Books-by-the-Month: August

August is the month when summer begins to exhale. The days are still golden, but there’s a subtle shift in the light—a slant, a softness—that suggests we are quietly tilting toward autumn. 

It is a month of in-betweens: the last stretch of vacation before the return of structure, the heat that still clings while shadows grow longer. 

Reading in August is tinged with this same gentle melancholy. It is still the season for sprawling, immersive books—but it is also the moment for reflection, for voices that have been overlooked, for stories that stay with you as the season wanes.

In honor of August’s particular beauty—and its lesser-known holidays like Women’s Equality Day, Left Handers Day, and International Cat Day—here is a curated list of books to savor as summer leans toward its close.

1. The Awakening by Kate Chopin

For Women's Equality Day (August 26)

 

There is no better time to revisit—or discover—The Awakening, Kate Chopin’s quietly revolutionary novel about a woman’s search for autonomy in the stifling social climate of late-19th-century Louisiana. Edna Pontellier’s journey toward selfhood, sensuality, and artistic freedom was scandalous upon publication in 1899, but today it remains hauntingly fresh. Chopin’s language is luminous as heat rising off the sea, and her portrayal of a woman determined to live life on her own terms makes this a perfect reflection for Women’s Equality Day. Read it by the water if you can! Let the waves echo Edna’s restless longing.

 

Behold the multitude of covers!

2. Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
For Left Handers Day (August 13)

The sly nod to Left Handers Day is intentional, but The Left Hand of Darkness earns its place here not just by title but by brilliance. Le Guin’s groundbreaking sci-fi classic, set on a planet where gender is fluid and changeable, explores themes of otherness, empathy, and the slipperiness of identity. The cold, strange beauty of her world-building contrasts deliciously with August’s warmth, making it an ideal read for late-summer nights when you find yourself craving big, mind-expanding questions. It’s also a quiet celebration of non-conformity—something every left-hander can appreciate.

 

 

3. The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

For International Cat Day (August 8)

 

To honor International Cat Day (which, of course is everyday in the home of Tatiana Angela Lansbury Romanov!!!), there is no better companion than The Traveling Cat Chronicles, a tender Japanese novel that follows a man and his beloved stray cat Nana on a journey across Japan. 

 

Told partly from the cat’s point of view, the story is suffused with gentle humor, emotional depth, and a profound meditation on friendship, memory, and letting go. It’s the kind of book that wraps around you like late-summer twilight—soft, a little sad, but immensely comforting. 

 

Top tip: best read with a real cat nearby. 

 

 

4. The Hours by Michael Cunningham

For the Bittersweetness of August
August is a month that tastes of endings, and The Hours—with its interwoven narratives of Virginia Woolf, a 1940s housewife, and a modern New Yorker—beautifully captures the delicate tension between life’s small domestic moments and its seismic emotional shifts. Cunningham’s language is lyrical without excess; his characters are complex and achingly human. The novel pulses with the weight of time, memory, and the choices that shape us. As summer begins to slip through our fingers, this novel reminds us of the exquisite, painful beauty of impermanence.

 

The Hours was made into a motion picture starring Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman, but my personal favorite subsequent artistic rendering inspired by this novel is the 2022 opera in two acts with music by Kevin Puts and libretto by Greg Pierce. I was fortunate enough to bear witness to its world premiere, and while the three leading female performances were indeed formidable, my favorite aria and performance belonged to Kyle Ketelsen as the poet Richard, dying of both AIDS and, possibly, despair. 

 

Enjoy this snippet of his aria. Beyond masterful.

 

    

 

5. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

For Sultry, Late- Summer Suspense

For those who like their Augusts with a dose of heat and danger, The Talented Mr. Ripley is the perfect noir-laden choice. Highsmith’s elegant psychological thriller unfolds in the sun-drenched landscapes of Italy, where charm, envy, and amorality blur together in the figure of Tom Ripley. 

 

Oooooo the sweltering days, the lingering sense that something is ending, the slanted golden light, the subtle menace that lurks beneath surface perfection. It’s a brilliant exploration of desire, deception, and the masks we wear.

