Synopsis

Kismet is set in a fictional Baghdad in the times of The Arabian Nights.

Act 1

At a mosque, an imam prays as the sun rises ("The Sands of Time"). Three beggars sit outside the temple, but the fourth, Hajj, has gone to Mecca. Crying "Rhymes! Fine Rhymes!", a poet enters to sell his verses. His beautiful daughter Marsinah joins in the sales pitch, but they have no success ("Rhymes Have I"). Marsinah is sent to steal oranges in the Bazaar for their breakfast, while her father sits down to beg. When the beggars object to the poet taking Hajj's place, he claims to be a cousin of Hajj. The poet threatens to curse those who do not give him money and soon earns a few coins ("Fate"). Hasan-Ben, a huge man from the desert, mistakes him for Hajj and kidnaps him. The poet (who is referred to as Hajj thereafter) is taken to Jawan, a notorious brigand. Fifteen years ago, the real Hajj had placed a curse on Jawan that resulted in the disappearance of the brigand's little son. Now he wants the curse removed. The new Hajj, seeing an opportunity to make some money, promises to do so for 100 gold pieces. Jawan leaves for Baghdad to search for his son, and Hajj rejoices in his new-found riches ("Fate" (reprise)).

Back in the city, the Wazir of Police comes through the busy Bazaar ("Bazaar of the Caravans"). The evil Wazir and his seductive, beautiful wife-of-wives, Lalume, discuss a loan he desperately needs. In return for the money lent from the King of Ababu, the Caliph must marry one (or all three) of the Princesses of Ababu, who perform a sexy dance. Through their amah, the princesses tell Lalume that they wish to return home. Lalume convinces them that Baghdad is much more exciting than any other place on earth ("Not Since Nineveh").

Marsinah is being pursued by a fruit merchant whose wares she has stolen. Her father arrives to rescue her, giving the man money. Hajj gives his daughter half of the money and leaves. The merchants set out their finest "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" for the young lady. The young Caliph and his advisor, Omar, have been traveling incognito. He is struck by Marsinah's beauty and follows her. Elsewhere, Hajj is basking in the glow of some scantily-dressed slave girls he has just bought, when he is stopped by the police, who are checking identities because they are looking for Jawan. The Chief recognizes, on the coins, the crest of a family Jawan has robbed and arrests Hajj as a thief. Meanwhile, Marsinah has found a quaint little house with a beautiful garden to buy for her father and herself. She is admiring the garden when the Caliph slips in and, pretending to be a gardener, introduces himself to her. They fall in love on the spot ("Stranger in Paradise"). They promise to meet again in the garden at moonrise. The Caliph tells Omar that he has fallen in love, which is overheard by the princesses of Ababu; they are furious that he seems to ignore them, but the Chief Policeman reassures them that "He's in Love".

At the Wazir's Palace, Hajj is on trial for the theft of 100 pieces of gold. The Wazir has no need for evidence; he sentences Hajj to 20 lashes, and his right hand is to be cut off. The poet pleads that, as a poet and storyteller, the loss of a hand would cripple his career; it is the gesture that tells the story ("Gesticulate"). The lovely Lalume, attracted to the handsome poet, begs her husband for forgiveness, but the Wazir is not convinced and orders his guards to drag Hajj off to punishment. As Hajj curses the Wazir, a guard bursts in with news that they have captured Jawan. The old brigand is brought in and asks Hajj where his son is. He sees, around the Wazir's neck, a medallion that his son was wearing when he was captured. The Wazir is his son! Jawan praises the power of the great magician, Hajj, a man who has the power to curse and uncurse. Jawan is thrilled to see his son, but the Wazir sentences his own father to death. "For the leading judge of Mesopotamia to have as a father the leading criminal of Mesopotamia," he says, is "a disturbing thought."

