0 comments/ 5284 views/ 0 favorites February Stars: A Play By: daj8577 Before you read on, dear reader, please be warned that this is most likely nothing like what you are used to reading on this site. This is by no means an erotic tale, nor is it akin to my other work in progress, "Seeking Twilight". But my friends, please do read on, at least through the Prologue, and as you read, imagine yourself sitting in a theatre, a member of an audience, watching as the story before you unfold. Imagine seeing what you read. Cast of Characters (In Order of Appearance) SAM RINEHART-30's, A news correspondent RICHIE BENZ-A young singer/songwriter about 21 STEVEN RHODES-22, founder and lead guitarist of the rock band "Manhattan Rhodes" MARK HALLOW-21, Bassist for "Manhattan Rhodes" COLE THOMAS-19, Drummer for "Manhattan Rhodes" MILLIE DAVIS-Early 40's, Owner/Manager of "Millie's Tavern" MR. GOODWYN-ANNA's Father ANNA GOODWYN-A young girl of 17 who looks more like she's 22 APPLEGATE-mid 30's talent agent specializing in turning nobodies into celebrities SARAH JACOBS-20's, Richie's girlfriend JULIE MCDUNOUGH-M.C. at the "Kobyashi Club" TERESA-Early 20's, bartender at the "Kobyashi Club" LACEY-Early 30's Applegate's secretary DAVY LARSON-Mid to Late 20's, Host for the Top Twenty Request Show TAELI JENSEN-21, lead guitarist for "Wilde Blue Riot" ASH FURTTHUR-21 drummer for "Wilde Blue Riot" GORDY MADISON-Late 20's, early 30's record producer for "Wilde Blue Riot" CHRIS GARDENER-Mid-20's, bassist for "Wilde Blue Riot" FENTON SHARP-Mid-30's, music video director ACT I Prologue Scene 1 - Millie's Tavern, a dive in downtown Chicago, a Thursday in May. Scene 2 - On The Streets of Chicago, moments later. Scene 3 - Richie's apartment, an hour later. Scene 4 - The Kobyashi Club, two weeks later. Scene 5 - On The Streets of Chicago, moments later. Scene 6 - The Phone Booth, moments later. Scene 7 - Applegate's Office, the next day. Scene 8 - The Top Twenty Request Show, early the following week Scene 9 - Plazacorp. Records; a recording studio, later that week Scene 10 - Anna's Bedroom, two weeks later - early in the week Scene 11 - The Green Room for the Top Twenty Request Show, later the following week Scene 12 - Anna's Bedroom, two weeks later Scene 13 - The Band's Dressing Room At The Stadium, early the following week ACT II Scene 1 - The Band's Dressing Room At The Stadium, continued Scene 2 - Outside Applegate's Office, the next morning Scene 3 - Applegate's Office, a moment later Scene 4 - Anna's Bedroom, later the following week Scene 5 - Plazacorp. Records; a recording studio, about the same time Scene 6 - On The Video Set, a week later Scene 7 - The Top Twenty Request Show, The following Friday morning Scene 8 - Anna's Bedroom, early that evening Scene 9 - Richie's apartment, much later that night Scene 10 - Outside Applegate's Office, the next evening Scene 11 - Applegate's Office, a moment later Epilogue - on stage, here, tonight Prologue (As the audience enters the house, they see a bare stage, lit plainly. The house closes. The lights fade out. We hear static, the sounds of the stations being adjusted and scanned through on a radio. A red and blue police light flashes. Then two. Then five. Then a dozen. The static begins to fade as we hear the sounds of a growing crowd. Citizens, police, E.M.T.'s, reporters. An entire scene unfolding and we barely hear it, like a radio station that won't come in clearly. Out of the noise we pick out some things: there's a girl on a building, she's going to jump, she's not going to jump, we don't know. No one knows. Then in the midst of the confusion, a voice of reason in the form SAM RINEHART, a radio news correspondent. He's trying desperately to be a total and complete professional, but he's failing miserably.) SAM RINEHART: (rushed and nervous) This is Sam Rinehart, special correspondent for 98.7 FM news reporting in with a special, exclusive, uh . . . report. (that works) I'm on location here just outside a hotel at the corner of Wabash and Lake, where someone who appears to be a young woman, we're not sure who yet, is standing on the edge of the roof of the building. A large crowd has gathered down here and it appears as if the police are deciding how to proceed. I'm going to try to get closer, see if I can't get more information. Officer! Excuse me, Officer! (The crowd grows louder and more aggressive. Sounds of protests and bits of odd fighting bubble to the surface. More sirens, different sirens. Then, the click and shriek of a P.A. system being turned on, followed by a different voice.) P.A. VOICE: THIS IS THE CHICAGO P.D. WE HAVE A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATION ON OUR HANDS AND WE NEED TO GET FIRE TRUCKS AND E.M.T. UNITS THROUGH TO HELP. WE ARE UNABLE TO DO SO AT THIS TIME, SO WE NEED ALL OF YOU TO DISPERSE IMMEDIATELY SO THAT WE CAN DO OUR JOBS. THANK YOU. (The crowd grows even more aggressive as protests against the police grow louder in the crowd. The fighting and cursing grows louder as well. The P.A. clicks back on.) P.A. VOICE: PEOPLE OF CHICAGO, THERE IS NOTHING TO SEE HERE! DISPERSE IMMEDIATELY! WE WILL DISPERSE THIS CROWD OURSELVES BY FORCE! PLEASE LEAVE NOW! (Protests from the crowd have grown even louder, as have the sounds of fighting. The click and hiss of tear gas guns being fired is soon followed by the clacking boot steps of the Gestapo-esque riot cops. Sirens grow louder, and we hear the biff-baff of billy clubs and fists pounding against soft flesh. Through it all, our voice of reason returns.) SAM RINEHART: Ladies and gentlemen, I have just received word about our would-be jumper. We now know her identity to be that of singing sensation Aria Gordon. Police officials have released a statement that she seems to have undergone some sort of drug and stress related nervous breakdown and is completely and deadly serious about jumping. I- (SAM is cut off by the sound of gunfire in the background. He quickly switches gears.) SAM RINEHART: (Afraid for his life) Ladies and gentlemen, as you can hear behind me, this crowd is growing rapidly into a rather large and dangerous riot. Police are beginning to fire warning shots over the crowd. The fighting is immense, and in fact, I don't mind telling you that I am quite afraid of- (SAM is cut off once again, this time by a short series of loud, obtrusive screams, then all is silent, save for the sirens. The police lights slowly begin to cut out one by one, as SAM's voice returns.) SAM RINEHART: (out-of-breath, dumbfounded) Oh my god. She just jumped. (the sirens begin to fade) Ladies and gentlemen, Aria Gordon has just ju- . . . has just leapt from the roof of a hotel at the corner of Wabash and Lake. I . . . I'm staying on here to see if I can find out any other information. For further developments, please stay tuned to this station. This is Sam Rinehart reporting for 98.7 FM news. (all other sounds and lights have completely faded out by now) Oh my god. (Static. The curtain closes. The static fades away. Silence.) Scene 1 - Millie's Tavern (Out of the silence, a single guitar chord. Following the chord, a long, Hendrix-ian riff. As the riff echoes and fades, the curtain flies open. Smoke, light, and music erupt from the stage as the band blasts forth into song without missing a beat. As the smoke clears and the lights adjust, we see the band members clearly, and realize that the quote has now been replaced with the phrase "Manhattan Rhodes". The band is made up of four members; drummer COLE THOMAS, bassist MARK HALLOW, lead guitarist STEVEN RHODES, and the backup guitarist and lead vocalist RICHIE BENZ. As they enter the first chorus of the song, other cast members shuffle in around the band with chairs and small tables, and even a bar off to one side, setting the scene as the cyke now shows a projection of a neon sign reading "Millie's Tavern". The band barely hits their final down beat, and RICHIE is already making his way through people to get to the bar and get a drink.) STEVEN: (into the mic) We'll be back in five! (STEVEN follows after RICHIE, as RICHIE pulls up a stool at the bar [between two people who we later learn to be ANNA and APPLEGATE] and calls over the bartender.) RICHIE: Hey Benny, get me a beer. (BENNY acknowledges RICHIE.) STEVEN: (to RICHIE) What the hell do you think you're doing? (MARK and COLE see that STEVEN is gunning for RICHIE, and they follow, not to take sides, but to keep things from getting out of hand.) RICHIE: What is it Steven, I'm gettin' a beer. STEVEN: Jesus, Richie, you're turnin' into a lush. RICHIE: Can't you go piss somebody else off for five minutes. STEVEN: Damn it, Richie, we're tryin' to play up here and you keep cuttin' us off with your half assed obsession of gettin' trashed. RICHIE: You gonna give me the A.A. lecture now, Steven? STEVEN: No, I'm not. I'm tryin' to keep us playin' while we've got an audience, but somebody is keeping that from happening. RICHIE: What the FUCK, I'm just tryin' to get a beer. STEVEN: Yeah, after two songs. That's hardly a set. Jesus, that's hardly even a warm up. RICHIE: What, are you gonna play mother hen now. STEVEN: Hell, no! That's not my job! Might be Sarah's job, but it sure as hell ain't mine. RICHIE: (Defensively) Hey! MARK: Stephen! STEVEN: (Overlapping) But I'll remind you what my job is. My job is keepin' this band alive, keepin' us on stage, keepin' us movin' and out there, exposed. RICHIE: How? By gettin' us stuck in crumby little dives like this? (Millie enters away from the bar. Mark and Cole notice.) COLE: (Apprehensively) Guys . . . STEPHEN: (Again overlapping) No, by keepin' us outta crumby little dives like this. MILLIE: If this is such a crumby dive- (They all react to her sudden presence.) MILLIE: (Continuing) would you boys then care to remind me why I pay you as much as I do? MARK: Uh, sorry Millie, they didn't mean anything by it, did ya guys? (STEVEN and RICHIE give a less than enthusiastic but unified nod.) MILLIE: Riiight. (short pause) Quick question: since I am paying you to play, why aren't you? STEVEN: We were just headed back on stage. C'mon Richie. MILLIE: Actually Steven, before you get back up there, I'd like to talk to you alone. Now. STEVEN: Right. (STEVEN and MILLIE head to the other side of the set.) MILLIE: Steven, we had a deal. STEVEN: I know. MILLIE: Every minute that stage is empty, I lose money. STEVEN: I know, but I've already been givin' Richie a lot of shit over his attitude. MILLIE: I understand, he's your friend and he's been through hell. I am willing to be compassionate, Steven. However, I am not willing to allow anyone to take advantage of me . . . . . I understand about Richie's brother, but if he's not willing to deal with it, then that shouldn't have to be your problem, and its certainly not going to be mine. Three nights a week for two months too many I've been losing money because of him. Tonight is it, he's gone. (MILLIE waits for a break in MARK's dialogue.) RICHIE: (Oozing sarcasm) Oooh, Steven's in trouble. (MARK and COLE pull up stools next to RICHIE.) COLE: What do you want from him, Richie? All you do is try to aggravate him. MARK: Yeah man, what with blowin' off rehearsals and everything. RICHIE: Jeez, I'm sorry. I didn't know you both had your heads up his ass! (A look spreads across COLE's face as though he is about to retaliate, but MARK stops him.) MARK: Look, Richie, all I'm sayin' is, for the last three months, all you've been willing to do for this band is be a pain in its ass, and the collective asses of the people we get gigs with. MILLIE (con't): You have two choices; one, pack up your things and leave with him, or, two, stay, and the band goes on without him. MARK(CON'T): I mean, I know that its been hard for you to deal with- (RICHIE cuts him off with a deadly serious tone.) RICHIE: Just stop right there man! Don't even start on that shit! STEVEN: Understood. I'll go tell him. MILLIE: No. You go warm up. That's what you're getting paid for. (RICHIE, MARK, and COLE just sit there momentarily in the tension, after which STEVEN walks back over, taps MARK and COLE on the shoulders and signals them to head back on 'stage'. MARK moves to signal RICHIE, but STEVEN stops him and shakes his head. The three head back to the 'stage' to start playing