 ________

 

August is a threshold: still steeped in summer’s sensual pleasures, but with the first whispers of change. The books we choose in this month carry some of that duality—light and dark, freedom and reflection, motion and stillness. 

 

Whether you find yourself drawn to bold women, speculative futures, philosophical felines, or moral ambiguity, may these selections accompany you through the golden hours ahead. 
 

There is time yet for one more story before the season turns.

End of "Lend me a Soprano"

What a magnificent experience from top to tail. One never knows how an away-from-home experience will go— personally or creatively, but from the downbeat Soprano has been nothing but joy.
Ken Ludwig was collaborative and generous.

Our director Eleanor Holdridge created THE safest, most loving, most creative and playful playground to ask any question and try any idea.

Our Stage Managers were above and beyond. And our very generous first laughs!

The actors. Oh the actors. This was was one of those remarkable sets of conditions where every single actor was drama and ego free— no one fought for “their” laughs or “their” moments. Everyone fought hard for “OUR” laughs and the PLAY’s moments. I can’t recall an experience like it. Where everyone was so devoted to making the play everything it could be, concerned only with how they might best serve it.

Creating a role is a rare experience, and it was my honor to chisel Elena Firenze for Ken Ludwig, for our company, our audiences; for MY soul, for every actor to play Elena in the future long after I am gone, and above all for Elena herself.

Actors— ask not what characters can serve for you, but what we may do to serve our characters. Elena could not sing without me, and it was my honor to provide her very first voice.

Addio e addio, Elena.
Never to be forgotten.
Until we meet again.

X

 

We got Trouble (in Tahiti)

'This is Prophetic!' from Nixon in China

'This is Prophetic!'
from Nixon in China 
Music by John Adams
Libretto by Alice Goodman

PAT
The children in the U.S.A. all say hello.
I used to be a teacher many years ago
and now I’m here to learn from you.

(Smiling and waving, Mrs. Nixon and her entourage
leave the commune and proceed to the next stop on her
tour: the Summer Palace where she is photographed
strolling through the Hall of Benevolence and
Longevity, the Hall of Happiness in Longevity,
the Hall of Dispelling the Clouds, and the Pavilion
of the Fragrance of Buddha. She pauses in the gate
of Longevity and Good Will to sing)

PAT
This is prophetic! I foresee a time will come when
luxury dissolves into the atmosphere like a perfume,
and everywhere the simple virtues root
and branch and leaf and flower.
On that bench there we’ll relax
and taste the fruit of all our actions.
Why regret life which is so much like a dream?
Let the eternal plan resume.
In the bedroom communities let us be taken by surprise.
Yes! Let the band play on and on,
let the stand-up comedian finish his act,
let Gypsy Rose kick off her high-heeled party shoes;
let interested businessmen speculate further,
let routine dull the edge of mortality.
Let days grow imperceptibly longer,
let the sun set in cloud;
let lonely drivers on the road pull over for a bite to eat,
let the farmer switch on the light over the porch,
let passer by look in at the large family
around the table, let them pass.
Let the expression on the face
of the Statue of Liberty change just a little,
let her see what lies inland:
across the plain one man is marching...
the Unknown Soldier has risen from his tomb,
let him be recognized at home.
The Prodigal. Give him his share:
the eagle nailed to the barn door.
Let him be quick.
The sirens wail as bride
and groom kiss through the veil.
Bless this union with all its might,
let it remain inviolate.

I practiced (reflections on a Carnegie Hall debut)

©Julia Murney

We all know the joke.
Okay... well most of us know the joke.

"How do you get to Carnegie Hall?"
The answer is not the corner of 57th  Street. It's
"Practice, Practice, Practice."

There really aren't words to describe the feeling of stepping out onto the stage at Carnegie Hall for the first time.
But, perhaps oddly, one of the words that crossed my mind as I stepped out on to the boards was "YES..."
Yes-- I thought, I am humbled, I am honored, but I... "practiced."
Let's do this.
I am ready.

