Enchanted April
Notes
The two acts of ENCHANTED APRIL are intentionally different from each other in form, crafted to lead the audience on the same sensory journey as the play’s characters.
Act One should project the heavy, haunted atmosphere of mourning, with each scene blending into the next, the Act gradually building in momentum like a train gaining speed. (The humor will show itself. In fact, the more heavyhearted the overall tone of Act One, the stronger and more bittersweet the humor, and the brighter and more celebratory the rewards of Act Two.) Scene transitions should occur swiftly, without breaking the Act’s flow, consisting of nothing more than a repositioning of the four chairs, the taking off and putting on of outerwear, lighting changes, and designated sound cues. Any necessary props should be brought on and off by the actors involved, or by a stagehand costumed as a servant.
Act Two is best played “out,” with the “sea and gardens” imagined somewhere beyond the audience.
All scripted lines of dialogue in the Italian language are to be spoken in Italian. Parenthetical English translations are provided for the actors only, not for use in performance.
A CD of the sound design and original music for ENCHANTED APRIL by John Gromada is available through Dramatists Play Service.
Any alteration to the scripted text for the purpose of performance
— be it deletion, addition, substitution, or re-interpretation —
is forbidden per all licensing contracts without author consent.
SCRIPT CHANGES — 2011 DPS ACTING EDITION
The following revisions will appear in future Dramatists Play Service acting editions of the script. Feel free to incorporate them into production:
Pg. 1
Opening stage directions, line 5, change to read:
“The Great War” is over by three years, the influenza pandemic by two. It is a country in mourning. Rose reads… [cont.]
Pg. 6
ROSE line 3 — change:
ROSE. “To be let for the month of April. Cook, gardens, ocean view. Reply Box Eleven.”
to:
ROSE. “To be let for the month of April. Cook, gardens, pleasing view. Reply Box Eleven.”
Pg. 8
LOTTY line 3 — change:
LOTTY. Really? Well, when I saw you, I suddenly saw us both, you and me, on the shores of the Mediterranean. Surrounded by beauty. Beauty and blissful peace.
to:
LOTTY. Really? I do. I did. Just now. When I read the advert and saw you. I saw the two of us, you and me, away from this — from all of this — surrounded by beauty. Beauty and blissful peace!
Pg. 8
ROSE line 4 — change:
ROSE. Oh, yes. Quite.
to:
ROSE. Yes. Quite.
Pg. 9
LOTTY line 5 — add dialogue:
LOTTY: … We can only go forward. But how? In such darkness? This I haven’t seen.
Pg. 9
LOTTY final line on page — change:
LOTTY: … That’s you and me, Rose. That much I do see.
to:
LOTTY: … That’s you and me, Rose. I’ve seen it.
Pg. 10
MELLERSH line 1 — change:
(Showing what he thinks is great patience, nervous about the evening’s affair. He most often speaks to Lotty without looking at her.)
Pg. 13
Opening stage direction — change:
Frederick Arnott stands at his mirror, tying his tie, preparing himself for a social engagement, singing “Ma! He’s Making Eyes At Me!” to himself between poses.
Pg. 15
FREDERICK line 3 — add two new lines of dialogue:
ROSE. Nothing specific. I’m not at all certain she heard a word I said, actually.
FREDERICK. (Moved.) This spring will make four years, Rose.
ROSE. I know that, Frederick.
Next line — delete “Rose.”
FREDERICK. (Sincerely.) My book tour lasts… [cont.]
Pg. 16
ROSE line 8 — change to:
Angus Phillpott is no Moses, I assure you. (delete: As any number of schoolgirls will tell you.)
Pg. 32
Cut MRS. GRAVES line 5:
MRS. GRAVES. God, Lady Caroline, we have been assured, is a man.
Pg. 36
MRS. GRAVES line 2 from the bottom — change:
MRS. GRAVES. There is tea if you like.
to:
MRS. GRAVES. There is tea if you’d like
Pg. 40
ROSE line 2 — change:
ROSE. I lost a child, Lotty. I lost my child. Our child.
to:
ROSE. We lost a child, Lotty. We lost our child.
ROSE line 3 — add dialogue:
ROSE. Our beauty. Everything. It’s been four years now…
Pg. 42:
CAROLINE line 2 from the bottom — add dialogue:
CAROLINE. But Florian is sweet, really. And sad somehow. About what, I don’t know yet. A lost soulmate, perhaps.
Pg. 51:
FREDERICK final line on page — change:
FREDERICK. There’s my girl.
to:
FREDERICK. There’s our girl.
Pg. 52:
FREDERICK line 4 — add dialogue:
FREDERICK. We should talk, Caroline. Never mind Genoa. Perhaps we can find a quiet restaurant in the village.
Pg. 52:
FREDERICK line 4 from bottom — change direction:
FREDERICK. Gladly. (Caroline smiles, exits. Frederick looks around… [cont.])
Pg. 60
CAROLINE line 5 — change:
CAROLINE. Did you see the full moon?
to:
CAROLINE. The moon is full.
Pg. 61
CAROLINE line 2 — change:
CAROLINE. You are a very lucky man, “Mr. Arnott.”
to:
CAROLINE. You should consider yourself a very fortunate man, “Mr. Arnott.” To have such a lovely wife.
Next line:
FREDERICK. I certainly am, “Lady Caroline.” Thank you.
to:
FREDERICK. I am fortunate indeed, “Lady Caroline.” Thank you.
Pg. 61
CAROLINE line 3 — change:
CAROLINE. Rose, you should show your husband the lower garden. In the moonlight it will
be extraordinary.
to:
CAROLINE. Rose, you should show your husband the gardens. They’re extraordinary in the
moonlight.
Pg. 62
MRS. GRAVES line 4 — change:
MRS. GRAVES. Perhaps you could show her the tree itself.
to:
MRS. GRAVES. You could show her.
NOTE ON 2004 JOSEF WEINBERGER SCRIPT PUBLICATION (UK)
The 2004 Josef Weinberger play script is outdated and should not be used for production. A list of revisions is available through Josef Weinberger or the author. The 2011 Dramatists Play Service acting edition (with revisions above) is recommended.