Instrumentation
reed1(fl).reed2(cl) - tpt.trbn - perc(1) - pno - electric gtr - strings
Availability
Score and parts for hire
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Programme Notes
ACT ONE
Monique and April, two friends getting off shift, are killed by Early Evans. The security guard on duty, Henry Loving, is shot during the altercation. Henry returns to the home he shares with his impulsive, young-adult daughter, Charisse. Adela Johnston, Henry’s girlfriend from twenty years ago, arrives at the house after reading about Henry’s injuries in the newspaper. Charisse leaves “to study.” Henry’s friend, Buddy Pickles, sits in a bar after his shift. Charisse propositions him. Unaware of Henry’s connection to her, he leaves with her.
Henry is haunted by Monique and April’s ghosts. Buddy discovers Charisse is Henry’s daughter. Henry begins writing a book about security. Buddy comes to Henry’s house to confess his relationship. Charisse and Buddy fantasize about leaving Detroit to start a farm in Canada. When they return to the house, Henry watches from the window. He can’t make out Buddy’s face, but he thinks Charisse is being watched by a man in the distance.
Charisse worries about Henry’s ability to distinguish fantasy from reality. She confronts Adela about her intentions and history with Henry. Buddy arrives to the house with the intent of telling Henry about his relationship with Charisse, but he fails to do this when Henry asks him to watch over her.
ACT TWO
Henry returns to the plant to discover his position with the company has been terminated. The ghosts of Monique and April taunt him. Adela receives her second and final eviction notice. Buddy and Charisse plan to leave Detroit for Canada. Charisse calls Adela and asks for her help in dealing with an increasingly disoriented Henry. Adela tells Henry she is being evicted. Henry reveals that he does not love her. Buddy arrives and tells Henry that he loves Charisse and has quit his job to leave for Canada with her. Charisse, noting the distressed state her father is in, explains to Buddy that she cannot leave.