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Our theater starts to move for the first time. Lively banjo music comes on to the tune of the ride's theme song. CHORUS: There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, Shining at the end of every day. There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, And tomorrow is just a dream away. Man has a dream and that's the start. He follows his dream in mind and heart. Our
theater rolls around to the first stage. It's the kitchen
of a circa 1900 home. Father (our narrator) is sitting in
a rocker, wearing a smoking jacket and holding a pipe and
newspaper. Father joins in on the singing as the chorus
fades out. FATHER:
And when it becomes a reality, It's a dream come true for you and me. So there's a great big beautiful tomorrow, Shining at the end of every day, There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, Just
a dream away. The
song ends, but quiet violin music plays in the
background. Through the windows we see that it's a bright
sunny day outside. Birds are chirping in the spring air.
Father notices the sound of the birds and begins to
address the crowd.
The
icebox opens up to show the ice, bread and milk. FATHER: Milk doesn't sour as quick as it used to and our dog Rover here keeps the water in the drip pan from overflowing. It wasn't to long ago that we had to carry water from a well. Thanks to progress, we have a pump right here in the kitchen. The
pump handle magically moves and water starts to flow. FATHER:
Of course, we keep a bucket of water handy to prime
it with. Yes sir, we've got everything to make life
easier. Father
looks over to his right, (our left,) where the first of
the rotating dioramas mentioned above appears. A woman
dressed in an apron, is ironing a shirt, while her young
daughter works beside her. In the background is a large
pantry with bags of food. FATHER:
Say mother? MOTHER:
Hmm? FATHER:
I was reading about a fellow named Tom Edison who's
working on an idea for a snap-on electric light. SARAH
(MOTHER): Electric lights? No more kerosine! No more
gas! FATHER: (He chuckles.) Sarah sure gets to the core of the apple. SARAH:
But we do have this new washday marvel. It takes only
5 hours to do the wash. Imagine! It used to take two
days. FATHER:
That's right folks, now Mother has time for other
things, like... SARAH:
Like canning and cleaning the oven? FATHER:
Yes dear. SARAH: Well ovens just don't clean themselves you know dear. FATHER:
I know dear. (He chuckles.) And they probably
never will! SARAH:
Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get the laundry
off the line before it starts raining cats and dogs. Rover
starts barking at the comment. The diorama disappears. FATHER:
Ah don't worry Rover. She didn't mean real dogs.
Besides, it's not going to rain today. My lumbago isn't
acting up. Lightning
flashes outside the windows and we hear thunder. Rain
starts poring shortly thereafter. SARAH:
(Off-stage.) I hate to say I told you so. FATHER: Oh, look at it come down! All you have to do is put your wash on the line right? Oh well, the cistern was low anyway. The
diorama on our right lights up to display a young boy
using a stereoscope beside an oil lamp. SON:
Wowee! Look at that! FATHER:
Now James, I though I told you to ask my permission
before using my new stereoscope. That's not a toy you
know! JIMMY (SON): Ooh la la! So that's the Norwegian doing the hoochie-koochie, eh dad? FATHER: (Momentarily forgetting himself.) Isn't she a knockout? She's the star of the new World's Fair in Saint Louis and... ahem... you put that away before your mother finds it. JIMMY: Aw dad... FATHER:
You heard me! The
Diorama darkens. FATHER: Well, we have one of those new talking machines... now that is something. It plays music right here in our home. The
left diorama opens again, displaying Grandma sitting in a
rocker, listening to music on a phonograph machine. A
parrot is sitting on a perch, beside her. The record
plays the theme song, "There's A Great Big Beautiful
Tomorrow." PARROT: Aaah. She keeps that thing going all day long. Aaah! Progress! The
left diorama closes, at which point the opposite one
reopens. Patricia (the narrator's daughter,) is sitting
at a vanity fixing her hair. She's only wearing her under
garments, (but in 1900, the under garments were more
modest that today's outer garments, so the scene isn't
offensive.) Flowery, feminine music comes on for the
daughter. PATRICIA:
Oh papa. FATHER:
Yes Patricia? PATRICIA:
(Astounded.) Papa! All these people! I'm... I'm
indecent! FATHER:
(He chuckles.) Don't worry Patricia. They're friends.
