PLAYHOUSE OF THE DAMNED

"Danny Boy"

                                                                                                   by Richard Nathan

                                                                                                    (lyrics stolen from Frederick Weatherly)

The spotlight is up on our host, GUS THE GHOUL.

                                                            GUS
                                    Playhouse of the Damned is proud to
                                    present one of my favorite songs,
                                    "Danny Boy."

Gus exits.  Lights come up on ROSE, a beautiful but sickly young woman, sitting with her lover DANNY.  They sit  downstage right.  Rose wears a shawl around her, to keep her warm.  Danny has his arm around her.

Enter the SINGER downstage left.  As the Singer sings the song "Danny Boy," the actors enact is as follows:

                                                            SINGER
                                    Oh Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
                                    From glen to glen, and down the mountain side.

Rose and Danny each cup a hand behind an ear and listen to the pipes.

                                                            SINGER
                                    The summer's gone, and all the roses falling. 

Rose shivers from the cold.

                                                            SINGER
                                    'Tis you, 'tis you must go, and I must bide.

Reluctantly, Danny stands, kisses Rose on the top of her head, and exits stage left.  Rose looks after him sadly, and coughs.

                                                            SINGER
                                  But come ye back, when summer's in the meadow

A DOCTOR comes in and examines Rose where she sits.  He takes her pulse.

                                                            SINGER
                                    Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow.

The doctor shakes his head sadly. 

                                                            SINGER
                                    'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow.

Rose dies.  The doctor covers her face with her shawl.

                                                            SINGER
                                    Danny Boy, oh Danny Boy, I love you so.

There is a pause before the singer continues.  Two GRAVEDIGGERS enter from stage left.  They cross to center stage and mime digging a grave.  They each dig three shovelfuls of dirt, miming tossing the dirt upstage.  Then they cross over to Rose's body, and the Singer resumes the song.

                                                            SINGER
                                    And when ye come, and all the flowers are dying,

The gravediggers carry Rose's body and place it in the grave.  She is still covered by the shawl.  They mime covering her up with the dirt (three shovelfuls each).  Then the gravediggers leave, exiting stage right.

                                                            SINGER
                                    If I am dead, as dead I well may be,
                                    You'll come and find the place where I am lying,

As the gravediggers are leaving, Danny enters from stage left.  He crosses to Rose's grave. 

                                                            SINGER
                                    And kneel and say an Ave there for me.

Danny kneels and prays.

                                                            SINGER
                                    And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me.
                                    And all my grave shall warmer, sweeter be.

On the word "hear," Rose's corpse starts to move very slowly beneath the shawl.  Very, very slowly, very gradually, she starts to sit up.

                                                            SINGER
                                    For you will bend, and tell me that you love me.

Suddenly, Rose lurches from the grave, grabs Danny by the neck, and pulls him down into the grave with her.

                                                            SINGER
                                    And I will sleep in peace until you come to me.

The singer exits.  Rose and Danny lie side by side in the grave.

                                                            DANNY
                                    I thought you said, "I will sleep in peace until you
                                    come to me!"

                                                            ROSE
                                    I was sleeping in peace until you came to me!

Blackout on Rose and Danny.  Gus the Ghoul enters, dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief.

                                                            GUS
                                    That song always makes me cry.

THE END