(The show opens on the grave of CHRISTINE DA'AE laid with a single red rose and CHRISTINE's engagement ring. We see the PHANTOM sobbing on the hand of an obscured woman, and then the PHANTOM removes the ring from the rose. Now we are transported to the garden of an Abbey. The PHANTOM is wearing a monk-like garb and working in the garden. Suddenly, we hear an angelic voice from offstage. The PHANTOM looks around for the source of the voice.)
PHANTOM:
Christine? Is it possible?
(The Abbey garden fades away to a hospital room. MRS. DA'AE lies in the bed with GUSTAVE DA'AE at her side. CHRISTINE is born, but MRS. DA'AE is still going through labour. There is another child. MRS. DA'AE is weakened from the birth of CHRISTINE and is fading fast. GUSTAVE cradles CHRISTINE in his arms and pays no attention to the fact that his wife has had a second child. The MIDWIFE picks up the child and sees that she is blind. Glancing at MRS. DA'AE who is now cluthing GUSTAVE's hand, the MIDWIFE whisks away the second child.)
GUSTAVE:
My love, we have a daughter.
MRS. DA'AE
(with labored breaths)
She...is beautiful dear...
GUSTAVE:
Please don't leave me. Our child needs you.
MRS. DA'AE
(pulling herself towards GUSTAVE)
You will...have to take care of her...alone...Name her...Christine...never let any harm...come to her...
GUSTAVE:
I swear she will not be harmed.
MRS. DA'AE
Christine...How I only wish...I could live to see you grow...and I am sorry that I will not be there for you...but you will have your father...and he will take care of you...and give you all the love I will not be there to give...but even though...I cannot watch you grow...I will always be with you...my sweet Christine...
(MRS. DA'AE expires in GUSTAVE's arms.)
GUSTAVE:
Christine...
(The scene shifts to MADAME GIRY leading a YOUNG PHANTOM through the bowels of the Opera House. They come to the place where MADAME GIRY stays. They gaze into each others eyes and the YOUNG PHANTOM leads MADAME GIRY to the bed. He draws the curtain around it. The lights turn to a dawn-like glow and the YOUNG PHANTOM leads MADAME GIRY to the steps leading to the catacombs.)
YOUNG PHANTOM:
You must never come past this place or you will not survive. It is too dangerous.
TEEN GIRY:
Will I ever see you again?
YOUNG PHANTOM:
I cannot say. I can never leave here.
(Suddenly, footsteps and loud shouts resonate through the stage. The YOUNG PHANTOM looks around wildy.)
YOUNG PHANTOM:
I must go, or they will find us both!
(He kisses her cheek, then turns and runs down the stairs, leaving TEEN GIRY there to watch him go.)
TEEN GIRY:
I will always love you...
(Now the scene shifts to TEEN GIRY who has become pregnant with the PHANTOM's child.)
TEEN GIRY:
Please...my husband died and I am pregnant with his child. I need somewhere to work.
GUSTAVE:
I need a housekeeper, and a nanny for my infant daughter, Christine.
TEEN GIRY:
I'll do it. But what will I do when my child is born?
GUSTAVE:
You will be given enough time to raise the child until it is old enough to be cared for alongside Christine.
TEEN GIRY:
Thank you, sir. I owe you so much.
(the scene shifts to GUSTAVE's bedroom. A young CHRISTINE sits at his side with TEEN GIRY standing behind her holding MEG's hand. The DOCTOR stops by TEEN GIRY.)
TEEN GIRY:
How is he?
DOCTOR:
Not well. He has tuberculosis.
TEEN GIRY:
Will he live?
DOCTOR:
At this stage of the disease, it is a near impossibility. The diagnostics I took say that he could die anytime. I pity his daughter, to lose her mother and now her father. The child will have a difficult life.
TEEN GIRY:
Thank you, sir.
(TEEN GIRY goes to GUSTAVE's bedside, and whispers something in his ear. GUSTAVE sighs, and turns toward CHRISTINE.)
GUSTAVE:
Listen to me, Christine. When you were born I promised your mother I wouldn't let any harm come to you. When I'm in heaven child, I will send you the Angel of Music.
CHRISTINE:
The Angel of Music?
GUSTAVE:
He will watch over you. He will see that no harm comes to you. Just promise me you won't get into any trouble. Stay with Madame Giry. She will take care of you.