(He addresses us.) That's my teenage daughter. She's
getting ready to go to a Valentines dance across town, on
one of those new horseless trolleys. PATRICIA: I think it's very romantic, you're taking mother out for Valentines dinner tonight. FATHER: Well, you know what kind of sport I am. PATRICIA: I only hope that I have an evening as romantic as yours and mothers. A
sudden thought crosses father's mind and he turns sharply
towards his daughter. FATHER: Now you be home by nine o'clock daughter. You hear me? The
flowery music dies for obvious reasons. PATRICIA: (Dejectedly.) Yes papa. The
diorama fades. FATHER:
Well, with all this talking, I've worked up quite a
thirst. I think I'll take one of those new fangled
trolleys down to the drug store soda fountain and meet
the boys for a cold sarsaparilla. Oh... ha ha, I'm sorry,
I forgot... we're drinking root beer now! Same kind of
thing, different name. Well, that's progress for you.
Speaking of progress... FATHER
AND CHORUS SING: There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, Shining at the end of every day. There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, And tomorrow is just a dream away. Man has a dream and that's the start. He follows his dream in mind and heart And when it becomes a reality, It's a dream come true for you and me. So there's a great big beautiful tomorrow, Shining at the end of every day. There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, Just a dream away. By
this time, we have rotated to the next stage. This time,
we see a slightly more modern kitchen than before. The
same basic layout, however. Now, Father is sitting on a
chair in the middle of the kitchen, cooling himself with
a Niagara Falls fan. Electricity has arrived in the home,
with wires hanging from the appliances. Rover lays on the
floor in front of father.
From
outside of the window, a car horn blows. Father seems to
smile at the sound. FATHER: Ha ha ha. There goes Schwarts in his hump mobile. He sure loves that horn. You know, in my new Essex, I've got an electric starter! Now I don't have to crank. We can travel from New York to Los Angeles by train in only three days. Now we've got a house full of new electrical servants. Mr. Edison sure added life to our home. Suddenly,
silly, hyper music comes on and all of the 'electrical
servants' start going crazy. The vacuum moves crazily,
the oven and refrigerator doors open and close quickly,
and lights flicker on and off. FATHER: (To machines.) Whoa there! You'll blow a fuse! As
if on que, the lights go out, and all of the machines
die. The stage is dark. Only the city lights outside the
windows are bright. FATHER: Drat! That's the third one this week. I buy fuses by the case. Suddenly
the lights outside the windows go dark as well. FATHER:
Uh oh. And I've blown the whole neighborhood again!
(He sounds as if he finds a strange amusement in his
deed.) WOMAN OUTSIDE OF WINDOW: Henry! He did it again! Go over and give that neighbor of ours what for! Rover
growls, preparing to come to the aid of his master. FATHER:
Easy Rover. (Directed to off stage.) Jimmy!
Hurry up with that fuse! We
hear the crunching of gravel as Jimmy walks around in the
back yard trying to find the fuse box. JIMMY: (Heard off stage.) Shucks. Every time he has company, he blows a fuse. And guess who always has to change it. FATHER:
I heard that young man! I heard that! We
hear a clunk, and suddenly the lights are back on. We see
now that the right diorama has opened up to reveal Mother
sitting on the front porch, sewing a costume of some
sort. MOTHER:
Oh, well that's more like it. John, yours is the last
costume I've got to finish before the parade starts. We
learn from this statement that Father's name is John.
