(the Rock Opera)
Cast of Characters: Mary, Shekhinah
music and words by: PETRUS ROMANUS
Synopsis:
‘Peter the Roman’ is an alternative account of the Annunciation. However, in this version, Mary refuses to give birth to the Christ child, quarreling with the Angel over the necessity of his Incarnation. Furthermore, the Angel with whom she contends is not Gabriel, but rather, it is the Shekhinah (the Feminine Divine so important to both Jewish and Catholic mystical traditions). Eventually, the rebellious Mary is convinced of the Spirit, and accepts her coRedemptive role as active and necessary participant in her own salvation, as well as that of all of humanity!
Aria Playlist:
http://apps.facebook.com/ilike/library?view=custom_playlist&uid=1426599315&pid=1018933232
Act 1
(overture)
Mary: I will sing unto the Lord for He has triumphed gloriously;
The horse and the rider hath he thrown to the sea!
Shekhinah: Mary… Mary…
Mary: Here am I?
Shekhinah: Turn ‘round and behold me.
… Get up!
(scene 1)
Mary: A song of Moses;
sung on the day our fathers crossed
across the sea. But Pharaoh, he
gave chase, the waters chastening
his chariots and horsemen, wasting
them!
Shekhinah: While Israel remaineth
high and dry?? Tell me, sister,
Why?
Mary: Why what?
Shekhinah: Why
is this the god ye serve? Who scattereth
armies, – bringeth to naught kings!
that thy life may be preserved?
Mary: My Lord, the prophet Moses begged!
but to no avail, the Angel passing
over us to smite the Pharaoh
in our stead!
Shekhinah: Thou meaneth
Egypt’s firstborn..?
Mary: …dead!
Shekhinah: Wherefore then hast thou been spared?
Mary: The blood of a lamb, according to
our law, was given.
Shekhinah: Given to whom?
Mary: Upon our doorposts! A sign, turning
the Angel’s wrath away from us
to place it on the Pharaoh’s child?
Shekhinah: Aha! A kid for a kid!
Mary: My Lord,
it wert a sacrifice without
blemish or spot! Sacrificed
in obedience to the will of… You!
But Egypt’s son, conceived in error
and mischief mocketh the Righteous.
Shekhinah: Yet,
wert it not for the death of Pharaoh’s
Wicked, thy coveted Righteousness
would be in vain!
Mary: Righteousness
is its own reward.
Shekhinah: — tell it to Jesus!
Mary: Jesus?.. Which one??
Shekhinah: Whom do ye say
that I am?
Mary: Thou art an angel!
Shekhinah: Am I?
Or am I a devil? Surely the Prince
of Tyre can work such magick! Wist not
the fallen angels, also appearing
as light?
Mary: Well are you?
Shekhinah: Perhaps,
or am I She who waiteth for thee
to tell me… who I may be?
Mary: Thou speaketh parables!
Shekhinah: Because thou hearest them!
Now hear this:
(aria)
I came to give this world my blood!
I am the God who once was man
I’m seated at the Father’s hand!
Mary: Who once was God?
Never!
Shekhinah: Why?
Mary: Why?? How!
How can God be man! And if so,
then who is God now!
Shekhinah: I am the god of Abraham
Before you were,… I AM!
I came to set the captives free
But only if they come to me!
Shekhinah: I am
the God, Mary… who once was you.
Mary: How can this be?
Shekhinah: This Ap-
parition?..
Mary: …of me??
Shekhinah: …Yes, as Heaven’s
Queen!
Mary: Really? And just how am I
supposed to assume this?
Shekhinah: Incline thine ear,
Virgin, and thou shalt see: A woman
arrayed in radiant beams, whose crown
is as stars; the moon, her feet. And in
her blessed arms, Peace!
Mary: What god
is this?!
Shekhinah: A Virgin Mother, pure
and chaste!
Mary: Chased?? Chased by whom??
Shekhinah: Yes!!
One day you all will see my face
This promise is as tough as nails!
I am a man of iron will
I once was dead but now I live!
(scene 2)
Shekhinah: Why?
Mary: That I may bless thee!
Shekhinah: Why?
Mary: for thou
art God!
Shekhinah: Why?
Mary: I knoweth not!
Shekhinah: …then neither do I!
Mary: …then neither can I
tell thee why I grace thee, O Lord.
Shekhinah: How then sayest thou, Show me thy Truth?
Verily, I say unto thee: That twig
from which the Tree of Knowledge
sprang, sprang not from Reason, but
of Life’s great mystery!
Mary: Then that is
what to thee I shall forever
be!
Shekhinah: Good.
Mary: Calleth thou me
good?
