Fort San.
The sanatorium closed long ago. But we've heard the ghosts still walking the halls.
In the 1930s, hundreds of patients lived and died there. Isolated from their friends and family, restricted to their beds, they breathed carefully and waited for the lesions in their lungs to heal. Sometimes they waited for years.
Every night the sounds of death drifted through the building. And every morning the nursing staff worked hard to keep the patients cheerful.
"'The cure' is not a bottle of medicine, nor a surgical operation, but an idea; a way of life to apply to every moment of the day, to every activity."Index of songs:
--Dr. R.G. Ferguson
Try to close your eyes | I'm just a singin' cowboy | All alone and seventeen | Dream of the descending satellite | Needles in the chest | Keep an open mind | The Royal Tour | Nightmare (the satellite lands) | The dream is just a dream | Who's calling? | Room 404 & the riot | Melt in the sun | Not exactly here
Overture
The sound of breathing.
Images. Music.
We dimly see a Patient in a bed onstage. His eyes are open but he doesn’t move.
Beside his bed is a television monitor – the videophone. Upstage, a window.
The Nurse appears on the videophone.
Try to close your eyes
Nurse:
Once you dreamed a lot
And every morning there's
And every night you try to close your eyes
The morning passes slow
And every morning when I
And every night you try to close your
eyes
He plucks a few introductory notes on
his guitar, and begins to sing.
I'm just a singin' cowboy
Cowboy:
Oh, I'm just a singin' cowboy
The Cowboy trades guitar licks with
the band.
As the band picks up the song, the Cowboy
steps offscreen and appears onstage. He joins the band for the rest of
the song.
Cowboy:
Oh, I'm just a singin' cowboy
Oh, I'm gonna sing until the break of day
Oh, I'm just a singin' cowboy
All alone and seventeen
Hallie:
The sun is shining in your room
I hope you're not pissed off at me
They say your outlook's pretty bleak
I spent some time in quarantine
When I first got here, I withdrew
In Echo Lake, I almost drowned
I guess they thought you'd be inspired
I'll catch you later, friend. It's been
She switches off the videophone.
Darkness.
The Patient has a dream. In his dream,
a satellite is drifting down to earth.
Michael sings a song:
The dream of the descending satellite
Michael:
You won't need a telescope
But it's not as bad as that
It's a sad sad fact my friend
But it's not as bad as that
So look up while you still can
Music builds. The Patient slowly rises.
He plants his feet on the floor.
Needles in the chest
Patient:
And sometimes when I'm lyin' here
I recall this older cousin I once met
And sometimes when I'm lyin' here
The Patient walks over to the band and
grabs the microphone.
Patient:
The Patient goes to the videophone and
turns it on. Hallie appears.
Patient:
That maybe dreams are sent
Let's say I dreamt I was a satellite
But what if I should stop
Hallie appears onstage. She goes to
the window and looks in at the Patient.
Hallie:
Let's say you really were a satellite
But if you'll spend some time
Patient:
Hallie disappears.
The Nurse appears on the videophone.
An orderly wheels in the Prince of Wales.
For some fucking reason, he’s a mannequin.
(Michael sings the Prince’s song.)
The Royal Tour
Prince of Wales:
Westward we travel by CPR
Though we be the Prince of Wales
Sturdy of build with yeomanly brow
Though we be the Prince of Wales
So, loyal subject, how do you fare?
Though we be the Prince of Wales
Though we be the Prince of Wales
The Patient rises.
Patient:
Ooh – you’d throw it all away
He sends the mannequin spinning offstage.
Patient:
The Patient crawls into bed.
Patient:
Nightmare (the satellite lands)
Scary music. The Patient is having a
nightmare.
In the woods behind the hospital, a
satellite lands.
A Spaceman emerges. He creeps through
the woods and into the hospital.
Hallie is at the Patient’s bedside.
The Spaceman creeps up behind her and kills her.
He straps the Patient to his bed and
pulls out a scalpel.
He cuts into the Patient’s chest. Smoke
pours from the open wound.
The Patient wakes up. He turns on the
videophone.
The dream is just a dream
Patient:
Hallie appears on the videophone.
Hallie:
However frightening it might seem
Patient:
Hallie:
Hallie appears onstage. For the first
time, she enters the Patient’s room. She sits beside him on the bed.
Hallie:
Patient:
Hallie:
Patient:
Hallie:
Patient:
Hallie:
She kisses him. They lean back on the bed.
The music builds. The lights fade.
Blackout.
Silence.
Soft music. Dim lights.
The Patient and Hallie are curled up
in bed together. He's asleep.
Hallie rises. She kisses him on the
forehead and exits.
Ominous music. The Spaceman appears
outside the window.
He enters through the window and slowly
creeps up on the sleeping Patient.
Just before the Spaceman can touch him,
the Patient wakes and sees him.
The Patient starts to flee, but the
Spaceman reaches out pleadingly.
Silence.
The Spaceman removes his mask. It's
the Singin' Cowboy.
Patient:
Cowboy:
Patient:
Cowboy:
Patient:
Cowboy:
Cowboy:
Cowboy:
Though this valley may be old
So I paddled through the night
Though this valley may be old
Patient:
Cowboy:
So I bade her mother tell
Though this valley may be old
Patient:
Cowboy:
He holds it up. It’s a key.
Room 404 & the riot
Suddenly the Patient is outside. He’s
shivering in his thin pyjamas. In front of him is a hill. In the side of
the hill there's a door. On the door there is a sign:
He wanders through a room full of machinery
and arrives at another door. The sign says:
We're outside again. It's broad daylight.
The Patient is walking across the open prairie.
Off in the distance, there is a television
monitor.
The Patient walks closer. On the screen
is Hallie's face. Hallie blinks at him innocently.
Suddenly there's an axe in the Patient's
hand. He takes a swing and smashes the television.
Fucking loud music. He keeps right on
smashing.
After the television is thoroughly smashed,
the Patient stops to catch his breath. He glances down at his axe and notices
that blood is dripping from the blade.
He looks down at the ground. The television
is gone. In its place is the Nurse, lying in a pool of blood.
Alarms are going off.
The Patient is standing in the middle
of the stage, confused. The Cowboy is gone.
He rushes to the videophone and tries
dialling Hallie’s room.
Nurse:
Patient:
Nurse:
Patient:
Nurse:
Patient:
Nurse:
Patient:
Nurse:
Patient:
The Nurse is distracted by someone offscreen.
Nurse:
The camera falls over. We see bare feet
running off down a corridor.
Part of the Nurse's face is visible
in closeup at the edge of the frame. She's unconscious on the floor. At
the end of the corridor, people are running back and forth.
A man walks down the corridor toward
the fallen camera. He's wearing bloodstained pyjamas. He’s dragging an
axe. He stops by the Nurse’s head.
The screen goes black.
The music gets really crazy loud. Everything’s
falling apart.
Suddenly it's quiet. Hallie’s face
appears on the monitor.
There is an error message on the screen:
Hallie appears onstage. She sings a
song:
Your feet are shiverin'
But you're too weak to pull 'em in
You been lyin' in this bed since last
July
Constellations move around the sky
And you're still lyin' here, waiting 'round
to die
And lately dreams are all you got
But dreaming takes a kind of effort, too
It's easier if you just take in the view
And they said to take it easy, so you
do
The same old tired routine to start your
day
And every morning there's
The same old game that you refuse to play
And lately you don't even have the strength
To close your eyes, the strength to turn
away
Wait for the sun to rise, to start all
over
But as the starlight moves across your
face
You stare out into space, until morning
comes
And as you watch your toenails grow
And count up all your dandruff, flake
by flake
You listen to the breeze off Echo Lake
Never sure if you're asleep or wide awake
Look into your eyes you want to say
"I'm busy dying here.
So please don't interrupt me, not today"
And every evening when I say goodnight
You wish I didn't have to go away
Wait for the sun to rise, to start all
over
But as the starlight moves across your
face
You stare out into space, until morning
comes
Nurse (cont.):
The videophone flickers, and the Nurse
is replaced by the Singin’ Cowboy.
Good morning, cheerful.
We’ve decided to try something new with
you today.
It may seem cruel, but I’ve seen it work
wonders.
Just relax, and don’t be afraid.
Oh, I'm just a singing cowboy from the
range
I hope that you don't find me strange
Cos I'm just here to entertain
I'm here to keep you sane
I hope you don't mind this intrusion
I'm here to liven up your seclusion
Oh, I'm just a singin' cowboy from the
range
Oh, I'm just a singing cowboy in the San
I sure do hope that you're a fan
Cos I'm just here to entertain
And I'm never gonna stop my playin'
Until you give me a little smile
Looks like I might be here for quite a
while
Oh, I'm just a singin' cowboy from the
range
Then I may or may not go away
Or I might go on singing by your side
My last three patients died
Cos I'm the guy the doctors bring in
When the last slim hope is country singin'
Oh, I'm just a singin' cowboy from the
range
Oh, I'm just a singin' cowboy
Oh, I'm just a singin' cowboy from the
range
Cowboy (cont.):
The Nurse appears on the videophone.
Yip-yip-yippee!
C’mon, boy. This is for your own good.
Just give me a smile. No?
