Ray of Sunshine is a rock opera composed by Adam Farouk. Set in early twenty-first century New York City, it tells the story of an eccentric man of means who, unexpectedly and quite in spite of himself, befriends an old, weather-worn, warmhearted street dog. Together with a talented but shy cellist who they meet along the way, the two friends find themselves face to face with their greatest fears and most limiting beliefs, all of which they must conquer if they are to learn to heal their souls and find their way back home.
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Songs from Ray of Sunshine (Album)
Released: September 24th 2021 Artist: Adam Farouk Orchestra Label: BlueDorian Records Music & Lyrics by Adam Farouk © 2021 BYIP Creative Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. |
Characters:
Raymond de Villiers, the protagonist of the story, is an eccentric member of a famously wealthy Swiss family. In his mid-fifties, at the opening of the story Ray has newly moved to New York City from his previous home in St. Moritz. Untethered and fastidious, Ray is also sharp, creative, and highly engaged. A mysterious figure, he proceeds to rent a basement office in an unremarkable brownstone on an unremarkable street, and there begins setting up what appears to be some kind of amateur science laboratory. From here, fate will conspire that his journey come to intersect with those of the kindly old dog Sunshine and the shy cellist Selina, chance meetings that will alter the trajectory of his life indelibly.
Voice part: Baritenor; Instrument(s): Piano
Voice part: Baritenor; Instrument(s): Piano
Sunshine is a fifteen year old Australian Shepherd dog. She is the story's agent of change. Growing up in an environment as devoid of love as it was filled with cruelty has not hardened this kind, loving soul. As soon as she sees Ray for the first time, she intuitively identifies him as "her person," the human whose soul she must in some way rectify or save. Paying no heed to his initial efforts to shoo her away, she is first instrumental to his meeting of the cellist Selina, and then insists herself upon his punctilious life itinerary; although initially reluctant, he eventually succumbs to her advances. As the two become friends and companions, she waits patiently for her opportunity to help him to show itself.
Voice part: Soprano; Instrument(s): n/a
Voice part: Soprano; Instrument(s): n/a
Selina Lopez is the deuteragonist of the story. She is a professional cellist who co-owns the music store located in the building just above where Ray sets up his laboratory. In her mid-twenties, she is a talented practitioner of her craft, but is also self-effacing and shy, preferring practicing her instrument to socializing. From a working-class background, she was encouraged to pursue music as a way for her to gain confidence and break out of her shell, a goal that the vast majority would agree she has yet to achieve. Although initially distrustful of Ray, eventually the two become friends, culminating in the playing by the two of them together of an unperformed piece that Ray composed in his youth.
Voice part: n/a; Instrument(s): Cello
Voice part: n/a; Instrument(s): Cello
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Maggie, a supporting character, is a local singer-songwriter, who often plays at Selina's music store's weekly Open Mics. In her early seventies, her songs are reflective, philosophical, and more often than not accurately represent the voice of the local community.
Voice part: Alto; Instrument(s): Guitar (acoustic)
Voice part: Alto; Instrument(s): Guitar (acoustic)
Brown, a supporting character, is a local event organizer. He is a perfectionist, known for his ebullient personality and flamboyant fashion sense. He accepts the high stakes job to organize the neighborhood's pageantry for Pride Day, which includes illuminating the Queensboro Bridge in rainbow-colored lights. Brown is in his mid-forties.
Voice part: Baritone; Instrument(s): n/a
Voice part: Baritone; Instrument(s): n/a
Dredd, a supporting character, is a friend of Ray's and the ad hoc leader of his New York gang. Dredd is a spiritual firebrand, believing in free thought, free love, and, if he had his druthers, free hot dogs on each and every night at Gray's Papaya. Dredd is in his mid-thirties.
Voice part: Baritenor; Instrument(s): Hand drums
Voice part: Baritenor; Instrument(s): Hand drums
Étienne is a young French Bulldog who Sunshine meets in the back alley exit of the kitchen at Café L'Antoine, the restaurant to which Ray takes Selina to share with her the details about his mysterious "event." Well loved and well fed by the café's kitchen staff, Étienne takes a shine to Sunshine, and that night shares his meal with her under the moonlight.
Voice part: Baritenor; Instrument(s): n/a
Voice part: Baritenor; Instrument(s): n/a
The Story:
New York City. Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Early one morning, a man in his 50s with close-shorn hair and driving a to-the-minute sports car, arrives in the city and heads to a basement office in an unremarkable brownstone (SEASONS COME AND GO). The man’s name is Ray, and he appears sharp in both getup as well as demeanor. He opens the door to the premises, with a key and welcome packet so formal it can only mean a new, high-end professional rental unit; he enters. Surveying the property, it looks as though it was formerly home to a small veterinary practice, judging by the anatomical animal pictures that adorn the walls. Ray leaves, only to come back from his car with a chemistry set, complete with test-tubes, mortar and pestle, and bunsen burner. He sets it down on a table.
Ray moves another piece of equipment out of his car. In that moment, Ray notices a dog, limping towards him, looking deathly ill. His heart going out to the poor animal, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a half-eaten sandwich, which he proceeds to feed to the now grateful creature. Meanwhile, a confidence man quietly slides up to Ray’s car, and begins removing one of its hubcaps. The dog has finished the sandwich; Ray tells it to stay, which it does, while he makes his way to his car to find another morsel for it to eat. As he does, he runs into the con-man, who stands, red-faced, holding one of his hubcaps.
Ray bursts into laughter. He shakes the con-man’s hand, congratulating him on a prank (mostly) well pulled, then cavalierly hands him the keys to his car, taking out and throwing into the air all the money in his wallet for good measure. Ray pulls a jar of yellow pills from his pocket, pops one, then picks up his science equipment, and skips down the stairs into his newly-created lab, as the con-man grasps at the bills of cash as they flutter in the breeze. The dog—who’s name is Sunshine—gazes back towards Ray with concern, as he disappears into the building.
To the sound of sweet, jaunty music, a young woman in her mid-20s steps up the outside stairs of a brownstone building, the same unremarkable brownstone in which the mysterious Ray has just set up his laboratory. She carries a bulky, yellow cello case. Her name is Selina, Selina Banner to be exact, and when she reaches the front door she pulls out of her bag a large ring of keys, unlocks it, and enters. On the wall adjacent to the door is a large, colorful retro light switch—the kind featured in most Frankenstein movies—above which is written “It’s a-LIVE!” in large, friendly chalk ink upon a blackboard wall. Energetically pulling the switch down, she powers up the unit.
It is, we discover, a music shop, selling all manner of itemage pertaining to the subject of harmony, melody, and euphony alike; brass instruments line the walls, next to electric guitars, speakers, drum sets, as well as notated scores and song sheets, from the Fab Four to Broadway’s Best. In the facade there is a small stage set up, facing into the store and away from the street, where, it seems, people may play from time to time; indeed it is directly adjacent to the “It’s a-LIVE” wordage that suggests its use. By now a boppy, hard-swinging song is being piped through the store’s system (NOW OR NEVER), and Selina is having a tough time not becoming carried away dancing as she readies the space for customers.
