BUILDING A BRIDGE
Script by Mike Fine
Music and Lyrics by Nate Gross and Mike Fine
The
SCENE 1: The East
Two narrators appear center stage.
Narrator 1: A long time ago—
Narrator 2: (Interrupting. Sickly sweet.) —In fairy tale times—
Narrator 1: (Annoyed, but continuing.) —there was a land called Yarzach. Yarzach was a large kingdom divided down the center by a wide river that snaked its way through the country.
Narrator 2: The River divided the land into two regions. Both regions were beautiful in their own way. They were also very different from one another.
The narrators leave the stage. Two new narrators appear stage right.
Narrator 3: Easterners in the kingdom valued art and beauty above all else.
Narrator 4: Many years later, doctors would call these people “right brained.” (Disdainfully.) What psychobabble…
The narrators leave the stage. Easterners enter on the right side of the stage, either from behind the audience or from backstage. They sing while moving about the East, greeting each other. The Easterners are all dressed in fancy, ornate, gaudy costumes.
Song 1: Easterners
Easterners exit on applause.
SCENE 2: The West
Two narrators appear stage left.
Narrator 5: Westerners in Yarzach valued simplicity, logic and precision.
Narrator 6: That’s right. These people would eventually be called “left brained” by those same psycho babbling quacks.
The narrators leave the stage. Westerners enter on the left side of the stage, either from behind the audience or from backstage. They sing while moving about the West, greeting each other. The Westerners are all dressed in simple, austere costumes.
Song 2: Westerners
Westerners exit on applause.
SCENE 3: The King in His Court
Two narrators appears center stage.
Narrator 7: The
Narrator 8: Like all wise kings, King Two Sides had a huddle of advisors. Wiser than most, the King made sure that his advisors were all independent thinkers.
Narrator 9: The advisors from the East were just like all Easterners: artsy fartsy types.
Narrator 10: The advisors from the West were just like all Westerners: computer geeks, only before computers…
The narrators leave the stage. King Two Sides and his advisors enter. The advisors group together—Easterners stage right and Westerners stage left—and remain still. King Two Sides paces around his palace. He’s thinking, wracking his brain. Finally, he gets an idea!
King Two Sides: I’ve got it! I know what we have to do to bring Easterners and Westerners closer together.
The narrators come to life.
Western Advisor 1: Use Crazy Glue?
Western Advisor 2: Tie them together with rope?
Western Advisor 3: How about Saran Wrap? My nanny said that it’s great because it doesn’t leave marks.
Eastern Advisor 1: Let’s have everyone read the great works of literature. (Swooning.) Shakespeare… Dickens… Jane Austin…
Eastern Advisor 2: We could throw an ice cream social!
Eastern Advisor 3: Or a square dance! (Does the square dance) Swing your partner dosey-do…
King Two Sides: Very funny, all of you. No, what we need to do is this: (Pauses for effect. Faces the audience.) We need to build a bridge. A bridge that connects the East and the West.
Western Advisor 4: People could walk and ride their horses from one side of the river to the other and back.
Eastern Advisor 4: Easterners and Westerners would, would… (Horrified) MINGLE!
King Two Sides: That’s right. (Proudly.) The road to greatness for our kingdom is to have people from both sides of the country to get to know one another, to learn from one another, to value one another.
Song 3: We Need a Bridge
At the end of the song, King Two Sides and all of the Advisors remain on stage.
CONTINUED…..
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