
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
2004-05-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1892–1950
A bold, musical voice in American poetry, she became famous for sonnets and lyrics that made love, freedom, grief, and independence feel immediate and alive. Her work was both elegant and fearless, helping define the literary spirit of the 1920s while still speaking clearly to modern readers.
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