he likes wearing pearls with black leather
SOUND she/he is an echo, and maybe more, more
Optional: BEGGARS They may crawl up and down the stairs and generally contribute to the distress
SETTING:
The Czar’s palace. A grand, shimmering staircase, center.
What is RASP? An irreverent account of the last night (mare) of the Czar.
(Opening in darkness: sounds of commotion, a mass exodus of the palace. And finally, ALEXA’s voice)
ALEXA (voice in darkness) Shhhhhh! Shhhh!….SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH… (the last “shh” is drawn-out, sounding like wind. Commotion gradually fades and there is only her “shhh.” Lights rise on ALEXA, barefoot, in nightgown, with a lit candle.)
(STUDENT ENTERS from audience, joins in with “shhh…,” closing the curtains/shutters of the palace)
ALEXA Shhh…. Do you hear him? … No? Am I the only one who does…? There! Do you hear that?
STUDENT & SOUND (imitating heartbeat) Bump bump… bump bump… bump bump…bump bump… bump bump...
ALEXA That’s his heart… my father’s heart.
STUDENT & SOUND (imitating sound of galloping horses) Bum-bum-bump-da-dump- bump-da-dump, da-dump,da-dump, da-dump, da-dump,da-dump …
ALEXA Not so fast!
STUDENT & SOUND (slows down the sound to a regular heartbeat, then slower) Doomp… doomp… doomp… doomp… doomp…
ALEXA So slow…?
STUDENT Doom-da-da-da-doom…doom…doom… (creeps closer to her, disguised as a flamboyant gypsy, swaying a pendulum) I have my trusty pendulum to help me locate the offensive flower, with her offensive odor and broken petals…
ALEXA (calling to her father, who is upstairs) Should I bring you some water, Father? …A cracker, maybe? Some soap? (no answer) He hasn’t washed in weeks. my father, who bathed every day (correcting herself) well maybe every other day.
STUDENT & SOUND Bump-da-dump…. Bump-da-dump… bump-da-dump…
ALEXA My father’s heart…
STUDENT ba-dum-ba-dump da-dump… (slower heartbeat)
ALEXA He’s getting weaker.
(CZARINA appears at top of stairs)
CZARINA Rasputin! His heart! Schnell! (German for “Be quick!”) Rasputin! Rasputin! Wo bist du? (German for “Where are you?” pronounced: “Voe bist doo”)
RASPUTIN Sofort! At once, Czarina! (RASPUTIN appears, throwing on his clothes: dressed like a flamboyant gypsy. He runs upstairs, gasps at the startling mirror image of himself: the STUDENT)
STUDENT (blocking RASPUTIN, bows with a flourish) At your service.
CZARINA Rasputin! Hurry!
RASPUTIN (holding up his fingers as a hex) The devil has entered the palace.
CZARINA & SOUND (gasp in horror)
ALEXA (to audience) My father, when he was in better health, he hated Rasputin.
(CZAR appears at top of stairs, in bathrobe, with large bib around his neck)
CZAR MUST we have HIM for dinner again?
RASPUTIN I know the things that are hidden.
ALEXA But then Rasputin, the crafty wizard, put a spell on my dad.
CZAR I know – let’s have that marvelous man over - so wise. “I say Rasputin, what does the pendulum tell me to do about the deteriorating state of the serfs?”
CZARINA & RASPUTIN & SOUND (gasp at the mention of “serfs”) Serfs???
CZARINA “deteriorating state?” (she laughs mirthlessly, signals everyone to join in)
RASPUTIN & CZARINA & SOUND Ha-ha-ha!
ALEXA Shh!
CZAR What have I said?
ALEXA (high-pitched C-note: a surprisingly lovely scream)
(all except ALEXA bow/curtsey to the CZAR, and freeze. CZAR slowly exits up the stairs)
ALEXA (to audience) Tonight is my debutante ball. It begins at midnight. And it will last on and…
ALEXA & SOUND on and on and on.
ALEXA How do I feel? I’m scared and excited. I might even throw up. My first ball.
RASPUTIN My beloved Czarina, I see you can’t be content with being a mere supporting player. I see a blue flame in your eyes. Your grief.
CZARINA (fanning herself with her fan) Grief, yes. How true.
RASPUTIN God bless Mother Russia. She bleeds inside Czar’s fist.
CZARINA (whispering) What have you heard?
RASPUTIN He’s no longer beloved Emperor and brilliant Autocrat of all Russia.
