The Giants Dance
Sheet Music

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SKU: HU.9780822204411

Play, Plays. The Giants' Dance. Softcover Book. Hal Leonard Australia #9780822204411. Published by Hal Leonard Australia (HU.9780822204411).

ISBN D082220441X. 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.1 inches.

THE STORY: As told by Oppenheimer, of New York Newsday: "This first act is a farceand very funny it is too. The scene is the Palace of King Ambrose of England in the year of 470 A.D. A war has just ended and the soldiers and the populace are indulging in all sorts of delightful human sacrifices. The Queen, a thoroughly domestic type, just loves sacrifices and is bustling about busily, seeing to everyone's welfare, except, of course, the victims', while the wizard Merlin is up to his old tricks, one of which is to make Muzak accompany him on his entrances. The Princess is engaged to a Prince and all is well until the King sights a prisoner and, on a whim, snatches him from the ax, to the displeasure of the Druid head-priest. In Act II farce gives way to a sort of philosophical comedy. The prisoner, a Roman Christian, becomes the Princess' bodyguard and shortly thereafter they fall in love. Then the King, worrying about his conquering army becoming too rambunctious, decides to send them on a mission to Ireland, headed by the Prince and his barbarian uncle, to pick up some mammoth rocks, known as the Giants' Dance, which are to serve as a peace monument. In Act III we have a blend of farce, ironical comedy and a dash of romance and sentimentality, in addition to a revolution that unseats the King but reseats him in time for the curtain" with, as one need hardly add, the timely aid of Merlin's magical powers. All ends as it should, with the evildoers punished, the true lovers united and the folly of war made clear in an eloquent plea for brotherhood and forbearance.

Produced Off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theater. Set in fifth-century England, a time of wizards and wise kings, this charming satire tells a tale of romance, intrigue and conquest filled with relevance to the conditions of our own day. "A far-fetched way of accounting for Stonehenge, but a delightful evening of theaterrichly comic, constantly engaging, and gently pertinent to our time." - Village Voice. "throws off sparks of laughter." - NY Times. "THE GIANTS' DANCE is heartening evidence that we have a playwright in our midst." - NY World-Telegram & Sun.