POLAND 1944
THE NATURE OF THE BEAST
A cattle car full of people.
We hear a man’s voice sing:
“There’s a prayer for the wounded and the dying.”
Woman:
“There’s a prayer to soothe the savage sea.”
Young Erik:
“There’s a prayer it seems for almost everything.
But you, you haven’t got a prayer for me.
And I, I haven’t got a prayer.”
Cut to the camp. Men and women are being pushed apart.
Young Erik:
“You can say a prayer for everyone there could ever
be.
Say a prayer for all of these and more,
But there’s still no prayer for me.”
Old Man:
“Say a prayer for your purest daughter.”
Young Girl:
“Toll a bell for your only son.”
Young Erik:
“There’s no way out and all my prayers are fading one
by one.”
After Erik has been clubbed by the guard.
Chorus:
“You.
Can.
Say a prayer for everyone you know, or you might see.
Say a prayer for all of these and more,
But there’s still no prayer for me.
Say a prayer for every living thing, the unborn and
deceased.
But I haven’t got a prayer I know.
That’s the nature of the beast.”
Meridian, Mississippi: The not too distant future
We can hear a boy singing:
MARIE, MARIE
Marie, Marie
”Playing guitar on the back porch
I sit in my car
while she sings so sad
Marie, Marie”
Cut to bedroom. We see the boy, and on the bed is a
brown hair girl:
"Marie, Marie
It's so lonely in these farmlands
Please come with me
To the bright lights downtown
Marie, Marie"
"I said, 'hey, pretty girl don't you understand
I just want to be your loving man'"
"Marie, Marie
The sun is down in the cornfields
the evening is dark
And you sing so sad
Marie, Marie"
"Marie, Marie
I got two weeks in back pay
there's gas in my car
and your folks say I must go
Marie, Marie"
"I said, 'hey, pretty girl don't you understand
I just want to be your loving man'"
"Marie, Marie
Playing guitar on the back porch
I leave in my car
while you sing so sad
Marie, Marie"
Marie, shyly: That was nice.
Boy: Thanks.
A pause
Boy: So, if you could go on a trip, where would you
go?
Launch into Marie with map
SENATE COMMITTEE - HALL
Erik and Charles have been talking.
Charles tries to get Erik to speak of his plans:
GOOD AND EVIL
"Good and evil
And their merits
Men have argued through history"
Erik:
"As well they should
My philosophy
Any child can see
Good is evil
And therefore, all evil is
Good"
Charles:
"How do you tell evil from good?"
Erik:
"Evil does well
Good not so good
Evils the one that is free everywhere
Good is the one that they sell
You must decide which is heaven
Which is hell"
Charles:
"Good men maintain 'Evils a curse'"
Erik:
"But it is plan, good’s even worse"
Charles:
"Evil’s the one that they tell you to shun,
Good is the one to embrace."
Erik:
"Say that and Satan will laugh right in your face."
Both:
"The battle between good and evil goes back to the
start.
Adam and Eve and the apple tore Eden apart.
The key thing about good and evil,
Each man has to chose"
Charles:
"Heaven and Hell is a hell of a gamble to lose."
Erik:
"But as I peruse,
This world we abuse,
It’s Hell that we chose,
And Heaven must lose."
"Evil is everywhere,
Good doesn’t have a prayer."
Charles:
"Good is commendable."
Erik:
"Evils dependable."
"Evil is viable,
Good’s unreliable.
Good may be thinkable,
Evil is bankable."
"Evil’s for me, you can have Good.
Doesn’t suit me to be Robin Hood.
It’s easier by far,
For the way that things are,
To remain good an’ Evil.
Then try to be evil an’ Good."
Rogue: “You don’t know or you don’t care?”
Logan: “Pick one.”
Rogue: “I saved your life!”
Logan: “No you didn’t”
Gets into truck and leaves
Rogue kneels to pick up things that have fallen out of
bag.
She finds a Virgin Mary charm. Holding it she sings:
GOD HELP THE OUTCASTS
“I don’t know if you can hear me.
Or if you’re even there.
I don’t know if you would listen to a gypsy’s prayer.
Yes, I know I’m just an outcast,
I shouldn’t speak to you.
Still I see you face and wonder.
Were you once an outcast too?"