CZARINA And why? Because he won’t listen to me, perhaps because I have nothing to say. I’ve lost my thoughts. Where are they? I can’t keep up with them. They keep going on and
CZARINA & SOUND on and on and on.
RASPUTIN Here! I got them! Here are your thoughts!
CZARINA Where?
RASPUTIN Look into my eyes.
ALEXA All the monarchs of Europe are coming to introduce themselves to me. “How do you do?” (she curtsies)
ALEXA & SOUND “How do you do?”
CZARINA (obediently looking into RASPUTIN’s eyes) I’m getting dizzy. Excuse me. (faints in RASPUTIN’s arms)
ALEXA “How do you do?” Oh, I’m getting butterflies! (holds her stomach)
CZARINA (in RASPUTIN’s arms, looking up) Why am I seeing stars? Are we out-of-doors? I hate the sound of the wind.
RASPUTIN It’s not wind. It’s my breathing.
CZARINA Let me up. Now I remember. I had a dream the Czar stamped his handprint on me – here. (she takes RASPUTIN’s hand, places it on her heart)
RASPUTIN (whispering) Love of mine.
CZARINA & ALEXA My heart is exploding.
ALEXA I’ll look into the eyes of the prince of Spain and the handsome young duke of Britain…
RASPUTIN (to CZARINA) I have good news: the Czar won’t get burned alive or hung by his thumbs.
CZARINA When I look into the Czar’s eyes, my thoughts come to a dead-stop.
ALEXA I’ve taught myself all the latest dances. (she dances wildly, jarringly 21st century; STUDENT joins her)
RASPUTIN Czarina, allow me. Regardez: (pulls out an astrological map) Mercury in retrograde in the twelfth house, twining with Mars.
CZARINA Meaning?
RASPUTIN It’s ill-advised for the princess to have a ball. (Alexa and Student freeze)
ALEXA Now, this is how I feel: (she lets out a long high note that is surprisingly lovely)
(RASPUTIN and CZARINA cringe, hold their ears; ALEXA has a silent temper tantrum, pounding the air with her fists, etc.)
RASPUTIN She was insane from birth?
CZARINA Yes. Yes… Now that I think about it… it’s true, the minute she opened her eyes. I could see a mad glint in her beady baby eyes, quite horrible, actually, terrifying…
ALEXA & SOUND (make a horrible face at CZARINA, and noise)
CZARINA Stand up straight, Alexa. You look like an ape.
ALEXA (gestures and makes noises like an ape)
CZARINA & RASPUTIN (quickly cross themselves, as if warding off a devil)
CZARINA (whispering) Her medication’s not working. Please advise.
ALEXA (bursts out in giggles)
RASPUTIN Time.
SOUND Time.
CZARINA Time, my dear man, is not helping her.
RASPUTIN No, I mean I need time. (catches himself) Sorry. Excuse me, has anyone seen my pendulum?
RASPUTIN & CZARINA & SOUND (gasp in horror)
CZARINA You’ve lost your pendulum???
RASPUTIN (catches himself) So he says jokingly. Joke, joke, everyone. Bad me. Bad, bad! Czarina, look into my eyes. What do you see?
CZARINA I see my compass, my north star.
ALEXA WHY doesn’t my mother see that that man is a charlatan?
(ENTER CZAR, top of stairs)
CZAR I know – let’s have that marvelous man over-- (STUDENT, meanwhile, has brought on a table and two chairs. CZARINA and RASPUTIN sit)
ALEXA When my dad was strong – before he took to bed – he so yearned to bring Russia out of its suffocating provincialism and suffocating elitism.
CZARINA (raises a bell, as if to summon a maid)
SOUND Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding.
CZAR (announcing, at top of the stairs) YOU will teach me how to play golf.
RASPUTIN (jumps to a stand) Me??? I am but a lowly slug.
STUDENT (“volunteering”) Yo! Sir! Putt-putt-putt.
CZAR Dude! Yo! You be the one! Thank you, thank you. (rushes down the stairs) I have a strong wish to be average. To be among the people. The golfers. The movie moguls. The rocket scientists. No one can stop me. I’m doing it. I’m joining The People. (stops, suddenly uncertain) I have a buzz in my ear. It has a lovely melody….
CZAR & STUDENT bzzz…bzzz…
CZAR (while STUDENT puts cheap crown on CZAR) What would happen if I took off my clothes?
SOUND Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding.
