A PLAY IN THREE ACTS

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©993

CAST OF CHARAC~fERS

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: 1756-1791 Austrian composer° Achild prodigy at 3 years of age.He wrote 600 works in his shortlife time, including 35symphonies and several operas.

John Lennon: 1940-1980 English song writerand member of the Beatleso Healso produced many solo worksafter the group disbanded° Inthe late "70"s, he moved toNew York city where he lived atthe Dakota with his wife Yoko Onoand their son, Seano

Charles Perrault d’Armancort: 1628-1703 French writer andcompiler of fairy tales. HisTales of Mother Goose in 1697included the stories ofCinderella, Puss in Boots~ andLittle Red Riding Hood.

The Children: Several children (three withspeaking-parts) that accompanyPerrault. They are the innocentsin the afterlife.

Albert Einstein: 1879-1955 American physicistborn in Germany. Set forth theSpecial Theory of Relativity in1905. Won the Nobel Prize forPhysics in 1921. Accepted achair at the Princeton Institutein New Jersey in 1933o U.S.citizen in 1940.

The Four Live New Yorkers: Warren, Todd, Marshap and Sally.Seen only on video tape, the fourpeople who see John Lennon’sghost.

Thomas Morton: The TV talk-show host seen onlyon video tape. He interviews thefour people who saw Lennon’sghost°

The TV Talk-Show Audience: Seen only on video tape°

Ludwig van Beethoven: 1770-1791 German composer whodespite becoming deaf continuedto write great musical works.His 9 symphonies are consideredclassics.

Christopher Marlowe: 1564-1593 Elizabethan dramatistwho wrote Dr, FaustUSo

Mary Shelley a k a Persephone: 1797-1851 English novelist whowrote Frankenstein.

Michael Drayton: 1563-1631 Elizabethan dramatistwho drank with Jonson andShakespeare.

Francis Beaumont: 1584-161~ Elizabethan dramatistwho worked with Fletcher.

John Fletcher: 1579-1625 Elizabethan dramatistwho was part of the team thatreplaced Shakespeare after theBard retired from the Globe°

George Bernard Shaw: 1856-1950 Irish writer noted forhighly individualized opinions inmusical criticism, socialistpamphletsrand plays° His playsinclude: Man and Superman, andSt. Joan° He won the Nobel Prizefor Literature in 1925.

William Shakespeare: 1564-1616 Elizabethan dramatistwho wrote 36 plays including:Hamlet, The Tempest, Macbeth andOthello°

Ben Jonson: 1572-1637 English dramatist whowas a friend and competitor toShakespeare during theElizabethan theatrical era°

The Band from theWhite Poplar Inn:

Several musicians lead by aguitar-playing singer° Theyprovide the entertainment for therevelry at the end of Act 2; andthey open Act 3o

The Revelers of theWhite Poplar Inn:

A mass of extras who sing,dance, and party during theinitiation ceremony at the end ofAct 2o

Charles Darwin 1809-1882 English naturalist whooriginated the theory ofevolution by natural selecUion~

The Three Spin Doctors: A group of three assistants thatput the proper slant on whateverAdmiral Byrd says or does°

Counselor:

Admiral Richard Byrd:

The man who prosecutes the 4amnesouls~

1888-1957 American naval officerand flyer who exploredAntarctica° He wrote a bookchronicling his adventuresentitled Alone.

TIME:

PLACE:

1993.

Strawberry Fields in New YorkCity ¯

ACT I

SCENE 1

SETTING: The time is 1993o The place isNew York City° We are ~n CentralPark between 70th and 73rdStreets° This area borders onCentral Park West, and ispopularly called StrawberryFields.

There are paths leaking to acloverleaf center. In thiscenter sits a piano. Up-stag~center the perspective set d~igngives the illusion of a tunnel inthe distance running under abridge overpass° There arevarious park benches placed~ereand there.

AT R~SE: It is morning° Behind ~he plahorsits WOLFGANG AM~DE~E MOS~I~, ash~ was whe~ he was 95 years

year of his death, 1791o

MOZART sits comfortably and playsthe piano° JOHN LENNON walks outof the tunnel° He is dressed inblack silko The style of theclothes he is wearing is circa1980o He wears a plain s~irt andpants. LENNON appears as he waswhen he was 40 years Oldo

MOZART faces the audience andplays the piano throughout theopening scene° MOZART does notface LENNON until John walks infront of the piano.

Hello. Enjoying your walk?MOZART

STP~WBERRY FIELDS

- 2

LENNON(Pauses to ponder the question,think about a response.)

I seem to be lost.

and

MOZARTNo~ you’re not lost. You’re just disoriented° This is thebeginning of our orientation° It always begins this way°slightly confused novice o . piecing the puzzle together.

(MOZART smiles broadly and plays withenthusiasm. LENNON shrugs and wandersabout the stage° Long pause as MOZARTcontinues to playo He looks over toLENNON, shakes his head and changes thetune he is playing°

MOZART (Continued)Do you like this melody?

LENNON(Looking up as if shaken from a daydream.)

Sorryp I wasn’t listening° You know, everything ~m~ famili~,but I can’t identify anything. Do you know me?

MOZARTOnly since you’ve walked in front of me. How about this one?

(He plays a different variation°)

LENNONIf you don’t know who I amp how do you know Irma sllghtlyconfused novice beginning orientation"?

MOZARTAn obvious deduction from available data°instead?

(He alters the music again.)

Maybe this one

It’s not that obvious to meoLENNON

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STPu~WBERRY FIELDS

MOZARTYou’re probably new.

(Preoccupied suddenly by hiscomposition.)

I like this!(He rigorously plays the new piece°)

LENNON(Trying to talk over the loud pianoplaying.)

Are you old?

Older than you, yet younger.MOZART

I thought you didn,t know me?

MOZART’ VI know of your and about you. Look at your rlght slee eo

that number? It says 40, right?

(LENNON looks and runs his fingers overthe embossed numbers°)

Astonished)LENNON

See "

MOZART(As he extends his arm, he reveals his number.)

My right arm says 35. That makes me younger° Yetr I must havebeen in this state longer than you--although that type of memoryis always vaguer-so I must be older° Don’t worry. Somescientific type will flash by and explain the whole time policy

to you. I’m not overly scientific. I understand the basicprinciples well enough myself; but I don’t always present itproperly in pedagogical communications. Just as well let one ofthe others explain the ~ourth ~imensiono You know, I can bemathematlcal ~o a certaln o .

(He returns to his new composition.)

LENNO______~NOthers? What others? How do you know there will be others?

MOZART(He stops and cordially responds)

I’m not sure what others, but they’ll be here.(He resumes playing.)

Listen to this, it’s the motif for my 45th symphony°

ACTS BY A.Do CAMERONE

STRAWBERRY FIELDS- 4

HowLENNON

MOZART(He stops)

do I know there will be others?(He resumes playing.)

There are always other during an orientation. If you’re lucky,you’ll be blessed with a good group. Where were you born?

LENNON

Born o born o(He looks ~t his feet and begins toexamine his body as if he’s seeing itfor the first time~ His eyes, filledwith awe, stare at his various bodyparts: first at his legs; then historso; his eyes scan up to his shoulderand down his arm. As he manipulateshis digits, the movement reinforces hisanalysis of his identify. He cradleshis right hand in his left. Then hesuddenly has a revelation andproclaims:)

Born2 That’s right--I was born! But o I stillremember where°

don~t

MOZART(He stops playing the piano.)

Sure you do. You’ve already made the first connection°reflect o . o take your time.

(He chuckles and plays a soothing tune°)

Relax.

LENNONI can’t remember° Nothing seems specific° I had no concept ofidentity, until I saw you° There seems to be something missing°I can’t remember where I was born. I can’t even remember if Iwas born° I take it for granted I was born only because yousuggested it. Where were you born?

Salzburg, Austria°MOZART

Salzburg . o . Austrlao(Mechanically,action°)

Liverpool . o England°

LENNON

as if done as a reflect

I was born in Liverpool, England°

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STRAWBERRY FIELDS

MOZART(He rises°)

See, that wasn’t that bad. Now that you’ve set the process intomotionp sit down and relax.

(He motions to the piano stool°)The chick has broken through the shell. The butterfly hasemerged from the cocoon°

LENNONWait a minute° All I know is the number 4o and Liverpool,England°

MOZART(He sits back down at the piano andplays softly as Lennon reflects.)

Wait for it. It will come.

I’m John o o Lennon.LENNON

It’s like knocking down a row of dominoes: firstt your age;then, your birthplace; next, your name. You a~e on your way°Nowp let’s help each other. Where did you die?

LENNONDie! I’m dead? I am dead. Where did I die?

MOZARTTry to relax, and the answer will come to you.of this motif . . ?

What do you think

Why did I dieL_L~ENNON

did I die? Are you sure I’m dead?

MOZ_ARTI suppose anything is possible ~ o o I have heard tales ofinteractions with live units. Maybe what we have here is a

LENNONYou know where we are?. Where exactly is here?

MOZARTI,m not exactly sure~ Some knowledge of the bending of ourspace-time continuum would help you understand the irony of yourquestion° All I can be positively sure of is: that we are here;and where we are is a place subject to constant change°

LENNONI can "t remember dying° Maybe I didn’t die?

3 AC~S BY AoD. C~MERONE

STP~WBERRY FIELDS- 6 -

MOZARTIf you are indeed alive, it would be a first for meo There isone way to find out. The location and date of your death eventshould be written on the inside of your shoe° Take a look, seeif

LENNONWhy didn’t you just so say.

(He plops down and pulis both shoes offsimultaneously°)

MOZARTIt is always better for you to realize these thing for yourself.Your participation will accelerate your memory activation.

LENNON(Reading from the inside of the leftshoe.)

John Lennon: born 1940 in Liverpool, England;NoYoC. Oh no

MOZARTMore than likely, that’s where we are--NoYoCois NoY.C,?

died 1980 in

LENNONNew York City is in America° This looks like Central Park° Ithink I live across the street.

MOZART

That would explain why we are here. Well, either way, that’s allthe data I require for your orientation application.

(He removes a form from the pile ofsheet music on the piano and recordsthe infoo)

Something is written on that mosaic over there by the bench. Ibelieve it said~ "Strawberry Fields". Does that mean anything toyou?

