montepío - the musical

Act 1, Scene 3, "The Attack"

"The Attack"

(The MISSIONARY, suddenly and intensely alert, becomes insect-like as he ushers JOMORRA away from the coffee field, towards an exit. They are met by the GUNMEN, also hunched and insect-like, as they are coming in, shooting frantically into the wings at their invisible enemy. There is the sensation of panic as they feel themselves being surrounded, gunfire coming first from one side, then two, growing to three. The coffee field remains free. SALAMÓN is cringing, stumbling on his stilts, eyes closed, shooting his gun into the air. His unmasked face now resembles his agony mask of earlier days: arched and bulging eyebrows over wide, wide eyes, and the curled-lipped, grey-tinged, writhing mouth. One of the GUNMEN pushes JOMORRA and the MISSIONARY towards the coffee. Grenades, gunfire, shouts. The GUNMEN are being forced back as the REVOLUTIONARIES begin to enter. The lights are fluctuating, becoming dimmer then brighter, lighting first one area of the stage, then another, dimming in and out, red to black and black to red, highlighting certain parts of the action as if by accident. IMACULATA, blazing in her white dress, enters, screaming out DIEGO's name. Are they screams of fear or of accusation? DIEGO has his gun trained on JOMORRA's back but does not shoot. JOMORRA turns at the sound of his daughter's voice and levels his own gun at DIEGO. Around and between them, combatants are writhing, one by one becoming stilled by death. Tired and weakened, GUNMEN topple into the waiting arms of the REVOLUTIONARIES who swarm over them, ravenous. From his belt, the American MISSIONARY draws a hidden pistol. He fires once at DIEGO, the bullet passing through the revolutionary leader's stomach and lodging in his spine near the tightly wound nerve cord. In that moment of distraction, LUPE fires, hitting JOMORRA in the chest and puncturing a lung. The MISSIONARY fires once more and LUPE crumples to the ground, dead. The MISSIONARY braces the weakening JOMORRA and, with difficulty, they exit through the coffee field together. Numbness setting in, DIEGO exits to the same wing, limping and crawling through the fray. At last the GUNMEN have all either fled or crumpled and fallen prey to the REVOLUTIONARIES. The gunfire shudders to an ominous halt. The wounded remnants of the REVOLUTIONARY army survey the carnage, digging through the bodies like scavengers, putting a gun to the head of every GUNMEN they find and pulling the trigger. They recognize SALAMÓN and help him up. His stilts have disappeared and his hair is now a shocking white.)

♩♫ ♬  MUSIC ♬ ♫♩

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