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    Thea Butler
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    Full libretto

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    3K views59 pages

    Elegies For Angels, Punks, & Raging Queens

    Uploaded by

    Thea Butler
    Full libretto

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 59
    Popular Musical Productions and Latest Acquisitions (*} Controlled by SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. feo aynnce Ee Reet sansa on ant tin mee ie ee Seton are a Elegies for angels, punks and raging queens by Bill Russell Music by Janet Hood apne FRENCH ToUNDED 1EFa New York Hollywood. Losdon ‘Torenta SAMUELERENCH.COM Copyright2D 1991, 1996 by Bill Russell ALL RIGHTS RESERVED CAUTION: Professionals snd smateurs are here>y wml that ELSGTES OR ANGELS, PUNKS AND RAGING QUEENS, being fully protecied inner the copyright laws of the United Siass of America, the British Commonwealth, Including Canada, and the ether counties of the Copyright Union, ie subject to a royal. and anyone presenting the play ‘without the consent of the owners or their authorized agents wil be Hable in the penalties by lw provided. Antes wishing to arrange forthe production of SLEGIES FOR AN. GELS, PUNKS AND RAGING QUEENS, must make application wo SAM- UBL PRENCH, INC.,at 45 Wes! 25th Steel, Neve York, NY 10010-2751, siving the following particulars (U1 The mame ef the town and theatre or hall proposed paduction wil be presente [2}‘The inasinnumn seatigg capacity of the theatre or hall 16) Seale ofticket prices; and 14) The numer of performances intendes and the alates tereof Upoa receipt ofthese particulars SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. will quote the annatsur terms and availabihty. Stock royahy and availability quoted on application to SAMUEL, FRENCH, INC, af 48 West 25th Steet, New York, NY 10010. For all other rights chan those stipulaed aboxe, apply ta Susan Schul mn Agency, 454. dth Steet, Now Work. NY (0056, ‘Aw orchestetion consisting of Plana’ Vocal Seore, Cella, Harp sil be Jano v0 moms pris to the prosustion ONLY an feeeipt of he royalty quoted for all performances, the real fee andl a refundable deposit, The sleposil will be refunded onthe sae celum to SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. of al ruterials loaned forthe prostuctin. in whieh the ‘No one shall sonanicr authorize any actor omission by which the copyrigh| or the right to copy eight, is play may’ be lear ed Ro one shal mikey changes in ts ply i Publication of this play does nol pty availabhy for performance, Bo amateuis an proecsional caneidrtg a proucion ae son iter own ancess fo ely fo Sarmil French, Ine, for wer pesion tatoos siting cheneal,advertng, of booking ‘No part of this book may be roprodicod, shored fy are luantnittd in any’ Teeny, by ang’ means, now knw or yet Wy ben inchading mecharica, electric, phainenpy mg, recon, videotaping, 0 ciherorive, wrthord the peor wslten pertlanah ofthe publisher ISBN OTE LOSES Priel in USA 7096, IMPORTANT BILLING AND CREDIT REQUIREMENTS All producers of ELEGIES FOR ANGELS. peNIKS AND RE QUEENS wast give credit to the Asnbor of the Play in all prox {grams distributed in eonneetian with performances of the Ps ‘nd inv alliustanees ia which the citle of the Pla purposes of advertising, publicizing or oll Play and /ora production, Th on a separate line on whicl Following the vide ane suit Fifty percent af dhe 9 linlly as fo! 1 appears, inunedia re af type rt less than Filling umast be eb pete In. c of the tile (SAME QF PRODL PRESENTS Ry ELEGIFS FOR ANGBLS, PUNKS AND RAGING QUEENS Book and Lyries by Russell Music by Janes Havel Because Etegtes for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens evolved over several prochrctions over a period of years there is Ho# an original cast which reflects the piece as it appears here. Characters were added. cut, changed and renamed. Included here are casts of the four productions hich most contribuced to the ultimate shape of the plece — two fn New York and ta it Lovin. ‘The first full siaging of Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens was presented by T.W.E-E-D. (Theater Works Emerging 7 Bxpertiemial Directione) as part of its Sixth Annual New Works Festival, in association with Justin Ross. It opened on May 18, +1089 at the Obio Theater in Nevr York. The cast was as follows: SINGER #1 Linda Lanford ‘CHRISTOPHER. Kenny Morris BILLY sees Russell Garrett TROY Randl Ask SEAN. + Frank Jui MITCH veeecevee tacit ieee ress Mat FOt@POU}RS JOSH... Re Justin Ross, poUuG : fos -dandeé Morgan SINGER (2... James Rocco SINGER #3 2. «Lewis Cason TIM of sess Michael Kelly Boone PACO “ ++ Sixto Rames FRANCIS James Van Treuren SALLY. ‘Suzanne Rand RAY seve --- Bill Damaschike DWIGHT. 