again. When RICHIE hears COLE starting to warm up, he moves to join them, but is stopped by MILLIE.) MILLIE: Where do you think you're going? RICHIE: I'm heading up to earn my paycheck. (He moves to join them again, but MILLIE stops him.) MILLIE: No, you're not. RICHIE: (dumbfounded) What? What do you mean 'I'm not'? MILLIE: You're no longer earning a paycheck. RICHIE: What? The band's warming up right now. MILLIE: Right, the band is warming up on stage. You are no longer part of the band, and you are no longer welcome in this bar. RICHIE: What the hell are you talking about? Steven, what the hell is she talking about? (STEVEN remains speechless.) RICHIE: Steven, c'mon, tell her I'm still in the band! STEVEN, C'MON! COLE: Steven . . .? MARK: Steven, what's goin' on? STEVEN: We're warming up, that's what's goin' on. The three of us are warming up. RICHIE: Oh no man, no way Steven, c'mon. Mark, Cole, c'mon guys, aww shit- MILLIE: Time to go, Richie. RICHIE: Ohhhhh, no, no no no no. Fuck you, Millie. And you (points to STEVEN). You are the smart little jackass, aren't you? Well, you keep your little trio. I'd sooner see you in hell anyway. I'm not staying in this shitty little hole one more minute. (RICHIE grabs his guitar and storms out. The lights and projection fade and the curtain closes.) Scene 2 - On The Streets of Chicago (The lights come up on the closed curtain. RICHIE enters, guitar in hand. As he gets to about center, MARK enters, following) MARK: Richie, wait up! (RICHIE stops and turns around.) RICHIE: Go back inside, Mark. (sarcastically) They might kick you out, too. MARK: Just hold on! Look, I know what happened to you in there tonight didn't seem fair, but you can't really blame them either- RICHIE: (Losing patience) Hey, Mark, I know you're trying to make me feel better and everything, by the way, thanks, you're a pal, but it's not really working, so why don't you just head back inside and let me take off. MARK: All I'm tryin' to say is, we've been pals for years. If you need anything, you got my number. Feel free to gimme a call. (RICHIE turns to exit.) RICHIE: I'll seeya around, Mark. Take care of yourself. (RICHIE exits) MARK: Yeah, you too. (MARK turns and exits. Lights.) Scene 3 - Richie's Apartment (The curtain opens and the lights come up on the interior of Richie's apartment. The apartment is sparsely furnished, with a couch folded out into a bed, dresser, side table, armchair, a small shelving unit with a stereo on it, and exits offstage to a bathroom, kitchenette and a main hallway. Behind the furniture, projected onto the cyke, is a shot of a slightly cracked window with a view of the decrepit looking brick wall across the alley. On the bed rests a half empty suitcase, stacks of clothing, another bag, a few more clothes and some assorted personal items. SARAH JACOBS, a young woman about 22, enters carrying a few more personal items in hand, and walks to the duffel bag. She looks down at the items in her hands, having a little personal debate about what to do w/ those items. Finally, she gives up and drops them all on the pile on the couch, then heads back offstage. Beat. SARAH reenters, this time with a renewed sense of determination. She starts randomly pulling items from the pile and tossing them in the bag. After a moment, she pauses, then starts pulling things out of the bag to dump back on the pile. After another moment, she realizes that she's no longer making progress, gives up, and heads back over to the suitcases. She takes a moment, maybe trying to figure out what to pack, maybe trying to talk herself out of it, or in to it, or maybe just stalling for less time than it took to read the last sentence. Finally, she just starts grabbing piles of clothes and dumping them in the suitcase. As she starts doing this, we hear the sound of keys and a lock being unlocked. SARAH reacts to the keys, and exits to the bathroom just as RICHIE enters from the hall, walking somewhat sluggishly and in something of a daze. As he enters, he sets the guitar case down next to the armchair and goes to the stereo. SARAH enters, but stands at the edge of the stage and just watches RICHIE pensively. RICHIE takes a moment to select a particular CD, and plays it. The stage fills with the sound of a slow blues number. RICHIE lingers for a moment by the stereo, letting the music infect him. SARAH turns and heads back to the bathroom. RICHIE heads over to the armchair and plops down in it, eyes closed, trying to relax. Beat. Richie's eyes open. He realizes that something is amiss. He turns and looks around the apartment, seeing Sarah's piles sitting on the bed. He slowly gets up, and walks over to the bed, looking the piles over momentarily. Just then, SARAH enters from off stage, arms full. She stops dead when she sees RICHIE. RICHIE looks up at SARAH with the subtle expression of a lost little puppy. SARAH looks back, trying to avoid eye contact, obviously nervous. Beat.) RICHIE: Hi. SARAH: Hi. (SARAH goes back to packing, still trying to avoid eye contact. RICHIE just watches, unsure whether he actually wants to deal with this situation, too, or to just say 'fuck it'.) RICHIE: (cold, unfelt) You takin' off? SARAH: Yeah. RICHIE: (cold, unfelt) Goin' to your folks? SARAH: Yeah . . . for a couple a' days. RICHIE: (cold, unfelt) Awful lot a' stuff for a just-- SARAH: (cutting him off) I'm Leaving! (They freeze. Awkward pause.) SARAH: (Calmer) I'm moving out. (SARAH resumes packing.) RICHIE: (with some actual feeling this time) Where are you gonna stay? SARAH: With my folks for a couple a' days. I just need a little time to get my head together, get my shit together, and figure out my next move. (She goes back to packing. RICHIE takes a moment to absorb what's happening, then tries to stop her.) RICHIE: Why can't you stay? (beat) SARAH: What? RICHIE: Why can't you stay? I mean, why do you have to go to your folks? Can't you stay here to figure out what you need to figure out? SARAH: (slowly, as if the words are coming out as the thought is being processed) I just feel like I can't clear my head here. (frustrated) I dunno what it is, I just gotta get out. RICHIE: (confused) Why? SARAH: Jesus, Richie, I don't know! I just really feel like I have to get out of here! RICHIE: Fine, then let's get outta here. SARAH: What? RICHIE: Sure! We'll take a week off and drive down to St. Louis to visit your aunt. I could use some time away, too. It'll be great. SARAH: (trying to be both blunt and gentle) Richie, I don't just mean time away from this apartment or from this city. We need to take some time apart from each other. (beat) RICHIE: (getting a bit angry) Well. There it is. That oh-so-infamous phrase; 'time apart'. Otherwise translated as "I want to break up with you, I just don't want to take responsibility for it." SARAH: NO! I just want us to take a little time off. RICHIE: (doubtful) Really? SARAH: (getting annoyed) Yes! RICHIE: Why! SARAH: (takes a moment to calm down) Well, we haven't exactly been getting along. I mean, I know the last few months have been hard, what with me losing my job, and your- RICHIE: (cutting her off) I know what happened three months ago! SARAH: (beat) This is what I'm talking about. And you don't want to talk about it, you won't even try to deal with it. February Stars: A Play RICHIE: (dismissive) I've dealt with it. SARAH: (doubtful) Really? What about yesterday? (beat) RICHIE: (genuine) What about yesterday? SARAH: You don't remember? (aside) Of course, that shouldn't surprise me. RICHIE: (overlapping, trying to process it all) What . . . I can't remember . . . What happened? SARAH: (aside) You got drunk. RICHIE: (slowly processing) It was Alex's birthday,-- SARAH: And you were drinking. RICHIE: Yeah, coffee . . . (processing, then remembering a little) with Jack Daniels. SARAH: And after a while, you stopped adding the coffee. RICHIE: (tired and frustrated, to himself) I've lost a whole fucking day. (to SARAH) I'm almost too afraid to ask, but, what did I do? SARAH: I honestly don't know. I had to go to work. When I got back, you were passed out on the floor. I couldn't wake you up so I called the E.M.T.s and they had to pump your stomach. They said you had a .36 blood/alcohol level. I stayed up all night to make sure you were okay. And you don't remember any of it. This morning I was so scared to go to work. I couldn't stand just leaving you here. I didn't know if I should stay longer, or if I should wake you up, or if I should just prop your head up in a waste basket. For the last three months I've been tryin' to help you deal with Alex's death and help you get back on your feet. I've hoped and prayed for some kind of improvement, any kind of improvement, but you don't get better, only worse. I can't do it any more, Richie, and its unfair of you to ask me to do it. I love you and I care about you so much, but please, don't ask me to stay here and watch you self-destruct, because its too hard. (RICHIE takes it all in.) RICHIE: I don't know what to say. SARAH: Don't say anything. I'm just going away for a little while. (SARAH picks up her bags and heads off stage, but RICHIE's next line stops her just short of an exit.) RICHIE: They kicked me out. SARAH: (genuinely concerned) Who? RICHIE: Steven and Millie. They kicked me out of the band tonight. SARAH: (unsure of what to say) Well . . . what are you gonna do? RICHIE: I dunno. (his external facade decaying rapidly) I feel like I'm losing control, like I'm losing everything. I don't know what I'm doing any more, Sarah. I don't even think I know who I am any more. (SARAH takes a moment to decide once and for all what she's doing. She then takes a deep breath and heads for the door.) SARAH: Take care of yourself, Richie. (SARAH exits, followed by the sounds of a door opening and closing. RICHIE just sits alone, staring at the door. RICHIE's eyes break their stare, as he tries to figure out what to do. Finally, he picks up his guitar. With a few quick strums, he begins to sing the first verse of something in a half assed attempt to cheer himself up. About halfway through the verse RICHIE's voice trails off as he runs out of steam, realizing that he really doesn't feel like being cheered up. Instead, he begins to sing and play something else. As he sings and plays, all of the lights, except for the ones on RICHIE, fade out. The projection fades, as well. As he finishes the first verse, the cast changes the scene around him from that of RICHIE's Apartment to that of The Kobyashi Club, and the house club comes in.) Scene 4 - The Kobyashi Club (As the cast removes the set for RICHIE's apartment, they set the scene of The Kobyashi Club, a semi-upscale, cabaret-style cafe, hosting an open mic night. The cast [one of whom is APPLEGATE] has shuffled in with chairs and tables and a bar off to one side. The projection behind RICHIE is now that of the bottom of a broken coffee mug, with print reading "The Kobyashi Club" [NOTE: The picture is a nod to the Brian Singer film 'The Usual Suspects'. You have to watch the film to get the reference.] RICHIE finishes up on the song, and the cast applauds with less than mild enthusiasm. JULIE McDUNOUGH, host of the open mic, takes the stage. RICHIE just grabs his guitar and heads for the bar.) JULIE: (with a tone almost too laid back and mellow to be anything but chemically induced) Yeah. Let's hear it for Richie Benz. (The cast once again applauds with less than mild enthusiasm. RICHIE, meanwhile, has pulled up a bar stool, and set his guitar [now in it's case] upright on a stool next to him. JULIE introduces the next band [good place for the rest of the cast to ham things up], and they begin to play [hopefully "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer"]. RICHIE tries to flag down the bartender who, although RICHIE is the only person sitting at the bar, is completely occupied with something else.) RICHIE: Hey, Bartender! TERESA: (still facing away, playfully) Well, now, that sounds like a country song to me. (turns around, mock surprise) Jesus, would'ya look at this pimp! RICHIE: (real surprise) Teresa? Damn! I haven't seen you in- TERESA: Almost a year. RICHIE: Yeah, since the institute! How you been? TERESA: No real complaints. Workin', payin' bills. How about you? You still luggin' around the same old ax? (APPLEGATE leaves his table, and pulls up a spot at the other end of the bar.) RICHIE: (gives the guitar case a pat, like it was his pet) Yeah, still got my dad's old guitar. TERESA: Well, good for you. At least you're still playing. (APPLEGATE tries to wave down TERESA.) RICHIE: What, you mean you haven't been? TERESA: You kiddin'? I spend all my time payin' bills. Rent in this town sucks. RICHIE: Tell me about it. I miss one more payment, my landlord'll have me by the sack. APPLEGATE: (overlapping) Excuse me, bartender! TERESA: (oozing sarcasm) Nice image. (finally notices APPLEGATE) Hold that thought. (RICHIE watches as TERESA goes over and takes APPLEGATE's order. RICHIE notices a brief exchange between APPLEGATE and TERESA. The moment passes, and TERESA heads back over to continue her conversation.