Overture: What Dreams May Come
After the Skipper had yelled at him twice and tipped him out of his hammock once, Gilligan finally quit singing "I Ask, To Be or Not To Be?"
Problem was, the darn thing was still running through his head.
And not just the song. Gilligan had been there all through the hectic night when seven castaways had tried to adapt the plot and dialogue of Hamlet into a musical. And while he hadn't been able to contribute much to the actual writing, he'd found big chunks of the play staying in his head. It had a kind of rhythm to it that made it easy to remember. (That had turned out to be a major help later on, when he'd had to learn his part - the biggest part!) There were even a few phrases in there he'd heard before, somewhere or other.
He just couldn't quit thinking about it. Him, playing the star role in Hamlet, with a famous actress as his leading lady! Skinny Mulligan would never believe it!
Gee, he thought as he drifted off to sleep, I wonder if I could ever be an actor for real? Me, an actor. . . an actor. . . .
Closing his eyes, he saw a poster shimmering before him. It came slowly into focus:
SIR LAURENCE O'GILLIGAN
Starring in
HAMLET
By Willy Shakespeare
Also starring
MISS GINGER GRANT
("Belly Dancers of Bali Bali")
as Ophelia
with
THURSTON HOWELL III
MRS. THURSTON HOWELL III
JONAS GRUMBY
and
THE REST
. . . and Sir Laurence O'Gilligan, clad in Hamlet's customary suit of solemn black, stood just outside the stage door with a confident smile. Standing in front of him was a girl in a gingham dress, looking up with shining eyes.
"Oh, Sir Laurence!" she gushed. "It's so thrilling! Opening night! I just know you'll be wonderful!" She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. "Break a leg."
Unconsciously, almost imperceptibly, Sir Laurence swaggered.
"Why, I shall have to, my dear," he said. "After all, you can't make a Hamlet without breaking legs."