Dear Mr. Fontana,
... I noticed you had an "Oz: The Musical" posted. Well, for a project this
year in English, we had to write a musical (not the whole thing, just two
songs and a summary with occasional dialogue). I created "Oz - The Rock Opera".
I thought I'd send you what I did. Of course, I wrote it before Season 6,
so I had to make up my own ending and fudge a few things to make them work.
But...essentially it's all there.
Here goes...
P.S. I apologize for any butchering of format
Juli Martin
-----------------------------
Oz - A Rock Opera
ACT I
SCENE I
The stage is black. Lights up on Hill, who
recites the opening monologue. As he speaks a
projection screen behind the guard’s station flashes
images of the prisoners.
HILL: The US of A has 5% of the world’s
population, yet it has one quarter of the world’s
prisoners. (laughs) Gee America, you must be doing
something right.
Lights up on Em City set. At the guard’s
station, McManus begins to sing: THE ROUTINE. Guards,
dealers, the Brotherhood and religious guides sing
about their daily life in Oz.
As the song closes, lights dim on Em City with Hill
still well illuminated stage left (outside the
proscenium). Follow spot up on Beecher in the back of
the theatre. Hill laughs maniacally as Beecher begins
to recite his number, name, crime and sentence. Lights
fall on Hill as lights rise on Em City and Beecher is
escorted by Howell and Murphy onto the stage and into
Em City. Activity on the stage resumes until the set
is again bristling with prisoners. Beecher is escorted
to his pod and the music segues into GREAT MEN.
Beginning with Robson, various prisoners hassle
Beecher, first individually and then in droves. As the
action heightens to its boiling point, Keller enters.
Keller assaults Shillinger and the hecklers disband.
Keller and Beecher then walk to their pod together as
the lights dim everywhere else in Em City. Enter
McManus, who approaches and takes Toby aside, handing
him a letter and saying, “I’m sorry.” As Toby reads
the letter out loud, we hear a voice over of his wife.
The projection screen shows an over exposed film of
Gary and Holly finding their mother dead in the
garage.
Blackout.
SCENE II
Change of set to show three dark, windowless
cells. Hill is lit stage left (outside the proscenium)
and speaks:
HILL: What is it that separates man from all other
animals? What makes us so different? We’re the only
species that puts it’s own kind in cages.
The sound of dripping water is heard. To the
beat of the water, spotlight rises on Said center.
Lighting is dim, blue and foggy. As THE HOLE
commences, Said reflects on his position in Em City
and Islam. Left light rises on Pancamo, who complains
of the changing hands in the prison and how the good
life of the Sicilians is dead. Lastly, the right light
rises on Alvarez, who sings about his fluctuating
mental state and dangerous situations. As the song
closes, the stories begin to intertwine into a unison
message of anger and despair as the lights go out, one
at a time, to the beat of dripping water.
SCENE III
Dim lights up on Em City with Beecher and Keller’s pod
brightly illuminated and slightly rotated to face
center. As STRANGE BEDFELLOWS begins, friendship and
love develop between the two. Beecher confides in
Keller about his former life and the transformation he
has felt since coming to Oz. They discuss Shillinger
and his harassing of Beecher. The song ends with a
date for a workout in the gym the following day.
Blackout.
Exit pods and guard’s station, enter gym
equipment as the set changes to become the gym.
Lights up on Chris, alone. As JUDAS begins, Chris
questions his feelings and actions concerning Beecher.
Shillinger enters and taunts Chris about his former
life as a prag and his new found feelings concerning
Beecher. Beecher enters, and questions Keller about
Shillinger’s presence. Keller crosses and kisses
Beecher’s cheek, and then and Shillinger attack
Beecher. Light’s around the action drop to black and
the light above them is red. Beecher screams and
Shillinger exits. Keller moves to do the same, and
then turns to watch Beecher for a moment before
exiting. Blackout on Beecher, lying center stage.
SCENE IV
As Em City is reset, lights rise on Ryan
O’Reilly outside the proscenium stage left. He starts
his song, LUCK OF THE IRISH, about his repeated trysts
with Dr. Nathan. Dr. Nathan is outside the proscenium
stage right, leaning on a hospital bed amidst shelves
of medical items. She sings about her pain from
working in the prison hospital and watching so many
men die, as well as her conflicted feelings for
O’Reilly. After her interlude, lights go out on Dr.
Nathan and the focus returns to O’Reilly, who and the
song shifts as O’Reilly begins to talk of Cyril
O’Reilly, his mentally challenged brother. As BROTHERS
begins, the Em City set is illuminated and we see
Cyril sitting at one table and the Aryan Brotherhood
sitting at another.
O’REILLY: I learned the alphabet the hard way.
DEA. HIV. IOU.
I had to own the streets when I was young
And beside me through all the fifth grade
violence
Was one.
And then our Mama died
And Dad had always beat us
Razor strap that reeked
Of sweat and blood
And one day his little doom came crashing
Echoing a sickly squishy thud.
SHILLINGER: I’m a father
One son already dead
I’m a husband
Three wives already dead
I’m a brother
And brotherhood means life
And we live
And we die
For one another.