[It should be noted at this time that throughout the rest of their conversation certain elements of TERESA's character; gestures, tones, looks, should suggest to both us and the audience that TERESA feels something more for RICHIE.]) TERESA: Sorry 'bout that, where were we? RICHIE: Talkin' about rent. (switches gears almost immediately) Who's the suit? (indicating APPLEGATE) TERESA: Who, him? (also indicating APPLEGATE) He's a regular. RICHIE: I mean, what's he do? I think I've seen him around before. TERESA: Could be. He's a talent agent, works with musicians. Comes into the open mics all the time, says he's always got his eye out for 'the next big thing'. RICHIE: I can't stand agents. I met so many of them with my old band, (aside) they pissed me off so much. (to TAELI) You could tell from talking with them for just ten minutes that they knew nothing about music. (aside) Probably spend all their time listening to Michael Bolton, John Tesh and David Hasselhoff. (to TAELI) I mean, these are the guys that made Milli Vanilli famous, and their running the industry!. No wonder the music's gone straight to hell. (RICHIE trails off as he finally notices that TERESA looks more and more worried.) RICHIE: What is it? TERESA: (rushed) Watch out for this guy. I've heard things about him. Most of these agents come in here and they're trying just as hard to make it in the business as the musicians. But this guy . . . I dunno. I've been able to avoid him 'till tonight. He's got his eye on you, so keep your guard up. (awkward pause, then TERESA decides to change the subject) TERESA: You were good tonight. RICHIE: Thanks. (mind wandering) I need my own band. I'm better with my own band. There's just something about playing music with people you know, there's a dynamic there in-- APPLEGATE: A-hem! (By now, APPLEGATE is sitting almost right next to RICHIE's guitar. RICHIE notices.) TERESA: (all smiles, but somewhat nervous) I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. How may I help you? (APPLEGATE looks at TERESA incredibly annoyed, then talks to her with the most condescending tone possible.) APPLEGATE: Yesss. (hands her the almost full drink) I'm going to give this back to you and reorder my original drink. TERESA: Is there something wrong with it? APPLEGATE: It's the wrong drink. I ordered a very dry Gibson on the rocks. This is a poor excuse of a Martini floating in slush. TERESA: (defensive) I'm very sorry, but (*) there's no need to be-- APPLEGATE: (condescending) (*) Listen, I'll make this easy on you and walk you through it. Take a clean glass. TERESA: (appalled) EXCUSE ME!? APPLEGATE: (cold and cruel) Hello. I'm the customer. I didn't pay for attitude, I paid for a drink. Now, take a clean glass. (TERESA fixates a cold, angry stare on APPLEGATE. APPLEGATE reaches inside his coat) APPLEGATE: I suppose you'll need some incentive. (APPLEGATE pulls out a really fat wad of cash wrapped in a money clip and drops it on the bar. TERESA has a little mental debate, then, coldly.) TERESA: Fine. (TERESA reaches for the money, but APPLEGATE pulls it away.) APPLEGATE: First, the drink. (TERESA never breaks the cold, hateful stare while she follows APPLEGATES instructions. She takes a clean glass.) APPLEGATE: Good. Now, pour just a little vermouth in, slosh it around and dump it out. Now put the ice in. (we can see that TERESA is really fuming.) Good. Pour the vodka, and then garnish it with an onion, not an olive. Good. That wasn't so hard, now was it. TERESA: (handing him the drink, fighting back the urge to shove the drink up his--) Will there be anything else, sir? APPLEGATE: Yesss, get something for my friend here, too, and let's see if we can't lose the attitude. (TERESA looks at RICHIE, who shakes his head 'no'. RICHIE looks coldly at APPLEGATE, who merely sits and enjoys a sip of his drink. APPLEGATE then turns and addresses RICHIE.) APPLEGATE: A free word of advice Mr. Benz. The times in your life when someone is willing to give you something for free are few and far between, so take what you can get when you can get it. RICHIE: And you would be? APPLEGATE: Name's Applegate. RICHIE: Just Applegate? APPLEGATE: Some say mister and some don't, but its all the same to me. RICHIE: ('Is this guy for real') Riiight. Look, if you don't mind (*), I'm gonna just keep-- APPLEGATE: (*) No, I don't mind at all. It's just one less drink that I have to pay for.-- RICHIE: No, that's not (*) what I was saying.-- APPLEGATE: (*) Would you mind if I give you my professional opinion? (not giving him time to answer) You played well tonight. (matter-of-factly) I would have picked something a bit more up beat, maybe some Clapton or some Dylan, but you pulled it off. RICHIE: What the (*) hell are you-- APPLEGATE: (*) Of course, you do realize that the best(*) rock stars are the ones who've- RICHIE: (finally getting a word in) (*) Who the hell do you think you are!? APPLEGATE: (moving in for the kill) I'll cut straight to the chase. I want to sign you, represent you. I've been watching you for some weeks now, and you've-- RICHIE: (cutting him off, done being toyed with) Now, just hold on a second. One, I don't like agents. Two, I don't like people insulting my friends. Three, I don't like people thinkin' they know me. Three strikes. There's the door, (nods offstage) now fuck off. APPLEGATE: (turning the charm up to '11') Look, there's no reason to get nasty. RICHIE: No? (RICHIE takes one final swig on his drink, stands up to go, drops a couple of bills on the bar and grabs his guitar.) RICHIE: Seeya 'round, Teresa. TERESA: Take care, Richie. (APPLEGATE and TERESA watch as RICHIE exits. TERESA turns to APPLEGATE.) TERESA: So, how'd I do? APPLEGATE: (tosses her the packet of money in the money clip) Good enough to earn your bonus. TERESA: Sweet. (pockets the money) Interesting business you're in; buying people's lives. APPLEGATE: (serious) My dear lady, I'm not buying people. I'm giving music to the world by giving it musicians. (APPLEGATE gives TERESA a sly little smile.) TERESA: (impressed) Oooo, you're good! (APPLEGATE takes one last sip of his drink, then exits. TERESA starts thumbing through the money.) TERESA: I love this job. (The lights fade and the curtain closes.) Scene 5 - Streets of Chicago (Lights. RICHIE enters an empty stage, crossing hurriedly. APPLEGATE follows in suit.) APPLEGATE: So that's it, you're not even going to take five-- RICHIE: (overlapping) Didn't I already tell you to fuck off? (APPLEGATE stops walking.) APPLEGATE: --minutes out of your night to hear me out, you're just going to keep running away. RICHIE: That's right! (RICHIE exits. APPLEGATE watches him walk away for a moment then pulls out a pocket watch, adjusts it, then starts counting down in time with the watch, subtly and inaudibly mouthing the words.) APPLEGATE: (silently) Five . . . four . . . three . . . two- (On 'two' RICHIE enters slowly and stops just on stage.) RICHIE: I'm not running away. APPLEGATE: No? RICHIE: No! Look, its guys like you and those fascists down at Paradigm Records that are killing Rock & Roll. (break out the soap box) You walk into the clubs and the bars and the little unknown venues with your flashy and expensive suits and your bad ties and your Steven Segal ponytail and a fat wad of cash. You talk a big game and make a lot of promises and catch the eyes and ears of the young and naive. You tell stories about fame and fortune and glory and girls and what happens? YOU end up with all of it, and all they end up with is a single that was popular for a week and then dropped off the face of the planet taking them and their credit rating with it. You think you know Rock & Roll!? I AM ROCK AND ROLL! And I say fuck that. I'd rather walk away from fortune and glory than have to pay that kind of interest. So you can just turn right around and slink your way back to whatever slimy little mid-rise office you crawled out of this morning. (RICHIE stands there staring down APPLEGATE. APPLEGATE turns to leave, pauses, then turns back.) APPLEGATE: Nice soap box. You always this passionate? RICHIE: I just call'em as I see'em. ([During APPLEGATE's monologue, RICHIE should physically react negatively at these points (*)]) APPLEGATE: (straightforward) So do I. So I'll tell you what I see. I see someone I've seen before, repeatedly. (slowly, calmly, and coldly) You probably think that I've never met someone as stubborn, or as rude, or as naive, or as passionate, and that somehow, those things make you unique, or special, or different. (*) Well, let me educate you with a bit of a revelation. The world is full of stubborn, rude, and naive people. The only thing that sets people apart in this world is passion. You have passion. (*) That's what sets you apart. You are a rock musician. Not a rock'n'roller, not a rock star, not a pop star, a rock musician. You've come along at a very precarious time for rock and roll. (At this point, RICHIE actually begins to listen.) Insipid boy bands, talentless blonde bimbos, punk-rocking rapper wannabes, everyone and anyone who wants to be heard but has nothing to say. THEM! All of them! They've destroyed rock music! Rock and roll is an institution, built from the ground up by the blood, sweat, tears, and hearts of blues, jazz, swing, country, and gospel. Men and women like Muddy Waters, Hank Williams, Etta James, Duke Ellington, Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin, Buddy Holly, Ma Rainey, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and the man who made us all remember in one single simple song what Rock & Roll really meant, Don McLean. Pop music and Rock stardom chewed up and shit out their legacy, sending rock and roll straight to HELL in a hand basket in the process. (this next line should be particularly genuine) But even though the people may die, they may crash their fancy cars or jump off buildings or overdose on the latest chemical high, even through all of that, the music survives, and its people like you that can give it new life. You have a chance to bring rock & roll back to life, to rejuvenate it, even rebuild it and reinvent it. Bring the heart and soul of rock & roll back to the people. (APPLEGATE notices that he's really getting to RICHIE. From the look on his face we can tell that RICHIE's confidence is shot, so APPLEGATE changes tactics.) APPLEGATE: But all you want to do is make music. Hit that groove, that note, that downbeat. Whether its on stage, in the club, the tavern, the little unknown venue, or maybe just in the car or in the shower or anywhere. Just to make music. And that is what the people want; something with a heart and a soul that expresses some sort of deeper emotion than preadolescent angst or teenage hormonal imbalances, something more than just a back beat and a catch phrase. And that's what you are. (APPLEGATE checks his watch, then pulls a slip of paper from his pocket.) APPLEGATE: But its getting late. Here (hands him the card), just in case you change your mind. (APPLEGATE exits. RICHIE watches him go, looks at the card, stuffs it into his pocket, then exits off in a different direction. Lights.) Scene 6 - The pay phone (Lights up. RICHIE enters, walking rather slowly, obviously bummed. As he crosses the stage, he passes a phone booth. After a moment, he turns back and looks at the phone. He goes to the phone, picks up, and dials. It rings a few times, and MARK's machine picks up.) MARK: (voice over) Hi, this is Mark