3 Jobn Augustine LAMAR i «Stanley Wayne Mathis, JOE : Don Laventhall MICHAEL asrenas te veseseefaurent Giroux ROSCOE... : Jay Rogers HELEN, ceecee Wer Johnson PAUL. sleet Lance MeGinnis NAT : George Cambs CONSUELA..... Ajisha Terry NORMAN... Phillip Oticer BERTHA oss... ce Mitiam Stovall cnuck zi « Bradley Jones HOWARD, Jobn-Charles Kelly OLIVER Randell Fryman ANDY... John Savatore pakecier «Tom McBride a ps 7 «Peter Bartlett MILES ++ David van Leesten ‘A subsequent production at the RAPP Aris Center in New York pened on February 21, 1990 with the following cast changes and. wudditions: SINGER #2 anees Dawid Rose SINGERS, .. . Stanley Wayne Mathis fustit Lewis Caron PROV ........ ‘Terry Robison MIKE... voeeeKeniny Moers JOSH. sescrreeneoseeseeee + JORN SAeAOEE BOUG «Edwin Louis Battle TM. . + Michael Rane (second haf of ren) FRANCIS... Richard Conrad MACY .......... fae Lisa DeSimone SEAN... ee “Randell Frys LAMAR... Andre Monigomery (irs half of run) CONSUELA, esses Natasha Hinds MANCY..... Carol A. Honda f pax: lohi Schiappa ots Jorge Luis Abre ‘The first London ffinge procction was presedted by Ths King’s Head Theatre and Giacomo Capizzano, opening November 10, 1992. wih the following cast: MELISSA (Singer One) ...- --Maria Ventura CHRISTOPHER sas Jonathan Arun BILLY seeecee+ Jonathan Brent PATRICK... George Heslia MITCH Len Trusty JORH ies siiecs crs ‘Aidan Dooley DOUG (Singer Twa) é 2 -.- Omar Okal BRIAN (Singer Three) ‘ Kevin Pawer JUDITH (Singer Faw) vee Sylvia Mason-James TIM : veeeeeesees oes Fumes Payton TRACEY... satel ‘Amanda Mealing, DWIGHT... oe James Lance FRANC! See Patrick Duggan HAM 3 Mark Powiey PACO x 7 : Carl Pizzis SALLY " + Sliaron Schaffer ORVILLE : : Michael Bell NICK i eeceeeeevee se Stat Bennet RORCOR Eto crspreierivive 4 Lily Savage Regina Fong. HELEN Mary Chester LAMAR. Bs ++, Don Gilet NANCY. 4 : Polly Mecre KHADHA 015 ema Endrojona Miquita Oliver PAUL. 5 Brendan Coyle NAT soos Simon Cla RAFAELA sere e Myriam Cyt JOANNE. seescseas Rage Davies Topp Joe Hutton BERTHA ~ Andrea Oliver BUD. ‘William Vanderpuye JOE... ee Richard Posock GRANT sve Peter Birrel MILES 5.0454 seevevves Rutt Conaghan ‘The London West End production was presented by Giacomo Capizzano, Lid. at the Criterion Theater, opening June 28, 1993 with the following cast Singers: JUDITH a ose Kim Criswel BOUG..... bee Kwame Kei-Armah ANGELA... = so -+ Miguel Brown BRIAN. ie oo + Simon Green Actors: ‘CHRISTOPHER ‘PATRICK . James Dreytus BILLY /DWIGHT..... oo. Neil Roberts ‘MITCH /MILES.. ee eeseseee Ade Sapara JOSH/JOE. a Simon Fanshawe Alternate ~ Derek Howard eeees Sarah Burghard Graham Headly seve son Gilet ‘TRACEY / CHARLOTTE , FRANCIS ‘GRANT .. LAMAR! WALTER RAY ‘BUD 4 ‘Sean Mathias TIM 2 seecrreeees Alden Waters SALLY / CLAUDI fi ‘Trudie Styler ORWILLE NAT Mac Andeews ‘NICK /PAUL Stuart Bennett ROSCOE : Regina Fong, HELEN | NANCY Elizabeth Kelly RAFAELAMOANNE........ ss Race Davies KHADUA ; ct Gwyneth Jones Irma Endrajona BERTHA, oNigola Blsekinan Singer altemates «Maria Ventura ‘David Amneil Vocal Arrangements and Orchestrations by James Raitt | ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. Many wonderful people have contibuted to the evolution af Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Quecds oid it is impossible to acknowledge all of thei, But a few must be mentioned: ‘Rita Mayer, whose editing of the poems was invaluable, Justin Ross, who nurtured the project in its carly stages, Kevin Maloney and TW.EED. (Theater Works Emerging / Experimental Directions} who presented the first two New York hins With Justin, Bruce Bessard, who raised much of the funding, for the early productions and, with Memry Morse, is a bedrock of the authors? lives, Ken Page, who premiered the piece in LA. Mark Sendrof? and Susan Steiger, who negotiated contracts over ‘the years, James Raitt, who did the musical arrangements and orchestrations and produced the London east e.d., Kevin Garrity, ‘constant and genetous supporter and the extraardinary Giacomo Capizzane, wha was determined to take Elegies for Angets, Punks and Raging Queens to London and ultimately the West nd and did, In addition, many fine performers, designers, stage ore, financial angels and friends have given their talents, skills, time, getietosiy and support to this project and we are most grateful And sadly, Lthink important to ote that many participants in the project's different incarnations are no longer with ws due to AIDS, or are continuing to live with it daily. We especially want te eniend our gratuite co them fr reminding us why the piese ‘was conceived and continues to be pertinent. AUTHOR'S NOTE Elegies for Angels, Putths aid Raging Queens is intended to reflect the broad spectrum of people ALDS has both infected and aifected, A correlative objective is to provide a vehicle which