CAROL S. LASHOF

Medusa's Tale

CHARACTERS

MEDUSA A gorgon.PERSEUS A hero.POSEIDON A god.

ATHENA A goddess.A GIRL

SETTING

The Mediterranean.

TIME

The Mythic Past.

Beneath the opening music, we hear the low murmur of men's voices and the clatter ofmetal cutlery and plates, which rise in volume until they drown out the music. PERSEUS

bangs on the table for attention; as he speaks, the other voicesgradually subside.

PERSEUS Listen! (Pause.) In this leather pouch is the severed head of Medusa,the gorgon known throughout Greece to be the most loathsome of crea-tures. Hideous vipers grow from her scalp. They are still alive and writhing,though she is dead. One glance at them and you would turn to stone. Manymen perished trying to slay this monster. Then I came to the barren islandwhere she lived in exile.

272 /

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lillY, YOIIIWhnt?

I.A Slow down. You'll catch up with your destiny whether you run orwI.

I 1111I the hero Perseus, son of the great god Zeus.And I'm Medusa, cast out by gods and kings. You've come to slay

1lI~, I presume? (Pause.) Cat got your tongue? You warriors, you're allillkc. Look at these fellows: civilized young men, from the very bestfnmilics, but no appreciation whatsoever for the art of conversation. Theydo make handsome statues, though, don't they?

MHRlJS It's true, then.Il\JSA Of course. Not a word to say, any of them, even when they were living

flesh. Just brandish and brazen and then go to it.rl'.KSWS It's true that you turn people to stone just by looking at them?MI'.J)USA SO they say.I'II,KSEUS Evil monster, beware ...MlmUSA Do I look like an evil monster? Tell me. I want to know.I'IIRSEUS Don't think you can trick me into meeting your eyes. Athena has

blessed me with wisdom. She has sent me to carry out her will.MEDUSA Athena! If you're her slave, then I'll gladly stop your blood dead in

your veins.PERSEUS I am not her slave. I am her brother. She is the greatest goddess of

them all, sprung fully armed from Zeus's noble brow. And I, too, am achild of the almighty Zeus, lord of the heavens.

MEDUSA You and a few thousand other Greek bastards.PERSEUS I am the son of Zeus. Who but he could have slipped through the

bars of that tower, a hundred feet high, where she was locked up, mymother ....

MEDUSA And how did Zeus manage this fancy trick? Did he come as a mos-quito and buzz in between the bars of her prison window? Did heimpregnate her with a sting?

PERSEUS Blasphemer! He came as a shower of gold.MEDUSA (Pause. Astonished.) Are you Danae's child? You can't be. She did

have a son, but they were both drowned long ago, she and her baby.PERSEUS Did you know my mother?MEDUSA I knew Danae. (Pause.) We were girls together. She used to braid my

hair while I told her stories of distant lands. She was hungry for knowledge.But then her father killed her.

PERSEUS My mother told me we were rescued from the sea when I was a baby.

CarolS. Lashof / 273

MF.lllJIIA II she allve] II she all r1lhtPERSEUS Yes. Sh(~IHline. She ... she I. th

beg to marry her and she turns them down.MEDUSA But suppose they don't beg or even ask permlllll

do, then?PERSEUS When I've cut off your head and can wield your power,

dare to touch her. I'll turn them all to stone if they so much III IMEDUSA When you get angry, you knit your brows just the way)

to do. No! Don't turn away from me. Close your eyes. Let me IYou've got your mother's figure-long and slim.

PERSEUS Don't touch me, hag! I don't believe you knew my mwould never have gone near such a monster as you.

MEDUSA I was no monster, then. I was honored for myhimself was in love with me.

PERSEUS Liar. Crone! I'll kill you for your evil lies.MEDUSA Kill me? You don't even dare to look at me.PERSEUS I can see your hateful image in my shield. Athena told me wh

was to do.MEDUSA It's hard to fight with your back to death.

(MEDUSA laughs as PERSEUS'S sword clangs against stone. The sounds of a scu./fleensue.}

Careful! Don't hack away at your fellow heroes. You'll just ruin youblade. Look! I'm right behind you. Oops. You missed. You can't hitmoving target with your eyes squeezed shut. Uh-oh, Watch out for thatstatue over there.

(There is a loud crash, and PERSEUS gasps in pain.)

All these dead heroes, they get in the way, cluttering up the landscape,falling on top of people.

PERSEUS My sword!MEDUSA Don't worry. I've got it.PERSEUS Go ahead if you're going to kill me. One quick thrust will do it.

(Pause.) What are you waiting for? (Pause.] Don't expect me to beg. Evenin death I'm the son of Zeus.

MEDUSA And of Danae. How long before she stops thinking you'll come run-ning off the next boat bursting with pride? (Pause.) Swear by her namethat you'll leave without trying to harm me and I'll let you go. Even ifyou are Athena's minion.

PERSEUS Go? With no proof that I'm a hero? If I were content with that, I'dhave stayed at home. I must prove that Danae has received the loveof Zeus.

MEDUSA Why? What good is the love of Zeus?PERSEUS I didn't come here to discuss theology. Kill me and be done.

274 / Carol S. Lashof

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d by the gods for your crimes.knnwa] r Pauu.} If I set you free, will you listen to my story?

Will YOIl KO home nnd tell Danae?)'11 never go home unless I can take your bloody head with me.r Pause.} All right. If it has to be that way.What are you doing? You're crushing my leg.

lit iliA I'm trying to set you free. Are you going to help or just lie there?That's it. Push! There we go.

r I'IO:H.'1EUS breathes a loud sigh of relief.]

an you stand on that leg?'· •••JUjEUS OWW.

MEDUSA Well, you might as well sit down, anyway. Put your feet up. I wantto tell you a bedtime story.

"I~RSEUS Where's my sword?MEDUSA It's safe. You can have it back when the story's over. Listen closely

so you may judge for yourself what the love of the gods is worth. Close youreyes. That's a good boy. Now we are in Athens. Look there. On the hill.Above the well. Glaring white against the blue horizon. Athena's sanctu-ary. See the columns. Tall and strong and straight. Like the goddess herself.

(We can hear water splashing, the creak of buckets being raised from a well, and themurmur of women's voices. An owl hoots.)

And there she is. The goddess of justice. Favorite daughter of Zeus.

(We hear the tread of inhumanly weighty steps. A sea gull cries raucously.)

And here comes Poseidon, Earthshaker. Brother of Zeus and Lord of theOcean.

ATHENA Honored uncle, what brings you to my blessed city?POSEIDON Just passing through. How's the olive business?ATHENA Flourishing. Thanks to the olive tree, all the citizens of Athens enjoy

my bounty.POSEIDON And the women and slaves of Athens enjoy a mule's life.ATHENA Slaves must drive the mill wheels so their masters may be free to keep

the wheels of justice turning. In a just state, each man shoulders his Properburden.

POSEIDON To stand around in front of the courthouse arguing all day-is thatthe proper burden of a fr~e man?

ATHENA I have given the Athenians the gifts of law and commerce-and theyadore me for it.

Carol S. Lashof / 275

POSEIDON They'snubbed you, it would make him an

ATHENA You're jealous of the love these mortal. bPOSEIDON Love! You're far too icy-hearted to know anythlATHENA Naturally, I disdain the appetites that drive mere I

thrash.

(Two girls are heard approaching from the distance, chattering and laugh;

POSEIDON Now here comes a truly lovable being. Who's she? The dwith her hair down her back.

ATHENA She? She's not half so pretty as the other.POSEIDON Ugh. I abhor your pale, sickly Athenian girls-their cheeks paint

with lead-they look as if they were dying.ATHENA The dark one is Medusa. Her father is Phorcys, one of your mln

deities, I believe. She's been conducting a faithful pilgrimage to all mytemples. She blesses me for protecting her chastity, the wellspring of hfreedom.

POSEIDON Chastity! The emptiest of all the empty virtues.ATHENA She loves me with a girl's pure virtuous love.POSEIDON Ah, but if she knew the love of a real god ...ATHENA She would spurn you. And your brutish love.POSEIDON Do you think so? Let me have just half an hour alone with her.ATHENA You may have half of all eternity. Nothing you can do could wrest

her love from me.POSEIDON We'll see.

GIRL I don't know what girls are like where you come from, but around hereyour father would beat you for talking to men in the street.

MEDUSA My father's much too busy to worry about that sort of thing. He'sresponsible for the whole of the Aegean sea.

GIRL Really? What does he do?MEDUSA Oh, everything. He manages all the riptides and whirlpools, tends to

the undersea forests, stuff like that. When I was a little girl, he used to letme help him. Once I sunk a ship by mistake and I cried and cried, buthe just laughed and got the men to shore somehow.

GIRL I don't believe you really sunk a ship.MEDUSA Well, hardly anybody was drowned.GIRL Would you show me something?MEDUSA Actually ... no, I can't. I never learned to do much of anything by

myself. I just did what Father told me to. And when I got older, he didn'task me to help him anymore.

GIRL But he lets you go anywhere and talk to anyone?MEDUSA I haven't even seen him in months.GIRL But that's horrible. Who will arrange a marriage for you?

276 / Carol S. Lashof

Nobody will wlnt to mlrry you them, (PaWl, WIliJ/mi"N.) Do you sup-he wrc\clinl( nll(ht I. fun

II.A I'rohnhly lIot hnlf HI) 1II\1('h filii nil being courted.Whlll'. Iun about that? The man looks you over, he asks your fatherbout the dowry ...

IIII.A I don't mean that part of it.Ikl, Whllt else is there?

1II IliA Oh, you know.lUlU. Tell me . . .MI(IIIJIIA Well ... say for instance, when a man catches your glance in the

marketplace and you look away and then look back and he's smiling andyou can almost feel his eyes on you.

IIIIU. But I would be afraid to look at a man that way.MlmUSA Or suppose he pretends to notice that your hair comb is slipping and

he buries his strong fingers in your locks and his breath warms your neck.CIIRL I'd better go. I thought you were chaste or I would never have spoken

to you.MI!:DUSA Of course I'm chaste. I'm as chaste as Diana or Athena. I don't want

to be stuck like other girls, nursing babies and fetching water. Like thatgirl, what's-her-name? Chrysis. (POSEIDON approaches, whistling a sea song.)

GIRL But if you're chaste ... Oh!MEDUSA You needn't stand there gaping. It's only Poseidon.GIRL Only Poseidon!? Don't you know what they say about him? He's famous

-infamous, I mean-for ravishing women. (Pause.) He's looking at us.Oh, dear. I think he's coming over here.

MEDUSA Are you running home to your mother?GIRL You should run, too.MEDUSA Why? Athena will protect me.GIRL Look, he is coming over here.MEDUSA (Calling.) You forgot your pitcher.POSEIDON I hope that I haven't driven your friend away.MEDUSA We just met at the well. I don't even know her name.POSEIDON And what's your name?MEDUSA Medusa. I'm the daughter of Phorcys.POSEIDON Phorcys? How dare he make you fetch and carry like an ordin-

ary girl.MEDUSA' Who says he does?POSEIDON Not he? Then what man enthralls you?MEDUSA No man has ever enthralled me. (Pause') I met this girl, Chrysis, on

the way to the well and we got to talking. She was a young bride, and shewas in a great hurry because she wanted to visit her mother. So, since I

Carol S. Lashof / 277

had nothing better to do, I Illd I'd Allher here.

POSEIDON If she were my young bride, she wouldn't want IMEDUSA She was a very young bride. Fourtccn nt most.POSEIDON Howald are you?MEDUSA Seventeen.POSEIDON Too old for a mother's caresses.MEDUSA I never knew my mother. She died when I was born.POSEIDON You're old enough to be a mother yourself.MEDUSA I don't want children. That's why I follow Athena.POSEIDON Do you know who I am?MEDUSA Of COurse. You're Poseidon. My father works for you.POSEIDON The land and the sea work for me. I command earthquakes and tid

waves.

(There is a great crashing and roaring of water, which rises to a crescendoand thenabruptly ceases.)

Wouldn't you like to bear the child of a god?MEDUSA No.POSEIDON But it's gold laid up in the heavens!MEDUSA My friend Danae had a child by Zeus and her father killed her for it.

An oracle told him that he'd be killed by his grandson. So he killed thebaby and Danae, too, so she wouldn't produce any more sons. He tossedthem both in a casket and shoved them out to sea. They must havedrowned. Or starved.

POSEIDON A god would never allow a son of his to come to harm. For all youknow, Danae could be seated on a throne on the top of Mount Olympus. . . or lying at the bottom of the sea.

MEDUSA (On the verge of tears.} Well, I can't wait for that girl Chrysis forever.If she's not here by sunset, she'll just have to shift for herself. .

POSEIDON Of course I could easily pay a visit to my brother Zeus and find outabout Danae for you.

MEDUSA Would you?POSEIDON For a price.MEDUSA Oh.

POSEIDON Don't you care to know what's happened to your friend?MEDUSA What good would it do? I'm sure she's dead.POSEIDON All right, then. Be seeing you.

(Whistling, POSEIDON begins to walk away.)

MEDUSA Wait! (Pause. Almost a whisper.) What is your price?POSEIDON To intercede on behalf of your friend? What would you give me?MEDUSA My hair. I'll cut off all my hair and give it to you. (POSEIDON laughs.)

278 / Carol S. Lashof

Will

n your .hlny hnir. Iluvc you givenWAymI'" I don't know whnt YOII 11I<'1111.

."tlIION Don't you? I think you do. Don't run away!1I\11A You're hurting me. Let me go!

llItlllON All I want is a kiss. Hmmm. Don't clench your teeth.IItlSA Stop it I You promised to let me go.

'II 11,11I0 N After a taste of your lips? What did you expect? If you didn't intendto be friendly, you should have run away long ago. Oww! So you bite, doyou? Vixen! Oof! And kick, too? That's all right, I like a little spice inmy stew. Go ahead. Run to Athena's sanctuary. It's a fine and privateplace.

(Gasping for breath, MEDUSA scuttles across the stone colonnade. The heavy doors ofthe temple creak.)

Let me get that door for you, my dear.

(MEDUSA and POSEIDON'S voices echo inside the temple.)

MEDUSA In Athena's name. Please. This is holy ground.POSEIDON (Laughing.) Wherever I am is holy ground.MEDUSA Athena! Please! Save me, Athena!

(POSEIDON laughs. MEDUSA screams. Then there.is silence. Finally, we hear MEDUSA

sobbing; POSEIDON, whistling, emergesonto the colonnade. The temple doorsclang shut,muffling the sound of MEDUSA'S sobs.}

POSEIDON SO, Athena, do you still claim the girl as yours? Such a fine creature .What a pity if she'd gone to her grave a virgin.

ATHENA I didn't count on your brutalizing her within the walls of my owntemple. It's an offense against all the gods.

POSEIDON SO run to Zeus, dear little Athena Brighteyes. I know you're hisfavorite. But even so, he won't punish me merely for taking godly libertieswith a mortal girl.

ATHENA But for profaning a temple ...POSEIDON Who says it was profane? I say it was a holy sacrifice.ATHENA There'll be no harmony in the heavens till penance has been done!POSEIDON SOpunish the girl for taking refuge in your sanctuary. Am I to blame

because she clung to the feet of your statue while I took her from behind?Hush. Here she is now. Ask her if she still adores you.

(MEDUSA approaches, weeping.)

Come, my dear, don't cry. There's no harm done.MEDUSA (Strangling a scream.) Stay away from me!

Carol S. Lashof / 279

ATIIKNA Uome to me, Medu ••. We'lldone. 'I'here. There. You're tattered andPhew. You smell like rotting fish.

POSEIDON She smells salty and wet. Like an ocean breeze. Whenticing?

MEDUSA Hide me, Athena. Don't let him touch me, pleas".POSEIDON That's right, Brighteyes, hide the girl behind your skirts. But you dl

nothing while we took our pleasure in the heart of your temple. You atin the doorway and watched. And I'm sure it was a fine sight to sec. llmm

(Silence.)

MEDUSA Answer him, Athena. Please! Tell me he's lying.ATHENA What was I to do? Mix in a lustful brawl with Poseidon on the floor

of my own temple? I leave such foolery to the likes of Cupid and Aphrodite.MEDUSA But he raped me!ATHENA You should have run away before it was too late. It's foolish pride for

a mortal girl to have no fear of gods.MEDUSA But I put my faith in you. (Pause.) Don't turn away from me!ATHENA Can't you clean yourself up a little?POSEIDON See, Medusa. Athena will have nothing more to do with you. Come,

you'll live with me in my golden palace.ATHENA Stay away from him. (Pause.) I'll take you home to your father.MEDUSA Like this? No. He'd think I was a fool.POSEIDON Her father won't dare to harbor her. Not if she's lost my favor. And

no man will pay a bride's price now for her. I'm generous to take her.ATHENA You're still lured to her, that's all. Like a dog to its vomit. If you go

with him, Medusa, everyone will shun you.POSEIDON On the contrary. Only as my concubine will she get any respect.

(Seductively.) And if she's a sweet, tender girl and treats me as a goddeserves, then I'll give her jewels and fine sons, and I'll make all myminions bow to her, even her father.

ATHENA You won't have her, Poseidon. No one will have her. Father Zeus.Thunderer. Give me the power to punish this sacrilege.

(There is a deafening crash of thunder, followed by a moment's silence. Then the airis filled with hissing. MEDUSA cries out in anguish.)

MEDUSA What have you done to me? My head's on fire!ATHENA Zeus has struck you with his lightning. The pain will soon subside.

But the vipers will remain, a warning to all vainglorious mortals. Come,look at your reflection. See the penance you have earned.

MEDUSA Poseidon, help me! Help me rip them out!ATHENA You'll sooner tear your scalp out. And if you try to cut them off,

they'll only grow again more hideous still.

280 / Carol S. Lashof

nVII

Will you turn !'tom me, \(10, Poaeldon? I WAR to be your queen.iliON Never Illy qllrrll.

III1I1A ( Almos! chokirl)f (111 th« tuords.] Your concubine, then. I'll go with you.I'll learn to find pleasure in your touch. I'll bear your sons ...

IIIIUIlON You would bear me monsters.MKIllJ!lA But look at me! You found me beautiful. See. My eyes are still bright,

my lips still moist, my skin still smooth as cream.AIIIKNA Listen to her hawking her wares like any street girl.MV•.,USA If you do not love me anymore, Poseidon, then pity me!

(We hear the tread of heavy steps, then the cry of a sea gull and the beating of wings.)

Don't leave me!ATHENA Do you dare to turn to him, who ruined you, and beg for pity?MEDUSA But you turned away from me.ATHENA Yes. And now every creature on this earth will turn away from you.

See those women, hurrying to be home by dark? The story of your infamywill soon be spread among them-and they will learn not to be so unafraid.

MEDUSA There's Chrysis. I was waiting for her. (Shouting.) Chrysis! Chrysis!Chrysis, don't look at me like that ...

ATHENA Don't waste your breath. She'll stand there gaping for all eternity.And any other mortal who lacks the wisdom to turn his back on you orshut his eyes will also turn to stone.

MEDUSA Wait, don't leave me! I'm afraid to be alone. (Music plays, punctuatedby the hoot of an owl as it flaps away.)

PERSEUS I never really wanted to come here. Let me go-before you cloud mywits completely.

MEDUSA Nobody's keeping you, my young hero. (Pause.) Just be careful ofyour leg-and watch out for the statuary. Here's your sword. You can useit as a cane. Good-bye! Give my regards to your mother. (Pause.) What'sthe matter? Can't you bear to leave me? Or have you forgotten something?Oh, yes, my head. You came for my head, didn't you? You said youcouldn't go home without it.

PERSEUS When I was home, the women hissed at my mother on the street andcalled her names. The boys threw clods of dung at me. Then Athena cameto me. She told me I was destined to be a hero. She told me how to findthis desolate place. She said you would be asleep. I only had to avoidlooking at you-and then I could easily kill you, she said. (Pause.) Didyou know that she wears your image emblazoned on her armor? Your faceis beautiful. The snakes are hideous, but your eyes, your mouth, morebeautiful than any woman I've ever seen.

MEDUSA Kiss me. (Pause.) Close your eyes and kiss me. Don't worry. It's only

Carol S. Lashof / 281

looking nt me that kill •. (PaWl. Tilly kill.)been kissed in kindness.

PERSEUS When Athena came to me and called me brother, thmust be Zeus's son. Suppose you'd borne Poseidon'. 80n, wwant him to grow up to be a hero?

MEDUSA Do you believe me, then?PERSEUS I don't know. Athena is my guardian. I must believe in her.MEDUSA She was my guardian, too. I loved her once.PERSEUS (Pleading.) Athena is wise and just. She would not punish someon

who was virtuous.MEDUSA She failed me. And she punishes me for having seen her failure.PERSEUS I must kill you. Or else I am nothing.MEDUSA Yes, I know. But after you have killed me, then what? Will you g

home to your mother? Will you tell her my story?PERSEUS Yes. I'll tell her.MEDUSA And what will you do with my head?PERSEUS I'll put it in this leather pouch.MEDUSA And if anyone makes trouble for you, you'll just whip out my snaky

head and turn him into a statue?PERSEUS I suppose so.MEDUSA Of course you will. Then after you've made it home safely, leaving

a few mute statues in your wake, what next?PERSEUS I don't know. What difference does it make to you?MEDUSA I just want to know how the story ends. (Pause.) I suppose word will

get out quickly of your prowess as a statue maker, so you'll be given ahero's welcome wherever you go. And after your mother is comfortablysettled, you'll marry a beautiful princess. Then one day you'll kill yourgrandfather.

PERSEUS My grandfather?MEDUSA Yes. Don't you remember? The oracle said you would kill your grand-

father, so, naturally, you will.PERSEUS All right. So I'll kill my grandfather. He's nothing to me.MEDUSA Even if he were everything to you, you would do it. It's all settled.

You're doomed to be a hero.PERSEUS Yes.

(MEDUSA hums "Froggie Went a'Courting"; PERSEUS'S sword whistles through the airand with a thwack cuts off the humming. Silence. Music plays and rises to a scream,then fades into the sounds of a banquet hall where men are still laughing and talking.)

282 / CarolS. Lasko!

ROMULUS LINNEY

Can Can

CHARACTERS

EX-GI

YOUNG FRENOH WOMAN

AMERIOAN HOUSEWIFE

OOUNTRY WOMAN

SETTING

Nashville, Paris, Kitty Hawk, rural Kentucky.

TIME

The present and the past.

Four dark wooden stools, upstage and apart.Music: the famous Offenbach "Can-Can."Balls of light spin in darkness, then vanish as the music ends. Sudden light discovers

four people standing by their wooden stools.

EX-GI I won it in a Dusseldorf crap game! Nine hundred American dollars.Me! Got my leave and took off!

HOUSEWIFE I went to the beach that day, threw baseballs at bottles, shotwooden ducks and won 'a bunny rabbit. With the rabbit came a mealticket, at a country cafe, so I went there, too.

YOUNG WOMAN It was the year I entered the Sorbonne. I studied so hard I wona prize and my grandmama tripled it so I had that summer deux millefrancs, all my own!

/283