"God help the outcasts, hungry from birth.
Show them the mercy they don’t find on earth.
God help my people, we look to you still.
God help the outcasts, or nobody will.”
Cut to Sen. Kelly:
“I ask for help.
I ask for names.
I ask for mutants to just go away.
I ask for all to be safe.
I ask for God and his angels to bless us.”
Cut to truck backing up.
Rogue runs to the door. Sings:
“I ask for nothing. I can get by.
But I know so many less lucky then I.
Please help my people, the poor and down trod.
I thought we all were children of God.”
Open door.
“God help the outcasts. The children of God.”
Logan: “Are you gonna tell me to stay away from your
girl?”
Scott: “If I had to tell you that, she wouldn’t be my
girl.”
Scott exits.
Logan looks around room, falls on to bed.
Starts singing:
SCOOTER'S GIRL(Jesse’s Girl)
“Scooter is this guy,
And I know he’s always been a good guy. I guess.
But lately something’s changed, and it’s hard to
define.
Scooter’s got himself a girl and I want to make her
mine.”
“And she’s watchin’ him with those eyes.
And she’s loving him with that body. I just know it.
And he’s holdin’ her in his arms late, late at night.”
“You know I wish that I had Scooter’s girl.
I wish that I had Scooter’s girl.
Where can I find a woman like that.”
“I play along with the charade.
There doesn’t seem to be a reason to change.
You know, I feel so dirty when they start talking
cute.
I wanna tell he that I love her, but the point is
probably mute.”
“‘Cus she’s watching him with those eyes.
And she’s loving him with that body. I just know it.
And he’s holding her in his arms late, late at night.”
“You know I wish that I had Scooter’s girl.
I wish that I had Scooter’s girl.
Where can I find a woman like that.”
“Like Scooter’s girl.
I wish that I had Scooter’s girl.
Where can I find a woman,
Where can I find a woman like that.”
“And I’m looking in the mirror all the time,
Wonderin’ what she don’t see in me.
And I’ve been for yelling cool with the lines.
Ain’t that the way loves suppose to be?”
“Tell me.
Where can I find a woman like that.”
“You know I wish that I had Scooter’s girl.
I wish that I had Scooter’s girl.
I want Scooter’s girl.
Where can I find a woman like that.”
“Like Scooter’s girl.
I wish that I had Scooter’s girl.
I want, want Scooter’s girl.”
Logan is on his bed, leafing through a bible.
After tossing it back in the end table and turning off
the light he says:
THE NATURE OF THE BEAST(reprise)
"There’s a prayer for the wounded and the dying.
There’s a prayer to soothe the savage sea.
There’s a prayer it seams for almost everything.
But you, you haven’t got a prayer for me.
And I, I haven’t got a prayer."
We can see Logan is asleep, but we hear a soft voice:
"So many cries in the night that you try to ignore.
Why didn’t I do this?
Why didn’t I do that?
So many unbroken chains
So many unsettled scores."
Logan starts to turn:
"The old man at the bank who sneers.
The teachers and their slats.
The brutal eyes. The uniforms.
The lawyers and their traps."
Cut to Rogue’s room:
"The lonely girls who yearn to love
And learn to kiss and dance.
The rich and selfish widow
In the market for romance."
Back to Logan. We can see him being handed the tag:
"The soldier with the smell of war
That never fades away.
The hero of the playing field
Forgotten in a day."
Rogue looks into the room:
"The priest in the confessional,
The trembling hands and whispered sighs.
The doctors in the hospital,
Unending tests and twisted lies."
Logan is really caught in the dream:
"The betrayers
The betrayed.
The abandoned.
The afraid.
The corrupted and the celebrated.
Endlessly humiliated.
Gloriously being paraded."
"You.
Can.
Say a prayer for everyone you know, or you might see.
Say a prayer for all of these and more,
But there’s still no prayer for me.
Say a prayer for every living thing, the unborn, and
deceased.
But I haven’t got a prayer I know.
That’s the nature of the beast"
Logan feels a shadow over him.
He unleashes his claws.
"That’s the nature of the beast."
Rogue: “You promise?”
Logan:
ALL I ASK OF YOU
"No more talk of darkness.
Forget these wide-eyed fears.
