1498: Jester “The Body” Ventures Forth

Cast:

  • Royal Court
  • Jester
  • Mertonsire
  • Good King Wence
  • Good King Wence’s Lasses
  • Olivia the Fair
  • Gorgonzola.org, the Not Too Bad, Really
  • Town Crier
  • Al the Audience Guy (A guy from the audience)
  • Trumpet Mute (non-speaking of course)

Synopsis:

Of all the madrigal scripts written, this is certainly one of the funniest. All dialogue is supplied for the complete performance. Three short acts occur during the meal. In the first act, the Town Crier appears and announces the upcoming visit of Good King Wence from the Kingdom of Jibber. He is accompanied by his two daughters (Good King Wence’s lasses) for whom he is attempting to arrange marriages thereby uniting the two kingdoms. In act two, the Jester explains that Good King Wence only speaks his native tongue, Jibberish. (This, of course, does not imply that Jibberish is the language of any living politicians . . . only that Jibberish might still be the language of the realm in many countries beginning with the letter A.) The Jester teaches the audience a few Jibberish phrases to welcome the king. In act three, the Town Crier announces that the eldest (pulchritudinally challenged) daughter has disappeared and a replacement must be found. Al the Audience Guy is recruited.

In the masque, Jester and Town Crier discuss the two daughters and realize that they are the only two eligible bachelors in the kingdom. They both want to marry Olivia the fair, but Gorgonzola.org must be married first. After Jibberish-speaking Wence and his entourage arrive, Jester and Town Crier duel for the hand of Gorgonzola.org. Of course, they each want to lose so they can marry Olivia the Fair.

The duel is fought with long loaves of French bread and insults ala Shakespeare. The audience decides that Mertonsire is the unhappy (I would rather have a hundred pigeons lay eggs in my mouth.) winner. The real Gorgonzola.org appears and announces that Al, the Audience Guy, is the true man of her dreams. You can imagine the end, but you won’t have to if you buy the script. A lively rendition of Good King Wenceslas, with new words, finishes this delightful script.

D.B., Hollywood screenwriter, says: “This script is hilarious. It’s the best one yet.” A.B., Minnesota actor, says: “I agree with my brother. This is the best script you have written, Dad.” P.B. of Minnesota says: “Thanks, kids, I needed that. Sorry, this testimony I made up, but not the others.”