In another part of town, the con man, with Sunshine, lives the high life, cruising around in his new set of wheels, pimping himself out with flamboyant clothing and gold and diamond adornments. Unfortunately his movements catch the attention of the police, as an accidental run of a red light, in an expensive car registered to another person, soon dredges up a rap sheet whose bearer—him—has eluded the boys in blue for the better part of two decades. For the con man it seems that his past has caught up with him, in the ironic form of a good deed by Ray. For Sunshine, she recognizes the figure of a man in uniform, and not fondly. She jumps out of the car, and runs away, not looking back until she reaches her neighborhood. Back at the music store, Selina has just finished building a Dixie-cup castle when one of her employees boisterously enters the store, startling Selina and causing her to knock over her sculpture. As the cups fly everywhere, the song comes to a close.
Selina tidies up the stray cups, as customers start to enter the store—it’s a motley crew, but a loyal and friendly one it seems, they are mostly dressed casually, and some have brought pet dogs in with them. Selina’s demeanor changes as the store fills up. She becomes quiet, nervous, and withdrawn. Her employee wheels out a large coffee canister and a plate of cookies from a kitchenette near the rear of the shop; he takes over for her with the cups, gesturing at his watch to remind her that she has an appointment to keep.
In response, Selina goes over to the yellow cello case that she brought in, and pulls out a beautiful antique instrument, handling it with the kind of care that suggests she is at the very least a professional, and quite likely more than a little adept. As her piano accompanist begins his background adagio (LONG ROAD HOME), Selina takes her seat centerstage, and readies herself for her performance.
Sunshine, having run away from her previous owner upon his sudden arrest by the police, tracks back to familiar fields—the streets and the neighborhood she calls her home. Peering through the window of the veterinary office whose staff were always kind to her, she is, at first, disappointed to find it gone, but soon is filled with curiosity about the mysterious man with the laboratory equipment who has taken its place. She wags her tail at him, with a winning smile, hoping she might make if not a new friend, then at least a stable source of food.
Ray notices the inanely grinning dog outside his office. Not interested in being preyed on again by city grifters, he rushes out to shoo the dog away. Out on the street, he waves Sunshine away. Sunshine takes a few steps back, but returns to him. Ray tries again, moving threateningly towards her; still, after retreating a few steps, she returns to his side. The third time, as Ray is about to shoo her, he hears the sound of beautiful cello playing coming from somewhere. He turns, to see the music store and, in it, Selina playing her instrument. Ray climbs the stairs outside the building, and quietly enters the store, Sunshine following him just behind.
As Selina’s number comes to a close, Ray, inspired by her music, clumsily introduces himself to her, commissioning her to play for him at an event he is holding in “about a month.” Selina gives him the brush off, until her employee recognizes him as “one of the richest men in Europe,” commenting that Selina does not have the luxury of turning down such an opportunity, mysterious as it is. Ray invites Selina to lunch, the next day, to discuss details. She accepts.
Lunch turns out to be dinner, in Paris no less, which Selina and Sunshine (who has taken to following Ray around; Ray, in spite of himself, accepts the role of Sunshine's caretaker) find out about as they are whisked to the top of a tall building’s rooftop helipad and subsequently lifted to a small, municipal airport nearby. There, they meet a sleek private jet, and board, speechless, over the roar of its engines. Inside, Sunshine leaps onto one of the large and comfortable reclining seats and begins staring out a window (BEAUTIFUL ADVENTURE). They are each immediately offered drinks and snacks, which Sunshine immediately takes a fancy to; Selina, however, is not so easily bought.
In the airplane, Selina confronts Ray—she has major reservations about this “surprise trip” not least of which are her obligations to her store (she is expected to be in there today). Ray replies that he has made appropriate arrangements with her employee, who has agreed to work at the store in her stead until her return, and besides, he goes on, he’s already booked the restaurant, which (according to him) has the most spectacular view. He guarantees that Selina will find the plans he has made for their “lunch” satisfactory. Only half-convinced, still Selina takes a seat in the cool, comfortable cabin. Ray brings out his bottle of yellow pills, takes one, then with a deep relaxing breath leans back in repose. Outside, the doors shut, and the aircraft taxis until it eventually takes off and disappears into the cloudless sky.
The music store. A performer named Maggie is performing one of her compositions (THESE GAMES WE PLAY), as Ray, Selina, and Sunshine sit aboard the private jet en route to Paris. As Ray flutters between waking and slumber, his mind remember his younger days. Glimpses of memory flash by, revealing a difficult childhood in Europe—Switzerland, to be exact—involving wealthy but cruel parents, a boyhood filled with fears which prevented him from learning many simple life skills, such as how to swim, how to overcome his fear of heights. Finally, in adolescence, very little support and tolerance existed for him, an openly gay young man, in the culture in which he grew up (meaning: mostly, the culture of his family, but also some aspects of the towns and precincts in which they resided). He and Selina enjoy champagne on the flight, as Ray slowly starts to open up about himself, sharing some of these stories with her.
Back at the store, Maggie's performance is interrupted by her being caught in a coughing fit. With a quick hand gesture, she directs one of her band members to take over and finish the song for her, as she is helped off, walking laboredly, with the help of Selina's employee friend. Even with what appears to be a declining health situation, there's something otherworldly about Maggie, like her life straddles the world of reality and the world of spirit..
In the airplane, some turbulence is experienced. Selina helps comfort Ray—she flies upstate once a week to rehearse with an outfit with whom she plays there, so she’s quite the air-travel veteran. Ray gives her a friendly smile, telling her she should accompany him on his travels for the next three weeks to help him stave off his anxiety. Selina, inhibitions reduced by the alcohol, asks curiously about the event that he is planning; Ray immediately goes quiet. Afraid she might have said something to upset or offend her host, Selina sits back in her seat and slowly sips at her champagne.
In the aircraft cabin the lights begin to dim. Ray alerts Selina that this is usually a good time to take a quick nap, though she’s welcome to watch a movie if she so desires; Selina promptly wraps herself up in a blanket and shuts her eyes. A flight attendant brings Sunshine a bone to gnaw on. She’s grateful, but instead chooses to stare outside her window at the breathtaking view of deep ocean. As she stares, her mind begins to wander and she begins to flash back to visions of her younger days (SUMMER LIKE SOMETHING). After being flooded by memories of hardship and suffering, she turns to the man sleeping beside her, and wonders if their friendship will lead to something fruitful.