Shekhinah: Yeah, for thou hath chosen
Life.
Mary: How sayest thou that thou wast
dead, and yet alive?
Shekhinah: Art thou a sinner,
and yet forgiven?
Mary: Thou knoweth.
Shekhinah: And if thy sins be forgiven, how blessed
art thou!
Mary: Inasmuch as God is merciful!
Shekhinah: Mercy?? Mercy removes, forgiveness
graces.
Mary: Then what difference is there,
whither my sins be removed, or my soul
receiveth grace?
Shekhinah: What is sin?
Mary: Sin?? It is a transgression: the rotted
fruits of imperfection. Sin is
that which doeth evil; thinketh
lust! deserving of thine righteous
recompense, until the man
of folly falleth back to dust!
Shekhinah: And how, if God be only a spirit,
hath thy sins offended?
Mary: The sins of the ungodly
offend thy people!
Shekhinah: Israel?
Mary: Yeah, and thou shalt judge the Romans
just as ye did with Rameses!
Shekhinah: Ah!
Wert God to have his own messiah
to redeem him from the false piety
and worthless devotions of this backward
and froward race!
(aria)
would leave us all
to live and die in torture!
Shekhinah: What kind of man
withholds his hand
unto his starving neighbour!
You cursed yourselves!
You made this hell!
You made your god your saviour!
Mary: Wherefore hast thou forsaken us,
your people? Were it not for a remnant, we all
may as well’ve been Sodom!
Shekhinah: Yeah, And so
shall it be more tolerable for that city,
than they which receiveth my Word
and yet still found it in their hearts to
pervert justice and maketh lies!
Mary: Thou wilt cast us off??
Shekhinah: Nay,
Think not that I have forgotten Abraham;
it is YOU who have forgotten!
You call my Name!
You speak in vain!
There is no god among you!
Mary: Show us the way!
Give us this day!
There is no one to turn to!
Shekhinah: I AM the Way!
These words I say
will be your place of refuge!
(scene 3)
Mary: What good is thine Word, when the heathen blaspheme!
When thine Holy Blood is spilled in the shadows
of thine Temple!
Shekhinah: Child, it is for that
mine Blood is spilled that the sins of my people
are forgiven!
Mary: How is this
forgiveness?? Seeth not that the Gentles
trample us all the day! Lord, if there
be any other way to remove this
cup from us…
Shekhinah: …remove this cup!?
Am I my brother’s barkeeper?? …
Thou hath filled this cup of wrath
with thine own disobedience, and none
other! How then shall I remove it?
and to whom shall it be served, thou wench!
Mary: Is anything too hard for God?
Shekhinah: Yeah, it is much too difficult for me
to sin, sin, and sin some more;
and then to wake up one morning and say,
“Ah! I’ve run out of Commandments, let me
now disobey myself and repent
to the god I once condemned to death!”
Yeah, thou hath outdone me on that one!
I am in awe of my creation! These
people worketh miracles
beyond my meager talents! I should be
half the God you are, O Mary!
(aria)
Mary: My soul doth magnify the Lord
My spirit hath rejoiced in God
For he hath look’t upon my low estate!
Shekhinah: Her children rise and call her blessed
Her price is far above all wealth
Her virtue is above all measurement
Mary: Thou calleth me God?
Shekhinah: I have said, Ye are gods…
Mary: …and all of us children of the Most High; ….
Shekhinah: but you shall die like men, and fall like one
of the princes…
Mary: …Arise O God! judge the earth!
for thou shalt inherit all nations…
A mighty hand and outstretched arm
His wisdom scattereth the proud
His mercy quieteth the stormy sea
(scene 4)
Shekhinah: Hail Holy Queen, full of grace!
The Lord is with thee…
Mary: Holy Queen?
Why?
Shekhinah: because thou art the temple
door through which the Lord shall enter.
Mary: the Lord?
Shekhinah: the Messiah!
Mary: The Messiah?
then blessed am I among women!
Shekhinah: and blessed
is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.
Mary: Jesus?
Shekhinah: the Messiah. Thou shalt call his name
Jesus.
Mary: Then how sayeth ‘The Lord is with me?’
it is I who am with Him!
Shekhinah: No Mary,.. it is He
who is with thee; and upon this Church
I shall build my Rock!
Mary: then pray for us sinners
now and at the time of our death!
Shekhinah: Mary,
now is the time for your birth!
Mary: My birth?
am I not born?
Shekhinah: Thou hath been faithful
from the beginning, but thou shalt be saved
by the bearing of children.
Mary: Children? How many?
Shekhinah: Lady, thou shalt give birth to thyself!