Yes ¯ .Fields.Fields"

LENNONsome people Called a section of the park Strawberry

"let me take down ’cause I’m going to Strawberry

MOZAR~That’s where we are than-w"Strawberry Fields". Welcome to theafterlife ~Mr.. Lennono By the way, my name is Wolfgang AmadeusMozart: bor~ 1756 in Salzburg, Austria; died 1791 in Vienna.

STR2~BERRY FIELDS7

What do you want from me?LENNON

No£-hing, good sir. I am here to spend some time with you°keep you company while you wake-up and orient yourself.

LENNONYou mentioned hearing tales of encounters with live people°There are others here?

Oh, yes, many others.MOZART

END SCENE 1

To

3 ACTS BY AoD. C;~ERONE

STP~WBERRY FIELDS

8

ACT 1

SCENE 2

(Enter CHARLES PERRAULTD’ARMANCORT with an entourage ofseveral CHILDREN. As the groupwalks across the stage, PERRAULTleads them in a happy, communal,singing of "Sing a Song ofSixpence"°)

CHILDRENSing a Song of Sixpence,/ a bag full of ryep/ four and twenty/naughty boys/ bak’d in a pyeo/ When the pie was openedr/ thebirds began to sing;/ was not that a dainty dish, i to set beforethe king?/ The klng was in" the countlngmoney,/ the Queen was in the parlorp/ eating bread and honeyoiThe maid was in the garden,/ hanging out the clothe.s,/ there ca~ea little blackbird,/ and snapped off her nose°

(Part of the entourage pauses awhil~ toplay with LENNON and MOZART. The resUof the group makes their way across thestage with PERRAULT and exits°)

CHILD ~i(Walks up to LENNON and asks:)

Round and round the rugged rock the ragged rascalR’s are there in that?

ran~ How many

(LENNON looks amazed and amused°)

Nowr tell me if you can?C~ILD 1 (Continued)

LENNO____~NI don’t know o I wasn’t really paying attention why doyou ask?

CHILD 1Round and round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran. How manyR’s are there in that?

(LENNON is trying to count.)

Now tell me if you can?CHILD 1 (Continued)

Wait a minute.LENNON

Wait a minute°

ACTS BY A.D. CA~ERONE

STRAWBERRY FIELDS

CHILD 1I’ll ask you one more time°

LENNONOK.

CHIL~ 1(Rapidly)

Round and round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran°R’s are there in that? Now, tell me if you can?

Seven! There are 7 R’s in that.

CHIL_~_ 2

Nor silly, there are no R’s in t-h-a-t--that,

Well, if you already knew why did you ask?

CHILD 1(Looking around to his friends.)

it’s a game, silly. Don’t you know it s just a game?

What’s a game?LE~NON

CHIIzp_ 2(She faces MOZART and turns her fingersone over the other as she sings thefirst line of the riddle°)

May my geese fly over your barn?

MOZARTYes, if they’ll do me no harm.

(CHILD 2 waves her hands over hishead.)

CHILD 2

Fly over his barn and eat all his corn°

(She messes up MOZART’S hair~ Alllaugh as MOZART picks up the tyke andplaces her on his knee. MOZART pullsout a piece of string and starts acat’s cradle.

How many

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STRAWBERRY FIELDSi0 ~

CHILD 3(He approaches LENNON to playpatty-cakeo)

Claps hands, clap hands till father comes home;money ,but mother’s got none.

for father’s got

LENNON(He replies as if he is programmed to

recite the rhyme. He quickly mimicsCHILD 3 and picks up the handmovements.)

Silken Stockings on his legs, Silver buckles glanc’in,bonnet on his head, and oh, but he is handsome°

a sky-blue

MOZARTNot bad° Now, you’re getting the hang of it.

CHILD 3

Clap hands, clap hands, hie Tommy Randy, d~d you see my goodman? They call him--COCK-A-BRANDYo

(LENNON can’t remember the response°)

CHILD3 (continued)C’mon, did you see my good man?

(ARM~CORT reenters, and calls to CHILD3.)

ARMANCORTNOWp Ashleyr mind your manners. Don’t bother this good fellow.Besides, what did I tell you about talking to strange men?

MOZART(Seizing the moment)

Allow me to introduce myself and my companionMonsieur°

to you and yoursr

ARMANCORTNo need to introduce yourself~ Herr Mozart. I know you welloMany a night I’ve fallen asleep while your sweet music acted as alullaby° I am honored to finally meet you. I must thank you forplaying all those wonderful melodies for us.

MOSARTYou can hear my piano playing?

STRAWBERRY FIELDS

ARMANCOURT24 hours a day. I can switch you on and off, too° There’salways plenty of music. I hear several people. Don’t you?

MOZARTNo. The only music I hear is my own. Are all these childrenyours?

ARMANCORTHeavens, no! I’m the tutor for this brood. Haven’t you seen thechildren before?

No, I haven’t. Have you, John?

(To PERRAULT)

By the way this is John Lennon, 40-1980.

LENNON

Do you have to refer to me as a number?

ARMANCORT(Pedagogically)

It’s the easiest way to transmit the most information, John° Iam Charles Perrault d’Armancort, 75-1703o

MOZARTAnd I am~ of course, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 35-1791o

LENNONWell, what’s all that supposed to mean? Just what the hell isgoing on here?

ARMANCORTCarefully, sir--the children--no need to alarm them.very big ears.

They have

I thought your report stated he knew his numbers?

MOZARTI only filled out that form moments ago. You received italready?

ARMANCORTIt’s that new fiber-optic network. Everything is transmittedinstantly.

3 ACTS BY A.D. CAMERONE

STRAWBERRY FIELDS- 12

LENNONWhat are you guys talking about?

ARMANCORTDo you or do you not know your numbers and what your numbersmean?

LENNONSure I do o

(Reciting the information like a rhyme)John Lennon, 40~1980o My name, my age, my time°questions I’ll tell you no rhymes.

(LENNON is pulled away by one of thechildren; but he continues toease-drop on what the other two men aresaying.)

Ask me no

ARMANCORT(Looking to MOZART)

A little unconventional, but it seems to workfirst case, Wolfie?

o is this your

MOZART(Motioning to ARMANCORT--so he doesn’tlet the cat out of the bag.)

You have me there, Monsieur. Until you just mentioned it,forgot I was an a case°

(Indicating LENNON.)Actually, I have no real memories. It seems as if I amconstantly in the present°

I

ARMANCORT(He finally gets the message, and playsalong°)

Good grief. You’ve been here since 1791 and you still don’tremember anything? What have you been doing all this time?

MOZARTPlaying the piano. It seems like I’ve only been here a day ortwo at the most° How long have I been here?

ARMANCORTTeacher teaching teacher o o if Lennon is brand new at 1980

you have been here some 190 years. I arrived about 80years earlier than you°

LENNON(Rejoining the adult’s conversation.)

So that means that I’m definitely dead°

STRAWBERRY FIELDS13 -

ARMANCORT

(To MOZART)He still doesn’t believe he’s dead?

(MOZART shakes his head no)

ARMANCORT (Continued)Have you had anything to drink since you arrived, John?

No thanks~ I’m not thirsty°LENNON

MOZARTHe’s not offering you a drink, John°

(To ARMANCORT)He’s only arrived a few hours ago; he hasn’t visited the memorypool.

ARMANCORTWell this is highly unusual. I’ve never seen anyone until afterthey have sipped from the Pool of Memory° There must be amistake. Are you sure you haven’t b~en drinking?

LENNONNo, I haven’t had a drop. I’m just not thirsty. How about youpmate?

MOZARTI’ve sipped from the pool on several occasions.

ARMANCORTGentlemen, this is quite awkward.

(He rounds up the CHILDREN bycorralling them into a group andguiding them to the exit.)

ARMANCORT (Continued)I’m afraid I have to remove the children. No telling what effectyou condition will have on them° Herr Mozart, I would like tosuggest that you take Mr. Lennon for a visit to the White PoplarInno Maybe the walk will make him thirsty.

(To LENNON)The White Poplar Inn is one of the better places to get adrink o or information about a drink~. if you know what Imean?

LENNONAs a matter of factr I don’t have the foggiesto Where are yougoing in such a rush?

3 ACTS BY A~Do CAMERONE

STP~WBERRY FIELDS

~4ARMANCORT

Sorry, but we do have to run°

(ARMANCORT and the CHILDREN hurriedlyexit.)

MOZARTGood-bye, kids o see you, again . .go get a drink at the White Poplar Inn?

oh, well~ What say we

I’m not thirsty.LENNON

MOZARTThere’s no rush. Let’s take our time°have an appointment at a planetarium.itinerary?

I seem to recall that youWhere did I put that

LENNONThere’s a Hayden Planetarium in New York on 81st Street°

MOZARTHow did you know that?

I don’t knowLENNON

maybe my memory is coming back°

MOZARTWell, if we are in New York it sounds logical enough.

LENNONIt may sound logical to you; but it’s just meaningless words tomeo I’m still very confused. Even if the time and place meansomething, I still don’t get it. Why are we going to theplanetarium?

MOZARTActually, it’s coming to you. Our space-time continuum iswrapped aroun4 here° Most of the time things come to you.

LENNONOK, why is the planetarium coming to us?

MOZARTTo you o o o I’m off for another meeting° A certain ~ro AEinstein is coming to meet with you° Have fun o o ..it was nicespending the morning with you o I’ll catch up wlth youlater°

.(He exits through the tunnel upstagecenter°

END SCENE 2ACTS BY AoDo CAMERONE

STRAWBERRY FIELDS

ACT 1

S__CENE 3_

15 -

The planetarium mega projectorappears. Albert Einstein isseated in the control chair° Heis working on an equation and isusing the projector to visualizehis concept°

LENNONPretty fancy piece of equipment. Isn’t it a bit heavy to carryaround?

EINSTEINNO~ with our gravitational field it’s light as a feather.everything is relative you know°

LENNON

What are you doing?

EINSTEINI’m calculating the degree light is bent as it passes through thedouble-center of Andromeda° What are you doing?

I’m waiting for Godoto

EINSTEINoh, really~ you’re in for a long wait.