O’REILLY: Now he’s my responsibility.
I brought him in this hell
I have to watch him constantly
Make sure that he is well
And that day when father hit him
I know an angel fell
But I don’t know if it’s him
Or if it’s me.
SHILLINGER: There was no cause
No conviction
To any of my life that went before
But now there is a will
And a mission
To protect until the end
Brothers….
O’REILLY: My brother…
Shillinger enters and both he and O’Reilly sing about
the pains and struggles of being brothers to their own
“brothers”, frozen in time on the set.
Blackout.
SCENE V
Lights rise on Em City set with prisoners
everywhere. Enter Beecher, descending from guard’s
station. He still limps slightly. As he reaches the
ground level, he begins to sing. UNNATURAL DISASTERS
starts with an angry Beecher, attacking other
prisoners and fighting with Keller. As the song
progresses, however, the other prisoners exit until
the stage is merely Beecher and Keller. They quarrel,
and there is an unspoken tension between them not of
anger or fear, but of a very difficult love. Abruptly,
Shillinger enters and ambushes the two. Beecher is
stabbed, but Keller attacks Shillinger and stabs
Shillinger. Shillinger exits, wounded, and Keller goes
to Beecher. As the song closes, Keller holds Beecher
and they speak of love.
Blackout.
ACT II
SCENE I
Lights up on a busy Em City. In the guard’s
station, Murphy announces “Lockdown!” and the lights
go black with an electrical buzz. Various voices are
heard, some angry, some gentle, some sexual, and then
the pods are illuminated. In LOCKDOWN, we see the
evening lives of the prisoners – including sex, drugs,
plots of violence and even gentle moments like those
between Ryan and Cyril.
CYRIL: Hey Ryan
Do you remember
When Mama was still alive?
Hey Ryan
And she would hold us to her side?
Why Ryan, why did she have to die?
I miss her…
RYAN: Cyril, don’t cry now, please
I’m here now, you will be okay.
Just close your eyes and try to sleep
Tomorrow is another day,
Did you say your prayers?
CYRIL: Yes Ryan.
Do you remember…
When Mama would take us to confession?
And we’d go inside the big wood box
And tell all of our sins?
Oh Ryan, Mama said our sins would wash away
By telling all our sins would wash away.
Do you remember…
RYAN: (laughs) Yes Cyril.
Cyril that man you killed
CYRIL: Dr. Nathan’s husband?
RYAN: Yes Cyril that man you killed
It wasn’t your fault.
It was mine. All mine.
And Cyril remember Ahmed Khan?
That was not your doing.
It was mine. All mine.
You’ve never killed a man
Only me.
You have no sins to wash away.
Only me.
The other pods fall into darkness as Beecher and
Keller reunite in their pod. They converse throughout
the song WORKS OF MERCY. Keller confides in Beecher
his fears of death and eternity. Beecher tries to
reassure him, and thanks him for saving his life. New
understanding comes to between them, and they are
prepared to fight for their bond even in front of
Shillinger. As the song closes, Beecher and Keller
kiss passionately in their pod.
Blackout.
SCENE II
Two visiting tables are set up on either side of the
proscenium. Spotlight on Beecher and his parents at
one. The warden reads off information concerning the
abduction of Beecher’s two children, Gary and Holly.
Beecher immediately whirls into an angered panic,
cursing Shillinger as the culprit. Lights fall on
Beecher.
Lights up on the other table, with Shillinger and his
son Hank seated. Shillinger asks Hank about Beecher’s
children (abducted by Hank).
Lights rise on Beecher, who is still furiously
swearing that Shillinger did it. The Shillinger and
Beecher scenes overlap until Shillinger orders Hank to
“send the package”. As the song US MALE continues,
Toby and Shillinger rise from the tables and enter the
Em City set, now fully illuminated. Beecher receives
Gary’s hand in the mail (an X-ray image of the package
is displayed on the projection screen) and Holly is
left on his parents’ doorstep (alive). Elias Hertzel
tells Beecher that Shillinger ordered the kidnapping,
and Beecher in turn orders a hit from Pancamo on Hank,
Shillinger’s son. As Beecher turns away from Pancamo,
he is confronted by Shillinger who asks for peace
between them, saying that they’re even, having both
lost sons. Shillinger exits. Realizing that if Hank
dies Holly is in danger, Beecher tries to cancel the
hit on Hank only to discover that it had already been
carried out and the lights rise on Shillinger being
informed that Hank is dead and that Beecher must be
the culprit.
Blackout.
SCENE III
Lights up on the pod. Keller sees Beecher’s
situation and realizes what he must do to save Holly.
He tells Beecher that he’ll take responsibility for
Hank’s death. In CUTS LIKE A KNIFE, Keller is charged
with murder for hire and then is transferred to a
Massachusetts prison for sentencing. Beecher mourns
the loss of his lover, and fears what will happen to
him with Keller gone.
SCENE IV
THE APPEAL begins with Sister Peter Marie telling
Beecher that he has a chance for parole. The set then
switches to a courtroom (exit pods, enter judges
podium) and the judge reviews Beecher’s case. A record
of Beecher’s behavior is read, pointing out all of the
hardships he has endured. In the end, Beecher receives
his parole and is left alone as the court set exits
and the pods return.
