Butler, Charles, III (American playwright, data analyst, minister, musician, 1952-____), “According to Us (A Parabolic Musical),”
a 70-minute parable in English, in eight scenes, set in a ruined garden of a small church, during a single day (with flashbacks),
2m2f
; © 1998 by Charles Butler, III; • in Charles Butler's According to Us (A Parabolic Musical) (Sterling, Virginia, U.S.A.: The Author, 1998); • script/rights available from Charles Butler, III, 24 Wedgedale Drive, Sterling, Virginia 20164-1345, U.S.A., telephone (home) 302-337-8693, e-mail chazzer3@erols.com. • Cited by Charles Butler, III, via ftp June 10, 1998; Butler says,
§ Dramatis Personae Nick (m), 50, homeless character; Simon (m), 20, homeless character; Maggie (f), 30, homeless character; Rector (m or f), 35, friend of the homeless.
§ Synopsis “(scene i) Three homeless characters find themselves in the ruined Garden of a small church after their friend the Rector has died. Seven scenes enact how she touched each of them in their own needs by telling stories in which they could identify themselves. (scene ii) Maggie become Mary Magdelene, Nick becomes Nicodemus, Simon becomes Simon the Leper. (scene iii) Maggie become Morgan le Fay, Simon the Court Fool, Nick bumbling old knight errant Pellinore. (scene iv) Nick becomes Galileo, Maggie a nun, Simon a Cardinal. (scene v) The rector finds Simon as a nameless man in the garden. He then becomes Simon the Leper, then Simon, a rosie dying of the plague with two small children. (scene vi) Maggie confronts all her inner voices. Nick suffers amnesia and recovers. (scene vii) Maggie and Nick welcome two strange lepers to the garden, giving them Stone Soup. (scene viii) The cast comes full circle, mourning the death of their friend and celebrating with ‘According to Us, the World Is a Better Place.’”
§ Comment “ Each scene changes by the actor's changing a robe, a hat, a scarf, or picking up a prop. • Musical samples available. ASL translation being prepared. All serious inquiries will be responded to. Email is preferred for first inquiry.”
§ Themes amnesia, anonymity, cardinal, celebration, children, church, clergy, Court, death, Fay, Fool, friendship, Galileo, garden, homelessness, leprosy, Magdelene, Mary Morgan, mourning, Nicodemus, Pellinore, plague, recovers, religion, religious order, Simon the Leper, tales, voice.
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Page mounted November 19, 1998, and updated September 16, 28, 2000, September 23, October 1, 2, 2003, by the Webmaster.
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