The Peaceful Religion pb

DEATH, MAIMING, DESTRUCTION

by OPOVV, ©2014

(Nov. 14, 2014) — “Hello. Looks like I sit here. Going to Atlanta?”

“Hi. No, I’m flying on to Miami.”

“Business or pleasure?”

“Business. Meeting with my partner about a deal.”

“What business you in? I’m in construction: airport hangars.”

“Never thought about a construction company building hangars.”

“Well, as they say, ‘There’s riches in niches.’ What business you in?”

“I’m in the theater, on Broadway. Taking a script to my partner to talk over. I like the idea but I’m not too sure about the timing.”

“Well, we got a couple of hours. I could tell you about hangars, but one hangar is about like any other. Sure like to hear what your play is all about.”

“Okay, then. Here’s the premise: it opens aboard one of those planes that flew into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The curtain opens on a cutaway of the plane, so we see just the port side passengers. The ride is turbulent and the sound is of people praying, some crying, saying the Lord’s Prayer, and the sound of jet engines going up and down in volume. The lights are flickering and over the PA system we hear some guy in an Arab accent, ‘Soon you be landing. Remain calm. Islam is, if nothing else, peaceful and misunderstood.’

“Then the lights go out and we hear a loud crash, people screaming, then all is quiet except for the sound of a fire.

“Then we see the passengers just aimlessly walking around the stage and the lighting is bright red spotlights on each person, including the Muslims who are the murderers. The sound of the fire is intense.

“The sound of the fire continues as the spotlights on the passengers slowly change from red to white, while the red spotlights on the Muslims slowly turn an even darker red.

“The passengers slowly gravitate to the left of the stage; the skyjackers to the right. The sound of the fire is augmented by firefighters’ radio calls and, as the curtain is lowered, the sounds of glass shattering and beams colliding as the building collapses are heard.

“The second act opens with the passengers on a white cloud, stage left. They are wearing what they died in, covered in blood, blackened by fire, and totally disheveled. The Muslims are on stage right in the smoldering ruins of one of the towers, with smoke and flames about them, bathed in a red glow.

“Beautiful music of a harp is heard from stage left interspersed with the crackling of a fire and wailing from stage right. The sound bounces back and forth for a couple of minutes.

“The lights on the left dim while the red light on stage right remains constant.

“The lights on stage left come back on and this time the passengers are all dressed in white. The harp music is constant, while the sounds of a fire and wailing are diminished in volume coming from stage right.

“The passengers are sitting in white easy chairs, relaxing, and talking among themselves in low tones while it is the Muslims who are now the wailers and beating themselves and pulling their hair.

“And from above an escalator is lowered to the cloud on stage left. The passengers are up and, with smiles and laughter, they ascend, and when the last passenger is out of sight the escalator retracts as the harp music subsides and ends.

“As the last of the passengers ascend, the white cloud is replaced with more smoldering ruins, with flames here and there. The Muslims are now wandering around the whole stage, dragging large rusty chains, gnashing their teeth, wailing and beating themselves as the sound of the fire increases, with no change and no let-up. The stage is now completely bathed in red light.

“The curtain is lowered and that’s the end of the play.

“Looks like we’re about to land. Well, what do you think? Will it make any money?”

“I liked it. What do you call it?”

“’The Peaceful Religion.’”

Semper Fi

OPOVV