SCENE TWO: A ROOM AT THE INN
Establishing Photograph: A small inn. Light shines from an upstairs window.
(LESTAT and NICOLAS sit at a table with empty wine bottles.)
[Nicolas:]
How did it feel in the end… when they were all dead… and you were the only one standing?
[Lestat:]
[disturbed] I don't recall. I'm not sure the things that went through my head were thoughts. [changing the subject] But tell me more about you. I know your father sent you to school in Paris.
[Nicolas:]
And I immediately set about to disgrace myself.
[Lestat:]
I heard rumors of the violin.
[Nicolas:]
If it had been a woman I fell in love with, my father would have been pleased. As it was, when he found out I sold my books to take up the violin… he brought me back here and threatened to break my hands if I ever played again.
[Lestat:]
My father is just the same. I ran off with a troupe of Italian players once. He locked me in my room for days.
[Nicolas:]
[bitterly] They don't deserve to call us their sons.
[Lestat:]
But tell me more of Paris. What do the people talk about? What do they think? Did you go the Comedie-Francais?
[Nicolas:]
Many times.
[Lestat:]
What was it like? Describe it to me. I want to know everything!
Song: In Paris
[Nicolas:]
Listen to me, let me speak of
Wondrous works of art
That dwell within that fabled city
Its architecture fills my heart
Let me tell you I have seen
Where great ideas are born
Illuminating all the darkness
In the corners of the world
Ask of me, I will tell you
Let your conscience be your guide
There's nothing but a hellhole here
While Paris waits, your virgin bride
[Lestat:]
Is it true, were you once a pupil
Of the great Mozart?
[Nicolas:]
It's true, but I was hopeless then
Clumsy as a horse and cart
[Lestat:]
Could it be I dreamt so long
To act upon the stage and sing
The footlights smoking at my feet
As curtains rise like velvet wings
[Nicolas:]
Come with me, let me show you
The opera and the comedy
The Latin Quarter where the girls
Are raven haired and fancy free
We'll play the dashing rogues
And infiltrate the grand salons
And walk in wonder through the Louvre
Across the Seine to the Sorbonne
In cafes we will feed our heads
With absinthe and philosophy
Engage the students of Voltaire
And damn the aristocracy
[Nicolas:]
In Paris the bells of Notre Dame ring out
In Paris we'll trade our soft voices for shout
I'll not rest until the ramparts of that city
Stand before us bright and clear
[Nicolas/Lestat:]
Penniless in Paris is better than the life we're leading here
[Lestat:]
In Paris we'll search for fame
[Nicolas:]
In Paris we'll be born again
And though the streets aren't paved with gold
In Paris we'll put our trust
For Paris, she was made for us
[Nicolas/Lestat:]
Paris, she was made for us
In Paris we will liberate our souls
[Lestat:]
I've heard that there's infernal noise
The stench and cut-throats out to rob
The hungry crowds that fill the street
Where anarchy consumes the mob
[Nicolas:]
And so there is, and in this life
There's always two sides to a coin
There's no adventure without danger
Its lions not sheep we're off to join
We'll rent a room above the din
Somewhere along the Boulevard
And find employment on the stage
The unwashed mass we'll disregard
[Lestat:]
And what of Marie Antoinette?
[Nicolas:]
She dances at the Palais Royal
[Lestat:]
Along with all the common folk?
I hear they call her 'Louis Whore'
[Nicolas:]
My friend the monarchy and God
Are out of touch and out of vogue
[Lestat:]
But can men live without belief
[Nicolas:]
Change is coming so I'm told
Fashion there is everything
But still there is a call to science
It's time of reason, not suspicion
All nations worldwide look to France
And bright you'll shine, a brand new star
And I will play the violin
We'll take the city by the throat
And revel in its glorious sin
[Nicolas/Lestat:]
Bing us wine, let's raise a toast
To the eighteenth century man
We are the vintage of an era
Golden sons of Abraham
In Paris the bells of Notre Dame ring out
In Paris we'll trade our soft voices for shout
I'll not rest until the ramparts of that city
Stand before us bright and clear
Penniless in Paris is better than the life we're leading here
In Paris we'll search for fame
In Paris we'll be born again
And though the streets aren't paved with gold
In Paris we'll put our trust
For Paris, she was made for us
Paris, she was made for us
In Paris we will liberate our souls
Paris, she was made for us
In Paris we will liberate our souls
(As the song ends, LESTAT throws his arms around NICOLAS exuberantly. Then he picks up NICOLAS' violin and holds it out to him… a sacred offering.)
[Lestat:]
Defy him.
[Nicolas:]
I don't dare.
[Lestat:]
Play!
(NICOLAS gives in and plays the violin. LESTAT is deeply moved by the music.)
[Lestat:]
You're brilliant!
[Nicolas:]
Do you think so?
[Lestat:]
Nicolas, you have a gift!
[Nicolas:]
I do. I think I do. But I'll never know what I might have done with it. I'll never know an inspiration. To hell with them! Lestat, let's leave tonight from here! No one will know until the morning and then we'll already be gone!
[Lestat:]
[remembering of his mother's words] When they wake up… we'll be gone.
(LESTAT makes his decision. He lifts his glass.)
To Paris!