A luxury car takes Ray, Selina, and Sunshine from Charles de Gaulle to Café L’Antoine, one of Ray’s favorite bistros for its startling view of the Eiffel Tower, not to mention its excellent food and relaxingly casual setting. As they pull in, Selina notices that there are no guests. When she inquires as to why, Ray offhandedly remarks that he booked the entire restaurant for the entire following week, not knowing when she would say yes to his invitation to lunch. Selina balks—so the restaurant will stay closed for a week? As a retailer, she finds her ears burning at this irresponsible act. He assures her not to worry, and that the restaurant will open as usual tomorrow afternoon. Selina wonders if he’ll get his deposit back, to which Ray waves her off. As they get seated, Sunshine sniffs something and runs off into an alley. Ray is concerned, but this time it is Selina who assures him that the old dog does this all the time around her store—she’ll give a quick visit, saying hello to her and the employees, then, at a moment’s notice, run away; in all likelihood she’ll return in an hour, dinner in hand. Ray smiles, and calls for a waiter.
Ray and Selina dine, in silence at first. As Ray pours them each a top-up of Chateau Lafite Rothschild, he decides to open up: he tells Selina the reason why he wants her to play for him in three weeks is because he has only that long to live, and the event he was hoping she would play at was to be his funeral. Selina, shocked, presses for more information, but Ray as usual is vague with specifics, and instead deflects back to the delicious food, the delightful music, and, of course, the magnificent view of “La Tour.”
Meanwhile, Sunshine has found her way to the restaurant’s kitchen entrance, where sits a french bulldog, waiting, it seems, for table service. There’s a big bowl in front of him, empty, and it appears to be the only thing in these environs that can keep his attention—at least, until now. Upon seeing Sunshine’s comely form, the bulldog, whose name, at least according to the bistro staff, is Étienne, shuffles to one side, opening up enough space for her to sit beside him. With a coquettish nod of gratitude, she takes a place next to him. As they eat together, the music of the streets rings out in harmony (PASSING MOMENTS).
As they fly back in the wee hours of the morning, Sunshine is brought back to a time when she was a young pup (STAR OF NIGHT). The light shines down on her soul—kind, eager, ready to please. Spirit guides sing to her. Sunshine, it turns out, is a “chosen” dog, sent to earth to help people progress on their journey. She does this by quietly, subtly, and often unconsciously nudging them in the right direction, leading them towards their state of greatest light. Through the course of helping a person, she becomes attached to them, and, through this attachment, is able to get a glimmer of memory as to her life purpose (her “chosen” status). However, every time she switches human companions, she forgets her life purpose and why she is on earth. She wanders, lost, until she finds another to care for.
She was born to a life filled with love, on a farm, somewhere upstate. She was an agility dog and often traveled to compete in tournaments. Then, at a young age, she was stolen from her owners, and was taken to a puppy mill where she would spend the rest of her young life in dreadful conditions and without care. At six years old, the mill-runners considered her too old to be optimal progeny stock any longer, and planned to have her euthanized. A rescue organization arrives and shuts down the mill, but in the process, Sunshine, confused and scared, runs away. Hitching a lift on a garbage truck, she is brought to the big city.
With a crash, Sunshine is awoken. She and Ray are being driven down a busy street, in a limousine, and around them blow strong winds and heavy thunder and lightning--Sunshine, it appears, was carried off the plane and brought to the car, fast asleep. She’s very disoriented, and quakes in a corner of the stretched vehicle as Ray naps—Selina having been dropped off at her residence. Sunshine thinks to herself that she doesn’t want not to forget her life again. But how? An idea comes to her: a way out. As the car slows down in front of Ray’s residence, a doorman opens the door. Sunshine bolts, tearing down the street away from this life, away from it all. Ray runs to catch her, but she’s far too fast. With a shrug, he turns around, sopping wet, as the doorman reappears from inside the doorway with an umbrella. With one final look in Sunshine’s direction, he turns back to his apartment building, and turns in for the night.
Ray moves another piece of equipment out of his car. In that moment, Ray notices a dog, limping towards him, looking deathly ill. His heart going out to the poor animal, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a half-eaten sandwich, which he proceeds to feed to the now grateful creature. Meanwhile, a confidence man quietly slides up to Ray’s car, and begins removing one of its hubcaps. The dog has finished the sandwich; Ray tells it to stay, which it does, while he makes his way to his car to find another morsel for it to eat. As he does, he runs into the con-man, who stands, red-faced, holding one of his hubcaps.
Ray bursts into laughter. He shakes the con-man’s hand, congratulating him on a prank (mostly) well pulled, then cavalierly hands him the keys to his car, taking out and throwing into the air all the money in his wallet for good measure. Ray pulls a jar of yellow pills from his pocket, pops one, then picks up his science equipment, and skips down the stairs into his newly-created lab, as the con-man grasps at the bills of cash as they flutter in the breeze. The dog—who’s name is Sunshine—gazes back towards Ray with concern, as he disappears into the building.
To the sound of sweet, jaunty music, a young woman in her mid-20s steps up the outside stairs of a brownstone building, the same unremarkable brownstone in which the mysterious Ray has just set up his laboratory. She carries a bulky, yellow cello case. Her name is Selina, Selina Banner to be exact, and when she reaches the front door she pulls out of her bag a large ring of keys, unlocks it, and enters. On the wall adjacent to the door is a large, colorful retro light switch—the kind featured in most Frankenstein movies—above which is written “It’s a-LIVE!” in large, friendly chalk ink upon a blackboard wall. Energetically pulling the switch down, she powers up the unit.
It is, we discover, a music shop, selling all manner of itemage pertaining to the subject of harmony, melody, and euphony alike; brass instruments line the walls, next to electric guitars, speakers, drum sets, as well as notated scores and song sheets, from the Fab Four to Broadway’s Best. In the facade there is a small stage set up, facing into the store and away from the street, where, it seems, people may play from time to time; indeed it is directly adjacent to the “It’s a-LIVE” wordage that suggests its use. By now a boppy, hard-swinging song is being piped through the store’s system (NOW OR NEVER), and Selina is having a tough time not becoming carried away dancing as she readies the space for customers.
In another part of town, the con man, with Sunshine, lives the high life, cruising around in his new set of wheels, pimping himself out with flamboyant clothing and gold and diamond adornments. Unfortunately his movements catch the attention of the police, as an accidental run of a red light, in an expensive car registered to another person, soon dredges up a rap sheet whose bearer—him—has eluded the boys in blue for the better part of two decades. For the con man it seems that his past has caught up with him, in the ironic form of a good deed by Ray. For Sunshine, she recognizes the figure of a man in uniform, and not fondly. She jumps out of the car, and runs away, not looking back until she reaches her neighborhood. Back at the music store, Selina has just finished building a Dixie-cup castle when one of her employees boisterously enters the store, startling Selina and causing her to knock over her sculpture. As the cups fly everywhere, the song comes to a close.
Selina tidies up the stray cups, as customers start to enter the store—it’s a motley crew, but a loyal and friendly one it seems, they are mostly dressed casually, and some have brought pet dogs in with them. Selina’s demeanor changes as the store fills up. She becomes quiet, nervous, and withdrawn. Her employee wheels out a large coffee canister and a plate of cookies from a kitchenette near the rear of the shop; he takes over for her with the cups, gesturing at his watch to remind her that she has an appointment to keep.
