RUSSEL's BACK YARD
a cycle of musical plays for Community Theatreby John Mucci & Richard Felnagle
Russel and The Crystal Ball
CAST:
Russel Kunkle: A twelve year old boy.*Mrs. Kunkle (Helen): His mother.
Pauline Shishninski: The only girl he knows enough to talk to.
Casey Hollenstein: A bully whom he admires anyhow.
Jamal LeMage: His best friend.
In this play:
Russel's Father: An insurance agent who always manages to look
like one.
Barbara Kunkle: Russel's older sister, with teenage
problems of her own. She gets along well with Russel—on a strictly
provisional basis.
* Madam Mumm, a
mysterious Gypsy fortune teller, who, despite her resemblance to Bela
Lugosi's grandmother, seems to be a character taken from what musical
comedy thinks of as being a mysterious Gypsy fortune
teller.
Dudley: Her servant; an insecure but sensitive young
man, who wears very thick glasses that are nearly opaque.
Russel's Double (mute): dressed like Russel, but wears a black stocking-mask
*(should be played by the same actor)
Flexible number of supporting characters, including kids at Russel's school, and young people who we will discover inhabit the world of the Crystal Ball.
Musical numbers:
- Overture (Russel's Song)
- Nightmare music
- Interlude: Walk to School
- Walkoff music Sc. 3
- Russel's Song
- Trio
- Scene 4 Underscore
- End of Act One
- Open Act 2
- Facing the Music
- A Lugubrious Salutation
- Crystal Fight
- Everyone
- Walk-off music
- Exits/Bows
PROLOGUE
| (RUSSEL's back yard consists of a number of
multi-leveled sets, only as elaborate as the resources of the
theatre will allow, enhanced by props. There is a large tree in
the center, with RUSSEL's treehouse built onto some lower
branches. This play finds RUSSEL's old, rusty broken-down bicycle
at the base of the tree.)
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PART OF THE WORLD I CAN FEEL. BUT PART OF THE WORLD I CAN STEAL FROM BOOKS I HAVE READ DREAMS IN MY BED BLOOD I HAVE BLED. 'CAUSE PART OF THE WORLD IS IN MY HEAD. I CAN BELIEVE ANYTHING I WANT TO! IF I SAY IT'S SO, THEN IT'S SO! THE WORLD CAN BE ANYTHING I WANT IT TO BE, AND IF I SAY IT'S SO, THEN IT'S SO. [recording ends] (LIGHTS pick out RUSSEL'S friends, who enter one by one, as HE sings in recitative:) THIS PERSON WHOM I ADMIRE VERY MUCH, BUT LIKES TO BEAT ME UP A LOT IS CASEY HOLLENSTEIN. PAULINE SHISHNINSKI IS HIS GIRLFRIEND, AND I WOULD DO JUST ABOUT ANYTHING IF SHE WERE MINE. AND THIS IS JAMAL LEMAGE, WHO IS THE BEST FRIEND YOU COULD EVER FIND.
ANYTHING WE WANT TO IF WE SAY IT'S SO, THEN IT'S SO!
AND SHARE MY DESTINY: WE'LL SEE WHAT WE WANT TO SEE. ANYTHING WE KNOW. ANYWHERE WE GO, BE IT HIGH OR LOW. . . IF WE SAY IT'S SO, THEN IT'S SO! IT'S SO. . .! BLACKOUT.
ACT ONE
RUSSEL (as we shall see, actually RUSSEL'S DOUBLE), is asleep in his bed. The room is average-messy for an eleven-year old boy, with legos and erector-set pieces scattered about, but there are an abnormally large number of books is in evidence. RUSSEL moves uneasily in his sleep. MIXED WITH THE MUSIC is the SOUND of a large crowd applauding. [If the theatre has multimedia capacities, screens should depict various exciting angles from the Tour de France or a similar race.] The real actor playing RUSSEL, riding on a Harley-Fellini bicycle, enters, slams on the brakes, dismounts and tears off his helmet. A CROWD of rather faceless people, some wearing white clown masks or stocking masks rush in, cheering. The only faces we will recognize are RUSSEL's parents and his friends PAULINE, JAMAL, AND CASEY, and they too can be wearing masks—of themselves. RUSSEL's FATHER rushes up to him. MR. KUNKLE is in his forties; his hair line is receding as his paunch is advancing.)