CHRISTINE:
I promise, Father.
GUSTAVE:
Giry...are you there?
TEEN GIRY:
I'm here, sir.
GUSTAVE:
I want you...to take Christine to the Opera House. I know you studied...as a ballerina there...I want... for her to be happy...she is truly a gifted singer and if she starts as a ballerina...she may one day be a great diva. And...I know she and Margaret are very close...this will keep them together.
TEEN GIRY:
I will see it done sir.
GUSTAVE:
Now that I know that my daughter will be safe, I can die in peace.
(He closes his eyes and expires. CHRISTINE weeps silently at her father's side until TEEN GIRY takes her hand and leads her from the bedside.)
TEEN GIRY:
Come, children.. Tonight, we travel to the Opera House and you will begin your training as ballerinas. Christine, you will be living with myself and Meg at the Opera House from now on.
(The scene becomes a whirl of activity. From TEEN GIRY holding MEG in her arms to YOUNG MEG and YOUNG CHRISTINE training as ballerinas in the Opera House, and then to MEG watching from the wings as CHRISTINE is taken away by the PHANTOM. Then suddenly we are back in a hospital, only this is the birth of the PHANTOM.)
MIDWIFE:
Mrs. Giry, your son.
(the MIDWIFE hands the PHANTOM to OLINA. OLINA looks into her son's face, at first in love, but then in horror. OLINA screams and the MIDWIFE takes the PHANTOM out of his mother's arms. She places a pale gauze bandage over his face. The PHANTOM cries. The MIDWIFE kisses the child's forehead and eases him into OLINA's arms.)
OLINA:
My son...what did I do to deserve this? Is there some evil curse placed upon me that would make me give birth to this...this monster?
MONSIEUR GIRY:
Olina, what is wrong?
OLINA:
Take him away...I cannot bear to look at him.
MONSIEUR GIRY:
Olina, my love, surely you can't mean this! He is our son, our only child.
OLINA:
I want nothing to do with that repulsive thing! Take him away!
MONSIEUR GIRY:
If it troubles you this much, my love, then I will give him to our friend Monsieur Kahleel. Under his tutelage he may be able to have some sort of life.
(KAHLEEL appears on the other side of the stage. MONSIEUR GIRY hands him the child. KAHLEEL removes the bandage and examines his face.)
MONSIEUR GIRY:
Is there anything that can be done for him?
KAHLEEL:
The outside cannot be repaired my friend. I am sorry.
MONSIEUR GIRY:
My poor wife...
KAHLEEL:
But...the child has a heart and mind not damaged. I will take him in as my apprentice. He will not suffer from the world's cruelties here.
MONSIEUR GIRY:
I thank you my friend. I owe you much for this.
(KAHLEEL takes the child offstage. Beautiful music plays underneath the next scene as we see the PHANTOM grow under KAHLEEL's tutelage. As the PHANTOM grows, he becomes well versed in many subects such as medicines, sciences, and glassworking. We see the PHANTOM's mask evolve from simple pale gauze to a mask eerily similar to the one from the Opera House. As the music reaches it's climax we see the YOUNG PHANTOM come onstage followed by KAHLEEL.)
KAHLEEL:
The next shipment of medicines will arrive in the next week while I am gone, so you must be prepared.
YOUNG PHANTOM:
Yes, Master.
(He looks out the window, clearly distracted by something)
KAHLEEL:
What is wrong, Osber?
YOUNG PHANTOM:
What? Oh...it's nothing, Master.
KAHLEEL:
I know my pupil. Something is troubling you. What is it?
YOUNG PHANTOM:
Well, now that I am seventeen...
KAHLEEL:
Yes?
YOUNG PHANTOM:
I...I wish to meet young women.
KAHLEEL:
Osber... it pains me very much to say this, but you can never be free from your scars. If your own mother turned away in disgust at your face, imagine what a young woman would do. But you will always be welcome here. I cannot live forever, right? Now come, we must prepare the latest order from a Madame Giry.
(KAHLEEL turns around only to find that the PHANTOM has vanished, and left the door to the shop wide open.)
KAHLEEL:
Osber! Osber!
(KAHLEEL's office fades off as the light transfers to the other side of the stage where the PHANTOM runs onstage and collapses on the ground sobbing. He rips off his mask and throws it to the ground. Smoke begins to fill the stage. A thin, almost bird-like woman materializes from the smoke. She wears a gypsy dress and has long dark hair. She goes behind him and places her hand on his shoulder.)
