The curtains draw back and we view the whole stage. Smoke floats across, the lighting is low with an eerie green glow throbbing at the rear. A slight lightening upstage center and a blue tinge to the lighting show rocks jut out like teeth, forming a castle parapet and a low sound of wind begins to resolve itself against the silence. Upstage left the green light becomes mingled with flickering neon and black light, the smoke is thicker and there is a background sound of glasses clinking and an undercurrent of indistinguishable conversation. Upstage right still seems dark, murky and indistinct but we begin to see ropes and strands strung across that part of the stage.

Everything in that corner of the stage is cast in grays and eventually the ropes seems to form an enormous web strung across the opening of a cavern. Left mid-stage sounds begin that sound like low beeps and electronic noises interspersed with whirring sounds, occasional flashes of red laser and blue flash and disappear. Left stage front the lighting seems a hazy golden glow. As that glow increases we can see rounded, patterned mounds with smoke swirling up in varied colors from among them. The right front stage is blacked out, but there is the sound from off-stage right of a distant motorcycle. Slowly a low base beat begins, initially just as a vibration felt through your feet. It grows more insistent—a driving hard rock beat lying beneath the other sounds.

***

A sweet soprano voice rises above the wind in center stage as a small spot shines on Nikita, leaning between the rocks, looking out over them as from the parapet of a castle. She wears a long silky flowing pale blue dress:
“Heaven can wait
And a band of angels wrapped up in my heart
Will take me through the lonely night
Through the cold of the day
And I know
I know
Heaven can wait”

Between the beeps, pops and buzzes of mid-stage left we hear Birkoff’s voice begin a counterpoint and another spot picks him up in the midst of stacks of electronic equipment as he flips switches on the computers:
“It’s all or nothing
And nothing’s all I ever get
Every time I turn it on
I burn it up and burn it out”

Fingers snap and glasses tinkle as a spot centers on Ops at upper left stage. The neon becomes more pronounced and the impression is that he is in an elegant cocktail lounge. He begins to sing into the nightclub stage’s microphone:
“It’s only two o’clock and the temperature’s beginning to soar
And all around the city you see the walking wounded and the living dead
It’s never been this hot and I’ve never been so bored”

We hear the motorcycle revving up offstage right and growing closer.

Upper stage right a light grows around Madeleine wearing gray on gray and spinning a huge web in front of a cave opening as her pleasant contralto voice begins her melody which she seems to be directing to Nikita:
“When the wind is howling through your windowpane
It’s not the only pain of the night
You’re burning up in your bed, you got a fever of love
And there’s not an anti-body in sight”

The motorcycle is growing nearer.

Amidst the golden glow and swirls of colored smoke at stage left, Walter raises his head as we realize he is sitting amongst multicolored mushrooms, wearing a Mad Hatter’s top hat. He is addressing an orange hamster sitting on the mushroom next to him:
“The skies were pure and the fields were green
And the sun was brighter than it’s ever been
When I grew up with my best friend Kenny
We were close as any brothers that you ever knew”

As the group continue their songs, interweaving, and overlapping, always led slightly by the base beat drumming up through the floor, the motorcycle sound grows progressively louder until it sounds as though it is in the stage wings.

****

All the singers are singing together, weaving their separate stories and leitmotifs together, building gradually into a grand finale for the opera’s ending.

Ops moves closer to Nikita’s parapet:
“I’ve seen you sitting on the steps outside
And you were looking so restless and reckless and lost
I think it’s time for you to come inside
And I’ll be waiting here with something that you’ll never forget”

Madeleine, however, is still singing to Nikita:
“There’s a beauty of a moon in the sky
But I guess when you’ve been leading such a sheltered life
You never lift your head and look so high”

Birkoff continues to himself:
“It’s always something
There’s always something going wrong
That’s the only guarantee
That’s what this is all about”

Walter and the hamster (a very light high tenor) croon a duet at stage left:
“It was always summer and the future called
We were ready for adventures and we wanted them all
And there was so much left to dream
And so much time to make it real”

Above them Nikita’s soprano voice lifts hopefully:
“And all the gods come down here just to sing for me
And the melody’s gonna make me fly
Without pain
Without fear”

The sound of the motorcycle now is very loud but, since this is fiction, in no way obstructs our ability to hear the singers’ voices.