(PAULINE and JAMAL approach. THEY are both nearly Russel's age. PAULINE is a few months older, but SHE seems much more mature. SHE has wavy blonde hair, and to Russel, she is as beautiful as a goddess. JAMAL is a few months younger than Russel; HE is husky, wears glasses, and always looks like an unmade bed. Paper confetti falls into the scene. JAMAL and PAULINE are applauding madly.)
(The SOUND of the applause swells, becomes more of a pounding. RUSSEL's MOTHER, who is dressed as a nurse, starts to pound on the floor with her foot. THE OTHERS all look at her oddly.)
(HELEN KUNKLE, Russel's mother, is actually pounding on the door. SHE is in her early forties, dressed for work in a white nurse's uniform. SHE has a tired face, and SHE carries herself as if SHE is always under a heavy burden of some sort. )
(THE CROWD look around in horror and dash off in every direction, taking bicycles and props with them, leaving RUSSEL to dive under the covers and then sit up, his eyes open a little too wide. HELEN crosses downstage to the KITCHEN. )
(HE jumps out of bed, crosses to the dresser, and pulls open the top drawer, but then his eyes lift up to one of the photographs on the wall. )... And next Saturday, you're gonna be mine, all mine! Scene 2 (LIGHTS crossfade as RUSSEL gets ready for school. LIGHTS UP on BARBARA KUNKLE, Russel's older sister, setting the table for breakfast, downstage, as HELEN comes in. BARBARA is about fourteen years old and dressed for school. )
(RUSSEL bursts into the kitchen. HE is dressed for school and talking a mile a minute. HE gives his mother a kiss on the cheek. HE grabs a banana and drinks some milk. )
(RUSSEL grabs a cereal box and opens it, trying not to rip the recloseable top, which of course rips. He starts to look for the prize inside.)
(SHE grabs the box, and cereal flies out all over. RUSSEL retrieves the plastic prize anyhow. LIGHTS crossfade to HELEN, on the phone, downstage L.) Scene 3 HELEN [loud, into the phone]: (SHE slams down the phone in disgust, sighs wearily, and then walks out of the Light, presumably going back to the kitchen. LIGHTS Crossfade to a spot center stage, where RUSSEL is walking to school with JAMAL.)
(THEY both carry books and other academic paraphernalia. MUSIC UNDER.)
MUSIC OUT.
(Before RUSSEL can finish his sentence, THEY both hear the voice of CASEY HOLLENSTEIN calling from behind them. )
(HE looks furious. HIS eyes follow CASEY, as he gets back on his bike. )
(RUSSEL turns to JAMAL, amused. JAMAL looks at him curiously. )
(RUSSEL's expression changes. JAMAL turns to look. CASEY, stopped at the corner still, is showing off his new bike to PAULINE, who looks very impressed. )
(JAMAL looks as though he'd pop like a balloon. His hands practically explode away from his face. RUSSEL starts to walk on, out of the LIGHT.)
(THEY walk on towards school. THEIR VOICES FADE.)
Scene 4 (It is the afternoon of the same day. MR. KUNKLE is sitting on a school yard bench, trying to read the paper. His coat is off, his tie is loosened, and his sleeves are rolled up. HE looks at his watch. HE does not look happy. Several children pass by, exiting from the school. After a moment, CASEY rides by, totteringly, and falls off his bike. HE gets back on with a wry smile to Mr KUNKLE and totters off. In a moment, RUSSEL crosses, and MR KUNKLE puts the paper down, anxiously.)
Come on. Let's walk home. (THEY walk toward the center of the stage, where the LIGHTS come up on the treehouse in Russ' back yard.)
(The TWO continue. MR KUNKLE is carrying an old leather pouch.)
(RUSSEL opens the bag and looks at the contents. Some colorful marbles spill out into his hands. He drops one on the ground. MR KUNKLE stoops to pick up the lost marble.)
( HELEN KUNKLE, unseen by father or son, emerges from the wings, carrying groceries.)
