ACT TWO
 
 

Scene 1

We are in Havana the following morning. The stage if flooded with sunlight. ADELINE appears from stage left, her eyes glowing. On the backdrop is projected a series of brightly colored photographs depicting the appealing side of Havana in the late 30s. As Adeline begins the song, the DANCING ADELINE enters from the opposite side of the stage. ADELINE                                         I felt it
                                        As soon as the ship
                                        Pulled into the harbor---
                                        I knew it would happen
                                        The moment that we'd arrive;
                                        I felt it
                                        Watching the waves
                                        Lap against the Morro Castle.
                                        I felt so suddenly alive! (NATIVES and TOURISTS dance on stage. DANCING ADELINE attracts everyone, flirts outrageously and has all the MEN following her.)                                         There's something about Havana that makes you tingle,
                                        There's something about Havana that makes you soar!
                                        I'm sure in this fabulous city
                                        I'll finally find what I have been looking for.                     There's something about Havana that's so exciting,
                    You feel any moment that your heart will explode!
                    You know that there's something fantastic
                    Waiting for you behind the next bend in the road.

                    All around you
                    There's such a sensual enslavement
                    That any second
                    It seems the underbrush
                    Will crack through the pavement.

                    There's something about Havana that's so intriguing,
                    There's something about Havana that sets you aflame---
                    There's something aflame in Havana,
                    Magical old Havana
                    That makes me oh, so glad I came!
 

(DANCING ADELINE whirls offstage. MIDDLEAGED MAN enters while NATIVES dance about the real Adeline. He is distinguished, handsome, just the one she has been looking for. SHE smiles, places herself in front of him. HE could not be less interested. Spotting one of the native girls, HE breaks into a rumba and goes off in pursuit of her. ADELINE is hurt, but not daunted. SHE moves offstage with the OTHERS. The lights alter. It is no longer morning, but glaring high noon. The slides on the backdrop have changed. Whereas before they were brightly colored tourist photographs, they are now dull black and white stressing the squalor and poverty of the city. As ADELINE reappears from stage right, her attitude has also altered from complete optimism to isolated dejection. The Dancing Adeline is nowhere to be seen.) ADELINE                                        There's something about Havana that's so depressing,
                                       Depressing in daylight, what is it like at night?
                                       You look and you ponder the question:
                                       Why did the Spanish put up so hard a fight?                    There's something about Havana that makes you lonely,
                   Behind all the glitter, oh, how dismal and glum!
                   I feel like I'd like to start drinking---
                   No wonder they say the primary export is rum.

                    All around you
                    There's so much room for improvement,
                    One week in Cuba
                    I think that I would join
                    The Communist movement.

                    Oh, why did I feel I'd possibly catch a man here?
                    Oh, why did I feel the men would be down on their knees?
                    The one thing I'd catch in Havana,
                    Magical old Havana,
                    Would be a tropical disease.
 
 

BLACKOUT