by Dorothy Marcic Musical arrangements by Hinton Battle PRODUCTION SCRIPT www.stagerights.com LOVE IS A MANY SPLINTERED THING Copyright © 2006 by Dorothy Marcic and Hinton Battle All Rights Reserved All performances and public readings of LOVE IS A MANY SPLINTERED THING are subject to royalties. It is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, of all countries covered by the International Copyright Union, of all countries covered by the Pan-American Copyright Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention, and all countries with which the United States has reciprocal copyright relations. All rights are strictly reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, including mechanical, electronics, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author. Publication of this play does not necessarily imply that it is available for performance by amateurs or professionals. It is strongly recommended all interested parties apply to Steele Spring Stage Rights for performance rights before starting rehearsals or advertising. No changes shall be made in the play for the purpose of your production without prior written consent. All billing stipulations in your license agreement must be strictly adhered to. No person, firm or entity may receive credit larger or more prominent than that accorded the Author. For all stage performance inquiries, please contact: Steele Spring Stage Rights 3845 Cazador Street Los Angeles, CA 90065 (323) 739-0413 www.stagerights.com PRODUCTION HISTORY • Reading of Book, November 2006, Nashville TN • Reading of Book and Music, Detroit MI April 2007. • Workshop of book and music, New York City, June 2007; Hinton Battle directed. • 2nd workshop of book and music; Hinton Battle directed. • Production at Sleuths Dinner Theater, Orlando FL, 2009-2010; John DiDonna directed. • Workshop and production at Planet Connections Festivity, Lynn Redgrave Theater, New York City, June 2012, Hinton Battle directed. • Staged Readings May and December 2013 in New York City, Kenneth Ferrone directed. • Reading of Act II, September 2015, Hinton Battle Directed. CHARACTERS 3F, 3M BILL: Classic narcissist with an overriding desire to get his way. Attractive, well-groomed, and preppy. He is a charming, sweet-talkin’ guy who is good with people, but he is a “commitment- phobe”: the eternal “wanderer.” Until he goes through a shift in Act II, other people are only there to fill Bill’s playboy needs. HOPE: She sees herself as the good girl who always does the right thing. Pure and virginal; attractive, but modest in appearance. Hope demands a lot of her men. Mature and put-together, she is always in control...until, that is, emotion gets in the way. YALE: Shy, gentle, and geeky. Very alone. He is fearful of the world and people, especially girls. He wishes he could fit in. In Act I, Yale is a good student, but a social outcast. As Act II opens, we discover a changed man— a financially successful businessman in the tech field, though his social skills are still lacking. ROBERTA: African American. A dedicated friend and lover, Roberta is full of life, but she’s very matter-of-fact, and never afraid to speak her mind. She loves Sean, but doesn’t let him get away with any nonsense. SEAN: African American. A good man, a lover of life, and a dedicated friend. Sean is funny, full of energy, and always the life of the party. Sean’s very much in love with his high-school sweetheart Roberta, and the two eventually marry. Slowly, Sean begins to take his beloved for granted and is forced to face the consequences. DESIREE SUE: Being loved is the central focus of her life. She dresses seductively. She knows she is attractive and uses that as power with men, though her neurotic and aggressive approach turns many off, including Bill. Desiree, naïve and desperate, gives her love away too easily in Act I and has an affair with a married man (Yale) in Act II, until self-awareness sets in and she begins to take control of her life. SETTING Act I takes place in the near distant past, when characters are in high school and a few years hence. Act II is 10 years later. AUTHOR’S NOTE In order to write Love is a Many Splintered Thing, I researched the 20,000 Top 40 songs from 1900-2000 using the content-analysis approach to identify categories for each song. It took six months of eight hours a day and I ended up needing new eyeglasses by the end. After categorizing the songs, I clustered them and discovered there were six themes that kept appearing again and again, decade after decade. Those six are: Falling in Love, Getting Dumped, The Wanderer (for a guy), Sex, Begging Forgiveness (from a guy), and Happy Together. Why not write a whole musical around those six themes? And because I saw so much material in these 20,000 songs, I was determined to figure out a way to tell the entire story of what turned out to be six characters entirely through song lyrics. Something akin to a pop opera. Unlike my previous musicals, RESPECT, which takes music from 1901 to 2012 and SISTAS, in which the songs span from 1927 to 2008, Love is a Many Splintered Thing covers the more recent territory from the ‘60s to the ‘90s. Who won’t swoon to “Love is in the Air” and want to dance to “Sweet Talkin’ Guy” and jump with “You Make My Dreams Come True”? —Dr. Dorothy Marcic MUSICAL NUMBERS *Note: The song list below is a chronological outline. Many song verses and lyrics are interwoven in the style of medleys or “mash-ups.” ACT I Scene 1: Falling In Love 1. Love Is In The Air ................................................................................................................ Company 2. The Look of Love .................................................................................................................. Desiree 2a. The Shoop Shoop Song (Does He Love Me?) ............................ Desiree, Roberta & Hope 2b. You Can’t Hurry Love .................................................................................................... Hope 2c. Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me ........................................................................................ Bill 2d. It Ain’t Me Babe ................................................................................................................. Bill 3. I Think I Love You ....................................................................................................................... Yale 4. Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing ........................................................................... Sean & Roberta 5. The Look of Love (Reprise) .................................................................................................. Desiree 5a. Different Drum .............................................................................................................. Hope Scene 2: Only The Lonely 6. Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight .................................................................................. Bill & Desiree 6a. Lady Willpower .................................................................................................................. Bill 6b. Should I Do It ............................................................................................................. Desiree 6c. Don't Throw Your Love Away ....................................................................... Hope & Roberta 6d. Maybe This Time ....................................................................................................... Desiree 7. Only The Lonely .......................................................................................................................... Yale 7a. If I Could Reach You .................................................................................................. Desiree Scene 3: The Morning After 8. Sweet Talkin Guy ..................................................................................... Hope, Roberta & Desiree 8a. Just My Imagination .................................................................................... Yale, Sean & Bill 9. Walk Like A Man ..................................................................................................... Yale, Sean & Bill 9a. Shop Around ....................................................................................................... Sean & Men 9b. Chain of Fools ........................................................................................................... Roberta 9c. You're No Good ............................................................................................. Hope & Women 10. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood .................................................................................................. Bill 10a. Try A Little Tenderness ............................................................................................... Hope 11. Just One Look .................................................................................................................. Bill & Hope 11a. Hooked On A Feeling ......................................................................................... Bill & Hope 11b. Dizzy ................................................................................................................... Bill & Hope MUSICAL NUMBERS (CONT’D) ACT I (CONT’D) Scene 4: Lightning Strikes 12. Johnny Angel ........................................................................................................................