I don,t know what I~m doing. I just woke up from a very deepsleep, and I’m very confused° Itm supposed to be visite~ by ~om~guy from the ~ayden Planetarium~

EINSTEINI see° Wellr try to be attentive. I have something important totell you, and I will not be able to repeat myself.

Is that so? If it makes any differencer being attentive hasn’tbeen my forte since I arrived here° Where ever here is?

STP3~BERRY FIELDS

EINSTEINI see. Let’s not get ahead ourselves° Try to keep up yourspirit. For starters what do you know about Linear TimeInterpretation?

LENNONI don’t have the slightest clue as to what you’re talking about,mate. Who or what is Linear Time?

EINSTEINWhat an odd question. Let me answer by sharing a thoughtexperiment with you. Two twins were separated at birth. Onestayed on earth for 50 years while the other travelled in a spaceship at the speed of light for those same 50 years. When theyare reunited, would they still be the same age?

LENNONEarth o o . isn’t earth my home? Is that where we are now on aspace ship? Are you an alien time traveller?

EINSTEIN ~Not quite. Let me put it to you this way. Our perception Ofreality is limited by our capacity to decipher the input wereceive. To understand reality, we must first understand thenature of the conceptions that underlie our mind-set.

LENNONThat makes a difference, does it?

EINSTEINCertainly it does. You realize, of course, our species canlocate itself in various environments, and become connected tosaid environments in a relatively short time period°

LENNONI hate to say it, but I don’t know what your talking about again°

EINSTEINTry to have some faith° You must first accept certain premises°Human beings, you and I and the others, have an inherent abilityto form an empathic linkage with whatever environment we come incontact with°

LENNONThat sounds all well and good, but what does that have to do withme? By the way, who are you anyway?

EINSTEINWhich question should I answer?

STRAWBERRY FIELDS-17

LENNON"Answer them both, but answer the second one first°

EINSTEINI am Albert Einstein, and it has everything to do with you. Tryto concentrate and think about this° It makes no difference ifwe are right or wrong when we interpret reality. We are allowedthat luxury° We also know we can learn from our mistakes~ Lifeis transient

You mean I’m still aliveLENNONI’m not dead?

EINSTEINNO, you’re dead all right° Let me rephrase. Yourexistence--dead or alive--is transient and so is your analysis ofreality°

LENNONI don’t think I like being dead° This whole experience is veryunsettling.

EINSTEINDon’t despair° You can re-group~ re-form~ and reinterpret Itdoesn’t matter how you feel about your current plight. Whatmatters is that you remain vigilante° Be conscientious andconstantly monitor the status your theori@s. Be flexible°Adjust to new or reinterpreted data and the universe is youroyster.

LENNONYou don’t seem to understand. I don’t have any theories° Ibarely know my name. I want to go home°

EINSTEINisn t working. No sense in beating aI see° It’s obvious this ’ "

dead horse~

Do you have to put that way?LENNON

EINSTEINSorry o well, you still have time to get yourself togetherbefore you see Admiral Byrd. As soon as it is possible,arrangements will be made to pencil in an appointment to make anappointment for you°

LENNONTake your time, if seeing Byrd is any thing like seeing you,don’t want to see him.

I

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STRA]WBERRY FIELDS- 18

EINSTEINDon’t be rash~ You have no idea how many people are waiting tosee Byrd He’s the temporary King of the Cold Palace in Hades"absence°

LENNONI don’t care if he’s the King of the Counting House° I don’twant to see him° I"m going to find a way home° I’m not sray~nghere°

EINSTEINDon’t be ungrateful° You should consider yourself fortunate thatan appointment to set up an appointment will be pencile4 in foryou. Everybody has to see Byrd before they can go anywhere. Thequestion is when and where.

LENNONGreat~ I have to wait around to meet with a man that I don’t wantto meet with° If you were supposed to help mar our talk hasn’tbeen much of a success.

EINSTEINWe started the ball rolling on your appointment with

LENNONBig dealo Well, forget it° I don’t need to meet with him° Justerase the penciling~ino

EINSTEINDon’t be absurd. Getting that appointment is nearly impossible°There are people here who have been waiting forever to see Byrd.You won’t get far with that type of attitude. One of Byrd’speople will contact you, sooner or latter~ to setup the actualmeeting°

LENNONI don’t want to see the temporary King of the Cold Palace oHey~ wait a minute~ doesn’t Hades live in hell?

EINSTEINOhp you poor lost soulp let me try one more angle. The beauty ofour evolutionary mechanism is that every member of the specieshas a certain, special~ inborn trait that is activated anddeveloped by our life or death experience°

LENNONPleaser if you really want to help me~ try and keep this simple.

STRAWBERRY FIELDS- 19

EINSTEINThis special trait is quite important for the evolution of oursouls. Every individual has this capacity. Every individualgets a shot at deciphering the laws of nature. Every individualhas the opportunity, at one point or another, to connect with thetotality of the universe. The trick is to stay there°

LENNO~Right, like attaining Nirvana, and living as one with theuniverse.

EINSTEINNow, you’re on to it my boy° Do you remember when you firstrealized that?

LENNONI can remember feeling that way as a seven year~oldo But Icouldn’t have used those words then. I guess I knew it a~lalong, but it was when I was with Yoko that I finally believed itin my soul.

EINSTEINThat’s good, now we are finally making headway. Who or what isYoko?

I’m not sureLENNON

don’t you know?

EINSTEINI’m afraid not. Maybe Byrd knows° Your entire history issitting in a file in the Cold Palace King’s office. He probablyknows . . o that is if he saw it o o o the amount of informationthat man receives could fill Jupiter. If he saw your file heknows . that man never forgets anything° There’s a goodenough reason to see him.

I’m starting to feel funnyLENNON

EINSTEINWell, that’s a good sign. Maybe we finally started the ballrolling with this Yoko?

LENNONAre you projecting images on that wall?

No

EINSTEINo and I don’t see anything.

ACTS BY AoDo CAMERONE

STP3~qBERRY FIELDS~ 20

LENNONThen why am I seeing a movie of what looks like me?

EINSTEIN

Ah ~ ~ . very good and quite rare° Your memory banks havedeflnltely turned Ono You’re probably externalizing yourthoughts on to a three-dimensional field.

Pretty scary oLENNON

EINSTEINNothing to worry about, everyone who has had a drink from thepool of memory can do it.

LENNONI haven’t had anything to drink since I arrived here°this pool of memory everyone keeps talking about?

What is

EINSTEINAre you sure you haven’t had anything drink since you arrivedhere?

LENNON~hy does everyone ask me that? No, I haven’t been thirsty° Ihave not had anything to drink.

EINSTEINWell, I must say this is quite rare. Darwin will be glad to seeyou. You may be a mutant.

LENNONI’m no mutant, mate° I’m a man--just like you°

EINSTEINOf course you are° I really must be going. I’m not sure why youhave meet with me before you drank form Mnemosyne But, that’swater under the bridge° You have met with mep and I am officiallynoting that your memory has been activated.

LENNONHey, wait a minute what about

EINSTEINI am going to suggest that you wait until you are visited byDarwin to continue any discussion of Yoko. For know why notenjoy yourself.

3 ACTS BY AoDo CA~ERONE

STPu~WBERRY FIELDS

LENNONWhat about these images I’m seeing on the wall?

EINSTEINGO for a walk, go have a drink o ~ o I can recommend the whitePoplar Inn. Good place for a drinkp and a good place to findsome good company°

LENNONBut these images they’re not going away° I am I going to seethem forever? What do they mean?

EINSTEINIt was a pleasure to visit with you° I’ve told all that I could°the rest is up to the others and yourself°

(He vanishes with his projector intonothingness. LENNON continues to callto him after he is gone°)

3 ACTS BY A.Do CA~ERONE

STRAWBERRY FIELDS22

ACT 1

SCENE 4

LENNONWhat do they mean? Will they go away? Where are you going?Will I see you again

(Enter MOZART from the upstage centertunnel.)

MOZARTWho are you talking to, John?

Albert EinsteinLENNON

he was just here a momenn ago.

MOZARTWellp he’s gone now. Are you OKp mate?

LENNONWhy do you keep calling, mate? You’re not Englisho

MOZAR~

NO, I’m Austrian, but I’ve spent some time in London. I call youmate, because I know it is familiar to you° I use it as a formof affectionp my friend.

LENNONAre you really my friend, Wolfgang?

LENNONAren’t we two lost souls on a musical journey?

LENNONAh . I keep forgetting the music. Listen, I’m very confused.Do you see th~se images on that wall over there? It looks likeme in the movleSo

Movies o what’s movles.MOZART

LENNO~You know moving pictures. Do you see any pictures of me overthere?

ACTS BY A.Do CA~ERONE

STPJ4WBERRY FIELDS- 23

MOZARTI’m afraid I don’t see these moving pictures you are talkingabout John° Try to tell me what you see°

LENNONOn this wall . . I see movies,pictures of what seems to be mebefore.

o images ome doing

motionthings I have done

MOZARTOh yes, now I know what you mean° I call it the "show"° Yes,I’ve seen movies, as you call them, of myself before. Sort ofdisquieting at first°

What do they mean?LENNON

MOZAR~I’m not sure° They come and go you know. I’m surprised you areseeing them so soon°

(LENNON runs his hands over theprojected images.)

Are you sure you’re OK, John?

LENNONYes, I’m fine. No, I didn’t know they come and goo

When did they start?MOZAR~

LENNONThey started when I was talking to Einstein about Yoko. He saidit was a 3-D projection of my memory banks°

MOZARTWhat a clever interpretation° Great rationalization for anauseating problem. I wish I had been here° I have a fewquestions Mr° Einstein may be able to answer. When is he comingback?

~ENNONHe wouldn’t say° All he said was he had to gOo He suggestedthat I go to the White Poplar Inn to have a drink.

MOZARTThat’s that’s ~the same place Perrault suggested.

STP~WBERRY FIELDS

Perrault?LENNON

MOZARTYes, the man with the gaggle of kids.

