THE
RESIDENTS'
THE VOICE OF MIDNIGHT
(Based on "Der Sandman" by E.T.A. Hoffman)
SCENE 1 - THE SANDMAN
CLAIRE
“Hi, it's Claire. I'm not home now, so please leave a
message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."
NATE
“CLAIRE! CLAIRE! ARE YOU THERE? ARE YOU
THERE, CLAIRE? IT'S HIM, CLAIRE... IT'S HIM!
IT'S THE SANDMAN, CLAIRE! I SAW HIM! I, I
JUST SAW HIM FIVE MINUTES AGO! HE KILLED MY FATHER, AND,
AND NOW HE'S COME FOR ME!!! He, he's got this
little shop near the campus where he sells used books and
lab equipment to the students... I, I know that it's
him... I know that face!!! And, and the way he
walked... I, I'll never forget! NEVER!
AND, AND THOSE EYES!!! THOSE EYES!!! He, he
tried to fool me with those dark glasses, but I remember
those BEADY LITTLE INSECT EYES!!! I KNOW!!! I
KNOW!!! I know... I, I... I'm sorry. I
know this must sound really weird... It's just, this
guy I saw… It was the Sandman. It has to be
him... Spring break is next week, so, so… I'll
be home in a couple of days and tell you all about
it. I, I'm sorry... I, I love you. I love you,
Claire.”
NATE
He,
he tried to steal my EYES when I was little… Then he
disappeared after he killed my father... I knew he'd
be back.
NATE
“I
was alone and so very small
I was alone and dreaming
I heard the hard footsteps in the hall
I heard my heart - screaming.
They were just friends, in my father’s room
They were just friends, when he died
There was a voice talking to the moon
It was the voice of midnight.”
SANDMAN
“The
Sandman can,
The Sandman can,
Provide the serendipity
That turns delight into debris.”
CLAIRE
“You
surrendered self control when fantasy appeared
You call it truth and purity, but all I see is fear
There's nothing there that cares for silly children on the
moon
There's nothing there but air, inhabited by you
You were just a little boy left in a lonely room
So you taught yourself to see a sandman on the moon
You gave him the power that you never had
The power to be everywhere, the power to be bad.”
NATE
"I
was alone and lingering too long
I was alone and lonely."
NATE
“Oh, Claire! The idea of going on this picnic is, it's,
it’s just PERFECT! It’s so great to spend some time
together.
Just the two of us…
No distractions…
Away from everything…
I need you, Claire.
I need you...
I, I can’t stop looking at your lips... and your eyes...
I have to kiss you, Claire...
I have to...
I have to.”
SCENE 2 - MENTAL DECAY
NATE
“I
guess maybe I lost the way
And maybe she's right to say
It may be mental decay - in me
She
believes in honesty
She believes that we succeed
When we never overfeed - our dreams
I
should believe in what I see
Should believe in her and me
Should believe in sanity
I do believe in sanity
I do believe in sanity
I do believe in sanity
I do believe in sanity
I’ll think I’ll write a poem to Claire ...that ...that’s
what I’ll do.
“I
feel a fire and see the empty-ness that was your sight
And sense a burning, boring penetration, leaking light
Surrounding me with heat and hopeless laughter, I am lost
Until I hear your voice imploring me to walk across
Life is a street, it’s just a street and you’re on the
shadow side
Come over here
Come over here
And look into these eyes
They’re still in me, yes, still and feeling peaceful, and
desire
Nothing but you... Nothing.
And so I let my soul absorb the love inside of me
And madly move beside the body you are offering
But as my gaze caresses you
I see your flesh is gray, lifeless, languid
And upon the threshold of decay
I long to look into your eyes, but they have turned into
Silent sockets of despair
Festooned with hair and goo
I look away, I look away
I look a way I’ve never looked before... And cry.”
CLAIRE
“You’re disgusting!”
SCENE 3 - CLAIRE'S RESPONSE
SANDMAN
“The Sandman can,
The Sandman can,
The Sandman can,
Twist and turn the things that please us
Into a perfect pair of tweezers
Then he squeezes.”
CLAIRE
“If
this is a reflection of the affection in your heart
Then our ideas of love are an infinity apart
Your crude attempt at sentiment is odious and cold
And conceals the true condition of a damaged soul.
Something’s hiding from you, Nate, it’s puncture-proof and
sealed
You need to separate your sickness from the love you feel
Go away and think about everything I said
Go away and sleep with eyeless shadow shapes instead - of
me.”
NATE
“I'm, I'm sorry, Claire. I guess it was a pretty
weird poem, but, but I had this vision... And it was
honest, and passionate, and, and I guess it was kind of
mean, too. And yeah, you're right, of course…
There's no Sandman. It's ridiculous, you're
right... I, I don't know what I was thinking...
I get so worked up sometimes... I'm going back to
school now, Claire. I'll talk to you soon. I'm
sorry... I'm sorry.”
SCENE 4 - IN THE DARK
NATE
“Hello.
Brad? Hi. SHIT! What's all that noise,
Brad? I… I can barely hear you! What?
WHAT??? My apartment house is on fire? ON
FIRE?!?! MY APARTMENT??? Yeah, yeah...
You got all my stuff out? Shit! I mean, thanks,
Brad, thanks... What am I gonna do? SHIT! I
mean thanks, Brad. What? There's an empty room
in your building? And you can move my stuff in
there, shit, uh... Thanks, Brad, thanks... Yeah, I
know where it is... The train won't there for two
more hours, but I'll come straight over… Shit!
I can't believe it! Uh, thanks, Brad, thanks,
man... Thanks.
“So
this is where I live now... Weird... I mean,
I've got a nice place, I leave town for a week, I come back
and now I live somewhere else... Weird. That
looks like Professor Caligari across the street... I
have him for biology this year... That must be his
house... One of the windows upstairs is open.
It kind of looks like someone is sitting there… Just
sitting there in the dark.”
SANDMAN
“He
sees someone moving
She's petting a snow white cat
She sits in the shadows
She sits in the dark”
SCENE 5 - PROFESSOR CALIGARI
NATE
“HEY, PROFESSOR CALIGARI! HEY! Excuse me, it's
Nate from your third period class. Uh, excuse me, but
could you answer a question for me? Thanks,
thanks... Well, I have this astronomy class this
semester, lunar astronomy, actually, and, and I need a
telescope. Do you know where I can get one cheap?
You know, those new ones are so expensive, and I
thought maybe you might know of some place. What?
What was that? A little shop at the south end
of campus? Yeah, I know that shop, but, but the guy
that runs it, isn't he kind of... weird? I mean, I've
seen him around and he seems like, really weird to
me... What? Oh, you say he's a friend of
yours? And he's okay? A little eccentric at
times... but he's okay... and he loves students...
Sells equipment really cheap. Yeah, okay, if you say
so, professor... Yeah, okay, thanks... Thanks
Professor... Oh Professor, is that your daughter I
see in that upstairs room? She… doesn't seem to go
out very much… Oh, she's shy... Yeah, okay,
thanks again Professor, thanks again.
SCENE 6 - THE TELESCOPE
NATE
“Excuse me, mister, I need to buy a telescope. Not a
very strong one, I'll mainly just be looking at the
moon. I, I can't afford to spend very much.
Don’t I know you? You look really familiar to
me... HAVEN'T I MET YOU SOMEWHERE? A LONG TIME
AGO?!? No? ARE YOU SURE?!?! Yeah,
okay... Let me see that one... It's
beautiful... I love the way it folds up so small, it
even fits in my pocket... It feels so nice in my
hand. I guess it must be really expensive.
WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? It can't be that
cheap! Uh, I mean, I mean it's really inexpensive for
such quality... Okay, yeah, I'll take it...
Thanks, mister, thanks... Uh, I'm sorry if I got so
upset a minute ago, it just that you, you remind me of
someone. Thanks again, mister, goodbye.
“This thing is really cool, I can see everything...
It's, it's like magic. I can't wait to get home and
look out the window.”
SANDMAN
“Come
to the window
Look through the glass
Come to the window
Tell me what you see”
NATE
“I
see a hand caressing
A cat in the dark
It sits in the shadows
It touches my heart
It's
beautiful”
SANDMAN
“Leaving
land again he sucked himself into a hole
Sold himself a polar bear and turned it into gold
But it never suited him
And soon became so cold
That he found the ground around him had become a grassy
knoll.”
SCENE 7 - TRUE LOVE
NATE
“What’s this? It, it looks like a letter, but it’s so
formal looking. It’s an invitation to a party, for
O-Olympia Cali-gar... This must be Professor
Caligari’s daughter, Olympia. She, she must be the
one I keep seeing in the upstairs window! She, she's going
to sing and she's going to play the piano.”
OLYMPIA
“Beautiful Dreamer, please sleep with me
Bask on a blanket of slumber so sweet
Welcome a world that never decays
And opens to ultimate love everyday
Beautiful Dreamer, King of my song
Pursue my passion with limitless need
Deep in a dream that's lovely and long
Beautiful dreamer, won't you sleep with me
Beautiful dreamer, won't you sleep with me.
Beautiful Dreamer, won't you sleep with me?
Beautiful Dreamer, won't you sleep with me, tonight?
Beautiful Dreamer, won't you sleep with me?”
OLYMPIA CHORUS
“Beautiful
Dreamer, won't you sleep with us?
Beautiful Dreamer, won't you sleep with us, tonight?
Beautiful Dreamer, won't you sleep with us?
Beautiful Dreamer, won't you sleep with us?
Beautiful Dreamer, won't you sleep with us, tonight?
Beautiful Dreamer, won't you sleep with us?”
NATE
“Her eyes... Her eyes seem to have this power.
When I look into them, it's almost like I can hear her
thoughts. I can hear her thoughts and they're
singing. It's, it's the most beautiful voice in the
world.”
OLYMPIA
“Let
the trees bend with the breeze
Let the waves defend the seas
Let our love appreciate that life is only borrowed
Let the lame have their disease
Let the truth have Socrates
Let our love become the grease that slides away from sorrow
Let
the humble have their knees
Let the pinnacles be pleased
Let our love become the seeds that turn into tomorrow.”
NATE
“I guess, I guess even the Sandman must feel some kind of
love... I, I’ll bet it must be his children...
The Sandman probably really loves his children.”
SANDMAN
“Love
is the feeling you get
Dropping eyeballs into
The mouths of hungry children.
Starving
children raise emotions
Like rain raises weeds
Starving children feed the souls
of those that heed their needs
Starving children apply pressure
On a parent’s mind
Starving children create pleasure
When they eat their eyes.”
SANDMAN & NATE
“Love
is a skeleton key
Unlocking a small room
Filled with darkness and hope.”
SCENE 8 - SEVEN CATS
NATE
“I love my telescope... And I love looking out my
window with it at night. The moon is so close I can
almost touch it, but, I can't see Olympia tonight.
She's usually right there in her room, sitting, in her calm
and quiet way. And her cat, that white cat, glowing
like a full moon... He’s always sleeping.
Sleeping right there in her lap.
There's
a cat on a rooftop over me
There's a cat in a doorway under me
There's a cat in window by a tree
There's a cat and he's looking back at me
“But,
but there's Olympia’s cat… He's up on the roof,
peacefully napping in the moonlight, and, and there's
another cat... Amazing! He looks just like the
other one... And, over there, in that doorway,
there's another one... And they're identical...
How strange. And there's another... And
another... And another, and another, and another.
There's
a cat and he's crying in the street
There's a cat and he's hiding quietly
There's a cat and he’s not quite right I see
Seven cats and they look alike to me
“There’s, there's someone coming up the street. He,
he's all hunched over, kind of sneaking along... Like
he doesn't want anyone to see him, he's just slinking from
shadow to shadow...
“Yeah, it kinda looks like the guy from that shop where I
bought the telescope... Yeah, that's him, yeah I'm
pretty sure that's him... What's the doing? He,
he's stopping in front of the Professor's basement
door. He looks like he's - PICKING THE LOCK...
HE'S BREAKING INTO THE PROFESSOR'S BASEMENT! I, I'VE
GOT TO STOP HIM!!! I'VE GOT TO STOP HIM!!!
“HEY!! HEY YOU!! HEY!! HEY!! OKAY!! STOP!!
STOP!! WHAT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHAT' IS
IN THAT BOX? ALRIGHT! GIVE ME THAT! GIVE ME
THAT BOX!! THE BOX! THE BOX! IT'S FALLING!!
IT'S FALLING!!! HEY, COME BACK HERE!
