VEGAN: THE MUSICAL
ACT 1 Scene 2
[ESPERANZA is an animal advocate/vegan activist from a Central American country. While leafleting at the Third Street Promenade during a screening of “Meet Your Meat” she is challenged by a man who asks, mockingly, if she refutes the ideas of Descartes. He smirks at her ignorance of the 17th century French philosopher who believed that animals were mere “machines’ with no real feelings. Esperanza responds with the following song. MITCH is a fellow activist who is showing the videos. NIKKI is a member of a more radical Animal Liberation group that is in the same area.]
Esperanza’s Song: A Mother’s Love
(It’s true)
I may not have credentials
Or degrees from higher learning,
I never went to college
Though I tried
But I know a thing or two
About what it means to suffer,
About struggle and redemption
And the tears a mother’s cried.
I know a mother’s love,
I know her heartbreak,
I know the loss and pain
That she can feel,
When I look into her eyes,
I see the sadness,
Yes, go ahead and laugh,
I know it’s real!
I know a mother’s love it knows no boundaries,
Your French philosophers won’t change my mind,
All your logic and your lies
Can’t change the fact of it,
If you don’t see the truth
You must be blind.
A mother loves her child
And wants what’s best for him
She’d give her life for him
To carry on
A mother cares for him
When he is hurting
A mother grieves for him
When he is gone.
So take your logic,
Dump it in the cart,
Take that cold smug look
From off your face
It’s men like you
Who murder with a smile
It’s men like you . . .
Who make me hate the human race!
MAN exits Right, shaking his head. MITCH crosses over to ESPERANZA. NIKKI follows.
MITCH. Um, Esperanza, I don’t know if that was the best way to deal with the situation. I mean, as animal advocates we need to . . .
NIKKI. Back off, man. This is no time for that bullshit. Can’t you see she’s hurting?
MITCH. Look, I was just . . .
NIKKI [glowering at him, inches from his face]. I said, back the fuck off!
MITCH throws up his hands and shuffles off, LEFT, continues leafletting
NIKKI [putting her arm around ESPERANZA]. Men can be such bastards.
ESPERANZA. Mitch is okay – he means well.
NIKKI [chuckles]. No, I mean the other dude, the one who was taunting you. I don’t really have a problem with Mitch [loud enough for him to hear] except that he needs to grow a pair and confront the assholes of the world instead of always being so nicey-nice.
ESPERANZA. But he was probably right – it was not the best way to be an advocate for the animals. It’s just that — I don’t know . . .
NIKKI. Hey, sister, no need to explain to me. And it’s not just animal rights, it’s liberation . . . animal and human. Liberating the animals and ourselves from the likes of that fuck head and all the sexist, racist, speciesist exploitation he represents. [laughs] Yeah, okay, I know that’s a mouthful, huh?? But I think we have a right to be angry with jerks like that who support such cruelty, contribute to so much suffering. I mean, you want them to experience some of that suffering themselves. And sometimes it gets you so frustrated, so discouraged that they can get away with it. It’s hard to stay positive, to keep hope alive – you know what I mean, Esperanza?
Hey, I just realized! Your name, Esperanza . . . that means “hope” in Spanish, doesn’t it?
ESPERANZA. Si. Yes, yes it does.
NIKKI. Cool. Did your parents have a special reason for naming you that?
ESPERANZA. Well, uh, it’s not really my – how do you say – my given name. Well, I gave it to myself as a way of getting through some very tough times.
NIKKI. What you were telling that guy. All that about a mother’s love and that you understood her suffering.
ESPERANZA. If you don’t mind, I don’t really want to get into it now.
NIKKI. Hey, no prob. Really, Esperanza, don’t be afraid of telling me to fuck off is I ever get too nosey.
ESPERANZA. No. No. You weren’t, I was the one who opened all the worms in the can. I shouldn’t have said anything. What I will tell you is, I made a big mistake in the past and I’ve been trying to make up for it ever since. So, Nikki, tell me about your name – where did that come from?
NIKKI. My grandmother gave me that – she was the one who raised me, really the only mother I’ve known. I’m named after the poet, Nikki Giovanni. My grandmother –Moms – grew up in the same place she did in Ohio. Moms always liked that Giovanni spoke the truth in her poems and showed such pride in who she was – a black woman, a daughter, a mother – and that she could be so fiery, so outspoken.
ESPERANZA. Like you.
NIKKI. Yeah, ‘cept I don’t think Nikki Giovanni’s into animal liberation. But she’s a fighter, she even fought off the Big C – lung cancer, she’s still goin’ strong even now in her mid-sixties. That’s what I want, to always speak truth to power, not let anyone or anything stop me, hold me back. I want to fight the good fight, Esperanza. That’s what I want.
[a song by Nikki here, a sort of r&b/gospel number about fighting the good fight]
Shit, Esperanza, I’ve been goin’ on and on, keeping you from your leafleting. I’ll let you get back to it. I’ve gotta be somewhere else now, anyway.[She starts to go]
ESPERANZA. Nikki. Thank you for caring about me. And thank you for sharing some of your story. Maybe sometime soon I’ll be ready to share my story with you.
NIKKI. I’d like that. I’d really like that. [She hugs Esperanza] Here’s to hope!
ESPERANZA. Yes, to hope!
NIKKI walks off, LEFT. ESPERANZA gets her literature ready to hand out as MITCH comes over.
MITCH. So, I hope you didn’t think I was attacking you before, or anything like that. I mean, I really value your dedication. I just want to be clear about that and I hope you understand I’m always thinking of the cause, what’s most effective . . .
ESPERANZA. Mitch, there is no need to explain. I understand.
MITCH. That’s, that’s good. You know, I really . . . I really like you, Esperanza and I’d hate to think . . .
ESPERANZA sees where this is going and does not want to hurt Mitch’s feelings but wants to cut him off before things get awkward.
ESPERANZA. Please, don’t worry about it. You are a good friend, Mitch and a dedicated activist. I really respect what you do and I’m glad you respect what I do. Why don’t we get back to doing what we do, to helping to save the animals?
MITCH. Sure. Sure. Onward, right?
ESPERANZA. Yes, onward.
MITCH. [turns to leave, then turns back to ESPERANZA]. I just want you to know that, as a friend, I’m here to listen to whatever you feel like telling me about your past – I mean, if you feel that would help.
ESPERANZA. Thank you, Mitch. I will consider that. So now, onward, right?
MITCH. Yes, onward.
MITCH goes off to stand by the table as ESPERANZA resumes leafleting. She stops to look through one of the pamphlets and sees a picture of an animal on a factory farm. She sings:
A Mother’s Love (reprise)
I know a mother’s love,
I know her heartbreak,
I know the loss and pain
That she can feel,
When I look into her eyes,
I see the sadness,
If you looked into my soul
It would reveal:
A mother’s love
That knows no boundaries,
Yes, even now that he is gone,
A mother’s rage at the injustice,
A mother’s strength
That I must draw upon.
A mother loves her child
And wants what’s best for him
She’d give her life for him
To carry on,
A mother cares for him
When he is hurting
A mother grieves for him
When he is gone.
A WOMAN walks by and reaches out for the pamphlet that ESPERANZA is holding. ESPERANZA looks at the woman, looks down at the pamphlet and then, with great tenderness, hands it to the woman, who walks off, STAGE RIGHT.
ESPERANZA. A mother grieves for him . . . when he is gone.
[END of SCENE 2]
VEGAN! The Musical 