Babes on Broadway Page #8

you were taking off, right out into space...

...like a propeller going round and round

and round, 30,000 revolutions a minute...

...and there wasn't any landing fields

left in the world?

I've had that feeling.

And it all started in a drugstore.

- Penny.

- Yeah?

Tommy.

Oh, isn't it wonderful what you can find

these days in drugstores?

- Yeah.

- Oh, gosh.

And that's about all there is to it.

I know, it even sounds crazy to me,

but that's the way it has to be.

Well, I guess I'll have to send

these railroad tickets back, then.

Gee, I hate to have you do that.

- Maybe if I...

- Tommy.

I hope you don't think we're ungrateful,

Miss Jones...

...because you've

been simply wonderful...

...but this is the way Tommy and I

have decided to do it.

Isn't it, Tommy?

Yeah, yeah, that's what we've decided.

You're giving up this great opportunity

to help a bunch of kids you hardly know.

Helping people's hard work, isn't it?

Don't you worry.

You'll find it's worthwhile at

the oddest times and the strangest places.

How soon can you get

your show together?

Our show? Oh, in about 10 days.

Yeah, our only problem

is getting a theater.

Well, there's no problem now.

- You mean we can have the old Duchess?

- Yes.

No, put your bread away.

If the theater's any good to you...

...you can have it as

Thornton's contribution to the cause.

He doesn't even have to know.

It's on Gilmore Street, about seven

blocks from the settlement house.

- How about that?

- It's wonderful, I don't know what to say.

Don't say anything.

Just get your show started

and make it good.

Thornton doesn't know it,

and he won't until I'm ready to tell him...

...but he's gonna see your show

in his theater from the front row.

- Oh, you see, Tommy?

- Yeah.

But Miss Jones,

won't Mr. Reed be angry?

Very likely.

That's why it's got to be good.

Otherwise, I'll find myself in the country

with the rest of the kids.

Gosh. Isn't it beautiful?

It's kind of run-down, isn't it?

It's wonderful.

Well, maybe after we clean it up

and brighten it a little...

...but right now,

it's giving me the creeps.

- It does?

- It's kind of like a haunted house.

Penny, every theater is a haunted house.

Ghosts with greasepaint...

...ghosts that sing and dance

and laugh and cry.

You should think of all the shows

that have been in this theatre.

Flops, successes, bad shows,

great shows.

You can't tell me that that ever dies.

It's all around us right now,

all the laughter and applause, cheers.

Why, it's on every inch

of this old stage up here.

- Do you see what I mean?

- Yeah, I see what you mean.

Then when new ones come along,

kids like us...

...that love the theatre

just as much as they did...

...they're glad and they're rooting for us.

They're saying, "This is your chance.

Go on out there, we've had ours,

now it's your turn.

There's your audience.

They're waiting for you. "

Can't you just see it now?

Look.

The leader taps his stand with his stick.

The music starts.

The footlights gradually come up.

This is that one breathless moment when

everything in the world comes to a stop.

Over in the wings, the light man

at the board reaches for the switch.

Now the hands that pull the curtain

are on the rope, waiting for the cue.

The curtain rises slowly.

I never saw them, but I feel as though

I'd been here watching them every night.

Richard Mansfield in Cyrano de Bergerac.

I know just how he felt,

standing there, waiting for his cue.

Your nose is rather large.

- Have you quite finished, sir?

- I should say that is sufficient.

You humdrum dolt.

How dare you insult a splendid nose

with such meager, piddling words?

Let me show you what you might

have said had you had an ounce...

...yes, even an ounce of imagination

or wit.

To wit, insolent.

What do you do with that nose

when drinking?

Does it go above the glass or below

the glass, for surely, it does not fit inside.

Descriptive. It's a rock.

It's a mountain.

What am I saying, a mountain?

It's a peninsula. Eloquent.

What is that dazzling thing, sir?

Is it a torch? A bonfire? A volcano?

Stamp it out before it blinds my eyes.

- Buffoon.

- Who, me?

So be it.

Prepare to die exquisitely.

- Poet.

- Yes, poet.

Swordsman, take your choice.

No, wait. You shall have both.

For while I fight with you,

I shall compose a ballad...

...and with the last line of my poem,

my sword shall run you through.

Swiftly, my hat is tossed aside.

Slowly, my cloak is allowed to fall

over my left free arm.

And to draw and we stand on guard.

Lunge, and my sword is met with yours.

Dancers of steel that dazzle the eye.

Back you go, in time to my verse.

And then, when I have finished my song,

you die.

Pray now, while you still have life.

Prince, pray, with your final sigh.

Stay, look sharp, I've run out of verse.

And now, as I finish my song,

you die

For it is Mary, Mary

Plain as any name can be

But with propriety

Society will say "Marie"

But it was Mary, Mary

Long before the fashions came

And there is something there

That sounds so square

It's a grand old name

But it was Mary, Mary

Long before the fashions came

And there is something there

That sounds so square

It's a grand old name

For she's my Daisy

My bonnie Daisy

She's as sweet as sugar candy

And she's very fond of Sandy

And I worry for my dearie

I would rather lose my kilt

Than lose my Daisy

For I would rather lose my kilt

Than lose my Daisy

Sure, I've got rings on my fingers

And bells on my toes

Elephants to ride upon

My little Irish rose

So come to your nabob

On next Patrick's Day

Be Mistress Mumbo-Jumbo

Jij-Ji-Bo J. O'Shea

Sure, I've got rings on my fingers

And bells on my toes

Elephants to ride upon

My little Irish rose

So come to your nabob

On next Patrick's Day

Be Mistress Mumbo-Jumbo

Jij-Ji-Bo J. O'Shea

I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy

Yankee Doodle do or die

A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam

I was born on the 4th of July

I've got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart

She's my Yankee Doodle joy

Yankee Doodle came to London

Just to ride the ponies

Say, I am a Yankee Doodle Boy

He's a Yankee Doodle Dandy

A Yankee Doodle do or die

A real live nephew of his Uncle Sam

Born on the 4th of July

I've got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart

She's my Yankee Doodle joy

Yankee Doodle came to London

Just to ride the ponies

I am a Yankee Doodle boy

- Come in.

- Oh, Tommy, they're beautiful.

- Maybe I should have got a dozen more.

- No, one would have been enough.

Once, you told me I was

gonna be dancing on top of the world...

...and tonight, I'm all filled up with things

I've been saving to say...

...but now that the time is here,

I guess I'll just go on and say them, huh?

But, Tommy... oh, no, don't go.

I want to thank you too.

You've done so much and...

...I guess I'll never be happier

than I am tonight.

- Hey, Tommy, your mother's here.

- Oh, Mom! How are you?

Wait a minute. What are you doing,

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