(RUSSEL takes off, with the bag of marbles, heading into the back yard. HELEN and MR KUNKLE walk R, as though toward the house. RUSSEL kicks over his rusty old bike.)
( THEY are practically storming off.)
The SOUND of a door slamming, as THEY are gone. The BUZZ of angry voices, off, with verbal punctuation on words such as "bicycle" and "responsibility," and "kid." RUSSEL is center stage, with his hands over his ears, and he is practically weeping. The bag of marbles falls to the ground, and some spill out. One very large, clear marble emerges from the bag. Silence. RUSSEL stares at the large marble.)
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[HE SINGS:] I CAN BELIEVE AND IN THIS CRYSTAL BALL, SHE COULD SEE THE FUTURE UNTIL SOMETHING TERRIBLE BEFELL HER! I BELIEVE THAT TO THIS VERY DAY SHE IS STILL LOOKING FOR THIS MAGIC CRYSTAL BALL FROM THE ATTIC TO THE CELLAR! WHAT THIS STORY NEEDS IS FOR SOME CLEVER FELLOW TO TAKE THIS CRYSTAL BALL AND BECOME A FUTURE-TELLER-YELLER! AND WHO COULD THIS PERSON BE? [During the last lines of the song, a strange and shadowy figure has stepped up behind RUSSEL, who is too busy singing to notice.]
I CAN BELIEVE ANYTHING I WANT TO!
(RUSSEL pulls away but then crashes into the equally strange figure of DUDLEY: a little man about Russel's height in a bowler hat, a dark peasant shirt, a patchwork vest similar to Madam Mumm's shawl, long pants, and no shoes. HE wears a pair of glasses so thick that his eyes cannot be seen through the lenses. As a consequence, HE is forever knocking things over, including himself.)
(DUDLEY lunges as if to grab the fleeing RUSSEL, but because DUDLEY is so blind, HE misses completely and falls face-down on the ground. MADAM MUMM is also lunging in Russel's direction, but SHE trips over the spilled marbles on the ground, and falls over DUDLEY, onto her butt.) MUSIC OUT. (MADAM MUMM and DUDLEY are sprawled on the ground.) (DUDLEY raises his head. HE is not wearing the glasses he had on a moment ago. His eyes remain firmly shut, as if he were afraid to open them. )
(While MADAM MUMM is extricating herself from DUDLEY's awkwardness, RUSSEL takes a moment to put the crystal ball back into the pouch and hide it in a hollow of the tree. Then HE steps over toward DUDLEY. DUDLEY is searching frantically for his glasses. They are in plain sight and within his reach, but HE is tapping around him everywhere the glasses aren't. RUSSEL picks up the glasses, looks through them, winces, andthen places them into DUDLEY's hands. DUDLEY, quickly places the glasses over his eyes. A look of intense relief instantly covers his face.)
[chagrined, explaining]
(RUSSEL and MADAM MUMM both peer closely into HIS palm.)
(DUDLEY suddenly trips and falls. MADAM MUMM drops on her knees.)
(RUSSEL's face shows that her last question has struck a chord, but HE decides to play it coy. HE looks toward the house...)
(RUSSEL surreptitiously takes the bag from the hollow in the tree, and dramatically produces the crystal ball. MADAM MUMM lights up immediately at the sight.)
(RUSSEL sits facing MADAM MUMM on the ground. HE places the crystal on the ground between them.)
(LIGHTS change to something more ominous as a parody of Russel's Dream plays out, with the CROWD coming onstage again, their faces concealed with stocking-masks, looking for all the world like automatons of RUSSEL's friends and family. CASEY rides across the stage, gliding through the finish line; the CROWD silently cheers; then RUSSEL—or rather, his double again— lumbers in on his old rusty bike, which falls apart on the spot. HELEN and MR KUNKLE immediately approach him and start to argue furiously, silently, then cackling the word "bicycle" "bicycle" over and over, as the CROWD laughs and laughs, pointing at RUSSEL. Finally the double RUSSEL points at the real one, and the LIGHTS crossfade to the scene again.)