Hallow. Just kidding, this is just a machine, but it's Mark Hallow's machine. Leave a message after the beep and I'll get back to you A-sap (pronounced as a word). (The machine beeps and RICHIE leaves a brief message.) RICHIE: (a little nervous and hesitant) Hey Mark, it's me, Richie. Look, I know after how we left things last week I'm probably the last person you want to talk to, and I guess I can't really blame you. Anyway, I just wanted to call and apologize to you guys. And, uh, well, I was hoping to see about getting back together with the band, but you're not there, so . . . I . . . -- MARK: (voice over, rushed) Hey, Richie! Don't hang up! RICHIE: Hey Mark. I didn't wake you up, did I? MARK: Uh, naw, naw, I was just . . . in the can. (We can tell from the sound of his voice that MARK is terribly groggy, and lying badly.) MARK (con't): What's goin' on? RICHIE: Uh . . . nothin', I just wanted to . . . talk, ya know. MARK: Yeah. So how ya been? RICHIE: Been better. And you? MARK: Same. How's Sarah? RICHIE: I . . . really wish I knew. She took off. MARK: No way! RICHIE: Yup. MARK: Wow. That sucks. RICHIE: ('tell me something I don't know') Yup. (changing the subject) How's the band? MARK: I really wouldn't know. I quit. Couple a' nights after they kicked you out, I just picked up my bass after the first set and walked out. RICHIE: Damn! MARK: Well, it just wasn't working. Shoot, you've heard Steven sing. It sounds like somebody's steppin' on his nuts. (A beat, then RICHIE starts laughing hysterically.) RICHIE: (still laughing) Yeah, it does. MARK: Anyway, I had to get outta there. RICHIE: Well, at least you still have a day-job. MARK: Yeah. Speakin' 'a which, I gotta get up early, so I should get some sleep. RICHIE: Yeah, I should get goin', too. MARK: Hey, if you're ever in the market for a bass player,-- RICHIE: I know who to call. MARK: You better believe it. RICHIE: Yeah. (The conversation lulls as if neither of them knows what to say.) MARK: Look, Richie, just forget about her man. Fuck her, ya know. She left, so fuck her. RICHIE: Yeah. Thanks. (pause) Hey, look at that, it's three in the morning. I really oughta let you go. MARK: Yeah. I'll talk to you later. RICHIE: Yeah . . . (CLICK. RICHIE hangs up the phone, slowly backs away from the booth, sticks his hands in his pockets and starts off stage. When he is almost off stage, he stops, and pulls a small slip of paper out of his pocket. He looks down at it, shakes his head in self disapproval, and semi-reluctantly turns back to the phone. He picks up, dials, and waits impatiently. CLICK! A machine picks up, this time with Sarah's voice.) February Stars: A Play SARAH: (the tone is an attempt of confidence covering an underlying confusion) This is Sarah Jacobs. You know the routine, there's a beep and then . . . well, that's up to you. Anyway, just do . . . whatever. (Another beep, then . . .) RICHIE: (more urgently than before) Sarah! Please, for the love of GOD I hope you're screening . . . C'mon, pick up the phone . . . C'mon, pick up. Pick up, pickuppickuppickup . . . Okay, I take it you're not there. Look, I really want . . . no, I NEED to talk to you (stammering now) cause, I've, been, thinking about things, a lot of things, us, for one, and we really need to talk about things, cause--(BEEP! the machine cuts him off as he screams in frustration) FUCK!! (he slams the phone down on the hook) god DAMMIT! (After smoldering in frustration for a moment, RICHIE, now resolute, exits. Lights.) Scene 7 - Applegate's Office (The curtain opens, and the lights come up on the interior of a high-rise office, which is shown by the projection of a large window showing a view of the skyline from downtown Chicago. The office contains some fashionable chairs and matching couch, an expensive looking desk, behind which is a hi-back chair. Off to one side is a mini-bar, above which is a wall covered with gold- and platinum -record plaques. In the high-back chair, sitting behind the desk, is APPLEGATE, rifling through some paperwork. On the desk in front of him sits all sorts of standard business regalia; computer, phone, mail boxes, etc. After a moment, the phone rings. APPLEGATE hits a button, and speaks.) APPLEGATE: Yes? (The phone squawks to life as LACEY, APPLEGATE's secretary, answers.) LACEY: Sir, there's a young man by the name of Richie Benz out here to see you. He said-- APPLEGATE: Send him in. (APPLEGATE hits the phone. He then gets up and walks preparedly around to the front of his desk. After a moment, LACEY enters and stops just inside the door, with RICHIE entering somewhat hesitantly behind. His eyes go wide as he sees the office. APPLEGATE just stands at the front of his desk, watching. A subtle look of satisfaction spreads slowly across APPLEGATE's face as though somewhere inside of him he were laughing his ass off.) APPLEGATE: (with just a touch of cool) Not exactly the 'slimy little mid-rise' hole you were expecting. RICHIE: Not exactly. (RICHIE sees the view and reacts.) RICHIE: Whoa. APPLEGATE: Like the view? RICHIE: (trying to cover) Not bad. APPLEGATE: I like it. It helps-- RICHIE: (slightly nervous, but down to business) Uh, Mr. Applegate, you have a nice office, but I didn't come here for the view-- APPLEGATE: You came here to do business. (goes to make himself a drink) Good. Can I get you something from the bar first? RICHIE: No, I'm tryin' to cut down. APPLEGATE: A man with scruples. I like that. (thinking for a moment) Now, it seems to me that I've seen your name somewhere other than just band publicity. An underground publication, I believe. RICHIE: Dull Needle Magazine, actually. I've been writing music reviews for them for about a year and a half now. APPLEGATE: That was it. In that case, might I ask your professional opinion on something. RICHIE: I suppose. What is it? APPLEGATE: This. (APPLEGATE produces a small remote control seemingly out of thin air, aims it at the computer and presses a button. The computer comes to life with the sound of TOMMY WILDE and Wilde Blue Riot. APPLEGATE watches as RICHIE takes a moment to let the music infect him. RICHIE sits back and listens, getting into it. After another moment, APPLEGATE decides that he is done waiting and hits another button on his remote, lowering the volume.) APPLEGATE: Well . . .? RICHIE: Well . . . it's good. In fact, it's really good. A good blend of jazz and folk. Everything seems to mesh really well; nothing lost in the sound, but nothing standing out too much either. A lot of good improv. In fact, you get a sense of a strong relationship between the band members from the way they play together. APPLEGATE: All right. How about this? (APPLEGATE once again pushes a small button on the remote and once again the computer comes to life with the sounds of TOMMY WILDE and Wilde Blue Riot, but this time playing something completely different. RICHIE gets into the music again, and again APPLEGATE turns it down.) APPLEGATE: And . . .? RICHIE: And . . . (quickly) They sound like a very strong rock band. Gritty without being too angsty, catchy without being too pop radio. Powerful but also understandable lyrics. Once again, instruments mesh really well, etcetera, etcetera. What does this have to do with why I'm here? APPLEGATE: Would it surprise you if I told you that those two songs were recorded recently by the same band? RICHIE: No, but I know what to listen for. APPLEGATE: Really? Care to elaborate? RICHIE: First off, the vocals are identical. Second, The drummer is the same; good solid rhythmic sense, but a somewhat sloppy improv style. The bassist is the same, too; matching the rhythm, but either overbaring and over the top, or so uninvolved that he does nothing but supply a back beat. Finally, the other two lead instruments seem to be very playful with each other, and with the drummer. It's all there, you just have to know what to listen for. APPLEGATE: (ala Darth Vader in "Empire Strikes Back") Impressive. Most impressive. (APPLEGATE stops the music and puts down the remote) Tell me, have you ever heard of Tommy Wilde? RICHIE: Sounds familiar. Why? APPLEGATE: Because the two songs you have just heard were recorded by his band, Wilde Blue Riot. RICHIE: Now I remember. He was on "Behind The Music" a few weeks ago. APPLEGATE: How much do you remember? RICHIE: I only caught a brief part of the opening. I really can't stand that show. APPLEGATE: Well then, let me fill you in. "Wilde Blue Riot" was started in 1996 by lead singer Tommy Wilde, guitarist Taeli Jensen, and drummer Ash Furtthur, all 16 and all in High School. Three years ago, they added bassist Chris Peterson to fill out the sound, and have been my clients ever since. About a year ago, Tommy developed a habit for amphetamines. A few months ago, he overdosed and died, and the band has since been without a lead singer or driving creative force. RICHIE: Yeah, that sounds like an episode of "Behind The Music." APPLEGATE: I'm proposing that you join the band as their new lead singer. RICHIE: Excuse me? APPLEGATE: Is there a problem? RICHIE: You want to throw me in as the lead singer to a band who just lost their lead of five years to drugs, and you're asking me if anything is wrong? (beat) How long have you been in the music business? APPLEGATE: Long enough to know a good mix when I hear one. You couldn't be a more perfect fit if you tried. RICHIE: Are you kidding me? I heard that music. That's not something that I can just jump into. APPLEGATE: Oh, no? Top of your class at the Chicago Institute of Music, excelling at piano, guitar, saxophone, and composition. I think you can handle it. RICHIE: It's not just the music. You can't expect me to just walk in there and have the same kind of relationship with them that he had. APPLEGATE: I'm not asking you to. I'm asking you to try to bring some stability to the group, to help them make music again. RICHIE: What about the music? I can't just ask them to go from extreme ends of the scale to something a bit less eclectic. APPLEGATE: You don't have to worry about that. The band's odd musical direction was due mostly to Tommy. The rest of the band's style is pretty solid. All they need is a frontman with a similar sound. You have that sound. (sees that RICHIE still has his doubts.) It's really quite a simple situation; you need a band, I have a band in need of a lead singer. RICHIE: (hesitantly) I dunno . . . I guess I just don't want to show up and be treated like the new guy, the replacement. I mean, it's not like I'm Sammy Hagar. APPLEGATE: And they're not Van Halen. I'm not asking you to try to be Tommy Wilde, and I'm also not asking you to try to lead them in some new direction. I'm merely asking you to be the guy out front, and to just be a part of the band. (sees that RICHIE is considering it, but still hesitant) But I understand your hesitancy. (genuine) I'm sure you want to think about your other offers. (This hits RICHIE right between the eyes) So, if you'll excuse me, I've got some other- RICHIE: No, wait. (beat) No expectations, I just sing and play with the band, right? APPLEGATE: Correct. RICHIE: (really pushing himself) Nnnnngggghhokay. (beat) Okay, I'll do it. APPLEGATE: (trying not to be to ecstatic) Great. RICHIE: (aside) I need a drink. (heads for the bar) APPLEGATE: (hitting the phone) Lacey, would you get on the horn to Gordy and Wilde Blue Riot and tell them they have a new lead singer. (RICHIE pours himself a drink and notices the wall of plaques. Lacey squawks back over the phone.) LACEY: Right away, sir. (APPLEGATE hits the intercom, then walks over to RICHIE, and fixes himself another drink.) APPLEGATE: It's done. We'll get you the band's music, and get them your's, and next week, we'll be in the studio. (APPLEGATE notices RICHIE's interest in the wall.) APPLEGATE: See anything of interest? RICHIE: Just looking over some the names up here. Some really top shelf musical talent; Grenadine, Jefferson Mead, Hard Target, Aria Gordon . . . APPLEGATE: And, maybe one day, Richie Benz . . . (APPLEGATE clinks RICHIE's glass with his own.) RICHIE: Maybe . . . (The lights come down and the curtain closes.) Scene 8 - The Top Twenty Request Show (The lights comes up on DAVY LARSON, standing at center in front of a closed curtain. [NOTE: DAVY LARSON is a complete caricature