GYPSY WOMAN:
Are you alone, my friend?
(She turns to see his face, but the YOUNG PHANTOM covers it with his hand. She places a tiny hand over his own.)
GYPSY WOMAN:
Come now, my friend. I have seen far worse than a destroyed face. You've nothing to hide from us.
(She removes his hand and stares at his face.)
GYPSY WOMAN:
See now? Nothing to fear. Do you have any valued skills?
YOUNG PHANTOM:
Well...I am versed in glasswork and many other things...
GYPSY WOMAN:
Come with me, dear friend. I will take you somewhere you can be accepted. Follow me.
(She disappears into the smoke. The YOUNG PHANTOM looks after her, picks up his mask and follows into the smoke. As the smoke fills the entire stage, we hear the vulgar strains of a traveling gypsy circus. The GYPSY WOMAN appears by the fire, leading the YOUNG PHANTOM by the hand.)
GYPSY WOMAN:
Welcome, dear friend, to our humble home. Many flock here to see the oddities and skills presented here, but there are those that cannot find where they belong. Those people come here. The freaks...the monstrous...the bizzarre...all flock here to become a part of our family.
PHANTOM:
So many people like me...
GYPSY WOMAN:
Come this way. You must meet our Ringmaster. He will welcome you into our home.
(She leads him into the ringmaster's tent and although we can hear nothing, we see the sillhouettes of the three characters. We see the YOUNG PHANTOM remove his mask and then shake hands with the ringmaster. Suddenly, the sillhouette of the RINGMASTER becomes larger and bulkier, the stage goes blood red, and the festive music turns dark. The gypsy camp fades away and we see a sign drop from above that reads, "The Devil's Child" and a cage is brought onstage. Inside we see a hunched figure with a burlap sack over their head. A school of ballerinas is lead in by the RINGMASTER.)
RINGMASTER:
Come! Come! Come inside! Come and see the Devil's Child! Scarred from birth by his demon-cursed mother!
(Suddenly a spot hits the figure. The figure flinches away from the sneering figures outside the cage.)
RINGMASTER:
Come now, let's not be shy, my friend! These nice, young ladies came here to see a show! So that's what we'll give them.
(The RINGMASTER steps into the cage, beats the figure, and rips the sack off it's head. We see that the caged figure is in fact the YOUNG PHANTOM, turned into a sideshow attraction. A young ballerina steps out of the crowd and clutches the cage bars. It is the TEEN MADAME GIRY. The other ballerinas leave, and just as TEEN GIRY is about to exit the tent, she turns to see the YOUNG PHANTOM take up the whip and strangle the RINGMASTER. She quickly unlocks his cage and smuggles him out of the circus.)
TEEN GIRY:
Come with me!
YOUNG PHANTOM:
Stay back!
TEEN GIRY:
I'm not going to hurt you! I know someplace where you can be safe, but you have to trust me!
(TEEN GIRY holds out her hand, and reluctantly, the YOUNG PHANTOM takes it. The stage blacks out and all we see are torches slowly being lit on the wall. The stage is now the PHANTOM's lair underneath the Opera Populaire. Suddenly we hear the voice of a young girl echo through the lair. The YOUNG PHANTOM looks up, dazed.)
YOUNG PHANTOM:
What's this? This voice...so beautiful...
(He puts down his sheet music and runs up the steps to the wings of the Opera House. Onstage is a young CHRISTINE singing quietly to herself while she rehearses the latest ballet routine.)
YOUNG PHANTOM:
Such beauty from such a small child...
YOUNG CHRISTINE:
Who's there? Father, is this your Angel of Music?
YOUNG PHANTOM:
Yes child. I am the Angel of Music that was sent to teach you. Come with me, and I will protect you.
YOUNG CHRISTINE:
My Angel of Music, at last you have come for me!
(He takes her hand and leads her offstage as we return to the Abbey. Once again, we hear the angelic voice from offstage.)
PHANTOM:
Christine...Christine...is this merely another dream?
(The PHANTOM travels through a secret passageway when at last he finds the source of the voice. It is a beautiful young woman that looks almost exactly like CHRISTINE. The young woman sits in the garden singing to herself. )
PHANTOM:
Christine...it can't be you?
