BLACKOUT

THE SOUND OF ECHOING PRISON GATES.

BACKLIGHTS FADES UP TO REVEAL PRISON BARS, INCLUDING THE SILHOUTTE OF NUMEROUS PRISONERS.

PIPER CHAPMAN IS LEAD ON STAGE BY A FEMALE PRISON GUARD.

 

PRISON GUARD

Miss Chapman, no one is going to mess with you unless you let them. This isn’t Oz. You won’t get shanked. Women fight with gossip and rumours. And some will peg you for rich so they’ll hit you up for commissary. And there are lesbians. They’re not going to bother you. Some will try to be your friend, just stay away from them. I want you to understand, you do not have to have lesbian sex.

 

PIPER

I have a fiancé. Larry. He’s a writer. Um. When can he come visit me?

 

AS PIPER IS WALKED THROUGH THE PRISON GETTING, GETTING SEARCHED, HAVING HER ID PHOTO TAKEN AND GIVEN CLOTHES THE PRISONERS SING ‘YOU’VE GOT TIME’

 

PRISONERS

The animals, the animals, trapped, trapped, trapped ‘til the cage is full.

 

YOGA JONES

The cage is full so stay awake

In the dark you count mistakes.

 

NICKI

The light was on, but now it’s on

Searching the ground for a bitter song

 

MORELLO

The sun is out, the day is new

And everyone is waiting

 

PRISONERS

Waiting on you, and you’ve got time…

 

Okay, I know, but am I really that crazy to think that Orange is the New Black (OITNB) could actually be on a Broadway stage? You’re not convinced? Here me out, okay?

The setting can primarily be Litchfield’s lunch hall, with its cold industrial interior. Easily transformable into the ‘Ghetto’ sleeping quarters. You know those steel table-chair combos in the lunch hall? Those are now beds, and that inmate serviced food counter? That’s the warden’s office, all achievable with a little help from my friends, the ensemble, and my people, the stage crew.

Jumpsuits and Warden Uniforms, that’s pretty much all the costumes needed. Except for those on the outside; they require a little extra attention, but that’s a pretty easy ride in terms of research and production.

I’ve mentioned the outside world, I hear you say. How do I represent that? Well lighting design and I go way back, and those little lights can create inspiring effects. Extreme tones of both dullness and brightness capture the atmosphere behind the walls of the prison. While soft, subtle and warm tones transcend us into the real world.

Regina Spektor, writer and performer of OITNB’s title song ‘You’ve Got Time’, will bring her own unique talent of song writing. Along with her own trusted advisors and musical peers, she will be the Composer and Lyricist.

Casting can make or break your production, even more when it’s new. With that in mind, I think it only works if you cast the lead roles from unknown performers, especially the characters of Piper and Alex. You’re audience pulling names are destined for inmates such as inmate Red or C.O. Healy.

My last thought goes to two actresses who are currently gracing our television screens, both of whom have publicly displayed their love and support for this little Netflix TV show that could and did; Grey’s Anatomy’s Sara Ramerez, and Pretty Little Liars Janel Parish; who both actually have musical talents on their resume. Without them my imagination wouldn’t have run wild after reading their tweets, and this random thought would have been no thought at all.

 

INSTRUMENTAL: THE PRISONERS PERFORM AN AGGRESSIVE AND SLIGHTLY EROTIC MOVEMENT PIECE.

PRISONERS

You’ve got time…

Blackout. Audience Applause. Cast back for Curtain Call. Blackout. Houselights.