Mary: Pray tell me how it were possible for
a woman to conceive herself? Or am I
the goddess of Athens, which sprang fully-formed
from the Father’s mind?
Shekhinah: Lady of Athens,
both God and Father shalt spring from thy womb
by the power of the spirit.
Mary: (holy –!)
Shekhinah: Very well,
by the power of the… ‘holy’ spirit!
Mary: Thou speaketh
blasphemy and I will not believe! That a woman
could conceive her own creator? What’s next?
a nation ruled by the governed?
Doth not Moses
speak of a servant of servants?
Mary: Then the Hamite
shall rule them!
Shekhinah: Lady, this world
is cursed with an ancient curse; and all
that dwell in it are servants of it. but thou,
most blessed virgin are the matrix from which
shalt spring a new and unending beginning.
Mary: That sounds like a very big baby!
Shekhinah: Fear not…
it won’t spring fully grown!
(aria)
Mary: No I couldn’t believe
it could happen to me
didn’t know what to say
(I couldn’t speak)
That somebody like you
would have anything to
do with someone like me
– just couldn’t see it!
Shekhinah: You knocked on the door
couldn’t take it no more
what’re we fighting for?
(… it never is!)
So I made up my mind
said I’d give it a try
and now I know why
it came to this!
Mary: So I fall on my face
now I feel outta place
like a queen o’ disgrace
without a prayer
Shekhinah: What’ve you got to lose?
Now we’re both in left shoes
with nuthin’ to do
but get outta here!
ACT 2
(overture)
Shekhinah: You cannot run
from what we’ve done
The world conceived within you
You are the one
whose only Son be-
came the holy Sun of Righteousness
You are the child of
destiny …
You are the one who sets our spirits free!
Mary: How can this be?
The God in me? I
never knew how much it meant… to me
Is this for real?
I feel like ev’ry-
thing is getting just too much for me!
I am afraid I
can’t escape… this
power… that the fates decree!
Lord, why must the Messiah be born
of a woman? Why not just fashion him from
the dust of the earth as ye did with Adam?
Shekhinah: Mary, when Adam sinned, I was resting
on the Sabbath. I cannot create
another man. but I can ordain one
to be born, and that is why I need you.
You are the Mother of the New Heavens
and the New Earth, who once was Mary!
I raised the BRANCH
of Jesse’s Rod… the
Seed of David… is your God.
Before the World had
ever been,.. the
WORD of Yahweh… cleansed your sin!
But first you must em-
brace it!.. this power
deep inside… can save the Universe!
(scene 1)
Mary: My God, my God, Why hath you not
forsaken us?
Shekhinah: My people, my people,
Why hast ye turned from the god of your fathers?
Verily, there can be no answer; for my love
is as light as the wind, as mysterious as Babylon!
Mary: But the Messiah, he shall restore all things!
It is he who will judge the Romans, purge us of
all unrighteousness,.. heal our land!
Shekhinah: Yeah, and the Son of David shalt gather
the nations unto thee; and the House
of Judah shalt again with Ephraim be;
The Israelites with the Hagarenes
together as one humanity!
It is my choice to save you, because
thou art a peculiar people. Thou
hast wounded me with a mortal wound,..
Mary: YOU LIE!! Thou art God! Thou canst
not be wounded!
Shekhinah: Wherefore sayest thou,
God cannot be wounded? Can a
man be mortally wounded, and God not
know it? Can the Potter cease
to touch the clay, without also ceasing
to remain the Potter? And how can I know
if I do not understand? and how then
can I understand if I do not experience!
And what is man, beyond that which
he experiences? but the people of this world
deny their experiences; they flee life,
pervert truth,.. they’ve sewn discord
and reaped madness! They’ve spilled my blood
and gorged on my flesh for the hell of it! Your hatred,
your betrayal, your wrath, your cowardice,.. your vileness,
your vainglory, your lust, your pride, your contempt,
your ridicule,.. Where are they in nature?
From which tree didst ye acquire them,
and from which substance can ye take them out?
The lizards slither but they do not slander!
And the dogs! Doeth they murder? And if so,
who letteth them out? And the fowl of the air
and the fish of the sea? Hath they the ability
to fear without reason? Or doth the ox and the ass
covet their neighbour’s owner? No,..
these things came from you.
(aria)
Shekhinah: You feeling special yet,
You feeling special yet,
You feeling special yet, because I…
Because I’m turning red,
Because I’m turning red,
Because I’m turning red, dya’know why…
You put the hurt on me, just to
watch me scream out in
misery and
Pain!
Pain!
Pain!
