ent000717-003

r c { ' "SAN FRANCISCO; CIRCA 1906"' - - SCENE THREE IT'S A STREET SCENE, NORTH BEACH, THE BARBARY COAST. THERE ARE MINERS, BOOTLEGGERS, PROSTITUTES, THEIR PIMPS, DANCING GIRLS, AND ON THIS STREET IS SPIDER KELLY'S, THE INFAMOUS SALOON OF THE DAY. IT'S A BAWDY, ROWDY, HARD DRINKING, "BELLY UP TO THE BAR,< BOYS", FISTFIGHTING JOINT, FULL OF RAUCOUS ACTION. AT THE HEIGHT OF THE BOOZING, THE WILD MEN ROUGHLY RAVAGING THE WOMEN, THE FIGHTING AND THE ROARING THE EARTHQUAKE BEGINS.... (GOD STRIKES DOWN ON THIS EVIL TOWN), AN ALL POWERFUL FORCE THAT BEGINS TO LOOSEN THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE SALOON AND ALL THE OTHER BUILDINGS, STREETS CRACK OPEN, THERE IS SMOKE AND FIRE EVERYWHERE. WALLS TUMBLE, EVERYONE IS SCRAMBLING AND SCREAMING, PEOPLE FALL FROM BALCONIES AND ROOFS;- '?ç THE GREAT DISASTER IS TAKING PLACE. AS THE STREET SCENE IS DESTROYED, WE SEE THE REST OF SAN FRA.NCISCO COLLAPSING, CRUMBLING IN EXPLOSIONS, FIRE AND SMOKE. THERE ARE FIREMEN WITH HOSES, A BUCKET 'BRIGADE, PEOPLE WITH STRETCHERS, .VICTIMS BEGGING FOR HELP. THE EARTHQUAKE CONTINUES UNTIL ALL IS ''DESTROYED. THERE IS A HAUNTINGLY QUIET SILENCE, WE HEAR A- SLOW, FAINT MARCH IN THE DISTANCE, THEN SLOWLY, PROUDLY, A FEW AT A TIME ARE THE VARIOUS CHARACTERS FROM THE SCENE, APPEARING AND ASSEMBLING, APPROACHING US GRANDLY, AS THEY SING "SAN FRANCISCO" AS THEY HAVE NEVER SUNG BEFORE AND THE CURTAIN PROUDLY CLOSES.