IN CASE YOU'RE JUST JOINING US, (and where have YOU been these past four weeks?) Carl Taylor, a music critic for the New York Times, met fallen opera singer Rosa Milano while she was panhandling in front of a fast food place in Lower Manhattan, took her to lunch at a MUCH cooler place at Lincoln Center, bought her a whole new wardrobe, got her some cool temporary digs at a hotel across the street from the Center Plaza, began work on a nightclub act, met her daughters, her ex and his new wife, and (TAH DAH!) is about to become a MARRIED WOMAN!
SONG OF REDEMPTION
A Valentine's Day Aria In Five Stanzas
STANZA THE LAST
Blaze Of Glory
As important as the nightclub act was to Rosa and Carl, it would have to play second fiddle to their new life together. They would have to find a new apartment for themselves, Phoebe and the girls, (1965 Broadway, right next to Alice Tully Hall, where they had that first lunch), get some do-it-yourself supplies (Lowe's) furniture, (Raymour & Flanagan) and everything else at Century 21, and get Tina some new office space and living quarters (same place until Mr. Right came along). They rehearsed the wedding at the Rose Rehearsal Studio, and Carl made sure they had the right wedding planner. On their respective last nights of singlehood, they made sure their last nights of fun went off without a hitch. Carl and his Times buddies chose Dive 75, on 75th Street, and a pal of his who knew someone who knew someone who knew Hugh Hefner brought over a bevy of Playboy Bunnies who brought back the magic of the old Club on 58th and Fifth, and Carl did his best impression of Escamillo, Carmen's bullfighter paramour, by winning both ears and the tail of one of the Bunnies, who, like Carl, was too drunk to care. Rosa had an equally hot bachelorette party at the Empire Hotel's Rooftop Bar (She was also too sloshed to care what Carl would think of the Chippendale's dancers and male strippers.), while Phoebe, Frasquita and Mercedes had a "junior bachelorette" party at what was going to be her old apartment, binge watching all their favorite musicals drinking Shirley Temples and Virgin Marys, and laying waste to a White Castle Hamburger Crave Case, even though Mom once "craved" those little square hamburgers until she saw the light.
The next morning, the scene shifted back to Alice Tully Hall, where Carl, dressed in a bullfighter costume, stood and waited for the arrival of his tag team partner in the match called life. The Julliard String Quartet was there to serenade the guests, and graduates of the school set the mood with a program that included "One Hand, One Heart" from "West Side Story," John Lennon's "Grow Old With Me," (inspired by the poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning), and Dan Fogelberg's "Longer," but something was missing.
Ten minutes later, that something arrived to the strains of "Here Comes The Bride", dressed in a white variation of the outfit wore by Carmen before Don Jose stabbed her in a fit of jealousy, accompanied by Keeta and Sadie in white dresses wearing floral headpieces and paving her way. Unfortunately, both Rosa's parents had passed while she was just starting her operatic career, so the police officer charged with guarding her during that transitional period from homeless to star reborn gave her away. Tina was the Maid Of Honor, Carl's old editor was the Best Man, and...
Preacher: "Repeat after me. I, Carl James Taylor..."
"I, Carl James Taylor..."
"Take thee, Rosa Maria Carmen Violetta Anna Milano..."
"Take thee, Rosa Maria Carmen Violetta Anna Milano...."
Nuff Said.
As for anybody who could show just cause why those two should not be wed, Rosa's so-called friends from her homeless days were arrested outside Lincoln Center and Nigel had a tour in Australia. (Poor baby!)
One wild and crazy wedding reception later during which they divulged dates for the nightclub show AND a special charity performance of CARMEN at the Met Opera, the happy couple, kids in tow, (STILL in their wedding finery!) flew off to Disneyland Resort Paris where the highlight of the trip was Frasquita (Elsa) and Mercedes (Anna) and Mom and Dad wearing respective Mickey and Minnie wedding mouse ears posing with Bullfighter Mickey and Gypsy Minnie. After a week at the Happiest Place on Earth, (and a few minutes trying to avoid getting ripped off by the seemingly harmless elderly couple who would take your picture outside the castle and charge you an arm and a leg and two teeth) they took the Channel Tunnel (or "Chunnel") train to London, where they saw Madame Tussaud's, Buckingham Palace, the British Museum, and the legendary night club the Marquee, where FORTUNATELY for them, they completely forgot about this dude named Nigel Evans! But all good things must come to an end, and they returned to the States where they finalized Rosa's move to their new digs, AND put the finishing touches on the nightclub show, which completely sold out Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola venue. She started with a slowed down version of Patty Smyth's "Goodbye To You," and continued with Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive," both dedicated to Nigel. The highlights of the evening had to be Rosa singing Mary Wells' Smokey Robinson-penned classic "My Guy" to Carl and fellow West Side resident (now living in a better place) John Lennon's "In My Life," which she sang to Keeta and Sadie. (It was a Friday.)
The tough New York music critics were unanimous in their praise, but the best was yet to come: Rosa's return to the Met stage as her favorite character, CARMEN. Carl and Rosa sent invites to all their friends (except Nigel, for obvious reasons) to the performance and after party to benefit Project Renewal, a leading homeless outreach service which sent vans to the Lincoln Square area. Everybody who was anybody showed up, many in their best Spanish outfits, especially Carl, who wore his wedding night outfit. He stood outside the world famous Met Opera House, checking off people who came, when who to his surprise, (and disgust) should show up but Nigel, looking like something the cat dragged in.
"Oh. It's YOU," Carl said, mocking Nigel's tone from their unhappy reunion.
"How's it goin', mate?"