As Jawan is led to his execution, the Wazir realizes that the "powerful magician" has cursed him. Just when he is about to murder Hajj, the Caliph enters with news that he has found a bride, a commoner, and that he will marry her tonight. The Wazir is distraught: if the Caliph does not marry a princess of Ababu, the Wazir will be ruined. He concludes that this is a result of Hajj's curse and begs Hajj to reverse the situation, promising him a reprieve and the title of Emir. Hajj agrees. Lalume knows that the poet is no wizard, but she decides that he may be her chance out of a dull life ("Bored") and is falling in love with him; she promises to help. When the Wazir returns, Hajj sings a mystic-sounding invocation to fate as the slave-girls dance wildly, distracting the Wazir. Hajj jumps out of a window, leaving his coat behind him. When the Wazir sees he is gone, he clutches the cloak in amazement and faints.

Act 2

The Caliph and his wedding procession approach the house of his beloved ("Night of my Nights"). Inside, Marsinah thinks only of her gardener ("Stranger in Paradise" (reprise)). Hajj enters and tells her of his situation and says that they must flee immediately to Damascus, but Marsinah refuses to go. They argue, and he nearly strikes her before he runs off, ashamed. She departs in the opposite direction. When the Caliph enters the garden, his love is not there.

The Wazir is informed by his spies that the Caliph's bride has disappeared. He rejoices at the power he wields, by having a magician as Emir ("Was I Wazir?"). He instructs Lalume to keep his new Emir happy, and she is eager to comply ("Rahadlakum"). Hajj and Lalume are discussing a trip to a "small oasis, a week's travel by camel" when Marsinah enters the Harem. Father and daughter reconcile, and she tells him of her lover and asks him to find him. At the same time, the Caliph, in the next room, orders the Wazir to find his love ("And This Is My Beloved"). Hajj and Omar encounter each other and engage in a battle of wits ("The Olive Tree").

The Wazir, hoping to convince the Caliph that only wanting one wife is just a phase, shows him his harem through a peephole where he sees Marsinah. The Caliph is horrified that his love is a member of the Wazir's Harem! The Wazir, sure that Hajj has arranged the whole thing, claims that she is one of his wives. The Caliph, heartbroken, agrees to choose his wife-of-wives that night during his diwan. So as not to have lied to his prince, the Wazir immediately marries Marsinah, promising to visit her that night. She vows to kill herself if he does.

That night, at the Caliph's diwan, the candidates for his hand dance for him: Princess Zubedya of Damascus, Princess Samaris of Bangalore, and the Three Ababu Princesses. The Caliph is unmoved. Hajj is searching for Marsinah; the Wazir thanks the "wizard" for placing the Caliph's beloved in his own harem. Laughing, he tells him that he has married the pretty little Marsinah. Realizing what has happened, Hajj pulls a knife, but has a better idea. He takes a blank plaque from his turban and throws it in a pool, proclaiming that when it is retrieved, it will read the name of the Caliph's fated bride. He secretly gives the Wazir another tablet, this one with the name Ababu written on it, and tells him to substitute it for the tablet from the pool. When the Wazir enters the pool, Hajj trips him and holds him underwater until he drowns.

Hajj explains all to the Caliph, who is joyfully reunited with Marsinah. The Caliph is ready to pardon Hajj for his murder of a public official, but the poet requests, as his punishment, to be "banished to some dreadful oasis ....at least a week's journey away by camel," and to be made to comfort the Wazir's widow in her "grief". As the two couples unite, the poet reflects on the fleetingness of "The Sands of Time".

((And here it is, the place to reflect and/or enjoy the Shanachie's latest offering! Respect the setting and have fun, folks!))

There was something magical about Kismet. Perhaps it was the music, or the rich design, or even the simple theme that undercut everything, but Carina was glad to have been offered a role in this production. Especially since it was to be her last for quite some time to come. Perhaps ever.

Everyone was on a mission to disguise the bump at her waist, the illusions of costume, lighting, even stage blocking, being brought into play to make it damned hard for the audience to guess that the virginal, sweet Marsinah was, in fact, just entering her third trimester. They'd gotten very lucky that Carina was so slender even now, but that bump could pop at any moment, and hiding that would be a feat in itself.

And despite her sadness at saying goodbye to the theater, and letting go of the dreams she'd had since childhood, Carina found a kind of freeing joy in these last performances. There was nothing to hold her back, no sense of needing to be restrained for the future; she threw herself into it all, from her scenes with her stage-father, Eregor, to the love songs she shared with her on-stage and off-stage lover. They were some of the most beautiful love songs she had ever had the privilege of singing, in her opinion. She could only hope she was doing them justice.

There was no need to worry about the Shanachie, anyway. The Theater Company had a truly awe-inspiring gaggle of leading ladies these days, and Carina had not truly been a part of it since before Christmas-tide. She would forever be grateful to have been given the chance to say goodbye like this. It was just strange, and a little heartbreaking, to know that from now on, when she entered the theater, she truly would be a Stranger in Paradise.

Brend sat in the theater after the show had closed, the only light filtered in through an open door to a hallway where his mop and bucket stood wedged between the door and frame. He was having a rare moment of introspection, as he sat among the empty seats of the audience.

Anyone able to see his face as he sat, profile silhouette visible in the light as if he were about to give a monologue, would have been able to see his face run through a gamut of expressions as though his monologue were fraught with conflict.

He was thinking about the different roles he'd taken up in the Theater, and somehow that communicated itself into thinking about the different roles one takes in life - employment wise, and more overarching, encompassing roles. 'Joker,' he thought to himself, of roles, 'Toker, midnight smoker.'

For a moment when he'd first looked at the role he'd been given, he'd been excited. Wazir. So, this had to be some kind of Steve Jobs biopic made for stage, right' Pretty cool, he thought, he fancied himself more a Steve Jobs than Wozniak, but still, playing the Great and Powerful Woz - that was still something! He blamed the entire debacle on that up-jumped blueberry diva for reading the call sheet to him while he was mopping away at the Academy.

He'd been the level head, the comic relief, warrior, musician, teacher, janitor, friend, father (kind of), keystone in the arch of Time (only while Tom Covenant is on vacay), and now actor; finally he was in a role that allowed him some diversity, right' While it was true that every actor brought some of what they were to a role, wasn't it also a fundamental truth of acting that it required you to adopt the persona of someone else?

Even though the Wazir ended up being the villain, he couldn't help but feel that the role was also that of a hapless chuckle head (was he typecast") who inevitably gets axed when it's time for everyone else to live happily ever after. It wasn't that he minded being the Arnold to the Dr. Ford, it's just sometimes it'd be nice to be the....anyway.

"I wanna be where the people are," he began singing softly, though his voice echoed in the empty theater. "No, no, that's the Little Mermaid," he frowned. "Alright, I'm here," he spoke again, calling out louder though there was no one in attendance to hear. "Now what? What do you want me to do' Kind of heavy handed, isn't it' Saddling me with Time, then making me wait?" He paused, and waited for an answer that he knew wasn't coming. "So have you decided yet' Have you even noticed" I know the answer: maybe. Not a lot of difference between breaking the fourth wall and praying, is there" I mean, from the right perspective which, the only one I have to use right now is mine, so," he paused again, casting side eyes towards the open door, then back into the darkness. A sigh followed, along with an expanded silence.

When the silence was finally broken again, it was with another sigh, this one accompanied by an almost impish grin.

"Alright, well, whenever you're ready," he let his feet fall to the floor from the back of the chair in front of him. He stood and moved towards the open door. Somewhere, someone was having some kind of party or other postmortem for the play, he was sure of it. "Just let me know. I already know what I'm going to say when it happens, for the record." Upon reaching the open door, he took his mop in hand and nudged the bucket out into the hallway with his foot, sloshing some of it and taking the time to mop it back up.

"Not even curious?" he asked, head still following his mop in the new trail of water, sopping it all up before raising his head to survey the otherwise dark - and clean - room. "You might as well say 'yes', since I'm going to tell you anyway. I've been thinking about it, and I've got the perfect line, for just the perfect time whenever you, y'know, let me know." He stepped out into the hall way, and began to pull the door closed behind him. "I'm going to say," he cleared his throat and delivered his line - it wasn't over dramatic or flamboyant, but said with a certain level of grim determination and acknowledgment of one's fate.

"It's time to be a hero." A click issued from the hallway without and the light snuffed out just before the door latched shut, leaving the theater once more in total darkness.