In response, Selina goes over to the yellow cello case that she brought in, and pulls out a beautiful antique instrument, handling it with the kind of care that suggests she is at the very least a professional, and quite likely more than a little adept. As her piano accompanist begins his background adagio (LONG ROAD HOME), Selina takes her seat centerstage, and readies herself for her performance.
Sunshine, having run away from her previous owner upon his sudden arrest by the police, tracks back to familiar fields—the streets and the neighborhood she calls her home. Peering through the window of the veterinary office whose staff were always kind to her, she is, at first, disappointed to find it gone, but soon is filled with curiosity about the mysterious man with the laboratory equipment who has taken its place. She wags her tail at him, with a winning smile, hoping she might make if not a new friend, then at least a stable source of food.
Ray notices the inanely grinning dog outside his office. Not interested in being preyed on again by city grifters, he rushes out to shoo the dog away. Out on the street, he waves Sunshine away. Sunshine takes a few steps back, but returns to him. Ray tries again, moving threateningly towards her; still, after retreating a few steps, she returns to his side. The third time, as Ray is about to shoo her, he hears the sound of beautiful cello playing coming from somewhere. He turns, to see the music store and, in it, Selina playing her instrument. Ray climbs the stairs outside the building, and quietly enters the store, Sunshine following him just behind.
As Selina’s number comes to a close, Ray, inspired by her music, clumsily introduces himself to her, commissioning her to play for him at an event he is holding in “about a month.” Selina gives him the brush off, until her employee recognizes him as “one of the richest men in Europe,” commenting that Selina does not have the luxury of turning down such an opportunity, mysterious as it is. Ray invites Selina to lunch, the next day, to discuss details. She accepts.
Lunch turns out to be dinner, in Paris no less, which Selina and Sunshine (who has taken to following Ray around; Ray, in spite of himself, accepts the role of Sunshine's caretaker) find out about as they are whisked to the top of a tall building’s rooftop helipad and subsequently lifted to a small, municipal airport nearby. There, they meet a sleek private jet, and board, speechless, over the roar of its engines. Inside, Sunshine leaps onto one of the large and comfortable reclining seats and begins staring out a window (BEAUTIFUL ADVENTURE). They are each immediately offered drinks and snacks, which Sunshine immediately takes a fancy to; Selina, however, is not so easily bought.
In the airplane, Selina confronts Ray—she has major reservations about this “surprise trip” not least of which are her obligations to her store (she is expected to be in there today). Ray replies that he has made appropriate arrangements with her employee, who has agreed to work at the store in her stead until her return, and besides, he goes on, he’s already booked the restaurant, which (according to him) has the most spectacular view. He guarantees that Selina will find the plans he has made for their “lunch” satisfactory. Only half-convinced, still Selina takes a seat in the cool, comfortable cabin. Ray brings out his bottle of yellow pills, takes one, then with a deep relaxing breath leans back in repose. Outside, the doors shut, and the aircraft taxis until it eventually takes off and disappears into the cloudless sky.
The music store. A performer named Maggie is performing one of her compositions (THESE GAMES WE PLAY), as Ray, Selina, and Sunshine sit aboard the private jet en route to Paris. As Ray flutters between waking and slumber, his mind remember his younger days. Glimpses of memory flash by, revealing a difficult childhood in Europe—Switzerland, to be exact—involving wealthy but cruel parents, a boyhood filled with fears which prevented him from learning many simple life skills, such as how to swim, how to overcome his fear of heights. Finally, in adolescence, very little support and tolerance existed for him, an openly gay young man, in the culture in which he grew up (meaning: mostly, the culture of his family, but also some aspects of the towns and precincts in which they resided). He and Selina enjoy champagne on the flight, as Ray slowly starts to open up about himself, sharing some of these stories with her.
Back at the store, Maggie's performance is interrupted by her being caught in a coughing fit. With a quick hand gesture, she directs one of her band members to take over and finish the song for her, as she is helped off, walking laboredly, with the help of Selina's employee friend. Even with what appears to be a declining health situation, there's something otherworldly about Maggie, like her life straddles the world of reality and the world of spirit..
In the airplane, some turbulence is experienced. Selina helps comfort Ray—she flies upstate once a week to rehearse with an outfit with whom she plays there, so she’s quite the air-travel veteran. Ray gives her a friendly smile, telling her she should accompany him on his travels for the next three weeks to help him stave off his anxiety. Selina, inhibitions reduced by the alcohol, asks curiously about the event that he is planning; Ray immediately goes quiet. Afraid she might have said something to upset or offend her host, Selina sits back in her seat and slowly sips at her champagne.
In the aircraft cabin the lights begin to dim. Ray alerts Selina that this is usually a good time to take a quick nap, though she’s welcome to watch a movie if she so desires; Selina promptly wraps herself up in a blanket and shuts her eyes. A flight attendant brings Sunshine a bone to gnaw on. She’s grateful, but instead chooses to stare outside her window at the breathtaking view of deep ocean. As she stares, her mind begins to wander and she begins to flash back to visions of her younger days (SUMMER LIKE SOMETHING). After being flooded by memories of hardship and suffering, she turns to the man sleeping beside her, and wonders if their friendship will lead to something fruitful.
A luxury car takes Ray, Selina, and Sunshine from Charles de Gaulle to Café L’Antoine, one of Ray’s favorite bistros for its startling view of the Eiffel Tower, not to mention its excellent food and relaxingly casual setting. As they pull in, Selina notices that there are no guests. When she inquires as to why, Ray offhandedly remarks that he booked the entire restaurant for the entire following week, not knowing when she would say yes to his invitation to lunch. Selina balks—so the restaurant will stay closed for a week? As a retailer, she finds her ears burning at this irresponsible act. He assures her not to worry, and that the restaurant will open as usual tomorrow afternoon. Selina wonders if he’ll get his deposit back, to which Ray waves her off. As they get seated, Sunshine sniffs something and runs off into an alley. Ray is concerned, but this time it is Selina who assures him that the old dog does this all the time around her store—she’ll give a quick visit, saying hello to her and the employees, then, at a moment’s notice, run away; in all likelihood she’ll return in an hour, dinner in hand. Ray smiles, and calls for a waiter.
Ray and Selina dine, in silence at first. As Ray pours them each a top-up of Chateau Lafite Rothschild, he decides to open up: he tells Selina the reason why he wants her to play for him in three weeks is because he has only that long to live, and the event he was hoping she would play at was to be his funeral. Selina, shocked, presses for more information, but Ray as usual is vague with specifics, and instead deflects back to the delicious food, the delightful music, and, of course, the magnificent view of “La Tour.”
Meanwhile, Sunshine has found her way to the restaurant’s kitchen entrance, where sits a french bulldog, waiting, it seems, for table service. There’s a big bowl in front of him, empty, and it appears to be the only thing in these environs that can keep his attention—at least, until now. Upon seeing Sunshine’s comely form, the bulldog, whose name, at least according to the bistro staff, is Étienne, shuffles to one side, opening up enough space for her to sit beside him. With a coquettish nod of gratitude, she takes a place next to him. As they eat together, the music of the streets rings out in harmony (PASSING MOMENTS).