It was a privilege of extraordinary proportion to make this debut alongside not only members of the Broadway community I admire so profoundly (Judy Kaye--who has always been a trail-blazing role model, not to mention the golden-throated, utterly dashing Jason Danieley, the legendary Anita Gillette, and Jim flippin' Dale).

But of special import was the joy of playing opposite one of my very oldest and most loyal pals Santino Fontana (who, the morning of the show was nominated for his first Tony award--wow). Santino and I met at summer camp in 1999--two teenagers, one anothers' first scene partners. We reunited at the NFAA A.R.T.S competition the next year. I even soooooort ooooof followed him to college (in the days when I went to the University of Minnesota... for 8 weeks... --some of you don't know that story, but believe me I was there, before 2001 "happened...").
All of which is to say: we have been there for the highest highs and the lowest of lows
     (and there sure have been both...)
Santino might not always wanna snuggle about it exactly, but he is the loyalest pal on earth.
Not to mention a talent beyond belief.
We used to chat online during his matinée of Billy Elliot and my evening performance of Carousel and dream big dreams... that made the entire experience extra special...

...
Work hard, readers.
Work harder than you think is necessary.
Find a goal and move toward it with "courage and integrity" (as you know I love to say).
Don't be negative.
Don't be a jerk.
 Believe in dreams.
...and, of course, practice.

Believe me-- it is worth it.

I've Been

Al & Sierra: toes in the sand

re-discovering Sophie De Palma!

drinking peach martinis with Tyne.

engaging in "The Adventures of Sophie & Sharon" with fellow Master Class-er Sierra Boggess, which includes:
     18 holes of mini golf
     visits to The Intrepid
     shoe parades
     deep-and-meaningfuls deep into the night
     planning our epic dressing room
     and biking the entire isle of Manhattan.

...speaking of which, filming "The Last Street in Manhattan" on Law & Order Criminal Intent and adoring it.

the freakin' Squad Room!!

Rocking adulthood.

Writing. Every day.

Meeting my hand twin: English actress and singer Gina Beck. It was pretty crazy.

Running along the East River. Every day.

Singing like never before!

Staying healthy.

D.I.Y-tastic! WHO INSTALLED (with her fierce-as-you-know-what-DIY-tastic-Mommy) 4, count them FOUR of HER OWN CEILING FANS WITH ONLY MINIMAL ELECTRICAL DRAMA?! (Okay. Look. There was only one teeeeeeny tiiiiiny fire which required professional attention and that was only because the wires were over 100 years old...) BUT WE DID IT AND I SIT HERE TYPING BY THE COOLING BREEZES COMING FROM MY CEILING....

dying Easter eggs with pals! 

Having the most incredible week-long reunion with my brother, sister-in-law Maggie, Maggie's mom Leslie, nieces Hannah and Madison, and my Mom in The Big Apple. Magical.

Really plugging into New York City: The Big Apple (as I enjoy calling it...)

Reuniting with the Hello Again family ON "The 12th of Maaaaaay..." (dorks.)

the gang reunites

Enjoying watermelon season. YES. A lot. 

Seeing all sorts of theatre.

Loving Brother John Glover in the city of Brotherly Love. (This, specifically included, in order... 1. Tyne had no lipstick (?!!) 2. Glove and I offer to have an adventure by running across the street and buying her "Diva Red" from the Mac store 3. which Glover subsequently tries on...declaring "Patti Lupone taught me about Diva Red when I was playing Bunny the Drag Queen..." 4. We quoted Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker when agreeing we were on an adventure, this engaging in "PUDDING" 5. Ultimately, we were clique-y today. Guilty.)

whhhhhaaaat?!

Riding to Philadelphia IN. A. STRETCH. LIMO. BY. MY. SELF...

...and back to New York with Marc Bruni: a man I barely knew but we now know EVERY detail of one anothers' life stories. Fact.

Oh yeah, and I've been making my debut on THE BROADWAY.