CZAR If I took them off, right now? What would happen? Would I be the same or someone else, naked?
ALEXA Daddy… I’m so unhappy. (he slaps her face) Daddy, I’m not unhappy. It’s a relief to know I won’t have to get all dolled up for that stupid ball with all those snobs.
CZAR I could take off my shoes. Or maybe not. … Would I really be the same person, without my shoes?
ALEXA Look, father: here are your people…
CZAR (grandly, mingling among the “people”: STUDENT & SOUND: one stepping forward, followed by another, in a line, repeatedly, so it looks like a “crowd” to the CZAR)
How do you do?
How do you do?
How do you do?
CZAR (continued) How is that lovely wife of yours? Do say hello to your son for me. Who will play golf with me? You, sir, how is your game? (suddenly disconsolate) My people, I don’t know any of them. I’m just pretending, aren’t I? “How do you do?” What is the meaning of “How do you do”?
SOUND How do you do.
CZAR How… do… do… how? Could I so do?
ALEXA My poor father.
SOUND (whisper) You do, I do.
CZAR Who does?
ALEXA (extends her hand) Father, come…
CZAR Who are these people?
ALEXA They’ve come to… pay their respects, father. Because… you’re…
STUDENT & SOUND (whispering, using the pendulum) you’re in danger…
ALEXA & CZARINA … you’re loved…
STUDENT & SOUND …in danger.
ALEXA & CZARINA & RASPUTIN … loved.
STUDENT & SOUND … in danger.
ALEXA & CZARINA You’re their handsome Czar.
STUDENT (to audience) A puppet.
RASPUTIN (echoing) A puppet. Oops.
ALEXA Brilliant, kind, glamorous --
CZAR But… but… but if I’m not the same, am I still me?
STUDENT (cups his hands: loudly whispers in CZAR’s ear)
SOUND (loudly whispers)
CZAR Who’s talking?
STUDENT (loudly whispers in CZAR’s other ear)
CZAR (confused, looks left when STUDENT is on right side, and vice versa) Who are these people?
ALEXA Father, you’re safe with me. (she hugs CZAR)
STUDENT (raising his arms, as if conducting a chorus –EVERYONE except ALEXA and CZAR, shout as in an echo chamber): SAFE!!!
STUDENT & SOUND (make menacing sound of clock ticking – similar to a beating heart, louder and louder)
CZAR (holds up his hand: silence) Silence! Ha-ha! You see? Time. …Time stops for the Emperor of All Time. (pleased with himself, beams broadly; then frowns) Where was I?...I’ve noticed, people don’t laugh the way they used to.
SOUND People don’t party.
CZAR People don’t relax and play games.
SOUND Everyone’s sad.
CZAR Who’s talking?
ALEXA Daddy, go back to bed. I’ll bring you something to eat.
CZAR My dear Alexa, something woke me. A shadow was leaning over my bed.
CZARINA Darling, that was me.
CZAR No, darling. It wasn’t you.
CZARINA Darling, I was …
CZARINA & STUDENT & SOUND leaning over your bed.
CZAR No!
CZARINA Darling, you’re mistaken. It was a hallucination.
CZAR No!
RASPUTIN Hysterical Repetition Syndrome. One note: “No!”
CZAR No!
RASPUTIN As I said: One note.
ALEXA & SOUND(breaks out into one long high-pitched note. Everyone holds their ears except the CZAR. Then silence)
CZAR I wish I had my hound with me. Then I could prove it was someone else. It was someone strange and…
CZAR & STUDENT & SOUND (whispering) …evil.
CZAR (looking around) Who said that? Who spoke? WHO WAS that?!
CZAR & SOUND Something, something, something…
CZAR Talk to me! Don’t hide! I’ll find you!
CZARINA Darling, stop it – please! You’ll wake up the whole palace. – Come. My love, put your hand in mine. Ow!
CZAR Sorry.
CZARINA Oh. Ow. (shakes her hand in pain)
CZAR You see? This one says, “Beware!” This one says, “Trust!” (holds up his one fist, then other) And neither of them can come together. (knocks his fists together)
CZARINA Darling, please. Shall we try again? Hand in mine.
CZAR (gives her his fist)
CZARINA Open your fist. Open it. All right, don’t open it. (they glide up the stairs) It’s simple. Simple.
CZARINA & CZAR (overlapping) Simple. Simp-ple. Simp-ple.
