THE CAROUSEL of DREAMS     a play     by     Josh Worth         Copyright 1998 Josh Worth          THE CAROUSEL OF DREAMS     The lights come up on four people in a park. We hear the sound of traffic. Two park benches are at center stage. JONES, a timid, studious fellow with his nose in a textbook, sits on one bench. MR. NICKELS, an older man in a suit, is on the other feeding peanuts to the squirrels. BRODY, an unkempt kid with a guitar case, sits on the ground. FLORA the vendor stands off to the side next to a small merchandise-cart stocked with newspapers, magazines, sandwiches and candy.     The four people sit in silence for a while, minding their own business. One at a time, each of them glances up and takes a look at what the others are doing.     MR. NICKELS begins experimenting with "squirrel" noises.     JONES, who's trying to study, becomes annoyed with the noises.     Slowly, a spotlight appears on JONES, the other lights shift to indicate a fantasy. JONES slips off his shoe, removes his sock, and shoves it in mr. nickel's mouth. He swats the imaginary squirrel with his book, then returns to reading.     Suddenly, the lights return to normal, and everything is as it was. MR. NICKELS continues with the noises until he is out of peanuts. JONES breathes a sigh of relief.     mr NICKELS gets up, walks over to FLORA's merchandise rack and buys a sandwich. He returns to the bench and starts eating.     BRODY watches as MR. NICKELS savors his sandwich. Slowly, the fantasy spotlight appears on BRODY. He opens his guitar case, finds a two foot long sandwich and begins to eat.     The lights return to normal. BRODY is still hungry. He reaches into his pocket to look for money. All he has is a few pennies. He walks over to FLORA. He points to a sandwich. She asks him for money. He shows her his pennies. She shrugs and refuses.     Dejected, BRODY sits back on the ground by his guitar case. He opens the case and takes out a ukulele (much smaller than the case). He places his hat in front of him, and begins playing. He's not very good.     JONES and MR. NICKELS are a bit annoyed by the music. FLORA on the other hand, kind of enjoys it. BRODY drifts into a Hawaiian melody. The fantasy spotlight focuses on FLORA.     MR. NICKELS walks over to the merchandise rack, whips out his check book and buys the entire business. Overjoyed, FLORA takes the check and runs off-stage. The lights dim for a moment.     When the lights come back up, FLORA saunters back on stage wearing a straw hat, sunglasses, a Hawaiian shirt and a lei. We hear the sound of waves and tropical birds. MR. NICKELS (acting as a hotel clerk) leads FLORA to center stage and lays out a beach towel. She tips him and lies down. JONES (acting as a waiter) carries a tray with a pi–a colada over to FLORA and hands her the drink. She tips him and relaxes in the imaginary sun. BRODY, wearing a grass skirt and continuing to play the Hawaiian melody, comes over and invites her to hula with him.     Suddenly, BRODY breaks into an entirely different song. Everyone assumes their previous positions and the lights return to normal. We hear the sound of traffic again.     BRODY is now playing a rock standard. No one seems to be paying attention. BRODY looks over at MR. NICKELS who is almost done with his sandwich.     The fantasy lights focus on BRODY. Everyone on stage is groovin and tapping their feet to the music. MR. NICKELS grins widely, walks over to BRODY, and whips out a record contract. BRODY looks it over and refuses. MR. NICKELS gets down on his hands and begs him to sign. BRODY finally gives in.     BRODY puts on a glam rock outfit and begins rockin out on the ukulele, accompanied by the sound of a full band. colored lights swoop around the stage. FLORA replaces all the magazines on her rack with magazines featuring BRODY on the cover. BRODY struts out into the audience, shaking people's hands. A couple of girls planted in the audience get up and start dancing with him. BRODY leads them back to the stage. MR. NICKELS, FLORA, and JONES clamor for his autograph. BRODY pushes them aside and leads the girls off-stage.     The lights return to normal. BRODY resumes his place on stage, sitting on the ground. He finishes the song, then looks around. Nobody cares. BRODY stands up, walks over to MR. NICKELS, takes off his hat and holds it out to him, hoping for a donation. MR. NICKELS refuses.     Then he tries JONES. He's too busy to be bothered.     Finally, he tries FLORA. FLORA, decides to be nice and puts a sandwich in his hat. Brody thanks her, returns to his spot and starts eating.     MR. NICKELS finishes his sandwich. He stands up, crumples the wrapper for his sandwich and tosses it at a garbage can, missing by at least a foot.     the fantasy spotlight focuses on MR. NICKELS. We hear the sounds of a crowded stadium. MR. NICKELS takes off his jacket to reveal a basketball jersey. BRODY puts a big foam finger on his hand. FLORA starts waving a couple pom-poms and tries to get the audience worked-up. JONES, dressed like a referee, tosses a basketball to MR. NICKELS and blows a whistle.     