Blackout.
SCENE V
Keller sits in a cell outside the proscenium
stage left. Beecher is in his pod with Sister Pete. In
DON’T LOOK BACK, Beecher and Keller have a telephone
conversation, set up by Sister Pete.
BEECHER: Chris, did you hear the news?
They’re letting me out.
I’m going to be free.
Mom, Dad and Holly
Holly, oh I can’t thank you enough
She’s alive because of you.
Chris I love you, and
I’m coming to see you.
Chris I’m gonna get to hold you again.
KELLER: Listen Toby.
If they’re letting you out…
Stay away from me
Please
Go far far away.
(Keller hangs up)
Beecher then prepares to leave, arranging his things.
He sings about how changed his life is, and Keller,
still in his cell, urges Beecher to move on and try to
return to a normal life. As the song ends, Beecher is
escorted by Murphy and Howell back the way he came,
off the stage and into the back of the theatre. As he
exits, blackout on Em City.
Keller says goodbye and the lights drop on him, too.
THE END
also...here are the two songs I wrote - THE ROUTINE
and JUDAS:
McMANUS:Toiling with the filth of all creation
This isn’t an ordinary 9 to 5
With shanks and tits and angry rioters waitin’
I have to stay alive
Cos I know that they will try
To make this day anything but routine.
This is my life,
This is my home,
This is my dream to make Em City.
This is my job
This is my love
This is my punishment here in Em City.
Welcome to the land of Oz
My fantasy’s a nightmare
Welcome to the land of Oz
My nightmare is my time
BROTHERHOOD: It’s a white man’s prison in a white
man’s day And we’re taking down the niggers
so it stays that way
Shillinger’s our leader and we always do his say
Aryans prevail.
Welcome to the land of Oz
Where just the strong survive
Welcome to the land of Oz
Only the strong have time
SISTER PETER MARIE and
FATHER RAY MUKADA: We can’t save their souls
We can’t save our own.
We run our intervention programs, we offer Eucharist
We counsel the condemned man and we visit to
the sick
They take the Host, the Father, Ghost, but never holy bliss
No, we can’t save their souls
We can’t save our own.
Welcome to the land of Oz
Where weary souls shall wilt
Welcome to the land of Oz
We’re the only ones with guilt
Welcome to the land of Oz
Where the penitent serve time
NOTE: The next three parts are sung simultaenously
McMANUS:
Toiling with the filth of all creation
This day is never routine
BROTHERHOOD:
Got to kill all the niggers
Let the Aryans prevail
PETE and MUKADA:
We can’t save their souls
We can’t save our own
COMPANY: Welcome to the land of Oz
McMANUS: Where the work is never worth it
COMPANY: Welcome to the land of Oz
BROTHERHOOD: And the crime always pays
COMPANY: Welcome to the land of Oz
SISTER PETE: Some of us will die here
COMPANY: Welcome to the land of Oz
MUKADA: Some go other ways
COMPANY: But we are all united
By the suffering of time
Here in Oz.
Welcome to Oz.
And here's JUDAS:
lights up on KELLER in the empty gym
KELLER: Traitor…
Brutus to his Ceasar,
Betrayer…
Seal it with a kiss.
It’s all so simple,
Do a favor for an old friend.
But this is more,
Than anyone can ask.
And I’m slick and I know it
I worked my way into his life
Nice and easy
Wooing him, his trust
With comfort and support.
But he was there to comfort me.
Now there’s something
Something that feels for him
Something that sees his fear
Something that wants to…
enter SHILLINGER
SHILLINGER:Hello, pretty boy
Don’t you think about the old days
Hello, sweetie pea
Don’t you wanna go back
Some days I lie awake and go hazy
And I think about you and I
And it drives me crazy
Hello, little slave
What, no smile for an old friend?
Come on Christopher
What are you having second thoughts?
Now I, don’t want to be crass
But I think your delectable ass
Is ex-actly what I would like to have…dontcha think?
KELLER pulls away from SHILLINGER’s grasp
SHILLINGER: Oh come on pretty boy,
No love for an old girlfriend?
pause. SHILLINGER laughs
SHILLINGER: (half spoken)
Oh…
I see.
Little Chrissy got tired of Vern.
Moving on to fresher meat.
But oh no…
There may be a slight hitch.
Because, dear Chrissy, you’re still my bitch.
And you’re still indebted to scratch my itch
For revenge.
Sorry darling.
Time to pay the piper.
KELLER: Nazi fuck.
enter BEECHER.
BEECHER:Hey Chris What’s he doing here?
KELLER crosses and kisses BEECHER’s cheek. BEECHER
recoils, suspicious.
KELLER: Sorry.
KELLER grabs BEECHER and knocks him to the ground.
SHILLINGER attacks and breaks BEECHER’s arms and legs
while KELLER holds. BEECHER screams. SHILLINGER
abruptly stands up once the deed is done and exits
stage right. KELLER stands, pauses, looks at BEECHER
for a moment, and then runs out after SHILLINGER.
Blackout on BEECHER.
And that's it.