As they fly back in the wee hours of the morning, Sunshine is brought back to a time when she was a young pup (STAR OF NIGHT). The light shines down on her soul—kind, eager, ready to please. Spirit guides sing to her. Sunshine, it turns out, is a “chosen” dog, sent to earth to help people progress on their journey. She does this by quietly, subtly, and often unconsciously nudging them in the right direction, leading them towards their state of greatest light. Through the course of helping a person, she becomes attached to them, and, through this attachment, is able to get a glimmer of memory as to her life purpose (her “chosen” status). However, every time she switches human companions, she forgets her life purpose and why she is on earth. She wanders, lost, until she finds another to care for.
She was born to a life filled with love, on a farm, somewhere upstate. She was an agility dog and often traveled to compete in tournaments. Then, at a young age, she was stolen from her owners, and was taken to a puppy mill where she would spend the rest of her young life in dreadful conditions and without care. At six years old, the mill-runners considered her too old to be optimal progeny stock any longer, and planned to have her euthanized. A rescue organization arrives and shuts down the mill, but in the process, Sunshine, confused and scared, runs away. Hitching a lift on a garbage truck, she is brought to the big city.
With a crash, Sunshine is awoken. She and Ray are being driven down a busy street, in a limousine, and around them blow strong winds and heavy thunder and lightning--Sunshine, it appears, was carried off the plane and brought to the car, fast asleep. She’s very disoriented, and quakes in a corner of the stretched vehicle as Ray naps—Selina having been dropped off at her residence. Sunshine thinks to herself that she doesn’t want not to forget her life again. But how? An idea comes to her: a way out. As the car slows down in front of Ray’s residence, a doorman opens the door. Sunshine bolts, tearing down the street away from this life, away from it all. Ray runs to catch her, but she’s far too fast. With a shrug, he turns around, sopping wet, as the doorman reappears from inside the doorway with an umbrella. With one final look in Sunshine’s direction, he turns back to his apartment building, and turns in for the night.
~ Intermission ~
Ray and Selina agree to be lunch buddies. They alternate meeting at each other’s place of work, and take turns introducing one another to each of their favorite spots in the city. Selina one day mentions that the nearby Queensboro Bridge will be lit up in rainbow lights as part of a gay pride celebration, but stops herself short, realizing that the lighting will be around the time Ray is supposed to have expired. Ray seems to have forgotten this, and needs reminding by Selina, something she finds strange, but she doesn’t press, and once again he offers no more information.
Elsewhere, “Brown,” the flamboyantly dressed (hobo-chic) event coordinator for the Pride Day event, is busy setting in motion plans to light the bridge. As he sings his song (LITTLE RAY OF SUNSHINE), he discusses designs with his various engineers, lighting specialists, vendors, and city ordinance directors, who provide him with suggestions that bring him varying degrees of satisfaction. Similarly as with Maggie, there's something otherworldly about him, an indescribable quality that seems somehow magical. Brown's is a life of color, as he is shown samples of flowers, cloth, and lights, in preparation of the event. In among the jubilatory paraphernalia appears Sunshine, fascinated by the colors and sounds that find themselves strewn upon her neighborhood street today. After a week of lunch dates, Ray invites Selina to his home to meet some of his friends. But Selina has a big audition the next day, and must practice.
As the world closes up for the week (VAGABOND), the various characters of the show get ready for the weekend, beginning with a Friday night filled with celebration and amusement. Sunshine, walking through the busy streets of the city, contemplates the sights she sees; her attention is caught mostly by members of the wealthy elite, being driven around town by chauffeurs in their fancy cars. She reflects upon various trappings of material wealth: expensive cars and clothing, cigars and vintage wine, and so forth. She notices a tendency for those of extreme wealth to live in forced solitude, no longer able to understand the world as it is, or, at least, the world as it is lived by the majority in it. These people no longer have others who can look them in the eyes, as most of their relationships require others to in some way “bow” to them because of their raised status. During this, Ray can be seen in his expensive apartment, alone. Meanwhile, Selina walks through the city, and eventually arrives at her practice room. She takes out her cello, and plays a short interlude.
The dazzling display lit up by the promise of an electrifying Friday night comes to fruition all throughout the city (LIGHT UP THESE EYES). All over there are revelers, party-goers, celebrators, and all manner of other who wish to make merry. In Ray’s apartment, the guests are starting to arrive, each bringing with them further tools to aid in their jubilation—not merely courteous bottles of wine, but also guitars, hand drums, and other percussive instruments. They each catch up with each other with glee. Ray seems in a state of mild aloofness, eyeing out of the door with each new arrival, hoping to see Selina.
For her part, Selina, sits in her practice room, playing the requisite pieces she will have to perform tomorrow at her audition. Ray, sipping a glass of fortified wine, and staring at the roads below, starts to reminisce about his life. It is revealed that he was abused as a child, and that his terminal medical condition that he often speaks about, the one that will cause him to die so soon and so suddenly, is a result of this. During her practice, Selina plays a heartfelt solo, after which she realizes that her friendship with Ray is more important to her than her audition, and chooses to wrap up practicing early so that she can attend his party.
As hand-drums whip together a driving beat, the guests at Ray’s party begin to sing their anthem (ANOTHER WAVE PASSES). The group of musicians at Ray's abode are lead by spiritual firebrand "Dredd," who sings the song's chorus on his own before having his fellow spiritual seekers repeat the mantra-like lyrics in unison, growing more and more impassioned each time. As with Maggie and Brown, there's something otherworldly about Dredd as well, a primal sort of energy that is as generous as it is hard to contain.
Ray, buoyed by Selina’s arrival, takes her to his apartment’s music room. In its center is a beautiful baby- grand piano, which Ray would like to give to Selina when he dies. Taken aback, she is reluctant to accept, it feeling like too big a gift, and, moreover, she hasn’t the space in her tiny New York apartment. Ray eventually talks her into it, suggesting she put it in her store, and making the argument that he’d rather it go to someone who really understands music and instruments, and not having it be wasted on just any old music-making rabble.
Speaking of which, Ray’s friends are making an exit. In loud, boisterous voices, they exclaim, that since “they are going to be dead soon,” they might as well spend every day painting the town red. Selina is puzzled by this, but Ray doesn’t seem in any way perplexed; perhaps, Selina thinks, it’s some sort of in-joke between Ray and his friends, to lighten the mood concerning Ray’s condition. In any case, Ray declines, preferring to spend the evening with Selina instead.
As the wine flows, Selina opens up. She reveals that she was seriously injured as a child, and was thus led to believe she was helpless, and a burden on others. She fights a war every day against this belief, instead choosing to believe that one day she will see herself as worthy of love—not just romantic love, but deep, inner self-love. Meanwhile, she talks loudly in private, and shuts the heck up in public. Except around Ray, who seems to bring something out in her. Speaking of which, she remarks, he looks well. Ray, moved by Selina’s disclosure, opens up to her about his childhood abuse, and divulges that with his particular medical condition, he won’t look like he is deteriorating, but he is, and one day, he will just be gone, like that.