HEY!! HEY!! WHAT IS THAT? WHAT'S THAT I FEEL ON
THE GROUND… It's so dark in here. Oh, he he
dropped his flashlight. Good, now I can see a
little. It looks like the box came open...
It's, it's EYEBALLS!!! EYEBALLS ON THE FLOOR…
AND WHAT'S THAT??? It's A BODY... It's OLYMPIA
'S BODY... AND SHE DOESN'T HAVE ANY EYES!!!
SHE, SHE DOESN'T HAVE ANY EYES!!! What is this place,
it looks like some kind of a laboratory and THERE'S ALL
THESE HEADS, HEADS SITTING ON SHELVES… HEADS, HEADS,
HEADS, DOZENS OF HEADS... Eyeless heads... And,
they all, they all look... just... like... Olympia,
Olympia, Olympia, Olym...
oooooohhhhhhhh."
SANDMAN
“Sightless
souls and they look alike, he saw
Sightless souls and they look alike, he saw
Sightless souls and they look alike, he saw
Sightless souls and they look alike, he saw
Sightless souls and they look alike, he saw
Sightless souls and they can't look back at all"
NATE
“I
saw some swollen seaweed surrounding me like eels
Coming from a cloudy mass of me that never heals
The mass became a blister bursting open and revealed
A dark and luscious liquid that became my favorite meal.”
SCENE 9 - CATATONIA
CLAIRE
“Is it true? Is it true? Did Nate really attack his biology
professor? WHY!?! WHY!?! WHY!?!”
NATE'S MOTHER
“The police… The police… The police said Nate
attacked the professor in the man’s basement. He was
terribly confused... Confused... confused.”
CLAIRE
“WHY? WHY? WHY? Why would he? WHY?
WHY? WHY?”
NATE'S MOTHER
“Nate was unconscious when the police arrived, Claire, but
he, uh, had his arms around a, a dress dummy, and, and he
had knocked all these mannequin heads on the
ground... And, and, apparently tried to scratch their
eyes out… But no one knows… No one knows…
No one knows what really happened.”
CLAIRE
“How long has he been like this?”
NATE'S MOTHER
“A little over a week now... Sometimes he wakes up,
but there's no one there... No one there... No
one there... The doctor’s say there’s nothing wrong
with him, physically... physically...
physically… physically.”
NATE
“Uuuuhhhhhh... uuuuuhhhhhhh... Mother? Claire?
Is that you? Where, where am I?”
SANDMAN
“Sleep,
sleep, just like a dog
Underneath a falling log
Sleep, sleep just like a rat
Napping next to a hundred cats
Sleep, sleep just like a child
Sleeping on a sofa while - his mother fades away."
SCENE 10 - THE PROPOSAL
Happy, Happy Birthday to Nate
Happy, Happy Birthday to Nate
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday Nate
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday Nate
Happy, Happy Birthday to Nate
Happy, Happy Birthday to Nate
Happy, Happy Birthday to NATE !
CLAIRE
“OH, NATE! It's so wonderful to see you happy again!
I was afraid I'd never see you like this again.
Your recovery, it's, it's almost a miracle!”
SANDMAN
“They
live for a while, they live for a while
They live for a while and they wonder whether
All of the pain and all of the effort
Was worth it.”
NATE
“Claire, it, it's been so wonderful being with you this
past few weeks... I feel like a kind of darkness has
been lifted, and the light is shining in again... And
Claire, it's all because of you.”
CLAIRE
“Why, thank you Nate, but I feel like you've been doing all
the work here. It seems like you really want to come
out into the light again. And that's the most
important thing.”
NATE
“I, I'm sure you're right, Claire… But, but there's
something, there's something I need to ask you, something
I've been thinking about a lot. Claire, will, will
you, will you marry me? Will you, Claire?”
CLAIRE
“Oh NATE! Now, now that you've changed so much, of
course. Of course I'll marry you.”
SANDMAN
“The
Sandman can,
The Sandman can,
The Sandman can
Make you sing and celebrate
The flowers that he irrigates
On your grave.”
SCENE
11 - THE TOWER
CLAIRE
“Nate, you haven't said much since the wedding rehearsal
started... Is something bothering you?”
NATE
“No, no, not really... It's, it's just that getting
married here on your college campus makes me think about
how I can't go back to school now. It, it bothers me
a little… But it's not your fault.”
CLAIRE
“We could get married somewhere else if you want, if it
really upsets you to be here…”
NATE
“No, no, it's okay, it's okay… It's kind of cold in
the shadow of this big tower, though, why don't we take a
break... Let's climb the tower. It's still
sunny at the top. We can watch the sunset from up
there.”
CLAIRE
“That's a great idea, Nate... I, I've got something
I'd like to talk to you about anyway…”
SANDMAN
“The
Sandman can,
The Sandman can,
Convince a soul that all is well
While it masturbates in hell”
NATE
“It's peaceful up here, Claire. It's, it's nice to be
able to look down at the world, to watch the sky turn from
day to night.”
CLAIRE
“It is nice, Nate… I've been wanting to talk, and
you've been so distant lately... You see that hill
over there, Nate? The round one, the one that's kind
of glowing in the sunset.”
NATE
“Huh? Uh, yeah... Wait, I'll get my telescope
out.”
CLAIRE
“Does it remind you of anything Nate?”
NATE
“What do you mean, Claire?”
CLAIRE
“Well, does it remind you of something round, and full,
that feels like it might explode with new life? I'm
pregnant, Nate... We're going to have a baby...
Twins actually, the doctor says it's going to be
twins. Nate… Nate… Don't you have
anything to say? NATE! PUT THAT TELESCOPE DOWN!
TALK TO ME! TALK TO ME!”
NATE
“IT'S HIM! IT'S HIM, ISN'T IT? YOU'VE BEEN WITH
HIM! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME CLAIRE? HOW
COULD YOU?”
CLAIRE
“I, I don't know what you mean Nate. You look so
strange... What are you talking about?”
NATE
“IT'S HIM! IT'S HIM! YOU BITCH! YOU
FUCKED HIM, DIDN'T YOU?”
CLAIRE
“NATE? WHAT? YOU'RE, YOU'RE GETTING TOO CLOSE,
NATE! NATE, YOU'RE PUSHING ME TOWARDS THE RAILING!!!
NATE? NATE!!!!”
NATE
“YOU... YOU WANT TO HAVE HIS BABIES, DON'T
YOU??!!! HIS DEMON BABIES WITH THEIR OWL BEAKS GOING
SNAP-SNAP-SNAP! SNAP-SNAP-SNAP!”
CLAIRE
“NATE!!! YOU'RE CRAZY, NATE! STOP! STOP!
NATE! YOU'RE CHOKING ME! STOP! YOU'RE GOING TO
MAKE ME FALL!! NATE!!!! People are looking up!
STOP! STOP!!! STOP HIM SOMEONE!!! PLEASE!!!
STOP HIM!!!”
NATE
“I'LL STOP ALRIGHT!!! I'LL STOP WHEN YOU'RE BOTH
DEAD!!! WHO, WHO ARE YOU CALLING? IT'S HIM!!
HE’S DOWN THERE, ISN'T HE? IT'S HIM... I SEE
HIM... He’s looking up at us... HE'S
LAUGHING... HE'S LAUGHING... HE'S LAUGHING AT
ME!!! I'LL KILL HIM!!! I'LL KILL
HIM!!!! I'LL KILL HIM!!! I'LL KILL HIM!!! I'LL...”
SANDMAN
“"The
Sandman can,
The Sandman can,
The Sandman can,
Turn emotions in meat,
Consequently when he eats
The taste is sweet.”
SCENE 12 - EPILOGUE
CLAIRE
“Boys, I'm going to be out for a while... You'll be
staying with your grandmother, but I want you to take a
nap, you understand? As soon as I leave, she'll put
you to bed and tell you a story, but I want to go straight
to sleep... Straight to sleep... Do you
understand?”
NATE'S MOTHER
“Boys! Come here, come over here, boys. Climb up here
on the bed and old granny will tell you a story.
SNAP! SNAP! Oh, did you hear that sound, boys? SNAP!
SNAP! Did you hear that sound? That's the sound of
THE SANDMAN'S BABIES!!! That's the sound they make
with their little owl beaks when they think they're about
to eat SOME EYEBALLS!!! That's all they eat, you
know… The Sandman’s babies only eat eyeballs... Eyeballs of
bad children...”