Master Class on Broadway

This is what it is all about...

Today was the best rehearsal day I have ever experienced in my life.

For so many reasons.

I have walked on Broadway stages before. I have even performed on them. But there is nothing like stepping onto a stage you are going to live on for a while, for the very first time. And this time? This time, that stage is on Broadway. And there is no way to describe it but it is simply different. As I walked into the theatre I clutched Jeremy Cohen's hand-- Sophie and Manny reunited on the Great White Way. "I will never forget this moment," he said. I couldn't agree more.

There we were, on the stage, and everyone was so excited! Garret [Sorenson], who has sung on some of the most prestigious operatic stages on earth was as gleeful as a child in a 650 seat house. Sierra [Boggess], returning to Broadway after a stint in our beloved London was orchestrating the picture taking and "moment marking" like a gleeful big sister watching her siblings going to Prom. We shouted! We squealed! We hugged. We allowed ourselves to feel the moment. We are an exceptionally loving and jolly bunch.

We returned to rehearsal and achieved a new kind of theatrical divinity none of us could ever have dreamed possible. The already magical scene reached new depths, new heights, new glory, and we all felt it (there is no way to articulate these tingly moments in the theatre, the closest comparison I can offer is that feeling of kissing a person who is the one...). Progress. Catharsis.

But then, as if all that were not enough, I had a singing session that accessed a quality in not merely my voice, but in my self, that no words could ever articulate. Suffice it say that I sang like never before.

I returned home that night to my family, all visiting from California-- my mom, my brother and sister in law, my two little nieces, and created more memories. Food, laughter, stories at bedtime...

I don't know if I can find the words to describe the quiet perfection of May 19, 2011 exactly, but perhaps finding those words is not important. This kind of contentment, happiness, peace? It is a quiet thing. It requires no language, only silent inner knowledge, like a candle glow of contentment.

Reader? This is what it is all about.
This is what life is all about...

class in in session...

I've Been...

Adjusting. Capital A.

Reading like crazy thanks to Audible.com: (Outliers, Foreskin’s Lament, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, The Partly Cloudy Patriot)

Loving Jeremy Piven with all her heart: not only does he have a J name, but he also, simply a total freakin genius.

Adventuring with Ta'u Pupu'a to see Laquita Mitchell bust out her Bess! (Masterclass reunion babayyyy...)

Getting back into her beloved running routine (as well as doing ancient early-90's Buns of Steel VHS like a flippin' pro...)

Al & Ruthie reunion slumber party? Hell yes.

Returning to London...


Singing with Lance Horne (and Leanne Jones and Paul Spicer) at Freedom Club

Watching one of my closest friends and my absolute life-saver Tasha get married. (And speaking at the wedding!) Literally the most enjoyable wedding I have ever attended.

Reeling over how much I love Victoria Jayne Hinde. She wrote me a poem. Victoria, I love you.

Recovering from Amy Maiden breaking the news to me that she hates yoghurt-covered-things. [Record scratch followed by female screaming and cataclysmic crashing sound] She felt we "we there..." Whatever...

Standing outside the Palace Theatre on my 5 year London anniversary. *Sigh.*

Pounding the pavement!

Witnessing theatrical magic. Peter Stein's beautiful, 12-hour adaptation of Dostoevsky's The Demons with an entirely Italian acting company on Governor's Island. Thank you Lincoln Center Festival. (Needless to say I was 'Possessed' by excitement.) If you ever have a chance to see this production, it is a life-altering experience. 

Literally obsessed with the Radiolab Podcast. You must check it out today…

Capturing the Zeitgeist, Part Four: One Last Hurrah

I feel inclined, on Ms DePalma's final day of performance, to share with you one last Sophie Hurrah. She will be missed, but clearly she shall continue to live on... perhaps in her very own Vegas show... you never know... her off stage persona gets a lot of air time... clearly...

Future possibility:

Sophie DePalma: A Road Trip with Sharon
     [includes preliminary scenes composed yesterday with Laquita that go roughly like this:

1.

