Girl in the Ashes part 3

(The Grand Ball. PRINCE, STEPSISTERS, STEPMOTHER.)

STEPMOTHER.
And this is my other daughter. She is also very beautiful.

PRINCE.
Yes. I see.

(Awkward pause.)

STEPMOTHER.
Say hello to the Prince, dears.

STEPSISTER 1.
Hello Prince.

STEPSISTER 2.
Yes. Hello.

(Awkward pause.)

PRINCE.
Those, um, those dresses are, are lovely.

STEPMOTHER.
Yes, they are both accomplished seamstresses. Tell him, dears.

STEPSISTER 1.
Uh, oh, yes.

STEPSISTER 2.
Yes. We are.

STEPSISTER 1.
Yes. Like she said.

STEPSISTER 2. (aside to STEPSISTER 1)
(What’s seamstress?)

STEPMOTHER.
So, so what’s it like, being a Prince?

(CINDERELLA enters in her golden dress.)

PRINCE.
Good Lord, who on earth is that?

STEPMOTHER.
Who? Where?

STEPSISTER 1.
Oh my God!

STEPSISTER 2.
Who is that?

PRINCE.
She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen!

STEPSISTER 1.
I’ve never seen her before!

STEPSISTER 2.
She makes us look like the back end of a mule team!

STEPMOTHER. (sotto)
Daughters! Ask the Prince to dance before the Glamour Queen gets over here!

STEPSISTER 1.
Oh yes. Oh Prince!

STEPSISTER 2.
Would you like to dance?

STEPSISTER 1.
With me?

STEPSISTER 2.
With either of us?

PRINCE.
I’m sorry ladies.

(He crosses to CINDERELLA.)

This is my partner.

(Music. They begin to dance.)

INTERPRETER. (to AUDIENCE)
To be dressed so fine, that I could not even be recognized. That was my dream. Transformation. And what else is show business about? Audience and performers gather at a special place, a big place, a place of wonder and majesty, and ritual. The audience and performers enter through separate doors. It’s like a church. It is a church. It’s a temple. A theater is a temple of entertainment. On stage, I was transformed. On stage, in that special place, under those special lights, wearing those special clothes, clothes that aren’t meant to be worn anywhere else, I was transformed. On stage, I was not a loser, I was not a sexless dweeb, I was not a shy, bumbling, ungraceful wretch, fit for nothing but scorn. And this is the one thing that no one picks up on with Cinderella: what saves her is not beauty but packaging. If she had shown up at the ball in rags and filth, she would have been thrown out on her ear. The bird’s gift was not a dress; the bird gave Cinderella the gift of context.

(At the Grand Ball. CINDERELLA and the PRINCE.)

PRINCE.
That was wonderful. You are an extraordinary dancer. And you made this outfit yourself?

CINDERELLA.
Oh no, the outfit, that, no, my mother gave me this.

PRINCE.
She must be an extraordinary woman.

CINDERELLA.
She’s, she’s pretty special, yes.

PRINCE.
I would love to meet her sometime.

CINDERELLA.
Oh. Well. Huh. That may be hard, she’s always, you know, flying off to one place or another.

PRINCE.
You are so mysterious. I don’t know a thing about you. What is your name?

CINDERELLA.
My name? Oh, that’s, that’s just boring, you don’t want to know my name, let’s just enjoy this happy moment while we’re in it. You’re quite handsome yourself.

PRINCE.
Yes, yes I know, but I’m the Prince, I was born with it. You, you are special. The way you showed up here, in that stupendous gown, it was just amazing. I feel like I want to kiss you. May I kiss you?

CINDERELLA.
Oh…sure, why not?

(They kiss.)

PRINCE.
I think I’m falling in love with you. What do you think of that?

CINDERELLA.
I think that’s wonderful.

PRINCE.
I wonder what you look like naked.

CINDERELLA.
Perhaps I can show you sometime.

PRINCE.
I want to see where you live.

CINDERELLA.
Well you can’t.

PRINCE.
I can’t?

CINDERELLA.
No.

PRINCE.
Why not?

CINDERELLA.
Because you can’t.

PRINCE.
But I want to. I’m the Prince, I love you, I want to see where you live, and that’s all there is to it.

CINDERELLA.
Oh. Oh dear. Oh dear. Um, say, is that the Duke I see over there?

(The PRINCE looks away.)

PRINCE.
Where?

(And CINDERELLA exits.)

Oh no, that’s just a shrubbery, the Duke is a – hey! Where did you go? Where are you? Where are you?

(He looks down and finds her slipper. He picks it up. CINDERELLA appears at her mother’s grave, tearing off her dress.)

CINDERELLA.
Oh God, I’m disgusting! I’m awful! All this clothing and beauty is worthless, it doesn’t change anything, I’m still a horrible monster! Take it away, Mother! Take it away, I’m so ashamed.

(The BIRD enters and takes away the dress.)

BIRD.
What is it that makes you so sad, Daughter?

CINDERELLA.
He wanted to see where I live, Mother! He wanted to see where I live.

BIRD.
But what is wrong with where you live?

CINDERELLA.
I live in HELL, Mother! My parents are dead and I’m a scum-sucking lizard and I live in the ASHES, Mother! He won’t love me! If he finds out who I am he won’t love me!