Opening Night Page #2

---

- You notice that?

- Mm-mmm.

I can't even stand

how they come to rehearsal.

They come to rehearsal

dressed in terrible clothes.

[Chuckles]

- Ah.

- Manny, I'm dying.

[Laughing]

I'm dying.

I know I'm dying,

'cause I'm getting tired.

It's always the same.

You talk. I sleep.

If I had known what a boring man

you were when I married you...

I wouldn't have gone through

all those emotional crises.

[Phone Ringing]

Hello?

Oh, Myrtle.

No, sweetheart.

I'm still up.

I'm sorry you're not feeling well.

Do you have a fever?

What?

What girl?

A young girl got killed

in front of the theater tonight.

- All right, sweetheart.

- It's 4:
30 in the morning.

Yes, I know. It is lonely.

Oh! I hate out of town too.

Of course I love you.

- [Chuckles]

- Hold it, will you, please?

It's nothing.

Just my wife.

Right.

Of course I'll leave the phone open.

Yeah. She doesn't mind at all.

- Tell her you'll talk

to her in the morning.

- I don't sleep anyway.

- Right.

- Right?

- Right.

- There's no one I love more

than you at this moment.

You know I love you.

What?

Yes, sweetheart. Okay.

What's wrong with being slapped?

Cut it out. Cut it out.

Just a second, darling.

Cut it out, will you, please?

There's nothing

humiliating about it.

You're on the stage,

for Christ's sake.

He's not slapping you for real.

Myrtle.

Ugh! Myrtle!

Myrtle, it has nothing to do

with being a woman.

You're not a woman anyway.

[Chuckles]

No, no. You're a beautiful woman.

You are. I was kidding.

Now, you see? You have no

sense of humor. I told you that.

I don't want to argue with it,

darling. We'll rehearse it.

Well, how -

If we don't rehearse it...

we -we won't get it.

But it's not humiliating.

There's nothing humiliating about it.

Uh, you know, it's a tradition.

Actresses get slapped.

It's a tradition.

Do you want to be a, uh, uh...

a star or do you want to be

unsympathetic?

It's mandatory you get hit.

That's it.

Now go to sleep. Right.

A young girl got killed

by the theater tonight.

Let's forget it.

Let's not phony it up anymore.

Myrtle, honest to God,

he's not gonna hurt you.

Now, look. You do it to me.

Come on. Do it to me.

Here, loosen the hand. Ready?

You hear that?

One more time.

Okay, now hit Maurice.

Good! Good!

All right, we could do it, but...

you know, he could

swing at you and miss...

but then we wouldn't

hear the slap.

So, try it one more time.

Hit her in the face.

With the fingers, not the palm.

- Go ahead.

- No!

Myrtle, Myrtle, Myrtle.

- Hit me -

- Myrtle, Myrtle, Myrtle.

Take it easy, will ya?

What's the matter with you?

- [Manny] Look, do I love you?

- [Myrtle] Yes.

- Do I want you to be good?

- Yes.

- Would I hurt you?

- No.

Then you're gonna

have to let me slap you.

- Okay.

- It won't work if you don't.

All right?

Okay.

Let's go. From, uh...

where, Sarah?

Uh, start with

"You don't get to me."

- Okay.

- Places, please.

[Maurice]

You don't get to me.

You want to get to me?

You don't get to me.

There's no way for you to get to me.

You want to go out

and get drunk?

You want to take dope?

You want to go out with some guy

at 4:
00 in the afternoon...

and be with him?

Go ahead.

That's you're problem.

What a mess I am.

I'm begging again.

What are we fighting about?

You want to be young again,

is that it?

Oh, Marty.

Ahh!

Oh, that was -

Oh, wow.

Uh, that was good.

That was good.

[Manny]

A few lines back.

No! No more!

No!

Bravo!

[Myrtle]

No! No! No more!

No! No!

- You all right?

- No!

- I didn't hit her.

- Walk away.

I didn't hit her, David, really.

- You all right, Myrtle?

- [Leo] Do we need a doctor?

Yeah, you'd better get a doctor

and get me a cold compress...

and maybe you'll have

a little brandy back there.

David, would you please leave

the stage so we can go on?

Will you get off the stage?

There's nothing the matter with Myrtle.

She's, uh, tired, that's all.

I've been tired

a lot of times in my life.

You stay up all night,

you get tired!

All right, Myrtle. Time to get up.

Have to rehearse now.

Uh, let's take it

from a few lines back.

- You want me to try this again?

- Yeah.

Well, how can I start again when

she's lying half-dead on the floor?

[Manny]

Myrtle!

Are we rehearsing here or not?

Want to call it a day?

Myrtle!

I was very much

in love with you, Virginia.

When was that?

No, I really want to know.

When?

You don't get to me.

You want to get to me?

You don't get to me.

There is no way

for you to get to me.

You want to go out and take dope?

You want to get drunk? Go ahead.

- You want to -

- [Laughing]

Oh!

[Myrtle Laughing]

Pow!

Do you expect to be

funny in this scene?

I'm sorry. I, uh -

Perhaps I could write

a funny line for you.

She's very alien to me.

And I would pray that

I could have something to say...

that would make sense.

So that I could make sense.

I somehow -

I seem to have lost

the, uh, the reality of-

of the, uh -

reality.

I -

I dream funny dreams too.

I'm not myself.

[Sarah]

This woman you're playing...

is as helpless as you are...

and as helpless as I am.

She has no weapons.

She wants to fall in love, but...

her time has passed.

It's too late.

It's as simple as that.

You understand

that part of it, don't you?

How old are you, Myrtle?

You see? It's too late.

You understand that, don't you?

Just please tell me

what this play doesn't express.

Hope.

All right, uh, we'll, uh -

Pick this up later.

Let's start with Act I, Scene One.

[Leo]

All right, Jimmy.

Let's get set here.

Bring it down! Come on.

That's it. That's it.

[Man #1]

Come on, places, please. Let's go.

- [Man #2]

Put it on the money. Bring it in.

- Bring it down!

Would you shut the door

on your way out, please?

Sure.

[No Audible Dialogue]

[Knock At Door]

[Knocking]

What's up?

Be nice.

May I sit down?

There's no sense

in us being enemies.

But I can't be your friend...

if I have to contend

with your retirement.

Oh, I don't think

we'll ever be friends.

Well, we'll just have

to live with that.

You know, that was a very good point

you made about hope.

Made me realize that

you're not completely stupid.

People change... physically.

There's a hell of a lot of

pressure one puts on oneself...

by demanding

to stay competitive.

[Children Shouting]

[Children Chattering]

[Girl]

I'm gonna hit you.

[Boy]

You're calling me fat?

Beautiful day.

What do you want to do?

You want to walk?

- You want to ride?

- I don't care.

Oh, I hate actresses.

She tried to talk to me about age.

Now I ask you. Really.

[Manny]

Come on, walk with us.

All right, we're gonna walk.

I think it -

that went very well.

- Excuse me.

- [Chuckles]

Thank you.

So.

- Well.

- Do you want to have a drink?

- You guys?

- Yeah. Good idea.

Hold on. Wait for me.

- Myrtle?

- Myrtle?

- Come on. Have a drink, sweetheart.

- Manny, I just can't.

- Are these all the local newspapers?

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes