The Question

[ Lia, alone center stage. Felicia behind her, silent witness. Folk-pop ballad, simple guitar and voice. ] Lia Felicia, I have a question. I think it's the only one. I've been carrying it forever. I think before I was begun. Why is everybody hiding? Why do grown-ups close their face? Why does Mama work so hard and never sit still in one place? [ Pre-chorus — strings enter, the leitmotif appears in the cello. ] At school they said be quiet. At dinner they said don't ask. But every place I look, they're aching — behind every smiling mask. [ Chorus — Lia turns to face the audience directly. Some adults in the room are already weeping. ] If everyone is light, why is everyone so dark? If we came from somewhere bright, where is the spark? If love is what we are made of, why are we so afraid of — all the things that make us love? If everyone is light, why is everyone so dark? [ Verse 3 — Lia walks toward the lip of the stage. ] You said I was called. But the people in the world I came to — why have they all stalled? [ Bridge — Lia, vulnerable, asking the only thing she has ever wanted to know. ] Did they forget? Did they get lost? Did the light cost them more than they thought? Will they remember? Will I be enough? Will I "nd them? Are they the people I get to love? [ Chorus reprise — quieter, smaller, Felicia joining her in harmony. ] Lia, With Felicia If everyone is light, help me see the light. If we came from somewhere bright, take me to the bright. If love is what we are made of, take me to the love. And I will go and "nd them — all the ones I get to love. [ Lia, "nally, alone — one note, held. ] …all the ones I get to love. T he orchestra fades. Lia stands at the lip of the stage. The audience is changed. Many are weeping openly. A few children in the audi‐ ence are reaching for their parents. Felicia steps forward and places a hand on Lia's shoulder. • • • FELICIA. Then we begin. But, my love — to climb, we must first descend. The light is not above. The light is on the other side of the dark. Are you brave enough to come with me? LIA. Yes. FELICIA. Then come. There is something here that has been waiting for you. For all of us. And it is going to speak first. The lights begin to drop. A figure begins to emerge from the shadows upstage — but only as a silhouette, not yet recognizable. The Severance has appeared for the first time. The audience cannot see his face. He is barely visible. But he is there. ···