LENNONRight the children . . o

(He absentmindedly mouths the rhyme°)o how many R’s are there in that? yes,

same thing. Where is that inn?he said the

MOZARTNot far from here. I can take you there°

LENNONEinstein said I have to wait to meet with Darwin until I can findout more about Yoko. Do you know where I can find

MOZARTHere’s a bit of a coincidence. Darwin is the subject of t~emessage I have here waiting to be delivered to you.

LENNONI’m starting to feel like Alice. This place ~ust gets curiouserand curiousero

MOZARTWho is Alice? A friend of Yoko’s?

LENNONAliceo o Alice has something to do with those nursery rhymes.I can’t remember exactly who Alice is but she seems to beassociated with my youth.

MOZAR~I guess it means more to you than it does to me. Here’s themessage I have for you. You will meet with Darwin sometime inthe near future. Don’t worry about the time and place. He willfind you.

LENNONThat certainly narrows things down. Great piece of info, WolfieoDon’t know how I would get on without it°

MOZAR~Don’t be so smug. It could have been quite disconcerting if oldDarwin popped up in your bathtub or something.

3 ACTS BY A~Do CAMERONE

Bathtub?

M~The place where you take a bath.

LENNONin the middle of a bath in the middle of a bath I

call your name ~

MOZARTAt least, now, you know he’s coming° You can expect him.arrival won’t be such a surprise°

His

LENNONNothing should surprise me in this place.

The movies surprised you°MOZART

~ENNONYou said that White Poplar Inn wasn’t far from here.

Not far from here at all.

How do I get there?LENNON

MOZARTHere’s a mapp You go straight ahead through that tunnel and lookfor the white poplar tree. What say we take a promenade throughthe park? We can walk awhile, talk awhilep and stop off at theInn for a libation.

LENNON(Looking at the map.)

Sounds great to me ~ o . This building here(He points to the map.)

The Dakota o . ~ it means something to me . but I can’t putmy finger on ito

(He is distracted by the images on thewall.)

Did you see that?(He runs to the wall.)

Look at this2

M~Sorryp Johnr I don~t see what you are seeing°

ACTS BY A.Do CAMERONE

STP~WBERRY FIELDS26 -

LENNONOh my god, someone is getting shot outside of the Dakota, but Ican’t make out who it is o

MOZARTLook John I can’t help you with these movies you’re seeing.might be less embarrassing if you do this alone.

It

LENNONWait a minute. The scene is being replayed

(He is engrossed in the projectedimages of a man being shot.)

MOZARTYou have the map. I’ll go ahead to the inn° Do what youdo; then join me later° There’s no rush--take your time°see you when you get there.

(He walks toward the tunnel withoutfurther adieu°)

have toI’ll

LENNO~The scene keeps being replayed o . o

(He sees himself being shot. Yoko isstanding by his side crying°)

Oh no it’s me I’ve been shot o o o it’s me2(He breaks down and puts his head inhis hands.)

It’s true I’m dead oyou

o oh, Yoko o o how can I go on without

END SCENE 5

3 ACTS BY A.Do CAMERONE

STP~WBERRY FIELDS

ACT 1

SCENE 6

LENNON sits silently not surewhat to dOo He keeps his headlowered as in reflects during along pause° When he looks up hespies FOUR PEOPLE walking throughCentral Park° They are in thedimension of the livingp andLENNON has made a rarecross-overo As LENNON crossesover to the other dimension theFOUR NEW YOR~RS see him fadingin and~out llke a ghost° Bothsides try to co~Jaunica~e Go eachother, but can not~

END ACT 1

STRAWBERRY FIELDS

ACT 2

SCENE 1

~ 28 -

A large monitor is lowered fromabove. All action for scene 1 isseen only on video tape. We arewatching the introduction to aNew York City talk show. Titlegraphics are seen for the ThomasMorton show, followed by aclose-up of the hostg poise4 inthe audience telling the viewingaudience what the topic oftoday’s show is about°

MORTONWhen we dle~ we die. Or do we? Can dead vlslt the llvlngo Isthere a link between the living world and the hereafter? Today’Sguests believe SOo

guests°)

These four New Yorkers claim to have been visited by a ghost--theghost of John Lennon-- while they were walking through CentralPark. They swear it is true. Let’s start with youp warren.Tell us what happened o do you really believe you saw JohnLennon~s ghost?

WARRENI know I saw him, Thomas; and so did Marshar Sally, and Toddhere°

(All three nod and start to talksimultaneously° The audience makes acollectlve moan of disbelief.)

MORTONOKr OK, o o o one ~t a time everyone will get a chance to speak.Sally, just what dld you see?

SALLYWe saw John. He was standing there in a black suit with thenumber 40 on his arm°

(The audience laughs.)

ACTS BY A.Do CAMERONE

STRIgqBERRY FIELDS

TODDIt’s true° We were walking through the ~estside of Central Parkin Strawberry Fields° Lennon’s image faded into view; sort ofhovered there for a second; faded in and out a couple of timesthen disappeared°

MORTONWhat makes you think it was Lennon’s ghost you saw?

MARSHAWe all know what Lennon looks like. It was hlmo He was wearingthose round wire-rim glasses° I know John Lennon when I seehim. We figure he was ghost because of the way he faded in andout°

(The audience voices their disbelief°)

MORTO___~NOK, fair enough o

(He tries to quiet the crowd.)Did this image say aaything to you?

WARRENNO, he sort of raised his h~nds ~ o ~ like he wa~ trying ~ getour attention° It looked llke hls llps were movlng, but wecouldn’t hear what he was saying.

MORTONI’m sure you couldn’t° We are going to take a commercial breakright now° When we come back, our guests will be joined by twobisexual women who claim to have slept with Elvis’s ghost duringa ghoulish menage-a-trOiSo Stay with us we’ll be rlght back°

END SCENE 1

3 ACTS BY AoD~ CAMERONE

ACT 2

SCENE 2

All signs of the monltor areremoved° The interior of theWhite Poplar Inn is revealed. Itis filled with activity° A groupof ELIZABETHAN DRAMATISTS are thetrend setters here and the decoris from their era° The groupsits at a long table in a raisedalcove situated upstage°

Downstage center is a billiardtable. MOZART is peacefullyexecuting various billiardshots~ Downstage leftI BEE~IfOVENsits at a piano playing a tune.wlth pool cue in hand~ MOZARcrosses to BEETHOVENp ~nd they,converse about the music° MOZARTplays a few notes and BEETHOVENpicks up the motif and improviseson it.

LENNON enters in a hurried stateand goes straight to MOZART.

LENNONI’m glad I found you. I have to tell you what I just saw.are not going to believe this but

You

MOZARTHello, my ~rlend o . o

(He continues his improvisation for 4hands with BEETHOVEN.)

LENNONListen~ I have to talk to you. Could we go sit some

MOZARTHow do you like this progression?

(The music increases in volume andintensity.)

LENNONjust saw an image depicting my death; then I saw

STRAWBERRY FIELDS

MOZARTSorry, I can’t hear a word you’re saying° Can you hear him,Ludwig?

(No response from BEETHOVEN°)

No, of course not. Do you knowr Beethoven?

LENNONYes, I mean no ~ o I know ~f him, but o o o forget about theintroductions for now. I thlnk I know how I got here. And Ijust saw four ghosts°

MOZART(He stops playing but BEETHOVENcontinues°)

My dear friend you are the ghost.(He rises, picks up his pool stick andguides LENNON to the billiard table°)

You may have seen some living-people

What?LENNON

MOZART(He takes a shot.)

First things first. You say you think you saw your death event°You probably did. Sounds like a spontaneous recall°

What kind of a recall?LENNON

MOZART(He hands the billiard cue to LENNONo)

Did you go to the memory pool?

(LENNON shakes his head nOo)

Did you drink anything before you saw your death event?

(LENNON shrugs nOo)

Then it has to be a spontaneous recall°

LENNONSo there’s no doubt about it I’m really dead?

MOZARTYou just saw your death event°

3 ACTS BY A oDo CAMERONE

LENNONThat’s how I died? I was shot in the chest and I died

A bullet wound o o ughp must have been messy° I died in mybed ~ killed my a cold

LENNONWho were those people I saw? You think they are alive? Maybe Ican get back to New York?

MOZARTOne step at a time, John, you just got here°

(He produces another cue and resumesplaying billiards°)

LENNONIf those people I saw where alive, maybe I’m not dead?

Oh you’re dead all right Others have seen the living before.Don’t let it bother you°

Maybe I can go back°LENNON

No one who has died has ever gone back to what they were°

could be the first°LENNON

John, we have other things to attend tOo The boys don’t knowthat you have already viewed the images of your death event° Irmgoing to have to tell them o even though it is sure to spoilthe fun°

What fun?LE~NON

(He become curious and takes an awkwardshot.)

MOZARTYour initiation We have big plans for you to drink from the poolof memory tonight°

LENNON(He tries another shot°)

I’m not going through any initiation Itm going home°

3 ACTS BY AoDo CAMERONE

STP~WBERRY FIELDS

~ 33 ~

Don’t be a party pooper°MOZART

(MARLOWE ambles downstage from thealcove, and approaches MOZART°)

How are you doing, Marlowe° I didn’t know you had arrived° Howfares my favorite scribe?

~ARLOWEStill a little foggy° How are you, Herr Mozart?

MOZARTFine, my friend, fine° This is John Lennon

MARLOWEOh yest the new boyr there will be plenty of time for himlatter° For now

(He puts his arm around MOZART andguides him up to the alcove°)

o . o Do. me a favor ~and come up here to help me settle a bet withthat paln in the ass Bernard Shaw° He says you wrote every noteof music down as you composed it o

(MARLOWE and MOZART move towards theal cove° )

o Come tell him how it really happened.

Hey, what about me?LENNON

MOZARTTake some time to think about what I said. [’ii be right back.

LENNONAll right o o .

(LENNON tries another shot but a womanappears from nowhere and as she walksby she snatches the cue ball from thetable~)

END SCENE 2

STRAWBEP~qY FIELDS

ACT 2

SCENE 3

PERSEPHONEYou’re not very good°

LENNON(Offering her the stick.)

o if you can do better,

PERSEPHONE(She takes the stick and plays,)

I’m Persephone°

LENNONI’m Winston Oo Boogie.