of video jockeys; peppy, upbeat, and totally phony, like taking a disc jockey's voice and giving it form. Ham it up.]) DAVY LARSON: All right, we're back. I'm Davy Larson and you're watching the Top Twenty Request Show. We are up to the number eleven video of the day. Now, for the past five days the number eleven spot has been held by teen singing sensations The Believers with their first single that debuted at number ten a week ago. Their debut album will be hitting shelves next Tuesday. However, today we have a new video at number eleven. It's Wilde Blue Riot with the new single from their newest album in stores now, and it is the last video with lead singer and the band's founder, Tommy Wilde, before his untimely death a few months ago. The band's management has released a statement this morning saying that they have found a dynamic new lead singer for the band, and that they hope to get into the recording studio soon to start work on a new single and album. (breathe) All right! So, without further adieu, here they are at number eleven, Wilde Blue Riot! (pause) But first a commercial. (Lights.) Scene 9 - Plazacorp. Records; a recording studio (The curtain opens on the empty interior of a recording studio, which is made evident by the Plazacorp. Records logo projected on the back wall At the back, off center, is a drum set, with mics strewn about like some sort of spider. Surrounding the drum set are three stools, all with mics in front. In an upstage corner is a booth with a window, recording equipment, and room for two people to sit. TAELI and ASH enter slowly.) ASH: Wow. It's been, what, seven months since we've been here? (TAELI's eye catches the center stool and stays on it. ASH waits for a moment for TAELI to answer, then turns to try to get her attention.) ASH: Hey, Tae . . . TAELI: (acknowledges verbally but not physically) Huh? . . . ASH: Hey . . . (ASH walks back between TAELI and the stool. TAELI notices, but still seems stuck in her own little world.) ASH: (jokingly) Earth to Tae Jensen . . . (TAELI doesn't react.) ASH: (more concerned) You're thinking about him, aren't you. TAELI: I can't help it. (painfully) I miss him. I . . . I love him. And being back here doesn't help. (TAELI sits down and starts tuning her guitar. ASH tries to think of something to say.) ASH: (tangent, but with purpose) How long have the three of us been together? TAELI: (thinks for a moment) Fifteen years . . . since kindergarten. ASH: Yeah, and in all that time it's always been the three of us. "Tommy, Taeli, and Ash; Wilde Blue Riot" (pause) I guess what I'm tryin' to say . . . I miss him, too. (pause) TAELI: It's just -- It doesn't feel right. It's not the same without him. ASH: Yeah, I know . . . but maybe that's the point. TAELI: Meaning? ASH: Meaning . . . I think that things aren't supposed to go back to the way they were. If they did, then Tommy wouldn't've meant as much to us as he did. (ASH sees that his words are having an effect on TAELI, but she still doesn't cheer up. He sits down at the drum set and starts warming up. After a brief moment, ASH notices as GORDY MADISON enters the booth. ASH signals GORDY to stay quiet momentarily, then begins playing the drum part from "Shaft" by Isaac Hayes [this whole bit of business involving "Shaft" should be really big. Once again, ham it up]. TAELI turns and looks at him like he just grew a third arm, but ASH just keeps playing with a stupid grin on his face. He finally stops when it becomes obvious that TAELI is too busy laughing at him to come in.) ASH: (childishly) C'mon . . . TAELI: (still half laughing) No way! ASH: (even bigger) Oh! . . . C'mon Tae! (ASH over exaggerates a face of a sad little puppy. After a moment of disbelief in what she's about to do, TAE exaggeratedly gives in, making a big deal out of it.) TAELI: Okaaaaaay . . . . (ASH gives a goofy little cheer, then begins playing "Shaft". At the appropriate time, TAELI joins him. They play for a little while, then ASH signals GORDY to turn on one of the mics. GORDY responds, acknowledging. Suddenly, ASH stops playing and grabs the mic.) ASH: (ala "Shaft"/Isaac Hayes) They say that cat Ash is one mean mutha- (cutting himself off in falsetto) Shut yo' mouth! (back in bass) Hey, I'm talkin' 'bout Ash. (TAELI reacts almost immediately, turning to see ASH and laughing her head off. ASH notices, and keeps it up.) ASH: (ala "Shaft"/Isaac Hayes) Who's the private dick who's a sex machine with all the chicks- (The p.a. from the booth squawks to life as GORDY cuts ASH off, laughing his head off.) GORDY: Not you. ASH: Aw, c'mon man, gimme some credit. GORDY: What can I say, 'cept, Isaac Hayes you ain't. TAELI: Hey Gordy. GORDY: How ya' doin', Tae? TAELI: Not bad . . . (trails off) . . . Gordy? GORDY: Yeah? TAELI: Can you do me a favor? GORDY: Sure, what do you need? TAELI: Could you switch on my mic and my monitor? GORDY : Sure . . . you want me to start taping? TAELI: Nah, I just wanna play somethin'. GORDY: Okay. (switches on mic and monitor) You're all set. TAELI: Thanks. (TAELI begins playing "Glycerine" by Bush. After a moment, she begins singing the second verse. RICHIE and APPLEGATE enter, APPLEGATE to the booth and RICHIE to the studio. ASH and GORDY both notice, but they don't interrupt TAELI. RICHIE is genuinely entranced by TAELI. When TAELI finishes the verse, she trails off and stops playing.) RICHIE: (genuine but vague) Perfect. (TAELI spins around reacting to the presence of a stranger, feeling somewhat violated.) TAELI: Excuse me!? RICHIE: I'm sorry, I {*}didn't mean to just-- TAELI: (*) Who are you!? RICHIE: Uh . . . I'm Richie Benz. I'm the new-- ASH: (semi-enthused) So you're the new guy. RICHIE: Uh, yeah, I guess so . . . ASH: Cool. Mr. A. gave us some of your stuff to read and listen to. It's pretty good. RICHIE: Thanks. Same here. You guys are really something else. ASH: Thanks. TAELI: (not exactly mean, but definitely not friendly) Yeah, glad to see we have your approval. (really awkward pause) RICHIE: (with a sense of urgency) Look, I'm just going to put this out there. I know about what happened to Tommy, and, this probably seems kinda trite, but, I know what it's like to lose someone close. I'm not here to take over for Tommy, I'm not here to replace him, and I'm not here to lead the band. I'm just here to do what I love; play my guitar and sing some songs, and I'm really looking forward to doing that with you guys. (A brief moment while a look passes between TAELI and ASH.) ASH: Could you just give us a second? (ASH grabs TAELI and they cross downstage, away from RICHIE.) ASH: So, what do you think? TAELI: (Thinks for a moment) I really don't know. I mean, he's kinda nice, and he seems okay, but then again, so did Chris, and we both know the kind of a hassle that's been. ASH: Yeah, but I don't think he'll be another Chris. TAELI: I hope not. ASH: I'm sure he'll be fine. His music's really good, and like you said, he seems like an okay guy. I think we should just give him the benifit of the doubt. TAELI: Okay. (TAELI turns to RICHIE, this time with a somewhat friendlier attitude.) TAELI: I'm Taeli Jensen, the clown with the sticks is Ash Furtthur, and the tardy drunk is our bassist, Chris Gardener . . . (trails off, thinking) . . . who should be here by now. (turns to the booth) Hey Gordy? GORDY: What's up? TAELI: Do we know what's keeping Chris? GORDY: (sarcastically) I'm guessing hangover, but you know how the odds on that are. ASH: Odds? Try a sure thing. TAELI: (approaching the booth) Somebody should still try to get a hold of (*) him. APPLEGATE: (from the booth) (*) Already taken care of. He's on his way up. TAELI: Okaaay . . . (awkward silence) RICHIE: So, Ash, that's kind of a weird name. Is that short for something? (suddenly, TAELI begins laughing uncontrolably. [The bit of business about ASH's name is another good spot to ham it up, especially for ASH]) ASH: (half serious, half joking) Shut up, Tae! (brief look [maybe a goofy face or rolling eyes] passes between them, then, to RICHIE) It's actually a nickname that Tommy gave me. RICHIE: Really. Why? ASH: This. (ASH goes into an elaborate, fast-paced, upbeat drum solo, ala Garth in "Wayne's World", after which, he explains to RICHIE) ASH: (having slight difficulty keeping a straight face) Tommy used to say that I was so hot on drums, I was already ashes. RICHIE: (in disbelief) Reeeaaaly . . . ASH: Yeah. RICHIE: Then what's your real name? ASH: Frank. (Once again, TAELI begins laughing uncontrollably.) ASH: Shut up, Tae! RICHIE: Waitaminute, that means that your name is Frank Furtthur? Your parents named you after a hot dog? (quick rimshot from ASH) What happened, were you born in a sausage factory? ASH: No, but I was concieved in one. (another rimshot) TAELI: Don't listen to him. He's just bitter that his parents were mean enough to name him Ashley! RICHIE: But he'd rather tell people that he was named after an Oscar Meyer wiener? ASH: Usually it works as a pickup line. You know, footlong . . . (*) (rimshot) TAELI: (*)Ash! RICHIE: (*) Oh, god . . . CHRIS: (*) Gettin' the new guy with the hot dog joke, Ash? (Everyone spins around to see that Chris has entered.) ASH: Ladies and Gentlemen, Elvis has entered the building. (rimshot) (CHRIS gives ASH a quick mean look.) CHRIS: (With attitude) So what's the deal, (taking out his bass) we playin' or what? APPLEGATE: (from the booth) We're just waiting for you. CHRIS: (With attitude) Fine, (plugging it in) then let's play. (Chris goes into an impromptu little bass solo) TAELI: (a little more excited now) All right. Hey Gordy, what are we playin' first? GORDY: Your call, Tae. Figured we'd just start off with some practice tracks. TAELI: Okay . . . (thinks for a moment, then, subtly playful) . . . then let's play "Mama Said". February Stars: A Play RICHIE: (suddenly a little nervous) Uh . . . we don't have to. TAELI: (toying with RICHIE just a little) You got a problem with your own song? RICHIE: No (*), its just that . . . TAELI: (*) Fine. Count it off, Ash. ASH: One . . . Two . . . One, Two, Three, Four. (They play "Always on the Run" by Lenny Kravitz, and they really have fun with it, even CHRIS to an extent. At some point, the song seems to take over, as if the song's need to exist were causing RICHIE, TAELI, CHRIS (not so much) and ASH to play. When they finish, they all freeze in a moment of hesitation.) TAELI: Whoa . . . (RICHIE, TAELI, CHRIS (not so much) and ASH all sit back plesently stunned, with dumbfounded smiles, smirks, or half-laughs. Then GORDY pops in over the p.a. in the booth.) GORDY: That was incredible! That sounded great! How'd you guys pull that off on the first shot?! RICHIE: I dunno . . . that was pretty cool! ASH: Pretty cool?! That was a trip! CHRIS: It wasn't bad, but I don't think we should be patting ourselves on the back yet. TAELI: Oh, c'mon Chris. That was great and you know it . . . (she trails off as the line has more effect on her than on CHRIS, and slips back into her own little world) GORDY: Ya know, I think it's safe to say that this could be our next single. RICHIE: (Tripping out on GORDY's last comment.) Oh man . . . CHRIS: I guess I can see that. ASH: Yeah!, considering that that's probably the best we've ever played, right Tae? (No response.) ASH: Tae? RICHIE: (tapping her sholder) Taeli? TAELI: (snapping out of it, and at RICHIE) WHAT!? (everyone reacts) CHRIS: Look out rookie. You might lose a hand. TAELI: (nervous and panicky) I . . . I'm sorry, I just . . . I, just, gotta go to . . . I'll be right back. (TAELI gets up and rushes out. RICHIE watches closely as she leaves.) CHRIS: Well, I guess we're takin' five. I'll be back. (exits) GORDY: That's not a bad idea, but don't go too far. (he and APPLEGATE exit) (pause) RICHIE: (addressing ASH, but still staring at the exit) This was a bad idea. ASH: (making adjustments to his drums, not entirely paying attention) What's that? RICHIE: I shouldn't be here. I'm not making things better, only worse. ASH: What? What are you talking about, you're not making things worse. RICHIE: Tell that to Chris and Taeli. They probably hate me. ASH: (laughs) You have no idea all the shit you've walked into. First off, Chris is just an asshole, he hates everybody. Secondly, Taeli doesn't hate you, she just misses