RAINDANCE

RAINDANCE.family

New excerpt:

RAINDANCE

The Play

by Uncle John

Art Work by Michael Waters

Music by

Uncle John & Tobey Stein & Gary Sangervasi

Grateful Dead

& Bob Dylan

Special Thanks to Playwright Lauren Gunderson

 Spanish translation by Tania Carrasco

Characters

Storyteller

Sundance

Raindance

Lady Liberty

The Joker

The Purple Sage

The Hermit

Daniel Rafael

Michelle

Pretty Peggy

Ida Red

Billy Dee

  Jesse 

Freya Chanteur

Johnnie Walker

Harry Jardiniere

Maria Bonita

Seven Gypsy Women

Bobby “Sugarfree” Sugaree

Rainbow

The Magician

The Raindance family tell their story in tales, through poetry, songs, art, and dance.

 excerpt from RAINDANCE

 

Storyteller:

Stories and the people in them are true inspiration. A band of musicians gather together as family, known as Raindance. Their famous and well known guitar player is Bobby Sugaree, he calls himself "Sugarfree". His family calls him Sundance. The Purple Sage is riding with Bobby Sugaree in San Francisco who suggests they stop for tea. Sugaree puts on a hat and sunglasses and they walk into a busy bakery and there are two counter chairs together available, and they sit down there. They order tea.  Suddenly, Sugareeīs hit song "Around and Around" plays on the loudspeakers, and as soon as someone spots him, the whispers and pointing begin. They notice at one table are the clique known as The Gypsy Women. They are the only ones who get up and dance in the bakery aisle. There are seven of them, and The Sage points them out and ask Sugaree if he recognizes them as the dancers in his audience.

Sugaree:

Sirens of Titan

Storyteller:

Titan is a moon of Saturn.

Purple Sage:

That spurs my memory of the recent moment I had dancing with them.

They are a tight clique who hang out and dance exclusively with one another.

One night I am able to speak with one of them and ask her name,

Gypsy Woman

Gypsy

Purple Sage:

And then I ask her, "What do you do?".

Gypsy Woman:

Astral Navigator

Purple Sage:

She responds quickly and tersely.

"Where are you from?" I ask and she answers,

Gypsy Woman:

From the future. We listen to the Golden Record and that made us come.

The Golden Record VOYAGER - NASA

The music stops and the dancers sit down. The place is lively with conversation.

Storyteller:

Their tea arrives, and the Sage takes a couple packets of sugar and offers it to Sugaree.

He grabs the sugar, stands up and slams the packets on the counter.

Sugaree:

"I hate sugar!"

Storyteller:

He says in a loud and booming voice that silences the rest of the room who are all staring.

Sugaree sits down and the Sage whispers to him.

Purple Sage:

"Bobby, weīre in a bakery!"

Storyteller:

Suddenly, one by one, each of the seven gypsy women stand and sing a line to Sugaree

Gypsy Woman #1:

When they come to take you down

Gypsy Woman #2:

When they bring that wagon around

Gypsy Woman #3:

When they come to call on you

Gypsy Woman #4:

And drag your poor body down

Gypsy Woman #5:

Just one thing that I ask of you

Gypsy Woman #6:

Just one thing for me

Gypsy Woman #7:

Please forget you knew my name

All Seven Gypsy Women (in harmony):

My darlinī Sugaree

All Seven Gypsy Women (dancing):

Shake it, Shake it Sugaree

Just donīt tell them that you know me

Shake it, Shake it Sugaree

Just donīt tell them that you know me

Gypsy Woman #1:

You thought you was the cool fool

Gypsy Woman #2:

And never could do no wrong

Gypsy Woman #3:

Had everything sewn up tight

Gypsy Woman #4:

How come you lay awake all night long?

Gypsy Woman #5:

Just one thing that I ask of you

Gypsy Woman #6:

Just one thing for me

Gypsy Woman #7:

Please forget you knew my name

All Seven Gypsy Women:

My darlinī Sugaree

All Seven Gypsy Women (dancing):

Shake it, Shake it Sugaree

Just donīt tell them that you know me

Shake it, Shake it Sugaree

Just donīt tell them that you know me

Gypsy Woman #1:

You know, in spite of all you gained

Gypsy Woman #2:

You still had to stand out in the pouring rain

Gypsy Woman #3:

One last voice is calling you

Gypsy Woman #4:

And I guess itīs time you go

Gypsy Woman #5:

Just one thing that I ask of you

Gypsy Woman #6:

Just one thing for me

Gypsy Woman #7:

Please forget you knew my name

All Seven Gypsy Women:

My darlinī Sugaree

All Seven Gypsy Women (dancing):

Shake it, Shake it Sugaree

Just donīt tell them that you know me

Shake it, Shake it Sugaree

Just donīt tell them that you know me

Gypsy Woman #1:

Shake it up now Sugaree

Gypsy Woman #2:

Iīll meet you at the jubilee

Gypsy Woman #3:

And if that jubilee donīt come

Gypsy Woman #4:

Baby, Iīll meet you on the run

Gypsy Woman #5:

Just one thing that I ask of you

Gypsy Woman #6:

Just one thing for me

Gypsy Woman #7:

Please forget you knew my name

All Seven Gypsy Women:

My darlinī Sugaree

All Seven Gypsy Women (dancing):

Shake it, Shake it Sugaree

Just donīt tell them that you know me

Shake it, Shake it Sugaree

Just donīt tell them that you know me

Shake it, Shake it Sugaree

Just donīt tell them that you know me

Shake it, Shake it Sugaree

Just donīt tell them that you know me

All Seven Gypsy Women

now standing behind Sugaree and hovering over him, shout together in one voice:

 Take us to your leader, Johnny B. Goode!

 

The bakery now is jam packed with people, and outside looking through the big plate glass is a large crowd.

 The loudspeaker is playing the mellow Workingmanīs Dead album softly:

"It's the same story the crow told me, it's the only one he knows
 Like the morning sun you come and like the wind you go
 Ain't no time to hate, barely time to wait
 Wo-oh, what I want to know, where does the time go?"

Storyteller:

As soon as Sugaree stands up, the crowd and loudspeakers go quiet.

Sugaree picks up a guitar, turns to each of the seven gypsy women and sings loudly

Sugaree:

Just like Jack the Ripper
Just like Mojo Hand
Just like Billy Sunday
In a shotgun rag-time band
Just like New York City
Just like Jericho
Pace the halls and climb the walls
and get out when they blow

Storyteller:

It is the blowing of the ramīs horns, the sound of musical trumpets, accompanied with loud choral voices that bring the walls of Jericho down. Following Godīs instructions accomplish the unexpected.

Walkinī in through the crowd are The Joker & Raindance, & Liberty.

They pick up a cup and spoon and start a chivaree, a noisy serenade.

Sugaree:

Did you say your name was Rambling Rose?
Ramble on baby, settle down easy
Ramble on Rose


Just like Jack and Jill
Mama told the sailor
One heat up and one cool down
Leave nothing for the tailor
Just like Jack and Jill
Papa told the jailer
One go up and one come down
Do yourself a favour

Did you say your name was Rambling Rose?
Ramble on baby, settle down easy
Ramble on Rose

I'm gonna sing you
A hundred verses of ragtime
I know this song
It ain't never gonna end
I'm gonna march you up and down
Along the county line
Take you to the leader
of the band

The Joker:

Just like crazy Otto, just like Wolfman Jack

Sittinīplush with a royal flush, aces back to back.

Just like Mary Shelley, just like Frankenstein.

Clank your chains and count your change and try to walk the line.

Storyteller:

The Joker, Raindance, & Liberty, toast the gypsies and join their brother Sugaree

and in perfect harmony sing together a capella

The Joker, Raindance, Liberty & Sugaree

Did you say your name was Rambling Rose?
Ramble on baby, settle down easy
Ramble on Rose

Sugaree:
I'm gonna sing you
A hundred verses of ragtime
I know this song
It ain't never gonna end
I'm gonna march you up and down
Along the county line
Take you to the leader
of the band

The Joker, Raindance, Liberty & Sugaree

Good-bye mama and papa

Good-bye Jack and Jill

The grass ainīt greener

The wine ainīt sweeter

Either side of the hill

Did you say your name was Rambling Rose?
Ramble on baby, settle down easy
Ramble on Rose

/

Cut to Hermitīs Cave

Storyteller:

Raindance & his friend the Joker

About the best of ramblers on a pair of posters

Opportunity knocks whenever they talk

With it made in the shade inside everyoneīs thought

But Raindance has long been misunderstood

Hidden behind his cloak and his hood

 

There are so many tales I donīt know where to begin

So many secrets they been whispering about him

The great grandson of a rum runner bootlegger & smuggler

Heīs Raindance the Juggler

His friend the Joker

Known as the finest gambler around

He sings with Lady Liberty

They are the talk of the town

 

Lady Liberty:

I wanna tour the world in fancy cars

Dine out on Rue de Mars

With a diamond watch on a golden chain

And a chauffeur with a silver cane

At a secluded party by a river of wine

On Turtle Island with my valentine

 

Hermit:

There's are four giant terrapins

Holding up the world

One to the north

One to the south

One to the east

One to the west

The sight of an eclipse

To fasten the fate of the test

There are four giant terrapins

No more and no less

Who stick out their necks

To make some progress

We saw one man climb while many others crawled

We saw liberty rise and the oxen fall

Pulled out in the springtime call

When the big sky shadows the small in us all

 

Storyteller:

Freed in her painted gown

With her rouge-colored fan

Raises her horn to the dawn

With Jesse watching Venus rise

Riding on the back of a terrapin

 

Raindance family & Wingmen

THE MISSION

Mississippi Captain fell in love

With the distant stars far up above

And got it together to build a ship

And get all his friends together for the trip

One lone dreamer came on by

Said "Mississippi Captain, how high is the sky?

I always had hopes to travel into space

And find new direction for the human race"

Well they got together and made a plan

To find another planet with air water and land

And in one swift stroke find the solution

To the cost of living with climate pollution

 

excepts

from the science fiction musical Play "RAINDANCE"

SUGAREE, RAMBLE ON ROSE

 Songs by the Grateful Dead

Lyrics by Robert Hunter & Music by Jerry Garcia

BOX OF RAIN

Lyrics by Robert Hunter & Music by Phil Lesh 

 

Raindance.family

more excerpts:

Raindance.us

ALL MATERIAL IN THIS SITE PROTECTED BY:
THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT,
THE COPYRIGHT LAW OF THE U.S.A.
AND BY INTERNATIONAL TREATY PROVISIONS.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Đ 2025 Special Permission