Original subtitles

He should be here by now.

Good morning, Mr. Stanford.

We're ready for you. What's so good about it? And what is so good about my

being linked again?

I called ahead.

Asked them to make sure they got you here on time. You don't ask.

You tell.

Time is money in this business. In the past fiscal quarter, I have made more

money for my clients in 30 -second increments than any other director in

industry. And I didn't do that by being late.

Fire them. Where is my latte?

Where is... Sorry, Rexy, I couldn't resist.

How's my bad boy director?

Bad boy is not how I refer to myself, Michael. Neither is Rexy.

I'm not toxic. You are to me.

Get me another latte!

Another latte!

Okay, guys, come on. We don't have much time here. What do you think? They over

the top enough for you? Follow me. What is that?

It's our badger. It's our hunting badger. It looks like a skunk. It's not.

our badger.

Look, lollipops, I'm selling happy badger cereal, not stink flakes.

Pet names.

I love that.

You know, you got a little badger in you.

Can I call you that? You can call yourself unemployed. You're fired.

Wreck. It's a simple mistake. I'll pick it up.

It's a simple mistake, and it's your last one. Now, you and your light little

loafers can tippy -toe on out of here.

You know, I put up with your abuse, your attitude, your homophobic little

remarks, and I've risen above it all with wit and personal charm.

But when you attack my professionalism... Get off my set!

Now!

Let's go, everybody!

We're late!

Chop, chop!

Roll camera!

Roll playback!

Action!

This isn't Swan Lake, you know? It's not Swan Lake. All you have to do is start

here at Happy Badger Mountain, do your little happy dance from Badger Mountain

there, and ta -da, it's a camera. Just turn the camera, all right? It's all

little pea brain has to remember.

You think you can do that?

All right, everybody, let's go. I want everybody up.

We'll see.

One thing's for sure.

Sure made a mess of take one.

You will go back on all your memories of Jack to change the course of your life.

bring agent in the universe.

The red X at your feet.

Yeah, I know what a mark is, but I'm... Good.

Find it.

What is this?

Is this some kind of joke?

Oh, afraid not.

Think of it as an audition.

The most important one of your life.

An audition?

What? I'm not prepared for it. You are.

Rolling. Name?

Uh... You do know your name, don't you?

Rex Stanford.

Now, tell him a little bit about yourself. Anything.

Family? Friends?

Interest?

Dreams.

Aspirations. What you do for fun.

What makes your heart race and your spirit fly.

I make commercials.

In fact, my after -sales increase is not the best in the business.

Oh, dear.

Wow. What the... Don't say it.

It can happen.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

That is Othniel, your judge.

My... My judge.

This is the real deal, isn't it?

I'm dead.

Yes, Mr.

Stanford. The real deal.

You're deader than a doornail.

Can you tell me...

One good reason not to condemn your soul for all eternity?

I want a Cleo. Three years in a row.

Wrong answer.

1973. A small summer theater in eastern Vermont.

Rex was an aspiring young actor working for Peanuts.

A starving actor?

Our Mr.

Stanford?

Hard to believe.

You only do that for love.

That's right, Your Honor.

He loved every second of it.

And the experience was made even more sweet because he could share it with his

true soulmate, Sarah Carlyle.

They shared their love of the theater, their love of each other.

Where did you get that footage?

That's Sarah.

And me.

Oh, Sarah.

She's so young, she's so beautiful.

What happened to Sarah?

She dumped me.

Oh, really?

It's a career move, Sarah.

After a while, if I push hard enough, I can be directing. The money is

unbelievable. We'll be rich.

I've already accepted the job.

And I want you to come with me.

No, Rex.

My life is here doing something I love.

Our life is here.

Not mine.

I'm leaving, Sarah.

Sarah, you'll come back to me.

Sooner or later, you're going to realize I was right.

You're going to come back.

Do you still believe that she dumped you, Mr. Stanford?

Yeah, I wasn't wrong. The last time I saw Sarah, she was playing the skunk.

Badger. Whatever.

I mean, what kind of life is that?

The kind that pays the bills to support your son.

Oh.

Sarah had a... Had a child?

Yes.

Your child.

A boy.

Why didn't she tell me?

Sarah was the... The best thing that ever happened to me.