PERSEPHONEPoor boyp you don’t know who you are do you? Wellpworry° Yourll know who you really are after you drinkMnemosyne

(She passes the stick back°)

LENNONMnemosyne?

PERSEPHONEThe pool of memory. Didn’t anyone tell you?

LENNONTell me what?

not tofrom

PERSEPHONEHow to make your way around here.

(She grabs the ball again° LENNONgives up the stick.)

Who is your guide?

Guide?LENNON

PERSEPHONEWho was the first person you saw when you arrived here?

Herr Mozart°LENNON

STP3~BERRY FIELDS35

PERSEPHONEThat’s odd he should know better° would you like to know who youreally are and how you died?

LENNON(He takes the stick from her°)

I already had a spontaneous recall,

PERSEPHONEI see you’re playing dumb° You already know who you are° Veryfunny o . no matter, I know who you are John Lennon. I’mAdmiral Byrd’s personal secretary°

(She produces another stick fromnowhere, and takes a shot.)

LENNONThat’s all well and good; but what does it have to do with me?

PERSEPHONEYOU want to get out of here don’t you?

LENNONI guess SOo Where do I go once I get out?

PERSEPHONEone step at a timep please. The first step is to see Byrd.

Byrd can help go back home?LENNON

PERSEPHONEMillions have crossed over to the other side° I spend six monthsout of the year topside°

Are we in the ground?LENNON

PERSEPHONEActually, no, we exist in a loosely fitted electromagneticspectrum. An electrical charge that left your dead body wastransmitted here by your soulo

LENNONPlease spare me the metaphysics° On second thought maybe Ishould see Byrd. When can I meet with him?

PERSEPHONEIf you just wait a minute,, I’ll get to that° I bet thatspontaneous recall really shook you up?

STP~WBERRY FIELDS

36 -

It was eerie.LENNON

Is that how I really died?

PERSEPHONEIf yOU have any doubts you can reactivate your memory banks.Just take a sip of the water from the pool out back.

LENNONI’m supposed to do that tonight at the initiation

Is that the plan?PERSEPHONE

LENNONThere’s a big party here tonight, and I’m supposed to drink fromthe pool.

PERSEPHONEThese European intellectuals are so hypocritical° Their powersof thought are so underdeveloped. This entire crew has sippedfrom the memory pool many times° Then they forg~t and spen~ emnzroaming around in a blue fog°

LENNONWhat’s in store for me during the initiation?

PERSEPHONEJust some weird ceremony° The brotherhood make themselves feelsuperior by exploiting the newcomer’s trauma when he recalls hisdeath event.

What does that mean?LENNON

PERSEPHONEThey set up the new guy and make fun of his reaction to hisrecall.

Doesn ~t sound very sporting°LENNON

PERSEPHONENo matter~ everything will be changing soon° Byrd is leaving°The men at the top believe the White Poplar Inn is a sham° Theentire format is being revised° The new plan is to leaveeveryone on their own° You can be part of it~ if you likeoForget about them. They’ll be stuck here forever.

LEN~ONYou mean everyone is stuck here? Forever?

ACTS BY AoD. CA~ERONE

STP~WBERRY FIELDS37 -

PERSEPHONEMost of them have been here for too long~ When they areleft to their own devices they will never figure out howleave.

trulyto

LENNONCould they leave if they wanted to?

PERSEPHONEThey were always free to do what they desired. Ask them why theyare here° They have built their own prison~ and have becometheir own jailers°

So why do they stay?LENNON

PERSEPHONEBecause they don’t know any better° No matterf let’s stay onsomething more important° Are you ready to reexperience yourdeath event?

LENNONI don’t know° It was very disturbing. It makes me feel I shouldcontact my family° I miss Yoko and Sean°

PERSEPHONETry to take as many sips for the pool as Zou can handle. Themore you know the easier it will be to cross over°

When do I leave?LENNON

PERSEPHONEFirst I have to verify an appointment for you with Byrd. Youwait here° I’ll contact you to schedule an exact time and place°

(She is gone as mysteriously as shearrived°)

LENNON(Looking around talking to emptyspace°)

I’m already penciled in for an appointment to make anappointment° Does that make any difference

END SCENE 3

3 ACTS BY A.D~ CAMERONE

MOZART(Walking downstage.)

I see Persephone has come and gone--asvampire up to now?

usual. What’s the little

LEN~ONShe’s going to help me crossover. I’m going back to the living~

SO SOOn°

MOZART(Standing at the the table rolling theball around with his hand°)Do you think that’s wise?

LENNONWhy stick around here? How many times have you in~tia~ed newarrlvalso

Many timesslowly forget°reactivated°

MOZARTo you keep your recall for a while, then youEvery time a new comer arrives our recall is

LENNONSo you were just using me--like you use everyone elseo

MOZ~ARTWe are all in this together. We all need each other°

LENNONWell, you can count me OUto I’m going to see Byrd~ and then I’mgoing home°

MOZ~ARTIt’s not that simple. Persephone didn’t tell you anything shehasn’t told all of USo

Is that so?LENNON

MOZARTShe told YOU Byrd is leaving, right° Byrd is always leaving°Everyone here has had numerous appointments with Byrd--he hasn’tkept one. Everyone here is waiting to see Byrd. No one has seenhim yet°

3 2~CTS BY AoD. CAMERONE

STP~WBERRY FIELDS39 -

You’re kidding?LENNON

MOZARTI’m afraid not° This is one big waiting room. You better learnhow to enjoy yourself° After a while you welcome turning off andforgetting about yourself. Turning off provides you a rest.

LENNONYou like spending half your existence in a blue fog?

MOZARTJohn, right now while we are awake it is our time to party. Tryto enjoy yourself. There will be other new comers arrlvlngsoon. You won’t be the new boy on the block for long. Wi~h yourspontaneous recall you’ve already become a celebrity°

LENNONWhat kind of life is this--hanging around a pub waiting tosomeone who isn’t going to see you?

MOZARTIt’s not a life. You’re not alive anymore° A more appropr1ateword would be existence.

LENNONSomething tells me to go home, and that’s what I’m going to do.I have to get out of here°

MOZARTEven if you do crossover you won’t be alive° You’ll be a ghost.You can’t go back to the way things were again.

SHAW(Calling down from the upstage alcove.)

Herr Mozart, grant us the pleasure of your company. Come up hereand tell this ass, Marlowe, how you really wrote Don Giovanni.

MOZARTCertainly, Bernard°

(To LENNONo)Come up and meet the ladso It will do you good.

(MOZART crosses upstage. LENNON pausesthen follows a few steps behind.)

END SCENE 4

STP3~IBERRY FIELDS~ 40

ACT 2

SCENE 5

(Grabbing MOZART and guiding him to aseat at the table° Referring to SHAW°)

Why is it that this old dolt never consumes an ounce of ale norsips of any spirits; and~ yet, he always sounds like an oldphilosopher deep in his cups?

(To LENNON.)Sit down good friendr if you have not an argument that needsresolving.

(LENNON sits at the table, and fiddleswith the cup and table-setting beforehim.)

Don’t be too hard on old Shaw. He is driven by his passion forthe dialectic.

BEAUMONTHis thesis needs an antithesis,

FLETCHERHis synthesis needs synthesizing.

(ALL laugh except SHAW.)

SHAW(Referring to LENNON.)

What have we here . . a waif in the night?

LENNONMy name is John Lennon.

(He looks around the table to find:SHAKESPEAREo DRAYTONr MARLOWE, JONSON,BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER° They are#it£ing around drinking and eating asthe converse°)

Johnr let me introduce you the gang° Going clockwise we have:Christopher Marlowe~ Michael Draytont Ben Jonson~ WilliamShakespeare, Francis Beaumontp John Fletcher~ and the man withthe beard and the big mouth is George Bernard Shaw.

SHAKESPEAREWe understand you had a spontaneous recallo lado

ACTS BY A.Do CA~ERONE

STR21~BERRY FIELDS- 41

LENNONNews travels fast around here . where ever here iSo

BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER(BEAUMONT starts the line and FLETCHERfinishes ito They always speak thisway°)

We seem to be enveloped oin a self contained sphere.Where electromagnetism and gravity are at a minlmum oand the strong and weak nuclear forces are non-existence.

JONSO~You befuddle the boy with you pseudo-scienceo

(To LENNONo)If it will help, the White Poplar Inn travel all over theuniverse° We haven’t been to Earth for many live-time cent~rieso

DRAYTONUsually, the souls of the dearly departed travel to us. I gues~you can say we made a special trip to pick you up.

SHAKESPEAREThere will be plenty of time for theory later~the matter of the initiation needs attention°be a team player don’t you?

boys° Ri ~t owg, n ~John, you want tO

not really oLENNON

SHAKESPEARE(To SHAW.)

I thought you said he was a communist?

SHAWI said Valdimar Ilich Lenin, the Russian, was a communist° Thisis John Lennon, an Englishman from New York City° He’s a rockand roll singer°

SHAKESPEAREGood Lord~ a rock and roll singer! Why the hell did heexperience a spontaneous recall?

MOZARTMro Lennon seems to be an anomaly. Don’t forget he also saw thechildren before he drank from the poolo We have an exception tothe rule herer gentlemen°

ACTS BY AoDo CAMERONE

"STRAWBERRY FIELDS42 -

JONSONThat could be good news° It could prove we are not caught in annever-changing cycle°

MOZARTGentlemen, our waif is more of a heavyweight than meets the eye~He could be our way out of here°

SHAKESPEAREThat’s all well and good, if it is true° But, in a short time,this room is going to be full of lost souls looking for aninitiation Lennon is going to have to go along with the stingfor now and play dumb°

SHAWI’m not so surer Willy. He’s no Lenin, but he might be acatalyst for a revolution after allo Let’s tell his story theway it happened and see what develops°

LENNONPersephOne told me you guys are trapped in a self~induced ofantasy°

BEAUMONT AND FLETCHERDid Persephone aleo tell you o o She worked for Byrd?

Yesp she’s going to arrange a meeting with Byrd for meo She saidshe was his personal secretary.

That’s a laugh° She’e the abducted wife of King Hadesshe’s Hades right arm°

LENNONHadesf the King of Hell, Hades?

Actually he’s the King Of the Underworld. He runs the whole showhere. Byrd is his front man.

