Grand Opera
In the dramatic play script Grand Opera, Sandra is told by her sister that her son and daughter-in-law wish for her to move out.
SANDRA: I give up my house, the place I lived in for forty years. I raised my son in that house; I took care of my husband before he died in that house…to come here, to be here, to provide for my family—this is what I know how to do; I didn’t go to school. I didn’t invent ideas for living my life; I stuck to what was real, to what matters. Why does this next generation want to forget who we are, Olivia? I will never understand this…don’t we still need each other?
I used to leave my front door wide open, without a thought. Today, it’s a different world.
In my day, I could talk to a passerby for a half hour and learn about what was happening in the neighborhood; today… (shakes her head) I don’t understand what’s changed.
When did we become afraid to look at one another? Tell me this. Nobody embraces anyone anymore; everybody’s too quick to lash out. Why? Where does all this rage come from?
And now it’s staining my own family. Can’t I hold my grandson and give him the love he needs? (beat) I say no! No! I can’t. I refuse to leave. Not with all that is going on in this world, I say no.
I may be old, and I might one day be forgotten, but that baby is all I have left. If they think I’m a disruption, well, so be it.
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In the one-act play Grand Opera, Sandra is visited by her sister, who tells her that Sandra’s son wants her to leave because she’s interfering with him and his wife raising their baby. 2 Women. Drama.