"Everything WAS good until YOU showed up."
"And what the bloody 'ell is THAT supposed to mean?"
"We didn't invite you, we want nothing more to do with you, we just want you out of here."
"What are YOU gonna do, challenge me to a gun fight?"
"That's not me. I've seen guns take John Lennon, innocent victims in Columbine, Sandy Hook, Paris, and San Bernadino and I'll be damned before I deal with some wacko who buys a gun without proper registration. Besides, what are YOU doing looking like a common bum?"
"Oh, didn't you 'ear? NOBODY saw me dates in Australia, NOBODY bought me CD, NOBODY read me book, NOBODY saw me network special, all because YOU and that BIMBO you married turned everybody against me!"
"Don't you remember you made that quote-unquote BIMBO a star?"
Ignoring him, Nigel ranged on, "I've got no money, I 've got nowhere I can 'ang me 'at, I'm now 'OMELESS and I 'ope you're 'appy!"
Carl said, "I wouldn't jump up and down and turn cartwheels because ANYBODY lost their house, but after the way you treated Rosa, Tina and the girls, I believe you got what you deserve."
With unbridled rage in his eyes, Nigel pulled out a knife and shouted, "AND NOW, YOU'RE ABOUT TO GET WHAT YOU DESERVE, MATE!"
A lovely senorita not too far away from all this suddenly ran to the scene, took the mantilla out of her bun, and with Rockette-like precision, kicked the knife out of Nigel's hand and damaged it in the process. Nigel tried to pick up the knife, but the senorita wrestled him to the ground, cuffed him, and revealed her NYPD shield. Carl wiped away the sweat and said, "Thank you, Officer!" She saluted him and smiled, "No problem!" Her mood turned serious and said, "Nigel Evans, it's time for you to sing a different song. Attempted murder, attempted assault, you have the right to remain silent, should you lose the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided to you free of charge. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?"
Nigel grumbled, "Perfectly."
The officer said, "We're going to get in touch with Scotland Yard, and as we say over here, they're going to throw you a necktie party and you'll be the only one dancing."
Nigel replied sarcastically, "Ha-bleedin'-HA."
The officer drew a sigh of relief and said, "Nobody dies tonight."
Actually, somebody did. The Gypsy Carmen, after a beautiful duet with the bullfighter Escamillo, was told by her friends Frasquiita and Mercedes that her one-time lover don Jose was right outside the bullring. They greeted each other curtly and don Jose tried to convince Carmen to break with the past and begin a new life with her. Carmen continually broke from his embrace and threw the ring he once gave her, challenging him to kill her or let her pass. In a fit of jealousy aimed at Escamillo, don Jose stabbed Carmen just as the happy crowd left the bullring celebrating Escamillo's victory. Joy turned to horror as they saw blood on the edge of don Jose's knife as he confessed, "Yes, I killed her! Oh, my Carmen, my beloved Carmen!"
Although Carmen died that night, as she did time and time again, Rosa was born again. Just a short time ago, she depended on the kindness of strangers, not always returning that kindness until an old friend opened her mind and heart, steering her away from the man who raised her hopes only to dash those hopes and in the direction of true love, from her daughters, her friends, and the one man who was truly made for her. Who was it who said, "You gotta go through Hell before you get to Heaven?"
Whoever it was, he nailed it. As Rosa took her bows, motioned for Carl, and motioned for Keeta and Sadie, who also sang in the children's chorus during the Changing Of The Guard scene and the bullfighting scene (They were recongnizable as mini-versions of their "Mama Carmen."), she knew that they weren't just applauding a character, they were applauding HER, the REAL Rosa, not this shadow of a person who kept bothering fast food customers, dodging traffic, and interrupting meals just to get something to eat. This was her song of love, her song of redemption, her moment, one that she didn't want to end.
NEXT: Two Epilogues For The Price Of One!
EPILOGUE THE FIRST
A Little Help From My Friends
Rosa lifted her hand, and the applause stopped.
"I would like to thank you all for supporting me in my return to opera, and for supporting Project Renewal. As I found out during my time on the street, panhandling is against the law, so, when somebody walks up to you and asks you for a quarter, please donate that quarter, or whatever you can,to http://www.projectrenewal.org .88% of Project Renewal's funds go directly to providing food,jobs, and medical care to the homeless. You can also follow them at @projectrenewal on Twitter and Facebook and watch their You Tube channel. Again, thank you for supporting me and Project Renewal."
The applause resumed, and many of the guests made their way to the afterparty, although Keeta and Sadie had to run backstage to change because they had school the next day. They were tired, but it was well worth it, for everybody.
EPILOGUE THE SECOND
Who Are You Now?
NIGEL EVANS
was flown back to England to serve time in jail. In a moment of insanity, he walked right in the middle of London rush hour traffic. He was hit by a truck and died instantly. He is buried as John Doe.
TINA WHITE
also flew back to England, but she married a BBC TV presenter with Rosa and Carl's blessings. She has been replaced by a colleague from Miracle Books.
FRASQUITA AND MERCEDES TAYLOR
launched their own showbiz career with a series of bubble gum hits. They can be seen as sister detectives Deena and Donna Dunn on the Disney Channel comedy mystery series, "Who Dunn It?"
CARL TAYLOR
has a number one book on his old paper's best seller list, "My Lady Rosa."
ROSA MILANO TAYLOR
is entertaining audiences at the Met Opera House and all over the world with her portrayals of Donna Anna, Rosina, and of course, Carmen.
CARL AND ROSA
are now the proud parents of Frasquita, Mercedes, Carly, Escamillo, Carmen, and another one on the way.
THE END
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