Ops continues with greater intensity:
“Come on! Come on!
It’s time to burn up the fuse
You got nothing to do and even less to lose
You got nothing to do and even less to lose”

Madeleine’s refrain has also grown more insistent as she continues to address Nikita:
“You don’t have a lot
But it’s all that you’ve got
And you can tun it into more than it seems
Just give it a shot
Fantasize every movement and
Imagine every inch of your dream”

The little hamster weeps to Walter:
“But I can still recall the sting of all the tears when he was gone
They said he crashed and burned
I know I’ll never learn why any boy should die so young”

Birkoff’s voice seems to be a commentary on the scene:
“It’s a never ending attack
Everything’s a lie and that’s a fact
Life is a lemon and I want my money back!”

***

The green glow from the back of the stage has been growing gradually more aggressive and is now interspersed with flashes of green lightning. It is in sharp contrast to the continued golden glow of stage right front where Walter answers the hamster, but his words and beat more closely match the tempo of the flashes than it had previously:
“We were racing—we were soldiers of fortune
We got in trouble but we sure got around”

The tempo of Ops’ song also begins to match the flashes of lightning and the tempo picks up:
“So wander down the ancient hallway
Taking the stairs only one at a time
Follow the sound of my heartbeat now
I’m in the room at the top, you’re at the end of the line”

As Madeleine stands beside her web spinning, small aplets escape in bright flashes and disappear into the darkness:
“No one said it had to be real
But it’s gotta be something you can reach out and feel now
It ain’t right
It ain’t fair”

Birkoff abruptly stands, pointing a remote at Ops and bellows:
“And all the morons
And all the stooges with their coins
They’re the ones who make the rules
It’s not a game -- it’s just a rout”

Flashes of strobe light explode from the stage right and the motorcycle sounds like it’s roaring over the audience.

Walter sings:
“There are times I think I see him peeling out of the dark
I think he’s right behind me now and he’s gaining ground!”

Nikita struggles to be heard above the clamor with her melody which matches the beat of the others as lightning flashes explode again and again across the stage:
“Give me all of our dreams
And let me go along on your way”

Ops turns back to Nikita, singing:
“Open the door and lay down on the bed
The sun is just a ball of desire”

Madeleine harmonizes with him singing:
”Castles fall in the sand
And we fade in the air”

Walter & hamster come together with:
“But it was long ago and it was far away
Oh God it seems so very far
And if life is just a highway—the soul is just a car”

Birkoff turns back toward the audience to continue:
“And we’re always slipping thru the cracks
Then the movie’s over—fade to black”

As Nikita sings:
“Give me all of your prayers to sing
And I’ll turn the night into the skylight of day”

The others on stage reach a crescendo, singing together:

Madeleine:
“And the good girls go to heaven
But the bad girls go everywhere
Good girls go to heaven
But the bad girls go everywhere”

Ops:
“And I wanna take you out of the frying pan (and into the fire)
Out of the frying pan (and into the fire)
Out of the frying pan (and into the fire)

Birkoff:
“Life is a lemon and I want my money back!
I want my money back
I want my money back”

Walter and hamster:
“And objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are
And objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are
And objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are”

The strobe lights alternate with red explosions as Michael, wearing black leather, riding a motorcycle bursts from stage right with a squall of tires, fire streaking out from behind the bike along with smoke and sparks. He slides to screeching halt in center stage below Nikita’s parapet, singing:
“The sirens are screaming and the fires are howling
Way down in the valley tonight
There’s a man in the shadows with a gun in his eye
And a blade shining oh so bright
There’s evil in the air and there’s thunder in the sky
And a killer’s on the bloodshot streets”

***

Nikita, bathed in clear blue light, leans forward over the parapet and sees Michael below in black leather and sings a brief solo:
“I got a taste of paradise
I’m never gonna let it slip away
I got a taste of paradise
It’s all I really need to make me stay—
Just like a child again”

Michael hears her and looks up at the vision seeming to float above him and answers, also in solo:
“Oh Baby you’re the only thing in this whole world that’s pure and good and right
And wherever you are and wherever you go
There’s always gonna be some light”

Michael parks the motorcycle and begins to climb the parapet to Nikita.

Ops rejoins the voices as he sings:
“And breathing is just no fun anymore
Then I saw you like a summer dream
And you’re the answer to every prayer that I ever said”

Madeleine and Ops are now harmonizing beautifully as she joins with:
“Somebody told me so
Somebody told me now I know
I’ll be praying that the
Good girls go to heaven
But the bad girls go everywhere”

Nikita leans over and drops a long floating blue scarf down to Michael who catches it and ties it around his upper arm like a knight’s trophy as he continues climbing.

