Jo’s Quantum Cafe

I left Friday night for St. Louis aboard American Airlines. They were full and when I asked for a window seat, they bumped me up to first class! I had a wonderful flight, if a little bumpy from air currents. I didn’t mind at all and the bumps didn’t bother me. I was looking forward to seeing all my friends and to, of course, seeing Scott and Chelsea in the play.

After landing, I took a cab to the motel we were all staying at and plopped into bed. My roommate would not arrive until Saturday. Saturday morning, several Leapers showed up and we wandered across the street for a leisure breakfast, a group of about 10 of us. After breakfast, we split and some of us joined Helene and Barbara to see some St. Louis sites. Barbara had a friend in St. Louis who acted as guide.

We parked at the Arch and walked down to the Mississippi River. Ann M. and Helene kicked off their shoes to stand in the water. Then we wandered into the sub-room at the base of the Arch to cool off a bit and see how long a wait we had to go to the top.

Because of the length of wait, we decided instead to catch the train for Union Station and look around there. The temperature was over 100, it was mid afternoon (the hottest part of the day) and we were all feeling the heat. But after an hour of looking at the stores, we trained back to the car and drove to a Ponderosa for dinner. Then it was a stop at a local grocery store to pick up a few items and a surprise birthday cake. We said good-bye to Barbara’s friend, drove back to the motel, and watched some Scott movies and had the surprise birthday celebration. By this time, it was close to 1:30AM and I was fading fast so my roommate and I said our good-byes and headed to bed. Of course, we lay awake chatting another hour before calling it quits for the night.

Sunday morning we again enjoyed breakfast at a late and leisurely pace, then back to the motel to change for the 2:00PM open call dress rehearsal. Monday’s performance was sold out. Sunday night’s performance was also fast closing, thus the generous offer of open seating for the rehearsal.

Three of us arrived about 1 pm for the 2 pm show. Thank goodness they opened the lobby very early so we didn’t have to stand outside in the heat and red alert air. We used the time to get the flower cards signed for Scott and Chelsea. We decided that since the charity was presenting flowers for opening night, we would give flowers and a card each to Scott and Chelsea for closing night.

We figured this was our best shot at being front row center. Since we had to pick up the tickets each night, we had no idea where we were sitting for each performance.

While we were waiting, those who had contributed for the flowers signed their names to the cards we were sending with the bouquets to Scott and Chelsea. We came up with a nice sentiment of thanks to Chelsea more easily than Scott. His thank you took a bit of group work. When both cards were signed, they were tucked safely away for Monday night. Since the flowers were about $75 with tax and there were 15 commitments, we set the donations at $5 with any surplus going to the charity. Many fans, seeing what was going on, donated and signed so we had $75 above flower cost for the charity. Then those of us who chose to donate more chipped in toward a brick. (By Monday, we had almost $200 for the charity.)

We got our tickets and when the doors finally opened at ten minutes to two, we bee-lined for front row, center. I saved my roommate a seat and she said afterward that this was the first time ever that she had sat front row center.

When I bought 3! tickets for each performance, I was worried I would be bored with sitting through 6+ hours of “I Do! I Do.” Never to be the case. As it turned out, each performance, including the rehearsal, was Broadway quality and it was a unique experience to watch the subtleties of each performance.

Our group made up a large segment of the audience. The place was about one-third full for the rehearsal. The band was putting the finishing touches on their last rehearsal without an audience. We were told they had done a run-through just before the dress rehearsal, but from what we heard later the 2 pm show was the first one where every element including Lights/Darkness etc. were all included. The musical director turned around and commented to us about the fact that they had barely played together at all.

Needless to say, with no one but the orchestra between us and the stage, the performance (rehearsal) was very personal as if (to quote Daniel Roebuck from Orlando Leap) they were performing just for me!

Several of us were dabbing at our eyes when the lights came up after the bows. The second act brought a flood of emotions to the surface and I was weeping when I reached the lobby. I hadn’t realized how intense the experience was until that moment.

(From another POV) The theater had an L shaped lobby. The long side ran parallel to the parking area and had the doors that went backstage as well as entrance doors from the parking lot. The short side had the entrance to the theater and the ticket booth. It’s doors led out to a drop off and pick up area in front. I had parked in a handicapped space because one of my passengers had a handicap access pass. After the show, we were hanging around in the lobby talking to each other. Jo and her roommate were composing themselves because both had burst into tears at the end of the show due to the touching nature of the play. The lady in charge, Jessica, came out as if she were looking for someone. Then she asked if we were the ones waiting for autographs. I told her we did not expect that because we were told there would be no autographs or pictures. I added that we were just visiting, because I thought she was going to kick us out of the lobby into the hot humid St. Louis air.