CZAR Simp-
CZARINA -ple, simp-
CZAR -ple, -ple –ple! If only I had my hound…
ALEXA (drops to all fours, “barks”, climbs to her parents) Wuff-wuff! Wuff!
ALEXA & SOUND Wuff-wuff!
ALEXA Wuff-wuff! Wuff-wuff!
RASPUTIN (calling sweetly) Alexa…
ALEXA Wuff!
RASPUTIN (rushing to her, bearing a silver platter) I HAVE SOMETHING for you, come and get it little precious!
ALEXA I hate it when he calls me that.
RASPUTIN Say ahhh!
ALEXA What is it?
RASPUTIN Rat hair in a delicately sweet gelatin base with monkey brains.
EVERYONE Elch…
STUDENT (rushes forward) Don’t touch it! It’s poison.
CZARINA (screams)
RASPUTIN (with cross) Devil! Devil! Devil! Rebel! Spy! Commoner! Anarchist!
STUDENT Bingo!
RASPUTIN No! Oh! Oh! It’s worse than I thought! Police!
RASPUTIN & SOUND SOS! Operator! Nine-one-one!
CZARINA (separating herself from the CZAR) I’m not safe anywhere -- I must leave – I’ll be done with Russia forever.
RASPUTIN (running up the stairs to her) Beloved, take me with you – I’ll be your advisor, your redeemer, your man-about-town, your escort— We’ll go to Baden-Baden and take mud baths…
(Pause. Scene/mood shift: CZAR EXITS. STUDENT performs a jaunty “Mack the Knife,” bearing a kitchen knife, wooden block. RAPUTIN and CZARINA do a highly stylized tango during the following.)
ALEXA (putting mud on her face) I wanted to be a cook, a great chef. I was going to school to be a great chef, and then my dear father …. He honored the school with a visit and he gave a speech.
(CZAR appears, wearing crown)
CZAR (making his speech) (ALEXA, who knows the speech by heart, will stand beside him, mouthing the words) Imagine you are five minutes from your birth. Probably the one sincere moment of your life. When you are fighting to reach the finish line. The end of bliss. And then… You’re there. … You’re born… you grow faint, thinking about what lies before you. The hurdles. Life. And… the awkward questions… Like: Like…Like… (he is at a loss) Stop. This isn’t working. Somehow I’m not really flesh and blood. I’m not – this. I don’t feel anything except my clothes. Um… Thank you. (awkward pause – then STUDENT & SOUND start applauding enthusiastically)
STUDENT BRAVO! Ra-ra!
ALEXA I was so embarrassed, I never went back to school.
STUDENT Excuse me, Czar, sir. That was a really inspiring speech, sir. Could I have your autograph? Sir, do you think you can stop history? Do you think, if you already know the hour and means of your death, do you think you can prevent it?
(CZAR doesn’t reply – he begins taking off his shoes. Meanwhile, ALEXA is loudly chopping at a large slab of raw meat – yes, the sound will resemble a clock, a heartbeat, etc.)
ALEXA Chop-chop-chop-chop…
STUDENT Sir, do you think you can ignore death when it happens to you? Ha-ha, that’s a funny way of putting it, don’t you think? Do you suppose you can ignore the hunter, ignore the bullet that kills you?
CZAR (vague, extending his shoes to the “crowds”) Here… give my shoes to someone.
(CZAR wanders off)
ALEXA Chop-chop-chop. You see you frigging revolutionary pig rabble-rouser –
STUDENT Bolshevik –
ALEXA Sick punk, my father isn’t the decadent opportunist demon you types make him out to be.
STUDENT No, I like him in a rather opportunist, decadent, demonic way.
ALEXA You like him. I’d like to see your head right here on this block.
STUDENT Chop—chop. Maybe your hand will get caught in the blade and then the blade will flip up up up into the air and land here (touching her nose) on your pert little nose. Slice open your cute little princess nose, and then the blade will fall again (she slaps off his hand, continues chopping)
ALEXA Chop-chop.
STUDENT Chop-chop. And as it descends it will get stuck in your knee and get wedged there
In your knee, in your lovely knee… (he’s touching her)
ALEXA (lowers the blade on his hand) Chop! (Students whips his hand away in time)
STUDENT Don’t you have maids and cooks for this sort of thing?
ALEXA I’m grateful to have this job.
STUDENT But – in the palace, servants are all over the place – Dying to be at the princess’s service.
ALEXA Spies.
STUDENT Spies? Well! Are you saying all your loyal toadies and fawning servants are spies?
