CROCODILE Libretto

by Lena vercauteren

The Characters:

Punch
Judy
Pretty Polly
The Policeman

 

– PART 1 –

Police (Tenor)
Hello?
Where are you?
I thought he was here somewhere…

Punch comes up. He looks happy about something you probably wouldn’t be happy about.

Police
But aren’t you a jolly good fellow,
dressed in scarlet and yellow.
You look like a fool
but you don’t fool me.
Now say, what happened here?

P (Bass-baritone)
Nothing bad, don’t worry.
Why, are you scared?
I am quite a funny person, you know,
but not everyone knows what a good joke is.
Not all can appreciate what we get up to,
but there are always people who want to watch.

Judy half interrupts P

J (Soprano)

Officer, leave it to me, just leave us be.
This is not something you have to stick around for.
Men behave better without prying eyes,
just believe it and you’ll sleep well at night.
He’ll get what he deserves
as long as I can pull his strings.

P
You see what I have to deal with?
The accusations from just another woman
that I don’t know what I’m doing.
I just need something to feel free.
You have a choice, dear officer,
you could walk away.
What happens will happen.

Pretty Polly (Mezzo-soprano)
You might just enjoy it, if you tried.
Some people want different things
once the wife is not around.
There’s no harm in having some fun.
If we just accept some things are better left unknown
we’ll all get along just fine.

Police
Now what is that exactly?
I have heard enough stories
about beaten children and spouses
that tell me I should watch out
for people like you three.
Accidents can so easily happen,
when people want to get their way.

Polly
But have you ever pursued what you enjoy?
Have you truly loved what you did?
I can tell you like thinking
you can keep us in line.
But there is only one way this will go.

J
I better not hear the reason she’s here.
I don’t like the look of her.
But everyone has their way
to deal with people they don’t like.
She can sing all she wants,
but she’ll be silent soon.

P
Oh, I am tired of their wailing.
Women, you see, they see these things differently.
But there’s nothing a strong hand cannot fix.
And I’ll promise you this,
if I end up doing something wrong,
you can put me away.
So, what will it be? Will you stay?

Police
I need to make sure nothing bad happens.
You can be certain I will do something
once it truly gets dangerous.

 

– PART 2 –

Police (Bass-baritone)
Hello?
Where are you?
I thought she was here somewhere…

Punch comes up. She looks happy about something you probably wouldn’t be happy about.

Police
But aren’t you a jolly good fellow,
dressed in scarlet and yellow.
You look like a fool
but not quite like me.
Now say, what happened here?

P (Soprano)
Nothing bad, don’t worry.
But you know us,
we are all such funny people, dear sir.
Surely by now you know what a good joke is.
Not all can appreciate what we get up to,
but right now there are people who want to watch.

J half interrupts P

J (Mezzo-soprano)

Officer, leave it to me, just leave us be.
This is not something you have to stick around for.
We like it better without prying eyes,
just believe us and you’ll sleep well at night.
You’ll get what you deserve
as long as she can pull the strings.

P
You see what I have to deal with?
The accusations from just another woman
as if she could do any better.
I just need something to feel free.
You have a choice, dear officer,
you could walk away.
What happens will happen.

Polly (Tenor)
You might just enjoy it, if you tried.
Some people want different things
once all the lights are out.
No harm in trying something new.
If you just accept some things aren’t for you to see,
we can all just have some fun.

Police
Now what is that exactly?
I have heard enough stories
about beaten children and spouses.
I should stay and watch you three.
Who knows what I might see.
Accidents can so easily happen,
when people want to get their way.

Polly
But why can’t we simply do what we enjoy?
Do you want bad things to happen?
I can tell you like thinking
you can keep us in line.
But there is only one way this will go.

J
Easy to see why she’s suddenly here!
I don’t like the look of her.
But everyone has their way
to deal with people they don’t like.
She can sing all she wants,
she will always sound bad.

P
Oh, I am tired of this wailing.
Women, you see, don’t always get what they want
But there’s nothing a strong voice cannot change.
And I’ll promise you this,
if you let us play the roles we want,
we’ll get along just fine.
So, what will it be? Will you stay?

Police
I need to make sure nothing bad happens.
You can be certain I will do something
once it truly gets dangerous.

 

– PART 3 –

Police (Soprano)
Hello?
Where are you?
I thought she was here somewhere…

Punch comes up. She looks happy about something you probably wouldn’t be happy about.

Police
But aren’t you a jolly good fellow,
dressed in scarlet and yellow.
You look like a fool,
so you must be one.
Now say, what happened here?

P (Mezzo-soprano)
Nothing bad, don’t worry.
But you know us,
we are all such funny people, dear sir.

J interrupts P

J (Tenor)
Officer, leave it to me, just leave us be.
This is not something you have to stick around for.

P
Not all can appreciate what we get up to,
but right now there are people …

J
We like it better without prying eyes

P
… who …