- Lyrics to "Lost In The Stars"
- Lyrics to "Hey There"
- Synopsis of "The Winter's Tale"
"Lost In The Stars" 1949
by Kurt Weill/Maxwell Anderson from the musical "Lost in the Stars"
- Before Lord God made the sea and the land
- He held all the stars in the palm of his hand
- And they ran through his fingers like grains of sand
- And one little star fall alone
Then the Lord God hunted through the wild night air- For the little dark star in the wind down there
- And he stated and promised he'd take special care
- So it wouldn't get lost again
Now, man don't mind if the stars grow dim- And the clouds blow over and darken him
- So long as the Lord God's watching over him
- Keeping track how it all goes on
But I've been walking through the night and the day- Till my eyes get weary and my hair turns grey
- And sometimes it seems maybe God's gone away
- Forgetting the promise that we heard him say
And we're lost out here in the stars- Little stars, big stars
- Blowing through the night
- And we're lost out here in the stars
- Little stars, big stars
- Blowing through the night
And we're lost out here in the stars
"Hey There"
by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross from the musical ´Pajama Game´
[words in brackets are SPOKEN]
- Lately when I´m in my room all by myself
- In the solitary gloom I call to myself
Hey there, you with the stars in your eyes- Love never made a fool of you, you used to be too wise
- Hey there, you on that high-flyin´ cloud
- Though he won´t throw a crumb to you, you think some day he´ll come to you
Better forget him, him with his nose in the air- He has you dancin´ on a string, break it and he won´t care
Won´t you take this advice I hand you like a mother- Or are you not seein´ things too clear
- Are you too much in love to hear
- Is it all goin´ in one ear and out the other
- Hey there, you with the stars in your eyes [Are you talking to me?]
- Love never made a fool of you [Not until now]
- You used to be too wise [Yes, I was once]
Will you take this advice I hand you like a mother- Or am I not seein´ things too clear
- Are you just too far gone to hear
- Is it all goin´ in one ear and out the other
"The Winter's Tale"
By William Shakespeare
Spanning sixteen years, Shakespeare's magical play tells of the constant dangers of love and jealousy and the healing, redemptive power of time.
Polixenes, King of Bohemia, has been visiting his boyhood friend Leontes, King of Sicilia, for nine months. He is now preparing to leave for home. Leontes tries to persuade his friend to stay but Polixenes denies him. However, when Hermione, Leontes' wife, asks him to stay, he finally agrees. When he agrees, Leontes quickly grows suspicious, and seized by irrational jealousy and fearing that Polixines and Hermione are having a secret affair, he orders his counsellor Camillo to poison Polixines. After begging Leontes to reconsider, the counsellor informs Polixenes of the King's suspicion, and the two men escape together to Bohemia.
Camillo warns Polixenes of Leontes' jealousy, and they escape together to Bohemia. Leontes takes their flight as confirmation of his suspicions and throws Hermione in jail, where she gives birth to a daughter. Leontes disowns the child and orders that she be killed. Even when the oracle at Delphi exonerates his wife and friend, Leontes remains obstinate. Only when his son dies out of grief for his mother's treatment, and Hermione is also reported dead, does he repent and fall into the punishment of his guilt. Realizing his foolishness, Leontes promises pennance and searches for reconciliation with his friends and family.
The scene shifts to a seacoast in the country of Bohemia. Antigonus, a Lord of Sicilia, has been instructed to murder the baby girl. Antigonus begins to abandon the baby princess. However, a bear appears and, in his attempt to guard the baby, Antigonus is killed. Even the ship that carried Antigonus to Bohemia sinks in a storm, and no one is left to say the princess still lives. The little girl, along with the gold and tokens left with her, is found by a Shepherd and his son. The Shepherd vows to raise her as his own.
The Chorus of Time then informs us that sixteen years have passed and that the lost Sicilian princess, Perdita, has grown healthy and beautiful in the shepherd's household in Bohemia, not realizing her royal roots.
We are now in Bohemia, where Camillo has served the King of Bohemia since their flight from Sicilia. Camillo now longs to return home to see his country and the now-penitent king he left behind. Polixenes simply cannot do without the able administrator. He persuades Camillo to go with him in disguise to the house of the Shepard's daughter that the king's son, Prince Florizell, has reputedly been visiting.
At the festival, Florizell declares his love for the shepherdess in front of his disguised father. The outraged king threatens to disown Florizell and execute Perdita before storming off in anger. Camillo promises to help the two young lovers; he tells them to go to the court of King Leontes, who will receive them as honored guests.
In Sicilia, Paulina convinces the king never to marry again unless she chooses the bride. Florizell and Perdita arrive, and Leontes greets them warmly. But a messenger arrives soon afterward, telling Leontes that Polixenes has arrived searching for his son. Leontes promises to be Florizell's advocate. In the next scene, through a conversation between three gentleman and Autolycus, we hear of how Perdita's true parentage was revealed. With all present, the Shepherd and the Shepherd's Son produced the items found with Perdita, which prove without a doubt that she is Leontes' long lost daughter. The two royal families and their closest friends and advisors go to Paulina's house, where an artist has crafted a beautiful statue of Hermione. While they are viewing the statue, Paulina brings Hermione to life, miraculously resurrecting the queen. The reunited families and their friends go to talk of all that has happened in the sixteen years that they have been apart.
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© Kate McCullugh and Angela Pollard 2000. No portion of this page may be copied without permission of the author.