(The woman looks around, confused. She has heard the PHANTOM, but cannot see him.)
CECILLE:
Is someone there?
ABBEY SISTER:
Cecille! Come, child. It is time for vespers.
(The sister takes CECILLE's hand and leads her offtstage. The PHANTOM looks towards heaven.)
PHANTOM:
Is she for me? For she takes away my pain of heart and brings a happiness long forgotten...
(He sinks back into the secret passage and travels to CECILLE's room. He stands outside her door.)
PHANTOM:
Cecille, Cecille. Sing for me!
CECILLE:
Who is there? I am blind, but I hear you.
PHANTOM:
I will be your secret teacher and guardian.
CECILLE:
I wish I could see you.
PHANTOM:
You will know me through my music.
CECILLE:
I want to touch you.
PHANTOM:
I will return.
(He leaves the way he came.)
CECILLE:
Has God visited me at last? I need guidance. What do you want of me? A blind orphaned child. What will become of me? I am lost. The Abbey has been good for me. Perhaps you want me here to stay, my God. How much I want to see, or hear the whole world outside of me. I am destined to be behind these walls. Perhaps they are walls of protection...
(The PHANTOM has appeared behind her door and heard all of this. He enters her room and stands behind her.)
PHANTOM:
My beautiful Cecille, there is a life for you beyond the walls of faith. Come with me I will guide and care for you. You have nothing to fear.
CECILLE:
I hear you. Come to me. Let me touch your face and talk to you.
(The Phantom goes to her, fearful of rejection. She touches his face. She feels the side without a mask.)
CECILLE:
You are brave and handsome. You came to me.
(She feels the mask.)
CECILLE:
Why do you hide your face when your soul is one of love?
PHANTOM:
That part of my face is one the world shuns in disgust.
(She removes his mask and touches his distorted face. She feels the tears falling. )
CECILLE:
Your tears tell me you are a man of tender affection. To me there is no distortion, but a face of love and kindness.
(The Phantom begins to cry)
PHANTOM:
Will you spend a life time with me?
(She kisses him, and he continues to cry. He takes out the ring CHRISTINE gave him and puts it onto her hand.)
CECILLE:
I will always love you.
(The PHANTOM picks her up and goes to the abby chapel. A MONK sees them)
MONK:
What do you wish my children?
PHANTOM & CECILLE:
We want to be married, our love will always be.
MONK:
You are the Phantom of the Opera. You can never leave for the gendarme want you.
CECILLE:
Even if this is true, I will always love him.
CECILLE & PHANTOM:
Even if this is true, I will always love you.
MONK:
Very well. I will marry you.
CECILLE AND PHANTOM:
We will love each other though blind and a Phantom we are. Our love never dies. We are pledged together until we sleep in death.
CECILLE:
My blindness sees his love.
PHANTOM:
My face and ears sees her love, joy and hope.
BOTH:
We belong together.
MONK:
Go my children live your life as man and wife.
(The new couple kiss. He picks CECILLE up.)
PHANTOM:
Come my beloved, we go to our marriage bed.
(The PHANTOM carries her to a secret lair under the abby. She removes his shirt, and he begins to unbutton her blouse. They kiss. As they lay down, the PHANTOM pulls a curtain down. Scene fades to MEG, now an accomplished dancer. She takes her bow and exits the stage.)
MADAME GIRY:
You danced beautifully, my dear.
(MADAME GIRY notices MEG's tears.)
MADAME GIRY:
What is wrong, my little Nutmeg?
MEG:
Mother, why won't you tell me of my father? There are no pictures, no saved locks of hair, no stories, no mention. Why?
GIRY:
He had a boat to sea. We had one night. No time for pictures. He had to leave. You think I don't long for a lock of hair or the tiniest of pictures? I long for such.
MEG:
Was his lifeless body ever returned? Does he even have a grave?
GIRY:
My child, I am sorry. His memory is all I have.
MEG:
Mother, I feel him. That he is alive. Which boat was he on? You could tell me how he looked, the color of his eyes. Anything. Where is his wedding ring to you?
GIRY:
Child, don't put me through this. You think my heart is not in pain? What difference does it make now?
(MEG turns to leave, in tears. MADAME GIRY sighs, and places a hand on MEG's shoulder.)
GIRY:
His name Osber Giry.
(MEG ponders)
MEG:
Osber Giry...Osber Giry, OG. The initials OG. Mother. OG. My father was the Phantom of the Opera?
(MADAME GIRY reluctantly nods her head yes)
GIRY:
We had one night when I was very young. On the steps he said to never return to him from that point. So I could not tell him or talk to him. I ran away, and Gustave Daae hired me as his house keeper. I told him my husband had died. Thus he took me in to serve him and his daughter, in the house by the sea. When of age, I brought you back to the ballet and later Christine, you know the rest.
MEG:
I must find my father.
GIRY:
He is hunted, a wanted man. You find him, you will bring him to his death.
(MEG hugs her mother in tears. The scene now turns to the GIRY house, the home of the PHANTOM's parents...OLINA GIRY, the PHANTOM's mother, still laments over her little Osber)
OLINA:
How could I not love my child? It was not his fault, he was an innocent child. Where is he? Even still alive? Is he cold, hungry, in pain?
(Her husband enters)
MONSIEUR GIRY:
My dear Olina, are you still so troubled over Osber?
OLINA:
Yes we must find him. I should never have let you take him away...
MONSIEUR GIRY:
I will call upon the police, perhaps the British could help. We will find him. Oh my dear, for you I will try. I took him to our friend, Monsieur Kahleel, a learned physician. I thought that was his best chance for a life. Under his tuteledge, I felt he could make a living without showing his face.
OLINA:
Perhaps, you know my illness makes my time short.
MONSIEUR GIRY:
I will telegraph Kahlell at once.
(KAHLEEL's door rings. A boy gives him the telegram.)
KAHLEEL:
"Dr. Kahleel, do you know where Osber is?"
(The GIRY's door rings. A young boy gives MONSIEUR GIRY telegram)
MONSIEUR GIRY:
"Your son is a genius, he ran away at 17, knowing no woman would want him. He may have joined a gypsy circus. I am sorry that is all I know."
A gypsy circus...I know where he's gone!
(MONSIEUR GIRY runs out the door into the street. As the scene changes he runs through the audience. As he runs back onstage we see the abandoned fairground of the YOUNG PHANTOM's gypsy circus. The GYPSY WOMAN sits alone at a small fire huddle underneath a raggedy shawl. She looks up wildly and pulls out a dagger as MONSIEUR GIRY approaches.)
GYPSY WOMAN:
Stay back! I've done nothing wrong!
MONSIEUR GIRY:
No, I'm not with the gandarme.
GYPSY WOMAN:
Then what do you want with me?
MONSIEUR GIRY:
I'm looking for my son. He was here many years ago. A young man of around seventeen with incredible skills and a disfigured face.
GYPSY WOMAN:
Ahhhh, yes. I remember your son. I found him alone in the street one night and brought him here. The current Ringmaster accepted him into our circus for his skills. Do you see the House of Mirrors? Your son designed it. But then...our old Ringmaster was killed in an accident. The man that took his place was nothing like his predecessor. A cruel man, he took advantage of your son's deformity and made a sideshow out of him. The Devil's Child, he was called. He was beaten and abused by our new Ringmaster. Finally, on the night a school of ballerinas came from the Opera Populaire, he snapped and killed the Ringmaster. One of the ballerinas smuggled him away and none of us have heard from him since then.
MONSIEUR GIRY:
How do you know all of this?
GYPSY WOMAN:
I watched as all of this took place that night.
MONSIEUR GIRY:
Then why did you do nothing to stop it?
GYPSY WOMAN:
We gypsies see all, but there are times when we choose not to act. Our family longed to be free of our new Ringmaster, so none protested when he was found dead. As for your son...the Fates told me that it was his time to leave our home. They told me that I needed to let him go, or he would only suffer more. And so I did.
MONSIEUR GIRY:
And you trust these...Fates?
GYPSY WOMAN:
With my own life.
MONSIEUR GIRY:
Very well, then.
GYPSY WOMAN:
Can I interest you in a palm reading, Monsieur?
MONSIEUR GIRY:
No thank you, madam. My time is short.
(He hands her some money and she runs off.)
MONSIEUR GIRY:
The Opera Populaire...
(Once again, MONSIEUR GIRY runs through the audience as the scene changes to the burned out Opera House. He sees the POLICE COMMISSIONER standing beside the ruins.)