I gave you everything,
I gave you everything,
I gave you everything, but you lied… (to me)
You took my innocence,
You took my innocence,
You took my innocence, when you tried…
to put the hurt on me, just to
watch me scream out in
misery and
Pain!
Pain!
Pain!
Mary: You could have been
Shekhinah: You are to me
Mary: Our reigning king
Shekhinah: A reigning queen!
Mary: But we arrayed
Shekhinah: Because you praise
Mary: A crown of pain
Shekhinah: His Name!
Duet: You are my God!
Mary: I put my hurt on you!
I wash my hands of you!
I put my pain on you, cuz you died (for me!)
I gave you all my love!
You are my Lamb of God!
I gave you all my love, cuz I cried…
unto the living God, reaching
out to hear ev’ry
sinner shout, I’m
Saved!
Saved!
Saved!
(scene 2)
Shekhinah: Tell me,
what meaneth this?
Mary: What?
Shekhinah: Salvation.
What meaneth salvation? the resurrection
of the dead? eternal life? desirest
thou repatriation to the holy land?
to see thy hand in the neck of thine enemy?
thine other hand around a yon virgin?
Mary: Don’t you mean, ‘Young’?
Shekhinah: YES!!
Mary: Well,.. No, my Lord. Salvation
to me is not a life. Nor is it a
place. It is a way of being.
A way of living. A way of seeing;
it is a desire to obey truth
and to do right. It is a relationship;
a conversation with the essence of life.
For a day in thy courts is better than
a thousand elsewhere; and I would trade
my eternity for a sinless day!
Shekhinah: Tell me, what meaneth this?
Mary: What?
Shekhinah: Sin. Is it a transgression of the law?
or a human flaw? Pride and prejudice?
Shock and awe? Is this not also
a way of life? A way of seeing, and of
being, which leadeth to misery and strife?
Mary: Surely, Sin is a land of opportunity
masquerading as Human Right!
Shekhinah: And God shalt destroy both it and them…
Mary: Tell me!
Shekhinah: Yes?
Mary: Why doth he
who neither slumbereth nor sleep, taketh
so long to end our nightmare! wert all the
other virgins unavailable?
Shekhinah: (YES!!) … O Daughter of Zion,
thou art no ordinary virgin! and the
Mother of God is more than a mere
vessel — despite what the heathen say!
Mary: But why!? Why wait ye so many
generations, and through so much
desolation, to ordain the birth
of the Messiah?
Shekhinah: Thou shalt tell me, Woman.
Mary: Tell thee the length of the shadow of death!
– eclipsing some that others may shine?
Shekhinah: Death serveth no purpose! It is
the ultimate betrayal; an idiotic tale!
Neither doth I create that
which desecrateth!
Mary: It is a choice;
when Adam disobeyed thy word
in the Garden.
Shekhinah: It is not a sin
to disobey my word, Eve.
It is a sin to hide.
(aria)
Shekhinah: When you were young, you turned your back on ev’rything you ever knew!
Went on a search to find the truth; but in the end, the truth found you!
You only needed faith to understand,
but I can never figure out
Why are you hiding?
Why are you hiding?
Mary: You promised me you’d never leave; I look around, what do I see?
I’m all alone, out on my own; how can I know you’ll stay with me?
And when it seems like I can’t take it anymore,
I really only wanna know
Where are you hiding?
Where are you hiding?
Mary: God, where are you?
Shekhinah: Wherever you want me
to be.
Mary: but how can I know
you’re alive?
Shekhinah: The same way you
know you’re alive.
Mary: because I’m not dead?
Shekhinah: Life is not the avoidance of what you’re not;
it’s the embrace of who you are!
Shekhinah: Although it looks as though I’m gone, you know that looks can be deceiving!
I’m always with you in my heart, and in my words and in my being!
And then we’ll all be caught up in the sky!
but I can never figure out
Why are you hiding?
Why are you hiding?
(scene 3)
Mary: Why doeth men evil?
Shekhinah: Why doeth thou good?
It is a mystery.
Mary: I desireth good!
Shekhinah: Then answer me this: What is good?
Mary: It is good to receive, but better to give:
to help those in need. It is right and good
and joyful to believe in thy Truth upon its own
evidence and proof!
Shekhinah: My word! thou art as
good as any scribe! Tell me, doth a good man
live or die?
Mary: What? Thou calleth me
good but to mock me!
Shekhinah: Alright, then I shalt
put it another way: Is a good man… mocked?
Mary: Well…
Shekhinah: Doth God make a world where the righteous
suffer and the wicked are rewarded? Where greed
is good and no good deed goeth
unpunished!
Mary: It is not for I to know!
