La vie Boheme
Jonathan Larson
Cafe Owner:
No please no
Not tonight please no
Mister- Can't you go-
Not tonight- Can't have a scene
ROGER
What?
Cafe Owner:
Go, please go;
You- Hello sir
I said no
Improtant customer
MARK
What am I- Just a blur?
Cafe Owner:
You sit all night -You never buy!
MARK
That's a lie - That's a lie
I had a tea the other day
Cafe Owner:
You couldn't pay
MARK
Oh yeah
COLLINS
Benjamin Coffin III- Here?
Cafe Owner:
Oh no!
ALL
Wine and beer!
MAUREEN
The enemy of Avenue A
We'll stay
Cafe Owner:
Oiy Vey!
COLLINS
What brings a Mogul in his own mind to the Life Cafe?
BENNY
I would like to propose a toast
To Maureen's noble try
It went well
MAUREEN
Go to hell
BENNY
Was the yuppie scum stomped?
Not counting the homeless
How many tickets weren't comp'ed?
ROGER
Why Did Muffy--
BENNY
Alison
ROGER
Miss The Show?
BENNY
There was a death in the family
If you must know
ANGEL
Who died?
BENNY
Our akita
MARK, RODGER, ANGEL, COLLINS
Evita
BENNY
Mimi- I'm surprised
A bright and charming girl like you
Hangs out with these slackers
(Who don't adhere to deals)
They make fun -Yet I am the one
Attempting to do some good
Or do you really want a neighborhood
Where people piss on your stoop every night?
Bohemia, Bohemia
Is a fallacy in your head
This is Calcutta
Bohemia is dead
MARK
Dearly beloved, we gather here to say
our goodbyes
COLLINS & ROGER
Dies Irae - Dies Illa
Kyrie Eleison
Yitgadal V' Yitkadash (etc.)
MARK
Here she lies
No one knew her worth
The late great daughter of Mother Earth
On these nights when we celebrate the birth
In that little town of Bethlehem
We raise our glass- You bet your ass to-
La Vie Boheme
ALL
La Vie Boheme
La Vie Boheme
La Vie Boheme
La Vie Boheme
MARK
To days of inspiration,
Playing hookey, making something
Out of nothing, the need
To express-
To communicate,
To going against the grain,
Going insane,
Going mad
To loving tension, no pension
To more than one dimension,
To starving for attention,
Hating convention, hating pretension,
Not to mention of course,
Hating dear old mom and dad
To riding your bike
Midday past the three piece suits-
To fruits- To no absolutes-
To Absolut- To choice-
To the Village Voice-
To any passing fad
To being an us- For once-
Instead of a them-
ALL
La Vie Boheme
La Vie Boheme
MAUREEN
Is the equipment in a pyramid?
JOANNE
It is, Maureen
MAUREEN
The mixer dosn't have a case
Don't give me that face
MR. GREY
AHHEMM
MAUREEN
Hey Mister- She's my sister
MR. GREY
So that's five miso soup,
Four seaweed salad
Three soy burger dinner,
Two tofu dog platter
And one pasta with meatless balls
A BOY
Eww
COLLINS
It tastes the same
MIMI
If you close your eyes
MR. GREY
And thirteen orders of fries
Is that it here?
ALL
Wine and beer!
MIMI & ANGEL
To hand-crafted beers made in local breweries
To yoga, to yogurt, to rice and beans and cheese
To leather, to dildos, To curry Vindaloo
To Huevos Rancheros and Maya Angelou
MAUREEN & COLLINS
Emotion, devotion, to causing a commotion,
Creation, Vacation
MARK
Mucho masturbation
MAUREEN & COLLINS
Compassion, to fashion, to passion
When it's new
COLLINS
To Sontag
ANGEL
To Sondheim
FOUR PEOPLE
To anything taboo
COLLINS & ROGER
Ginsberg, Dylan, Cunningham and Cage
COLLINS
Lenny Bruce
ROGER
Langston Hughes
MAUREEN
To the stage!
PERSON #1
To Uta
PERSON #2
To Buddha
PERSON #3
Pablo Neruda, too
MARK & MIMI
Why Dorothy and Toto went over the rainbow
To blow off Auntie Em
ALL
La Vie Boheme
MAUREEN
And wipe the speakers off before you pack
JOANNE
Yes, Maureen
MAUREEN
Well- Hurry back
MR. GREY
Sisters?
MAUREEN
We're close
ANGEL, COLLINS, MAUREEN, MARK & MR GREY
Brothers!
MARK, ANGEL, MIMI & 3 OTHERS
Bisexuals, trisexuals, Homo Sapiens,
Carcinogens, hallucinogens, men,
Pee Wee Herman
German wine, turpentine, Gertrude Stein
Antonioni, Bertolucci, Kurosawa
Carmina Burana
ALL
To apathy, to entropy, to empathy, ecstasy
Vaclav Havel- The Sex Pistols, 8BC
To no shame- Never playing the fame game
COLLINS
To marijuana
ALL
To sodomy
It's between God and me
To S & M
BENNY
Waiter...Waiter...Waiter
ALL
La Vie Boheme
COLLINS
In honor of the death of Bohemia an impromtu salon will commence immediately following dinner...
Mimi Marquez, clad only in bubble wrap, will perform her famous lawn chair-handcuff dance to the sounds of iced tea being
stirred.
ROGER
And Mark Cohen will preview his new documentary about his inability to hold an erection on high holy days.
MARK
And Maureen Johnson, back from her spectacular one-night engagement at the eleventh street lot, will sing Native American
tribal chants backwards through her vocoder, while accompanying herself on the electric cello- Which she has never never
studied.
BENNY
Your new boyfriend doesn't know about us?
MIMI
There's nothing to know-
BENNY
Don't you think that we should discuss-
MIMI
It was three months ago-
BENNY
He dosn't act like he's with you-
MIMI
We're taking it slow-
BENNY
Where is he now?
MIMI
He's right- Hmm
BENNY
Uh huh
MIMI
Where'd he go?
MARK
And Roger will attempt to write a bittersweet, evocative song
(Roger picks up a guiter and plays)
MARK
That doesn't remind us of 'Musetta's
Waltz'
COLLINS
Angel Dumott Schunard will model the latest fall fashions from Paris while accompanying herself on the 10-gallon plastic
pickle tub.
ANGEL
And Collins will recount his exploits
as an Anarchist- Including the tale of
his successful reprogramming of the
MIT virtual reality equipment to self-destruct as it broadcasts the words:
ALL
'Actual Reality - Act Up - Fight AIDS!'
BENNY
CHECK!!
MIMI
Excuse me- Did I do something wrong?
I get invited, then Ignored all night long
ROGER
I've been trying- I'm not lying-
No one's perfect, I've got baggage
MIMI
Life's too short, Babe, time is flying
I'm looking for baggage that goes
with mine
ROGER
I should tell you-
MIMI
I've got baggage, too
ROGER
I should tell you--
BOTH
Baggage- Wine-
OTHERS
And Beer!
(beeper alarms go off)
MIMI
AZT break
ROGER
You?
MIMI
Me. You?
ROGER
Mimi