LENNONIs Hades with us or against us?

JONSONNo one knows° All we know is he doesn’t believe any one°

MA~.LOWEYou’ll never see Byrd, and Hades doesn’t even know you exist°Your best chance is to join up with usp John.

STP~WBERRY FIELDS- 43

LENNONWhat! Join your band of fantasy revolutionaries so I can spendeternity fighting for lost causes?

Take it easy, John.MOZART

LENNONYOU don’t understand° I want to get out of here, right now° Idon’t like the idea of being stuck in some comic-book mythology.I miss Yoko and Sean. I have to see Byrd. I have to go backhome.

Byrd can,t help you°DRAYTON

JONSONWe all want out°

SHA~_The question is how do we do ito

MOZARTand can we take everyone along° Einstein believe~ ~he

course of events here may be beyond our control°

LENNONNothing is beyond my control.

JONSONYou had better calm down. No sense in going offhalf-cocked

LE_~NONListen, I’m going to find Byrd° If he won’t come to met I’ll goto him°

MARLOWEGreat strategy~ you had better hope Byrd is in the sphere°Because whether you want to believe it or not, we are essentiallypowerless prisoners encapsulated here°

BEAUMONT AND FLETCHEREven if you wanted toYou couldn’t leave here to see Byrdor anyone elseoEverything and everybody has to come to you.

LENNONThe White Poplar Inn travels all over the universe doesn’t it?

STRAWBERRY FIELDS- 44

DRAYTONActually The White Poplar Inn is embedded in "the sphere"°sphere" travels all over the universe.

"The

SHAKESPEAREThat’s correct and "the sphere" hasn’t been in earth’s space-timecontinuum for quite awhile° The last time we were here wascenturies ago.

MARLOWEEinstein calculates the present time to be 1993. Byrdcrossed-over to spend some time in Antarctica some years back°

SHAWWe assume Byrd is sick of all that snow by now and he is readyrejoin USo

JONSONIf you really want to find Byrd, you have to wait here and hope_he comes to you°

LENNONWell~ I can’t wait. How do you know all this stuff about "thesphere" is true?

JONSONWe’ve worked on "the sphere" theory independently. We share ourdata with each other for replication° We are not as unorganizedas Persephone will lead you to believe° She believes what wewant her to believe°

LENNONThere are holes in your theory. First of all, you said no onecrosses-overo I saw four live people soon after I arrived here°How do you explain that?

SHAWYou didn’t crossover° Those people probably came to you. Andthey didn’t fully crossover° Just their images made it through°

LENNONOK, what about Byrd~ you just said he crosse4-over to visitAntarctica° How come he did it?

SHAKESPEAREHe did it because he is the "Temporary King of the Cold Palace"°Rank has xt s privileges even in the underworld, dear boy°

3 ACTS BY A.Do CA~ERONE

FIELDS

LENNONShaw died in 1951. I died in 1980. You say the sphere hasn’tbeen to earth in centuries. How did Shaw get here?

SHAWDrayton just told you how. I travelled to the sphere.where in the double-center of Andromeda when I arrived,you.

You guysweren’t

That’s right, Bernard.DRAYTON

LENNONOK~ you say the present time on earth is 1993. How can that beif I died in 1980 yet I just arrived here hours ago.

BEAUMONT AND FLETCHERConsider this premiseWhen you eXist o oIn a varied space~time continuumYOU can experience . oA varied ability to tell time.

LENNONIf this is a riddle forget it I’m in not in the mood.

MARLOWEIt’s not a riddle° Let me put it to you this way: you died onNovember 9, 1980; the first thing you saw after your death wasMozart playing the piano. How far back did your memory go beforeyour spontaneous recall?

A solo musician with acousticguitar and harmonica appears onan elevated platform, stageleft. He plays the instrumentalversions of various tune~ in thebackground. All the music is ata low levelo As LENNON and theBOYS talk, the room continues tofill up with people.

LENNONcan’t remember. Make your point°

MOZARTThe images of the people you saw come from 1993.

3 ACTS BY AoDo CA~ERONE

STR~I~BERRY FIELDS

- 46 -

What’s the point, Wolfie?LENNON

(MOZART shakes his head in disbelief°)

BEAUMONT AND FLETCHERWhen you first arrived here o oYou were dead for twelve earth years oYet you thought no time had passed°In reality~ no time had passed for you o o oBut not so for the other sections of the universe~

~OZARTWe here in the White Poplar Inn havep in the twelve years sanceyour untimely demiser travelled all over the universe° We hBvespent many centuries in those twelve years slipping in and outseveral different time dimensions°

LENNONStop it. You’re confusing me and boring boring me at the sametime° Wolfgang~ when we first met~ you said we were inStrawberry Fields°

MOZARTWhat I meant was our sphere had encompassed Strawberry Fieldso

The solo guitarist has finished asong° Three more musiciansw-adrummer and two more g~itarplayers--join him° The bandplays another song.

LENNONCan I leave the sphere and enter Strawberry Fields?

SHAKESPEAREAre you sure you want to?

Of course I am oLENNON

I want to go home°

MOZARTIf you leave the spherep you will be left in limbo° You111 bestuck between two dimensions°

JONSONNo one will be able to communicate with you. All they’ll see is ....a ghostly image.

STP~WBERRY FIELDS-47

DRAYTONDid Persephone tell you that, when you crossover, you don’t takeyour true essence with you?

LENNONNo, she didn’t mention any details.

Of course, notMARLOWE

. why bother with the gory details?

A brass section appears and joinsthe band for another song asscores of 16-year olds surroundthe stage°

BEAUMONT AND FLETCHERAfter you crossover, you won’t be able to touch or feel anyone-an~ they wontt be able to touch or feel you°

SHA~.We all want to leave, but there’s no sense jumplng out of thefrying pan and into the fire°

LENNONWhat are saying? Are you telling me I can’t go back home?

SHAKESPEAREMaybe we better take this a bit slower° What happens if youleave the sphere and Byrd comes back?

I give up. What happens?LENNON

SHAKESPEAREYou’ll miss Byrd, and you will probably never be able to find himagain.

Why not?LENNON

MOZARTIt’s a big universe out there° When you factor in thesealternate space-time continuum, it’s expanse is exponentiallyincreased.

LENNO~What do mean . . . exponentially? Don’t start using mathematicsto muck up my plans°

STRAWBERRY FIELDS- 48 -

DRAYTONWe’re only trying to help you.

LENNONI’m not so sure. You may or may not be on to something here. Ifwhat Persephone says is true, the fantasy world you have createdis your only prison.

MARLOWEPersephone is the master of the half-truth.

SHAWYou could use drink from Mnemosyne I was there this mornlng andafter a deep drink, I felt much better°

(SHAW pulis out a flask.)Look what I brought back for you. Will you drin~ it, John?

What for?LENNON

SHAWYou’ll know "what for" after you drink°

MARLOWEIt will help understand who you were~ and what you have become.

What harm could it do?MOZART

It’s only water.

The band leader puts a toiletseat cover over his head° LENNONsees himself in the band leader

SHAWI guess if you’re not going to drink it,

(He starts to tip the flask.)Seems~like a terrible waste

I’ll just pour it out°

MOZARTDefinitely~ an opportunity lost

SHAKESPEAREJust pour it out~ Bernard° He doesn’t want to know what he hasreally become.

(SHAW spills out a small amount ofliquid°)

3 ACTS BY AoDo CAMERONE

STRAWBERRY FIELDS

LENNONNo o wait o I’ll drink it2 Give it here° I guessis one way to see if you guys are telling the truth°

(LENNON drinks the contents of theflask.)

END SCENE 5

~ 49

this

STP3~BERRY FIELDS

- 50 -

ACT 2

SCENE 6

The room has been steadilyfilling up with people. WhenLENNON drinks from the flaskr thewhole room which has beenwatching him roars with delight°Frenzy ensues while the crowdcheers and sings a short chorusof "For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow"followed by a small section of"Auld Lang Sy~e"o

The solo musician has been joined,by a full rock and roll band> andthey play a few tunes completewith words and music. As the~usic progresses the revelry ~Increases in lntensityo Ev~ry6neis singing and danc~nq~ Thereare severa~ p~ople drinking fromthe mysterlously revealed pool ofmemory that is now locat@ddownstage center. The musicalfrenzy reaches a crescendo, andLENNONr who has danced his: way tothe poolr plunges his head in thewater°

END ACT 2

ACTS BY A.D. CAMERONE

All the trappings of the WhitePoplar Inn are removed°

The act opens with the ROCK ANDROLL BAND playing a tune° As theband plays, they are also seen ona large screen° After playinghalf the song the banddisappears, but their video imageremains°

LENNON appears on the screen and3’oins in "for.the harmonica worM,on tune. .It is L~NN~N’S dream ~e~re watchl~g (He is dreaming heis performlng the tune Withth@band.)

The screen recedes and theStrawberry Field’s section ofCentral Park is revealed (sameasopening of Act io) There arepaths leading to a cloverleafshaped center. Upstage centeristhe tunnel of a bridge overpass°

LENNON is sleeping on a parkbench. The song ends and thescreen disappears.

MOZART walks out of the tunnelplaying the flute° He spiesLENNON and goes to him. Theflute music wakes his sleepingfriend.

Good morning, my friend.MOZART

LENNONOh, boy, I dreamt I was a rock and roll singer playing theharmonica in a band

ACTS BY A.Do CA~ERONE

STRAWBERRY FIELDS~ 52

YOU were

MOZART. don’t you remember o

LENNONPlease, no more memory recalls. Do you guys get blasted likethat all the time?

~OZARTNo, this was a particularly intense initiation Listen~ Johnrhave something to discuss with you° A!ter last night, theconsensus is that you are right in wanting to get out of here°

I

LENNONWhy does everything have to be so confusing? Do you want me testay or to go?

NOt just you~ all of usMOZARTwe all want out°

So~ what’s the solution?LENNON

MOZARTWe agree we should go~ but we don’t think it will be ~o ourbenefit to wander about eternity as a bunch video-lmage

LENNONIt’s simple as far as I am concerned° We’have to figure outexactly where we are, and then figure out a way to get somewhereelseo

MOZARTSounds like another viscous cycle. Exactly where are you goingto go?

Back to Yoko and Sean oLENNON

back to New York City°

MOZARTYou want to go back there, and become the "Ghost of StrawberryFields"?

Is that what I’ll be?LENNON

~ozAR~We have to figure out a way to take our true essences with uswhen we leave. And we can’t return to earth° We can’t go backto our past lives after we’ve died.

STRAWBERRY FIELDS- 53

LENNONAre there any other alternatives?

MOZARTIf we have to we can stay here°

LENNONI realize we’ve been over this before, but where Is here?

MOZARTHere in this free-floating, loosely-fitted electromagneti~spectrum. It’s still our only link to the rest of the Unlverseo

I still want to go home°LENNON

MOZARTIf you go to New York, you might get stuck there°travel with the White Poplar Inn.

At~least we

what’s the plan?LENNON

MOZARTYOU have the best chance to meet with Byrd° The boys want you totalk Byrd into setting us free°

LENNONListenp Wolfgang, don’t put this whole thing on my shoulders° Ijust got here~ remember? Tell everybody to do what they want todo. I’ll do what I want to do.

MOZARTI guess you re rlght o . o

(Long pause as MOZART sits theredejected°)

LENNONWhy did we go through that pompous initiation last night?

MOZARTIt was great fun.

LENNONWild o who was the house band?

MOZARTFirst time I heard myself. They were doing a re-enactment ofyour club days in Germany° Did you recognize it?

ACTS BY A.Do CAMERONE

STP~WBERRY FIELDS- 54

LENNONNot really, but it did make me think of earth° It made me wantto go back so bad. I got desperate o so I drank from thethat flask Shaw was holding.

Did it help?MOZART

LENNONNot if I judge this conversation as proof. I’m just as lost nowas when I first met you°

MOZARTIf It S any consolation, I’m just as confused as you° For now,why not sit back and enjoy the morning. I’m going back to theInn to give my report to the boys°

LENNONStill playing the spy for the bureaucrats, Wolfgang?

MOZARTDon’t be too hard on me, John. We are in this together°best strategy is not to put all our eggs in one basket°your angles--I’ll work mine.

OurYou work

LENNONIt’s OK. Tell the crew I had a great time last night.by in awhile°

I~ll be

MOZAR~Here’s some peanuts° Feed the pigeons.

LENNON(He takes the bag of peanuts.)

What plgeons.

MOZARTJust throw down a few peanuts. They’ll fly in

(He exits through the tunnel.)

END SCENE 1

STP~qBERRY FIELDS- 55 -

ACT 3

SCENE 2

!~_ENNON(Breaking up a peanut and throwing itdown in front of him.)

Pigeons . o(He throws another nut.)

Feed the pigeons. What,s a pigeon?(A bird appears.)

That’s a pigeon . sure o here you go, birdie(He throws more nuts and two more birdsappear.)

Hello¢ my little pigeons°

(DARWIN appears also throwing peanuts.)

DARWINInteresting diversity in sub-species. City pigeons know noboundaries°

~_ENNONHey, aren’t you Charles Darwin?

How did you guess?

Your beard oa young boy°

~ENNONo I remember seeing a photograph of you when I was

You remember your childhood?DARWIN

No, not really ~ . o but just then I did when I saw you. Iremember sitting in a library, looking at your photograph in abook°

DARWINI assume Einstein told you we would be meeting°

Einstein, of course oLENNO_____~N

do you work for King Hades?

D__ARWINGood lord, no. Who told you that?

ACTS ~Y A~Do CA~ERONE

STRAWBERRY FIELDS~ 56 ~

LENNONNO one I just wondered if you did . when do I see Byrd?

DARWINThat I don’t know because not even Byrd knows when he will seeyou°

Why is that?LENNON

DARWINBecause Byrd only sees those people who accidentally run ~ntohim. It’s a random process you see~

Great oLENNON

can you help me get back to New York City?

DARWINIf you go back to New York, you will never see Byrd.

L_~NONSo what’s the big deal about seeing Byrd?

DARWI~It’s your only way out of here Byrd is the only one who canyou free°

DARWINHurry up and wait. Do you know how many people are at the WhitePoplar Inn waiting to see Byrd?

DARWINThousands o o o you only saw a small fraction at theinitiation156last night. Most of them didn’t wake up. The majority is

encapsulated in the blue fog of forgetfulness°still

LENNONI guess there,s not much for me to do° should I just sit back,relax and wait patiently?

DARWINJohnp you have arrived here on the cusp. Your spontaneousrecall, while not unique, shows promise for individualizedawakenings.

What are you talking about?LENNON

3 ACTS BY A.D. CA~ERO~E

STRAWBERRY FIELDS- 57 -

The white Poplar Inn is going to be scrapped°Einstein and I are leaving with him.

Byrd is leaving°

LENNONSave the party line for someone who doesn’t know any better. Iknow Byrd is King Hades" front man. If you are all in cahoots,why did you say you didn’t work for Hades?

DA~.WINI don’t know where you got your information; but I can assure youHades is just a myth we use to frighten the wicked and cruel°The posts Einsteinp Byrd and I hold have been filled by variouspersonalities through the ages°

LENNONIf there never was a King Hades, then why did I see his abductedwife, Persephone?

T~e lady.you saw is not Persephone. She’s Mary Shelley.gives quite a performance--doesn’t she?

She

The only way for me to get out of here is to see ~y~?

DARWINThatrs one way. You can follow your instincts and do somethingelse if you like.

LENNONThen I can go back to my family in New York City.

DARWINIf you go back to the living, you won’t be able to interact withyour family° If that’s what you mean°

Why not?LENNON

DARWINYour previous existence on earth is over. Remember, John,consciousness is energy deciphered by mattero Your body is deadand buried° If you go back to earth~ only an incomplete versionof what you are now will make it back through the transition°

LENNONSo~ where does that leave me?

STRAWBERRY FIELDS- 58

The universe is a vast place.continuum that will accept thenow° It just so happens earth

DARWINThere are many space-timefull essence of what you are,isn’t one of them°

What about Yoko and Sean?

There’s always the possibility that you will be reunited afterthey have finished their time on earth.

Then I should wait for Byrd?LENNON

Most definitely.

But you just said Byrd is leaving.

DARWINHe iSo

When . when, exactly, is Byrd leaving?

D__ARWINI really couldn’t tell you° You have to remember, that time isinfluenced by gravity. We exist in a sphere where invisible darkmatter produces erratic gravitational forces°

What does that mean?

D__A~INIt means you no longer experience time on the linear plane youwere accustomed to on earth. The actual time is minuscule. Youwill decide how long it seems° It could be an instance, or itcould seem like eternity°

LENNONIf everyone must see Byrd in order to leave here; how can Byrdleave if he doesn’t see everyone?

First of all~ everyone is free to leave without Byrd’spermission. All the souls at the White Poplar Inn are their ownjailers. If they are stuck here, it is only because they aren’tclever enough to use their free will to move-on. Secondlyr Byrd ~will not see everyone° Some will be left behind.

STRAWBERRY FIELDS

LENNONBut those who are not to be left behind, willthem?

Yes, sooner or later oDARWIN

LENNON

DARWIN

It’s just a matter of time.

Right.

It seems you havewhere I started.

59 ~

Byrd see all of

LENNONtaken me around in a big circle° Irm ba~k Go

DARWINSorry, lad, but you took control of the conversation° I had anice speech on diversity and natural selection prepared° ~e o~iyspoke about the subjects you proposed.

LENNONWell, tell me about diversity and natural selection~ now.

DARWINNo time for that, now. Besides it wouldn’t do any good°

(DARWIN starts to exit.)Good luck in whatever you decide to do, lad. I’m sure you’llbump into Byrd sooner or later.

LENNONHey, wait a minute, what about that diversity stuff--maybe itwill do some good

(DARWIN walks away in silence°)

I have a question about natural selection o

(The pigeons follow DARWIN.)

Will I see you again?

END SCENE 2

STRAWBERRY FIELDS

ACT 3

John o John Lennon

SCENE__!3

A voice comes from the tunnel°MARY SHELLEY a k a PERSEPHONE iscalling LENNON’S name. She comesthrough the tunnel and appearsupstage center.

s~

LENNONOh~ no, it’s "The Ghost of Christmas Past".

Oh~ there you are° It’s me Persephone. I have great news foryou o

LENNO~I know who you really are Mary Shelley°

SHELLEYOhp dear, I hope you aren’t mad that I deceived you° Hades issuch a potent symbol° I’m afraid it’s embarrassing when the veilislifted.

Don’t flatter yourself° I didn’t believe a word you told me°

~HELLEYDon’t be bitter, John, I have good news for you° Byrdstrolling through Central Park. There’s a good chancebump into him.

you’ll

Dontt you want to go home,

I am home, John.

LENNONMary?

~ENNONNo, I mean your home on earth° Wouldn’t you like to go back evenif only for a little, while; or maybe like Persephone for sixmonths out of the year?

SHELLEYYou still don’t fully realize where we are--do you?

3 ACTS BY A.Do CAMEROHE

STP~I~BERRY FIELDS

LENNONI’ve heard the theories on space-time continuum and force fields.

SHELLEYLet me share some classified information with you. Our Milky WayGalaxy contains dark invisible matter that spans for hundreds ofthousands of light years. Through this darkness the Magellaniccloud moves in a spiral orbit that takes 2°5 million years tocomplete° This sphere, we currently call home, is the result o~that marvelous interaction. You couldn’t do better than to existhere°

LENNONI could be just as happy in New York City°

SHELLEYNo you couldn’t° You wouldn’t be happy being "The Ghost ofCentral Park". You would be bored stiff. I bet you would spen~eternity in the "Blue Fog".

LENNONWhat’s wrong with the blue fog?

SHELLE[Talk about dull. Listen, I have a lot of lost souls to finE.Keep your eye out for Byrd.

(She exits.)

END SCENE 3

3 ACTS BY AoDo CA~ERONE

STPJ~BEP~Y FIELDS

ACT 3

SCENE 4

LENNQ~_Hey, wait, what about the boys at the White Poplar Inn? Is Byrdgoing to see them too?

MOZ~T(Entering from the tunnel.)

Was that Persephone?

