INTRODUCTION TO ACT I
Today on TUNING IN THE U.S.A., we are with Robbie and Richard Stewart at their family’s home in Riverdale, New York. Robbie is waiting for Alexandra. She is only in the United States for a year. She is an exchange student from Greece. Alexandra arrives with her Greek cousin Andreas. He’s visiting the United States. Robbie, Alexandra, and Andreas decide to go to a concert. But they have no way to get there. None of them can drive.
ACT I
Richard: Hey, Robbie!
Robbie: Oh, hi, Richard. What time is it?
Richard: Umm. It’s twenty after four. Hey, how do you like my tape recorder?
Robbie: It has good sound. I found a great tape. Listen to this one. [He plays a tape.]
Richard: Yeah, not bad.
Robbie: What time is it?
Richard: You just asked me that. Now its twenty-one minutes after four. Expecting somebody?
Robbie: Yes. Alexandra is coming over.
Richard: Hey, Rob, I think I see her walking up the sidewalk right now.
Robbie: She is? Alexandra? Are you kidding?
[Richard leaves the room. The doorbell rings. Robbie answers the door. Alexandra and Andreas are standing there.]
Robbie: Hello, Alexander.
Alexander: Hi, Robby.
Ro: Good to see you, come on in.
Alexander: I want you to see somebody. This is my cousin Andrews. He is visiting from Greece. Andrews, this is my friend, Robbie.
Ro: I'm glad to meet you, Andreas.
Andrews: The pleasure is mine.
Al: What's this?
Ro: Richard has a new tape recorder. I'm listening to tapes.
Al: Oh. You should hear Andreas's new tape. He has it with him.
Ro: Oh, good. I want to hear it. [They listen to the tape]
Ro: Andrews, this is a great band.
Al: They’re playing at Long Island University. Tonight, Andreas wants to go.
AN: Why don’t we all go?
Ro: I don't think we can go.
Al: Why not?
Ro: The buses stop running early. And the concert may run late.
An: Ah! We do have a problem. We need someone to drive us.
Ri: [He enters.] Hey, Rob, that’s a great sound. Hi, Alexandra. How are you?
AL: Hi, Richard. This is my cousin Andrews.
Ri: Nice to meet you, Andrews. Say, that's a band. I like it. Yeah, I like it a lot.
RO, Al, An: You do?
Ro: Uh … Sit down, Richard. Join us. You say you like this band? Well, you have a chance to go to one of their live concerts.
Al: With us!
Ro: Tonight!
Ri: Thanks. But, Robbie, Why do you want your big brother to go along?
Ro: Well, you have the car.
Ri: Aha!
INTRODUCTION TO ACT II
This time on TUNING IN THE U.S.A., Robbie Stewart, his friend Alexandra Pappas, and her cousin Andreas are going to hear a favorite rock-and-roll band. Robbie’s brother Richard drives them there. It’s an outdoor concert. They will be listening to the music under the night stars.
ACT II
Richard: OK. We’re here. We were lucky to find a place to park.
Robbie: It’s so crowded. A lot of people must like this band.
Richard: And I never heard of this band before today!
Robbie: Of course not, Richard. It’s rock-and-roll. You’re too old…
Richard: That’s not true. I listened to rock-and-roll all the time. I mean, great rock-and-roll.
Robbie: Hey, there’s a good topic for a school paper:“Hit Songs of the Stone Age.”[He laughs.]
Richard: All right, little brother. Did you bring something to sit on, like a blanket?
Robbie: It’s right here, Richard.
Richard: Alexandra, you have the food.
Alexandra: Fried chicken, potato salad, sliced tomatoes, and soda.
Richard: Then let’s go! Let the good times roll!
Alexandra: Let the good times roll?
Richard: It’s a line from a great old rock-and-roll song.
Andreas: From nineteen sixty.
Richard: Hey, You’re right! Good for you, Andreas! How did you know that?
Andreas: I like music.
Richard: You can say that again! You sure do.
Andreas: I went to an outdoor concert in Massachusetts. At the end, they let a hundred balloons sail to the sky. It was beautiful.
Richard: Andreas, how many concerts do you go to? You went here. You went there. [He laughs.] Don’t you do anything else?
Andreas: I love music.
Robbie: All kinds of music?
Andreas: I don’t love all kinds, but I am interested in all kinds. Back in Greece, at the university, I have a radio show.
Richard: What is the name of your show?
Andreas: “Music from Around the World.”
Richard: You know, there are many different kinds of music in the United States. There’s jazz from New Orleans. And there’s country music from Nashville. Do you know about Nashville?
Andreas: Of course. And there’s rock-and-roll.
[They hear the band beginning to play]
Andreas: It sounds like they are starting. Let’s hurry.
Al: I never went to an outdoor concert before. Where do we sit?
Ri: We spread out the blanket and sit under the stars. It’s nice.
[They walk to the concert area.]
Ri: This looks like a good place.
An: Yes, I can see the stage.
Ri: Here we are. There’s plenty of room for the blanket.
Al: Richard, is that blanket big enough for the four of us to sit on?
Ri: I think so. We’ll just have to sit close together.
Ro: That’s OK. Here, Alexandra. You should sit next to me. |