by Ian Doescher
[Exit Second Marty.
MARVIN Young dancers all, ’tis time for us to rest.
Fear not, for we shall make return anon.
Fly not, but wait on further melodies.
GEORGE ’Tis nine o’clock, and time to be a man.
[Exit George. Exeunt Marvin Berry and the Starlighters. Lorraine, in the car, takes off her coat to show her revealing dress.
LORRAINE Say, Marty, wherefore thou so nervous art?
MARTY Lorraine, hast thou encounter’d any moment
Wherein thou must a certain action take,
Yet when the moment did arrive at last,
Thou wast not sure thou couldst perform the task
E’en if thou hadst forever and a day?
LORRAINE Like, mayhap, in what manner one should act,
Upon a sweet and passionate first date?
MARTY Yea, very like. O, very like indeed.
LORRAINE Methinks I know exactly what thou mean’st.
MARTY Dost thou?
LORRAINE —In situations such as those,
Canst guess how I comport myself?
MARTY —Pray tell.
LORRAINE I worry not o’er what may come to be.
[She kisses him. He is stunned.
Teach not thy lips such scorn, for they were made
For kissing, Marty, not for such contempt.
Thy visage hath th’appearance of a ghost,
And ev’rything about this moment flops.
When I kiss thee, ’tis like I kiss my brother—
It feels not fancy-free, but filial.
Belike that maketh little sense to thee.
MARTY Nay, ’tis more sensible than thou dost know.
Enter BIFF TANNEN on balcony, approaching Marty’s car. Enter SKINHEAD, 3-D, and MATCH with him. Enter MARVIN BERRY and THE STARLIGHTERS on balcony aside, in another car.
LORRAINE With stealthy steps I hear someone approaching.
MARTY [aside:] George comes to end this scene most Oedipal
Before a tragedy occureth here.
[Biff opens the car door and pulls Marty out.
BIFF Three hundred ducats’ damage to my car
Thou caus’d, O whoreson small. Now shalt thou pay—
The sum requir’d is hefty: let the forfeit
Be nominated for an equal pound
Of thy fair flesh. I prithee, hold him, lads.
MARTY [aside:] How single-minded is his hunt for me,
An ’twere he had a single eye wherewith
His tunnel vision only spied revenge.
No cyclops had more hate for innocence.
[Skinhead, 3-D, and Match hold Marty. Biff hits him.
LORRAINE Release him, Biff! Thou speak’st with drunkard’s tongue.
BIFF Zounds! Look what is herein—a treasure chest.
[Lorraine begins to flee.
Nay, thou shalt stay and play with me, Lorraine.
MARTY Leave her alone, thou base and brutish bastard!
BIFF Take him around the back—I’ll come anon.
This is no peep show for thy wanton eyes.
[Match hits Marty. Skinhead, 3-D, and Match bear him away. Biff and Lorraine struggle in the car.
SKINHEAD An open trunk—let’s put the knave therein.
3-D Forsooth!
MATCH —Ha, ha, a zany plan indeed.
[They throw Marty in the trunk of another car.
SKINHEAD ’Tis punishment for ruining my hair.
[One of the car’s doors opens and a member of the Starlighters emerges.
STAR. 1 What dost thou to my car, thou wayward youth?
3-D Be gone, thou spook, for this concerns thee not.
[The other car doors open. Marvin Berry and the other Starlighters emerge.
MARVIN Who call’st thou spook, thou foolish peckerwood?
SKINHEAD Take heed unto my voice—I shall not fight
With dreadful people who live by the pipe!
MARVIN Fly hence unto thy mama, ignoramus,
Ere I give thee a knock thou shalt remember.
[Exeunt Skinhead, 3-D, and Match in fear.
MARTY Assist me, please—I’m here, inside the trunk!
MARVIN Good Reginald, give me thy keys at once.
MARTY The keys are here, inside the trunk, as well.
MARVIN Say that again? O, would I heard it wrong.
