Discovering Magenta

As Discovering Magenta opens, we meet Henry, a young mental health worker, and his good friend Eliot. They are standing outside the window of Henry’s ex-girlfriend, Lisa. Eliot listens to Henry as wonders what to do with his life (FIND MY WAY).
But Henry is soon distracted from thoughts of Lisa, as the next day in their abnormal psychology class Henry and Eliot meet fellow students Rose and Cole. The four get along well – Rose and Eliot chat while Cole explains to Henry the basic psychological need to challenge yourself (DO THE UNEXPECTED). The group goes out for pizza after class, and things progress well for the four new friends until Rose begins a diatribe that gets stranger and stranger (LITTLE BOYS). An embarrassed Cole silences her and they leave.
The next day, Henry is back to work at the mental hospital and is slowly becoming more and more fascinated by Katrina, a catatonic patient (MODEL PATIENT).
Back at home after the day’s work, Henry and Eliot discuss their inability to find relationships, and begin to celebrate their bachelorhood (LONELY GUYS CLUB). Cole joins them, but soon finds himself alone with Henry after Eliot gets too drunk and passes out. Henry confides in Cole about his work, specifically about his catatonic patient Katrina. Cole tells Henry about a new treatment he has read for rousing a patient out of a catatonic trance by singing. Cole even demonstrates an appropriate song for Henry (WAKE UP).
The next day, an embarrassed Henry tries the unorthodox treatment (WAKE UP, reprise), and to his amazement, Katrina not only wakes up, but wakes up screaming. Henry finds is the coming week that even when she is awake, Katrina is not very forthcoming about her past. He is intrigued by her, and begs her to confide in him (LET ME IN). Before long, however, Katrina’s insurance runs out. Scheduled to be kicked out of the hospital, she ridicules Henry’s attempts to help her as naïve – after all, if Henry isn’t willing to see her outside of the hospital setting, then what good is he? She doesn’t believe he can help her or understand anything she’s going through (DO YOU UNDERSTAND?). At the last minute, however, Henry breaks hospital protocol and slips Katrina his phone number. As the first act ends, both Henry and Katrina wonder what the future will hold (WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?).
The second act opens back in psychology class, where Cole pulls Henry aside to talk. The enigmatic Rose puts up with Eliot’s small talk while Cole and Henry are gone, then launches into a tirade against what she perceives to be Henry and Eliot’s naivete (THIS AIN’T OZ). Meanwhile, Cole tells Henry of his growing concern for Rose’s sanity (HOW CAN I HELP HER?). He tells Henry of her past bizarre behavior, including specific cruelty to animals.
At home after class, Henry is surprised to receive a phone call from Katrina. Over pizza, Katrina finally unburdens herself and tells Henry of her traumatic childhood, and how her brother grew more and more violent as they got older. She tells him of how her parents came home one night just in time to stop her brother from raping her. After that, Katrina’s brother was sent to a mental hospital and she never saw him again. Henry tries to console her. Later that week, however, while talking with Eliot, he realizes that his feelings toward Katrina are becoming more than merely therapeutic. Although he realizes that his romantic thoughts are inappropriate, he is only partially successful about hiding them (REPRESS MY FEELINGS).
Henry and Eliot are interrupted by a frantic phone call from Cole, who is unable to reach Rose by phone. They join Cole at Rose’s door, and upon getting no answer to their knocking, break it in. They find Rose dead of an overdose.
Henry seeks out Katrina again, and she tells him of her time in the catatonic state (DAYS OF MADNESS). Maybe, she worries, she really is crazy. Henry shares Rose’s death with Katrina, and then explains his latest theory of life, which is based on the psychological fact that the color magenta does not exist in the real world. The human eye creates the color magenta when it sees certain amounts of red and blue. Perhaps, Henry thinks, the same is true of happiness – it may not truly exist, but rather must be created.
Cole, Henry, and Eliot continue to deal with their feelings in the wake of Rose’s death (GUILT). Despite Henry and Eliot’s attempts to console him, Cole blames himself for her death.
Later in the week, Henry, Eliot, and Katrina take an excursion to the mall, where they bump into Henry’s co-worker, Rachel. Eliot, Rachel, and Henry promise Katrina she will do fine in the world outside the hospital (HOME HERE IN NO TIME).
The next day, over coffee, Henry is demonstrating a self-defense move to Katrina and they wind up in each other’s arms. At this point, Katrina confides more of her past to Henry, including the terrifying knowledge that before she went into her catatonic state, she recognized her brother in a supermarket. Henry tries to comfort her, but Katrina explains that she can never truly relax (HE’S OUT THERE NOW).
Now that he and Katrina are officially together, Henry plans a special dinner and invites Cole, Rachel, and Eliot to join them. Henry and Rachel are having coffee before heading home, when she mentions two patients she had worked with several years ago. Henry recognizes one of them as being Rose, and the other one sounds like it might be Katrina’s brother. Could it be Cole?
Back home, Cole enters and quickly knocks out Eliot. He confronts Katrina (KATRINA, KATRINA) – he is, indeed, her brother – and she gains the upper hand. Henry and Rachel arrive, and Cole is subdued.
The next day, Katrina visits Henry. She identifies Cole as her brother – she remembered his physical appearance as she was attacked. Henry understands that he has been manipulated by Cole from day one, right down to the lullaby Cole teaches Henry to sing to Katrina – it is the one that Cole sang to her when they where children. Henry and Katrina profess their love (CLICHÉ OF LOVE), and decide to try a relationship despite their odd meeting. Henry has moved closer to finding himself (DISCOVERING MAGENTA).

A Demo CD of the score and full script is available to interested parties. We have pressed a limited edition run of 500 CDs. We are making only 250 of these available for sale. They feature 4 performers who sing the 5 roles. The price is $15 . Send check or money order to Michael Bitterman, 29 Paradise Way, Saugerties, NY 12477.

Original Cast Records will release the concept CD.

To contact James Corey Kaufman-Email for info.

To contact Michael BittermanEmail for info.

DISCOVERING MAGENTA is copyrighted 1997 by James Corey Kaufman and Michael Bitterman

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