Angeline Klopf
Ms. Carr
Theater, 2nd hr
10-05-11
Depart the Palace
CHARACTERS
Mikula- King of Perovskia
Natalya- Spoiled daughter of Mikula
Borislav- Captain of the Bureau of Public Affairs
Antonina- A servant
Pasha Pushkin- Natalya’s pet poodle
(Mid-nineteenth century, at the baroque palace of Imperial Perovskia. Natalya is in her boudoir, seated at a vanity. Pasha Pushkin is on her lap.)
NATALYA: You know, Pasha, you should be honored to be my favorite poodle! Why, if I were born in your place, I’d brag to all my little friends! I’d tell them about the fancy tea parties, the velvet cake, and the everything!
(Down the hall in a grand office Mikula, Antonina, and several officers discuss a pressing political situation.)
MIKULA: (exasperated) If the rioting continues, I fear for the security of the palace. Should any of those barbarians break in, I want Antonina to take Natalya to the carriage house. These people have no civility!
(Beyond the iron cast gates of the palace are hundreds of angry civilians. Captain Borislav and a dozen officers stand by should the crowd try to enter.)
BORISLAV: (thinking to himself) The people don’t care if the king is a good man or father; with wages so low as theirs, they were bound to revolt! Mikula’s unfavorable war has us lacking enough soldiers to keep peace in the city!
(Inside the palace, Antonina looks out at the anxious officers. She is with Natalya and Pasha Pushkin in the boudoir.)
ANTONINA: Lady Natalya, if anything happens with the soldiers, we’re going into the carriage house with the rest of the servants, you hear?
NATALYA: (pouty) What about Pasha Pushkin? He’s coming too, right?
ANTONINA: He is all you will have time to bring.
NATALYA: But what about my dolls and my tea set? I won’t leave those!
ANTONINA: You can’t bring frivolous things like that! What if those lowly brutes caught you while you scrambling for your toys? It’d be the end of the empire!
(Several shots are heard in the palace courtyard. Antonina panics and takes Natalya by the hand, leading her outside to the carriage house. A packed carriage is waiting for them. Mikula and Borislav meet them as they board.)
MIKULA: (almost angry) The officers shot without order! Now the people are furious! We’ll have to head to the Korolevskii estate for a few days until the city settles…
(Borislav bids the royal family farewell before he again attempts to stop the mob from entering the Perovskian palace. He and his dozen officers are outnumbered.)