Sophie: Hi Sharon, um... I heard you live in Ohio and I live in Michigan so maybe we could roadtrip it back together after the semester is over...? I have a car, pop some Rossini in the tape-deck and ride into the Midwest together? ...

Sharon: [pause] No.

2.

Sophie: Hi there Sharon

Sharon: [silence]

Sophie: Okay. Well sooooooo sorry to bother you about this but could I borrow your Norma score? I'm working on Teneri figli and was studying in the bath and whoops! dropped it in and I have a coaching in an hour and.. you know... it would be soooo great if you would lend me yours and I'll give it right back safe and sound I promise! [smiles]

Sharon: [eyes wide, not blinking, stares at her in total whyareyoueventalkingtome astonishment] No.

[she walk away, and just before she turns a corner--] and girl, you should stop studying in the bath!

After these scenes Sharon's flight is cancelled due to apocalyptic winter weather and she concedes to go with Sophie on the road trip in order to make it back to Ohio in time for Christmas... with hilaaaaaarious consequences! Thoughts?

*

And other possibilities include:

Sophie DePalma and the Lost Umbrella 

Sophie DePalma: Down Under

Sophie on the Roof

Sophie DePalma's SCHOOL OF ROCK

Sophie Knows What You Did Last Summer 

Sophie at the Bat

Are you there God? It's me Sophie.

Sophie DePalma  Explains it All For You

Basically, Sophie DePalma is the gift that keeps on giving...

*

And a final word from Genius and Director Stephen Wadsworth [pictured left]:

"Sophie takes out full-page advertisement in New York Times (paid for by her Russian mafia sabrillionaire boyfriend): SOPHIE DE PALMA, STUDENT OF MARIA CALLAS, NOW OFFERING VOICE LESIONS.

Only after it goes to press does someone bring her attention to the fact that it says lesions and not lessons.

She is however contacted by several late-career singers looking for a way to wind down.  She succeeds in giving them vocal lesions through the same exercises she used for vocal lessons, they file for workman's compensation on their last job, her husband pays their legal bills, and she becomes quite famous for destroying voices on a tight schedule.  Late in life, after her trial in the Hague on charges of genocide, she tells the Washington Post, "There are so many teachers out there building voices, I thought it would be good to help people destroy them.  I mean, what are you going to do with a great big voice if you're just going to end up in a little room in an old people's home?  Where are you going to put it.  Do you really think the family is going to STORE it?"

xx"

Farewell Sophie DePalma: You were not only a lovely, well-meaning, sensitive girl capable of such depth and feeling... you were also a hell of a hoot. Don't be a stranger.

Over and out.

I've Been

faking it-- Operatically speaking

hanging with the Puritani Quartet in the Greenroom, 1835

getting Sophie DePalma’s score signed by Maestro Bellini himself…

 (...in fact, making up an entire life for lil' miss Sophie DePalma and sharing it with you...and with Stephen Wadsworth... and with the entire company... and with Terrence himself... and... and...and...)

dining with legends

engaging in the spirit of the Terrance McNally Triptych by drinking vodka and sharing tales laaaaaate into the night with Manu and Roe— one of us from each play. Magic.

making some serious new friends.

…And enjoying my love for/of the old ones (up to and including living with Alex & Oliver, visits to DC from Alley, Maro, Santino, Steinmans, Bergen, Mannings, Jessica…)

struggling with solitude
... and with several Achilles heels

achieving incredible new understanding

discovering Honey. Roasted. Peanut. Butter (= WHOA...)


enjoying the epic beauty of the DC cherry blossoms in the most glorious and romantic way possible. "...The blossoms are just comin' down by thereselves..."

(…and, in that light, I suppose realizing I am far further along than I previously thought...)

going for long runs on the Washington Mall (Memorials Lincoln to Washington to Capitol to Vietnam and back to Kennedy… how boring…)

 feeling patriotic

making it up as I go along with Tyne

wearing PURPLE. KNEE. SOCKS.

surviving with Laquita.

