COMMANDER:
She's got exactly one half hour of fuel left. You know that?
IRO: (Increasingly
urgent.) Itasca to Earhart. We can't take a bearing on you at
3105 kilocycles. Please send on 500 or 7500.
COMMANDER: Well?
IRO:
Nothing. Nothing at all.
AE: (Suddenly
and loud.) KHAQQ calling Itasca! We must be on you but we
cannot see you! Gas is running low. Been unable to reach you by
radio. We are flying at an altitude of 1,000 feet.
COMMANDER:
Ahh! She hasn't heard us at all!
IRO:
Something's wrong.
COMMANDER:
You can say that again. The sun just came up! Without radio help,
she'll never find her way in that glare.
(AE
shields her eyes.)
IRO:
But how could there be anything wrong with her radio? I mean, this is
Amelia Earhart - she's got to have the best money can buy!
COMMANDER:
Try the other frequencies!
IRO: I
am! Constantly.
COMMANDER: (Grabbing
the microphone.) Itasca to Earhart. We are receiving your
message. Please acknowledge. Please acknowledge.
AE: (Increasingly
urgent.) We must be on you but we cannot see you. Gas is running low.
COMMANDER:
We are transmitting constantly on 7500 kilocycles, 3105 kilocycles
and 500 kilocycles!
AE: We
are on the line position 157-337. Will repeat this message on 6210.
IRO: (Grabbing
mic.) No! Please stay on 3105. Do not hear you on 6210!
COMMANDER:
Oh, buddy, she is running out of time. If we don't get a bearing on
her soon...
AE: (Frightened.)
Fuel is running low. We are running North and South!
COMMANDER:
North and South? North and South of what? We need another position!
AE: We
are running North and South!
(SOUND
CUE #11. Sudden silence. IRO and COMMANDER freeze. AE calmly and
gracefully descends from cockpit and moves UC to get model plane. We
hear the music used before but now it is more eerie. She lifts plane
high above her head and "flies' it slowly around the stage, then
silently carries it off. Music fades as COMMANDER and IRO exit.
REPORTER enters.)
REPORTER:
And those were the last words anyone ever heard Amelia Earhart speak.
(GP enters
as himself, out of the scene, distraught.)
G.P. was
waiting for A.E. in San Francisco. He had a big Fourth of July
Welcome planned. He told the Chronicle...
GP: (Very
upset—trying to be calm for the press.) A.E. will pull
through. She has more courage than anyone I know. I am worried, of
course, but I have confidence in her ability to handle any situation.
REPORTER:
Commander Thompson called out the big guns and they searched sixteen
days. Every neighboring island, miles and miles of shark-infested
waters. The world was in shock.
GP:
World Flyer Lost! Fuel Supply Runs Low.
REPORTER:
Warship Catches Faint Signal.
GP:
Amelia Floating in the Pacific!
REPORTER:
Amelia Missing in the Pacific!
GP: (Near
tears.) Disaster Ends All Hope.
(GP is
devastated and exits. Ominous music again, the high frequency of her
whistle, sound that holds tension.)
REPORTER:
What happened, Amelia?
Note:
This is a sample from the actual script. To review the entire
play, order the PERUSAL SCRIPT (online instant download).
"Your heart will take flight with one of America's most beloved
heroines in this exciting and touching play by Kathryn Schultz Miller!"
