This gripping melodrama is based on THE MOOR'S LEGACY, one of Washington Irving's TALES FROM THE ALHAMBRA. Fleshed out with fascinating characters and set in Granada, Spain, during the Spanish Inquisition, this tale is set in the time when the Moors were driven out of Spain. The story centers on Peregil, a simple water carrier, who gives comfort and protection to an Old Moor who is fleeing the country. In return for this kindness, the Old Moor gives Peregil an ancient sandlewood box containing a parchment and a scented tallow candle. By enlisting the aid of a mercurial young Moor, Aben Abu, who is able to decipher the scroll, they unlock the door to an enchanted treasure room seven floors below one of the towers at the Alhambra. Loaded down with treasure, Peregil returns home and begs his forever-talking wife, Sebella, to keep their newly found good fortune a secret while he is out making preparations to leave the country. Sebella immediately runs to their spying neighbors to flaunt their good fortune and "blabs" everything. The neighbor, Pedrillo Pedrugo, a barber who collects secrets from his customers and sells them to the corrupt and greedy Alcalde (Mayor) hastens to inform the Alcalde. His sister, Inez, convinces Sebella that the "good fortune" is stolen goods and that to verify her husband's "fantastic tale", Sebella must see the treasure room for herself. The ruse works and Sebella insists that Peregil and Aben Abu her to see the treasure room in the dead of night. The Alcalde and Pedrillo Pedrugo follow them into the enchanted room where doom awaits anyone who does not know the secret means to leave once they are trapped inside. Comic turns keep the suspense and mystery alive throughout this dramatic tale. It ends with a frightening climax which leaves the audience thrilled. Period costumes contrast the rich and powerful with the peasant and downtrodden, the Spanish with the Moorish characters, and includes festival costumes for the exciting dance that masks the excape to the Alhambra. It requires a cast of five male-two female actors and two settings: the street and interior of Peregil and Sebella's house and, in the final scene, the interior of the Secret Treasure Room. It is recommended that recorded music be used to introduce the scenes and accompany the festival dance sequence that ends Act I.
Copyright © 2008 Richard Kinter All rights reserved