“The Girl About Town”

singing around the piano with Malcolm Getts (and Manu Narayan, and Marc Kudish…)

drinking pomegranate champagne
...with Doris Roberts

getting the last bit of it out of my system
     (…and feeling pretty damn proud/excited/great about that)

contacting all my ex-boyfriends… in a single day…

preparing for Chapter 3

eating Oliver's gorgeous, homemade, organic, locally sourced food every single flipping day! (NnnnnnDelicious!)

re-connecting with family. what a joy.

falling in totally love with every. single. cast member. of the lisbon traviata (…and weeping when they leave!)

reuniting with The Alexandra Sisters

experiencing Act 2 solitude (-- the joys and sorrows of

singing at Terrence McNally & Tom Kirdhay’s wedding. Unbelievable.


languishing in the true joy of the season: the reese's peanut butter egg. now also in mini sizes... daaaaaaamn...

Predicting other people’s pregnancies

flashing black finger nails
…and burgundy
…and red…ooo…

falling in love with trains

Capturing the Zeitgeist, Part Three: More from Sophie DePalma

Inspired by the genius of a certain director, Mr. Stephen Wadsworth...

more titles from Sophie DePalma.

* * *

SOPHIE DE PALMA: GIRL DETECTIVE

[Captions: The Pap, Night Vision, Under the tarmac,
 Hiding in the brush, a clever DISGUISE, "AHA! Up THERE!",
Squished,  Don't freakin' MESS with me... ,  Dusting for prints...]

and

SOPHIE TWO

and

SOPHIE DE PALMA'S GUIDE TO SINGING

Capturing the Zeitgeist, Part Two: The Puritani Quartet

Golden Age explores the night of January 24, 1835, opening night of Vincenzo Bellini's final opera I Puritani (The Puritans), starring the four most celebrated singers in Europe known as The Puritani Quartet. As the audience, we have a backstage peek at the world behind the scenes on an opening night, exploring not only the ins and outs of being in the theatre, but the ins and outs of being of the theatre. Bellini himself is dying of consumption, but the necessity for creation drives him forward.

We share a Greenroom with them.
The 1970's meets 1835.
It's pretty weird. 


* * *



So. There they are in the Greenroom shared by 1970's New York City and 1835 Paris.
A coffee machine.
A few dozen puzzles.
A spades game in the corner.
Theatrical posters along the walls from present day to days of yore.
The day was inevitable.
The day was today:

Sophie DePalma meets her idol, soprano Giulia Grissi...in the company of her fellow Puritani Quartet members-- baritone Tamburini, bass LaBlanche and tenor Rubini.

[excited face!!!]

SCENE 1

[Sophie gathers herself as best she can, pulls up her knee socks, and appraoches Grissi, perhaps including herself in Grissi's personal space juuuuuuust a touch...]

Sophie: ...Omygodyour Adalgisa in Maestro Bellini's Norma was leeeeeeeeegendary...

Giulia: Haha! [coy light laughter complete with theatrical head-shaking and hand flicking] ...Yes.

Sophie: May I touch your necklace?

[pause]

Giulia: Um. [she blinks] Certainly...

[she removes it]

Sophie: ...and would you sign my score?!

Grissi: eh?

Tamburini: What's that magic flashing box?

Rubini: [aside] perhaps she will not see me stealing her jewels while the magic box flashes...


* * *

SCENE 2


Sophie: Ooooooooh...

[Giulia's left hand pulls the jewels iiiiimperceptibly away...]


Giulia: Careful Sophie! Careful now my dear! These were given to me by Rossini.

Sophie: they WERE?!

Giulia: Oh yes, after my performance of Semiramide in Paris. Gioachino has wonderful taste in jewels.

Sophie: --what about the one you are wearing?

Giulia: my good luck necklace from my stage debut as Emma in Rossini's Zelmira in Bologna in 1828. From my sisters.

Sophie: and the earrings?

