Act II, Scene III Flashcards
Outside, then inside, Madame's Cottage
(The exterior of the cottage has transformed
into the interior. ELLA is now in the cottage.)
HE WAS TALL, VERY TALL…
(The door swings open. In strides MADAME.)
MADAME. When I left this house in my carriage, I was quite
convinced my daughter was going to be queen and
I would never have to come back here to this. And now,
well, I’m back here to this.
ELLA. Was the ball a disappointment, Madame?
MADAME. The prince, despite his being well-born, and
raised with great care by our Lord Protector, showed
the most appalling manners. Appalling! He spent the
entire evening talking and dancing with some little
nobody.
(The door swings open. CHARLOTTE enters,
dejected. GABRIELLE follows.)
CHARLOTTE. The prince has fallen head over heels for
someone else. If he keeps this up, I may not want to go
out with him!
MADAME. What was going on in His Royal Highness’s thick
skull?
CHARLOTTE. The way he looked at her. With respect! I hope no man ever looks at me that way.
MADAME. If that woman had any morality or sense of what’s right in this world, she would not have appeared at the ball at all.
GABRIELLE. But can you imagine how she must have felt tonight, arriving at the ball and meeting the man of her dreams?
MADAME. I cannot, for my mind has no place for the puerile or rank.
WHEN YOU’RE DRIVING THROUGH THE MOONLIGHT
CHARLOTTE.
IT LOOKS THAT WAY -
GABRIELLE.
THE WAY YOU SAY.
MADAMЕ.
SHE TALKS AS IF SHE KNOWS.
ELLA.
YOU MAKE A BOW,
A TIMID BOW,
AND SHYLY ANSWER “YES.”
MADAME.
HOW WOULD YOU KNOW
THAT THIS IS SO?
CHARLOTTE.
HE IS MORE THAN A PRINCE -
GABRIELLE.
ELLA.
HE’S AN ACE!
BUT SISTERS, I REALLY THINK I CAN -
MADAME. Can what?
ELLA. And I can imagine it.
GABRIELLE. I imagine it too!
CHARLOTTE. This squinting isn’t my sinus condition. It’s me imagining it.
MADAME. I am throwing caution to the wind! I am
imagining it as well!
LOVELY NIGHT
BUT ON YOUR LIPS YOU KEEP A KISS,
ALL YOUR LIFE YOU’LL DREAM OF THIS
LOVELY, LOVELY NIGHT.
MADAME. Charlotte, play the pianoforte.
GABRIELLE.
LA, LA, LA
CHARLOTTE.
LA, LA, LA
CHARLOTTE & GABRIELLE
CHARLOTTE, GABRIELLE, MADAME & ELLA.
YOU MEET (YOU MEET) YOUR PRINCE (YOUR PRINCE,)
A CHARMING (A CHARMING) PRINCE,
AS CHARMING AS A PRINCE WILL EVER BE!
CHARLOTTE & GABRIELLE.
LA, LA, LA, LA, LA
LA, LA, LA, LA
CHARLOTTE, GABRIELLE, MADAME & ELLA.
THE STARS IN A HAZY HEAVEN
TREMBLE ABOVE YOU
WHILE HE IS WHISPERING,
MADAME. (As the PRINCE.) “DARLING, I LOVE YOU!”
CHARLOTTE, GABRIELLE, MADAME & ELLA.
YOU SAY GOODBYE,
AWAY YOU FLY,
GABRIELLE & ELLA.
BUT ON YOUR LIPS YOU KEEP A KISS,
MADAME & CHARLOTTE.
ALL YOUR LIFE YOU’LL DREAM OF THIS
CHARLOTTE, GABRIELLE, MADAME & ELLA.
LOVELY, LOVELY NIGHT.
(CHARLOTTE, GABRIELLE, MADAME, and ELLA
dance.)
THE STARS IN A HAZY HEAVEN
TREMBLE ABOVE YOU,
WHILE HE IS WHISPERING,
GABRIELLE. (As the PRINCE.) “DARLING, I LOVE YOU”
CHARLOTTE, GABRIELLE, MADAME & ELLA.
YOU SAY GOODBYE,
AWAY YOU FLY,
BUT ON YOUR LIPS YOU KEEP A KISS,
ALL YOUR LIFE YOU’LL DREAM OF THIS,
LOVELY, LOVELY, LOVELY,
LOVELY NIGHT!
(Allfour WOMEN sigh audibly. MADAME kisses
ELLA on the head, quickly recoiling realizing
what she has done.)
MADAME. (To ELLA.) Isn’t it wonderful how the needy just keep on going? Get up. Put away the - ah, whatever
you call it.
MADAME. (To her DAUGHTERS.) The only thing I have to comfort me after this disastrous evening is that the
prince seemed so completely devastated when his
dream date ran away.
CHARLOTTE. Oh, it was hilarious! The powder room was
full of yammering when we were leaving. Why did the
girl run away? My feeling is that up close the girl was
physically unappealing.
MADAME. To bed, my lovely daughters. Cinderella, you stay
here and clean up this pigsty of a parlor. Why is there a
pumpkin on the table? It makes no design sense.
(MADAME and CHARLOTTE exit.)