Her real name is MaryLENN__Q~

. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley°

MOZARTIs that who she is? Who is Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley?

LENNONShe wrote Frankenstein in 1818.

How do you know that?

I remember reading the book.LENNON

MOZA~No, I meant how do you know she’s really not Persephone?

LENNONShe was just play acting. Trying to confuse us to keep us on ourtoes~ There is no Persephone. There is no King Hades° It wasall a myth.

How did you find out? Did you figure it out, or did somebodytell you?

LENNQ~She just admitted to me. But Darwin told me first° He passed bywhile I was feeding the pigeons.

MOZARTThat’s what I came to tell you. Darwin is at the White PoplarInn right now. He saw you alone?

ACTS BY A~Do C~RONE

STP~WBERRY FIELDS

LENNONYes . .o o but here’s the big news. Persephone~ ah,just informed me that Byrd has rejoined the sphere°he’s walking through Central Park as we speak°

Mary ShelleySupposedly,

MOZARTIf what you say is truep things seem to be coming to a head.Have you decided what you are going to do?

No have you?LENNON

MOZARTDarwin made a big impression on the boys at the White Poplar. Hegave a great speech on diversity and natural selection° Ev~ryon~was completely won over. The general consensus is we should waitfor Byrd as group.

LENNoNDid Darwin also tell you that the White Poplar Inn was beingeliminated?

MOZARTYes, but after a quick analysisp we figured it wouldn’t make anydifference if we were leaving anyway.

LENNONWhat about those who will be left behind? Or the souls who willcome in the future?

MOZAR~We dldn t consider them because everyone is ~o be left on theirown.

LENNONSO now it is popular to accept the double-speak of the partyline?

What do you mean?MOZART

LENNONCan we make it on our own?

MOZARTTalk about flip-flopso You were the one who wanted to go off onhis own.

3 AC~S BY AoD. CAMERONE

STPu~i~BERRY FIELDS- 64

LENNONI just wanted to go back home° I realize now that might beimpossible° Maybe we should think about the souls who willfollow us. The next newcomer could be member of one of ourfamilies°

MOZARTThis is a perfect example of how we got into the mess we are innow. Constant indecision o

LENNONNot indecision--diversityo Maybe we need botheither/or, but also/ando

not

What are you proposing?MOZART

LENNONGranted it s not such a great idea to go back to the land of theliving. We should move on and explore the universe. B.ut maybewe can do something to help the loved ones we left behind onearth to make it easier for them when their time to d~e comes~

MOZARTDarwin says everyone will have to figure it out for themselves,

Maybe we can help them° Let’s take what we know about thephysical laws that govern "the sphere" and use that knowledge tosend a message to earth.

MOZARTYOU mean set up a White Poplar Inn on earth?

We can do better than that. There should be more to death thanflip-flopping between the blue fog and wild parties at some inn°

did help pass the time°

LENNO~We can do more. We can create something better. We don’t needByrd and his bureaucrats. We don’t need Hades and hismythology° Let’s take control of our existence and then teachthe people on earth to do the same°

Sounds great,

I’m not sure

MOZARTbut how do we do it?

LENNON. but we have plenty of time to figure it out.

END SCENE 43 ACTS BY A.Do Ci~2~ERONE

STRAWBERRY FIELDS- 65

ACT 3

SCENE 5

(A great commotion is heard asthe BYRD entourage inundates thestage° Three advance men noisilyprepare the way°)

SPIN DOCTOR 1Nor no this is Central Park° We are going to the White PoplarInn after we leave Strawberry Fields.

SPIN DOCTOR 2(After consulting a map, talking toSPIN DOCTOR 3.)

The inn is through that tunnel and around the bend.

Through

SPIN DOCTOR 3(To those who are following behind.)

that tunnel and around the bend°

(Half the entourage continues onthrough the tunnel.)

SPIN DOCTOR 1(Noticing LENNON.)

Oh, yes, Mro John Lennon--NYC1981. Let me tell you what is goingto happen here° Admiral Byrd will be disposing of several oasessimultaneously. Just stand by quietly and speak only when theAdmiral speaks to you first.

LENNONGo take a hike. Who the hell are you?

We areHades?

SPIN DOCTORS i, 2~ and ~(Simultaneously.)

the Admiral’s spin doctors° Are you familiar with King

LENNONLook, I already know that Hades is a myth° If youbust in here and o

SPIN DOCTORS I~ 2~ and 3(Simultaneously.)

Quleto Here comes Admiral Byrd°

think, you can

3 ACTS BY A.Do CAMERONE

STRAWBERRY FIELDS........ 66 ~

(Enter BYRD surrounded by his manyaides°)

BYRDNow, let me get this straight. You feel these souls have allcommitted atrocities, so heinous, that rehabilitation isunlikely?

COUNSELORYes, Admiral, these souls are beyond redemption. Repudiation isour only course.

B YRDVery well, bring them to meo

(The COUNSELOR waves his handr and thecondemned group files over.)

You people know why you are here. Know, now, because you willforever forget. Go and roam these fields with no hope ofsalvation° You will be visited by King Hades let him be~youreternal tormentor°

(The group exits silently°)

That,s it I’m leaving.LENNON

MOZARTC’mon, John you can’t go now° Not when we are this close tofinally meeting with Byrd° Just relax, and play along

(LENNON tries to sneak away°)

(Noticing LENNON.)What have we here ~ the infamous John Lennon NYCI981?

SPIN DOCTOR 1The Englishman from New York

The rock and roll singer

BYR____~DWhere are you sneaking off to, young man? Did my sentencingthose poor souls to eternal damnation disturb you?

LENNONI know all about you and Hades°

ACTS BY AoDo CA~ERO~E

STIh%WBERRY FIELDS67 m

Have you been talking to the erstwhile Persephone, Mary Shelley?

LENN_Q~_Yes, I have; but she didn’t tell meo Darwin told me Hades is asham°

BYR~Not to those who believe otherwise° We never said we wanted youto believe in Hello

LENNQ~I don’t care what you want me to believe. I’ve decided to go italone°

BYRQYou too, Herr Mozart? You are awful quiet° Will you go it alonetoo?

MOZ .ARTThere’s something to be said for John’s plan.

BYRQAnd just what is "John’s Plan"? A loosely fit~e~ plo£ wi~h nefocus°

It compliments our loosely fitted electromagnetic spectrum.

(The entourage is aghast at LENNONrSpresumptuousness~)

BYRD

(A MESSENGER delivers a document toSHELLEY, and she hands it to BYRD.)

Here’s the transcript of your most recent conversation withMozart. Your~plan is no different than a hundred others thathave been submitted to meo Another do-gooder out to savehumanity° What makes you believe you can succ@ed wh~re s~m~ manyothers have failed?

LENNOX_ItJs worth a try° If I fail, I fail. No harm in trying.

I’ll be the judge of that° Neverthelessj this of no matter° Wehave already charted a course for you

3 ACTS ]~Y AoD. CAMERONE

STRAWBERRY FIELDS68 -

You can’tfollowsame°

LENNO~control meo I’m going to choose my own course to

o and I’m going to encourage the others to do the

BYRDOhp you are? Well what you say is of no matter° John Lennon~ Isentence you to remain aware of your plight in the afterlife.You shall not find solace in the blue fog° You will spendeternity knowing who you are you are truly on your ownr mydear boy°

MOZARTWe are not afraid to control our destiny. I’m with John°

Exactly where am ~?LENNON

Not now, John°MOZART

So be itBYRD

the same will apply for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart..

MOZARTYour decree is a blessing; not a punishment~ mien Admiral Byrd°

BYRD(BYRD is already moving on to otherbusiness°)

It was meant to be neither. Now~ go on your merry way. There’sa whole universe waiting to be explored° If you can send backmessage to earth that will help those hopeless wretchesr morepower to you°

(BYRD exits through the tunnel and hisentourage follows° The SPIN DOCTORStake a few steps then come back toLENNON.)

END SCENE 5

STPu~WBERRY FIELDS- 69 -

ACT 3

SCENE 6

SPIN DOCTORS i~ 2 and 3(Simultaneously°)

We would like to put the proper slant on what Admiral Byrd said°

SPIN DOCTOR 1There is a good possibility that the Admiral did not mean whatyou thought he said o o

SPIN DOCTOR 2While we admit that the probability of the existence Of KingHades is remote o

SPIN DOCTOR 3The creation in the minds of the damned of suchan entlty’ is non¯ ethe less realo

LENNONSave your conundrums for your next victim° I know what Byrd said

he said I can do as I please o and at th~ moment Io ¯ o

choose to ignore you°

SPIN DOCTORS i~ 2~ and 3(Simultaneously°)

Well~ what you say is true o for ,now~ let’s leavethat.

(The SPIN DOCTORS attempt to exit butthey seem to have lost their way.)

it at

SPIN DOCTOR 1GOOd grief, everyone is gone° Are you sure the Inn is this way?

SPIN DOCTOR 2Through the tunnel and around the bend o

SPIN DOCTOR 3Yes, through the tunnel and around the bend.these guys got away with that?

(The SPIN DOCTORS finally exit°Leaving LENNON and MOZART alone°)

Can you believe

END SCENE 6

STP~WBERRY FIELDS70

ACT 3

SCENE 7

MOZART(Long pause as the two stare at each inawkward silence°)

Quite a roller coaster ride°

LENNONWell, we saw Byrd and where did it get us?

MOZARTWe’re free. We have the whole universe to play ino

LENNONI still feel empty and lonely°

MOZARTYou’re not alone, John, you have meo

LENNONAnd you have me°

MOZARTWe have each other, and there’s everyone at the WhiteByrd is probably setting them free right now. We cantogether°

LENNONTo do what?

Poplar°all get

MOZARTWe can work on your plan to send that message to earth°

LENNONDo you really think it could work?

MOZARTSure I dOo C’mon, it won’t be that bad° Let’s take a stroll°I’ll play you that new variation for the flute I’ve been workingon.

(He pulls out a flute and playssoftly.)

STRAWBERRY FIELDS

LENNONWhy not? We have plenty of time° Which way shall we go?

(They look at the four directions thepaths leado)

How about this way?

(They stroll upstage to the tunnel°)

- 71

THE END