Tommy. Bein' here is just hard for her, and this was the first time we've actually played since Tommy died, so she's got a lot of stuff to work out. RICHIE: I take it they were close. ASH: As close as two people can be. I try to help, but a friend is a poor substitute for a lover. (awkward silence, then) I'm gonna go check on her. (As ASH exits, APPLEGATE enters) APPLEGATE: So, how ya doing in here. RICHIE: (somewhat sarcastic) Could be worse, I could still be playin' open mics. APPLEGATE: You're definitely doing better than that. After all, the band has their newest single after months of not even seeing each other. Both Gordy and I think that it could be the hit that the band needs. RICHIE: I guess I just feel like a fish out of water here. APPLEGATE: Things are going to get better. . . Trust me. (Something about the way APPLEGATE says 'trust me' hits RICHIE as being not quite right, and we can see the gears in RICHIE's head start turning as the lights come down and the curtain closes.) Scene 10 - Anna's Bedroom (The lights come up on a table and chair at center in front of the closed curtain. On the table sits a backpack and a stereo boom-box with a built in CD player and a tape deck.) MR. GOODWYN: NOW YOU GET IN THAT ROOM AND YOU STAY THERE, GODDAMMIT! (ANNA runs on, stopping just on stage. Her hands are covering her face and she is crying. She looks up at the table and slowly walks over to it. She sits down slowly and carefully, as if her whole body hurts. She sits back in her chair trying to relax. As she moves her hands away from her face, we see blood crusted under her nose and that she has a black eye. After a moment, a look of desperation spreads across her face as she practically lunges for the backpack. She yanks out a couple of stacks of audio tapes and scrambles through them. She finally finds the one she's looking for, sticks it in the tape deck and starts playing it. It is a bootleg recording of RICHIE and 'Manhattan Rhodes' playing a slow pop/rock tune. She sits back and lets the music infect her. It doesn't seem to help, though. She starts looking back through the tapes, trying to find something that might help. She doesn't find it. She stops and thinks for a moment. She looks back in the bag and pulls out a CD jewel case. She puts the CD in the player, switches off the tape, and plays the CD. The room fills with the sound of RICHIE and Wilde Blue Riot playing a mellow rock/blues tune. The music infects her, and, as she takes a moment to sit back and relax, it looks as though some great weight has been lifted from her. After a moment, she pulls the booklet out of the jewel case, and starts looking it over. After another moment, she sees something in the booklet that stops her. She sets the booklet down, then pulls a notebook and pencil out of the bag. As she writes, we hear her recite the letter as a voice over.) ANNA: (writing, v.o.) Dear Richie Benz, (stops, erases it, then writes again, v.o.) To Wilde Blue Ri- (erases it again, thinks for a moment, then writes, v.o.) To Richie, (pause, v.o.) I . . . (trails of momentarily) . . . want to say right now that I don't really do this, ever, in fact. I mean, the last thing that I want to do is come off as one of those carbon-copy, brainless, screaming, pre-adolescent little groupies that would give anything, and I do mean anything, for even the most minuscule of moments of attention from a celebrity. (pause) I guess I'm just writing to tell you how much I like your music. (pause) I mean, you guys are really good! Definitely better than your old band. I know. I used to come see you play when you were with Manhattan Rhodes, and Wilde Blue Riot is a major improvement. And your music now, God! The songs on this album are incredible. I'm listening to it right now, and . . . (more serious and personal) . . . it just really helps to know that somebody out there knows what its like to go through . . . something really hard. Sometimes, I think it's the only thing that helps. I wonder, sometimes, what it takes to write this kind of music, what you have to go through, and then I think that it just must be really hard and I try not to think about it. Anyway, that's really all I wanted to say. Well, that and . . . thank you. (stops, thinks for a minute to see if she has anything else to say, then) Yours Truly, Anna Goodwyn. (ANNA rips the letter out of her notebook, folds it up, tucks it in the front of the notebook, then sticks the notebook back in her bag. She turns up the music, and sits back as the lights fade out.) Scene 11 - The Green Room for the Top Twenty Request Show (The lights come up and the curtain opens inside the green room for the Top Twenty Request Show, evident by the Top Twenty Request Show logo projected on the back wall. The room looks like some sort of lounge; a few couches, some chairs, a coffee table, and a mini-bar off to one side. As soon as the lights come up we hear cheering, shouting, screaming, and applause from off stage. Through it all, we hear DAVY LARSON.) DAVY LARSON (o.s.): ALL RIGHT! LET'S HEAR IT ONCE MORE FOR WILDE BLUE RIOOOOOT!!!! YEAAAAH!! (And the crowd goes wild!! The shouting and screaming from off stage gets almost twice as loud as ASH comes running on stage, absolutely ecstatic.) ASH: OH MY GOD!! THAT WAS SOOOOOOO COOL!! (He spins around to see RICHIE and TAELI following in suit. ASH tries to talk, but is so excited that he has temporarily lost the ability to form sentences. [yet another good place to ham things up] CHRIS just strolls on stage, trailing behind them, the only one not having a good time.) ASH: Holy Shit! Did you see-- I mean, oh my go-- holy -- oh wow-- I, oh damn!-- wow! (breaks down laughing) RICHIE: (laughing along with him) Ash, dude, just remember to breathe! TAELI: (laughing as well) Yeah, and if you need to, just stick your head between your knees-- CHRIS: (serious) --And kiss your ass goodbye. (Nobody takes notice of CHRIS's comment, since ASH pops right up, and now has regained the ability to form sentences.) ASH: (still insane) Oh my GOD!! That was the coolest thing EVER! All those people and all those reporters and all those GIRLS SCREAMING OUR NAMES! (ASH does a quick impression of dozens of screamming teeny-bopper girls) I gotta do somethin'! I gotta-- (Before she can protest, ASH grabs TAELI around the waist, lifts her up off her feet, and plants a big cartoony kiss on her cheek. He sets her down, practically dropping her, as he goes right back into his rant.) ASH: I can't believe it! Number TWO!! Our record has been out for a week, and we're at NUMBER TWO!! (looks over at RICHIE) YOU!! You made this happen! C'mere-- (ASH jumps on RICHIE's back and starts kissing his head, again, very cartoony, then jumps off RICHIE's back. As he does, RICHIE stumbles, trying to regain his balance, and bumps into TAELI as their eyes meet for just a brief moment. Meanwhile, ASH's excitement hasn't decreased any. After jumping off of RICHIE, ASH looks around like a hyper little dog looking for a mailman to chase.) ASH: Okay, who's next! (sees CHRIS) CHRIS!!! CHRIS: Ohhh, nooo . . . (ASH runs at CHRIS. Actually, ASH tries to run at CHRIS, but after only one step, trips over his own feet and flops down on the floor behind a couch. The other three just look at him as he lays on the ground.) ASH: (after a moment, still cartoony) Owwwwww . . . I've fallen and I can't get up. CHRIS: (still straight-faced) Now that's funny. RICHIE: If you promise to not start kissing people again, I'll help you up. ASH: I promise . . . CHRIS: (crossing to the mini-bar) Why bother? Just leave him there. (RICHIE helps ASH to his feet.) TAELI: What's your problem now, Chris? CHRIS: My problem, Tae, is what just happened out there. ASH: What are you talkin' about, man. They loved us out there! CHRIS: They loved you out there. They loved the three of you, while I was stuck in the background. TAELI: Oh, please . . . CHRIS: Shut up, Taeli, you know what I'm talking about. At least when Tommy was with the band, we may not have been as successful, but at least I wasn't the only one getting ignored. Now, each of you has a gimmick. Richie's the frontman, Ash is the clown, and Taeli's the chick. What am I? ASH: (under his breath) A whiny little jerk. CHRIS: Fuck you, Ash! I'm sick of all this shit-- TAELI: What about all your shit, huh? You've done nothing but bitch and moan since you've been with the band. For three years now, all you've done complain. You complained about having not enough to play, then you complained about having too much. You complained about the music, about pay, about each of us. You complained about us not succeeding, and now that we're getting some descent air play, you're complaining again. If it's that much of an inconvenience for you to be here, why don't you just get the fuck out! APPLEGATE: Because he can't. (Everyone spins around to see that APPLEGATE has entered the room.) CHRIS: You! APPLEGATE: It's in his contract. CHRIS: You slippery shit! APPLEGATE: It's called a "Resonable Departure" clause. CHRIS: Fuck you, man. Fuck you all. APPLEGATE: He can't leave without a very good reason. CHRIS: Watch me! (CHRIS storms out, pushing past APPLEGATE as he exits.) ASH: Wow, what a complete ass. APPLEGATE: It's sad really . . . RICHIE: Why would you sign him? APPLEGATE: Simple. Family. TAELI: Chris is your family? APPLEGATE: In a six-degrees-of-separation sense. He's my sister's husband's niece's fiancee. Well . . . ex-fiancee. Seems she thought he was a bit of an ass as well. RICHIE: That's . . . ASH: . . . strange! APPLEGATE: Quite. But, he's a great bassist, he rounds out the sound nicely, and his constant bitching keeps the rest of the band together and in check. It may not be a completely comfortable situation, but it is preferable to some of the other possibilities. RICHIE: But what about him just taking off like that? TAELI: He does that all the time. ASH: Yeah, he'll just go drink it off and then sleep it off. He'll be back, just as feisty as ever-- TAELI: --And probably sooner than we'd like. RICHIE: Great. Any good news? APPLEGATE: Yes. You're going to play the stadium. (And a hush falls over the crowd.) ASH: Exsqueeze me? APPLEGATE: You are booked to play Bulls Stadium in three weeks. (The shock begins to set in. RICHIE begins feeling light headed, stumbles, and falls to his knees. ASH and TAELI, half in shock and thoroughly ecstatic themselves, try to help RICHIE.) TAELI: Damn. ASH: Dude, just put your head between your knees and breathe RICHIE: Whoa, deja vu. (ASH and TAELI clumsily try to prop RICHIE up on the couch, and end up falling back on the couch laughing along side him. APPLEGATE just stares on.) APPLEGATE: Well, my work is done here. Come up to the office next week, we'll talk with Gordy about the line up for the show. (APPLEGATE exits. ASH hops to his feet, thoroughly excited.) ASH: I gotta go, too. I gotta go call my mom and tell her about the show, maybe see about gettin' her some backstage passes or somethin'. (Exits with a flourish) (RICHIE laughs to himself, saturated in a puzzled euphoria. He restlessly hops to his feet and starts pacing sporatically. TAELI just sits back and watches for a moment.) TAELI: What are you doing? RICHIE: I dunno. I gotta do something. Celebrate, party, go out, pass out, anything! I'm just way too excited to just sit here doing nothing! (starts laughing to himself again) Oh, man . . . Bulls Stadium! Do you realize how massive a venue that's gonna be?! It's gonna be huge! . . . I gotta be dreamin'. This is way to good, this is way too cool. (Something about RICHIE strikes TAELI as somehow familiar. RICHIE notices something about the way she looks at him.) RICHIE: Something wrong? TAELI: No. (thinks for a moment) I dunno . . . RICHIE: You're thinking about him, aren't you. TAELI: (somewhat shocked) Is it that obvious? (RICHIE half shrugs, half nods) Oh jeez . . . RICHIE: You really miss him, don't you. TAELI: Yeah, but it's more than that. It's like he's still holding on, still there somewhere . . . in my head somewhere . . . RICHIE: . . . floating around in the back of your brain, unable to let go of you 'cause you can't let go of him. TAELI: Yeah . . . you know what it's like. RICHIE: I know what it's- (correcting himself) -what it was like for me losing my brother. TAELI: How did you deal with it? (RICHIE thinks to himself for a minute, then laughs to himself briefly.) RICHIE: If you're lookin' for a way to deal with it, you're asking the wrong guy. (more serious) After the funeral, I just kinda locked up. Nothin' anybody was sayin' made any difference, 'cause it was like- TAELI: -Like nobody really understood the way you felt about the person you lost.