MARTY I said the keys are here, inside the trunk.
[They begin working to set Marty free. Marvin cuts himself as the trunk opens.
MARVIN A-ha, I have it now. O fie, my hand!
MARTY O, wondrous rescue, friends. Whose keys are these?
STAR. 1 E’en mine.
MARTY —I must depart. Ye have my thanks.
[Exeunt Marvin Berry and the Starlighters. Exit Marty severally.
Enter GEORGE MCFLY on balcony.
GEORGE The car. The struggle goeth on inside.
The time is nine o’clock. The man is I.
The destiny awaiteth, by my troth.
[George opens the door to the car.
Lo, rogue, remove thy filthy, damnèd hands,
Release this woman from—alas, ’tis Biff!
BIFF Methinks thou hast the wrong car found, McFly.
LORRAINE George, help me, please, if e’er thou likest me.
BIFF Turn thou around, and meekly walk away.
LORRAINE Please, George.
BIFF —Art hard of hearing, eh, McFly?
Close thou the door and thou mayst still escape.
GEORGE [aside:] I shall not let not this bully have his way,
But summon all the courage I can muster.
[To Biff:] Nay, Biff, it shall not be. Leave her alone.
[Biff emerges from the car.
BIFF It shall be as you like it, then, McFly.
Here hast thou ask’d for punishment most grave,
And thus I shall deliver unto thee.
[George tries to hit Biff, but Biff grabs his arm and twists it.
LORRAINE Biff, cease this madness. Thou shalt break his arm!
Leave him alone, thine anger runs too hot.
[Lorraine tries to stop Biff, who pushes her back into the car.
BIFF Ha, ha! This is too funny, by my troth!
GEORGE [aside:] O villain, villain, smiling, damnèd villain!
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain;
At least I am sure it may be so in high school.
And here am I, the Arthur to his Mordred,
The nervous David to his vast Goliath,
The weaken’d English to the haughty French.
I’ll knock the smile from off his wicked face.
My fist is like a pistol; shrimps shall rise
And make their mark, not be a stepping mat!
Rise, temper that I never felt before,
To give this hateful man what he deserveth.
Yea, here I strike for ev’ry underdog!
Enter MARTY MCFLY on balcony, hidden. GEORGE hits BIFF, who falls to the ground, limp.
MARTY [aside:] My father, man of strength and valor, too!
GEORGE Lorraine, say, art thou well? Wilt come with me?
LORRAINE [aside:] Ere now I ne’er consider’d George McFly,
Ere now, I never saw him in this light,
Ere now, I never witness’d bravery,
Ere now, I never heard love’s tender call.
[George helps Lorraine out of the car, and they exit together.
Enter two STUDENTS on balcony.
STUDENT 1 What happen’d here? Who is that striking man?
STUDENT 2 ’Tis George McFly, who here hath vanquish’d Biff.
MARTY He did it, by my troth, a noble man.
The picture! I must see if it is whole.
[Marty looks at the picture.
Alas, though George hath done the daring deed,
The past hath not been fully rectified.
My sister’s body halfway disappear’d,
And I am next, unless we make it right.
What can it be that still holds them apart,
Since George hath sav’d Lorraine from Biff’s dark threat?
Of course! My mother often tells the tale
Of how the two of them did first embrace
At the Enchantment ’Neath the Sea. Fly, feet,
Be certain of their love to save my life!
They need to kiss to bolster their romance—
The final matter calleth—to the dance!
[Exeunt.
SCENE 5
In the town of Hill Valley, near the clock tower, and Hill Valley High School, at the Enchantment ’Neath the Sea dance.
Enter DOCTOR EMMETT BROWN on balcony, near the clock tower.
DOC Nine thirty-one, and thunder rumbles gently—
The storm begins, and lightning follows on.
The wind doth blow to welcome in the rain,
Which follows an ’twere night come after day.