Inspired by the moment, Ray starts rifling through papers, until he finds the certain one he is looking for: a piece he composed for piano and cello (THE GIRL FROM THE WELL). Selina looks it over, and doesn’t need much convincing when Ray suggests to her that they play it together. The piece is beautiful and arresting, but a deep dive into the heart; Selina suggests ice-cream and Audrey Hepburn movies to cheer their spirits, which Ray can agree to. He sets her up in a spare bedroom.
Sunshine roots through a trash can in a dark alley. She finds a container of thrown-away waffles for her dinner. Eating them, she steps into the light of a streetlight. As a car rushes past her, a driving musical theme overcomes both her and her surroundings; it is joyful, and optimistic (WE CAN HAVE IT ALL). As she turns a corner, she finds herself in Times Square, its dazzling lights buzzing with activity.
She starts to walk down the street, coming across people who stop to scratch her head, or who coo and fawn over her and her friendly face. As she continues to walk, she begins to recall memories—these ones far back—of events in her life. She remembers, during her time in the puppy mill, a cruel and angry old woman, who would treat her poorly, striking her with a shoe when she “misbehaved,” which, according to the woman, was all the time. It turns out she (the woman) was mentally ill, which is not something Sunshine can fully understand, she only knows that the woman would put on a show of her emotions, and that Sunshine was scared, very much so, during these times.
She remembers the foremen in the mill, who’d smoke cigarettes around the mother-dogs and gripe about the goings on of the day, whether local gossip, or grumbling about politics or sports. She remembers thinking, one day out of nowhere, that there must be more to life than this. She longs to make up for lost time and see all the things she missed from the youth that she never had, while she still can. She gets the sense that she's running out of time, but fights this notion, asking that the city she has for so long called home conspire to afford her what she longs for.
The next morning. In the bathroom, Selina is looking for toothpaste when she stumbles upon some strange supplies: chemicals, beakers, and so forth. When she casually mentions it to Ray, he becomes awkward and curt. Before she can apologize, Ray scoots her out of his apartment brusquely.
Looking to make amends, and bearing a chocolate Eiffel Tower as a peace offering, Selina hops along to Ray’s lab, but, pushing his ajar door open, she finds that he is not there. She notices bunsen burners, as well as more beakers, and various different chemicals. There are also notes pinned to the wall, from which she, horrified, discovers that, all this time, Ray has been carrying out plans to create a suicide draught, and not just for himself, but for others as well. Hence, she realizes, his having an exact knowledge of the time and nature of his impending death, and, additionally, why he was so forgetful about the fact that he was dying. Finally, it explains his friends’ puzzling comment about being “dead soon;” they were all planning on taking the draught together.
Ray emerges, having been in the restroom. An argument breaks out (NEVER LOOK DOWN), the two speaking heatedly in raised voices. Panicking, Ray tries to destroy any evidence of his lab by toppling over tables and pulling paper off of the walls. In a frenzy, he accidentally pushes Selina; she lands hard against a wall. Winded, and hurt, she leaves, speaking shyly and meekly as she had prior to his positive effect on her.
Later that day, Ray, feeling contrite, enters the music store to apologize. He encounters a throng of sad people, wiping their noses and crying, as well as speaking to one another in disbelief that a certain female comrade of theirs is “gone.” Jumping to conclusions and assuming, incorrectly, that it is Selina who has died, Ray, in despair, races out of the store. In that moment, Selina enters the main room—she had been in a storage room, gone to get some boxes of tissues to pass around, for the recently-deceased, much-loved patron and open mic frequenter, Maggie (it is she who has died).
Ray has run to the Queensboro Bridge, and has managed to finagle his way through the barriers set up by the event organizers and the police for the bridge’s “lighting” that night. He now stands, leaning over the guardrail, looking down at the river far below him. He intends to take his life right then and there. He sings (I MUST FOLLOW) about how he believes that he is a being of light, but that, for him, that light is hidden too deep to be accessed. He asks himself whether he can write his life story, or whether he is destined merely to live out some sort of pre-ordained karmic destiny. Feeling powerless, he feels his only option is to end his life. He looks from left to right surreptitiously; all attention is on the event. He climbs over the guardrail.
Elsewhere, Sunshine, eating scraps from a trashcan, has a premonition. She abandons her meal and runs to her old neighborhood street. As she reaches the music store, Selina is packing up for the day. She notices that Sunshine has an urgency that she cannot ignore. Sunshine runs towards the bridge; Selina has but one choice, which is to follow her. They arrive at the bridge, just as Ray is ready to jump. As Ray prepares himself to release his grip from the bars that hold him from the waters below, he hears a dog bark.
Ray looks up to find the affable, caring face of Sunshine staring at him. He tells her firmly to go away. She barks back at him. She raises her paw. Ray begins to cry. He can’t "do it" when she’s watching, so she had better leave, he tells her. She opens her mouth and smiles at him, raising another paw. He screams at her, and swipes after her; she runs, but returns and stands, faithfully, by his side every time. Meanwhile, Selina, who has followed Sunshine, fights her way with renewed assertiveness through the responders, who have only now started to notice that there’s a jumper on the bridge; Selina screams: if they want him to live, they’ll let her through!
Ray steps over the grate, but it’s to get back onto the bridge to chase Sunshine away. She won’t relent. Eventually, he screams himself to extinguishment, and collapses by the dog, holding her tightly, and crying out in all of his grief, from years and years of sadness, as a figure approaches behind him. It’s Selina. She kneels by him, he extends his arms, grateful that she is indeed alive. Sunshine backs up, offering Selina her place. She and Ray embrace, Ray weeping silently, as Sunshine watches from a few feet away.
As Ray and Selina sit, embracing, on the bridge’s pedestrian path, Sunshine stands a few feet away, observing them. She sings the song of her heart (BABY I'M BOUND). As she does, she can see a responder heading to their position. Seeing the uniform and fearing trouble, Sunshine starts to head in the opposite direction. Selina, noticing her do so, stands. “Sunshine...” she calls out. Sunshine stops, turns. “Good girl.” she says. Sunshine smiles and nods at her, turns, and continues on her way. That very moment, the bridge lights up in a symphony of color, shining down upon the waters below and the boroughs surrounding. Sunshine, having fulfilled her purposed, regains her memories and her wisdom, and with the help of the voices of many former chosen dogs who have helped others then moved on to new lives, including those of Maggie, Brown, and Dredd, the old, kind dog heads across the rainbow bridge and into the light.