-- RICHIE: Exactly. TAELI: --So, instead of dealing with it, you just tried to block it out. RICHIE: But it didn't work. I ended up blocking out the rest of my life with it, pushing away everybody, including my closest friends. It was like everything had become less important. Like- TAELI: -Like everything got the volume turned down. RICHIE: Yeah. (mellow pause, like a weight has just been lifted between them) TAELI: Do you . . . do you ever think about what it would've been like . . . without him? RICHIE: You mean, do I ever think about if I'd never had a brother in the first place? TAELI: Yeah. RICHIE: Yeah. All the time. TAELI: And? RICHIE: And . . . I think about if Alex wouldn't'a been born. I think 'Does that mean my dad wouldn't'a left?' 'Does that mean my mom wouldn't'a gone off her nut and ended up in the fuckin' nuthouse?' 'Does that mean that I would'a actually had a family, and a home, and a normal life? Crusin' the trailer park with two-year-old son and some high school drop out I knocked up one night?' And then I think 'Or, does it just mean that my life would have been pretty much the same, in and out of foster homes for seventeen years, only this time, alone?' I think about all of that, and then, I realize somethin', and you wanna know what that is? TAELI: This is really gonna suck if you don't tell me. RICHIE: I realized that I can ask myself woulda-shoulda-coulda's till I'm blue in the face, when all of that's just bullshit that I can't and won't ever know. What I do know is that I love my brother, love my brother, and I am the person I am today because of him, and as far as I can tell, I'm a better person having had Alex in my life than not. And when I wake up or come to or just out of nowhere I'm feeling miserable or sick or down, it's because I wish I would've had just one more hour or minute or anything to be with him, and not because I wish he hadn't been a part of my life just so I wouldn't have to feel bad. So yeah, I do think about if I hadn't had a brother . . . and then I think 'Fuck that.' (With that, TAELI reaches up, and kisses RICHIE fully on the lips. RICHIE reciprocates, kissing her back. After a moment, something washes over TAELI, and she pushes him away. She stammers and stutters, trying to say something.) TAELI: . . . I . . . gotta go . . . (is all she manages) (TAELI heads for the exit, then, suddenly stops, and turns to say something else, again stammering.) TAELI: Uh . . . thanks. (RICHIE, thoroughly confused, can barely respond.) RICHIE: Uh, yeah . . . Any time. (TAELI exits, leaving RICHIE standing alone with his confusion. Lights and Curtain.) Scene 12 - Anna's Bedroom (The lights come up in front of the closed curtain, as we are again in ANNA's bedroom. Same set-up: table, chair, boombox. This time, ANNA rushes on, ecstatic. She drops her bag by the table and plops down in her chair. She hits a button on the boombox as the sound of RICHIE and Wilde Blue Riot playing again fills the room. ANNA sits back as a euphoric smile spreads acrosse her face. After a moment, she reaches down to her bag and pulls out what looks like a credit card on a string. It's a backstage pass. She takes a good long moment to look it over. The moment passes, and as she puts it away, she takes out a notebook and a pen, and starts writing. Again, as in I:10, the writing is accompanied by a voice-over.) ANNA: (voice over) Dear Richie, (pause) I can't believe it! My best friend in the whole world Sheila and I camped out all night and got backstage passes to see you at Bulls Stadium next week! I'm soooooo excited! Hopefully I'll actually get a chance to talk to you this time. I can't wait! They said on T-T-R-S that you were gonna be playing some new material, too. I just hope we can get around all the spoiled, screaming twelve-year-olds. (pause) Look, I don't know if you got my last letter or not. In fact, considering how I was kinda ranting in it, I'd probably be happier if you didn't read it. Anyway, whether you did or not, I just wanted to say, I understand how busy you can get, and I don't mind that you didn't write me back. You guys probably get a hundred 'a these things a day, and you probably get sick of hearing from all those little middle-schoolers who know nothing about you but still claim to be totally in love with you . . (thinks for a moment) . . then again, maybe you don't get sick of it. But, I hope you do get to read this letter, and I hope I get to see you backstage, and maybe meet and talk. Seeya soon, I hope. Yours Truly, Anna. (gets ready to tear it out, then thinks of something else to say) P. S. Is it just me, or does it really suck that you guys are being kept out of the number one spot by some crappy phony boy band. It's not like they're even a real band, and they don't even write their own songs. February Stars: A Play (Now she rips the page out like before, folds it up, and stuffs it in the front of her notebook. The lights fade.) Scene 13 - The Band's Dressing Room At The Stadium (The curtain opens and the lights come up inside the band's dressing room at the stadium. However, the room looks less like a dressing room and more like a hotel suite; there are a few couches, some chairs, some bar stools, a coffee table, a mini-bar off to one side, a stereo off to the other. The room is filled with overflowing ashtrays, half-empty cocktail glasses, and partially crushed beer cans strewn about with the odd bit of clothing here and there making the room look as though a tornado of people has hit. After a moment, a tornado of people hits. They crowd in, groupies, VIPs, musicians, producers, agents, and the odd fan [one of whom is ANNA]. In the midst of the crowd is RICHIE, joined nearly at the hip by TAELI, CHRIS, ASH, and a pair of bodyguards. As they finish pouring into the room, one of the bodyguards exits, followed by the clicking or clanging of doors closing behind him. As the crowd spreads to consume the whole room, they filter apart, all trying to find the most important person they feel that they should be talking to, leaving the band standing in the background, mostly ignored [with the exception of the two fans talking and looking from off to one side, one of whom is ANNA]. Somehow, while the rest of the crowd separated, CHRIS ends up at the mini-bar and ASH ends up by the stereo, leaving RICHIE and TAELI stuck behind the crowd. CHRIS tosses the others each a beer [here's a good spot to ham things up]. As everyone in the room is talking, the band mates try to talk over the noise.) RICHIE: Hey, Ash, how about some music!? ASH: Coming right up! (ASH starts adjusting the radio station on the stereo. RICHIE scans the room, then starts laughing quietly. TAELI notices.) TAELI: What's so funny? RICHIE: This. All of it. Take a look around you, what do you see? TAELI: I dunno, uh . . . people, fans, celebrities? I don't know, Richie, what am I supposed to be looking for? RICHIE: I just saw something that struck me funny, is all. (he notices TAELI's confused look) We're musicians, right? We go out there and we pour our hearts out to people. And if we do it right, we affect them. We . . . we infect them with a sliver of rock & roll. And this party tonight is supposed to be for them. TAELI: Them? Them who? RICHIE: THEM! The people who understand us. The ones who find the message behind the music. TAELI: What message? Look, Richie, this isn't some big code we're putting out there. It's not cryptography, it's rock and roll, and you don't have to decrypt it to understand it, you just have to feel it. RICHIE: But when you look around this room tonight, can you honestly tell me that the people that are here now are here because they feel the music? I doubt it. This room is full of celebrities, producers, agents, and quote-unquote V.I.P's. The only reason that each of them is here is because the rest of them are here, and they're all trying to find the most important person they feel that they should be talking to. It has nothing to do with us or with our music. TAELI: So what? We're the ones getting the exposure here. We have a chance to meet and talk to producers, agents, celebrities, anyone who can get our careers on a fast track. I still don't see what your problem is. RICHIE: I just don't understand why we're ignoring our fans just to give the rich and famous people a chance to get more rich and more famous. I feel like I'm wasting my time. (Pause) TAELI Ya know, you can suck the life out of a moment like no one I've ever known. (We all sense a bit of tension in the silence.) TAELI: Do you ever think about goin' back? RICHIE: What? TAELI: I do. All the time. I think about going back there and trying to make up with my father, and tryin' to deal with my mom being gone. And you know what happens? RICHIE: (genuinely interested) No, what? TAELI: I get sick. Like stage fright, only a thousand times worse. I feel nauseous, like I'm gonna throw up. So I try to think about something else. RICHIE: (After a beat, unsure of what to say) You didn't have to tell me that. TAELI: I know, I . . . I just, I, you said the song reminded you of home, and I wanted to know if you ever thought about goin' back home. RICHIE: (Brief pause while he thinks) Course I do. all the time. TAELI: And? RICHIE: And . . . (RICHIE scans the room) I think 'fuck it, I like it better where I am.' (Chris walks over by them.) CHRIS Well, you two are looking awfully cosy over here . . . TAELI: (quietly, to RICHIE) Just ignore him, he's drunk. CHRIS: Piss off, Taeli. TAELI: Fuck you, Chris. RICHIE: (to TAELI) Hold on. (to CHRIS) What do you want, Chris? CHRIS: I wanna see if you got what it takes to lead this band, 'cause I'm tellin' you now, you sure as hell ain't no Tommy Wilde. ASH: Jesus, Chris . . . CHRIS: What? Am I the only one who's been watchin' this guy? (RICHIE reacts) That's right. I had my eye on you since you showed up. (takes great pain in this next line) Granted, you got some attention (shoves the rest in his face) But Tom knew how to take the crowd. He could grab'em up with one note and hold'em in the palm of his hand all night. That's what it takes to lead this band, and I ain't seen it from you. RICHIE: Fine. (RICHIE grabs his guitar, and finds a perch in the middle of the crowd.) RICHIE: This is one of my personal faves. Its a song I wrote last spring after, well, after I lost someone close to me. (RICHIE begins playing "February Stars". All eyes go to him, and silence blankets the crowd. RICHIE just sits, and plays, and sings. The room is completely entranced, even CHRIS, and especially ANNA. They watch on as RICHIE's heart and soul pours out to them through the song. For a brief moment, RICHIE and ANNA's eyes meet, and he smiles. We simply watch on. Finally, as RICHIE finishes the song, he lifts his head to the door to see SARAH entering the stage. The song ends, and all eyes are on RICHIE, and RICHIE's eyes are on SARAH. Curtain.) Act II Scene 1 - The Band's Dressing Room At The Stadium (The curtain opens on the end of I.13. Richie is frozen in place. Sarah hazards a smile.) SARAH: Hi, Richie. (Heads turn to see SARAH. Little comments throughout the crowd; i.e., "Who's she?", "Who's that?", etc. RICHIE stands, confused.) RICHIE: Sarah? (More comments from the crowd.) RICHIE: (Without breaking eye contact) Could . . . could we have some time alone? (ASH takes the initiative.) ASH: Okay. Party's over everyone. TAELI: (slightly stunned, but following in suit) Yeah . . . C'mon, everybody clear out. (A pair of security guards enter and stand just on stage as the crowd begins milling around and filtering out. As her friend stands to leave, ANNA sees how RICHIE and SARAH have not and do not break eye contact. Feeling somewhat dejected, ANNA prompts her friend, and they exit with the crowd, followed by the guards. ASH and TAELI help CHRIS up and assist him out. On the way out, TAELI turns to RICHIE.) TAELI: We'll be outside if you need us. (TAELI exits. RICHIE still says nothing, so SARAH tries to get him to.) SARAH: (nervously) "February Stars." . . . I remember when you wrote that . . . Sitting on the L. at two in the morning . . . on our way home from the hospital, the day Alex died . . . (trails off) RICHIE: (Innocently confused) What are you doing here? (SARAH breaks eye contact and makes her way past RICHIE toward the mini-bar. RICHIE just watches.) SARAH: (ala RICHIE) "Hi Sarah. Haven't seen you for a while. You look good. How ya been?" (SARAH pours herself a drink, then plops the bottle down.) SARAH: (quoting, but as if to say 'What the hell kind of a question is that?') "What are you doing here?"