The garbage can is now acting as a real basketball net. MR. NICKELS steps up for a free-throw. He misses.     He takes the second shot and misses again. The "fans" cringe and boo. MR. NICKELS falls to the ground, heartbroken.     The stage returns to normal. FLORA glares at MR. NICKELS. Ashamed, he walks over to the trash can, picks up the wrapper and throws it away. Everyone sits for a while, minding their own business.   JOY enters. She's a lovely, well-dressed girl carrying a parasol. Everyone glances up to get a look at her. She takes a seat on the bench next to JONES.   JOY begins to apply some make-up. She has a whole routine for it, stopping every so often to cough. JONES can no longer concentrate. He's smitten.   JONES Looks like it might rain.   JOY Yes. Yes it does.   The fantasy spotlight focuses on JONES. romantic music begins to play. JONES transforms into a debonair playboy.   JONES Looks like it might rain.   JOY Yes. Yes it does.   JONES Perhaps you'd like to join me for an espresso.   JOY Yes. Yes I would.   The lights change to indicate the inside of a romantic restaurant. BRODY approaches them carrying a tray with two espressos. JONES and JOY take their drinks and begin sipping. They laugh and look into each other's eyes. JONES puts his arm around JOY. She blushes.   The lights dim. JONES and JOY rush off-stage, the music swells. They enter again, dressed for their wedding. MR. NICKELS acts as the minister. They kiss. BRODY and FLORA toss rice as they run off-stage again.   They enter again, dressed as tourists on their honeymoon in Europe. JONES snaps pictures of JOY standing in various places around the stage. BRODY stands on one end of a bench acting as a gondolier. JONES and JOY sit down as if on a gondola, holding each other's hands.   They dash off-stage again. When they come back, JOY is holding a baby. They coo over it and look into each other's eyes.   Suddenly, JOY begins to cough. The lights return to normal. The baby is tucked away and JOY notices JONES staring at her. He turns away, embarrassed.   FRAN the madwoman enters carrying a cane and several large bags. She wanders around the stage, looking lost. She stops in front of JOY and admires her.   The fantasy lights focus on JOY. She sits FRAN down on the bench, and starts to give her a make-over. By the end of it, FRAN is transformed into a glamour queen.   The lights return to normal. FRAN lies down towards the back of the stage near BRODY.   BRODY begins to watch FRAN closely. The fanstasy lights focus on BRODY. FRAN stands up, still looking rather put-together. BRODY lies down. FRAN comes over and wakes him up.   FRAN Rise and shine, honey. Time for school.   BRODY Aw, Mom. Already?   She hands him a sack lunch and kisses him on the forehead.   The lights go back to normal. Brody takes a closer look at FRAN and shakes his head.   JOY begins to cough some more, then stands up and walks to the merchandise rack. She buys some lozenges, unwraps one and pops it in her mouth. She looks over the fashion magazines.   the fantasy lights focus on FLORA. She trades clothes with JOY and walks mockingly across the stage twirling the parasol. The clothes fit poorly - she looks awkward. JOY stands at the merchandise rack looking befuddled.   They resume their normal identities. JOY sits down on the bench again. JONES smiles.   JOY takes a peek at the cover of JONES' book. She begins to cough. JONES looks over, concerned.   the fantasy lights focus on JOY. She coughs again. She keeps coughing until she is lying down, as if in a hospital bed. She has a thermometer in her mouth. JONES stands over her, looking like a doctor. He takes the thermometer out and looks at it. He shakes his head. He props JOY up and puts a stethoscope to her back. She coughs a few times. He shakes his head again.   MR. NICKELS and FLORA approach and stand together. JONES walks to them and delivers the bad news. FLORA holds her head in her hands. MR. NICKELS comforts her. The three of them walk to JOY and sit beside her. JOY smiles and holds their hands. She coughs and slowly closes her eyes.   JONES listens to her heart with the stethoscope. He shakes his head. FLORA begins to sob.   BRODY approaches, dressed as an angel, playing a sweet song on the ukulele. He leads her away.   FLORA, MR. NICKELS, and JONES are at FLORA's funeral holding umbrellas. BRODY and JOY watch as the mourner's toss flowers on her grave.   BRODY and JOY fly off.   The lights return to normal. Everyone is in their previous positions.   A moment passes with everyone going about their business.   McCAY the policeman enters. He sees FLORA across the stage and waves. He scouts out the area.   the fantasy lights focus on McCAY. MR. NICKELS, JONES, BRODY, and JOY each put on a ski mask and pull out a gun. All of a sudden, its a robbery of FLORA's shop. Luckily, McCAY is there to break it up. Single-handedly, he disarms each of the robbers and puts them in handcuffs. FLORA throws her arms around him and hugs him gratefully.   