I’m here; nothing can harm you.
My words will warm and calm you.
Let me be your freedom.
Let daylight dry your tears.
I’m here: with you, beside you.
To guard you and to guide you."
Rogue, looking out the train window:
"Say you’ll love me every waking moment.
Turn me head with talk of summertime.
Say you’ll need me with you, now and always.
Promise me that all you say is true.
That’s all I ask of you."
Logan, pulling her into him:
"Let me be your shelter,
Let me be your light.
Your safe, no one will find you.
You fears are far behind you."
Both:
"All I want is freedom;
A world with no more night.
And you always beside me,
To hold me and to hide me."
Rogue:
"Then say you’ll share with me one love, one lifetime.
Let me lead you from your solitude.
Say you need me with you here, beside you.
Anywhere you go let me go too.
That’s all I ask of you"
Both:
"Say you’ll share with me one love, one lifetime.
Say the word and I will follow you.
Share each day with me."
Rogue, teasing:
"Each night,"
Logan, softly:
"Each morning."
Rogue, blushing:
"Say you love me"
Logan, touching her head:
"You know I do."
Both:
"Love me, that’s all I ask of you."
Logan sees Rogue slumped over.
He pulls off a glove and touches her face.
When nothing happens, he turns his head to the side
chocking back tears.
Looking back at Marie, he gently strokes her face:
MARIE
"You looked like a princess the night we met.
With your hair piled up high. I will never forget."
He gathers her hair off her face:
"I never could tell you what you mean to me.
I loved you the first time I saw you.
And I always will love you, Marie.
I loved you the first time I saw you.
And I always will love you, Marie."
We can see one tear slowly rolling down his check:
"The song the tree sings when the wind blows.
You’re a flower, you’re a river, you’re a rainbow.
Sometimes I go crazy, but I guess you know."
Flashback. Him walking out of the bar:
"I’m weak and I’m lazy."
Flashback. Her face just before she touched him the
first time:
"And I hurt you so."
Flashback. Her talking away in the truck:
"And I don’t listen to a word you say."
Flashback. Him tossing her out of the trailer:
"When you’re in trouble, I turn away."
Logan put his check to her forehead:
"But I love you. Loved you the first time I saw you.
And I always will love you, Marie.
I loved you the first time I saw you.
And I always will love you, Marie."
Erik and Charles are playing chess.
Erik speaks:
GOOD AND EVIL(reprise)
"Good and Evil,
And their merits.
Men have argued through history
As well they should.
My philosophy,
Any child can see.
Good is evil,
And therefore, all evil is
Good."
Charles:
"How do you tell evil from good?"
Erik:
"Evil does well,
Good not so good.
Evils the one that is free everywhere,
Good is the one that they sell.
You must decide which is heaven,
Which is hell."
Erik:
"Good men maintain “Evils a curse”,
But it is plan, good’s even worse."
Charles:
"Evil’s the one that they tell you to shun,
Good is the one to embrace."
Erik:
"Say that and Satan will laugh right in your face."
Both:
"The battle between good and evil goes back to the
start.
Adam and Eve and the apple tore Eden apart.
The key thing about good and evil,
Each man has to chose.
Heaven and Hell is a hell of a gamble to lose."
Charles:
"But as I peruse,
This world we abuse,
It’s Heaven we chose,
And Hell, it must lose."
Charles makes a move.
Erik looks at the board and tips his king.
Song Credits
The Nature of the Beast
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jim Steinmen
Whistle Down The Wind
Marie, Marie
MXPX
Good and Evil
Frank Wildhorn, Leslie Bricusse
Jekyll & Hyde
God Help The Outcasts
Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
This was edited for the story.
Scooter’s Girl (Jesse’s Girl)
Rick Springfeld
This was edited for the story.
The Nature of the Beast(reprise)
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jim Steinmen
Whistle Down The Wind
This was edited for the story.
All I Ask Of You
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart
The Phantom of the Opera
Marie
Randy Newmen
This was edited for the story.
Good and Evil(reprise)
Frank Wildhorn, Leslie Bricusse
Jekyll & Hyde
This was edited for the story.
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Story Notes:
I tried to make it clear where the songs are. If you can't get it, let me know and I'll try to fix it. Also, song credits are after the "story."