TINDERBOX
SYNOPSIS
Far off and long ago, a King is holding a birthday celebration for his daughter. Today we find out who she is to be betrothed to. The King hopes it will be to someone who can replenish the his power…and coffers. He asks his advisors, the Three Dogs of the Tinderbox, who she is fated to marry. They answer: “A Soldier.” The King demands the Dogs change fate, but they can’t. In a fit of rage, he wishes the Dogs away, banishes all soldiers from the city, and locks his daughter in a tower. When he realizes the Dogs, his source of power, are gone, he howls in rage. Locked in the tower, the Princess transforms from naïve to jaded.
Two
years have passed when the Dogs encounter Diego, a hopeful young soldier.
Disguised as peasants, the Dogs question Diego and, finding him worthy,
send him on to the city. As he
goes, the Dogs create a fierce storm that drives Diego to find shelter in a
cave. Inside the cave, which is the
Dogs’ lair, he finds a Tinderbox…the key to marshalling the Dogs’ magic.
He also sees three dogs with eyes as large as saucers sitting immobile.
He leaves for the city, with the Tinderbox.
The Dogs are very pleased with themselves.
Upon
arriving at the city, Diego is promptly refused access and sent to the Captain
of the Guard. Outside the city wall
at his tent, the Captain tells his version of the last two years, and leaves
Diego to pitch his tent in the rain. Diego
gathers wood for a fire and strikes the Tinderbox. Crash-o-la! The
Small Dog appears and asks her new master’s bidding.
Diego wishes for gold for the peasants and a place for the soldiers to
live, but the King breaks up the party and personally crushes their hopes.
Diego recognizes that he didn’t succeed in helping, so he strikes the
Tinderbox twice, summoning the Medium Dog.
When he inquires about the Princess, the Medium Dog fetches her.
(“Bad dog!”) She starts
to run, but Diego convinces her to stay and help her people.
The Princess returns to the tower to plot, leaving Diego even more
confused.
Meanwhile,
the King has found a rich pig for the Princess to marry.
Appalled, she tells Diego they need to speed things up.
The Medium Dog hints they might find inspiration underground, so they
return to the cave. Unfortunately,
the King suspects something is amiss and has a falcon following the Princess.
Diego
and the Princess realize they need to bring the people of the kingdom together
to further their cause, but are distracted by something much more immediate:
they are falling in love. Just as
they are about to kiss, the King’s female guards fall into the cave and arrest
them. Diego is to be publicly
executed. The Princess grabs the
Tinderbox and runs to the site of the execution. “Oh Daddy, have I got a surprise for you!”
At
the execution, the Princess demands Diego be given a last request.
The King refuses at first, but, when the crowd threatens to riot, he
relents to one last cigarette. The
Princess strikes the Tinderbox three times and sics the dogs on the King and his
guards. Diego and the King sword fight, with Diego winning by
disarming the King. The crowd
(played by the audience) loves Diego and wants him to rule, but he refuses.
The Princess steps forward and says they will rule together.
They banish the King to her old tower, to live the rest of his life under
the watchful eyes of a Dog.
Copyright 1997, Mark LaPierre