Here's the beginning of chapter nine before I start my work day. It's the show you've been waiting for!
IX
“Hi ho! And welcome to our Muppet Show Valentine’s Day special!”
The crowd for the Muppet Show was large, perhaps larger than the audience they could usually expected in the old show days. There had been a huge effort in making sure that the fans were aware that they were putting on a show for them and that the show would be an hour long. If thirty minutes of hi-jinks didn’t wet their appetites, certainly sixty minutes would.
“I am your lovable host, Kermit the Frog,” the amphibian introduced. “And we are quite proud to present this testament of love and sometimes loss on this day meant for, well, the lovers, the dreamers, and you, our wonderful fans.” The audience applauded loudly in delight.
“But first, our very own Gonzo the Great will demonstrate through song his feelings on this day and reminds us why we never let him shop at the department store by himself.”
“Frog’s a laugh a minute, isn’t he?” Gonzo muttered. He, his chickens, his back up dancers, and his platform were already behind the curtain to kick off this show in style. The weirdo heard his chickadee chuckle behind him, just as the music to “Electric Barbarella” started up.
Hurrying backstage, Kermit wasn’t the least bit surprised to see that pandemonium was happening. Acts were trying to do last minute rehearsals, while others were trying to get ready, while others were trying to stay out of the way, or were getting in the way.
“So I told him, I don’t care who you think you are, your hand doesn’t go there!”
“Come on, Cheesy! It’s left, right, kick, kick! How many times do we have to go over this?”
“Is that skit for the Mamas and Papas set up?”
“It should be ready to go by the end of the first act.”
“Andrew, stand still.”
“Bunsen, we’re moving you and Beaker to the first half.”
“Who’re we moving down?”
“Walter. He’s been drinking lemonade all day and hadn’t realized his pucker was tart.”
“I’m going to give you a tart pucker if you don’t stop moving.”
“Piggy, I need help!”
“I told you to wait your turn, Bear.”
“Kermit, I’m thinking about doing a more dramatic version of my song tonight.”
“You mean you’re actually going to sing in key? That is dramatic.”
“I know that’s jealousy talking, First Mate Piggy.”
“Andrew, stop moving!”
“Hey Minion! Go check and see if BD got those flowers in place.”
“Already checked, Boss. In fact, I put them there myself. No worries, Scooter, I’ll make sure your big night goes great!”
“Big night? What big night? Why does Scooter get a big night?”
“Because he actually has brains in his head, unlike you.”
“What exactly are trying to say, Miss Piggy?”
“Cue the Delvish Dancers! Fozzie, you’re on in fifteen.”
“Kermit, I can’t go on! I haven’t gotten my tie tied yet!”
“Mon Cher, please take care of your best friend! Andrew, if I have to tell to stand still one more time, Moi will choke you with this tie.”
And the official start to the show had begun.
[hr]
Amanda sat through the first half of the show, thoroughly enjoying herself as she always did when she came down. Gonzo’s opening song was poppy and weird and probably a bit dangerous with him jumping from those moving platforms, but it was perfectly suited to the blue daredevil and the Whatnot had to admit that the weirdo looked good in a suit.
There was a dancing act after that, with an odd juggling act that followed before Fozzie went on early with his comic routine. And as always, the elder gentlemen who sat up in the balcony were there to harass him, stating that they loved to hate him and hated that he loved them so. It was an funny and ironic statement of a long lasting rivalry that had somehow turned to respectful friendship.
Amanda loved how the show was structured, without the standard program that many theaters would have denoting which acts were on at a certain time. This was probably because, despite all of their planning, the Muppets themselves never knew which acts would be on until they actually made it on stage and even then, they could easily fall apart and be quickly replaced with other.
However at the moment, the red head wished they did a better job at program announcements because the suspense of knowing that Scooter was performing for her, but knowing when was starting to get to her. And just when she thought she was going to go mad with the waiting, the familiar opening of a song she recognized began on stage.
On stage, a peaceful green scenery sat, with a green hill situated in the center. A few silver bells hung around it and a grassy plain that sat in front of it and through this grassy land, coming from stage right, was Scooter. He was dressed in black pants and a black silk shirt, which helped to highlight the red vest and tie that he wore; he was playing a guitar as he came into the stage.
“There were bells, on a hill,” he began, looking behind at the bells on that very hill.
“But I never heard them ringing,
No, I never heard them at all,
Till there was you.”
As he walked further through the grass lands that were laid out, a few birds came into view as he began the next verse.
“There were birds, in the sky,
But I never saw them winging,
No, I never saw them at all,
Till there was you.”
Despite being in an audience of at least a few hundred people, Amanda felt as though she was the only one there and that Scooter was singing directly to her. On stage, that was exactly what Scooter was doing. Even with the house lights down so that the stage was easily visible from the seats and those in the balcony, the manager had easily picked out his girlfriend from the crowd as soon as he entered from stage right.
He, Floyd, and Rowlf had planned this entire bit, owing to the fact that no one knew Amanda better than he did. Being in theater, Scooter had of course learned about musical theater, probably more so than he would have if he had taken it himself in high school; because of that he had become very informative on some of the greatest musicals in show business history.
As luck would have it, Amanda enjoyed her own share of musicals, and one of her favorites was that of The Music Man, which had originally starred Robert Preston in the lead role, both on stage and on the big screen. The topic of songs that would help Scooter convey his feelings had somehow gotten on to musicals and that had led to the red head mentioning that not only was The Music Man Amanda’s favorite, but she had always held a special place for the song “Till There Was You”.
It was then that both Rowlf and Floyd mentioned there was a male version of the song that had been done by the Fab Four themselves.
As Scooter sang the chorus, about music and wonderful roses, these very things appeared both in front of him and behind him, all thanks in part of Gonzo’s platform that he had insisted on having. Animal, Floyd, and Janice rose behind him, playing their instruments – though this time Animal was relegated to playing bongos instead of his traditional drums – while Muppet roses grew from the ground in front of him, swaying to the side as they played little flower versions of maracas and keeping in time with the beat. The band behind him had insisted that the song would mean more if he did the guitar solo instead of Janice, though Scooter protested, saying that he wasn’t even that good.
However, as many performers will tell you, sometimes the night of a show and being on that stage can sometimes make you a better performer. Scooter managed to pull off the solo beautifully, without the backup that Janice had promised him.
“Then there was music
And wonderful roses, they tell me
In sweet fragrant meadows
Of dawn and dew
There was love,
All around,
But I never saw it singing,
No I never saw it all,
Till There Was You.”
It had been amazing how the very song he sung actually resonated with him as he learned it and now, performed it. He had been surrounded by love for years and had never truly understood some of its aspects; he could never understand why Camilla could be so attracted to Gonzo and his crazy ideas and stunts; couldn’t understand how someone as nice and sweet as Janice could have anything in common with sarcastic Floyd; and never understood the seductive pull that Kermit and Piggy over each other.
And then he had met Amanda and it all made sense.
And in the audience, as he and the others took their bows, it made sense to her too.
He loved her, too.
Welcome to the Muppet Central Forum!
Jim Henson Idea Man
Back to the Rock Season 2
Bear arrives on Disney+
Sam and Friends Book
Fine. Here's another section of 5 Ball and that's it for today. I have work and school to do.