MONSIEUR GIRY:
Commissioner! Have you heard of a young man with incredible skills and a disfigured face? I heard from a gypsy that he came here after fleeing the circus.
COMMISSIONER:
I know of only one, Monsieur Giry. He was known as the Phantom of The Opera. He became obsessed with the Vicomtess and tried to steal her away by destroying the Opera House and taking her to his lair beneath it. His lair was discovered that night, untouched by the fire.
MONSIEUR GIRY:
Where might I find him?
COMMISSIONER:
He is hunted. He murdered the star Piangi. We never found him.
(MONSIEUR GIRY walks away slowly, in a daze. Then, the bells of the distant Abbey begin to chime, bringing MONSIEUR GIRY out of his trance. He looks at the sillhouette of the church in the distance.)
MONSIEUR GIRY:
Osber...I once told you to seek refuge in a church if you were ever in trouble...is it possible you are there?
(The Opera House moves offstage and we transition to the Abbey as MONSIEUR GIRY makes one last run through the audience. He runs up to the door and knocks frantically. An old MONK answers.)
MONK:
Do you wish me to hear your confession?
MONSIEUR GIRY:
No. Do you know of a young man who may have come here after the fire at the Opera Populaire?
MONK:
Why do you ask, Monsieur?
MONSIEUR GIRY:
He is my son, my only child. His mother is gravely ill and only wishes to see him before she dies.
MONK:
Yes, I married this man to one of our grown orphans named Cecille, several months ago.
MONSIEUR GIRY:
Please fetch the girl.
MONK:
As you wish, Monsieur. Sister Rose!
ABBEY SISTER:
Yes?
MONK:
Fetch the child Cecille to me. This is her father-in-law.
ABBEY SISTER:
Yes, Father Mortimer.
(The sister exits and returns almost immediatly with CECILLE.)
MONK:
Cecille, this gentlman is your father-in-law. His mother is dying.
MONSIEUR GIRY:
Please...I wish to see Osber. His mother's dying wish is to see him.
CECILLE:
He will be taken from me if he leaves the Abbey!
MONSIEUR GIRY:
I need to apologize. We were very young. It was a mistake, giving him away. He is our only child.
CECILLE:
My dear Osber...I never knew...I will take you to him. Follow me.
(In tears, CECILLE leads MONSIEUR GIRY through the halls she knows so well, every crevice, leaking water. Her husband is at an organ writing. She goes to him and places a hand on his shoulder.)
PHANTOM:
Cecille, my love!
(He kisses her, then sees her tears.)
Dearest, what is wrong?
CECILLE:
Osber my love, your father is here.
(The PHANTOM straightens. He slowly turns around. The instant he sees MONSIEUR GIRY he flies into a rage and seizes his father by the collar.)
PHANTOM:
Why did you give me away? You dare show yourself now!
(CECILLE reaches out a hand to console him.)
CECILLE:
Osber, my beloved, nothing can be gained by anger now. Remember, I too, was abandoned. Please hear your father out.
MONSIEUR GIRY:
My son, we were wrong. Your mother wishes to see you, she is dying of cancer. Her last wish is to see you. But we must hurry.
(The PHANTOM sneers in disgust.)
PHANTOM:
Why? She didn't care about me.
(CECILLE turns the PHANTOM around to face her.)
CECILLE:
Osber, at least you are getting the chance to see your mother, I never will.
(He gazes into CECILLE's pleading yet sightless eyes. Then he turns to look at MONSIEUR GIRY. His gaze softens.)
PHANTOM:
I will come with you to see her. But, tell me how do I leave the abbey? We cannot! You see, Cecille is ready to give birth to our child!
CECILLE:
Osber, I can make it. Let's go, so you can finally heal the hurt so deep in your soul.
PHANTOM:
As you wish, my beloved.
(They kiss.)
MONSIEUR GIRY:
Don a monk's garb, I have a carriage waiting outside.
(They all get into the carriage, the PHANTOM now wearing a monk's robe. Suddenly, CECILLE cries out)
PHANTOM:
What is it?
CECILLE:
It's the baby. Osber, our child is coming now!
(She cries out again. The PHANTOM cradles her in his arms and strokes her hair.)
PHANTOM:
Hang on, we'll get you help.
MONSIEUR GIRY:
We're here.
PHANTOM:
Do you hear that, my love? Now we can get you help.