How about a blink? Just one blink! No?
Sorry, ma’am, I reckon I done ‘bout all
I can do.Nurse:
The Nurse clicks off. Hallie’s face appears.
That’s alright. There’s still one force
on this earth more powerful than country music.
Patient, I’d like you to meet Hallie.
I don't know how I should begin
This strange position we are in
May seem unnatural, but then
I've never had much luck with men
Mine's as depressing as a tomb
The previous patient liked the gloom
Or so I'm told - I never knew 'im
They said you might like company
And all my time is free
And that you never ever speak
I tried the same thing, my first week
I thought it gave me some mystique
The hardest part for me was bein'
All alone and seventeen
From human contact, just like you
I lay by a window, staring through
Got lost completely in the view
But in a while, I came around
I blinked and made a sound
By talking to me - well, I'm tired
Of goddamn bein' admired
A lot of fun. Guess I'll be seein'
You in your dreams. Get used to bein'
All alone and seventeen
It's the terrible truth you know
The dreams you wish would stay
Will usually fade away
But when you close your eyes
An object from the skies
Falls faster every day
For although the sky is vast
This object's falling fast
And as it faintly shines
The Zodiac aligns
Obscuring earthly signs
And sometimes I resent you saying it's
as bad as that
The doubts that you suspend
Will come down in the end
Because life's a funny joke
Played by a funny guy
On chumps like you and I
And sometimes I resent you saying it's
as bad as that
It's not as bad as that
You know it's not that bad
Cos the light is almost gone
It's too faint to wish upon
But remember it's our fate
However long we wait
Some dreams won't dissipate
I remember back in sixth or seventh grade
This girl from down the block and me,
we played
Together in a little fort we made
And sometimes as we hid in there she'd
slip
Her hand up into mine, or brush my hip
So softly with her fingertip
I'll think of dusty skin
Pointy little elbows and
Legs so long and thin
From somewhere in Alberta, I forget
She's probably fat and married now, I
bet
I pushed her in the river, so she peeled
Her clothing off to dry it, and revealed
Her body in some farmer's field
I think about her hair
Clinging to her shoulder
While I just tried not to stare
Nowadays it's needles in the chest
Pretty nurses watch me get undressed
'Scuse me if I laugh when they suggest
It might just help to talk
It might just help to talk
It might just help to talk
Hallie:
Keep an open mind
Well, hello.
Good to see you on your feet.
...Are you going to talk, or did you just
call to stare at me blankly some more?
I got no-one else to share this with
So I hope you don't object
I been dreaming crazy dreams most every
night
Now I'm starting to suspect
From the other side
Maybe spoons are bent
And ghosts are truly spied
Especially when you keep an open mind
That I was doomed to be alone
And I was circling eternally above
Sad and restless and unknown
Circling through the sky
Change my course, and drop?
What would that imply?
I'm just trying to keep an open mind
There's certain questions
Maybe we should all avoid
So let's kindly change the subject
If you don't mind, Dr. Freud
We could muddle with your id
But let's not and say we did
And late at night I saw you shine
I'd be grateful if you came on down to
earth
But if you didn't, I'd be fine
With me on the ground
I'll admit that I'm
Glad to have you 'round
I'm just sayin' I'll keep an open mind
Oh, it's getting easier I find
To always keep an open mind
Goodnight
Nurse:
The Patient returns to his bed.
I’m glad you’re feeling better, Patient,
but you really shouldn’t be out of bed.
Now hop under the covers and look sharp.
Here on his tour of the colonies,
Just arrived from Mombasa, Bulawayo, and
points beyond,
Be on your best behaviour for His Royal
Highness,
The Prince of Wales!
Far from Westminster's fine salons
We stride through desolate Saskatchewan's
Numberless fields of pig's manure
We are on a Royal Tour
From Montreal; our private car
Floats through a world of snow and sky
As the cows watch us go by
Though we shall be king
Still we know our duty
Is to do this thing
These simple folk, born to the plow
Never complaining, dutifully toil
Respectful, brave, and loyal
And someday shall reign
Still we can admire
These children of the grain
With faith in God, you will forbear
Soon you'll resume your place in the field
Do your duty and be healed
Though the strain be immense
Still our duty always
Must take precedence
We, too, must endure
Hardship, strain, and strife
We are on a Royal Tour
Nurse:
The Patient turns off the videophone. He
advances on the mannequin.
Patient, what do you think you’re doing?
Get back in...
You've given me a lot of good advice, sir
And duty's nice. But other things are
nicer
You would shirk your duties
You would shrug 'em off
You'd shrug 'em off for love
You'd shrug 'em off
You'd shrug 'em off for love
The whole world might be resting on your
shoulder
But when you find that girl you’ve gotta
hold her
Though the world be as fragile as a porcelain
doll
You’ll shrug it off for love
You’ll shrug it off
You’ll shrug it off for love
Hallie, are you there?
Please pick up the phone
I can't stand to spend tonight alone
I recall metal tongues
Whispering in the grass
In an alien monotone
Oh, you foolish boy
It's just a foolish dream
I promise you it doesn't mean a thing
Close your eyes, close your eyes
Pretend I'm by your side
Soft, now, while I sing
A dream is just a dream
Hallie, please don't laugh
I'm glad to see you there
It's just a foolish dream, I'm well aware
I recall a cloud of smoke
And someone in my room
Trying to clear the air
Oh, you foolish boy
Whatever it might mean
Can't you see the dream is just a dream?
Close your eyes, close your eyes
Pretend I'm by your side
It doesn't mean a thing
However fateful it might seem
A dream is just a dream
Hallie (cont.):
I have this nightmare all the time. I'm
floating over the lake, I'm drifting away up to the moon, and I can't stop
- all I can do is whisper. And people can hear my voice, but they can't
tell where it's coming from. But it's just a dream. It doesn't mean anything.
I'm sorry I woke you up. But I was worried.
You were worried about me?
I dreamed that you died.
Do you think that means I'm actually going
to die?
No, I don't think so. Someone visited
me in my dream. It was frightening. But...I think he was trying to help
me.
Guess what. I'm trying to help you, too.
Cowboy:
Who's calling?
Yee-haw!
You’re the spaceman I’ve been seeing in
my dreams!
Yessir, I am.
Am I dreaming now?
Buddy, there’s two possible answers to
that question, and neither of them makes a nickel of sense.
Well, why are you here?
Let me tell you...
So I was paddlin' my canoe
Across the lake one starry night
Oh, the autumn moon shone bright
Once, twice, three times I
Heard someone call, I swear!
But there was nobody there
Patient:
Cowboy (cont.):
Wait, I'm confused...why were you in a
canoe? What happened to your spaceship?
Be quiet. I'm trying to tell you something
important here.
So I was paddlin' across the lake
For to see my baby fair
When I heard my name, I swear
I cried, "Who or what
Could be calling out my name?"
But no answer to me came
Some things are older yet
There are mysteries, buddy
I would just as soon forget
And I reached the camp anon
With the first bleached rays of dawn
I cried, "Where oh where
Is my baby, tell me please!"
As I fell upon my knees
Some things are older still
There are mysteries, buddy
I, for one, have had my fill
Cowboy (cont.):
Cowboy (cont.):
You still with me, kid?
I'm still wondering what's up with the
canoe.
Don't worry about the canoe. Pay attention.
This is where it starts to get freaky.
She was laid out on her bed
Withered as an autumn leaf
I had to know despite my grief
At what hour my baby died
And the mother thus replied:
"Once, twice, three times she
Called for you then passed on
While the autumn moon still shone"
Some things will never change
When the white men first arrived
They all said it was strange
Names drift out upon the wind
Like spider threads in fall
I was not the first, I'm not
The last to hear that call
Cowboy (cont.)
The Cowboy pulls something out of his pocket
and gives it to the Patient.
You get the message?
There was a message?
Lucky for you, it’s a two-parter.
RESTRICTED
Underneath, a smaller sign:
NO-ONE MAY ENTERUNLESS YOU HAVE THE KEY
The door is padlocked. He tries the key
in the padlock. It opens. He pushes the door slowly open. Inside, blackness.
404
He goes through the door.
Patient:
The Nurse appears on the monitor.
Hallie! Hallie!Nurse:
The alarms are getting louder. Red lights
are flashing.
I’m a little busy right now. The
system just crashed.Patient:
A pause.
What’s going on?
Don’t worry. We’ll be resuming normal
operations any time now.
I’m not worried about the system. Tell
me about room 404.
How do you know about room 404?
I was there.
That’s impossible. No-one’s been there.
I was just there. I looked behind the
curtain. It’s all just a show, isn’t it?
That’s not the word I’d use.
None of it was ever real.
Every word was real.
There is no Hallie, is there?Nurse:
Oh, you foolish boy...
Something passes in front of the camera.
The Nurse screams.
Who...? Get back in your room...!
Patient:
The music is building.
Nurse! Nurse!Patient:
...but she’s unresponsive. Frozen.
Hallie! Where are you?Patient:
No response.
Hallie, something’s happening. We’ve got
to get out of here.Patient:
The screen flickers and goes blank. He tries dialling
her number again.
What’s wrong?ERROR 404
Silence. Then, gentle music.
FILE NOT FOUND