I just trust…
Shekhinah: Trust what? a God of jealousy
and genocidal vengeance! Whose inhuman Law
and capricious nature saveth whom he wills?
Mary: I do not question the will of God! He is
a rewarder of Righteousness who punisheth Sin!
Shekhinah: …And who died ‘n made you more Righteous
than everybody else!
Mary: Death maketh no man
righteous! It is a curse from the Garden.
But we Jews hath found grace and pardon
by the righteousness accounted to us
through Abraham, our father.
Shekhinah: And in his seed,
all nations shall be blessed.
Mary: but instead, we are oppressed
by all nations; thine holy race laid waste
by foreign occupation! Our voices straining
from a Roman Wilderness of Pain,
in anticipation of the Messiah…
Shekhinah: thou meaneth
the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah?
who shall sit upon the Throne of David to rule
the nations?.. Wherefore then sayest, Death maketh
no man righteous?
Mary: Well not if you’re Jewish!
Shekhinah: …but it maketh the Romans righteous?
Mary: Uh…
if the only good gentile is a dead one!
(aria)
Mary: Look at this Land
Our native sand
This sacred place Jehovah gave to all who came through Abraham
Remove your hand
On this we stand
Our ways are not your ways, our face is not for sale you cannot have!
Shekhinah: A roaring lion
Ascending Zion
Is all it takes to shake the nations from their slumbering of hate
But God is for us
An angel’s chorus
You cannot have what isn’t yours, you cannot take what isn’t ours!
Shekhinah: Is this land holy because it was promised;
or was it promised because it is holy?
Mary: What difference does it make?
An ancient river
Which flows from Tiber
Will be rebuked by eastern winds, Elijah’s mantle always wins
So take this back
This is your wrong track!
There is no hiding place in this terrain, our forces will attack!
Shekhinah: If it is holy
for the sake of the promise, then the Messiah
shall keep it; but if it is promised for its holiness,
then where is the land which is not holy,
or that I cannot also promise?
(aria)
Mary: Ave Maria,
gratia plena,
Duet: Dominus
Mary: Benedicta tu in mulieribus,
Blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus
Duet: Sanctus
Mary: Mater Dei
Pray!
(scene 4)
Shekhinah: Mary,..
Mary: ..Yes, my Lord.
Shekhinah: Peradventure
thou art correct, and that death maketh
no man righteous. Tell me, how else
can a man be made righteous.
Mary: By obeying your Law.
Shekhinah: My Law??… And what maketh
the Law more perfect than the Secular one?
Mary: The fact that it is yours!
Shekhinah: Therefore will I
conceive a new law, to see whither
it is the Law or I that ye obey!
Mary: Thou wilt blaspheme thine own Law?
Shekhinah: My Law??… Doth God covet? Doth he
steal? murder?? Hath he any need
of instruction or reproof?
Mary: It is not your law
in that you obey it, but that you gave it!
Shekhinah: Then it is not your law in that ye obey it,
but that you receive it!
Mary: Peradventure
thou art correct, and that by death
all men are made righteous? Are we
not then as Grateful Dead? And if so,
how then shall we get by!
Shekhinah: It’s alright..
My spirit has the power to resurrect thy soul.
Mary: When?
Shekhinah: In eternity. And there, you shall serve
as an eternal witness.
Mary: And if we fall
from grace a second time?
Shekhinah: Then ye
shall be given an opportunity to
return, lest ye disbelieve
Purgatory!
Mary: HELL NO!!
Shekhinah: Exactly…
(aria)
Shekhinah: What kind of person would I be, if I just let you crawl back!
What would it mean for ev’rything, if I went back on my stance!
You made me look like such a fool, you really made me look bad!
If you have truly changed your tune, how will I know that you have!
Duet: All
The
Rules
Have
Changed!
All
The
Rules
Have
Changed!
Mary: I did you wrong I know I did, I was just like your Brutus!
You gave me love I gave you sin, You trusted me like Judas!
I — can’t — take — back, the injuries I caused you!
but if you give me one more chance, I’ll make it all up to you!
Duet: All
The
Rules
Have
Changed!
All
The
Rules
Have
Changed!
Mary: I can’t take nuthin’ back. But I
can take myself back.
Shekhinah: Well then I guess I can too.
Shekhinah: If I should let you off scot-free, what would they say about us?
They’ll say that I am too easy, they’ll misread my compassion!
Mary: What does it matter what they think! we know who we are, don’t we?
I didn’t come back from the brink, to turn back to the old ways!
Duet: All
The
Rules
Have
Changed!
All
The
Rules
Have
Changed!
- FINE! -