MONSIEUR GIRY:
Jielle!
(A butler runs onstage.)
JIELLE:
Sir?
MONSIEUR GIRY:
My daughter-in-law is giving birth. Please take her to the midwife and see that the child is delivered safely.
JIELLE:
Yes, sir.
(As CECILLE is lead off to another room, the PHANTOM takes a hold of her hand.)
CECILLE:
Osber, please...
PHANTOM:
I'm not going to leave you!
CECILLE:
Please, Osber. I will be fine. Go, and find your mother before it's too late.
(Reluctantly, the PHANTOM lets go of her hand. He follows MONSIEUR GIRY into the bedroom and sees his mother for the first time. She is thin, pale, and fragil. She utters a weak cry.)
OLINA:
My little Osber! I love you, and I am sorry I was not there for you. I was a frightened young mother, forgive me.
PHANTOM:
Mother...
OLINA:
Here, I have a music box for you. The tune used to calm you. It was gold velvet with a small gold monkey inside that danced and played cymbals.
(The PHANTOM begins to cry)
PHANTOM:
I remember now.
(Suddenly a nurse apears with a beautiful baby boy. She hands him to the PHANTOM. Then the doctor brings CECILLE in a wheelchair into the room)
CECILLE:
Look, Osber. This is our son, Erik. Isn't he beautiful?
PHANTOM:
Indeed, my love. Come, this is my mother, Olina.
CECILLE:
It is an honor to meet you. I am your daughter-in-law, Cecille.
(She is wheeled to the bedside. OLINA hugs her)
OLINA:
I am so glad my son has you and now a son of his own.
(CECILLE takes the engagement ring from her finger and places it on the hand of OLINA)
CECILLE:
You gave me your son. I am giving you this ring to say thank you.
OLINA:
My love, my family, I can now die in peace.
(Gently she falls asleep and expires. The PHANTOM discreetly takes hold of her hand and removes the ring, quietly sobbing. At evening time he takes the ring tied to a black bow and rose and puts it upon the grave of Countess Madame Christine de Chagny. Then in his other pocket he pulls out a beautiful diamond for CECILLE. He places it on her finger and they kiss. Next we see MEG at the Hall of Records. She is looking through the census book.)
MEG:
Giry...Giry...Ah! Osber Giry II. He lives at Rue de St. George.
(She rides up to the mansion and is in awe at the size. The GATEKEEPER notices her prescence and calls out to her.)
GATEKEEPER:
Miss, what is your business?
MEG:
I have urgent personal business with Mr. Giry.
GATEKEEPER:
I am sorry, miss. There has been a death, they will see no one.
MEG:
I am family. It is urgent that I speak to Mr. Giry.
GATEKEEPER:
Very well, then. You may proceed.
(She rides up to the main entrance and a groomsman takes her horse. She knocks on the door and the butler answers.)
JIELLE:
Who are you?
MEG:
I am Margaret Giry, call me Meg. Please may I see the master of the house? I am family.
JIELLE:
Wait one moment, please.
(JIELLE returns with the grieving MONSIEUR GIRY)
MONSIEUR GIRY:
What do you wish child? My wife Olina has died.
MEG:
Mr. Giry, do you know your son, known as the Phantom of the Opera? He is my father. My mother conceived me one night, after she had hidden him from the cruelties of the world.
MONSIEUR GIRY:
Does your father know of you?
MEG:
He does not, I just found out myself.
MONSIEUR GIRY:
Come with me, then, child.
(MONSIEUR GIRY takes MEG's hand and leads her into the room where the PHANTOM & CECILLE watch over OLINA's body.)
PHANTOM:
You...You are Meg...Why are you here?
MEG:
(crying) You remember the night with a ballerina? Well I am your child.
(The PHANTOM stands up, gazing at her, tears coming down his face)
PHANTOM:
I have a daughter? Just tonight I had a son and have suffered the loss of my Mother.
(MEG gazes at his mother, seeing much of herself in the palid face)
MEG:
My grandmother, how it pains me to meet her only on her death bed.
(She comes forth and hugs her father)
MEG:
Oh father, had I known you, how much I could have learned from you, and most of all loved you.
MONSIEUR GIRY:
We must plan the Christian burial of your mother, Osber.
(MEG bows her head and says a silent prayer)
MEG:
Father, how can we protect you from those who seek your blood?