The Play - or at least the first few sentences

Berta Beeson on the wire

Julian Eltinge -female impersonator -circuses would compare Berta Beesons appearence to hers

another image of Julian Eltinge (famous female impersonator)

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HERE IS THE START OF THE PLAY I'M WRITING:

SLATS

The story of Ringling Brothers Greatest Female Impersonating Wire Walker

(based on a true story)  by Samantha1

The play opens in an upscale bar.  There are two or three well dressed couples seated at

tables or booths  and at least a couple attractive single women at the bar.  A bar tender

behind the bar, and a waiter or waitress serves the patrons.  Herbert Beeson enters, an

attractive well dressed mature man, the women look him over approvingly but he ignores

them and sits at the far corner of the bar. Taking off his coat, Herbert (Slats) Beeson looks

around. He is not impressed.

Slats: “ By day from town to town we carry Eden in our tents and bring its

 wonders to the children who have lost their dream of home.”

Bartender:  Eh? What’d you say?

Slats: Nothing, it’s from a poem by Robert Lax

Bartender: I see, a poem, well friend, we don’t really get a lot of poets here,

 If you catch my drift

Slats: No sir, I’m no poet, I’m a wanderer who travels before the storm,

like Paul Revere, crying she’s coming, in all her majesty, she’s coming!

Gaze upon this wonder!  Hurry, hurry, step right up!

 I’m  the Sandman who brings the dream of Africa to the children,

 Don Quixote on his nag, finding  fields of honor, calling the giants to follow.

 Me a poet, surely you jest to call the jester  a king!

I am but a lowly 24-hour man. The advance man for Ringling Brothers.

I move the circus, proclaim her glory, and flee like a thief before she arrives.

Still I am Circus, and it defines who I am - I'm Circus, a Circus man.

 The advance man for Ringling Brothers, Barnum  and Bailey’s, The Greatest

Show on Earth! You have heard of us?

Bartender: The Circus?  Of course, every ones heard of Ringling Brothers.  Well this is indeed an

        an honor.  What’ll you have?

Slats: I’ll have a Guiness

Bartender: Well we don’t really serve that here, how about something else?

Slats takes out his wallet,  pulls out a $100 bill slowly transfers it from one

Hand to the other directly in front of the bartender who watches it intently.

Slats puts bill on the table then uses a salt shaker as a paper weight on top of it.

Slats: For a Guinness, I can wait

The bartender signals to waiter, he whispers in his ear and the waiter goes off

Stage in a hurry (to go buy some Guinness)

SO THATSHOW FAR I GOT

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So the Love interest is is going to be named Penelope,
which is from another Robert Lax poem:

Penelope And Mogador

One time Penelope the tightrope walker asked Mogador
how he was able to land so gracefully after he did a
somersault on horseback.
Mogador said:
It is like a wind that surrounds me
or a dark cloud,
and I am in it,
and it belongs to me
and it gives me power
to do these things.
And Penelope said, Oh, so that’s it.
And Mogador said, I believe so.
The next day in the ring, Mogador leaped up on the horse.
He sat on it sideways and jogged halfway around the ring;
then he stood up on the horse’s back with a single leap;
he rode around balancing lightly in time to the music;
he did a split-jump–touching his toes with his hands;
he did a couple of entrechats–braiding his legs in
midair like a dancer:
then Oscar threw him a hoop.
Mogador tossed it up in the air and spun it.
He caught it,
leaped up,
and did a somersault through it!
He thought:
I am a flame,
a dark cloud,
a bird;
I will land like spring rain
on a mountain lake
for the delight of Penelope the tightrope walker;
He landed on one foot, lost his balance, waved his arms
wildly, and fell off the horse.
He looked at Penelope,
leapt up again,
did a quick entrechat,
and Oscar tossed him the hoop.
He spun it into the air and caught it.
He did a somersault through it
and he thought:
It is like a dark cloud, and I am in it;
it belongs to me,
and it gives me power
to do these things.
He landed on one foot, lost his balance, waved his arms
wildly and fell off the horse.
Penelope the tightrope walker looked very calm,
Mogador leapt on the horse again.
Oscar frowned and tossed him the hoop.
Mogador threw it into the air and caught it;
leapt up and did a somersault through it.
He thought:
I am a bird and will land like a bird!
He landed on one foot, lost his balance, waved his arms wildly
and fell off the horse.
Now in the Cristianai family, when you fall off three times,
they grab you by one ear
and bend you over,
and one of the brothers
kicks you.
And that is what they did to Mogador.
Then the circus band started playing again.
And Mogador looked at Penelope:
then he looked at the horse and flicked his ear with his hand;
he jumped up on the horse and landed smartly;
he stood up in one leap and caught the hoop;
and then he did a somersault through it.
He didn’t think anything.
He just did the somersault–
and landed with two feet on the horse’s back.
Then he rode halfway around the ring
and got off with a beautiful scissors leap.
Penelope applauded
and, clasping her hands overhead, shook them
like a boxer,
Mogador looked at her,
then back at the horse,
and with a gesture of two arms he said
it was nothing.

What an amazing poem – Circus Days and Nights by Robert Lax.
So why pick the name Penelope, that’s why. I love this poem.
I’m picturing Penelope as a recently divorced attractive woman about
Slat’s age, they used to be fellow performers, Slat’s asked for her hand,
but she married a townie ( someone not in the Circus) and settled down,
In a Quixotic way, Slats has remained true to his one love, and now that
she is divorced and the circus is coming to town, he is seeking once more
to propose to Penelope.  She loves him too, but it is not that simple.

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here's a really important document in my research: