The Mechanical Theater by Brooke Johnson

Author:Brooke Johnson [Johnson, Brooke]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780062387189
Google: e3adBAAAQBAJ
Amazon: B00MMG19GO
Goodreads: 22895363
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2013-04-14T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

Solomon pushed through the theater entrance and into the foyer, crossing the plush carpet to the theater hall. Marion’s lilting voice echoed throughout the chamber, accompanied by the hum of violins and cellos. The automated orchestra filled the trench beneath the stage, mechanical arms holding their instruments with the poise and posture of living musicians as they drew their bows across the strings in time to Marion’s movements across the stage. Dahlia moved with her, wearing the lesser gown of a servant girl and a blackened wig to hide her blonde curls, but standing onstage, eyes bright and cheeks flushed, she stood out even against Marion’s golden ornaments and silken robes.

Then Damien took the stage and strode across the floor of the ornate Alexandrian palace, and the war drums rolled like thunder, the sound of violins dwindling in favor of the deeper sound of the cello, until all the instruments fell silent.

“I am sick and sullen,” cried Marion, costumed in the rich, flowing robes of Queen Cleopatra. She swooned into Dahlia’s arms.

Damien drew near them both, dressed as the Roman general Mark Antony, wearing the historic woolen tunic and polished bronze plates across his chest and shoulders. “I am sorry to give breathing to my purpose—­”

Marion, as Cleopatra, cried:

“Help me away, dear Charmian; I shall fall:

It cannot be thus long, the sides of nature

Will not sustain it.”

Damien rushed to her side.

“Now my dearest queen—­”

Marion threw out her hand. “Pray you stand further from me.”

Solomon crept down the darkened aisle and took a seat in the leftmost section, his attention still on the stage. Great columns stood at the back of the platform, the stone rail of a balcony stretching from one side of the stage to the other. The shifting panels on the wall showed the city of Alexandria, and beyond, the glittering blue of the Mediterranean. The actors stood near an elegant chaise and gold-­edged tables topped with vibrant fruit in silver bowls.

Cleopatra inhaled deeply and gathered to her full height, the asp on her golden crown glowering down at Mark Antony. For Solomon, seeing them onstage was like watching something from another world, another time. Their words and costumes transported him back to the ancient days of the Romans, the characters giving that era such life that it was easy to forget they were actors and not Antony and Cleopatra arguing in a room in the Egyptian palace of Alexandria.

When, finally, the two of them left the stage, the palace was dismantled, the columns taken beneath the stage. The former scenery was replaced by statues of warriors, and the view beyond the balcony changed from the golden shores of Egypt to the red tiled roofs of Rome. Then Octavius Caesar strode across the stage, reading a letter. Another man followed—­and then several others—­and the rehearsal continued.

Solomon relaxed in his seat and watched the entirety of the play, through battle and tragedy. The panels onstage shifted from Roman trireme to army encampment, and the background from a raging

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.