I'll keep calling him Father though. FATHER: Sarah's lady's club is responsible for our town's Forth of July celebration tonight. She's got us all roped up into preforming in their program. SARAH:
And I've decided that we're going as George and
Martha Washington dear. FATHER: Oh... the father of our country. (Whimsical.) That's a role that really fits me! You know, I-- SARAH:
(Interrupting Father.) I'm so glad that we installed
an electric light fixture here on the porch, because it's
just to darn hot to be sewing inside. FATHER: Yes Sarah. You know, next year I'd like to go as Benedict Arnold! Ha ha. I-- SARAH:
Wait until you see what I've got planned for the
fireworks show tonight. Rover
barks, we assume at the mention of fireworks, which we
all know, dogs hate. FATHER: Rover! Don't interrupt, while Sarah's interrupting. SARAH: And guess who volunteered to choose the music for the program. Sarah's
diorama goes dark, and the opposite one lights up. Jimmy
is standing next to an old fashioned radio, while Grandpa
sits in a chair, fiddling with a firework. JIMMY:
I did pop! Listen to this! Jimmy
flips on the radio and a patriotic tune comes on. FATHER:
Oh... that's a nice tune Jimmy. (To us.) You
know, with our new Gladstone radio set, we can get news
and **** **** **** **** (Father's dialog got garbled
here, due to the loud music.) Jimmy
switches stations and a news broadcast comes on. RADIO ANNOUNCER: People are starting to arrive downtown for a spectacular Forth of July parade and fireworks event tonight. Mayor Beaverfield said--- Radio
dies down and Father directs his attention to the right
diorama, even though it's not lit up yet. FATHER:
Oh Patricia. PATRICIA:
Yes Father? FATHER: Better get a move on. The radio says people are arriving downtown. PATRICIA: (Whining.) Do I really have to go? The
Diorama lights up to reveal Patricia dressed up as the
Statue of Liberty, loading a torch. PATRICIA:
If my new boyfriend Theodore sees me in this, it'll
scare him away! FATHER: (He chuckles.) Well dear, if that happens, you'll always have that torch you can carry for him. Ha ha ha. Rover
growls at his master's joke about his daughter. PATRICIA: (Exasperated.) Oh father! The
diorama darkens. FATHER: Oh calm down Rover, I was only kidding. (To us.) By the way, we have indoor plumbing now! Oh boy, that's really great on cold nights. Especially for out perennial house guest, old Uncle Orville. The
left hand diorama lights up to display a bathroom,
complete with Orville lying in the tub. He's reading the
paper, and wiggling his toes over the edge of the tub.
Next to him is a block of ice, and a fan, which blows the
cold ice air onto Orville. Hanging from the wall is an
"Uncle Sam" costume. Obviously Sarah even roped
Orville into participating in the Forth of July show. FATHER: Uncle Orville's taken over the coolest spot in the house. And he's rigged up a real clever contraction. He calls it "air cooling." Humph. To bad he's not reading the help wanted adds. The
diorama darkens. UNCLE
ORVILLE: (From off stage.) No privacy at all around
this place! FATHER: Sorry Orville. (To us.) You know, considering all the-- SARAH: (Off stage.) John. Costume's ready. FATHER: Oh! Coming Martha! (Back to us.) Well, as I was saying, considering all the conveniences we now have, I'd say that we're really on easy street these days. It just can't get any better! Just goes to show that-- Father
and Chorus: There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, Shining at the end of every day. There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, And tomorrow is just a dream away. Man has a dream and that's the start. He follows his dream in mind and heart And when it becomes a reality, It's a dream come true for you and me. So there's a great big beautiful tomorrow, Shining at the end of every day. There's a great big beautiful tomorrow, Just
a dream away. |
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©2000
Ladder Productions |
FATHER: Well,
looks like the robins are getting ready to celebrate
Valentines day today. What year is it? Oh,
FATHER: Whew,
boy! Hottest Forth of July we've had in years. We've come
a long way though since the turn of the century over
twenty some-odd years ago. You know that pilot fellah...
Charles Lindberg? He's about to fly a single winged
airplane all the way across the Atlantic. (He
chuckles.) He's never gonna make it. And sports
stadiums are springing up all over. And boy... nobody
hits that old horse hide like that new fellah, Babe Ruth.
Jazz music is the cat's meow, and there's been adds in
the paper for months for a movie starring Al Jollson...
(he whispers this,) and he's going to talk! And sing!
Boy, I've got to see that. 
