4 Hillary DePiano characters, they would have wanted me to assure you of this from the start and I do so with all my heart. We have no pride, no reserva- tions, nothing to keep us from amusing you. If we were concerned about looking foolish, we would be sitting out there with you and not down here dressed like clowns. So our only choice is to do our best and hope that even if you find us untalented, you will laugh at that and it will be good enough for us. You know us already even if you've forgotten! We've been here all along in the sketch comedy, the spoofs, the sitcom. You've met us before by a million different names and faces. Try to remember! We don’t understand why we fell out of your favor, for it wasn’t all that long ago that you preferred us to the intellectual barrage of the artsy fartsy. You used to treat us so graciously, yet now so many of our Kind are unemployed, lying idle between the pages of dusty unread books and cast aside with other fads and trends. Some of us seldom see the light of day and, when we do, it is in the study of some crusty theatre scholar, a classroom, or some poor fool writing a thesis. Is it the jokes? The language? Aren‘t we hip enough? Is it right that Harlequin and the Macarena lie in the same grave? Just give us a chance. Remember, you no sooner threw out your ghastly day glow bell bottoms when, lo, they were back in style and twice as expensive. So don’t be so quick to judge our time as spent, we may surprise you yet. In the face of so much horror, the constant threat of war, suffering, and the world weighing down on us, I refuse to believe there is no place for laughter! Levity is what saves us from the load and there is and will always be room in this world for amusement simply for amusement’s sake! What do you say? Will you laugh with us in the face of reality and tell the world to get over itself? You will witness many strange things this evening and we ask you to please check your disbelief at the door of the theatre. I'm sure your humble servants, the characters that make up this tale, will be ready to begin as soon as they hear you call for them. Your applause and laughter is the life that courses through their veins and once they hear your willingness to give them a opportunity to show you what they can do, it will wipe out all their initial reservations. So, are you willing to give our old story a new chance? (He encourages them to clap. Characters being to peek tentatively around the sides of the stage at the sound, To the Light booth:) So, can we please have the lights down some? (Lights dim.) Excellent. I'd like to tell you what the story is about, but T'ma little afraid you'll laugh at me. Because the story is... (Unsure of what to say:) well it’s mostly about oranges...and happiness...and a little about love. Maybe you should just see for yourself. So just sit back like you were a little child on your grandfather's knee and let me tell you a story like you have never heard before.