DANA AND VALENTINO

                 ---A BRIEF MUSICAL STORY--

Music and Libretto: Charles Joseph Smith

                     CAST OF CHARACTERS

DANA, 25 years old, Italian-American, a lover of Valentino

VALENTINO: 24 years old, Italian American, a lover of Dana

ALFRED LOVE: 28 years old, a New York native, a poor, love-starved

              man.

                         THE TIME

The present; late spring, in the predawn hours.

                        THE PLACE

In the heart of Central Park in New York City.

                     DIVISION OF SCENES

Scene One: Two Lost Lovers

Scene Two: Danas Terror

Scene Three: The Fight Between Alfred and Valentino

Scene Four: The Reunion of Dana and Valentino

                     MUSICAL NUMBERS

Two Lost Lovers (Dana, Valentino; Scene 1)

Alfred Lost-Love Blues (Alfred; Scene 2)

You Are So Dear To Me As I am So Dear To You (Dana;  

    Valentino; Scene 4)       

                     DANA AND VALENTINO

                         SYNOPSIS

     Dana and Valentino is the brief musical story of two lovers

who are desperate to find each other; moreover, Dana has to face

a deranged stranger before she gets rescued by Valentino.

     The story takes place at predawn in the heart of Central Park

in New York. In the opening song Two Lost Lovers, Dana rushes

in, looking for Valentino; and rushes out; then Valentino comes,

looking for Dana. Both lovers have not seen each other yet.

     Suddenly, the music turns from upbeat tempo to blues

(Danas Terror) as Dana confronts a poor, loveless man called

Alfred Love. Mistakenly believing that he was Valentino, she turns

around after hearing a voice behind her back. Dana then gets

pushed down, and he tries to harass her by grabbing her and saying

that he wants to be his girl; Dana stubbornly refuses. Having

enough of her struggle, he knocks her out semi-unconscious by a

big punch to her face. Then he ties a rope around Danas hands and

dances around her quasi-burlesque (without taking off his

clothes) as if she was his sacrificial corpse.

      At that point, the real Valentino rushes in and is shocked

to see Dana trapped by his attacker. Alfred is impervious to

Valentinos strong verbal warnings to stay away from Dana; but he

finally pays attention when Valentino gets his knife out of his

pocket and keeps Alfred at bay with it. (At this point, The Fight

Between Alfred and Valentino--music that sets the moot for their

oncoming fight--begins.) Alfred tries several times to rush into

Valentino--with no success. Finally, as the music ends, Alfred

stops fighting and gives up hope (because he feels so useless

without Dana); he then kills himself by drowing himself in a pond

offstage.

     After telling to her briefly what happened to Alfred (at this

point, she regains consciousness), they fall in love greatly as

Valentino releases her bonds.

     As the couple becomes finally reunited, they sing a very

lovely ballad--You Are So Dear To Me As Im So Dear To You,

which closes the musical. The song tells about the real, profound

romance that they now have in their lives; and indirectly, the

song tells that love could help overcome such bad events like the

attack on Dana. They then kiss, hug, and embrace each other with

great passion just before the final curtain.

                     DANA AND VALENTINO

                  SCENE ONE--TWO LOST LOVERS

Setting: The backdrop contains a green lawn and tall trees

         partially covering some of the tall buildings. In the

         foreground, a green bench appears (away from the

         backdrop). A blue lake is on the bottom of the backdrop.

At rise: LIGHTS: several bright spotlights spread light over most

         of the stage to portray the dusk-to-dawn floodlights

         over a park walkway. As the music starts, Valentino

         rushes onto the stage in grief, trying to find his lover,

         Dana.

         Valentino is moderately tall, maudlin, and very

         determined.

(With much anguish and patience.)

VALENTINO: Where is my Dana? O, where is my Dana?

             Where is my Dana? O, where is my Dana?

             Where is my Dana? O, where is my Dana?

             Where is my Dana? O, where is my Dana?

             Shes my true lady who loves me so dearly,

             And to tell it so clearly, she covets me yearly!

             But how can I find her? I weep for her sadly!

             And I want her badly for she loves me so madly!

             She loves me so madly!

             She loves me so madly!

             She loves me! She loves me so madly!

(He rushes out, and then Dana enters, also confused and desperate.

She is very beautiful, quite then yet firm, and has a greater

feeling of determinationa than Valentino does. She is trying to

find Valentino.)

DANA: Where is my Valentino? Where is my Valentino?

       Where is my Valentino? Where is my Valentino?

       Where is my Valentino? Where is my Valentino?

       Where is my Valentino? Where is my Valentino?

       He is so lovely inside and outside;

       But our romance has died, and Ive no one to confide!

       So come on, dear lover, and come back to me,

        For lovers are we, and it is love that we must see! Ah.

                    SCENE 2--DANA'S TERROR

(Turning around to see if it is Valentino, she realizes that it

is not the real one.)

DANA: Valentino?

(Intimidating Dana.)

ALFRED: Valentino Im not!