ALEXA I don’t trust anyone to feed my father, or even to prepare the food.
STUDENT Ah! Rightly so. The last cook was hung from Daddy’s chandelier like a plump, juicy slab of pork. (she gives him a look, then resumes hacking away) Chop-chop-chop. But what kind of life is this? To suspect everyone. Do you remember there was a time when the palace was crawling with all sorts of exciting weirdoes … gypsies, thieves, wizards – Real wizards, fire-eaters, miracle-workers. Not like that Rasputin phony. And now all you have are --
ALEXA & SOUND Killers.
STUDENT Killers? Assassins, you mean. Like me? (she stops, stares at him) Do you think you can stop history? Do you think you can delete the facts, and write a new plot? (she doesn’t reply) Psst! Princess, I have a confession to make. (he slips his hand under his shirt)
ALEXA (cries out, expecting he’ll bring out a gun)
STUDENT (pulls out something bloody) This is your corset. Excuse me. I stole it from the laundry. Why, you may ask, is your corset so bloody, if it was in the laundry? In a pool of blood? (she only stares) Here. (he pushes the corset into her hand) It’s yours. (he seems transfixed by her breasts)
I see worms crawling out of your nipples.
ALEXA (hands him the knife) Please be free to hurt me – I can’t stand this suffering any longer. (He slowly brings the knife to her throat, holds it)
STUDENT Ready? Any last words? (he lowers the knife) Brave little girl.
ALEXA I’m not little.
STUDENT I beg your pardon, but the desire to kill you is not as strong as the desire to kill myself. (swiftly, brings it to his heart)
ALEXA (gasps)
STUDENT (his “dying” last words) I … will… save you… if… I … can. (he releases the blade. After a tense pause, she embraces him passionately, then pushes him away quickly)
CZARINA (dancing, singing in a tango rhythm) Hand – in – mine. Happ – i- ness.
RASPUTIN Simp-
CZARINA ple.
RASPUTIN Hand – in – yours…
CZARINA & RASPUTIN Happ – i- ness…
ALEXA Is it true? Rasputin is poisoning me?
STUDENT What. That toxic shit he feeds you? Yummy.
ALEXA I walked all around the palace tonight.
STUDENT Tck, tck, tck. You shouldn’t have. Naughty, naughty. If I’d known, I would have followed you.
ALEXA You did follow me.
STUDENT Duh. I’m your shadow.
ALEXA I was in disguise. Like you. I took the liberty of walking everywhere, even in the servants’ quarters, where a princess is forbidden. Where I could be in danger.
CZARINA I walked all around the palace tonight.
ALEXA No one was there. No one. I whistled. It echoed. Listen.
ALEXA (whistles, and it echoes)
STUDENT (whistles)
ALEXA (echoes his whistle; they do this three times)
CZARINA Where is everyone?
ALEXA Where is everyone?
STUDENT (echoing) Where is everyone?
ALEXA (whispering) Where is everyone?
STUDENT & CZARINA (whispering) Where is everyone?
ALEXA Tell me.
STUDENT Where is everyone?
ALEXA Tell me.
STUDENT I know. Let’s ask my trusty pendulum if the princess is safe.
ALEXA (gasps) Don’t. That’s Rasputin’s pendulum.
CZARINA & SOUND (gasp)
ALEXA Tell me: Is everyone dead?
(CZAR whistles, appears, top of stairs)
CZAR Who’s here? Anyone? Someone… a person but not really, not really a person – more like a presence – this presence comes to me – maybe I should talk to it. Maybe I should make friends with it. This presence comes to me – and it has taken my head –
STUDENT (brings out a balloon, the size of a head – holds it up in the air for demonstration, shows it has a smiling face on one side, a sad frown on the other)
CZAR …Something has happened to my head. (totters around, as if tipsy) A dark, smoky – smoking – cloud is getting sucked out of my head and this presence is ---
STUDENT POP!!! (balloon bursts)
CZAR Pop! Pop! Pop!
CZARINA (screams) Ahhhh! The Czar is bleeding…!
ALEXA (runs to Czar) Papa!
CZARINA Rasputin! Help!
(RASPUTIN appears, with elegant cane; dressed for a long journey)
CZAR Pop-pa popped! (he giggles) Pop-poppa-pop-pop-pop-pop
RASPUTIN Ha-ha. Funny. Yes. Never fear. Joy is here.
CZARINA Yes! Come! You heard the Czar! Laugh, party – have fun – It’s our daughter’s debut!