Walter and the hamster climb up onto the tallest mushroom and sing:
“There was a beauty living on the edge of town
And she always put the top up and the hammer down”

Birkoff covers his ears and counters with:
“What about love?
It’s Defective!
It’s always breaking in half”

Walter and the hamster face Birkoff and respond:
“And she taught me everything I’ll ever know
About the mystery and the muscle of love”

Birkoff shakes his head ‘no’ and sings’
“What about sex?
It’s Defective!
It’s never built to really last”

Hanging just below the giant “teeth” of the rock parapet, Michael cautions Nikita:
“Like a bat out of hell
I’ll be gone when the morning comes
When the night is over
Like a bat out of hell I’ll be gone gone gone”

She urges him on by singing:
“Heaven can wait
And all I got is time until the end of time
I won’t look back
I won’t look back
Let the altars shine”

As Michael climbs the last hurdle to reach Nikita, the others sing in the background:

Ops:
“Come on! Come on!
And there’ll be no turning back
You were only killing time and it can kill you right back”

Madeleine:
“Why are you shaking?
When a boy should do whatever he can
You’ve been nothing but an angel
Every day of your life
And now you wonder what it’s like to be damned”

Walter and hamster:
“The stars would glimmer and the moon would glow
I’m in the back seat with Julie like a Romeo
And the signs along the highway all said
Caution! Kids at Play!”

Birkoff:
“What about hope?
It’s Defective!
It’s corroded and decayed”

Nikita and Michael clasp each other and sing a duet. Michael:
“Like a bat out of hell I’ll be gone when the morning comes
But when the day is done
And the sun goes down
And the moonlight’s shining through
Then like a sinner before the gates of heaven
I’ll come crawling on back to you”
Nikita:
“I got a taste of paradise
That’s all I really need to make me stay
I got a taste of paradise
If I had it any sooner you know
You know I never would have run away from my home”

Michael lifts Nikita over the edge of the parapet and they begin their descent to the stage floor.

Ops:
“Follow the sound of my heartbeat now
I’m in the room at the top, you’re at the end of the line”

Madeleine:
“Every time I try and dream you
I can’t believe how hard it’s been to
Conjure up your face and trace your body in the air”

Birkoff:
“What about faith?
It’s Defective!
It’s tattered and it’s frayed”

Michael guides Nikita to his motorcycle, singing to her:
“But with every other beat I got left in my heart
You know I’d rather be damned with you
If I gotta be damned you know I wanna be damned
Dancing through the night with you”

Hand in hand with Michael, Nikita assures him:
“Heaven can wait
And all I got is time until the end of time
I won’t look back
I won’t look back
Let the altars shine”

Walter and the hamster slide down off the mushroom and move towards center stage. (Walter should carry the hamster, he’s small.)
”But I can see her rising up out of the back seat now
Just like an angel rising up from a tomb!”

Ops begins to also draw down toward center stage as he sings:
“Open the door and lay down on the bed
The sun is just a ball of desire”

Madeleine comes down from her webs to join Ops as she sings:
“All the seconds go on forever
But the thirds and fourth ones are even better
Every time I do it just a little bit longer
Every time I dream it’s just a little bit stronger
Than real life”

Birkoff holds back, singing:
“What about your Gods?
They’re Defective!
They forgot the warranty”

Walter and the hamster (now sitting on Walter’s shoulder, his little arms outstretched in grand opera style) sing to him:
“And if life is a highway – the soul is just a car
And objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are”

Michael sets Nikita on the rear of his motorcycle as the cast draw around them singing.

Ops:
“And I wanna take you out of the frying pan (and into the fire)
Fire! Fire! Fire! And into the fire!”
Madeleine (joining Ops for a brief soft shoe):
“I’ll be praying that the
Good girls go to heaven
But the bad girls go everywhere”

Birkoff:
“It’s a never ending attack
Everything’s a lie and that’s a fact
Life is a lemon and I want my money back!”

Walter and hamster:
“And the objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are
And the objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are”

Michael mounts his motorcycle in front of Nikita and together they sing:
“And I know that I’ve been released
But I don’t know to where
And nobody’s gonna tell me now
And I don’t really care”

The motorcycle fires up and as they slowly pull off stage in a cloud of smoke and sparks, singing:
“I won’t look back
I won’t look back”

The others join in a chorus as the couple depart the stage:
“There’s always something magic
There’s always something new
And when you really really need it the most
That’s when rock and roll dreams come through
The beat is yours forever
The beat is always true
And when you really really need it the most
That’s when rock and roll dreams come through...for you....”

Fade to black.

In the darkness the audience hears Birkoff’s voice singing alone:
“The movie’s over–fade to black
Life is a lemon and I want my money back!”

The curtain falls.

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