(Suddenly RUSSEL turns to the SOUND of JAMAL's VOICE.)
Scene 5
Hey, Russ! Whatcha doing? (MADAM MUMM and DUDLEY sneak around the tree, and are suddenly gone, as RUSSEL, alone, is seated on the ground; he puts the crystal ball back into the pouch. JAMAL enters. HE is wearing a partial baseball uniform and carrying a glove.)
(RUSSEL is interrupted by the arrival of PAULINE SHISHNINSKI from around the same corner of the house. Like JAMAL, SHE too is dressed in a makeshift baseball uniform.)
(RUSSEL makes the gesture of both hands over his mouth, as did JAMAL, before.)
(CASEY HOLLENSTEIN enters the yard now. HE too is dressed for baseball, but his uniform is complete and looks as though it just came from the dry cleaners. HE jumps off the bike in question which clatters to the ground in a heap, and HE then picks it up and walks it towards the OTHERS. HE pulls a chamois cloth out of his back pocket and begins wiping down the two rear-view mirrors with sticker-reflector on the backs that are in the shape of cowboys).
(RUSSEL shuts up, realizing he's said too much. CASEY fumes. He'd hold his hands over his bike's ears if he could find them. HE looks down at his bike, suddenly having doubts about it now. There is an uncomfortable pause.)
(RUSSEL is obviously in crisis as to what to say...)
(THEY leave, very impressed. RUSSEL would rather follow them, but HE is alone. Suddenly a look of horror comes over Russel's face.)
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(SOUND: Mocking laughter, perhaps with an ECHO effect, as in the crystal ball vision.) Now I understand! (RUSSEL approaches his horrible, rusty bike. HE kicks at it again. ) What they showed me... is my future! Mom will find out I told everybody I'm getting the new bike, and they'll have a big fight, and they're gonna get divorced for sure, now! Scene 6
(MADAM MUMM steps from behind the tree, next to RUSSEL, who does not acknowledge her arrival just as if she'd been there all along. )
(DUDLEY appears on the opposite side of RUSSEL.)
LAST NIGHT, WHEN I GOT IN, I WAS SO HAPPY I WAS NUMB. BUT NOW I HAVE TO SAY THAT I DON'T CARE FOR TODAY, AND I DON'T WANT TOMORROW TO COME.
YOU NEED MY SPECIAL POWER.
BY THE HOUR. I HEAR YOU BELLOW. WHAT FORTUNE, FINDING SUCH AN UNFORTUNATE FELLOW.
WHERE AM I WRONG? WHERE AM I WRONG? I'VE HEARD THIS SONG, I'VE HEARD THIS SONG BEFORE— SUCH A SAD ONE, AND HOW! YOU CAN GET OUT OF THIS IF YOU LISTEN NOW. YOU'LL DO FINE BY ME. I'VE GOT A PLAN, MY BOY, SUCH A GOOD ONE, AND HOW! I CAN CUT YOU A BREAK IF YOU'LL TAKE IT NOW! I'VE GOT THE KEY IF YOU'LL LISTEN TO ME, HOW YOU NEED ME. HOW YOU NEED ME!
WHAT SHE SAYS IS TRUE. SHE CAN MAKE A NEW FUTURE THAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU.
WHAT, LIKE MODELING CLAY?
[sung] WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
MADE FOR THEM! YOU CAN TRUST HER, RUSS: SHE HAS NEVER MISSED. (Holding up a little black book)
LOOK, IN THIS BOOK IS HER MASTER LIST
WHERE TO GO! HOW CAN YOU FACE SUCH A WORLD OF DISGRACE? IT WON'T BE LONG BEFORE YOU'LL SEE TIME SLIP AWAY. JUST AS QUICK AS A CAT IT IS SATURDAY! THEN WHERE WILL YOU BE WHEN THEY ALL COME TO SEE YOUR BEAUTIFUL, CUSTOM-MADE, GENUINE, SHINY- NEW CHROMIUM, LEATHER SEAT ...NOTHING! OH, NOTHING!
HOW YOU NEED ME, YOU NEED ME, YOU NEED ME.
TO BE PROMISED A BIKE WITH MOLYBDENUM LUGS, AND THEN HAVE THE RUGS PULLED AWAY? ON SATURDAY?
