
ARIA DA CAPO - A PLAY IN ONE ACT
Copyright, 1920
By Edna St. Vincent Millay
Printed in the U. S. A.
AUTHOR'S NOTE - ON THE PLAYING PO
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF "ARIA DA CAPO" - SETTING:
In a bright, black‑and‑white Harlequinade setting, two timeless pantomime figures—Pierrot and Columbine—sit at a banquet table, their conversation spiraling from playful banter about macarons to absurd philosophical musings. Their dialogue jumps between flirtation, satire, and sudden bursts of self‑proclaimed artistic identities: painter, pianist, socialist, critic, and even manager, each claim more whimsical than the last. The stage brims with vivid, nonsensical imagery—orange bull’s‑eyes, magenta jelly‑rolls, and a “Uptown Express at Six O’Clock”—that mirrors the characters’ restless search for meaning beneath the comedy.
The play’s tone teeters between farce and a deeper, almost existential search for purpose, all filtered through Millay’s sharp wit and rhythmic wordplay. As Pierrot and Columbine volley jokes about food, fashion, and the very nature of performance, listeners are drawn into a delightfully chaotic world where identity is fluid and every line hints at a larger, unseen commentary on art, love, and the human condition.
Language
en
Duration
~40 minutes (39K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by David Starner, and David Widger
Release date
May 1, 2004
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1892–1950
A vivid, fearless voice of the early 20th century, she wrote poems that feel both intimate and sharp, full of love, wit, longing, and independence. Her work helped make lyric poetry feel modern while keeping its music and emotional pull.
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