[she moves to touch them]

Giulia: Ah-Ah-AH! No touching! NO. TOUCHING. NO TOUCH! [she gathers herself: a deep breath before,] They were a gift from an admirer in Milan after the premiere of Norma.

Sophie: and what about your tiara...?

[pause. deadpan.]

Giulia: It's mine. We must dress for the job we want my darling-- haven't you ever heard that phrase...?

[she examines Sophie briefly...]

...perhaps you haven't...

FIN.

Capturing the Zeitgeist, Part One: Maestro Bellini

So what happens when Sophie DePalma of Terrance McNally's Master Class meets Bel Canto composer Vincenzo Bellini of Terrance McNally's Golden Age? A world of fun.

Here at The Kennedy Center Nights at the Opera festival, we are exploring three of McNally's plays only all about the world of opera. But the connections between the pieces are not tenuous-- there are even some lines throughout the three plays that are early identical. The connections are beautiful, touching, delightful.

Golden Age explores the night of January 24, 1835, opening night of Vincenzo Bellini's final opera I Puritani (The Puritans). We follow Bellini himself throughout the evening.

The Lisbon Traviata explores the world of opera fanatics, the two we meet: Mendy and Stephen are particularly taken with their passion for Maria Callas.

And of course, Master Class is about Callas herself.

All are about art and authenticity. It is a beautiful triptych and I wish you could all be a part of it.

So.

What is one little actress, passionate about her part of this festival and only in Act 1 supposed to do about it all? Um... capture the zeitgeist of the triptych in photographic form of course!

Sophie DePalma, the disastrous wreck of of Master Class, studying at Julliard and working on Amina's famous Ah non credea mirarti from Bellini's La Sonnombula, comes across composer Vincenzo Bellini himself in the hallway! What a coincidence! She is beyond thrilled and, armed with her admittedly beaten up score, cannot help herself: she must ask for his autograph.

[FYI: Things you need to know about the pieces in order to appreciate the following fully:

- Bellini suggests a haircut with the wigmaster to distract himself from the pain of being backstage.
- Sophie is asked by Calls if she is Italian, she responds she is Greek/Italian. (It accounts for her "fiery-ness"...hm...)
- Sophie famously forgets to bring her pencil in a very big way...
- Callas asks the audience about a good beauty parlor for she can't get a good "wash and set in this city"
- and at the end of the act poor Sophie doesn't even know how to get off the stage...]

So. without further ado, here is the dialogue I imagine:

* * *


Sophie: MAESTRO BELLINI! MAESTRSO BELLINI I am a HUGE fan. Ohmygoodness. Um, So. My name is Sophie. Sophie DePalma and I am singing Amina's aria from your Sonnombula right now at school and...and know that my score is a little...um, worse for wear--I sort of dropped it in the tub by accident BUT! That was only because I find your work SO AMAAAAAAZING and was studying in the bath...blaaaah so. Anyway... WOULD YOU SIGN MY SCORE?! I would be SO. HONORED.

Bellini: Um... of course my dear. To whom shall I make it out again?

Sophie: Oh! Sophie. Sophie DePalma.

Bellini: Italian?

Sophie: Greek/Italian. You know I get asked that a lot!

Bellini: Lovley. [he takes up her VERY. SHARP. READYTOGO. PENCIL. and begins to sign]

Sophie: [watching a liiiiittle too close...] ...You can add "darling" if you want.

Bellini: Alright...

Sophie: TO DARLING SOPHIE: THE DEFINITIVE AMINA...

[Pause. He stares at her. Puzzled.]

Bellini: Okay.

[he returns to the score]

Sophie: .....and could you sign it Vincenzo? I've always liked your first name.

Bellini: ... [voice pinched now, eyes not still on the page] With pleasure. [finishes signature with flourish] There you are Sophie DePalma, now off you go. I must run I have a haircut with the wigmaster. I can't get a good cut in this city. I wish you luck.

Sophie: Oh, thank you Maestro! Thank you.

[Bellini straightens his coattails and exits]

Now how do I get off the stage?


FIN.

* * *

Yes. This is what I get up to in Act 2...