OKAY! MY ANSWER, OF COURSE, IS...
WHEN YOU BARGAIN FOR SOMETHING THIS NICE, THERE'S A PRICE. I CAN WIPE WORRY AWAY, BUT YOU'LL PAY, LEETLE BOY.
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HOW YOU NEED ME, IT'S TRUE. I'VE HELPED OTHER BOYS MUCH WORSE OFF THAN YOU! Don't read! Not here! Don't Bleed! IT'S LIKE DREAMS IN YOUR BED...
YOU'VE HEARD WHAT I'VE SAID |
PART OF IT I CAN FEEL. BUT PART OF THE WORLD I CAN STEAL. FROM BOOKS I HAVE READ... BLOOD I HAVE BLED ... DREAMS IN MY BED: ALL IN MY HEAD. ...yet. WHAT HAVE I GOT YOU'D LIKE? uh-oh...
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NONE OF HER CLIENTS HAS EVER COMPLAINED TO HER.  IT'S LIKE SLEEPING. IT'S AN EFFORTLESS THING TO DO. IT'S LIKE DREAMS IN YOUR BED.
YOU'LL FIND THAT IT'S EASY.
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LEETLE BOY, TRADE ME YOUR CRYSTAL BALL! AND YOU SHALL BE SERVED ALL YOU HAVE DESERVED. |
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THE BEAUTIFUL STATE THAT IS WAITING FOR YOU! |
WHAT AM I WAITING FOR? |
LATE IT'S WAITING FOR YOU! |
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YELLED ABOUT, SCREAMED ABOUT WAITS FOR YOU, NOW'S THE TIME, NEVER TAKE LESS— (together) TELL ME YES! (together) SAY YES! I SAY YES! |
(THEY end up posed something like the Three Musketeers.)
Scene 6
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(MUSIC IN and UNDER. RUSSEL rather guility takes out the crystal ball from the pouch and hands it over to MADAM MUMM. SHE eagerly looks into it, and it starts to glow.)
(LIGHTS crossfade to reveal RUSSEL, his DOUBLE, MADAM MUMM, and even DUDLEY, all standing beside the bicycle. RUSSEL reaches out to touch the bike—it's quite real.)
(MR. KUNKLE steps in from the wings.)
(HELEN KUNKLE now steps into the picture. DUDLEY is present also. When SHE speaks, DUDLEY reacts strangely to the SOUND of HER VOICE, as he has for MR. KUNKLE's VOICE)
(MADAM MUMM elbows DUDLEY out of the way.)
(PAULINE steps in to admire the machine. RUSSEL'S PARENTS walk out backward.)
(DUDLEY moves closer to PAULINE. HE is frustrated at not being able to remember HER name.)
(PAULINE's eyes light up, just as if SHE had recognized a long-lost comrade.)
(DUDLEY thumbs through his little black book of names he brought out before, but MR KUNKLE, BARBARA KUNKLE, and HELEN KUNKLE crowd around DUDLEY, interrupting him ad-lib greetings.)
(MADAM MUMM flies into a rage. SHE pushes everyone away from DUDLEY, grabbing his black book and ripping it in two.)
(As SHE pulls RUSSEL away from DUDLEY, a strange VOICE is heard, weird and distorted and not quite human, coming from PAULINE's form.)
(In a terrifying moment, all FOUR of the characters playing RUSSEL's family and friends become stiff, mannequin-like, and totally-unreal, as though they were puppets. THEY totter around the stage as though they had lost reason and, with grotesque faces, perhaps enhanced by makeup, we see they are not known to RUSSEL at all, but are those we will call THE CHANGELINGS. One of them, in MR KUNKLE's form, approaches RUSSEL.)
(RUSSEL grabs the crystal ball out of MADAM MUMM's hands, and the CHANGELINGS flee in all directions. MADAM MUMM laughs malevolently as they all scatter, leaving RUSSEL alone on stage holding the crystal ball, glowing softly in his hands.)
(HE looks down at the crystal ball which, as the LIGHTS quickly FADE is the only illumination on his terrified face.)
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