The only person I ever loved.

You can change that, you know.

I... Oh.

Oh, you're... I... Listen, I would... I would do anything to have a chance to

change what I did.

So be it.

You will have three days, and three days only, to repair the damage that you did

to your own soul and to Thaddeus.

No one will recognize you.

You are a free agent in the universe.

The blessing of God Almighty and his court.

Oh, no.

He has forbidden him to appear on the stage.

Sorry,

I didn't mean that.

Charles.

Charles.

Charles. Yes,

Charles, you are my dresser. Dress me this cape.

A lion.

A lion. I never get used to this stupid cape.

Here, it ties on somewhere underneath my armpit at the back.

I've never been able to tie this thing to save my own life.

You can see it right at the back. Watch my hair.

I'm sorry.

Underneath. Underneath.

Around the front and then underneath the armpit.

Get back. Watch the sword.

There's a sword there. Watch it. Sorry.

You all right, Charles?

You look as if you've seen a ghost.

Have you?

There are ghosts in this theater.

Why don't you sit down?

Let's go. We have to run.

Charles is ill.

No, no, I'm fine.

Sarah.

No, you're not fine.

You look like death warned over.

You.

Gotta go.

My entrance.

Did James ever go through my cues with you before he left? He promised me he

would. He also promised me a new nose, but he didn't get me one, did he?

This one makes me look like a duck -billed platypus.

James. Come alive, Charles.

James.

Your friend.

James. James, my friend.

I see. Oh, I see. You think that I'm... No, you think that I'm... Get off the

stage, you fat buffoon!

You're going to tell me I got sent back 20 years to Woosera and I'm a dresser? A

game dresser?

It's a... festival.

I'm joining the company of guards tomorrow.

I agree. Would a designer ever heard of Velcro?

Velcro? What is Velcro?

It's a lacing process that they used at another time.

Ow! Ow!

You're hurting me.

Just inhale, Victoria.

Got it.

You look beautiful, Vic.

Hello.

Hello.

He'll never get into anything that small again. She's going to marry a banker,

blimp up to a size 22, and make his life a living hell.

You are so funny.

Well, let's go pick a few pockets in my handsome cut purse.

Tracy and Hepburn.

Got your watch.

How'd you know?

Probably.

No, Tracy and Hepburn. How'd you know that?

Tracy and Hepburn.

Did you check my breeches, Charles?

No, I could not.

You, where have you been?

I'm a cadet of Gascon. Look at me.

I'm a master, and they all think I'm gay. More to the point, he... Me.

thinks I'm gay. Now, how am I going to get me to listen to me when he thinks

one of them?

Them?

Guy who's a little light in the loafer?

Think of this as a lesson in tolerance, Rex.

Judge Othniel goes for that kind of thing.

Likes to put the loafer on the other foot, so to speak. I need some help

don't know anything about costumes.

Oh, that explains a lot.

I'll have a word with your other half about that.

Lyle, James is not my other half.

No need to be ashamed.

Meantime, these last three shows are most likely going to be my last three

at Chivalo.

My legs aren't what they used to be, and neither is my concentration.

If you and I got muddled up in a costume change, I'd be lost.

I'll go over my cues tonight.

He's leaving us, you know.

He told me this afternoon.

And he plans to tell his pretty young lady friend tonight.

You should have seen him as he ran through one of my rehearsals for me.

He was very good, you know.

He's scared.

Well, I wish he'd stay for the rest of the season.

But he's off in three days.

To make a mark for himself as a gopher in the fascinating world of television

commercials. It's a big ad agency.

He may be running errands today, but in five years he'll be directing. Inside of

ten, he'll be pulling down six figures. What kind of a life is that?

If he'd stayed, he could have soared on the words of some of the best works ever

written.

Anyway, I suppose I'll have to find another bit.

In Death of a Salesman? That's right.

We're going to close the season with it.

You mean you would have cast me?

I mean Rex?

As this long? He's got the goods.

But you have to want it.

In your heart.

That's what drives actors on.

You can't teach that.

No.

I have to blow my nose.

Death of a Salesman.

That could be your autobiography.

I had no idea he thought I could play Biff.

Amazing what you can learn the second time around.

How are you finding the smell of the grease paint?

It's comforting.

Very familiar.

