SCENE TWELVE
(Slide: 1993
#15 Pinball Wizard (Cousin Dudley, Piers, Malcolm, Lads, Lasses)
COUSIN DUDLEY enters from STAGE LEFT and a disheveled PIERS enters from STAGE RIGHT. COUSIN DUDLEY crosses to DOWNSTAGE RIGHT, PIERS stays CENTER STAGE. PIERS looks out at the audience in agonized disgust. COUSIN DUDLEY does his nails while HE listens.)
PIERS
EVERY SINCE I WAS A YOUNG BOY,
I PLAYED THE SILVER BALL.
FROM SOHO DOWN TO BRIGHTON,
I MUST HAVE PLAYED 'EM ALL.
BUT I AIN'T SEEN NOTHING LIKE HIM
IN ANY AMUSEMENT HALL.
THAT DEAF, DUMB, AND BLIND KID
SURE PLAYS A MEAN PINBALL!
(PIERS and COUSIN DUDLEY trade places. MALCOLM stumbles on STAGE LEFT and stays DOWNSTAGE LEFT. HE is clearly another deposed champion of the district.)
MALCOLM
HE STANDS LIKE A STATUE,
BECOMES PART OF THE MACHINE.
FEELIN' ALL THE BUMPERS,
ALWAYS PLAYING CLEAN.
(PIERS and MALCOLM join COUSIN DUDLEY in the center and stand on either side of him.)
HE PLAYS BY INTUITION;
THE DIGIT COUNTERS FALL.
THAT DEAF, DUMB, AND BLIND KID…
COUSIN DUDLEY, PIERS, MALCOLM
… SURE PLAYS A MEAN PINBALL!
(COUSIN DUDLEY saunters STAGE LEFT. PIERS stays CENTERSTAGE. MALCOLM walks to STAGE RIGHT.)
HE'S A PINBALL WIZARD.
THERE HAS TO BE A TWIST.
(COUSIN DUDLEY walks to STAGERIGHT and MALCOLM walks to STAGE LEFT.)
A PINBALL WIZARD,
'SGOT SUCH A SUPPLE WRIST.
(PIERS and COUSIN DUDLEY trade places, PIERS moving STAGE RIGHT and COUSIN DUDLEY moving to CENTER. Then, PIERS crosses to MALCOLM and COUSIN DUDLEY turns to face UPSTAGE.)
PIERS
HOW DO YOU THINK HE DOES IT?
MALCOLM
I DON'T KNOW.
(PIERS crosses back to STAGE RIGHT.)
PIERS
WHAT MAKES HIM SO GOOD?
(Both PIERS and MALCOLM turn their heads to COUSIN DUDLEY as he turns to face the audience.)
COUSIN DUDLEY
HE AIN'T GOT NO DISTRACTIONS;
(COUSIN DUDLEY walks to DOWNSTAGE CENTER.)
CAN'T HEAR THOSE BUZZERS AND BELLS.
DON'T SEE NO LIGHTS A-FLASHIN';
(PIERS and MALCOLM walk to UPSTAGE CENTER and face away from the audience.)
PLAYS BY SENSE OF SMELL.
ALWAYS GETS A REPLAY,
'N' NEVER TILTS AT ALL.
(PIERS and MALCOLM turn back and run to get into place on either side of COUSIN DUDLEY.)
THAT DEAF, DUMB, AND BLIND KID …
(All three boys slide onto their knees.)
COUSIN DUDLEY, PIERS, MALCOLM
… SURE PLAYS A MEAN PINBALL!
(An Amusement Arcade appears with funhouse mirrors and Pinball Machines. The three boys stand up and COUSIN DUDLEY takes a step back to dead CENTER. PIERS and MALCOLM remain DOWNSTAGE CENTER. The LADS and LASSES from the Church Youth Club are older now – bouffant hairdos and ducktails. THEY play pinball. COUSIN DUDLEY is clearly a local celebrity because HARRY is clearly a local legend. No sign of HARRY yet. THEY sing to COUSIN DUDLEY who struts around like a peacock.)
PIERS, MALCOLM
I THOUGH I WAS
THE BALLY TABLE KING…
PIERS, MALCOLM, OTHER LADS
… BUT I JUST HANDED
MY PINBALL CROWN TO HIM.
(The LASSES walk down to PIERS, MALCOLM, and COUSIN DUDLEY, their skirts swinging.)
LASSES
HOW DO YOU THINK HE DOES IT?
PIERS
I DON'T KNOW.
LASSES
WHAT MAKES HIM SO GOOD?
(The LASSES and LADS play pinball and dance. PIERS and MALCOLM cross to two Pinball Machines DOWNSTAGE and stand on them, PIERS LEFT and MALCOLM RIGHT. COUSIN DUDLEY remains CENTER.)
PIERS
EVEN AT MY FAVORITE TABLE,
HE CAN BEAT MY BEST.
MALCOLM
THE KIDS ALL LEAD HIM IN
AND HE JUST DOES THE REST.
COUSIN DUDLEY
HE'S GOT CRAZY FLIPPER FINGERS;
NEVER SEEN HIM FALL.
THAT DEAF, DUMB, AND BLIND KID…
ALL
… SURE PLAYS A MEAN PINBALL!
(THEY dance wildly. PIERS and MALCOLM get off the Pinball Machines and dance in the middle of the group. COUSIN DUDLEY disappears towards the back of the stage.
From the back of the Arcade HARRY arrives riding on a Pinball Machine, brought out by four more fans. He's like Deus ex Machina.
The OTHERS follow him down. His score appears above. COUSIN DUDLEY stands on top of the table and leads the rest of the group. HE jumps down and stands to the LEFT of his cousin. HARRY is now 13 years old and the NARRATOR and HARRY have finally become one. LIGHTS FLASH, BELLS RING, SIRENS WAIL. The two dethroned Pinball Kings look on grimly from HARRY'S RIGHT, COUSIN DUDLEY and the four fans look on, while the rest of the LADS and LASSES continue dancing. HARRY is just standing there, but starts playing as soon as the singing starts. HE'S really runningthescoreup. In fact it's astronomical.)
ALL
EVEN AT MY FAVORITE TABLE,
HE CAN BEAT MY BEST.
THE KIDS ALL LEAD HIM IN
AND HE JUST DOES THE REST.
HE'S GOT CRAZY FLIPPER FINGERS;
NEVER SEEN HIM FALL…
THAT DEAF, DUMB, AND BLIND KID
SURE PLAYS A MEAN PINBALL!
(LIGHTS FLASH as the LADS and LASSES who were dancing strike a final pose. HARRY continues to play the Pinball Machine, just like Roger Daltry.)
END OF ACT ONE
This is such a feeling of accomplishment.
Green Tea: Yeah. Some of those words are gonna appear in the dictionary sometime soon, I just know it. Actually, I haven't seen Anything Goes yet, but it's probably just a matter of time before my school repeats it, so I'll just take your word for it for now.
Liz: lol Finally someone who understands my pain! Yeah, there's a lot of garbage on this site. I only like the writers with class and stories that I can actually see Jo writing. Pride&Predudice? Well, I've never read the book, so I don't know if I did. If I did, I ensure you it was purely unintentional. Thanks for your kind words. Of course, new readers and reviewers are always welcome.
Okay, here's the bonus question. Don't worry about it if you don't know the answer. I will eventually let you know. In the movie version of The Who's Tommy, Roger Daltry starred as Tommy. Some songs were performed by the famous celebrities of 1975, when the movie came out. Who was the singer who performed "Pinball Wizard" for the movie?