The lights return to normal. He walks over to her and buys a candy bar. They smile at each other and he walks back to his previous position.   FLORA counts the money in her money belt. There's practically nothing.   The fantasy lights shift to FLORA. She closes down the merchandise stand, packs her things into some large bags, carries them over to where FRAN is lying and plops down next to her. FRAN puts her arm around her.   The lights return to normal. FLORA is back in her place. FRAN begins to stir.   A spotlight focuses on FRAN. She stands up wearing a witch's hat and holding her cane like a magic wand. She cackles and runs around the stage. Everyone watches her in complete fear. She waves her wand around. A huge cloud of smoke appears in front of each of the characters. When the smoke clears, everyone has been turned into a frog. FRAN gathers each of the frogs and stuffs it in her bag.   The lights are normal again. The characters resume their positions.   FRAN springs to her feet, filled with a strange new energy. She walks around the stage waving her cane, harassing each of the characters, making them uncomfortable. She rifles through FLORA's magazines, she tries to play BRODY's ukulele, etc. When she reaches JONES she unwittingly drops one of her bags. She continues her way into the audience and harasses a few audience members, until McCAY has to lead her off-stage.   Its quiet again. Everyone notices the bag and looks at it curiously, wondering what to do.   FLORA moves a bit closer to it. The fantasy lights focus on FLORA. She walks over to the bag and opens it. She pulls out a handful of money, and celebrates. She's about to run off with the bag when MR. NICKELS grabs it from her.   The fantasy lights focus on MR. NICKELS. He pushes FLORA aside and reaches in the bag. He takes out a basketball and dribbles it around the stage. JONES steals the ball from him and stuffs it back in the bag.   JONES is now in the fantasy lights. He opens the bag and finds a pile of books. Fascinated, he leafs through one of them. JOY slams the book closed.   When the fantasy lights focus on JOY, she reaches in the bag and pulls out a lovely new hat. She tries it on and shows it off. BRODY, takes the hat off her head and stuffs it in the bag.   the fantasy lights shift to BRODY. He reaches in the bag and finds a tambourine. He struts around the stage playing obnoxiously, until Mccay the policeman returns. Embarrassed, BRODY puts the tambourine away and places the bag in its original position.   the fantasy lights shift to McCAY. He motions for everyone to move away from the bag. He approaches it cautiously. He opens it, looks in, and takes out a sparking bomb. Everyone ducks. The lights flash. We hear an explosion.   Everything returns to normal. People look curiously at the bag, then look to each other to see if anyone is going to do anything. They all simultaneously begin to move towards it.   Mccay steps forward and gestures for everyone to move away. He approaches it cautiously and is about to look inside when FRAN rushes on and grabs it away from him. She stares accusingly at Mccay. He tries to apprehend her again, but she pushes him aside and walks off to lie down again.   BRODY looks up at the sky and holds out his hand, feeling raindrops. JONES and JOY do the same. We hear thunder. The lights dim and flash like lightning. We hear the sound of rain.   All at once, everyone runs for cover. BRODY hides under his guitar case. McCAY and MR. NICKELS duck under the umbrella of FLORA's cart. FLORA gestures for BRODY and FRAN to come stand next to him   JONES puts his book over his head. JOY, under her parasol, invites him to sit next to her. They smile at each other.   Everyone remains like this for quite some time, occasionally glancing at each other.   FRAN runs out into the rain and starts to dance around. Seeing this, BRODY takes out his ukulele and plays a little song.   The sound of the rain lets up. The fantasy lights shine on the whole stage. We hear birds chirping. FRAN and BRODY take a rest.   FRAN gathers up her wet bags and exits. BRODY puts his ukulele away and exits in the opposite direction.   MR. NICKELS tries to sit back on the bench, but its too wet. He gathers his things and exits.   The only dry spot on the benches is under JOY's umbrella. JONES and JOY exchange looks. JONES shakes her hand and is about to stand up but JOY stands up instead, leaving the spot for JONES.   JOY exits. JONES is about to start reading, then thinks again. He puts his books away and goes running off after JOY.   With no one left in the park, besides McCAY, FLORA lowers her umbrella and starts to pack up.   McCAY comes over to help her. She thanks him, they finish packing up and exit together.   The lights go down.
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