Ray sees a spark of love for himself within himself, for the first time in his life (BEAUTIFUL ADVENTURE, REPRISE). He and Selina, holding hands, assure the first responders that Ray is going to be okay, that he’ll find help, that he’ll let people in who need to be let in so that he can be healed. Feeling the warmth of true caring from Selina, he feels a smile in his heart. He pulls from his pocket the jar of yellow pills, and throws it off of the bridge and into the river. Both she and he know that he’s ready to choose living, one day at a time.
Elsewhere, “Brown,” the flamboyantly dressed (hobo-chic) event coordinator for the Pride Day event, is busy setting in motion plans to light the bridge. As he sings his song (LITTLE RAY OF SUNSHINE), he discusses designs with his various engineers, lighting specialists, vendors, and city ordinance directors, who provide him with suggestions that bring him varying degrees of satisfaction. Similarly as with Maggie, there's something otherworldly about him, an indescribable quality that seems somehow magical. Brown's is a life of color, as he is shown samples of flowers, cloth, and lights, in preparation of the event. In among the jubilatory paraphernalia appears Sunshine, fascinated by the colors and sounds that find themselves strewn upon her neighborhood street today. After a week of lunch dates, Ray invites Selina to his home to meet some of his friends. But Selina has a big audition the next day, and must practice.
As the world closes up for the week (VAGABOND), the various characters of the show get ready for the weekend, beginning with a Friday night filled with celebration and amusement. Sunshine, walking through the busy streets of the city, contemplates the sights she sees; her attention is caught mostly by members of the wealthy elite, being driven around town by chauffeurs in their fancy cars. She reflects upon various trappings of material wealth: expensive cars and clothing, cigars and vintage wine, and so forth. She notices a tendency for those of extreme wealth to live in forced solitude, no longer able to understand the world as it is, or, at least, the world as it is lived by the majority in it. These people no longer have others who can look them in the eyes, as most of their relationships require others to in some way “bow” to them because of their raised status. During this, Ray can be seen in his expensive apartment, alone. Meanwhile, Selina walks through the city, and eventually arrives at her practice room. She takes out her cello, and plays a short interlude.
The dazzling display lit up by the promise of an electrifying Friday night comes to fruition all throughout the city (LIGHT UP THESE EYES). All over there are revelers, party-goers, celebrators, and all manner of other who wish to make merry. In Ray’s apartment, the guests are starting to arrive, each bringing with them further tools to aid in their jubilation—not merely courteous bottles of wine, but also guitars, hand drums, and other percussive instruments. They each catch up with each other with glee. Ray seems in a state of mild aloofness, eyeing out of the door with each new arrival, hoping to see Selina.
For her part, Selina, sits in her practice room, playing the requisite pieces she will have to perform tomorrow at her audition. Ray, sipping a glass of fortified wine, and staring at the roads below, starts to reminisce about his life. It is revealed that he was abused as a child, and that his terminal medical condition that he often speaks about, the one that will cause him to die so soon and so suddenly, is a result of this. During her practice, Selina plays a heartfelt solo, after which she realizes that her friendship with Ray is more important to her than her audition, and chooses to wrap up practicing early so that she can attend his party.
As hand-drums whip together a driving beat, the guests at Ray’s party begin to sing their anthem (ANOTHER WAVE PASSES). The group of musicians at Ray's abode are lead by spiritual firebrand "Dredd," who sings the song's chorus on his own before having his fellow spiritual seekers repeat the mantra-like lyrics in unison, growing more and more impassioned each time. As with Maggie and Brown, there's something otherworldly about Dredd as well, a primal sort of energy that is as generous as it is hard to contain.
Ray, buoyed by Selina’s arrival, takes her to his apartment’s music room. In its center is a beautiful baby- grand piano, which Ray would like to give to Selina when he dies. Taken aback, she is reluctant to accept, it feeling like too big a gift, and, moreover, she hasn’t the space in her tiny New York apartment. Ray eventually talks her into it, suggesting she put it in her store, and making the argument that he’d rather it go to someone who really understands music and instruments, and not having it be wasted on just any old music-making rabble.
Speaking of which, Ray’s friends are making an exit. In loud, boisterous voices, they exclaim, that since “they are going to be dead soon,” they might as well spend every day painting the town red. Selina is puzzled by this, but Ray doesn’t seem in any way perplexed; perhaps, Selina thinks, it’s some sort of in-joke between Ray and his friends, to lighten the mood concerning Ray’s condition. In any case, Ray declines, preferring to spend the evening with Selina instead.
As the wine flows, Selina opens up. She reveals that she was seriously injured as a child, and was thus led to believe she was helpless, and a burden on others. She fights a war every day against this belief, instead choosing to believe that one day she will see herself as worthy of love—not just romantic love, but deep, inner self-love. Meanwhile, she talks loudly in private, and shuts the heck up in public. Except around Ray, who seems to bring something out in her. Speaking of which, she remarks, he looks well. Ray, moved by Selina’s disclosure, opens up to her about his childhood abuse, and divulges that with his particular medical condition, he won’t look like he is deteriorating, but he is, and one day, he will just be gone, like that.
Inspired by the moment, Ray starts rifling through papers, until he finds the certain one he is looking for: a piece he composed for piano and cello (THE GIRL FROM THE WELL). Selina looks it over, and doesn’t need much convincing when Ray suggests to her that they play it together. The piece is beautiful and arresting, but a deep dive into the heart; Selina suggests ice-cream and Audrey Hepburn movies to cheer their spirits, which Ray can agree to. He sets her up in a spare bedroom.
Sunshine roots through a trash can in a dark alley. She finds a container of thrown-away waffles for her dinner. Eating them, she steps into the light of a streetlight. As a car rushes past her, a driving musical theme overcomes both her and her surroundings; it is joyful, and optimistic (WE CAN HAVE IT ALL). As she turns a corner, she finds herself in Times Square, its dazzling lights buzzing with activity.
She starts to walk down the street, coming across people who stop to scratch her head, or who coo and fawn over her and her friendly face. As she continues to walk, she begins to recall memories—these ones far back—of events in her life. She remembers, during her time in the puppy mill, a cruel and angry old woman, who would treat her poorly, striking her with a shoe when she “misbehaved,” which, according to the woman, was all the time. It turns out she (the woman) was mentally ill, which is not something Sunshine can fully understand, she only knows that the woman would put on a show of her emotions, and that Sunshine was scared, very much so, during these times.
She remembers the foremen in the mill, who’d smoke cigarettes around the mother-dogs and gripe about the goings on of the day, whether local gossip, or grumbling about politics or sports. She remembers thinking, one day out of nowhere, that there must be more to life than this. She longs to make up for lost time and see all the things she missed from the youth that she never had, while she still can. She gets the sense that she's running out of time, but fights this notion, asking that the city she has for so long called home conspire to afford her what she longs for.
The next morning. In the bathroom, Selina is looking for toothpaste when she stumbles upon some strange supplies: chemicals, beakers, and so forth. When she casually mentions it to Ray, he becomes awkward and curt. Before she can apologize, Ray scoots her out of his apartment brusquely.
