Take This Waltz

Sometime prior to the first rehearsals for the recent Broadway revival of The Gin Game, Julie Harris mentioned that a scene involving a dance might be nice because Charles Durning is such a fine dancer. When I first heard this suggestion on my answering machine, I not only rejected it, I was a bit indignant (not directly to Julie, of course, who is too sweet to disagree with). Two weeks later, however, while listening to a Leonard Cohen song one evening, I started seeing a moment where Weller and Fonsia could dance, and for a brief moment get closer than ever before. But what I saw more than dancing was how such a moment could actually serve the play. I am now convinced that it does just that, and I now see it as an integral part of the play. This view was recently confirmed when Frith Banbury, one of the foremost directors of the century, said to me, "Don, I not only think it belongs, I think it is essential."

If you would like to incorporate this scene in your production, the pages you will need can be downloaded here. There are two pieces of music involved: one, Take this Waltz by Leonard Cohen and another, Moonlight Serenade by Glenn Miller. Arrangements for the use of this music can be made through Samuel French. It is a requirement that only this music be used. It is what inspired me to write the scene in the first place and is specifically referred to in the text.