Still, I don't know how you expect me to convince myself that becoming an actor

is a good career choice.

Is that what I expect?

That's what I'm getting from this so far.

Look at Lionel. He's as good as they come.

He spends half of every year collecting unemployment, for God's sakes.

For God's sake?

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm just saying that I'm having a hard time convincing

myself that living like that is any better than living the way I live.

Living is the key word in that sentence, Rex.

See, you weren't a very happy person the way you turned out. You became

arrogant, took out your frustrations on everyone around you. I understand that,

and I agree with that. But if I let them take on the world with a child and no

money, what's going to happen to them?

You all right?

Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just making some final adjustments.

Uh, they can't see me when I'm dressed like this. Yeah, so?

So they think you're a little odd.

I have one thing I will keep.

One thing as I enter before God,

saluting, sweeping away the stars, and

that is... That is?

Hey, Sarah.

Hi, Charles.

What's the matter?

Nothing.

Would you like some help?

No.

What is it, sweetheart?

Rex.

Leaving me to take some stupid job.

He told you already?

Nobody's going to.

I heard Lionel tell you he was.

He had his reason.

But that's what I came to talk to you about.

What? What, a coward he is? No, he's not a coward.

Then why is he leaving?

I thought he loved me.

Oh, he does love you.

With all his heart.

And you love him, too, right?

Yeah. Well, so it's simple.

You'll both be incredibly happy if you just go with him.

But I love it here.

I thought he did too.

Look, this is fun and all fair, but it's not the real world.

And Rex has potential. I wouldn't be surprised if he became a huge success.

In commercial?

Yes.

Anyone can do that.

It's debatable.

Why would I want that? Money, securities, what everyone wants.

You're starting to sound exactly like him.

Only because he's right.

But he'll never be happy unless you're with him.

Think of your child, Sarah.

I have years before I think about children.

I'm an actress, Carol.

I love what I do.

I'm alive when I'm on stage.

To reach people, make them laugh.

Touch their hearts.

When I'm acting, it's like I understand what God had in mind for me.

It just feels right, and I know that Rex feels the same way.

That's why I fell in love with him.

I can't help it if he's scared, but I'm not, and I'm not going to give it up.

Lionel wants Charles to learn his cues.

We're enlisted to help.

What's going on?

We were just talking.

What do you think with you guys? Can't you ever just keep your mouth shut?

Sarah, wait up.

He's rather particular about his cues. The last time he missed an entrance

because of a dresser, he was playing Frankenstein in upstate New York. What

happened?

They found him three days later in a snowbank in Buffalo.

We need to talk. Not now, Rex.

She thinks I'm a jerk thanks to you.

That went well. Oh, yeah. She wouldn't even listen.

Didn't you learn anything in court?

Sarah has a gift.

You did too, but you threw yours away. Why?

I told you, acting is a ridiculous career.

Why? I told you. But you didn't tell me the truth.

Why, Rex?

Because I was afraid, all right?

That this wasn't enough. That I wasn't good enough for Sarah.

I knew she wouldn't come with me.

And I was afraid.

that she would see that I'm not the man she thought I was.

And so I left her because I didn't deserve her love. I left her before she

leave me.

A crimson bell in my heart.

And when I think of you, I tremble.

And the bell swings.

And rings Roxanne, Roxanne.

Well, he dives into me, knocking me into the first row.

I looked up, and there she was, my sweet Melissa.

It was instantaneous.

We were married a year later, and the rest, as they say, is history.

How romantic.

Well, things like that happen only once in a lifetime, my dear.

You have to seize those moments and hold on to them.

Some of this stuff might be worth some money, Lionel.

I suppose.

Most of it's just plaster and plywood and... bobbles and beads.

How long were you married?

Forever.

There.

We are.

Many summers ago.

She's beautiful.

Oh, yes.

What's with the dress?

Oh, well, we were having it up on tour with Charlie Zant.

The first time we played this place, it was still more of a barn than a theater.

Is that a tractor?

Mm -hmm.

And the cows.

We had to fight them to get onto the stage.

Oh, the smell of the manure and the roar of the crowd.

So we loved the place. We made an offer on it.

And they accepted.

We were amazed.

I was scared to death. I couldn't see beyond the first row. But Melissa was

it was the right move.