RASPUTIN My dear Madame Czarina, think of Baden-Baden. The fountains, the pretty walkways, the orchestra playing in the park, champagne… (claps his hand twice. Singing waltz music, STUDENT appears with a tray, two glasses of champagne. RASPUTIN takes a glass)
CZARINA How radiant everyone looks…
ALEXA But Mama, look: my corset is bloody.
CZAR Bloody?
ALEXA (slaps her face, slaps the corset against her body) I dyed it red. Don’t you love it?
STUDENT Red is the new black.
ALEXA It is?
RASPUTIN Madame… a toast to the future. (raises his glass, drinks it in one gulp, begins to waltz to the music with CZARINA.)
CZAR (slowly going upstairs) Yes, party! Have fun! Forgive me. Everyone. Poppa popped! I’m no longer so light on my feet. Never mind. My fear is driving me mad. Why must I be so afraid?
CZAR & CZARINA They’re not human, they’re not animal. I have someone else’s memories, they’re not mine.
CZAR Once upon a time all I had to worry about were the deer and wild boar and turkeys and hares and bears and wolves and foxes, I had to hunt them in my big gorgeous country estate.
SOUND (hums the waltz throughout)
STUDENT(hand on his heart, looking at ALEXA) Ba-dump-bum-bump
ALEXA (hand on her heart, to STUDENT) Ba-dump-bum-bump
RASPUTIN (continues dancing, whispers) Madame, the palace is empty. Everyone has fled. Even the beggars. (He gulps down a second glass of champagne) (STUDENT goes up the stairs, backwards, ALEXA follows)
ALEXA How do you do?
STUDENT How do you do?
ALEXA Why are you going? Why? Don’t you like my dress?
STUDENT Very pretty.
ALEXA Red is the new black.
STUDENT Go.
ALEXA No. Stop. Where are you going? Where? To my father? What do you want with my father?
RASPUTIN (waltzing her) My dear Czarina, we must leave at once – We’ll be done with Russia forever. (At train station: sound of train whistle)
CZARINA Stop. I can’t. It’s too bright.
(Long train whistle, then comes ALEXA: one high, lingering note, which soars above.
Then SUDDEN SILENCE. CZAR ENTERS)
CZAR (hums the waltz)
CZARINA (glides up the stairs, longingly, toward the CZAR)
RASPUTIN (waltzing) Follow me! One step-step. Two-step-step. Three -step-step… Let us through… Let us through…! Make way for the Czarina!.. One-step, two-step. Make way, I say! Out of our way…! Out… Away..! (increasingly fast dancing, realizing the hopelessness of escaping) Away…!
SOUND Away!
RASPUTIN & STUDENT & CZAR Away…. Away!... Away! Away… Away…
CZARINA Away… Away…
ALEXA (calling) Mamma! Mamma, wait, don’t leave me! (STUDENT continues walking upstairs backwards)
CZARINA My dearest! (they cling together)
RASPUTIN No! The little one can’t come with us, my pendulum told me – my pendulum – my pendulum, oh in the name of God, where is it? (to the two women clinging together) Never fear! Be still: I’ll put a protective shield around you. Close your eyes, be still, and I will surround you in radiance… There. Yes! Oh how you sparkle!... so beautiful, so radiant, pure light…
CZARINA (looking out) So radiant, so beautiful, pure light…
ALEXA SO
CZARINA RADIANT SO
ALEXA BEAUTIFUL
CZARINA PURE
ALEXA LIGHT SO
CZARINA BEAUTIFUL
ALEXA PURE
CZARINA LIGHT
ALEXA & CZAR SO
CZARINA & CZAR RADIANT SO
ALEXA & CZAR BEAUTIFUL
CZARINA & CZAR PURE
ALEXA & CZAR LIGHT SO
CZARINA & CZAR BEAUTIFUL
ALEXA & CZAR PURE
CZARINA & CZAR & ALEXA LIGHT
RASPUTIN (stepping forward, addressing the firing squad, desperate, to save himself) Not me! There! Take them! There they are! I don’t need to introduce them – do I? (he grabs CZARINA) Look: take a look: surely you recognize the profile….The strong regal posture, the delicate, noble hands... You know her type -- they’ll do anything to survive, they’re the first ones to escape the burning building… she’ll flee to the next house and hide… you won’t know she’s there. They’re the rats in the wall.
(All freeze and look at each other)
THE END
