Synopsis

A multi-media show in 3 acts by David Galay

Published in 2017 and translated by Ellen Cassedy

The characters are comprised of three groups (each with their own artistic language) and a Master of Ceremonies, who narrates three love affairs while leafing through old and new fashion magazines. The Worriers (daygers) are actor-singers, a popular folksy group, the largest of the three. Kibitzers (eytse-gebers) are advice-givers, representing the middle-class, made up of instrumental musicians. A smaller group. Snobs (faynshmekers) are an elite group of dancers, the smallest group.

Act I. Comic Love. In Worryland. Lucia and Maria, Worriers, energetically chase after their love interest, another Worrier. But to everyone's surprise, it's a Kibitzer who catches his fancy and urges him to reject Lucia and Maria's advances.

Act II. Fatal Love. In Kibitzland. A pair of Snobs in sportswear sit atop Mt. Everest sipping tea from porcelain cups. After one sip, the man falls down dead in the snow. At the foot of the mountain, the Kibitzer smiles and passionately woos the Snob’s wife. It was he who put the poison pill into the Connoisseur’s tea.

Act III. Romantic Love. In the Land of Snobs. Innocent love between a gentle Worrier and a Snob with a blond forelock. The Worrier’s enraged parents absolutely forbid their daughter's relationship. The young couple despairs and almost gives up – until the Snob shows signs of worry…causing his Worrier sweetheart to overflow with joy: “He’s one of us!” At the last minute, the Kibitzers intervene, urging the couple to stand up for their love because Amor Vincit Omnia / Love must triumph. Indeed, the argument that the worrying Snob is "one of us" tips the scale and wins over the Worrier's parents.

Three happy couples stand in center stage preparing for the big celebration. But suddenly the Master of Ceremonies notices that no one seems to be paying any attention to him. "And who am I? Does no one care?" The three groups all pounce at once on the Master of Ceremonies, assuring him, "You’re one of us, you're one of us!" He flees from the stage, leaving the artists abandoned and forlorn, unable to go on with the celebration without him. As they disperse in various directions looking for the Master of Ceremonies, a surrealistic scene unfolds. The more they search the more they themselves lose their way… Suddenly the Master of Ceremonies stands alone on the stage. He hears the distant voices of the Worriers, the Kibitzers and the Snobs, who are somewhere far away, in a twilight zone between Past and Present, between The Dead and The Living, like a choir mourning the modern alienated world. A bitter dispute ensues between them and the Master of Ceremonies, who calls on them all to face up to real life, challenging them to engage with today’s world because it belongs to all of us. The Worriers, the Kibitzers and the Snobs accept the Master of Ceremonies' challenge. They present him with a present: the latest fashion magazine, fresh off the press. He declares that now is the time to join the Past to the Present. He raises his cup. "Let's drink To Life, to having reached this moment!" Singing, instruments, dance.