Overture

Prologue:1940

Against the black and white backdrop of a gigantic
bomber and the projection of a factory worker's
propaganda poster (Speed is vital), a welder is
at work, face hidden behind a welding mask, on
the Royal Air Force bomber. A flight crew appears,
followed by Captain Walker, a handsome
Englishman in his mid-twenties. His path being
blocked by a fuel hose, he stands behind the welder.
Sparks fly.

Trying to get the welders attention, Capt. Walker pats the welder on the back. The welder turns, stands, and flips back the mask,pulls the cap off and wipes sweat away. Hair spills down around her shoulders.

Capt. Walker stares at the young woman. He smiles. (Go to the mirror).

Another factory poster is seen
(Come to the Factories) and RAF officers and
young Englishwomen appear wildly doing the
jitterbug on a smoke-filled dance floor.
Uncle Ernie, Capt. Walker's older brother,
dressed in civilian clothes (he has a slight
limp) watches the dancers, grins, sips his tea
as Captain Walker and the welder, now in
party dress, whirl across the room. (See Me,
Feel Me) The group of officers and women separate
and magically Capt Walker and the welder are
revealed, he still in uniform, she in a simple
white dress. A minister performs the wedding
ceremony against the backdrop of a church.

Minister:
The union of husband and wife in heart,
body and mind is intended by God for their
mutual joy; for the help and comfort given
one another in prosperity and adversity;
knowledge and love of the Lord. Therefore
marriage is not to be entered into unadvisedly
or lightly, but reverntly, deliberately,
and in accordance with the purposes for
which it was instituted by God.

Uncle Ernie walks up by Capt Walker's side
and hands him a ring. Capt Walker impatiently
places the ring on Mrs Walker's finger
and kisses her passionately in silhoutte.
(Go to the mirror).

Air raid sirens go
off as aerial shots of London in the blitz
appear in the background. Uncle Ernie
produces a civil defense armband, which he dons,and a flashlight. We hear the drone of engines
of bombers overhead as searchlights flash
in the background to the sound of nearby
explosions. Uncle Ernie hurries off. (Listening
to you). Mrs Walker is in bed, asleep. Distant
explosions.Captain Walker leans over and
kisses her softly. She stirs but doesn't awaken.
He watches her for a moment longer and then
quietly creeps away. (French horns fanfare).
Against a giant propaganda poster of Winston
Churchill, Capt Walker arrives at the airfield
where he is helped into his combat uniform by
an aide who fastens a parachute on the Captain's
back. Airborne troops perform exercises at the
edge of the airfield. (Pinball Wizard). Two
rows of soldiers sit on benches facing each
other in the hull of a Wellington bomber,
where Capt Walker joins them. In flight, bursts
of antiaircraft shells explode around them.
A trap door opens; flames from far below are
reflected on the faces of the soldiers as, one
by one the soldiers step to the edge of the
trap and leap into the abyss. Capt Walker
is the last to jump.Projections of parachutes fill the sky
in a Magritte-like image. A figure slowly
descends from above, suspended under his
chute - Capt Walker. Two German footsoldiers
start up at the sky. They raise machine guns
in the air and fire. There is the deafening
sound of the rounds going off as the lights
black out.

A series of aerial shots of London take us
from the black and white world of the prologue
to the warm faded colors of remembered suburbia.

Scene 1: 22 Heathfield Gardens:1941

(A Very pleased Uncle Ernie knocks on the door,
answered by Mrs. Walker in a dressing gown.)

Uncle Ernie:
Sardines! An egg! Un demi-litre du lait!

Mrs Walker:
Bless you, Ernie!

(As Ernie is leaving, he passes two RAF officers
coming to the door.)

Captain Walker:
First Officer: (to audience)
Captain Walker didn't come home.
His unborn child will never know him.

Second Officer: (to Mrs. Walker)
Believe him missing with a number of men.
Don't expect to see him again.

(the Officer presents Mrs. Walker with a
document informing her that Captain Walker
is missing-in action)

First and Second Officers:
Captain Walker didn't come home.
Captain Walker didn't come home.
Captain Walker didn't come home.
His unborn child will never know him.
(To comfort him, one of the officers presses a
pint of whiskey, into teetotaling Uncle Ernie's hand.
He gives it a try.)

Scene 2: Hospital

It's a Boy

Nurse:
It's a boy, Mrs Walker, It's a boy.

Nurses:
It's a boy, Mrs Walker, It's a boy.

Mrs. Walker & Nurses:

A son! A son!

(Captain Walker sits in a prison camp 
as the years go by from 1942-45)

Allied Soldier No. 1
Back home, they're celebrating in the streets.
And freedom reigns on this first day of peace.

Captain Walker & Soldiers:
We've won! We've won! We've won!

Next Scene

Tommy Main
Tommy Playbill