’Tis like young Marty and myself were sailors,
Caught in a storm upon the open sea—
The Scylla of his parents’ fate—and his—
Would eat his very being happily,
Whilst the Charybdis of time travel doth
Attempt to suck us down into the depths.
This tempest will not give me leave to ponder
On things would hurt me more—on future times,
Of which is Marty keen to tell me much.
’Tis rare a tempest brings a happy end;
Ye gods of cloud and rain, of wind and storm,
E’en Zeus, who hurleth lightning to the Earth—
Look favorably now upon our quest.
[Exit Doc.
Enter MARTY MCFLY. Enter MARVIN BERRY and THE STARLIGHTERS. Enter GEORGE MCFLY and LORRAINE BAINES, dancing together, and several other STUDENTS, dancing.
MARTY My friends, again we fortunately meet.
Ye must return inside, and play again—
The dance must be completed, or all fails.
STAR. 1 Look thou on Marvin’s hand, with vicious cut.
He cannot play with such a wound as that,
And we’ll not play without our leading man.
MARTY O Marvin, thou must play, for when thou dost,
’Tis then the two shall kiss and fall in love,
Securing mine own future as their son.
Sans music, there can be no dancing, nay,
Sans dancing, there shall be no kissing either,
Sans kissing, there shall be no length of days,
And the result is this: I’m history.
MARVIN The dance is over, sirrah. Yea, unless
Thou knowest someone who can play the lute.
MARTY I can and shall do it—it shall be me—
I’ll pluck the strings e’en for my very life.
[Marty and the Starlighters begin playing. Marvin sings.
MARVIN This song we sing for all ye lovers young.
[Singing:] O mistress mine, Earth angel mine,
O darling of my heart, I’m thine.
Shalt thou be mine, this year or next,
Why leave my loving heart perplex’d?
Sing nonny heigh, sing nonny ho,
Earth angel sweet, come dwell below.
O mistress mine, Earth angel mine,
One I adore, who doth so shine.
’Tis only thee for whom I care,
And I shall love thee, pet, fore’er.
Sing nonny heigh, sing nonny ho,
Earth angel sweet, come dwell below.
LORRAINE George, wilt thou kiss me, prithee?
GEORGE —I know not.
A certain shyness doth befall my spirit.
STUDENT 3 [approaching:] Get hence, McFly, I’ll claim thy rightful place.
’Tis certain that Lorraine doth want thee not.
[George begins walking away.
MARTY [aside:] Why doth he wait? What reason thwarts his will?
This hesitation causeth strife to me.
Behold my picture: now my sister’s gone,
And I begin to disappear as well.
Alack, not only on the photograph—
My hand, my right hand—trusted tool of old—
Begins to vanish! Yea, I see straight through’t!
The music I play swiftly faltering,
Harmonic chords now turn’d to dissonance.
Across the room, I see George turn to go—
Nay, Father, find thy courage, save us all!
STAR. 2 Say, lad, is’t well with thee? Hast thou gone sick?
MARTY I cannot play. I am undone, am finish’d—
Time’s consequences quite o’ercrow my spirit.
I gaze upon the photograph once more,
Whereon my person whole is nearly gone.
This is the end for Marty; yea, I die.
LORRAINE George, leave me not, I bid thee!
MARTY —Stay, George, stay!
[Marty begins to fall.
GEORGE [aside:] Shall bullies ever have the final say?
They are hard-hearted, mean, and resolute.
Yet ’tis by fear and sadness they are led—
Their own uncertainties have made them cruel.
A bully must be fac’d with courage plain,
Which doth declare “Thou art not welcome here,”
Ere bullies stop, and healing may begin.
[To Student 3:] Excuse me, sirrah, thou hast ta’en my place.
[George pushes Student 3 aside and takes Lorraine into his arms.
LORRAINE I can express no kinder sign of love
Than this kind kiss.
[Lorraine and George kiss. Marty is healed immediately and stands.
GEORGE —She kisses by the book!