Looking to make amends, and bearing a chocolate Eiffel Tower as a peace offering, Selina hops along to Ray’s lab, but, pushing his ajar door open, she finds that he is not there. She notices bunsen burners, as well as more beakers, and various different chemicals. There are also notes pinned to the wall, from which she, horrified, discovers that, all this time, Ray has been carrying out plans to create a suicide draught, and not just for himself, but for others as well. Hence, she realizes, his having an exact knowledge of the time and nature of his impending death, and, additionally, why he was so forgetful about the fact that he was dying. Finally, it explains his friends’ puzzling comment about being “dead soon;” they were all planning on taking the draught together.
Ray emerges, having been in the restroom. An argument breaks out (NEVER LOOK DOWN), the two speaking heatedly in raised voices. Panicking, Ray tries to destroy any evidence of his lab by toppling over tables and pulling paper off of the walls. In a frenzy, he accidentally pushes Selina; she lands hard against a wall. Winded, and hurt, she leaves, speaking shyly and meekly as she had prior to his positive effect on her.
Later that day, Ray, feeling contrite, enters the music store to apologize. He encounters a throng of sad people, wiping their noses and crying, as well as speaking to one another in disbelief that a certain female comrade of theirs is “gone.” Jumping to conclusions and assuming, incorrectly, that it is Selina who has died, Ray, in despair, races out of the store. In that moment, Selina enters the main room—she had been in a storage room, gone to get some boxes of tissues to pass around, for the recently-deceased, much-loved patron and open mic frequenter, Maggie (it is she who has died).
Ray has run to the Queensboro Bridge, and has managed to finagle his way through the barriers set up by the event organizers and the police for the bridge’s “lighting” that night. He now stands, leaning over the guardrail, looking down at the river far below him. He intends to take his life right then and there. He sings (I MUST FOLLOW) about how he believes that he is a being of light, but that, for him, that light is hidden too deep to be accessed. He asks himself whether he can write his life story, or whether he is destined merely to live out some sort of pre-ordained karmic destiny. Feeling powerless, he feels his only option is to end his life. He looks from left to right surreptitiously; all attention is on the event. He climbs over the guardrail.
Elsewhere, Sunshine, eating scraps from a trashcan, has a premonition. She abandons her meal and runs to her old neighborhood street. As she reaches the music store, Selina is packing up for the day. She notices that Sunshine has an urgency that she cannot ignore. Sunshine runs towards the bridge; Selina has but one choice, which is to follow her. They arrive at the bridge, just as Ray is ready to jump. As Ray prepares himself to release his grip from the bars that hold him from the waters below, he hears a dog bark.
Ray looks up to find the affable, caring face of Sunshine staring at him. He tells her firmly to go away. She barks back at him. She raises her paw. Ray begins to cry. He can’t "do it" when she’s watching, so she had better leave, he tells her. She opens her mouth and smiles at him, raising another paw. He screams at her, and swipes after her; she runs, but returns and stands, faithfully, by his side every time. Meanwhile, Selina, who has followed Sunshine, fights her way with renewed assertiveness through the responders, who have only now started to notice that there’s a jumper on the bridge; Selina screams: if they want him to live, they’ll let her through!
Ray steps over the grate, but it’s to get back onto the bridge to chase Sunshine away. She won’t relent. Eventually, he screams himself to extinguishment, and collapses by the dog, holding her tightly, and crying out in all of his grief, from years and years of sadness, as a figure approaches behind him. It’s Selina. She kneels by him, he extends his arms, grateful that she is indeed alive. Sunshine backs up, offering Selina her place. She and Ray embrace, Ray weeping silently, as Sunshine watches from a few feet away.
As Ray and Selina sit, embracing, on the bridge’s pedestrian path, Sunshine stands a few feet away, observing them. She sings the song of her heart (BABY I'M BOUND). As she does, she can see a responder heading to their position. Seeing the uniform and fearing trouble, Sunshine starts to head in the opposite direction. Selina, noticing her do so, stands. “Sunshine...” she calls out. Sunshine stops, turns. “Good girl.” she says. Sunshine smiles and nods at her, turns, and continues on her way. That very moment, the bridge lights up in a symphony of color, shining down upon the waters below and the boroughs surrounding. Sunshine, having fulfilled her purposed, regains her memories and her wisdom, and with the help of the voices of many former chosen dogs who have helped others then moved on to new lives, including those of Maggie, Brown, and Dredd, the old, kind dog heads across the rainbow bridge and into the light.
Ray sees a spark of love for himself within himself, for the first time in his life (BEAUTIFUL ADVENTURE, REPRISE). He and Selina, holding hands, assure the first responders that Ray is going to be okay, that he’ll find help, that he’ll let people in who need to be let in so that he can be healed. Feeling the warmth of true caring from Selina, he feels a smile in his heart. He pulls from his pocket the jar of yellow pills, and throws it off of the bridge and into the river. Both she and he know that he’s ready to choose living, one day at a time.
Format:
Ray of Sunshine is designed to be a live-performance concert event, performed in two acts, with one intermission in between. Despite its narrative elements, the show requires neither spoken dialogue, action, blocking, nor traditional dramatic interaction between the characters per se. Instead, the company performs the story through its emotional core, over the course of the show's twenty-seven musical numbers, which include complete songs, instrumental interludes, as well as segues, and reprises of the various themes of the show. By using music and song as the show's sole conveyor, the goal is that the audience experience its emotional impact in its most direct fashion. A brief summary of the show's storyline (see "Plot Summary" above) can be provided as program notes during live performances, as an option for audience, if they so wish, to more explicitly understand the plot they are about to experience.
List of Numbers:
Act One:
Act Two
- Introduction
- Seasons Come and Go (RAY)
- Segue #1 - Little Ray of Sunshine
- Now Or Never (SUNSHINE)
- Segue #2 - Now Or Never (bridge)
- Long Road Home (SELINA)
- Beautiful Adventure (SUNSHINE)
- Segue #3 - Beautiful Adventure
- These Games We Play (MAGGIE)
- Segue #4 - Beautiful Adventure (bridge)
- Summer Like Something (SUNSHINE)
- Segue #5 - Parisian Interlude (Long Road Home; Little Ray of Sunshine)
- Passing Moments (ÉTIENNE)
- Star of Night (SUNSHINE, RAY, and COMPANY)
- Segue #6 - Little Ray of "Starlight"
- Little Ray of Sunshine (BROWN)
Act Two
- Entr'acte - Never Look Down
- Vagabond (SUNSHINE and COMPANY)
- Another Wave Passes (DREDD)
- Light Up These Eyes (RAY)
- The Girl from the Well (RAY, SELINA)
- Segue #7 - Summer Like Something (bridge)
- We Can Have It All (SUNSHINE)
- Segue #8 - Never LooK Down
- Never Look Down (DREDD, MAGGIE, and COMPANY)
- I Must Follow (RAY)
- Segue #9 - Various
- Baby, I'm Bound (SUNSHINE)
- Beautiful Adventure - reprise (COMPANY)