can Involve a large part of the community in a theatrical response to the AIDS criss. Having ditected Elegies... several times in various cireumnstances, I have a few thoughts I'd like to shore with other directors. The structure of the piece is nat linear in the traditional sense but what is presented here has been worked aut over many productions in front of many audiences, The rhythm, varity aid Mow of the cunning onder have proven to be very effective and should not be altered. Though it is possible for roles ta be doubled (or more), 1 vastly prefer thatthe show be done with ene actor in each rale — ‘making for a cast of 36 The piece has been preseeted with that size ensemble at the King’s Head Theatre in London on a stage measuring 10 feet by 22 feet, so I'm convinced it ean be dove iywhere, An all-star benefit in Lak. used more than the four singers indicated here, which required less rehearsal time per performer and broughe the comnjihy to 41. Thongh at first glance ‘working with « east ofthis size may seemm daunting, the piece can be put together with minimal rehearsal time (excepting the director) I've often scheduled two half-hour rehearsals per actor (the singers require more) and then several group put-togethers and nti-thtoughs. Because Blegies .. is often used a fund or ‘awareness-raising vehicle, participants (with the blessing of theit Fespective unions) have feegiently contributed their talents for litle compensation. Many of the characters are specific types, ages o ethnicities, ‘but others could be played by wildly divergent types (some could even be cither men o¢ women), I've tried to give a sense of that in ‘the following character descriptions. When casting this piece, 1 ‘would eneourige potential directors to reach beyond the talent pools with whom they normally werk, If you have not Worked with or don't know many older actors, children or members of different ethnic groups, here"s a chance to broaden your contacts ‘and make the production a true community experience [ve found accumulation a iiost effective device for staging - starting with an empty stage, etch actor remaining onee having done the monclogoe, Since the songs are voiced in present tense and therefore reflect those sill living, with loss and AIS” other ramifications, it scems fitting that the singers cams:and ga, ‘A brisk pace is most beneficial. Bliminating lag time between monologues can help wemendously, Elepfes «i vite i verse bt that doesn't mean the actors shou! punch the rhymes. Better ifthey tell the stories as naturally as possible and let the verse take care of itself, Ad libbing seems not only unnecessary, but detrimental, Raythm is everything in this piece and when extra syllables, creative comments and lengthy pases are added, the resulls are less than satisfying (especially to the ar), Speaking of the ear ~ a note about the music, This i not a typical thusical-comedy score and the singers should be confortable with pop styles. Janet and I lean toward hearing the songs performed on microphones, even in @ stall space. The style of the music lends itself to that, and the presentational nature of the piece does not makehand-held microphones seein out of place (though body mikes may make staging 648i ‘A word about the ending. | think i very important that the audience is briefly reminded of each character they've met. Giving exch actor a moment to toss confetti in character and thet to join in singing the final song allows for that and adds to the celebratory quelity we'd like atthe en, My major advice, though is to have fun with this wel ‘why [stress casting tetors who can play comedy or find the humor in many of the monologues. Janet and 1 didn’t intend for Elegies .. ta be a dinge — rather a celebration of some very ‘important lives. Oddly enough, something which cam¢ from such sadness has given us our mast enjoyable experiences in the ‘theater. | always tell the east that i's fairly eazy to make an audience cry with this subject matter — the challenge is 10 make ‘hein laugh, 1 also urge actors not to cry on stage — it undercuts that possibility for the audience. We hope performers and audiences will come together to laugh, reflect on an incredible amount af loss and move to the beat bet russel! bill russell March, 1996 CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS | would stress tke importance of easting actors trom etinic jorities whenever possible, The SINGERS are wide open but 2 few considerations follow. All should be comfortable perfoeming in pop styles. n JUDITH: Soprano, BLD’ sister, so those roles need to be coordinated bouc: Baritone, Has wraditionally been back BRIAN, Tatior, Shou be beliewable ax RAY" friend ANGELA: Alto, CLAUDIA’s secretary. Has offen been black, PATRICK:

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