? RICHIE: (More accusatory) What are you doing here, Sarah? (SARAH begins to feel as though she shouldn't have come and tugs at the backstage pass hanging around her neck.) SARAH: I came to see the show, (tugs it off) and you. (takes a drink for courage) I missed you. (RICHIE is taken aback by this.) RICHIE: You what? SARAH: I missed you. You're everywhere now. TV, radio. I see you-- RICHIE: (cutting her off) You could've called-- SARAH: I couldn't, I-- RICHIE: -- You could've just picked up the phone. It's not that hard. SARAH: Jesus, Richie, why are you being like this? RICHIE: You left! (tense pause) Now you're back and you're asking me to explain myself? Where the hell do you get off!? SARAH: You know that I left because we -- CHRIST! I can't believe we're have this discussion again! RICHIE: Again? (coldly, hurtfully) The last time we had this discussion you were on your way out the door. SARAH: I never wanted to just leave, only take a little time off . . . RICHIE: So now you're back. Why? SARAH: Because I want to be with you again. I've got my shit together and so have you. RICHIE: But how would you know that if you never call? ('Ha! Got you there!') Oh. Wait. "I'm Everywhere!" SARAH: Richie, c'mon . . . RICHIE: Well, you're right Sarah, I do have my shit together. I have the number five record and the number two song in the country. This band has never made it into the top ten on either note, so I did that! I made that happen! SARAH: (trying to calm him down, trying to grab hold of something) Look, Richie, I know that my timing isn't the greatest, and for that I'm sorry. RICHIE: (coldly) Fine. Apology accepted. Anything else. SARAH: (one last ditch effort) Yeah. This. (SARAH leans in and kisses RICHIE softly. RICHIE fights the urge to kiss her back and succeeds. SARAH notices that RICHIE doesn't react and breaks the kiss. She steps back, and, for a moment, neither of them says anything.) RICHIE: (one last hit, hurtfully) The door's right behind me, so you can leave anytime now. After all, it is what you're good at. (From the extreme look on her face, we can tell that SARAH is terribly insulted by and angry at this. We see something swell up in her, and release-- SMACK! SARAH hauls off and slaps RICHIE. RICHIE's face just locks after the slap, the same cold stare. SARAH grabs her pass off of the bar and brushes past RICHIE, exiting. After she exits, RICHIE heads over to the stereo, puts in a tape, and plays it. The room fills with the sound of "Most of the Time" by Bob Dylan. RICHIE heads over to the couch and plops down on it. After a moment, TAELI enters, slowly.) TAELI: Hi. (RICHIE just sits there, out of it. [NOTE: throughout the rest of the scene RICHIE is somewhat distant, separated from the events at hand, as though his mind keeps wandering to a sad memory. It is an attitude which stays with him for a few scenes to come.]) TAELI: You okay? RICHIE: Not entirely. TAELI: You wanna talk about it? RICHIE: Not really. TAELI: Okay. (TAELI heads over to the bar to fix herself a drink.) RICHIE: Hey, Taeli? TAELI: Yeah? RICHIE: Thanks . . . for everything. TAELI: Don't worry about it. The crowd really didn't seem to have a problem leaving, although there were these two girls-- RICHIE: No, I mean, everything. You 'n Ash have been really cool since the day I showed up, and you really didn't have to be. TAELI: Like I said, don't worry about it. (pause) RICHIE: (changing the subject) So, what happened to Chris and Ash? TAELI: (chuckling to herself) Chris is off steering a porcelain bus (for anyone who doesn't know, that's a euphemism for crouching over a toilet, throwing up), and Ash is making sure he doesn't crash. (Coincidentally, just as TAELI finishes the sentence, ASH enters, looking concerned.) TAELI: Speaking of whom . . . ASH: Huh? RICHIE: Skip it. What's up? ASH: I could ask you the same thing. RICHIE: (darkly comic) Don't ask, it's safer that way. TAELI: (to ASH) Richie's just having a little problem dealing with "fortune and glory." ASH: Applegate wants to see us first thing tomorrow. RICHIE & TAELI: (to ASH) What? ASH: Lacey just called. Applegate wants to meet with us right away in the morning. Something about the CD. RICHIE: Any idea what? ASH: (also darkly comic) All I know is that I better get back to Chris before he accidentally drowns in the toilet. (just then, one of the security guards enters.) GUARD: Is somebody going to take care of the guy in the can? ASH: I'm on my way. Taeli, you comin'? TAELI: What, are you nuts? I know you have a kinda morbid sense of curiosity, but not me. I really don't feel like standing around watching Chris lose his lunch all over a bathroom. ASH: Suit yourself. (exits) (TAELI looks over to RICHIE.) TAELI: Want a drink? RICHIE: (after a moment, still a little out of it) Huh? . . . Oh! Uh, yeah. Just a beer, thanks. (TAELI grabs a beer and her drink, heads over to the couch, plops down next to him, and hands him his beer.) TAELI: Here ya go. RICHIE: (half out of it) Uh, thanks. (TAELI notices that RICHIE is still a million miles away and seeming not well off.) TAELI: You okay? RICHIE: (slow to answer) No. TAELI: You want to talk about it? RICHIE: (trying to distract himself, being clever) I thought you didn't have a morbid sense of curiosity. TAELI: Call it concern. That . . . and, well, we've both been through alot. (painful pause, from which TAELI tries to distract herself from.) So . . . (RICHIE just sits in his own little world, thinking, remembering. Then, he looks at his guitar.) RICHIE: This is the only thing I have left of my old life. (pause) It used to belong to my dad. I never really knew him, and I guess somehow it was important to me that I still have some way to hold on to him. This guitar and a box of old records were the only things he left behind. When he first left, I used to listen to those records over and over, beginning to end. (pause) God, I haven't thought about that in years. TAELI: And that's what's been distracting you? RICHIE: (pained) No . . . yes, I dunno. Everything is distracting me. It's like, when Sarah walked back in that door tonight, the rest of my past came back with her, reminding me of everything that's changed in my life, and everything I don't have anymore. (pause) I dunno . . . I guess I'm just sick of thinking about it all the time. I want to think about something else for a while. I need to write again. (TAELI thinks for a moment.) TAELI: You remember a couple'a weeks ago when we . . . uh- RICHIE: -Yeah. Sorry 'bout that, by the way. TAELI: Don't be. I kissed you. RICHIE: Yeah, but (*) I didn't-- TAELI: (*) Look, if you're worried about me having some big regret about kissing you, I don't. I'm not gonna turn this into some big melodramatic thing like a bad episode of Saved By The Bell by saying that it was a mistake, because I don't think it was. RICHIE: (confused) Uh, okay . . . TAELI: Sorry. Tangent. (takes a brief moment to re-rail her train of thought) Anyway, that night I started writing again. I haven't written anything in almost two years, but that night, it just came out. Not a lot, just a part of a verse and a possible chorus, but I was hoping you could help me with it. RICHIE: (lacking confidence) Well, if you wanna play through it, I'll see what I can do. TAELI: Okay . . . Uh, my guitar's already packed up- RICHIE: -You can use mine. Here. (hands her the guitar) (TAELI takes a moment to warm up. She starts playing, but then panics and stops.) TAELI: Look, it's just . . . it's just been a while since I've (*) written anything and I'm just-- RICHIE: It's okay. Just relax. It's just me. TAELI: Okay. (TAELI takes a couple of deep breaths, then starts playing again. It sounds a little rough, but then she starts singing. TAELI trails off, not exactly knowing how to end. RICHIE sits there in awe, completely taken by the song. TAELI waits a moment for a reaction, but RICHIE doesn't say anything.) TAELI: Well? (Nothing.) TAELI: I knew it, it sucks-- RICHIE: --No, it's . . . it's really fuckin' good. (TAELI reacts) It is. It's (searches for something to say and comes up blank) . . . great. I mean, you need more, but- TAELI: Actually, I was hoping you could help me write it. RICHIE: Uh . . . yeah. (getting more excited) Yeah, I'd love to. (yawns, feeling the lateness of the hour) Tomorrow, though. It's been a really long day. (Both of them get up to leave.) TAELI: Sure. We probably oughta check on Chris, anyway. (the two of them start to leave) He's really gonna be hung over in the morning. RICHIE: (laughing to himself) In the morning? He'll be hung over all day. (thinks for a moment, then laughs) (The conversation trails off as they exit. The lights slowly fade, and the curtain closes.) Scene 2 - Outside Applegate's Office (The lights come up in front of a closed curtain. There is an office desk off to one side. TAELI and ASH are milling around, when RICHIE enters.) RICHIE: So, what's the deal? What's goin' on? TAELI: We don't know. Lacey said that Applegate's on conference calls all morning and can't be disturbed. RICHIE: (looking around) Where's Chris? ASH: Probably still crouched over a toilet. (After a moment, CHRIS enters wearing sunglasses.) RICHIE: Speak of the devil. TAELI: Morning, Chris. CHRIS: (speaking softly) Morning. ASH: How ya doin'? CHRIS: (Still softly) Fine, but you guys don't have to yell. (RICHIE, TAELI, and ASH laugh to themselves.) ASH: Fun little hangover, isn't it? CHRIS: Yeah . . . Ya know, the worst part is that I can't seem to bend this finger. (indicating his middle finger) But I can bend the others just fine. (flips off ASH, brief pause) So, what's the deal, they renovating the office or what? ([NOTE: During this scene, the set behind the curtain should be changed from the dressing room to the office.]) RICHIE: Dunno, I just got here. LACEY: (entering) He'll see you now. RICHIE: All right. (All exit. Lights.) Scene 3 - Applegate's Office (The lights come up and the curtain opens on APPLEGATE's office. For barely a moment, he is reviewing some files. As he is putting them away, RICHIE, TAELI, ASH, and CHRIS enter, escorted by LACEY. APPLEGATE doesn't notice RICHIE noticing APPLEGATE putting away the files.) RICHIE: So, what's going on? APPLEGATE: (solem and serious) Please sit down, everyone. (They all sit) APPLEGATE: Thank you, Lacey. (LACEY exits) ASH: Whoa, talk about your suspensful set-ups. (no reaction) ASH: Rough crowd. (APPLEGATE just ignores ASH's comments.) APPLEGATE: I'll get right to the point. As of tomorrow, Wilde Blue Riot's newest single and album both go to number one. (And a hush falls over the crowd. After a moment, RICHIE, TAELI, ASH, and even CHRIS to an extent, practically go into shock. CHRIS's jaw hits the floor as RICHIE, ASH and TAELI begin laugh quietly. The laughing isn't enough for ASH, and he lets out a huge scream.) ASH: WOOOOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOO! (With that, RICHIE and TAELI's laughter gets even bigger.) TAELI: (Still laughing) And this is for real? APPLEGATE: (Still cold and serious) This is as real as it gets. (They all seem to notice that APPLEGATE doesn't seem to be too happy with this latest development, and they all become rather nervous by it.) CHRIS: (pessimistic as usual) I'm waiting for the catch. (beat) APPLEGATE: The catch is that this band has yet to have a number one single or album, and so you now face a new reality. Unless you can do what it takes to stay on top, you can only go down from here. (TAELI, RICHIE, ASH, and CHRIS all look back and forth to each other.) RICHIE: Well, what do you suggest?