Oscar, the Flying Boy: book by Gary Funk with song lyrics by
Logline
A nonverbal autistic boy addresses the struggles he faces in his hidden existence while the parents wage war against traditional medicine taking every possible step to lead their child towards a fulfilling life.
Synopsis
After enduring an unusually difficult birthing process, Amy brings her newborn, Oscar, into the world. She and her husband, Sam sing about their unimaginable love for their child.
Nothing in all life’s struggles so fills the darkness with light
as my love of this child that craves my tender touch, my voice, my kiss.
In the hospital room, the Grandmother objects vehemently when, within an hour of Oscar’s birth, the Nurse enters with syringes to vaccinate him.
Wait! Wait! No, no, no, no. Oscar doesn’t need anything injected into his system so soon. He has natural immunity. Wait a couple of years!
The Grandmother, realizing the fait accompli, storms out of the room as the parents grant permission for Oscar to receive his shots.
A few years later, Amy notices that her son is not acting the same as other children. The “first-time” parents dismiss Oscar’s abnormal responses to stimuli as being nothing out of the ordinary.
Amy, in a moment of calm with Oscar, says, “Look at me Oscar. You’re staring. Where are you?”
Via an off-stage singer, Oscar shares his thoughts about leaving the normal world behind.
I know I’m leaving the world of touch,
Drifting among shadows ‘round.
I’m pulling away from my mother’s clutch
Turning toward the hollow sound.
Worried that they are losing contact with Oscar, Amy and Sam schedule an appointment with Dr. Anderson, Oscar’s pediatrician. Oscar is diagnosed with autism, a disability with which the stunned parents are entirely unfamiliar.
Oscar continues his helpless retreat.
The pull to leave all that I know is stronger than I can resist.
I wish to stay, but I must go.
I part, but yet I exist.
It’s so peaceful there.
My mind’s at rest where I can see
and have no fear on my island in my quiet nest.
Raising an autistic child is one of the most difficult challenges any parent can face. Dr. Anderson informs the parents that Oscar is due for his MMR inoculation. Sam expresses concern about Oscar receiving any toxins given his unstable circumstance. Dr. Anderson assures them that the vaccines will cause no more complications for Jasper or increase the severity of his autism.
Weeks later, Amy and Sam meet again with Dr. Anderson to tell him that Oscar, having received the MMR vaccine, is now completely detached from reality – somewhere in his own world.
Alone in his bedroom, Oscar asks himself, “Why am I speechless?” He begs his parents not to talk down to him and to treat him with dignity. “Talk to the age you know me to be.”
Desperate by now, the parents seek an explanation for Oscar’s autism. Dr. Anderson informs them that because the cause of autism is unknown there is no remedy although research is on-going.
She indicates that the parents were older than normal for having a child and if there is evidence of autism in either of the parent’s families, there could be a genetic link. Sam indicates that he has been diagnosed with Aspbergers which is “on the spectrum”.
Amy raises the possibility that her receiving the flu vaccine during her pregnancy may have been the cause of Oscar’s autism. Dr. Anderson indicates in the strongest terms that there is no cause-and-effect relationship between vaccines and autism.
Oscar shares his circumstance more deeply.
I cannot hear the noise I scream,
Dammed up in darkest clutter.
I wish to speak but then midstream
I simply cannot utter.
There is no door for me to unlock,
My touch numb to the pain.
I cannot find a path to slog
The mire that clogs my brain.
The parents meet once again with Dr. Anderson. Sam is angry about what he deems is disinformation about vaccines and autism. The doctor challenges Sam’s internet research as unfounded and unreliable. An angry argument ensues.
We don’t have fears, dear doctor,
But rage. Yes, rage,
that within a single hour of our son’s birth
you approved a dangerous vaccine.
The doctor responds:
Your blaming me or blaming vaccinations
Will not avail your rage or Oscar’s terrible anguish!
Alone in their home, Amy blames herself for agreeing to receive the flu vaccine while she was pregnant. She believes that Oscar’s autism is all her fault. Sam blames the doctors who advised the flu vaccine, recommended the vaccines Oscar received during his first moments of life and the subsequent MMR vaccine.
Sam and Amy come to hold the belief that the entire system is corrupt from the health care system to Big Pharma, Big Tech, Big Media, and Big Government. Big everything that leads to Big Profits. They determine that they will allow nothing into their home except organic everything. No toxins of any kind. Regarding Oscar’s dilemma, they decide to explore alternative treatments and take all steps necessary outside of the formal medical arena.
Amy and Sam sing about their guilt about the roles they may have played in causing Oscar’s autism but at the end, agree:
Our love will heal. We will master Oscar’s suffering,
With hands, our hands, with hearts, our hearts,
Our minds, our souls and everything we are!
In a late-night conversation, Sam and Amy express their deep frustrations.
How can we speak with him who cannot speak
and who is with us yet so far away?
Our son, for whom the wind of speech holds sway,
stands near a bridge we cannot cross,
A landscape so eloquent of loss.
Sam meets with Dr. Brown a renowned neuro-researcher. They soon begin to have a heated argument in which Sam blames Oscar’s autism on vaccines, the CDC and the pharmaceutical industry.
I say with greatest certainly what caused Oscar’s ASD.
It was the CDC routine that triggered his deformity.
He changed from a happy and healthy child
To one who retreated from the world.
Dr. Brown refutes Sam’s claims:
There is no rise in this disease.
That is just a fact!
The data you report, all rumor, a social act!
We have a duty our laws to enact
That keep our nation’s health in tact!
Sam has a sinister nightmare in which he enters an exercise facility in which three doctors brazenly discuss that purpose of the vaccine industry is not to save people’s lives but to make a profit.
Meanwhile Oscar enjoys the freedom he experiences simply by jumping on a trampoline.
My feelings go so high in the sky,
Devouring me whole.
It makes my body quiver with joy.
I’m Oscar the flying boy!
Amy and Sam feel utterly alone in not knowing how to remedy Oscar’s autism. Oscar pleads with them in his own mind.
If they only knew that I’m happy
That I’m safe over here
And that I hear them when I’m near them,
That I see them and I need them not to worry so,
To concede they need not hurry so to draw me back to them.
I walk with them.
I stand in between.
Let me be where I must be.
Oscar’s parents make an appointment with a Naturopath who has helped his own autistic son.
Together, we will wend our way and seek to sacrifice
Whatever is required to make a better life,
A richer life, for your darling little boy.
Amy falls asleep only to wake up in a garish nightmare wherein she is walking down the midway of a carnival. She is approached, one after the other, by barkers offering solutions for Oscar’s autism.
Back at home, Oscar becomes anxious and desperate.
I am alive. I am not a stone,
But my voice I cannot hear.
I have no idea where my sounds are hiding
Or what force will lift them to my ear.
My mouth is open. My words wait to be,
But my tongue is fettered. It won’t listen to me.
And my eyes are louder than my ears will ever be.
My lips are moist. My throat is deep.
Please break the dam! Release my words!
Untie my tongue! Voice my voice!
Make me envy no longer the song of birds.
Sam reads about Elizabeth Drews who has developed a way of teaching nonverbal, autistic children to communicate. The parents hire her to lead Oscar to language. She teaches him painstakingly. He begins to understand that letters are sounds and shapes that when combined can form words that can form phrases and give meaning to life.
Oscar types his thoughts on a computer screen
My mommy and daddy have met me for the first time because I can write to them. Yes, I can write words.
Amy, Sam and Oscar sing together of his triumph.
Oscar:
The words that I am typing are a song of praise.
All thoughts are mine, word by word, phrase by phrase.
Each thought will help you see that I’m not made of stone,
That I have always been with you and not alone.
Sam:
Your block of words will let us view the inside life you lead.
Amy:
The hidden hues, the constant strife, we never knew.
Oscar:
All from a world you’ll never see,
Behind the wall that sets me free.
Cast
Oscar: , Soprano, child, various ages between 4 and 12
Female Singer (offstage): Soprano able to sing like a boy soprano
Sam: Tenor, "Legit" singer with an ability to sing opera and rock style music, late 30s-early 40’s
Amy: Soprano, Legit singer, late 30 – early 40’s
Doctor: Male, 50's
Nurse: Female, 30's
Grandmother: Female, 60's
Jonathan: Male, 40's
Michelle: Female, 40's
Dr. Anderson: Male, 50's, baritone
Dr. Brown: Male, 60's baritone, able to sing rock and roll
Dr. Oakland: Tenor, 50-60, Character actor/singer
Dr. McEwen: Baritone, 50-60, Character actor/singer
Naturopath Olson: Tenor, 30-50
Barker #1: Male rapper, 20-40
Barker #2: Tenor, cool jazz singer, 20-50,
Barker #3: Female, saloon singer, 40-50 years old
Barker #4: Female, country singer, 20-40 years old, strong chest voice
Barker #5: Black male, blues singer
Elizabeth Drews: Female, 30's,
Orchestration
Full Orchestra: Piccolo, Flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, fr. horn, trumpet I, II, III, Trombone i and II, Bass Trombone, Tuba, Timpani, Percussion,Electric Bass, Piano, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello, Double Bass,
or
Piano and Acoustic Bass
Production Information
For more information about Oscar, the Flying Boy call: 406-529-1379 or write: sylvele@aol.com
No Greater Love
A Musical about the 1917 Granite Mountain-Speculator Mine Fire in Butte, Montana
No Greater Love is a musical commemorating the 1917 Granite Mountain-Speculator Mine fire that killed 168 miners.
The Cast
Miners
Gummy, baritone, 50's
Manus, tenor, 30's
Cobb
Wirta
Fowler
Mostoski
Sullly/Asst. Foreman
Evans/Hoistman
Collins/Shift Boss
Young miner
Jig Dancing Miner
Conroy/Station Tender
Sheridan/Station Tender
Galia
New Arrivals
Jimmy
Zoe
Brothel Women
Madame McGinnis, Mezzo Soprano, Belter, 40-50
Cashier Jane
Lulu
Ladies of the Line (six)
Floozy Dancers (4)
Townsfolk
Madge, soprano, 30's
Father Barry
Filthy McNabb/Bartender
Dublin Dan
Teddy/Paperboy, 10-12 years old
Anka, soprano, 10-12 years old
Mrs. Mostoski
Town Criers (2)
Crazy Mary
Shoestring Annie
Ensemble/Townsfolk/Doctor/Nurse/Helmet Man
Officials
Norman Braley/Mine Manager, Baritone 50-60
County Attorney Knowles
A. E. Spriggs/Mining Board Chair 50-60
Orchestration
Flute, Oboe,/English Horn, Clarinet, Bassoon, French Horn, Trumpet, Timpani, Percussion, Guitar, Acoustic Bass, Electronic Keyboard (piano/strings/accordion/mandolin/fiddle)
Production Information
Those considering a production of No Greater Love should contact Dr. Gary Funk. dr.garyfunk.com
Ruth
Story
Ruth presents the saga of a young mother and her family just before the end of WWII. The place is Neisse, Silesia, which is today on the southern Polish border. It is January 1945 and the Allied troops are converging from the West and the Russians are approaching from the East. Ruth's town is caught in the middle.
Ruth and her family are forced out of their home to join the great march of refugees moving away from the inevitable battle that, in its wake, will leave a path a death and destruction.
Ruth's husband, Alfred, conscripted to fight for the German army on the Russian front has not been home for a long time. Ilse, Ruth's youngest sister, was attending school in a nearby village when city officials ordered the citizens to evacuate. Ilse did not return in time to join her family as it escaped the impending carnage.
Ruth, her sister "Big Inge," and Ruth's two children (Ingelein and Freddie), not knowing where to go, join the endless "Frostbite March" of refugees.
The family seeks refuge in a deserted army barracks where fellow refugees share their harrowing stories and find some comfort in their common experiences. Eventually Ruth and family turn away from the Russian front and head back to the West.
A week later, Ruth's family joins an estimated 3000 others at the main train station in Dresden. After finding a place in the train depot where they could rest, Ruth walks outside of the station to search for something for the family to drink. In a moment of exhaustion and deep despair, Ruth recounts, "An angel came and touched me on my shoulder and told me that I had to get my family out of the train station!"
Ruth runs back into the depot and moves her family quickly across the many tracks that lay between them and a train waiting to depart at the far end of the station and the family boards the train.
That night was the infamous fire-bombing of Dresden during which thousands of people were killed.
The train went to Munich where Ruth found a more permanent place to stay.
Some time later, there was knock on the door. Ruth opened the door to see Ilse staring at her. Miraculously, Ilse had tracked her family down. Ilse, Big Inge and Ruth embrace and vow never to be apart again.
That's Act I. It only gets better in Act II.
Cast
Ruth: (Old): Soprano, 60's
Sylvele: Soprano, 40's
Ruth (young): Soprano, late 20's-early 30's
Big Inge: Mezzo Soprano, 20's
Ilse: Soprano, late teens
Ingelein: female child soprano, 10
Freddie: male child soprano, 8
Alfred: Tenor, early 30;s
Andi: Tenor, 30's
Tibor: Barione, 30's
Ensemble: Funeral attendees/soldiers/immigrants
Orchestration
2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Cl. in Bb, 1 bassoon, 4 Horns in F, 2 Tpts in Bb, 2 Trombones, Tuba, Timpani, Percussion (3 players), acoustic guitar, harp, piano, accordion and strings.
Details
Length: Act I: 62:00; Act II: 47:00
Perusal Score: Available upon request
Rental/Royalty Costs: Upon request.
Contact
Other
The opera Ruth is attractive to those interested in engaging in a remarkable story about a women who demonstrates undaunted courage, unbending faith, unconditional love of family and the strength of will to fight against the huge political forces of WWII. Audiences will be emotionally moved and their identification with Ruth and her strength of character, her human vulnerabilities and finally with her husband's willingness to forgive Ruth for her infidelity. The opera paints a human face of common people upon the atrocities of political turmoil – a portrait of people who, hidden in the dark shadows of war, are inevitably squeezed by its unrelenting vice.
The music powerfully dramatic and intensely romantic. Violent harmonic dissonance, angular melodic material and insistent rhythms are utilized to express the intensity of the external and internal conflicts inherent in the story. The music was composed with the intention to speak honestly and remain faithful to Ruth's character.