A group of us were still standing in the lobby, talking about what we were going to do next (it was cooler in the lobby than going outside) when Jessica came out to see how many of us were still there. I thought she was there to shoo us out. Then she went back and came back out again to say Scott would be coming out! This was a total surprise.

Chelsea came out wearing an ice pack below her right knee. We all applauded her when she came out. Scott had told us that this was the first time she had done a lead performance. We were stunned. Just as with Scott, we thought she had been doing this forever.

Then we left and got ready for the evening performance. There wasn’t even time for dinner. Just time enough to shower, change, chill for a few minutes and head back to the theater.

This performance was tighter than the rehearsal. The audience included many couples and the men were enjoying it as much as the women. I noticed they solved the alarm clock problem but they left in the ad lib from the dress rehearsal about the symphony.

I didn’t hang around after the show because I hadn’t eaten since 10AM and I was starving! A group of us headed to Malloys for a late night dinner. We got in just under the wire as they were closing the kitchen. Back at the motel, we all crowded in Helene’s room for more Scott videos but I said good-bye after an hour and a half and headed for bed. Verna was still awake so we chatted in bed another hour and it was 2:45 before we finally called it quits.

Below is a detailed description of the play:

Scott came out first on stage right (facing the stage, that’s the left side of the stage or, from the actor’s point of view as he looks out to the audience, his right side). He was wearing a white naval outfit and cap and white shoes. Chelsea came out stage left in a bridal gown and veil. They sang “I Do! I Do,” the opening number. The stage was set with a four-poster double bed and bedroom furniture. A projection of a church window and appropriate music created the chapel scene. Scott stepped in military fashion to center stage as Chelsea glided to meet him. Scott (Michael) placed the wedding band on Chelsea’s (Agnes’) finger and they sang their vows to each other.

The next number, “Good Night,” takes place in the bedroom. The bride and groom are plopped on the bed exhausted from dancing. Agnes complains her feet hurt. Michael takes off her shoe and begins to kiss her leg. Agnes pulls back aghast, asking what he is doing. Michael proclaims he is worshiping her. Blushing, Agnes gets off the bed, grabs her suitcase and hurries to her closet (stage left). Michael calls after her, “Where are you going?” He thinks a moment, and then utters, “Oh.”

Off come the shoes and socks, off comes the jacket, off come the button down pants. On goes the nightshirt and cap over tee shirt and boxer shorts. As he waits and nervously prances, Michael tries several nonchalant poses, then modestly pulls on the pants (though he doesn’t re-button them) and sits posed in the chair waiting for Agnes. When she comes out in nightgown, he stands up. She asks, “Do you wear a nightcap?” He whips it off his head. “No.”

Michael sidles to the bed, kicking off his pants as he goes and he and Agnes begin to pull down the covers when Agnes discovers a blue pillow under the sheets. Michael grabs it from her to read the words. Agnes asks and Michael responds, “God is Love.” Mother must have put it there. She’s elated. He’s deflated.

They again sing “Good Night” and Agnes confesses she has never seen a man without his clothes. Michael tells her she hasn’t missed much. She asks him if he’s ever seen a woman naked and he replies he must have but she realizes he is as innocent as she.

After trying again to overcome their nervousness, they retire under the sheets. Afterward, as if in a dream, Michael declares , “I Love My Wife.”

Time passes and Agnes is pregnant. She wonders “Something Has Happened” and where she was one, she’s now two. Michael frets that he is a third wheel. He groans and collapses on bed in pain, calling for Agnes to attend him. The pain is no longer in his head. It has moved to his lower back and side. She asks if it is a sharp pain that comes in waves growing stronger. Yes, Michael moans. “Michael, it’s not possible,” Agnes tells him, “You’ve got labor pains.” Michael stomps out of bed, gets his shoes and socks and begins dressing. Agnes asks where he is going. To fetch the doctor, he replies, telling her that the doctor said to get him when the pains start. “Mine, not yours,” Agnes tells him and pulls him back to bed, to which he petulantly replies that he doesn’t want to go.

Shortly afterward, labor begins for real. Michael rushes to her, holding out his hands as if to catch the baby. Agnes climbs into bed and Michael runs to dress to fetch the doctor, but she doesn’t want him to go. Michael reads to her from his new novel, a trilogy, “Burnt Corn.” The pains get worse and finally Agnes sends Michael for the doctor. He takes a last look at his writing before rushing off.

My favorite moment in the play is after Mickey is born and Michael and Agnes are bickering. They put away their differences as Agnes confesses, “Sometimes in the morning when shadows are deep, I lie here beside you just watching you sleep. And sometimes I whisper what I’m dreaming of, My Cup Runneth Over with Love.” It’s a beautiful duet that Chelsea and Scott sing to each other. I was misty-eyed, thinking of my own family.

