Blurb - "Gentleman Likes a Lady"

This one is a full-cast latin swing number, which will be sung by none other than Grandma, herself. This should be a fun one... When I was writing this one, I was trying to come up with either the scene where the Grandmother starts putting pressure on Jane to date wealthy men, or the scene where she's actually going through them. What I ended up with was a song that works for both. This song takes place between "Souls and Stars" and "Paper Silhouettes" and covers some of the time between 12-year-old Jane, who just lost her parents, and 20-year-old Jane, who is fed up with all the pressure and the fakeness of the so-called gentlemen she's supposed to be trying to woo.

Character: Grandmother
Favorite Line: "They only want to catch a glimpse/ of what's beneath their sashes"
Hardest line to write: "You'll learn which is the dinner plate/ and how to Maître d' one"
Why: This line just felt weird the whole time I was writing it... It worked in the end, but it was still weird to me...

"Gentleman Likes a Lady"

Gentleman Likes a Lady

Grandmother:
There's one thing that I've learned in life,
so listen close to me, dear.
You've led a very privileged life,
but if you want to stay here
You've got to learn to pay your dues,
and then you'll have it made
You gotta know one simple rule
Gentleman Likes a Lady

So if you want to catch a mate,
You've got to learn to be one
You'll learn which is the dinner plate
and how to Maître d' one
Each gentleman will want your kiss
before your beauty fades
But if you want to be a married miss,
a gentleman likes a lady

Boys may go for lovely lasses pining for a guy
but they all give up their pining in the end
The girls will lose their lovely curls
and wanton willing smiles
and the boys grow into gentlemen

Though gentlemen may sometimes glance at curly, dainty lasses
They only want to catch a glimpse
of what's beneath their sashes
They'll never see the devotee
behind the masquerade
A dainty girl, he'd never do
a Gentleman Likes a Lady

[Dance Break]
Girls:
Boys may go for lovely lasses pining for a guy
But they all give up their pining in the end
Boys:
The lasses lose their lovely curls
and wanton willing smiles
All:
And the boys grow into gentlemen...

So paint your lips and brush your hair
if that's what makes you pretty
But to lose a girl so debonair,
Well, that would be a pity
You could have had a perfect man
If only one had stayed
There's one thing that I'm telling you
A simple thing for you to do
I promise every word is true
A Gentleman Likes a Lady

Blurb - "My Angel"

I'm rather proud of this song. The lyrics turned out really well, I think, and it fits well into the action and into the story. It falls right after their fight when Jane gets fed up with everything and decides to run away and Kai tries to stop her. In a last ditch effort to convey his desperation and try to get her to stay, he kisses her and she freaks and runs. This song comes immediately after she leaves and Kai is left heartbroken.

Character: Kai
Favorite Line: "My Angel had the mortal world to woo her..."
Hardest Line to Write: "A kiss from her could heal a wounded soldier/ but an unkind word could break a lover's heart"
Why: I really, really, really tried to make the format of the second verse match the first, but this was a stubborn line because I really, really, really wanted to include the foreshadowing. I ended up just going with it and making it stand out, which, I suppose, highlights the foreshadowing, anyway, so whatever...

"My Angel"

My Angel

Kai:
My angel has a smile that lights the heavens
My angel has a face that outshines stars
Her eyes are like the sea
Her hair is soft and free
A touch from her will stop you where you are

My angel has a voice that calms the spirit
A voice like you have never heard before
A kiss from her could heal a wounded soldier
but an unkind word could break a lover's heart

The truths I never told you
that now  I'll never say
The promises I'll never get to make
That last look in your eyes
That took me by surprise
Made me lose control
and made you run away...

My angel had the mortal world to woo her
But my angel had the strength to seize the day
She thought that only she could see
The way this world should be
And so, before my eyes,
My Angel flew away...

Blurb - "Paper Silhouettes"

Is it conceited to really, really like your own lyrics? Because I really like the lyrics I wrote for this one. I feel like it's some of my best work... So, this song goes in when Jane is about 20, and she's under a lot of pressure from her grandmother to try and secure a wealthy husband so that she never has to worry about money or anything, especially since this takes place toward the end of the depression. Jane is completely fed up with how all these guys just want a pretty face and nothing more, but she's expected to be polite to them anyway.

Character: Jane
Favorite Line: "In every bachelor batch/ finding your perfect match/ but a girl made of paper/ is easily burned."
Hardest Line to Write: "They tell you to be polite/ hoping that someone might/ fall for a girl/ with her pages unturned."
Why: Do you know how hard it is to rhyme the word "burned" within the context of this song? Very. It took me forever to come up with something suitable for this line...

"Paper Silhouettes"

Paper Silhouettes

Jane:
Dancers in perfect form

spin across the ballroom floor

in dresses made of silk

and shoes made of glass

exchanging their pleasantrie
s
over trite melodies

but never revealing,

removing the mask, saying



Pleased to meet you, monsieur

pleasant to meet you, monsieur

and shake hands

do the dance enchanté

how long will you stay, monsieur?

Say the weather looks fine

play the part, say the line,

til the day fades away and I'm nothing more...

Than a paper silhouette on a stage...



They tell you to be polite,

hoping that someone might

fall for a girl

with her pages unturned

In every bachelor batch

finding your perfect match,

but a girl made of paper

is easily burned

but I'm



Pleased to meet you, monsieur

pleasant to meet you, monsieur

and shake hands

do the dance enchanté

how long will you stay, monsieur?

Say the weather looks fine

play the part, say the line,

til the day fades away and I'm nothing more...

Than a paper silhouette on a stage...



They tell me I'm beautiful, but what do they know,

they're just puppeteers dancing with paper silhouettes

They smile with their teeth and they put on a show

but it's not worth romancing a man you'll forget anyway...

In a day...

So you say...



Pleased to meet you, monsieur

pleasant to meet you, monsieur

and shake hands

do the dance enchanté

how long will you stay, monsieur?

Say the weather looks fine

play the part, say the line,

Say, I'm Pleased to meet you, monsieur

pleasant to meet you, monsieur

and shake hands

do the dance enchanté

how long will you stay, monsieur?

Say the weather looks fine

play the part, say the line,

til the day fades away and I'm nothing more...


Than a paper silhouette on a stage...

Blurb - "Souls and Stars"

This song is one of the ones actually inspired specifically by the original story of the Little Match Girl. In the story, she looks up to the sky and sees a shooting star and remembers that her grandmother once told her that a shooting star is a soul ascending to heaven. This song is based on the idea that if you wish upon a shooting soul, your wish goes straight to heaven, and that's why you make wishes on shooting stars. The tails on the shooting stars are the tears of those they've left behind.

Character: Grandmother
Favorite Line: "Catching wishes in their tails/ and slipping out of sight..."
Hardest line to write: "drops from eyes that miss the one/ who gave their spirit light"
Why: I knew what I wanted to say, but it was way too many syllables for the line that I needed. I finally managed to cut it down to this line, which sums up what I wanted to say pretty well, actually, but it took forever to get it to sound right...

"Souls and Stars"

Souls and Stars

Grandmother:
Wish upon a shooting soul
Send it straight to heaven
Where only God can hear the sorrows
hidden in your dreams
Stars may light the darkest night
when tears fill up the lanterns
But wish upon a shooting soul and what you wish will be

Stars are trailed by lonely tears
sparkling in the heavens
drops from eyes that miss the one
who gave their spirit light
But tears will lift their souls to God
and carry them forever
catching wishes in their tails
and slipping out of sight

Blurb - "Mia Princessa"

So this song is going to come after the full-cast opener, which will be called "Daddy's Little Princess," and which hasn't been written yet. (I'm working on it, I swear...) Because this part of the story is set in the great depression (probably circa 1931), people are obviously incredibly desperate for money. Because Jane has a wealthy family (which will be established in DLP), some of the disgruntled waitstaff are going to attempt to kidnap her to ransom her for money. The title is referencing the previous song, as well as making fun of her for being daddy's little princess, because that's why she's being kidnapped now.

Character: Kidnappers
Favorite line: "We just want to play"
Hardest line to write: "If he don't, then he/ practically shot her"
Why: I felt really weird about including this line in what's supposed to ultimately be a family show... It seemed a little harsh to actually say that they were going to kill her and it was her dad's fault for not paying the ransom. I went with it anyway because I couldn't come up with a nicer way to say it...

"Mia Princessa"

Mia Princessa

Kidnappers:
Mia Princessa, Mia Princessa
Daddy's little girl
Where's your daddy now?
Mia princessa, Mia princessa
Not so powerful
with no one else around

Sweet little baby
Carried the world on
her silver platter.
That doesn't matter

Mia princessa, Mia princessa
You can come with us
Please don't make a fuss.

Jane:
Please, sir, will you let me go?
I've done nothing against you
Please, sir, will you let me go?
Let me go
Let me be
Why do you want me?

Kidnappers:
Mia princessa, Mia princessa
You don't have to fear
We just want to play
Mia princessa, Mia princessa
You can make us rich
If only daddy pays

Rich daddy oughta
Pay for his daughter
if he don't, then he
practically shot her

Mia princessa, Mia princessa
Nothing more to say
Carry her away.

Blurb - "Death of an Angel"

So this is obviously supposed to be the finale for Act 1, as evidenced by the title "Act 1 FINALE." This takes place back on the streets where she's sitting by the wall. Because it's so cold out and she's been out all night with nowhere to go, no money, no shoes, and only a bundle of matches, and it's getting close to dawn at this point, she's just about frozen to death. Enter Kai, who, after she ran away, realized he was in love with her and had to go find her. He finally sees her on the streets of New York literally moments before she passes out from cold. In this scene, Jane sings a verse, then Kai sings a verse, and then there's a dance break where, while Kai holds Jane by the wall, silhouetted dancers will come in on the street behind them, one male and one female, representing the couple. Then the couple does their last verse, which is actually their verses layered on top of each other (they're written to fit together), and at the very end, Jane passes out, the female dancer disappears, and we see a shooting star before the blackout.

Character(s): Jane and Kai
Favorite line: "What is heaven if there is no earth?"
Hardest line to write: "Please don't leave me here, love/ Not without your smile/ Don't leave me alone, dear/ Without you, I would die"
Why: This verse wasn't in the original lyrics. I wrote it later so that Kai didn't have to repeat his last verse. It still feels really awkward to me, but it makes sense in the song, so I guess I'll leave it in...

Act 1 FINALE "Death of an Angel"

Death of an Angel

Jane:
I am here
Will you listen for me
Hear my plea
Hear my story
Time goes on
What are seconds worth?
What is heaven
If there is no earth?

But the dawn slips over the mountains
And the sky grows light
As I approach the night

Hush, my dear
I am never gone
I will pass
You will go on...

Kai:
Wait for me my darling
I can't let you go
You are all I live for
Your love is all I know
Do you know my darling
Just what I would give?
I would give the heavens
Just to see you live

But the dawn creeps over the mountains
And the sky grows blue
As my heart breaks in two

Please don't leave me here, love
Not without your smile
Don't leave me alone, dear
Without you, I would die

Last verse:
Jane:                              Kai:
Hush, my love               Hush now, stop your crying
Dry your tears                Dry up all your tears
I'll be with you               You were once here with me
Through all your years    Here through all the years.

Kai:
But if you’re gone...
I can’t go on...