Live by faith, she said.

Not by sight.

That's beautiful.

I love it.

She turned my face into the wind

and pushed me on.

Live by faith.

She was my... my son.

Lionel?

Are you asleep like that?

Lionel?

I don't feel anything.

Lionel? No.

Lionel?

Lionel? Lionel.

That

was

fun. I love his stories.

Yeah, Whittle, you've heard them 30 times.

Listen to you.

What? You've already got one foot out the door.

I was going to tell you about it after Cyrano closed.

I'm sorry the cat had to get out of the bag like that.

I was going to get a bottle of wine so that we could celebrate.

I'm not going with you, Rex. I haven't even told you about it yet.

She's not going with you, Rex.

Charles, would you please excuse us? This is between me and Sarah.

He tried to convince me to go.

Yeah, well, he's a wise man.

No, I'm wrong.

Thanks for making me see that.

What do you mean you're wrong?

This is a real career move for me, Sarah.

I mean, after a while, I bet I could get you a job there, too. I'm not going.

She's not going, Rex, and neither should you.

Excuse me, but I think I know what's best for my life. You don't have a clue,

but Sarah does. She knows what's going to happen. She knows that if you take

this job, it won't be long before your heart shrinks down to the size of an ice

cube. I do? Yeah, you do. And I know you'll get addicted to the money and

an egotistical tyrant that no one can stand to be around.

Look, I don't need some old queen telling me how to live my life. Rex!

Queen, that's not you.

Oh, yes, it is.

He doesn't want to see it, but it's there.

And soon he won't be able to hide it, or want to hide it, because the only way

he can feel superior is to pick on people he considers weaker. Well, I got

secret for you, pal.

There isn't enough money in the world to make you feel like a big man, and it

doesn't come from a bank.

It comes from the heart.

And, buddy, you are down to your last dime.

You walk out on her, you're bankrupt.

You'll never meet another woman like her.

What do you see in this guy, anyway?

I don't get it.

That's it, lollipop.

Rex!

He provoked me.

He's a defenseless old man.

Defenseless? Oh!

What are you doing?

I'm going to pound some sense into him. What's he going to do?

He's fighting a girl! Ten girls to you, buddy.

I'm taking the job.

I'm sorry, Sarah.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I wanted to do better by honest, I did.

Look, go away, have your baby, and never tell him.

He'll never be there for you anyway.

That's the second time you've mentioned a child.

I know.

I got a big mouth and a bad temper.

You're better off without me.

I mean, you're better... Better off without any of us guys.

You're not gay, are you?

Uh, I mean, uh... Yes.

Yes,

I am. I'm gay.

The shirt, the shoes, my Streisand record collection. Come on.

I'm as gay as a garden party.

Why do you say that?

Thank you, Charles.

Whoever or whatever you are.

For being my knight in shining armor.

I only wish that Rex were half the man you are.

Interesting technique.

I got to use some help with my technique last night.

Sometimes the direct approach isn't necessarily the best.

You know, I don't get this at all, Jones.

Seeing her has only made me fall in love with her that much more again.

In this world, this was the last place I was ever really happy.

But he's going to leave her again. And I know what he's thinking.

There's no security here.

He wants to be safe. He wants to be in control.

I don't know what to do now. I think I only made it worse.

Lionel.

That's not my shirt, is it?

No, this belongs to Rex.

You forgot my water last night.

Your water?

Yes.

In one act alone, I have to fight a hundred men, learn Roxanne loves me not,

lead the cadets in the song, and finish with a long speech.

I always need my water in the wings, and I only drink my own spring water.

Nothing else.

This is clean. It's no chemical taste. You know, you could sell this in little

bottles. You could put a label on this. You could make a fortune.

Oh, dear boy.

Why would people want to buy water in little bottles?

So, um... He's still leaving us, our young Rex?

Yeah.

he loves her.

Possibly not.

If he had stayed, would you really have cast him as Ben?

Yes.

Comforting these old ghosts.

Charles!

Let me help you with that. Charles!

You're gonna miss your entrance.

I'm not gonna miss anything. The word is going.

I'm not going to miss my entrance. I already have missed my entrance. I'm

I'm sorry, Lionel. I'll get it. I'll get it. I'll get it.