Agnes and Michael decide “Love isn’t Everything” as their family grows with the addition of a girl and Michael struggles to pay the bills. Michael explains (to the audience) about the difficulty of the writing profession after ordering Agnes to clean up and put away the toys. She angrily throws stuff into the wagon, banging the wheels on the floor to purposefully interrupt him. She takes the wagon off stage and there is a crash. Michael continues talking to the audience. Agnes calls, “I’m all right.” She returns on stage to get the tricycle. Chelsea hikes up her skirt and straddles the trike, peddling it around Michael. He tells the audience about his new book. Agnes says it’s dull as she trikes off the stage.

Strife between Michael and Agnes grows. Michael chastises Agnes for spending more than he makes and being overdrawn at the bank. She complains he chews in his sleep. They read lists of each other’s faults to “Nobody’s Perfect.”

As Michael’s novels do well and his reputation grows, so does his ego. He declares he’s involved with another woman although, in the ensuing argument, she learns they haven’t done anything yet. Michael tells Agnes that men grow more handsome and desirable as they age “It’s a Well Known Fact” while women go to pot. Agnes doesn’t listen. She storms off to get ready for bed. When she returns, Michael leaves to get dressed for bed and Agnes proclaims if he leaves her, she will also try wanton love in “Flaming Agnes.” Their shouting match continues when Michael returns. They yell at each other from opposite ends of the stage, ending with, “go to hell.”

Agnes packs her bag and Michael helps her, stuffing the blue pillow into it. She leaves and after a beat, Michael calls after her but there is no answer. He calls again, then rushes to find her, dragging her back into the room. Michael opens her bag, unpacking her things. He tells her to put the blue pillow back on the bed. She tosses it to the floor, refusing.  He finally picks up the pillow, wraps her arms around it, and pushes her and the pillow onto the bed. “Thank you,” he tells her. They both realize they don’t look at each other with love as they declare “The Honeymoon is Over.”

The curtain closes and there is a 15-minute break.

Act two opens with Agnes and Michael still together and it is New Year’s Eve. Michael is asleep while Agnes plays with party favors and noisemakers. She blows on one, waking Michael who jumps out of bed shouting “Happy New Year.” She tells him it is a false alarm. They realize they are getting old as they ask, “Where Are the Snows?” Michael frets about Mickey being out late at 16. The alarm finally goes off and Agnes and Michael prance around shouting “Happy New Year.” Michael hits the alarm. It doesn’t shut off. Scott hits it again. Nothing. He turns it over and he and Chelsea stand grinning as the alarm winds down. Another prop failure. The audience roars with laughter. There is a pregnant pause before the play can continue.

At 4 in the morning, Michael wakes Agnes, ranting that Mickey still isn’t home. He gets out his belt, threatening to have it out with “her son.” Finally, they hear the front gate and Michael storms from the bedroom to confront Mickey. Shortly he returns, dragging the belt. As he heads for the closet to put the belt away, Agnes asks, “Well, what did you say to him?” to which Michael replies, “Good Morning.” He returns somberly to the bed and climbs in next to Agnes. She scolds him that after all his ranting that was all he said and asks why? Michael replies dejectedly, “He was wearing my tux.” He pauses a beat, then finishes, “and it fit him.” Tenderly Agnes reminds Michael that the kids will soon be on their own “When the Kids Get Married.” This is the same number Scott and Chelsea sang at the Hamilton benefit. Scott still played the sax – badly – but his playing was much improved from the Hamilton.

When the applause ceased at the end, Chelsea pointed at Scott with her violin bow and improvised “Obviously not a member of the St. Louis Symphony.” Scott’s face struggled for composure. We thought we saw restrained laughter as the whole audience broke up. By the time we had stopped laughing Scott had thought up a comeback “Lovely hairdo” (I think) referring to her frizzy permed wig.

More time passes and Michael laments his daughter is marrying an idiot in “Father of the Bride” as he longs for the return of his little girl.

With the children married, Agnes feels her job is over and she is no longer needed as she ponders “What is a Woman.” She decides it is time to move on, that she no longer loves Michael. He tells her he needs her and loves her and Agnes realizes “Someone Needs Me” as Michael realizes how much he truly loves Agnes.

Fifty years have passed and Michael and Agnes are old. The house has been sold. All is packed and the furniture gone except for one trunk and the bed. Agnes tries to leave a souvenir behind for the new couple – the blue pillow – but Michael admonishes her that she is not going to ruin that poor boy’s night. She sends Michael to the wine cellar and again tries to hide the pillow under the sheets. Michael returns with a champagne bottle left over from Mickey’s wedding. He looks around the room, remarking on the echos he hears of the past. They finally compromise, singing together of life and love in “This House.” Michael gives in to Agnes. He allows her to leave the pillow on the bride’s side of the bed and props up the champagne bottle on the groom’s side. He sweeps Agnes up in his arms and carries her off in a final kiss.