MARTY O restoration heaven sent, by George!
My body’s whole, my spirit made complete.
My parents—lovely parents, gentle parents,
Upon the dance floor take their perfect kiss.
The photograph—what future doth it tell?
I reappear, with both my siblings too!
The rift I made in time hath here been heal’d.
Hands, precious hands, play on these mellow strings,
Support the song that joins these two as one—
If music mark the time of love, play on!
George waves to me, and I—with hand unhurt—
Do render back his wave, from friend to friend,
From son to father and from joy to joy.
[The song ends.
MARVIN Well play’d, and thou art passable with th’lute.
Shall we not play one more? What sayest thou?
MARTY Nay, nay, for I am almost out of time.
MARVIN Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day:
It was the nightingale, and not the lark,
That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear;
Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate-tree:
Believe me, sirrah, ’twas the nightingale.
Let us play aught to match the bird’s sweet song—
A melody with vim and vigor fill’d!
MARTY [aside:] An audience who’d gladly hear me play?
Is this not what I long’d for in my time?
[To Marvin:] A melody with vim and vigor, eh?
The perfect song doth spring into my mind.
MARVIN ’Tis well—take thou the microphone, and speak.
MARTY [to all:] Forsooth, this is an oldie whence I come.
Men, follow on—a riff of blues in B,
Which changeth quickly. Watch me carefully,
For I shall be thy guide and leader both.
See if thy rhythms can keep pace with mine!
[Marty begins playing. All dance.
MARVIN The music is unknown, yet doth delight.
Play on, my boys, we shall take joy tonight!
MARTY [singing:] Upon a hidden lane, in deepest wood,
Was born a child who play’d
as no one could.
His genius was pronounc’d e’en from boyhood—
His name was Jonathan Bernardo Goode.
How good when Goode begins to play the lute,
Sing ho, sing high, sing heigh!
They took him from his humble neighborhood,
To play withal the king’s court, if he would.
By queens his gift was lauded as it should—
No one was better, nay—’twas understood.
How good when Goode begins to play the lute,
Sing ho, sing high, sing heigh!
STUDENT 4 Bold George, I heard thou didst give Biff a knock—
Well done, brave soul, for ’twas long overdue.
STUDENT 5 Hast thou e’er thought of running for the post
Of president of all the senior class?
We need someone of thine integrity!
GEORGE [aside:] O, how my prospects chang’d in one fell swoop!
[Marvin walks to a nearby telephone.
MARVIN Although this music ringeth in mine ears
Profoundly, as none other did before,
It may, perchance, become a new sensation.
I’ll ring, upon the telephone, anon,
My cousin Chuck, a songwriter most clever.
Methinks he shall enjoy this newfound sound,
Releasing it unto the masses. [Into phone:] Chuck?
’Tis Marvin. Marvin who? ’Tis Marvin Berry,
Thy cousin since thou wert a little boy.
Think back upon what thou and I discuss’d—
Inventing some new sound to change the world—
I’ll wager thou shalt thrill at what I’ve found!
Now hear this music and be thou amaz’d.
[Marvin holds out the phone. Marty begins playing wildly. All stare.
MARTY The future comes too swiftly hereupon.
Apologies, companions, for this slip,
For by thy disapproving visages
I see thou art not ready for these sounds;
Methinks the generation next shall be.
[The dance resumes as the Starlighters play again. Marty begins walking out and is stopped by Lorraine and George.
LORRAINE The music was most interesting, Marty,
Not good, nay. No. But interesting ’twas.
MARTY Judicious are thy words, just shy of praise.
LORRAINE Beg pardon, Marty, yet, if thou mind’st not,
George ask’d if he could take me home tonight.
MARTY Such news rings like the sweetest bells of heav’n
That e’er did ring upon a bleak man’s ears!
’Tis well; about you two I feel encourag’d.
LORRAINE Yea, as do I, though I do blush to say’t.
MARTY I must depart anon, yet hear my words:
