Doron Braunshtein

The curtain is closed. Joni peeks out through the center opening. She enters the stage, wearing a white silk dress, barefoot, waving a shy “Hello”.

Joni: Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen. (Looks at a white paper in her hand, then, she looks up at the audience) My name is Joni Clearry and I am very happy and proud to welcome all of you to St. Marks Elementary Public School, here, at 64th Street and York Avenue, in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. This is the premiere of the first play I ever wrote, and I decided to call it “Subway” because everybody living in New York knows about the subway. Before we start, (She looks at her paper again) our teacher, Mrs. Campbell, thought that it would be a good idea to let you know that all the characters are played by children. That means, that all the characters behind this curtain, including the angels, are children from the ages 8 to 12, all from our school. So… please don’t be jud… judg… (Someone’s head peeks out and whispers to her the word: judgmental) Please don’t be judgmental because all of us… well… all of us, after all, are only children. So if we forget a word here and there or if we make any mistake at all, please forgive us. (A short pause) Since the weather is pretty bad outside, I thought no-one would come, so I am very surprised to see all of you here. So… thank you for coming. I hope you will enjoy the show. (She starts going back behind the curtain, then she stops and comes back) I almost forgot. This play is dedicated to my father, Raymond, who died on September 11, and also, to all the other fathers and mothers who died that day. I hope that all of them are with us tonight, watching us from above, making sure that we are still okay.