Overview

Act I

Song from Act I Scene V

Starry Nights

A Bird in the Cage

a bird in the cage in the spring

seems content with his wage as he sings

his keepers surmise

he's fed..he's alive..

he's resigned to his fate of clipped wings

*

but somehow the bird has forgotton

the bird senses that something is rotten

he knows other birds fly and he thinks

but why can't I...?

then the bird comes alive with elation

he thinks ..of course

i shall join the migration

i shall mate, i shall nest

and then soar with the rest..

but the children they mock him in passing

they stab with their jeers and their laughing..

Look at him...huh!!..he can't fly..

he'll never do well..

then the bird thrashes round in a rage

he bangs his head 'gainst the rails of the cage

for he is condemned to his cell as a

never do well and there he'll linger and rot till old age...

In this scene which occurs early in the musical a distraught Vincent is seen illuminated forward center left of the darkened stage. He is writing a letter . His brother Theo is on the right illuminated , reading a letter. We hear Vincent's voice in voice over ( V.O.) describing his dismal situation in life. the music is 'piano simple' in somber tones. At one point , Vincent rises and moves to center stage, and as giant bird cage comes down over him, he begins to sing. When he mentions the 'children in passing' , we see the figures of his father, Teersteeg , his former boss at Goupil & Cie. where he worked as a salesman of prints, and others surrounding the cage to mock and laugh at him. When Vincent gets to the next verse, he actually carries out the actions of banging his head against the rails of the cage 3 times to the meter of the song...

Finally the cage is lifted and we go back to theV.O. where Vincent describes that "it is love that lifts the cage"..The play moves on to a sequence that is concerned with a very famous letter where Vincent described a 'Single Friendly Star" . It is led into by another song called 'Forever'. Vincent has fallen in love again, this time with his cousin Kee Vos. This is a duet with Vincent and Theo culminating as a Trio with their sister Anna singing 'Friendly Star'. The two songs combine and we see the three united at Theos home. the music is emotionaly spectacular and is the 3rd emotional peak in the play.

We are immediately led to another very touching and at moments spectacular tune called 'Vincent'..it is a trio with chorus sung by Vincent and the parents of Kee Vos....But , enough said here...