From: davideml@bellsouth.net   
      
   4-17  The Play's The Thing   
      
      
      
      
      
             First airing was March 15, 1999.   
      
             The story starts in a field of wild flowers. Gabrielle and Xena are   
   in Yoga poses.   
   Gabrielle drops hers and says she can't get the fact that she lost her   
   favorite scroll out of her   
   mind. It charted their history and was a more intimate examination of their   
   relationship, etc. Xena   
   tells Gabrielle to go back for it in Paraeus while she goes to help a prince   
   in Arcon.   
      
             Paraeus seems to be the Grecian center of theater. Joxer is thrown   
   out of a tavern at   
   Gabrielle's feet. It is the first time Joxer has seen the new Gabrielle. He   
   likes the look. He asks   
   if her 'tattoos' hurt. She says she would wish for Sophocles to be her mentor.   
   She says she looking   
   for her scroll. A woman and a man walk up with the scroll. She says her name   
   is Zehra, she is a   
   producer and she read the scroll and it should be made into a play so everyone   
   can see it. After   
   flattering Gabrielle about how great it is, Gabrielle agrees to rewrite it for   
   the stage to show   
   everyone the lessons she learned in India about peace and happiness. But first   
   she wants to send   
   word to Xena.   
      
             After she leaves Zehra and Milo laugh about it. She says if the   
   people she is thinking of   
   sees it they will kill Gabrielle.   
      
             Zehra takes Gabrielle and Joxer into the Apollo Theater. It looks   
   long abandoned, but   
   Gabrielle sees the potential in it. Zehra tells Gabrielle she should direct   
   because no one else   
   could interpret her vision of the story. Gabrielle makes Joxer her assistant.   
      
             There is a line of women dressed as Xena and Gabrielle for a casting   
   call. Gabrielle is   
   having trouble finding someone to play herself. She hires the first one, who   
   can do forward and   
   back flips, to play Xena. Minya shows up for the part and is too late, but   
   Gabrielle tells her she   
   can be a villain.   
      
             A centaur named Dustinus Hoofmanus shows up to audition,  but   
   refuses to play the part of   
   a quadruped because  he is an "actor."   
      
             Gabrielle is worried because a play by Sophocles is opening the same   
   night hers it, but   
   she realizes that she only cares if the right people see her play.   
      
             The warlord Kaelus is talking to Zehra and Milo. She promises him a   
   return of 75% on his   
   investment of the play. She also promised warlord Therax 75%.  Zehra says if   
   the play is a failure   
   they won't try to collect and they can keep the investments.   
      
             Zehra talks Gabrielle into making Joxer the producer so she won't   
   have to deal with   
   ticket sales, promotion and publicity.   
      
             Gabrielle tells the players she cast herself to play Gabrielle.   
      
             They rehearse  a scene and Minya thinks there should be more   
   clobbering of skulls and not   
   just talking about the message of peace. Everyone chimes in about renaming the   
   play and Gabrielle   
   gets angry and leaves. Joxer tells them about changes he wants to make in the   
   play.   
      
             Gabrielle meditates to calm down and goes back to the theater to   
   apologize for losing   
   control. They begin to rehearse again but when Gabrielle sees the changes   
   Joxer made, she leaves   
   again. She goes across the street to talk to Sophocles, but when she sees a   
   scene from his play   
   with dancing girls and sword fighting, she goes back to the Apollo and says   
   she want more sex and   
   violence and blood. They are going to cram the message of peace down   
   everyone's throat for their   
   own good.   
      
             During rehearsal, Minya and the Xena actress get into a fight.   
   Gabrielle tells Zehra she   
   needs more money. After they leave, Zehra and Milo talk about  increasing the   
   budget will decrease   
   their profit. She decides to bring in warlord Cleon as another investor.   
      
             Gabrielle has second thoughts until Joxer tells her they sold out   
   the first night.   
      
             Cleon agrees to invest when Zehra tells him all of Xena's secrets   
   will be revealed in the   
   play.   
      
             Kaelus and Therax sneak in to watch the rehearsal and both tell   
   Zehra they love it. Zehra   
   tells Gabrielle that she has inspired the warlords to invade a neighboring   
   country. Gabrielle   
   decides to return to her original vision.   
      
             Before play starts and Gabrielle tells the audience if they came to   
   see blood and   
   violence they came to the wrong place.   
      
             As the play starts, the warlord Cleon is back stage and he and Joxer   
   fight. The fight   
   spills onto the stage. The real Xena shows up and she fights Kaelus and his   
   men, and Therax and his   
   men. The audience thinks it's part of the play. A critic isn't impressed with   
   "Xena." Another   
   mentions  "Buffus, the Bacchae Slayer" is opening across the street.   
      
             Xena defeats the bad guys.   
      
             Later the three warlords are tied up and Xena gives them the option   
   of keeping their   
   investment money it, or donating it to an orphanage. The agree to donate it.   
      
             Zehra says she has seen the error of her ways. Then rushes off to   
   tell Dustinus she is   
   opening anew agency and want to represent him.   
      
             As they  are leaving Gabrielle tells Xena it was stupid to think   
   people would want to   
   hear about peace and love instead of sex and violence. Xena tells her peace is   
   what people really   
   want.   
      
             Minya and the Xena actress run up and Minya tells Gabrielle if it   
   wasn't for her she   
   would have met Paullina, And she realizes that she really is a - thespian.   
      
             Joxer, who was accidentally caught by the feet and is hanging upside   
   down in the theater   
   yells for help.   
      
   ........   
      
             And after four serious episodes, another comedy.   Some of it was   
   humorous, and some of   
   it wasn't.   
      
             Gabrielle is still in her India outfit, and is now wearing sandals.   
   She was barefooted in   
   'The Way' and 'Devi'. And she is wearing earrings. I didn't notice them in   
   previous eps, if they   
   were there.   
      
             I thought she looked cute in the flowered wreath.   
      
             Many of the Gabrielle wannabes were wearing the green-top outfit to   
   audition in. Later   
   on, in the background were actors dressed as Callisto and Ares.   
      
             During rehearsal, Gabrielle  mentioned 'scene 84', and 'Act 8'. Talk   
   about a LONG play!!!   
      
            Was Sophocles' play  "Buffus, the Bacchae Slayer?" Or were there two   
   theaters across the   
   street from the Apollo?   
      
             Nice to see Minya again. She's always good for a chuckle or two.   
      
   Zehra seemed to know just what buttons to push to feed Gabrielle's ego as a   
   bard.   
      
             I guess Xena got finished in Arcon early and showed up just in the   
   nick of time. And I   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)