(He pushes Dana down to the floor; she is still aware of her

senses. He tries to introduce himself as if he is a ladies man.)

        I am Alfred Love, and Im here to love you now...

(As he tries to touch her, she quickly backs off.)

DANA: Leave me alone!

(He tries to touch her again.)

ALFRED: I am Alfred Love...

(Dana backs off again.)

DANA: No!

(He gets more desperate.)

ALFRED: ...and I need a girl anyhow!

         I wont leave you at all until you say my name!

(Dana shouts)

DANA: I wont! Not ever!

(He gets angrier.)

ALFRED: I said, I wont leave you at all until you same my name!

(She pushes him.)

DANA: No!

(Even more angry.)

ALFRED: I said yes!

(She pushes him again.)

DANA: No!

ALFRED: I said yes!

(She pushes him with the most force.)

DANA: No! No! No!

(He starts to go out of control.)

ALFRED: All right! That...did it!

(He punches her in the face on the word did. She falls down

unconscious, and Valentino ties her wrists with a rope.)

ALFRED: Ah!

(He then does a blues dance around her; Dana still struggles

herself to consciousness. She does regain it after his first

line (which ends on told)).

ALFRED: This is what happens when you dont do what I told;

        Now I want you to never, ever say a word, cause my love

            life has not any gold!

        Youre a pretty, lovely, beautiful, wonerful woman of all!

            Uh!

        And I need you now before I become weary and fall!

        So young lady, drive my blues of lonliness away!

        And with you forever I will stay!

        Uh, uh, uh! Yea!

(Just then, Valentino rushes onto the stage and catches Alfred in

the act.)

(Furiously, at Alfred.)

VALENTINO: What are you doing with that lady!

(Still not paying attention to him.)

ALFRED: Loving her.

(To Alfred, railing and pointing his finger at him.)

VALENTINO: You are not my lover, so leave her alone! Step away

            from her!

(Stubbornly.)

ALFRED: I will not! Look at her! Look at her lonliness! Look at

         her levity!...

(More threateningly.)

VALENTINO: Get away from my Dana, or Ill--

(Trying to change the subject to fool her.)

ALFRED: She resembles my ex-boyfriend Lily...

(Getting out his knife quickly, he uses it to keep Alfredo at bay,

yet Alfredo is prepared to fight.)

VALENTINO: Enough of that talk!

      SCENE 3--THE FIGHT BETWEEN ALFREDO AND VALENTINO

(LIGHTS: All red when the fight starts. While Alfred instigates

the fight by trying to run several times into him, Valentino keeps

him at bay with his knife.)

(Facing Valentino with more humility, he cries out.)

ALFRED: I give up!

(Alfred feigns running away--but feeling so helpless without Dana,

he suddenly chokes himself to death as he falls into a lake

offstage. SOUND: one long scream by Alfred, and a big splash

afterwards. LIGHTS: return to normal as in the first scene.)

(Valentino--already seeing Alfreds suicide--rushes in to try to

console Dana, and quickly she recoginzes his face.)

(To Valentino, with much uncertainty.)

DANA: What happened? Where was that scream coming from?

(Trying to reassure her.)

VALENTINO; Alfred choked himself to death and fell into a lake.

            He tried to fight me, but...(he shows her the knife) I

             ready for it.

(Dana tries to guess.)

DANA: I guess he wanted me much more than any other woman...Are

      (She hesitates)...are you...are you sure hes dead?

(With much seriousness.)

VALENTINO: Yes. He is in the house of mortality.

(Slowly rising up to embrace and kiss him.)

DANA: I adore you.

          SCENE 4--THE REUNION OF DANA AND VALENTINO

(His feeling turns more into passion for Dana. Still embracing.)

VALENTINO: I hope this never happens again, for I adore you, too.

(Music starts up and he sings.)

           O, my lovely Dana, you are so dear to me as Im so

               dear to you;

           O, my lovely, lovely Dana, it is you I have been

               allured to.

(Dana sings.)

DANA: O, my lovely Valentino, you are so dear to me as Im so

         dear to you;

(DANA) O, my lovely Valentino, it is you I have been allured to.

(Now their eyes are fixed on each other.)

DANA, VALENTINO: Love will be forever ours!

                   Love will be around us for many, many hours!

                   Love will be forever ours!

                   Love will bloom around us with lots of flowers!

(They embrace each other again, then they still remain in their

intimately close position. They speak while music goes under.)

VALENTINO: I believe that Dana is the loveliest-sounding name in

             the whole world.

DANA: And I believe that our love will go on through times good

       and bad...

VALENTINO: And moments happy or sad...

DANA: And feelings quiet, disturbing, maudlin, or glad.

(They kiss each other again, then they do some romantic flirting.

They return to singing.)

DANA: O, my lovely, lovely Valentino!

VALENTINO: O, my lovely, lovely, lovely Dana!

(They come back to embrace each other still again.)

DANA, VALENTINO: You are so dear to me as I am so dear to you!

(They kiss each other again as the curtain quickly falls.)

                        --END OF MUSICAL--

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