You could have made it. I could have hooked your kid for him. You are not my

dresser. You are, however, my understudy. And as such, it is your duty

that my dresser knows his cues. You will take Charles through my cues tomorrow

until he knows them by heart.

This is my last shot at this thing, and I'm not going to let you ruin it.

Let us go, please.

Get off the stage, you fat buffoon!

I'm the fat buffoon. Or will be soon.

Late. I'm sick.

I'm pregnant.

You knew that before me, Hal.

Well, sometimes God lets you know things that...

So that you can get help that sometimes you never knew you needed.

Why do I always sound like a fool when I talk to you?

It's all right.

I understand.

But you mustn't tell Rex.

Oh, but I think... No.

Please don't tell him.

I don't want a man who doesn't want me.

Or my baby.

Promise me.

I see you are a bird lover, sir, providing yourself an ample courage for

your office.

You asked, did you not ask, my dear? Why against one stinger they send a hundred

swords? Because this stinger they know to be a friend of Cyrano.

Well, what do you do next?

I meet Lionel stage right.

Left.

Left, right.

I meet him left, right. And then off with the blue cape, on with the gold

number, check his makeup, dab his sweat, go stage left, hang up blue cape.

Yeah, and meet the poets.

Right, poets.

They're always a mess.

They're always a mess.

All right, next cue.

Oh, yeah, yeah. I love this one.

It is my pleasure to displease. I love hatred. I love how it feels to face a

thousand angry eyes.

Well, isn't that the truth?

Yo, where are you?

What do you do next?

Huh? What do you do next?

Listen.

I have an idea.

The only way I'm going to learn these cues is for you to run it from the top.

The whole thing? Yeah, come on. I mean, I don't want to end up in a snowbank in

Buffalo, right?

Come on, how many chances do we have left to get this right?

One. One, precisely, my dear Watson.

So we'll go from the top with the blocking.

That's the only way I'll get my timing down.

Let's see, I'm okay up until about mid -play, so let's pick it up from the

man in the moon scene.

I don't know that.

You know every word.

Look, I don't know it, okay? So you're wrong. I can't remember.

If I'm alive, it's a miracle.

I was dropped from the moon.

There I was.

Way up there, hanging, clinging to the saffron -colored

balls.

Sorry if I'm behaving strangely.

I just arrived by moonbeam.

You can imagine how Stardock clouds one's vision.

The stars are my boots from wading through the Milky Way.

The hair, a comet's tail.

Go on, my boy, go on.

Reach for the stars.

Look at this.

A stag in my trousers, where the great bear tried to bite me. I escaped only to

have Sagittarius snatch me up, stretch me in his bow, and shoot me like an

directly into the scales of Monsieur Libra.

Stars, with that which is unspoiled.

One thing as I enter before God, saluting and sweeping away the stars

that which is unspoiled and unspotted from the world, and all my own.

And that is...

My

white plume.

My dear friends, you have just witnessed something extraordinary.

Talent.

Wondrous, blossoming talent.

Blown in on God's breath and reaching for the light.

I need not tell you how inspiring it was or how important it is to preserve it.

And I saw something that I'll steal for my next performance as well.

That, however, will not be this evening.

Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, Ciano will be played by Rex Stanford.

Surprised?

I never knew I had that in me.

Your performance?

I just saw it but I can actually remember it.

Is that possible?

Not only possible but logical.

You are what you were Rex.

Your life today is what you brought with you from yesterday.

What time's curtain?

See you then.

Break a leg, young sir.

Thank you, ma 'am.

St. Genesis.

The patron saint of actors.

He's always watched over me.

You have your innocence in young Sarah.

Drinking every moment of life.

Tonight and always.

I'll see you on the other side of the lights.

It's like a leg.

I love you, Sarah.

I love you, Rick.

I'll be right there.

Well,

it's about that time.

I'm really doing it. Yes, you are.

I don't think I'm ever going to be the same after that.

Thank you.

I'm sorry about the fight.

Apology accepted.

Energy, my lad.

Energy.

Break a leg, Tad.

Live your life.

Enjoy your new memories.

Don't forget all your old ones.

Including you?

Yes. But I won't forget you.

Or that nose.

Now go. Take two as up.

This is your cue, buddy.

Let's fly.