《乌托帮彼岸》由《航行》、《失事》、《获救》组成，描写了十九世纪激荡在俄罗斯乃至整个欧洲上空的革命风云。全剧时间绵延，从1833年直到1868年，场景辽阔，莫斯科、巴黎、德累斯顿、尼斯、伦敦、日内瓦等名城相继展现；人物众多，巴枯宁，赫尔岑、别林斯墓、屠格涅夫、车尔尼雪夫斯基、卢格、科苏特、琼斯、马克斯托帕善于让天平两边取得平衡，让我们在革命的悲剧中，看到勇敢、正直、慷慨等等人性的闪光点；在人生的悲剧中，看到亲情、爱情和友情的温暖美好。他把严肃的历史写得诙谐有趣，把沉重的思想表述得富含诗意。

斯托帕的剧作思想与娱乐并重，在荒诞闹剧和浪漫情事下掩藏着人生的悲凉况味。他也许很愿意成为典型的王尔德剧中人物：用玩世不恭来表达真诚和严肃。斯托帕丰富了二十世纪六十年代以后直至今日的戏剧时代，用他的巧智，他的深厚，他的华彩词章，还有他的魔术般多变的戏剧手段。

Prior to the first act, an induction frames the play as a "kind of history" played in front of a befuddled drunkard named Christopher Sly who is tricked into believing that he is a lord.
In the play performed for Sly, the "Shrew" is Katherina Minola, the eldest daughter of Baptista Minola, a lord in Padua. Katherina's temper is notorious and it is thought no man would ever wish to marry her. On the other hand, two men – Hortensio and Gremio – are eager to marry her younger sister Bianca. However, Baptista has sworn not to allow his younger daughter to marry before Katherina is wed, much to the despair of her suitors, who agree that they will work together to marry off Katherina so that they will be free to compete for Bianca.
The plot becomes more complex when Lucentio, who has recently come to Padua to attend university, sees Bianca and instantly falls in love with her. Lucentio overhears Baptista announce that he is on the lookout for tutors for his daughters, so he has his servant Tranio pretend to be him while he disguises himself as a Latin tutor named Cambio, so that he can woo Bianca behind Baptista's back.
In the meantime, Petruchio arrives in Padua, accompanied by his servant, Grumio. Petruchio tells his old friend Hortensio that he has set out to enjoy life after the death of his father and that his main goal is to wed. Hearing this, Hortensio seizes the opportunity to recruit Petruchio as a suitor for Katherina. He also has Petruchio present to Baptista a music tutor named Litio (Hortensio himself in disguise). Thus, Lucentio and Hortensio, pretending to be the teachers Cambio and Litio, attempt to woo Bianca unbeknownst to her father, and to one another.
Petruchio, to counter Katherina's shrewish nature, woos her with reverse psychology, pretending that every harsh thing she says or does is kind and gentle. Katherina allows herself to become engaged to Petruchio, and they are married in a farcical ceremony during which (amongst other things) he strikes the priest and drinks the communion wine, and then takes her home against her will. Once they are gone, Gremio and Tranio (disguised as Lucentio) formally bid for Bianca, with Tranio easily outbidding Gremio. However, in his zeal to win, he promises much more than the real Lucentio actually possesses, and Baptista determines that once Lucentio's father confirms the dowry, Bianca and Tranio can marry. Tranio thus decides that they will need someone to pretend to be Vincentio, Lucentio's father, at some point in the near future. Elsewhere, as part of their scheme, Tranio persuades Hortensio that Bianca is not worthy of his attentions, thus removing any problems he may cause.
Meanwhile, in Petruchio's house, he begins the "taming" of his new wife. She is refused food and clothing because nothing – according to Petruchio – is good enough for her; he claims perfectly cooked meat is overcooked, a beautiful dress doesn't fit right, and a stylish hat is not fashionable. He also sets about disagreeing with everything she says, and forcing her to agree with everything he says, no matter how absurd; on their way back to Padua to attend Bianca's wedding, she agrees with Petruchio that the sun is the moon, and proclaims that "if you please to call it a rush-candle,/Henceforth I vow it shall be so for me" (4.5.14–15). Along the way, they meet Vincentio who is also on his way to Padua, and Katherina agrees with Petruchio when he declares that Vincentio is a woman and then apologises to Vincentio when Petruchio tells her he is a man.
Meanwhile, back in Padua, Lucentio and Tranio convince a passing pedant to pretend to be Vincentio and confirm the dowry for Bianca. The man does so, and Baptista is happy for Bianca to wed Lucentio (actually Tranio in disguise). Bianca then secretly elopes with the real Lucentio. However, Vincentio arrives in Padua, and encounters the Pedant, who claims to be Lucentio's father. Tranio (still disguised as Lucentio) appears, and the Pedant acknowledges him to be his son Lucentio. There is much confusion about identities, and the real Vincentio is set to be arrested when the real Lucentio appears with his newly betrothed Bianca, and reveals all to a bewildered Baptista and Vincentio. Lucentio explains everything that has happened and all is forgiven by the two fathers.
Meanwhile, Hortensio has married a rich widow, and so in the final scene of the play there are three newly married couples at Baptista's banquet; Bianca and Lucentio, the widow and Hortensio, and Katherina and Petruchio. Because of the general opinion that Petruchio is married to a shrew, a quarrel breaks out about whose wife is the most obedient. Petruchio proposes a wager whereby each will send a servant to call for their wives, and whichever comes most obediently will have won the wager for her husband. Katherina is the only one of the three who comes, winning the wager for Petruchio. At the end of the play, after the other two wives have been hauled into the room by Katherina, she gives a speech on the subject of why wives should always obey their husbands and the play ends with Baptista, Hortensio and Lucentio marvelling at how successfully Petruchio has tamed the shrew.

Through both comedy and tragedy, "Seagull" explores lives that are precariously balanced between love and indifference, success and failure, hope and despair. The first of what are considered to be Chekhov's four great plays, it sets the scene for the playwright's unmistakable mix of melancholia and laughter combined with a unique understanding of the daily torment of an unfulfilled.　

Through both comedy and tragedy, "Seagull" explores lives that are precariously balanced between love and indifference, success and failure, hope and despair. The first of what are considered to be Chekhov's four great plays, it sets the scene for the playwright's unmistakable mix of melancholia and laughter combined with a unique understanding of the daily torment of an unfulfilled.　

Act I

Act one begins with Olga (the eldest of the sisters) working as a teacher in a school, but at the end of the play she is made Headmistress, a promotion she had no interest in. Masha, the middle sister and the artist of the family (she was trained as a concert pianist), is married to Feodor Ilyich Kulygin, a schoolteacher. At the time of their marriage, Masha, younger than he, was enchanted by what she took to be wisdom, but seven years later, she sees through his pedantry and his clownish attempts to compensate for the emptiness between them. Irina, the youngest sister, is still full of expectation. She speaks of her dream of going to Moscow and meeting her true love. It was in Moscow that the sisters grew up, and they all long to return to the sophistication and happiness of that time. Andrei is the only boy in the family and the sisters idolize him. He is in love with Natalia Ivanovna (Natasha), who is somewhat common in relation to the sisters and suffers under their glance. The play begins on the first anniversary of their father's death, but it is also Irina's name-day, and everyone, including the soldiers (led by the gallant Vershinin) bringing with them a sense of noble idealism, comes together to celebrate it. At the very close of the act, Andrei exultantly confesses his feelings to Natasha in private and asks her to marry him.
Act II

Act two begins about 21 months later with Andrei and Natasha married with their first child (offstage), a baby boy named Bóbik. Natasha is having an affair with Protopopov, Andrei's superior, a character who is mentioned but never seen onstage. Masha comes home flushed from a night out, and it is clear that she and her companion, Lieutenant-Colonel Vershinin, are giddy with the secret of their mutual love for one another. Little seems to happen but that Natasha manipulatively quashes the plans for a party in the home, but the resultant quiet suggests that all gaiety is being quashed as well. The play turns on such subtle, lifelike touches. Tuzenbach and Solyony declare their love for Irina.
Act III

Act three takes place about a year later in Olga and Irina's room (a clear sign that Natasha is taking over the household as she asked them to share rooms so that her child could have a different room). There has been a fire in the town, and, in the crisis, people are passing in and out of the room, carrying blankets and clothes to give aid. Olga, Masha and Irina are angry with their brother, Andrei, for mortgaging their home, keeping the money to pay off his gambling debts and conceding all his power to his wife. However, when faced with Natasha's cruelty to their aged family servant Anfisa, Olga's own best efforts to stand up to Natasha come to naught. Masha, alone with her sisters, confides in them her romance with Vershinin ("I love, love, love that man."). At one point, Kulygin (her husband) blunders into the room, doting ever more foolishly on her, and she stalks out. Irina despairs at the common turn her life has taken, the life of a schoolteacher, even as she rails at the folly of her aspirations and her education ("I can't remember the Italian for 'window'.") Out of her resignation, supported in this by Olga's realistic outlook, Irina decides to accept Tuzenbach's offer of marriage even though she does not love him. Chebutykin drunkenly stumbles on and smashes a clock belonging to the sister's and Andrei's mother, whom he loved. Andrei gives vent to his self-hatred, acknowledges his own awareness of life's folly and his disappointment in Natasha's character, and begs his sisters' forgiveness for everything.
Act IV

In the fourth and final act, outdoors behind the home, the soldiers, who by now are friends of the family, are preparing to leave the area. A flash-photograph is taken. There is an undercurrent of tension because Solyony has challenged the Baron (Tuzenbach) to a duel, but Tuzenbach is intent on hiding it from Irina. He and Irina share a heartbreaking delicate scene in which she confesses that she cannot love him, likening her heart to a piano whose key has been lost. Just as the soldiers are leaving, a shot is heard, and Tuzenbach's death in the duel is announced shortly before the end of the play. Masha has to be pulled, sobbing, from Vershinin's arms, but her husband willingly, compassionately and all too generously accepts her back, no questions asked. Olga has reluctantly accepted the position of permanent headmistress of the school where she teaches and is moving out. She is taking Anfisa with her, thus rescuing the elderly woman from more of Natasha's blunt cruelties. Irina's fate is uncertain but, even in her grief at Tuzenbach's death, she wants to persevere in her work as a teacher. Natasha remains as the chatelaine, in charge and in control—of everything. ("What is this fork doing here?" Natasha hollers.). Andrei is stuck in his marriage with two children, the only people that Natasha truly dotes on. As the play closes, the three sisters stand in a desperate embrace, gazing off as the soldiers depart to the sound of a band's gay march. As Chebutykin sings "Ta-ra-ra-boom-di-ay" to himself, Olga's final lines call out for an end to the confusion all three feel at life's sufferings and joy: "If we only knew… If we only knew."

Act I

Act one begins with Olga (the eldest of the sisters) working as a teacher in a school, but at the end of the play she is made Headmistress, a promotion she had no interest in. Masha, the middle sister and the artist of the family (she was trained as a concert pianist), is married to Feodor Ilyich Kulygin, a schoolteacher. At the time of their marriage, Masha, younger than he, was enchanted by what she took to be wisdom, but seven years later, she sees through his pedantry and his clownish attempts to compensate for the emptiness between them. Irina, the youngest sister, is still full of expectation. She speaks of her dream of going to Moscow and meeting her true love. It was in Moscow that the sisters grew up, and they all long to return to the sophistication and happiness of that time. Andrei is the only boy in the family and the sisters idolize him. He is in love with Natalia Ivanovna (Natasha), who is somewhat common in relation to the sisters and suffers under their glance. The play begins on the first anniversary of their father's death, but it is also Irina's name-day, and everyone, including the soldiers (led by the gallant Vershinin) bringing with them a sense of noble idealism, comes together to celebrate it. At the very close of the act, Andrei exultantly confesses his feelings to Natasha in private and asks her to marry him.
Act II

Act two begins about 21 months later with Andrei and Natasha married with their first child (offstage), a baby boy named Bóbik. Natasha is having an affair with Protopopov, Andrei's superior, a character who is mentioned but never seen onstage. Masha comes home flushed from a night out, and it is clear that she and her companion, Lieutenant-Colonel Vershinin, are giddy with the secret of their mutual love for one another. Little seems to happen but that Natasha manipulatively quashes the plans for a party in the home, but the resultant quiet suggests that all gaiety is being quashed as well. The play turns on such subtle, lifelike touches. Tuzenbach and Solyony declare their love for Irina.
Act III

Act three takes place about a year later in Olga and Irina's room (a clear sign that Natasha is taking over the household as she asked them to share rooms so that her child could have a different room). There has been a fire in the town, and, in the crisis, people are passing in and out of the room, carrying blankets and clothes to give aid. Olga, Masha and Irina are angry with their brother, Andrei, for mortgaging their home, keeping the money to pay off his gambling debts and conceding all his power to his wife. However, when faced with Natasha's cruelty to their aged family servant Anfisa, Olga's own best efforts to stand up to Natasha come to naught. Masha, alone with her sisters, confides in them her romance with Vershinin ("I love, love, love that man."). At one point, Kulygin (her husband) blunders into the room, doting ever more foolishly on her, and she stalks out. Irina despairs at the common turn her life has taken, the life of a schoolteacher, even as she rails at the folly of her aspirations and her education ("I can't remember the Italian for 'window'.") Out of her resignation, supported in this by Olga's realistic outlook, Irina decides to accept Tuzenbach's offer of marriage even though she does not love him. Chebutykin drunkenly stumbles on and smashes a clock belonging to the sister's and Andrei's mother, whom he loved. Andrei gives vent to his self-hatred, acknowledges his own awareness of life's folly and his disappointment in Natasha's character, and begs his sisters' forgiveness for everything.
Act IV

In the fourth and final act, outdoors behind the home, the soldiers, who by now are friends of the family, are preparing to leave the area. A flash-photograph is taken. There is an undercurrent of tension because Solyony has challenged the Baron (Tuzenbach) to a duel, but Tuzenbach is intent on hiding it from Irina. He and Irina share a heartbreaking delicate scene in which she confesses that she cannot love him, likening her heart to a piano whose key has been lost. Just as the soldiers are leaving, a shot is heard, and Tuzenbach's death in the duel is announced shortly before the end of the play. Masha has to be pulled, sobbing, from Vershinin's arms, but her husband willingly, compassionately and all too generously accepts her back, no questions asked. Olga has reluctantly accepted the position of permanent headmistress of the school where she teaches and is moving out. She is taking Anfisa with her, thus rescuing the elderly woman from more of Natasha's blunt cruelties. Irina's fate is uncertain but, even in her grief at Tuzenbach's death, she wants to persevere in her work as a teacher. Natasha remains as the chatelaine, in charge and in control—of everything. ("What is this fork doing here?" Natasha hollers.). Andrei is stuck in his marriage with two children, the only people that Natasha truly dotes on. As the play closes, the three sisters stand in a desperate embrace, gazing off as the soldiers depart to the sound of a band's gay march. As Chebutykin sings "Ta-ra-ra-boom-di-ay" to himself, Olga's final lines call out for an end to the confusion all three feel at life's sufferings and joy: "If we only knew… If we only knew."

哈姆雷特快要疯了。父亲由于奇怪的病症暴毙，母亲改了嫁。在那么多人之中，她偏偏嫁给了亡夫的弟弟，还在父亲过世短短一个月之后。哈姆雷特总是能在夜间看见父亲的鬼魂，他呼喊着自己被弟弟毒害，并恳求哈姆雷特替他报仇，去杀死他的继父。哈姆雷特为了复仇大计装疯卖傻，却在实施的过程中迷失了现实。世界，对他来说成了污浊的泥淖。对性的渴望和唤醒成了恐怖的深渊。周围的朋友变成了继父的耳目，为了时刻监视他。甚至奥菲利亚，他的爱人，也变成了密谋中的一颗棋子。
哈姆雷特的偏执并非全无依据，一个告密者在幕帘后对他密切监视、窃听，终于，复仇者成了凶恶的捕食者。愚蠢的行为变成了彻底的疯狂，哈姆雷特错杀了波洛涅斯——奥菲利亚的父亲。哈姆雷特的母亲和继父为他掩盖了谋杀的罪行，并有意安排他远离公众的实现。哈姆雷特的大计似乎要化为泡影。他迷失了自我，失去了人生的方向。面对这一切，奥菲利亚再也无法承受，她自杀了。当哈姆雷特的继父决定让哈姆雷特永远不再发声的时候，哈姆雷特也抓住了这手边的机会，给了继父最后的沉痛一击，迫使他臣服。
莎士比亚再现了丹麦皇室堕落的政治网络，让哈姆雷特的人生变成了彻底迷幻的悲剧。谋杀、背叛、篡权和对性的渴望成了这场战争中捍卫皇权的武器。哈姆雷特因为无法采取行动，对抗这场在皇廷中充满冷嘲热讽的游戏规则，他变得沉郁、闭塞、甚至自我伤害。他生性犹疑，在好坏两方面难以抉择，这也成为他复仇之路上难以逾越的障碍。除他之外，再无他人对皇室存疑，他的人生注定是场悲剧。

第一幕
舞台的特技使观众仿佛置身于游泳池底，可以看到水面上面漂着一个穿着全套衣服的尸体。这时 Joe Gillis 的声音出现了：
“大概是早上五点钟吧，日落大道上的一户大房子里传出了命案。明天早上所有的报纸都会把这案子列为头条新闻，那时你就会发现很久以前的一个电影明星也和这案子有关……也许应该说是最有名的明星。”
故事倒回到6个月以前，人声噪杂的派拉蒙电影公司的摄影棚里。年轻的剧本作家 Joe 挤在人群里，和认识的人打着招呼 (“什么时候咱们约个时间吃午饭……有事先走了，再见”)。但是很快，他撞到了两个戴着帽子穿着难看套装的人－－追债人：“把车钥匙交出来，你欠我们的钱已经过期了。”
为了保住车子，Joe 慌忙挤到人群里把那两个人甩掉。他找到经理人：“你无论如何要帮我找份工作！”可惜，他的经理人刚刚接受了几个神童作家，根本不把他放在心上。
Joe 来到派拉蒙公司的办公室里，他曾经交给制片人 Sheldrake 一部剧本，现在要和他讨论剧本的情况。Sheldrake 叫秘书去“把所有关于那个剧本的东西都搬来”。Betty Schaefer，年轻的工作人员，把她给剧本准备的简介拿了进来。但是，她很清楚地表示 Joe 的剧本相当差：“把本来就不怎么样的东西杂烩到一起做出的更差的东西。”
忽然她发现 Joe 本人就在办公室里，十分不好意思。Joe 相当反感她的态度，当她告诉她其实她很欣赏Joe 其他作品也无济于事。她提起最喜欢的短篇“盲窗”，但是 Joe 仍然坚持她的意见是对的，这部剧本就是排成电影也不过是陈词滥调：“Sheldrake 不会喜欢这故事的－－他只看得懂闪着霓虹灯的垃圾。”
突然那两个追债人闯进了办公室找 Joe。情急之下 Joe 答应 Betty 先帮他引走这两个家伙，剧本的事可以以后再谈。不过 Betty 也只帮他挡了几分钟，两个追债人还是一路追上了 Joe，并且紧跟在 Joe 的车后不放。
Joe 逃到日落大道，他看到一间开着门的空车库，连忙停了进去，追债人没有看到，仍直着跑下去了。在车库里，Joe 发现这间车库非常的大，而且，里面停着的汽车也异常豪华。
这时，从阳台上传来了女人的声音：“你！为什么来的这么晚？”
一个神情严肃的男人走过来，不顾 Joe 的反对，把他带到房子里面。这个人是管家 Max，他以为 Joe 是为他们刚死的猩猩负责管理葬礼的人。
Joe 被剩在大厅里，从昏暗光线里，他看到一个人影站在死了的猩猩前面。她正在给它唱催眠曲：“下次再见面时我会投降……”很快她就发现 Joe 不是来处理葬礼的人，但是当 Joe 要离开房子的时候，Joe 看到她的脸：“你不是 Norma Desmond 吗？你以前在电影里的，你以前大大的有名啊！”
她的回答十分简短：“我还是大大的有名，是电影越来越小了。”她接着告诉 Joe，有声电影使整个电影界走向衰落，他们忘记了“沉默是金”，他们忘记了，她的一个眼神，远比任何台词都要有力。
Joe 解释说他“只是个作家”，但是她继续下去：“只用一眼，我就可以让你心碎”。当 Joe 再次转身要走的时候，她又叫住了他，“你说你是作家？”她交给 Joe 一叠草稿。“我写的……”她宣布：“这将是一部很重要的电影。”她要求 Joe 马上读完：“这是写索罗姆 (Salome，希律王之女)的，她是所有女人的代表”。
Joe 不情愿地翻看了剧本，然后指出几点不满：“也许是太长了吧……应该多些对话……？还可以再做些删节。”Norma 不但同意他的意见，还决定了他就是来改写这部杰作的人选。她认为 Joe 今晚就可以留在这里，好明天一早立即动笔。
Max 带领 Joe 到客房，然后给 Joe 讲述 Norma 曾经辉煌的年代：“只要一提‘好莱坞’，最先想到的就是她的脸……，现在，她已经被人忘的差不多了，但是那是因为电影越来越小了，她才是最出名的明星……”
第二天，Joe 去商店见 Betty。在酒吧里，他遇到朋友 Artie Green，得知 Betty 就要结婚了。见到 Betty 后，两人谈论了拍摄“盲窗”的可能性，但是 Joe 并不觉得这会是好电影，他告诉 Betty 先动手改写剧本，如果有问题可以找他。
互道晚安之后，Joe 回到了 Norma 的公馆里。在外面，他看到 Max，Max 说“他很为夫人担心”。Max 早知道她不可能再红起来了，她的影迷已经不再给她写信了，她收到那些信都是 Max 假装影迷寄给她的。他认为 Joe 应该立即离开公馆，否则 Norma 会受更大的刺激。
于是，在接下来的几天里，Joe 草草改完了稿子。这个工作比他原先想象得困难得多。在这些天里他唯一的娱乐就是和 Norma 一起看她以前主演的无声电影，一边听着她讲述昔日的辉煌，Joe 觉得自己像是生活在与世隔绝的孤岛上。
改完了稿子，他却没法离开公馆，因为他的车已经被人拖走了，Norma 答应给他的稿费也没有踪影。
一天早上，Norma 走进房里，宣布：“今天就是好日子！”她告诉 Max 到派拉蒙去把剧本交给 Cecil B. DeMille，而且一定要亲手交给她本人。Joe 向 Norma 表示感激她对他的信任，但是他应该离开了。但是 Norma 另有打算，她充满感情地告诉他：“请你留下来，我会付你全职的薪水……我需要你的支持！”在她的哀求下，Joe 同意先留下来。
12月24日圣诞前夕，Norma 给 Joe 一件特别的礼物，她找来了“全城最好的裁缝……我告诉他们今天停业一天”。老道的裁缝向 Joe 推荐他的货物：“二流的衣服只能配二流的人哪！”Norma 给他买下了堆成山的衣服，她在新年前夜要举行舞会，要 Joe 也来参加。
舞会当晚，整座房子在 Max 的装点下闪闪发光，各种酒都已准备好，楼梯上也安置了四人小提琴组，悄悄地演奏着。Joe 穿着新买的礼服进了大厅，可是，其他的客人却没有到。
这时 Norma 傲然而入，她给 Joe 新年礼物，是一个金制的香烟盒，上面刻着“为男孩疯狂”(男孩指 Joe)。乐队演奏起探戈舞曲，他们两人走到房间中间跳舞，这时屋里的气氛热情起来，他们紧贴在一起，Norma 在 Joe 的耳边悄声说：“如果你和我在一起，明年将会是完美的一年。”Joe 似乎为此憧憬，音乐停止后他们回到沙发上坐下。Joe 询问起其他客人的下落，Norma 回答，“没有其他的客人！今晚就只有你和我。我已经爱上你了，你早就应该知道了。”Joe 很生气：“你不要以为我可以挥之即来……我不适合你。”Norma也生气起来，她说：“你要说的是你根本不想让我爱上你。说吧，说出来吧！”她气极打 Joe，Joe 愤然离开公馆。
他坐计程车到朋友 Artie 家，他那里正举行新年派对，有很多年轻人在。新年钟声即将响起，年轻人们纷纷谈起他们的新年志向：“大概明年我们也要说一模一样的东西吧！”Betty 正苦于修改 Joe 的“盲窗”，她向 Joe 寻求帮助，但是 Joe 改了主意，不想拍“盲窗”了。Betty 苦苦说服他这个剧本还是大有前途的。于是 Joe 决定先在 Artie 那里住几天，找到房子之后就全心改编“盲窗”。他打电话给 Max，让 Max 给他把东西拿来，可是 Max 没有时间做，“我在照顾夫人”，他说，“她从你的房间找到刮胡刀片割了手腕。”Joe 听了连忙抓了大衣回到了日落大道。
在公馆里，他发现 Norma 躺在沙发上，手腕上包着纱布。“你做这傻事有什么用？”他问。Norma 十分伤心：“你一定是有女朋友。你为什么不去找她？”Joe 回答：“我从来也不想伤害你，Norma。你待我那么好。”“那就赶快说谢谢然后滚！滚！滚开！”
Joe 准备离开，但是他转身面对 Norma，悄声说：“新年快乐。”
她回答：“新年快乐，亲爱的。”
幕落下的时候，可以看到 Joe 走过去拥抱他，两人亲吻。
第二幕
Norma 的游泳池旁边，Joe 躺在藤椅上喝着鸡尾酒，他自以为是地说着：“日落大道，赌博大道罢，她的名声越落越快，是我给她一条绳子。现在我有了衣服，她也有了希望，你以为我是出卖了自己？当然我是卖了自己！”
这时 Norma 从屋里跑出来：“电话！派拉蒙来的电话！他们喜欢我们的宝贝。DeMille 先生高兴极了。刚才是什么蠢助手打电话来，哼，如果他们要我，最好让 Cecil B. 自己来找我。”
可惜 DeMille 先生并没有打电话来。三天之后，Norma 觉得等得够久了。她穿戴整齐，“像个法老王”，由 Max 开车到派拉蒙。
Joe 让 Norma 自己去找 Cecil B.，因为“这是你自己的登台时刻”。当 Norma 来到第18号录影棚，里面的导演看到她时，表情已经不能用惊奇来概括。导演回避了 Norma 对于剧本何时开拍的问题，而是把 Norma 送到布景区里，在那里 Norma 看到兴奋地挤来挤去的人群，她回忆起从前自己做主角的辉煌时光，她决定卷土重来，“这次我要做得更大，就好像我从来没有说再见。”
在外面，Joe 遇到 Betty。她说她还是需要他的帮助才能完成剧本，Joe 假说有事，让她等他的电话。这时 Sheldrake 看到了 Max，他问为什么 Norma 还没有回他的电话，原来他让助手打电话是因为他拍的电影想借用她的汽车。
Max 明白了整个事情的由来，他赶快告诉 Joe：“他们不是要找夫人，他们是要找她的汽车！”当时 Norma 正欢欢喜喜地和 Cecil B. 道别。在回日落大道的路上，她一直不停地讲述她当年拍电影的故事。
Joe 和 Betty 终于一起改编剧本，他发现和另一个人写作很适合他，两个人一起做得又快又好。
Norma 也在努力工作，在公馆里，她躺在沙发上，大群的美容师和减肥师在她身边转来转去。她急切地想把身体变回年轻时的模样，好早日重返舞台，“永远的青春是要有些短暂的疼痛的，”他们告诉她。
Joe 回家后，Norma 怀疑他出门的动机：“Betty Schaefer 是谁”。他告诉她“没什么事，我什么也没做。”
几天之后，剧本写好了，Joe 和 Betty 去水边玩借以庆祝，在路上，Betty 讲到她在派拉蒙的童年，“我出生在两个街口旁边。”很快，他们就讲到了 Betty 的未婚夫 Artie，“他想带我去田纳西州，”Betty 说，“但是……我已经不爱他了……我爱的是你。”Joe 发现他自己也有同样的感觉：“就算我是个傻瓜吧，我现在爱得太深了不在乎。”
Joe 回到公馆的时候已经很晚了。Max 在等他，他告诉 Joe 要小心点，他不希望看到夫人伤心。“我使她成为明星，我永远不允许她被破坏……她刚出道时的电影都是我导演的。那时候，只有三个年轻导演被认为是最有前途的……D.W. Griffith，Cecil B. DeMille 和……”Joe 替他说下去：“Max Von Mayerling”。“请你理解，”Max 说：
“她曾经是我的妻子。”
房子里面，Norma 在打电话：“喂，是住在 Gladstone 街9281号的 Schaefer 小姐吗？你知道一位 Gillis 先生？他，是个，啊，我没法说……你去问他吧，我倒很想听听他的回答呢……”Joe 抓过电话：“那你为什么不直接问我呢？你马上来这里！”
Norma 哀求他的原谅，但是他怒不可遏。外面下起瓢泼大雨，Betty 从车子跑到门口，衣服已经全浇湿了。她按了门铃，Joe 开门让她进来。“发生什么事了，Joe？”她问。Joe 很冷淡：“这已经是老掉牙的故事了……有钱的老女人，遇见年轻的男人－－标准的机动表演。你想我回到只够温饱的生活里去吗？你还是去嫁给 Artie 那个傻瓜吧，你可以随时来我的游泳池玩。”Betty 哭着跑了出去：“我不能再看你。”
Norma 对这个结果很满意，但是 Joe 没有理她，他上楼取了行李箱下来。“你要干什么，Joe？”Norma 质问：“你要离开我吗？”Joe 厉声回答：“是的，我要离开你，而且，还有一件事我要告诉你，他们永远也不会拍你的剧本的。他们想要的只是你的汽车。”
Norma 十分吃惊：“你说谎！我每天都受到那么多影迷信件呢！”Joe 告诉他：“那是 Max 给你写的。50岁本没有什么不好，但是你还要装作20岁就恶心了。”
Norma 狂怒，她从衣袋里抽出手枪，冲着 Joe 的背后打了一枪：“没有人想要离开明星！”子弹穿过 Joe 的身体时他震了一下，但是他还是努力往外走。当他走到外面时第三枪射中了他，他栽进游泳池里。
清晨，公馆的大厅被照相机的闪光灯照亮。厅里挤满了摄像师和记者，一个记者正对着摄像机说：“Norma Desmond，昔日的天皇巨星受了很大刺激。”
这时，身穿希律王之女服装的 Norma 出现在楼梯顶端。她慢慢地下楼，一边断断续续地唱着歌。她明显的脆弱而且困惑了。Max 大声告诉她：“夫人，摄像机都来了，这就是宫殿里的楼梯，他们等着你跳舞呢。”她无疑相信了他的话，于是，在摄像机的嗡嗡声中，她跳起了异常缓慢的舞蹈。她完全相信自己是在拍摄希律王之女的电影，但是忽然她停了下来：“我拍不下去了，我太高兴了，这就是我的生命，一直都是这样。现在，DeMille 先生，你可以拍我的脸部特写了……”
“这一次，我要留下来，我要流芳百世。我要回到我天生要做的事情。我只看一眼，我就成为我自己。”
舞台暗。幕落。

第一幕
舞台的特技使观众仿佛置身于游泳池底，可以看到水面上面漂着一个穿着全套衣服的尸体。这时 Joe Gillis 的声音出现了：
“大概是早上五点钟吧，日落大道上的一户大房子里传出了命案。明天早上所有的报纸都会把这案子列为头条新闻，那时你就会发现很久以前的一个电影明星也和这案子有关……也许应该说是最有名的明星。”
故事倒回到6个月以前，人声噪杂的派拉蒙电影公司的摄影棚里。年轻的剧本作家 Joe 挤在人群里，和认识的人打着招呼 (“什么时候咱们约个时间吃午饭……有事先走了，再见”)。但是很快，他撞到了两个戴着帽子穿着难看套装的人－－追债人：“把车钥匙交出来，你欠我们的钱已经过期了。”
为了保住车子，Joe 慌忙挤到人群里把那两个人甩掉。他找到经理人：“你无论如何要帮我找份工作！”可惜，他的经理人刚刚接受了几个神童作家，根本不把他放在心上。
Joe 来到派拉蒙公司的办公室里，他曾经交给制片人 Sheldrake 一部剧本，现在要和他讨论剧本的情况。Sheldrake 叫秘书去“把所有关于那个剧本的东西都搬来”。Betty Schaefer，年轻的工作人员，把她给剧本准备的简介拿了进来。但是，她很清楚地表示 Joe 的剧本相当差：“把本来就不怎么样的东西杂烩到一起做出的更差的东西。”
忽然她发现 Joe 本人就在办公室里，十分不好意思。Joe 相当反感她的态度，当她告诉她其实她很欣赏Joe 其他作品也无济于事。她提起最喜欢的短篇“盲窗”，但是 Joe 仍然坚持她的意见是对的，这部剧本就是排成电影也不过是陈词滥调：“Sheldrake 不会喜欢这故事的－－他只看得懂闪着霓虹灯的垃圾。”
突然那两个追债人闯进了办公室找 Joe。情急之下 Joe 答应 Betty 先帮他引走这两个家伙，剧本的事可以以后再谈。不过 Betty 也只帮他挡了几分钟，两个追债人还是一路追上了 Joe，并且紧跟在 Joe 的车后不放。
Joe 逃到日落大道，他看到一间开着门的空车库，连忙停了进去，追债人没有看到，仍直着跑下去了。在车库里，Joe 发现这间车库非常的大，而且，里面停着的汽车也异常豪华。
这时，从阳台上传来了女人的声音：“你！为什么来的这么晚？”
一个神情严肃的男人走过来，不顾 Joe 的反对，把他带到房子里面。这个人是管家 Max，他以为 Joe 是为他们刚死的猩猩负责管理葬礼的人。
Joe 被剩在大厅里，从昏暗光线里，他看到一个人影站在死了的猩猩前面。她正在给它唱催眠曲：“下次再见面时我会投降……”很快她就发现 Joe 不是来处理葬礼的人，但是当 Joe 要离开房子的时候，Joe 看到她的脸：“你不是 Norma Desmond 吗？你以前在电影里的，你以前大大的有名啊！”
她的回答十分简短：“我还是大大的有名，是电影越来越小了。”她接着告诉 Joe，有声电影使整个电影界走向衰落，他们忘记了“沉默是金”，他们忘记了，她的一个眼神，远比任何台词都要有力。
Joe 解释说他“只是个作家”，但是她继续下去：“只用一眼，我就可以让你心碎”。当 Joe 再次转身要走的时候，她又叫住了他，“你说你是作家？”她交给 Joe 一叠草稿。“我写的……”她宣布：“这将是一部很重要的电影。”她要求 Joe 马上读完：“这是写索罗姆 (Salome，希律王之女)的，她是所有女人的代表”。
Joe 不情愿地翻看了剧本，然后指出几点不满：“也许是太长了吧……应该多些对话……？还可以再做些删节。”Norma 不但同意他的意见，还决定了他就是来改写这部杰作的人选。她认为 Joe 今晚就可以留在这里，好明天一早立即动笔。
Max 带领 Joe 到客房，然后给 Joe 讲述 Norma 曾经辉煌的年代：“只要一提‘好莱坞’，最先想到的就是她的脸……，现在，她已经被人忘的差不多了，但是那是因为电影越来越小了，她才是最出名的明星……”
第二天，Joe 去商店见 Betty。在酒吧里，他遇到朋友 Artie Green，得知 Betty 就要结婚了。见到 Betty 后，两人谈论了拍摄“盲窗”的可能性，但是 Joe 并不觉得这会是好电影，他告诉 Betty 先动手改写剧本，如果有问题可以找他。
互道晚安之后，Joe 回到了 Norma 的公馆里。在外面，他看到 Max，Max 说“他很为夫人担心”。Max 早知道她不可能再红起来了，她的影迷已经不再给她写信了，她收到那些信都是 Max 假装影迷寄给她的。他认为 Joe 应该立即离开公馆，否则 Norma 会受更大的刺激。
于是，在接下来的几天里，Joe 草草改完了稿子。这个工作比他原先想象得困难得多。在这些天里他唯一的娱乐就是和 Norma 一起看她以前主演的无声电影，一边听着她讲述昔日的辉煌，Joe 觉得自己像是生活在与世隔绝的孤岛上。
改完了稿子，他却没法离开公馆，因为他的车已经被人拖走了，Norma 答应给他的稿费也没有踪影。
一天早上，Norma 走进房里，宣布：“今天就是好日子！”她告诉 Max 到派拉蒙去把剧本交给 Cecil B. DeMille，而且一定要亲手交给她本人。Joe 向 Norma 表示感激她对他的信任，但是他应该离开了。但是 Norma 另有打算，她充满感情地告诉他：“请你留下来，我会付你全职的薪水……我需要你的支持！”在她的哀求下，Joe 同意先留下来。
12月24日圣诞前夕，Norma 给 Joe 一件特别的礼物，她找来了“全城最好的裁缝……我告诉他们今天停业一天”。老道的裁缝向 Joe 推荐他的货物：“二流的衣服只能配二流的人哪！”Norma 给他买下了堆成山的衣服，她在新年前夜要举行舞会，要 Joe 也来参加。
舞会当晚，整座房子在 Max 的装点下闪闪发光，各种酒都已准备好，楼梯上也安置了四人小提琴组，悄悄地演奏着。Joe 穿着新买的礼服进了大厅，可是，其他的客人却没有到。
这时 Norma 傲然而入，她给 Joe 新年礼物，是一个金制的香烟盒，上面刻着“为男孩疯狂”(男孩指 Joe)。乐队演奏起探戈舞曲，他们两人走到房间中间跳舞，这时屋里的气氛热情起来，他们紧贴在一起，Norma 在 Joe 的耳边悄声说：“如果你和我在一起，明年将会是完美的一年。”Joe 似乎为此憧憬，音乐停止后他们回到沙发上坐下。Joe 询问起其他客人的下落，Norma 回答，“没有其他的客人！今晚就只有你和我。我已经爱上你了，你早就应该知道了。”Joe 很生气：“你不要以为我可以挥之即来……我不适合你。”Norma也生气起来，她说：“你要说的是你根本不想让我爱上你。说吧，说出来吧！”她气极打 Joe，Joe 愤然离开公馆。
他坐计程车到朋友 Artie 家，他那里正举行新年派对，有很多年轻人在。新年钟声即将响起，年轻人们纷纷谈起他们的新年志向：“大概明年我们也要说一模一样的东西吧！”Betty 正苦于修改 Joe 的“盲窗”，她向 Joe 寻求帮助，但是 Joe 改了主意，不想拍“盲窗”了。Betty 苦苦说服他这个剧本还是大有前途的。于是 Joe 决定先在 Artie 那里住几天，找到房子之后就全心改编“盲窗”。他打电话给 Max，让 Max 给他把东西拿来，可是 Max 没有时间做，“我在照顾夫人”，他说，“她从你的房间找到刮胡刀片割了手腕。”Joe 听了连忙抓了大衣回到了日落大道。
在公馆里，他发现 Norma 躺在沙发上，手腕上包着纱布。“你做这傻事有什么用？”他问。Norma 十分伤心：“你一定是有女朋友。你为什么不去找她？”Joe 回答：“我从来也不想伤害你，Norma。你待我那么好。”“那就赶快说谢谢然后滚！滚！滚开！”
Joe 准备离开，但是他转身面对 Norma，悄声说：“新年快乐。”
她回答：“新年快乐，亲爱的。”
幕落下的时候，可以看到 Joe 走过去拥抱他，两人亲吻。
第二幕
Norma 的游泳池旁边，Joe 躺在藤椅上喝着鸡尾酒，他自以为是地说着：“日落大道，赌博大道罢，她的名声越落越快，是我给她一条绳子。现在我有了衣服，她也有了希望，你以为我是出卖了自己？当然我是卖了自己！”
这时 Norma 从屋里跑出来：“电话！派拉蒙来的电话！他们喜欢我们的宝贝。DeMille 先生高兴极了。刚才是什么蠢助手打电话来，哼，如果他们要我，最好让 Cecil B. 自己来找我。”
可惜 DeMille 先生并没有打电话来。三天之后，Norma 觉得等得够久了。她穿戴整齐，“像个法老王”，由 Max 开车到派拉蒙。
Joe 让 Norma 自己去找 Cecil B.，因为“这是你自己的登台时刻”。当 Norma 来到第18号录影棚，里面的导演看到她时，表情已经不能用惊奇来概括。导演回避了 Norma 对于剧本何时开拍的问题，而是把 Norma 送到布景区里，在那里 Norma 看到兴奋地挤来挤去的人群，她回忆起从前自己做主角的辉煌时光，她决定卷土重来，“这次我要做得更大，就好像我从来没有说再见。”
在外面，Joe 遇到 Betty。她说她还是需要他的帮助才能完成剧本，Joe 假说有事，让她等他的电话。这时 Sheldrake 看到了 Max，他问为什么 Norma 还没有回他的电话，原来他让助手打电话是因为他拍的电影想借用她的汽车。
Max 明白了整个事情的由来，他赶快告诉 Joe：“他们不是要找夫人，他们是要找她的汽车！”当时 Norma 正欢欢喜喜地和 Cecil B. 道别。在回日落大道的路上，她一直不停地讲述她当年拍电影的故事。
Joe 和 Betty 终于一起改编剧本，他发现和另一个人写作很适合他，两个人一起做得又快又好。
Norma 也在努力工作，在公馆里，她躺在沙发上，大群的美容师和减肥师在她身边转来转去。她急切地想把身体变回年轻时的模样，好早日重返舞台，“永远的青春是要有些短暂的疼痛的，”他们告诉她。
Joe 回家后，Norma 怀疑他出门的动机：“Betty Schaefer 是谁”。他告诉她“没什么事，我什么也没做。”
几天之后，剧本写好了，Joe 和 Betty 去水边玩借以庆祝，在路上，Betty 讲到她在派拉蒙的童年，“我出生在两个街口旁边。”很快，他们就讲到了 Betty 的未婚夫 Artie，“他想带我去田纳西州，”Betty 说，“但是……我已经不爱他了……我爱的是你。”Joe 发现他自己也有同样的感觉：“就算我是个傻瓜吧，我现在爱得太深了不在乎。”
Joe 回到公馆的时候已经很晚了。Max 在等他，他告诉 Joe 要小心点，他不希望看到夫人伤心。“我使她成为明星，我永远不允许她被破坏……她刚出道时的电影都是我导演的。那时候，只有三个年轻导演被认为是最有前途的……D.W. Griffith，Cecil B. DeMille 和……”Joe 替他说下去：“Max Von Mayerling”。“请你理解，”Max 说：
“她曾经是我的妻子。”
房子里面，Norma 在打电话：“喂，是住在 Gladstone 街9281号的 Schaefer 小姐吗？你知道一位 Gillis 先生？他，是个，啊，我没法说……你去问他吧，我倒很想听听他的回答呢……”Joe 抓过电话：“那你为什么不直接问我呢？你马上来这里！”
Norma 哀求他的原谅，但是他怒不可遏。外面下起瓢泼大雨，Betty 从车子跑到门口，衣服已经全浇湿了。她按了门铃，Joe 开门让她进来。“发生什么事了，Joe？”她问。Joe 很冷淡：“这已经是老掉牙的故事了……有钱的老女人，遇见年轻的男人－－标准的机动表演。你想我回到只够温饱的生活里去吗？你还是去嫁给 Artie 那个傻瓜吧，你可以随时来我的游泳池玩。”Betty 哭着跑了出去：“我不能再看你。”
Norma 对这个结果很满意，但是 Joe 没有理她，他上楼取了行李箱下来。“你要干什么，Joe？”Norma 质问：“你要离开我吗？”Joe 厉声回答：“是的，我要离开你，而且，还有一件事我要告诉你，他们永远也不会拍你的剧本的。他们想要的只是你的汽车。”
Norma 十分吃惊：“你说谎！我每天都受到那么多影迷信件呢！”Joe 告诉他：“那是 Max 给你写的。50岁本没有什么不好，但是你还要装作20岁就恶心了。”
Norma 狂怒，她从衣袋里抽出手枪，冲着 Joe 的背后打了一枪：“没有人想要离开明星！”子弹穿过 Joe 的身体时他震了一下，但是他还是努力往外走。当他走到外面时第三枪射中了他，他栽进游泳池里。
清晨，公馆的大厅被照相机的闪光灯照亮。厅里挤满了摄像师和记者，一个记者正对着摄像机说：“Norma Desmond，昔日的天皇巨星受了很大刺激。”
这时，身穿希律王之女服装的 Norma 出现在楼梯顶端。她慢慢地下楼，一边断断续续地唱着歌。她明显的脆弱而且困惑了。Max 大声告诉她：“夫人，摄像机都来了，这就是宫殿里的楼梯，他们等着你跳舞呢。”她无疑相信了他的话，于是，在摄像机的嗡嗡声中，她跳起了异常缓慢的舞蹈。她完全相信自己是在拍摄希律王之女的电影，但是忽然她停了下来：“我拍不下去了，我太高兴了，这就是我的生命，一直都是这样。现在，DeMille 先生，你可以拍我的脸部特写了……”
“这一次，我要留下来，我要流芳百世。我要回到我天生要做的事情。我只看一眼，我就成为我自己。”
舞台暗。幕落。

关于魔笛制作人Emanuel Schikaneder和妻子Eleonore的生活及爱情故事的音乐剧。该剧于2016年9月30日在维也纳Raimund剧院首演。
序幕
1789年，在维也纳的维登剧院，艾蕾诺尔‧席卡内德在其人生伴侣约翰‧弗里德尔过世后，继承了剧院的营生。然而在当时，身为女子的她独自经营剧院是不被允许的。在她拒绝了竞争同业卡尔‧马林内里的收购协议后，解决这困境的唯一办法似乎只剩下和她数年前就已分开、差不多成了前夫的伊曼纽尔‧席卡内德重新合作。然而剧团众人陷入了绝望：因为艾蕾诺尔断然否绝了这个提议（Aus! Vorbei!）。艾蕾诺尔开始解释，他们的故事是如何开始的，以及她为何这辈子都不想再见到伊曼纽尔。
第一幕
他们的故事要从十四年前开始说起：年轻的艾蕾诺尔（当时未出嫁的她姓氏为亚特）是知名剧团中的一位女演员，该剧团属于弗朗茨‧莫瑟（Innsbruck）。充满个人魅力的主演兼作家约瑟夫‧约翰‧席卡内德对这位聪明机智的女性一见倾心，并试图赢得她的芳心。虽然两人都为对方所吸引，艾蕾诺尔还是拒绝了这位远近驰名的花花公子（Träum groß）。
在一堂芭蕾课程里，剧团众人偷偷谈论著席卡内德和艾蕾诺尔，因为他们俩很显然迅速且无可救药地坠入了爱河（Irgendwas passiert）。剧团的团长弗朗茨‧莫瑟在爱妻死后决意退休，而艾蕾诺尔帮助席卡内德成为了团长的接班人（Ohne sie）。
艾蕾诺尔答应嫁予席卡内德为妻，而席卡内德出于对新娘的敬重，决定改名为伊曼纽尔──一个非常适合他俩的名字（Liebe siegt）。
这对夫妻无疑是一对天作之合，不仅在生活方面，在舞台上亦然。他们是剧团中最受欢迎的明星演员，忙着为演出而四处奔走，并在各地都取得了巨大的成功（Das hellstrahlendste Traumpaar）。
艾蕾诺尔从她的朋友芭芭拉‧盖尔那里得知了丈夫的风流韵事：这很显然不是第一次了，但芭芭拉告诉她这次该“当真”了。艾蕾诺尔不想再听下去，结婚以来，她已经学会了对某些事情视而不见（Wegzusehen）。此时，年轻又内向的作家兼演员约翰‧弗里德尔出现，他从以前就一直爱着艾蕾诺尔；约翰安慰她并向她示爱，但被艾蕾诺尔拒绝（So jemand wie du）。
伊曼纽尔有个远大的计划：他想拥有一间自己的剧院，并写一出新颖的德语歌剧，这个计划再次吸引了艾蕾诺尔，让她的心回到他身边（Träum groß Reprise）。
然而，当艾蕾诺尔和伊曼纽尔天真的小情人玛莉安娜‧米勒对质，且得知她已怀上了自己丈夫的小孩时，艾蕾诺尔陷入了深深的绝望（Freut euch mit mir）。
她转而向体弱多病的年轻作家约翰‧弗里德尔寻求慰藉，并说服他和自己一同前往维也纳建立一间自己的剧院。约翰将母亲的遗物──一条价值连城的钻石项链送给了艾蕾诺尔（Jetzt und hier）。
伊曼纽尔自玛莉安娜处得了知妻子离开的消息。但当玛莉安娜发现，尽管如此伊曼纽尔也不会娶她为妻时，她也离开了伊曼纽尔。艾蕾诺尔离开的事实重重打击了伊曼纽尔，但他仍不肯老实承认（So viele Fische im Meer）。
艾蕾诺尔和约翰、玛莉安娜和伊曼纽尔各自期待着能够重新出发，与此同时，伊曼纽尔所带领的剧团众人却因剧团的支离破碎而感到心灰意冷。（第一幕结束）
第二幕
少了艾蕾诺尔，伊曼纽尔的剧团变得大不如前。他所写的一出关于热气球起飞的歌剧简直是场灾难，而且花了他一大笔钱。艾蕾诺尔和约翰在维也纳的遭遇也相去无几，他们虽然经营著维登剧院，但约翰缺乏伊曼纽尔那样的胆识，以致剧团一直无法成功（Irgendwas Wichtiges fehlt）。
伊曼纽尔在雷根斯堡和公爵的妻子暗通款曲，事情败露后他只得仓皇逃亡，以免被逮捕关押。而在维也纳，病魔完全击垮了约翰，在得到艾蕾诺尔会继续经营剧院的承诺后，他在她的臂弯中离世。画面回到1789年，剧团众人被艾蕾诺尔的故事深深感动，并理解了为何她如此不愿和自己的丈夫聚首。只不过有个小问题：芭芭拉已经把伊曼纽尔找来了。过去的伤痛回忆让他们立即陷入一场混乱的争吵。
争吵末了，伊曼纽尔和艾蕾诺尔不得不接受，眼下的困境的确需要他们彼此扶持。不过他们应该保持一个纯粹的生意往来关系（Rein geschäftlich）。
不过，在两人达成共识后，他们却仍然像猫与狗一样彼此给对方找麻烦，同时剧团的财务也愈发艰难。在指挥办公室前，芭芭拉、伊曼纽尔最好的朋友班奈迪克‧沙克和伊曼纽尔的新欢──首席女主角约瑟芳‧霍菲讨论著，如何让这两人冷静下来（Ich? Warum?）。
卡尔‧马林内里重新提出了一份收购协议，因为他需要第二间剧院来演出他的新歌剧，此举令伊曼纽尔觉得受到了挑战。他宣称，自己将会写出一部规模宏大的新歌剧。被拒绝的马林内里留下威胁后离开了（Das, was ich will）。
艾蕾诺尔对伊曼纽尔的夸口感到愤怒，但她的怒火很快便退去。他们俩一起想出了一些关于新式歌剧的点子，这些构思足以在当时的戏剧界掀起改革（Träum groß Reprise）。他们成功说服了约瑟夫‧冯‧包恩费尔德出资赞助这出剧──即使他们已经在他那儿欠下了相当大的一笔借款（Geld und Glück）。
第一次试演时，剧团里的所有人都觉得这部剧简直糟糕透顶，一部分的人甚至想退出──直到他们听到首次加入管弦乐团的部分：所有人都立刻转为惊艳（Das wird ein Misserfolg!）。
他们最后的彩排却被两位突然打断了。原来是卡尔‧马林内里向他们举报，伊曼纽尔在歌剧中使用的蜡烛超过了允许的用量。因为伊曼纽尔无力负担罚金，两位官员决定让剧院关门大吉。剧团成员都离开了剧院，就连艾蕾诺尔也不发一语地走了。马林内里最终得到了胜利，伊曼纽尔如今已是一败涂地。他终于明白，他永远失去了自己的妻子（Letzter Vorhang）。
然而，艾蕾诺尔回来了。她变卖了她最珍爱、和约翰之间的回忆：那条钻石项链，付清了罚款。伊曼纽尔感谢艾蕾诺尔对他伸出援手，他领悟到，若是艾蕾诺尔真的一点也不爱他的话，是不会这样帮助他的。艾蕾诺尔否认了，但就在她自己坦承，伊曼纽尔其实说得没错，他对她而言永远不只是一段“纯粹的生意往来关系”时，她却看见伊曼纽尔和他的前女友玛莉安娜‧米勒拥抱的场面。震惊的艾蕾诺尔决定要马上离开此地，从现在开始，她只为了自己的梦想而活，独自一人（Mein Lied）。
但是玛莉安娜有话要说：她回来找伊曼纽尔只是因为她如今一贫如洗，无法好好养育自己的儿子，她想把这个孩子留给伊曼纽尔和艾蕾诺尔两人。艾蕾诺尔被这番话深深感动，并承诺会支持她的决定（Ich freu mich für dich）。
最终，伊曼纽尔和艾蕾诺尔彼此和解，他们在首演当日一起享受着新歌剧带来的巨大成功：这出新歌剧就是脍炙人口的魔笛。（第二幕结束）

历史上仅有的8部获普利策戏剧奖的音乐剧之一。音乐剧黄金组合R&H，Richard Rodgers和Oscar Hammerstein II的代表作。该剧当时在托尼奖上同时拿下最佳音乐剧、最佳剧本、最佳词曲、最佳男女主角、最佳导演这六项重量级奖项，实属罕见。该剧也再次验证了Richard Rodgers和Oscar Hammerstein II在音乐剧领域的重要地位，而“音乐”与“戏剧”结合的概念，也在他们的手中逐渐成为日后音乐剧的主流形式。
Act I
On a South Pacific island during World War II, two half-Polynesian children,[9] Ngana and Jerome, happily sing as they play together ("Dites-Moi"). Ensign Nellie Forbush, a naïve U.S. Navy nurse from Little Rock, Arkansas, has fallen in love with Emile de Becque, a middle-aged French plantation owner, though she has known him only briefly. Even though everyone else is worried about the outcome of the war, Nellie tells Emile that she is sure everything will turn out all right ("Cockeyed Optimist"). Emile also loves Nellie, and each wonders if the other reciprocates his/her feelings ("Twin Soliloquies"). Emile expresses his feelings for Nellie, recalling how they met at the officers' club dance and instantly were attracted to each other ("Some Enchanted Evening"). Nellie, promising to think about their relationship, returns to the hospital. Emile calls Ngana and Jerome to him, revealing to the audience that they are his children, unbeknownst to Nellie.
Meanwhile, the restless American seabees, led by crafty Luther Billis, the sailors' leading comic relief, lament the absence of women to relieve their boredom. Navy nurses are commissioned officers and thus off-limits to enlisted men. There is one civilian woman on the island, nicknamed "Bloody Mary", a sassy middle-aged Tonkinese vendor of grass skirts, who engages the sailors in sarcastic, flirtatious banter as she tries to sell them her wares ("Bloody Mary"). Billis yearns to visit the nearby island of Bali Ha'i — which is off-limits to all but officers — supposedly to witness a Boar's Tooth Ceremony; the other sailors josh him, saying that his real motivation is to see the young French women there. Billis and the sailors further lament their lack of feminine companionship ("There is Nothing Like a Dame").
U.S. Marine Lieutenant Joseph Cable arrives on the island from Guadalcanal, having been sent to take part in a dangerous spy mission whose success could turn the tide of the war against Japan. Bloody Mary tries to persuade Cable to visit "Bali Ha'i", mysteriously telling him that it is his special island. Billis, seeing an opportunity, urges Cable to go. Cable meets with his commanding officers, Captain George Brackett and Commander William Harbison, who plan to ask Emile to help with the mission because he used to live on the island where the mission will take place. They ask Nellie to help them find out more about Emile's background, for example, his politics and why he left France. They have heard, for instance, that Emile committed a murder, and this might make him less than desirable for such a mission.
After thinking a bit more about Emile and deciding she has become attracted on the basis of little knowledge of him, Nellie tells the other nurses that she intends to spurn him ("I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair"). Emile arrives unexpectedly and invites Nellie to a party where he will introduce her to his friends. Seeing how much he cares about her, Nellie realizes she is still in love with him, and accepts his invitation. Emile again declares his love and asks Nellie to marry him. When she mentions politics, he speaks of universal freedom, and describes fleeing France after resisting a local bully and choking him to death in self-defense. After hearing this, Nellie agrees to marry Emile. After he exits, Nellie joyously declares her love for Emile ("I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy").
Cable's mission is to land on a Japanese-held island and report on Japanese ship movements. The Navy officers ask Emile to be Cable's guide, but he refuses their request because of his hopes for a new life with Nellie. Commander Harbison, the executive officer, tells Cable to go on leave until the mission can take place. Billis convinces Lt. Cable to take him to Bali Ha'i. There, Billis participates in the native ceremony, while Bloody Mary introduces Cable to her beautiful daughter, Liat, with whom he must communicate in French. Believing that Liat's only chance at a better life is to marry an American officer, Mary leaves Liat alone with Cable. The two are instantly attracted to each other and make love ("Younger Than Springtime"). Billis and the rest of the crew are ready to leave the island, yet must wait for Cable who, unbeknownst to them, is with Liat ("Bali Ha'i" (Reprise)). Bloody Mary proudly tells Billis that Cable is going to be her son-in-law.
Meanwhile, after Emile's party, Emile and Nellie reflect on how happy they are to be in love (Reprises of "A Wonderful Guy", "Twin Soliloquies", "Cockeyed Optimist" and "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair"). Emile introduces Nellie to Jerome and Ngana. Though she finds them charming, she is shocked when Emile reveals that they are his children by a native woman, now deceased. Nellie is unable to overcome her deep-seated racial prejudices and tearfully leaves Emile, after which he reflects sadly on what might have been ("Some Enchanted Evening" (Reprise)).
Act II
It is Thanksgiving Day. The seabees and nurses dance in a holiday revue titled "Thanksgiving Follies". In the past week, an epidemic of malaria has hit the island of Bali Ha'i. Having visited Bali Ha'i often to be with Liat, Cable is also ill, but escapes from the hospital to be with Liat. As Liat and Cable spend more time together, Bloody Mary is delighted. She encourages them to continue their carefree life on the island ("Happy Talk") and urges them to marry. Cable, aware of his family's prejudices, says he cannot marry a Tonkinese girl. Bloody Mary furiously drags her distraught daughter away, telling Cable that Liat must now marry a much older French plantation owner instead. Cable laments that Liat is no longer part of his life ("Younger Than Springtime" [Reprise]).
For the final number of the Thanksgiving Follies, Nellie performs a comedy burlesque dressed as a sailor singing the praises of "his" sweetheart ("Honey Bun"). Billis plays Honey Bun, dressed in a blond wig, grass skirt and coconut-shell bra. After the show, Emile asks Nellie to reconsider. She insists that she cannot feel the same way about him since she knows about his children's Polynesian mother.
Emile asks Cable why he and Nellie have such prejudices. Cable, filled with self-loathing, replies that "it's not something you're born with", yet it is an ingrained part of their upbringing ("You've Got to Be Carefully Taught"). He also vows that if he gets out of the war alive, he won't go home to the United States. Emile imagines what might have been ("This Nearly Was Mine"). Dejected and feeling that he has nothing to lose, he agrees to join Cable on his dangerous mission. The mission begins with plenty of air support. Offstage, Billis stows away on the plane, falls out, and ends up in the ocean waiting to be rescued; the massive rescue operation inadvertently becomes a diversion that allows Emile and Cable to land on the other side of the island undetected. The two send back reports on Japanese ships' movements in the "Slot"; American aircraft intercept and destroy the Japanese ships. When the Japanese Zeros strafe the Americans' position, Emile narrowly escapes, but Cable is killed.
Nellie learns of Cable's death and that Emile is missing. She realizes that she was foolish to reject Emile because of the race of his children's mother. Bloody Mary and Liat come to Nellie asking where Cable is; Mary explains that Liat refuses to marry anyone but him. Nellie comforts Liat. Cable and Emile's espionage work has made it possible for a major offensive, "Operation Alligator", to begin. The previously idle sailors, including Billis, go off to battle.
Nellie spends time with Jerome and Ngana and soon comes to love them. While the children are teaching her to sing "Dites-Moi," suddenly Emile's voice joins them. Emile has returned, to discover that Nellie has overcome her prejudices and has fallen in love with his children. Emile, Nellie and the children rejoice ("Dites-Moi" (Reprise)).

历史上仅有的8部获普利策戏剧奖的音乐剧之一。音乐剧黄金组合R&H，Richard Rodgers和Oscar Hammerstein II的代表作。该剧当时在托尼奖上同时拿下最佳音乐剧、最佳剧本、最佳词曲、最佳男女主角、最佳导演这六项重量级奖项，实属罕见。该剧也再次验证了Richard Rodgers和Oscar Hammerstein II在音乐剧领域的重要地位，而“音乐”与“戏剧”结合的概念，也在他们的手中逐渐成为日后音乐剧的主流形式。
Act I
On a South Pacific island during World War II, two half-Polynesian children,[9] Ngana and Jerome, happily sing as they play together ("Dites-Moi"). Ensign Nellie Forbush, a naïve U.S. Navy nurse from Little Rock, Arkansas, has fallen in love with Emile de Becque, a middle-aged French plantation owner, though she has known him only briefly. Even though everyone else is worried about the outcome of the war, Nellie tells Emile that she is sure everything will turn out all right ("Cockeyed Optimist"). Emile also loves Nellie, and each wonders if the other reciprocates his/her feelings ("Twin Soliloquies"). Emile expresses his feelings for Nellie, recalling how they met at the officers' club dance and instantly were attracted to each other ("Some Enchanted Evening"). Nellie, promising to think about their relationship, returns to the hospital. Emile calls Ngana and Jerome to him, revealing to the audience that they are his children, unbeknownst to Nellie.
Meanwhile, the restless American seabees, led by crafty Luther Billis, the sailors' leading comic relief, lament the absence of women to relieve their boredom. Navy nurses are commissioned officers and thus off-limits to enlisted men. There is one civilian woman on the island, nicknamed "Bloody Mary", a sassy middle-aged Tonkinese vendor of grass skirts, who engages the sailors in sarcastic, flirtatious banter as she tries to sell them her wares ("Bloody Mary"). Billis yearns to visit the nearby island of Bali Ha'i — which is off-limits to all but officers — supposedly to witness a Boar's Tooth Ceremony; the other sailors josh him, saying that his real motivation is to see the young French women there. Billis and the sailors further lament their lack of feminine companionship ("There is Nothing Like a Dame").
U.S. Marine Lieutenant Joseph Cable arrives on the island from Guadalcanal, having been sent to take part in a dangerous spy mission whose success could turn the tide of the war against Japan. Bloody Mary tries to persuade Cable to visit "Bali Ha'i", mysteriously telling him that it is his special island. Billis, seeing an opportunity, urges Cable to go. Cable meets with his commanding officers, Captain George Brackett and Commander William Harbison, who plan to ask Emile to help with the mission because he used to live on the island where the mission will take place. They ask Nellie to help them find out more about Emile's background, for example, his politics and why he left France. They have heard, for instance, that Emile committed a murder, and this might make him less than desirable for such a mission.
After thinking a bit more about Emile and deciding she has become attracted on the basis of little knowledge of him, Nellie tells the other nurses that she intends to spurn him ("I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair"). Emile arrives unexpectedly and invites Nellie to a party where he will introduce her to his friends. Seeing how much he cares about her, Nellie realizes she is still in love with him, and accepts his invitation. Emile again declares his love and asks Nellie to marry him. When she mentions politics, he speaks of universal freedom, and describes fleeing France after resisting a local bully and choking him to death in self-defense. After hearing this, Nellie agrees to marry Emile. After he exits, Nellie joyously declares her love for Emile ("I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy").
Cable's mission is to land on a Japanese-held island and report on Japanese ship movements. The Navy officers ask Emile to be Cable's guide, but he refuses their request because of his hopes for a new life with Nellie. Commander Harbison, the executive officer, tells Cable to go on leave until the mission can take place. Billis convinces Lt. Cable to take him to Bali Ha'i. There, Billis participates in the native ceremony, while Bloody Mary introduces Cable to her beautiful daughter, Liat, with whom he must communicate in French. Believing that Liat's only chance at a better life is to marry an American officer, Mary leaves Liat alone with Cable. The two are instantly attracted to each other and make love ("Younger Than Springtime"). Billis and the rest of the crew are ready to leave the island, yet must wait for Cable who, unbeknownst to them, is with Liat ("Bali Ha'i" (Reprise)). Bloody Mary proudly tells Billis that Cable is going to be her son-in-law.
Meanwhile, after Emile's party, Emile and Nellie reflect on how happy they are to be in love (Reprises of "A Wonderful Guy", "Twin Soliloquies", "Cockeyed Optimist" and "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair"). Emile introduces Nellie to Jerome and Ngana. Though she finds them charming, she is shocked when Emile reveals that they are his children by a native woman, now deceased. Nellie is unable to overcome her deep-seated racial prejudices and tearfully leaves Emile, after which he reflects sadly on what might have been ("Some Enchanted Evening" (Reprise)).
Act II
It is Thanksgiving Day. The seabees and nurses dance in a holiday revue titled "Thanksgiving Follies". In the past week, an epidemic of malaria has hit the island of Bali Ha'i. Having visited Bali Ha'i often to be with Liat, Cable is also ill, but escapes from the hospital to be with Liat. As Liat and Cable spend more time together, Bloody Mary is delighted. She encourages them to continue their carefree life on the island ("Happy Talk") and urges them to marry. Cable, aware of his family's prejudices, says he cannot marry a Tonkinese girl. Bloody Mary furiously drags her distraught daughter away, telling Cable that Liat must now marry a much older French plantation owner instead. Cable laments that Liat is no longer part of his life ("Younger Than Springtime" [Reprise]).
For the final number of the Thanksgiving Follies, Nellie performs a comedy burlesque dressed as a sailor singing the praises of "his" sweetheart ("Honey Bun"). Billis plays Honey Bun, dressed in a blond wig, grass skirt and coconut-shell bra. After the show, Emile asks Nellie to reconsider. She insists that she cannot feel the same way about him since she knows about his children's Polynesian mother.
Emile asks Cable why he and Nellie have such prejudices. Cable, filled with self-loathing, replies that "it's not something you're born with", yet it is an ingrained part of their upbringing ("You've Got to Be Carefully Taught"). He also vows that if he gets out of the war alive, he won't go home to the United States. Emile imagines what might have been ("This Nearly Was Mine"). Dejected and feeling that he has nothing to lose, he agrees to join Cable on his dangerous mission. The mission begins with plenty of air support. Offstage, Billis stows away on the plane, falls out, and ends up in the ocean waiting to be rescued; the massive rescue operation inadvertently becomes a diversion that allows Emile and Cable to land on the other side of the island undetected. The two send back reports on Japanese ships' movements in the "Slot"; American aircraft intercept and destroy the Japanese ships. When the Japanese Zeros strafe the Americans' position, Emile narrowly escapes, but Cable is killed.
Nellie learns of Cable's death and that Emile is missing. She realizes that she was foolish to reject Emile because of the race of his children's mother. Bloody Mary and Liat come to Nellie asking where Cable is; Mary explains that Liat refuses to marry anyone but him. Nellie comforts Liat. Cable and Emile's espionage work has made it possible for a major offensive, "Operation Alligator", to begin. The previously idle sailors, including Billis, go off to battle.
Nellie spends time with Jerome and Ngana and soon comes to love them. While the children are teaching her to sing "Dites-Moi," suddenly Emile's voice joins them. Emile has returned, to discover that Nellie has overcome her prejudices and has fallen in love with his children. Emile, Nellie and the children rejoice ("Dites-Moi" (Reprise)).

第一幕：
　　1956年的布达佩斯正处在起义的动乱之中。格利高里给年幼的女儿弗洛伦丝讲述"象棋的故事"，在他讲完故事后，弗洛伦丝被带走逃离了这个被战争毁灭的国家，留下格利高里一人"与俄国人斗争"。
　　弗洛伦丝成为美国象棋冠军佛雷迪的助手，他冷漠又易怒。在一场比赛时，佛雷迪指责俄罗斯对手阿那托利搞欺骗，在场外耍了一个花招，遂离开赛场。佛雷迪在旅馆房间训斥弗活伦丝与苏联人合作，弗活伦丝警告佛雷迪她受够了这一切，说今晚要与阿那托利与莫洛科夫见面。代理人沃尔特跟随着佛雷迪去寻找夜生活。
　　弗洛伦丝与阿那托利相互吸引，被佛雷迪撞见，他愤怒不已，几天后，佛雷迪输了比赛。尽管阿那托利已经结婚，但弗洛伦丝仍决定与他一起逃跑，在机场遭记者围攻。
　　第二幕：
　　两个月后，国际象棋冠军赛的第二阶段奖在布达佩斯举行，恰好与美苏两国首脑会议吻合
。为了体现公开性精神，苏联人允许出走的阿那托利作为美国人回来下棋。弗洛伦丝在教堂遇见莫洛科夫，他表示愿帮助她寻找父亲。佛雷迪发现弗洛伦丝与阿那托利也住在那家旅馆，沃尔特使佛雷迪将愤怒转为为比赛而战的勇气，阿那托因弗洛伦丝的爱和对妻子的感情所折磨。莫洛科夫告诉阿那托利，因为他的出走，给他妻子斯维行拉娜和家里的其他人的生活带来了艰难和耻辱。佛雷迪打败了阿那托利，苏联人希望阿那托利回国，阿那托利告诉沃尔特与弗洛伦丝，他已筋疲力尽，需要休息一周。弗洛伦丝怀疑佛雷迪能否同意但同意尽力说明他，弗洛伦丝打断电视采访，请求佛雷迪停止比赛。他拒绝了。由莫洛科夫带信儿，弗洛伦丝被带去见一位可能是她父亲的人，她相信那人就是她的父亲。
　　阿那托利成为克格勃、裁判、中央情报局、新闻记者以及商人们关注的目标，为了弗洛伦丝可以与她的父亲团圆，在比赛进入高潮时，阿那托利决定接受克格勃要他回国的要求，他有意下错了一步棋，佛雷迪成为胜利者。
　　在机场弗洛伦丝挥泪与阿那托利告别，他一离开，弗洛伦丝被告知她见的那个人根本不是她的父亲。而且，阿那托利的离开是与一被俘的中央情报局代理人的交换。她的国家背叛了她，她失去了自己的父亲和她所爱的男人，独自留下面对前途未卜的生活。

第一幕：
　　1956年的布达佩斯正处在起义的动乱之中。格利高里给年幼的女儿弗洛伦丝讲述"象棋的故事"，在他讲完故事后，弗洛伦丝被带走逃离了这个被战争毁灭的国家，留下格利高里一人"与俄国人斗争"。
　　弗洛伦丝成为美国象棋冠军佛雷迪的助手，他冷漠又易怒。在一场比赛时，佛雷迪指责俄罗斯对手阿那托利搞欺骗，在场外耍了一个花招，遂离开赛场。佛雷迪在旅馆房间训斥弗活伦丝与苏联人合作，弗活伦丝警告佛雷迪她受够了这一切，说今晚要与阿那托利与莫洛科夫见面。代理人沃尔特跟随着佛雷迪去寻找夜生活。
　　弗洛伦丝与阿那托利相互吸引，被佛雷迪撞见，他愤怒不已，几天后，佛雷迪输了比赛。尽管阿那托利已经结婚，但弗洛伦丝仍决定与他一起逃跑，在机场遭记者围攻。
　　第二幕：
　　两个月后，国际象棋冠军赛的第二阶段奖在布达佩斯举行，恰好与美苏两国首脑会议吻合
。为了体现公开性精神，苏联人允许出走的阿那托利作为美国人回来下棋。弗洛伦丝在教堂遇见莫洛科夫，他表示愿帮助她寻找父亲。佛雷迪发现弗洛伦丝与阿那托利也住在那家旅馆，沃尔特使佛雷迪将愤怒转为为比赛而战的勇气，阿那托因弗洛伦丝的爱和对妻子的感情所折磨。莫洛科夫告诉阿那托利，因为他的出走，给他妻子斯维行拉娜和家里的其他人的生活带来了艰难和耻辱。佛雷迪打败了阿那托利，苏联人希望阿那托利回国，阿那托利告诉沃尔特与弗洛伦丝，他已筋疲力尽，需要休息一周。弗洛伦丝怀疑佛雷迪能否同意但同意尽力说明他，弗洛伦丝打断电视采访，请求佛雷迪停止比赛。他拒绝了。由莫洛科夫带信儿，弗洛伦丝被带去见一位可能是她父亲的人，她相信那人就是她的父亲。
　　阿那托利成为克格勃、裁判、中央情报局、新闻记者以及商人们关注的目标，为了弗洛伦丝可以与她的父亲团圆，在比赛进入高潮时，阿那托利决定接受克格勃要他回国的要求，他有意下错了一步棋，佛雷迪成为胜利者。
　　在机场弗洛伦丝挥泪与阿那托利告别，他一离开，弗洛伦丝被告知她见的那个人根本不是她的父亲。而且，阿那托利的离开是与一被俘的中央情报局代理人的交换。她的国家背叛了她，她失去了自己的父亲和她所爱的男人，独自留下面对前途未卜的生活。

第一幕
　　二十世纪初，印第安人曾居住过的美国西部，牛仔和农民为争夺土地和水源矛盾频频。
　　爱勒姑姑(Aunt Eller)在自己房子外面搅拌奶油，年轻的牛仔克理(Curly)唱着歌走了过来(“Oh，What a Beautiful Morning” -- “哦，多美的早晨”)。克理是来邀请爱勒姑姑的侄女，劳瑞(Laurey)，去参加今晚的舞会的。劳瑞接待了克里，但是她对他的态度不甚热情，克理为了让她高兴，给她讲述了今晚他要驾驶的马车(“Surreywith the Fringe on Top”-- “带流苏的四轮马车”)。但是，最后他还是坦白了带流苏的四轮马车只是他自己的想象，惹得劳瑞更加生气。这时，维尔·帕克(WillParker)来了，他给他们讲了自己最近在堪萨斯城的经历(“Kansas City” -- “堪萨斯城”)。他在套小牛比赛上赢了五十块钱，对于他，这五十块钱可以说相当重要。他想娶爱多·安妮(AdoAnnie)，但是他的父亲，安德鲁·卡恩斯(Andrew Carnes)是当地的法官，不同意这门婚事，除非他有足够的能力攒五十块钱。
　　虽然对克里不理不睬，其实劳瑞真心喜欢的还是克理。为了让克理嫉妒，她决定和雇工查德(Jud)一起去舞会。当她听说克理要和别的姑娘去舞会的时候，她的反应只是淡淡的(“Manya New Day” -- “新的日子还多”)。这时，爱多·安妮公布了她的舞伴，原来是波斯小贩阿里·哈克姆(AliHakim)，她还说，她实在不能拒绝任何一个男人(“I Can't Say No” -- “我不会说不”)。阿里和爱多·安妮调笑被她的父亲看到，气愤的法官逼阿里娶他的女儿。维尔则把五十块钱全花在买给爱多·安妮的礼物上。
　　当克理和劳瑞再次见面，他们决定还是一道去参加舞会。但是他们又不想让邻居们知道他们真正的动机(“People Will Say We're in Love” -- “人们会以为我们坠入爱河”)。但是，接下来头疼的问题就是要告诉查德这个消息。克理找到查德的小屋，那其实是做熏肉的薰制室，又暗又破。克理先是告诉查德，虽然大家对他好像不友好，其实他们都觉得他不错，如果他死的话，会有好多人参加他的葬礼，而且会大哭一场的(“PoreJud!” -- “可怜的查德！”)。接着他就告诉查德劳瑞要和他一起去舞会。他走了之后，查德一个人在房间里难过(“Lonely Room” -- “孤独的房间”)。
　　劳瑞的梦境转化成一段场面浩大的舞蹈。她梦见嫁给了克理，但是他们的快乐被查德打断了，他痛打了克理，然后逼迫劳瑞跟他远走高飞。查德的到来惊醒了她的恶梦，他来是要求劳瑞和他一起去舞会的。接着，克理也来到劳瑞家里要求同样的事情。劳瑞害怕梦中的事情是未来的预告，她决定和查德一起去。而克理则剩在一边，大惑不解。
第二幕
　　当晚的舞会，果然十分欢快有趣，牛仔和农夫们为他们之间争吵开着玩笑(“TheFarmer and the Cowman” -- “农夫和牧牛人”)。接下来的活动是拍卖女孩子制作的食品盒，男人们纷纷掏钱，要购买他们喜欢的女孩子制作的盒子。劳瑞的盒子立刻成了克理和查德争夺的对象。克理最后卖掉了全部家当，以.31的高价买下了食品盒。与此同时，阿里用五十块钱买下了维尔的所有礼物，原来阿里并不想娶爱多，他更想帮维尔如愿以偿。于是维尔和爱多兴致勃勃地谈起他们未来的生活(“All or Nothing” -- “孤注一掷”)。
　　三个月后，克理和劳瑞的婚礼即将举行。这时候，喝醉了得查德突然在婚礼上出现了，他用刀威胁克理，两人扭打起来，之中，查德摔在刀刃上，死了。爱多的父亲，卡恩斯法官开始了紧急审讯，但是最终的结果是克理无罪施放，于是克理带着心爱的姑娘一路去度蜜月了(“Oklahoma!”-- “俄克拉荷马！”)。

第一幕
　　二十世纪初，印第安人曾居住过的美国西部，牛仔和农民为争夺土地和水源矛盾频频。
　　爱勒姑姑(Aunt Eller)在自己房子外面搅拌奶油，年轻的牛仔克理(Curly)唱着歌走了过来(“Oh，What a Beautiful Morning” -- “哦，多美的早晨”)。克理是来邀请爱勒姑姑的侄女，劳瑞(Laurey)，去参加今晚的舞会的。劳瑞接待了克里，但是她对他的态度不甚热情，克理为了让她高兴，给她讲述了今晚他要驾驶的马车(“Surreywith the Fringe on Top”-- “带流苏的四轮马车”)。但是，最后他还是坦白了带流苏的四轮马车只是他自己的想象，惹得劳瑞更加生气。这时，维尔·帕克(WillParker)来了，他给他们讲了自己最近在堪萨斯城的经历(“Kansas City” -- “堪萨斯城”)。他在套小牛比赛上赢了五十块钱，对于他，这五十块钱可以说相当重要。他想娶爱多·安妮(AdoAnnie)，但是他的父亲，安德鲁·卡恩斯(Andrew Carnes)是当地的法官，不同意这门婚事，除非他有足够的能力攒五十块钱。
　　虽然对克里不理不睬，其实劳瑞真心喜欢的还是克理。为了让克理嫉妒，她决定和雇工查德(Jud)一起去舞会。当她听说克理要和别的姑娘去舞会的时候，她的反应只是淡淡的(“Manya New Day” -- “新的日子还多”)。这时，爱多·安妮公布了她的舞伴，原来是波斯小贩阿里·哈克姆(AliHakim)，她还说，她实在不能拒绝任何一个男人(“I Can't Say No” -- “我不会说不”)。阿里和爱多·安妮调笑被她的父亲看到，气愤的法官逼阿里娶他的女儿。维尔则把五十块钱全花在买给爱多·安妮的礼物上。
　　当克理和劳瑞再次见面，他们决定还是一道去参加舞会。但是他们又不想让邻居们知道他们真正的动机(“People Will Say We're in Love” -- “人们会以为我们坠入爱河”)。但是，接下来头疼的问题就是要告诉查德这个消息。克理找到查德的小屋，那其实是做熏肉的薰制室，又暗又破。克理先是告诉查德，虽然大家对他好像不友好，其实他们都觉得他不错，如果他死的话，会有好多人参加他的葬礼，而且会大哭一场的(“PoreJud!” -- “可怜的查德！”)。接着他就告诉查德劳瑞要和他一起去舞会。他走了之后，查德一个人在房间里难过(“Lonely Room” -- “孤独的房间”)。
　　劳瑞的梦境转化成一段场面浩大的舞蹈。她梦见嫁给了克理，但是他们的快乐被查德打断了，他痛打了克理，然后逼迫劳瑞跟他远走高飞。查德的到来惊醒了她的恶梦，他来是要求劳瑞和他一起去舞会的。接着，克理也来到劳瑞家里要求同样的事情。劳瑞害怕梦中的事情是未来的预告，她决定和查德一起去。而克理则剩在一边，大惑不解。
第二幕
　　当晚的舞会，果然十分欢快有趣，牛仔和农夫们为他们之间争吵开着玩笑(“TheFarmer and the Cowman” -- “农夫和牧牛人”)。接下来的活动是拍卖女孩子制作的食品盒，男人们纷纷掏钱，要购买他们喜欢的女孩子制作的盒子。劳瑞的盒子立刻成了克理和查德争夺的对象。克理最后卖掉了全部家当，以.31的高价买下了食品盒。与此同时，阿里用五十块钱买下了维尔的所有礼物，原来阿里并不想娶爱多，他更想帮维尔如愿以偿。于是维尔和爱多兴致勃勃地谈起他们未来的生活(“All or Nothing” -- “孤注一掷”)。
　　三个月后，克理和劳瑞的婚礼即将举行。这时候，喝醉了得查德突然在婚礼上出现了，他用刀威胁克理，两人扭打起来，之中，查德摔在刀刃上，死了。爱多的父亲，卡恩斯法官开始了紧急审讯，但是最终的结果是克理无罪施放，于是克理带着心爱的姑娘一路去度蜜月了(“Oklahoma!”-- “俄克拉荷马！”)。

第一幕
　　二十世纪初，印第安人曾居住过的美国西部，牛仔和农民为争夺土地和水源矛盾频频。
　　爱勒姑姑(Aunt Eller)在自己房子外面搅拌奶油，年轻的牛仔克理(Curly)唱着歌走了过来(“Oh，What a Beautiful Morning” -- “哦，多美的早晨”)。克理是来邀请爱勒姑姑的侄女，劳瑞(Laurey)，去参加今晚的舞会的。劳瑞接待了克里，但是她对他的态度不甚热情，克理为了让她高兴，给她讲述了今晚他要驾驶的马车(“Surreywith the Fringe on Top”-- “带流苏的四轮马车”)。但是，最后他还是坦白了带流苏的四轮马车只是他自己的想象，惹得劳瑞更加生气。这时，维尔·帕克(WillParker)来了，他给他们讲了自己最近在堪萨斯城的经历(“Kansas City” -- “堪萨斯城”)。他在套小牛比赛上赢了五十块钱，对于他，这五十块钱可以说相当重要。他想娶爱多·安妮(AdoAnnie)，但是他的父亲，安德鲁·卡恩斯(Andrew Carnes)是当地的法官，不同意这门婚事，除非他有足够的能力攒五十块钱。
　　虽然对克里不理不睬，其实劳瑞真心喜欢的还是克理。为了让克理嫉妒，她决定和雇工查德(Jud)一起去舞会。当她听说克理要和别的姑娘去舞会的时候，她的反应只是淡淡的(“Manya New Day” -- “新的日子还多”)。这时，爱多·安妮公布了她的舞伴，原来是波斯小贩阿里·哈克姆(AliHakim)，她还说，她实在不能拒绝任何一个男人(“I Can't Say No” -- “我不会说不”)。阿里和爱多·安妮调笑被她的父亲看到，气愤的法官逼阿里娶他的女儿。维尔则把五十块钱全花在买给爱多·安妮的礼物上。
　　当克理和劳瑞再次见面，他们决定还是一道去参加舞会。但是他们又不想让邻居们知道他们真正的动机(“People Will Say We're in Love” -- “人们会以为我们坠入爱河”)。但是，接下来头疼的问题就是要告诉查德这个消息。克理找到查德的小屋，那其实是做熏肉的薰制室，又暗又破。克理先是告诉查德，虽然大家对他好像不友好，其实他们都觉得他不错，如果他死的话，会有好多人参加他的葬礼，而且会大哭一场的(“PoreJud!” -- “可怜的查德！”)。接着他就告诉查德劳瑞要和他一起去舞会。他走了之后，查德一个人在房间里难过(“Lonely Room” -- “孤独的房间”)。
　　劳瑞的梦境转化成一段场面浩大的舞蹈。她梦见嫁给了克理，但是他们的快乐被查德打断了，他痛打了克理，然后逼迫劳瑞跟他远走高飞。查德的到来惊醒了她的恶梦，他来是要求劳瑞和他一起去舞会的。接着，克理也来到劳瑞家里要求同样的事情。劳瑞害怕梦中的事情是未来的预告，她决定和查德一起去。而克理则剩在一边，大惑不解。
第二幕
　　当晚的舞会，果然十分欢快有趣，牛仔和农夫们为他们之间争吵开着玩笑(“TheFarmer and the Cowman” -- “农夫和牧牛人”)。接下来的活动是拍卖女孩子制作的食品盒，男人们纷纷掏钱，要购买他们喜欢的女孩子制作的盒子。劳瑞的盒子立刻成了克理和查德争夺的对象。克理最后卖掉了全部家当，以.31的高价买下了食品盒。与此同时，阿里用五十块钱买下了维尔的所有礼物，原来阿里并不想娶爱多，他更想帮维尔如愿以偿。于是维尔和爱多兴致勃勃地谈起他们未来的生活(“All or Nothing” -- “孤注一掷”)。
　　三个月后，克理和劳瑞的婚礼即将举行。这时候，喝醉了得查德突然在婚礼上出现了，他用刀威胁克理，两人扭打起来，之中，查德摔在刀刃上，死了。爱多的父亲，卡恩斯法官开始了紧急审讯，但是最终的结果是克理无罪施放，于是克理带着心爱的姑娘一路去度蜜月了(“Oklahoma!”-- “俄克拉荷马！”)。

The years between 1968 and 1977 occur in reverse order; scenes within years 1977 and 1973 move forward.
1977
Scene One: Pub. 1977. Spring.
Emma and Jerry meet for the first time in two years. For 7 years they had an affair and a secret flat, and Jerry says no-one else knew. Now Emma is having an affair with Casey, an author whose agent is Jerry and whose publisher is Robert, Emma’s husband. Emma says she found out last night that Robert has betrayed her with other women for years, and admits she revealed her affair with Jerry.
Scene Two: Jerry's House. Later the same day.
Jerry meets Robert to talk about the affair. Robert reveals that in fact he learned about it 4 years ago. Since then their friendship has continued, albeit without playing squash.
1975
Scene Three: Flat. 1975. Winter.
It is the end of Jerry and Emma’s affair. They rarely meet, and Emma’s hopes that the flat would be a different kind of home are unfulfilled. They agree to give it up.
1974
Scene Four: Robert and Emma's House. Living room. 1974. Autumn.
Jerry visits Robert and Emma at home. He reveals that Casey has left his wife and is living nearby. Jerry and Robert plan to play squash, but Jerry reveals that first he is visiting New York with Casey.
1973
Scene Five: Hotel Room. 1973. Summer.
Robert and Emma are on holiday, intending to visit Torcello tomorrow. Emma is reading a book by Spinks, another author whose agent is Jerry. Robert says he refused to publish it because there is not much more to say about betrayal. Robert has discovered that Emma has received a private letter from Jerry. Emma admits they are having an affair.
Scene Six: Flat. 1973. Summer.
Emma has returned from the holiday with Robert in Venice. She has bought a tablecloth for the flat. Jerry reveals that despite the affair he continues to lunch with Robert.
Scene Seven: Restaurant. 1973. Summer.
Robert gets drunk over lunch with Jerry. He says he hates modern novels, and that he went to Torcello on his own and read Yeats.
1971
Scene Eight: Flat. 1971. Summer.
Emma wants to know whether Jerry’s wife suspects his affair, and announces that while Jerry was in America she became pregnant with Robert’s child.
1968
Scene Nine: Robert and Emma's House. Bedroom. 1968. Winter.
During a party Jerry surprises Emma in her bedroom and declares his love for her. He tells Robert he is his oldest friend as well as his best man.

The years between 1968 and 1977 occur in reverse order; scenes within years 1977 and 1973 move forward.
1977
Scene One: Pub. 1977. Spring.
Emma and Jerry meet for the first time in two years. For 7 years they had an affair and a secret flat, and Jerry says no-one else knew. Now Emma is having an affair with Casey, an author whose agent is Jerry and whose publisher is Robert, Emma’s husband. Emma says she found out last night that Robert has betrayed her with other women for years, and admits she revealed her affair with Jerry.
Scene Two: Jerry's House. Later the same day.
Jerry meets Robert to talk about the affair. Robert reveals that in fact he learned about it 4 years ago. Since then their friendship has continued, albeit without playing squash.
1975
Scene Three: Flat. 1975. Winter.
It is the end of Jerry and Emma’s affair. They rarely meet, and Emma’s hopes that the flat would be a different kind of home are unfulfilled. They agree to give it up.
1974
Scene Four: Robert and Emma's House. Living room. 1974. Autumn.
Jerry visits Robert and Emma at home. He reveals that Casey has left his wife and is living nearby. Jerry and Robert plan to play squash, but Jerry reveals that first he is visiting New York with Casey.
1973
Scene Five: Hotel Room. 1973. Summer.
Robert and Emma are on holiday, intending to visit Torcello tomorrow. Emma is reading a book by Spinks, another author whose agent is Jerry. Robert says he refused to publish it because there is not much more to say about betrayal. Robert has discovered that Emma has received a private letter from Jerry. Emma admits they are having an affair.
Scene Six: Flat. 1973. Summer.
Emma has returned from the holiday with Robert in Venice. She has bought a tablecloth for the flat. Jerry reveals that despite the affair he continues to lunch with Robert.
Scene Seven: Restaurant. 1973. Summer.
Robert gets drunk over lunch with Jerry. He says he hates modern novels, and that he went to Torcello on his own and read Yeats.
1971
Scene Eight: Flat. 1971. Summer.
Emma wants to know whether Jerry’s wife suspects his affair, and announces that while Jerry was in America she became pregnant with Robert’s child.
1968
Scene Nine: Robert and Emma's House. Bedroom. 1968. Winter.
During a party Jerry surprises Emma in her bedroom and declares his love for her. He tells Robert he is his oldest friend as well as his best man.

19世纪末20世纪初的瑞典，中年律师弗雷德里克.伊格曼娶了一位18岁的续妻安妮，妻子虽然爱他却没准备好面对真正的婚姻生活，结婚11个月仍然没和他同房。律师的儿子亨利克，比继母还年长一岁，他的对生活十分沮丧，尽管他是神学院学生却形成了消极的世界观。安妮被他的举止吸引，却不能明白他字里行间的深意。同时她对丈夫许诺，将尽快与他同房。安妮愚昧的女仆佩特拉只稍微年长一点，给她女主人提了很多粗陋的同房建议。
此时，女主角，当红演员迪塞丽.阿姆菲尔德闪亮登场，她与弗雷德里克是老情人，同时也是个相当自私的女人，她把女儿弗雷德里卡交给其外祖母阿姆菲尔德夫人抚养。女儿非常想念母亲，但迪塞丽始终为了演出而推脱不去见女儿。听说她所在剧团将来到弗雷德里克家乡演出，她邀请他前去欣赏。弗雷德里克携妻同行，安妮怀疑女明星与丈夫有染。于是安妮谎称头疼要求丈夫带她回家，在家里佩特拉正在勾引亨利克。
弗雷德里克对迪塞丽旧情难忘，偷偷溜出家见她，两人的重逢场景相当欢乐也很做作，他们告诉彼此自己的生活现状，弗雷德里克一直说他多爱他妻子，迪塞丽饱含揶揄的回应他。她则告诉他自己的新相好——已婚的卡尔伯爵。听说弗雷德里克结婚11月尚未行房，她决定送给老友一个礼物，满足他的欲望。
阿姆菲尔德夫人向外孙女讲述所谓人生真谛，并回忆了她的动荡人生，并追忆她年轻时的幽会。卡尔伯爵来到迪塞丽家，弗雷德里克和迪塞丽用极其粗糙的谎言让伯爵相信两人是清白的，但伯爵仍满腹狐疑。他回到妻子夏洛特处，妻子知道他的不忠，而伯爵沉浸在对迪塞丽的耿耿于怀中。夏洛特建议丈夫把事情弄清楚，同时意识到自己也可以参与其中，她妹妹和安妮是同学。
夏洛特拜访安妮，透露了弗雷德里克的不忠行经，安妮十分惊讶害怕。夏洛特劝戒她，这就是妻子的宿命，必须要接受这份痛苦。迪塞丽去母亲家声称要为弗雷德里克家举办一次晚会，母亲勉强同意。受到邀请的弗雷德里克家一片骚动，安妮拒绝前往，夏洛特则希望她去让迪塞丽显得黯然失色。卡尔则决定给妻子一个意外的生日礼物，不请自来的参见迪塞丽晚会。卡尔决定要和弗雷德里克决斗，而夏洛特则打算勾引弗雷德里克让丈夫嫉妒，从而终结他的不忠。
所有人各怀鬼胎来到阿姆菲尔德夫人家，除了佩特拉，但她意外的被主宅仆人弗里德吸引。所有贵夫人相互挤兑，亨利克遇到弗雷德里卡，向她承认自己深爱继母。 弗雷德里克和卡尔暗自发现自己对迪塞利无条件服从。大家怀着心事开始了一吨鸿门宴。
夏洛特在晚餐时于弗雷德里克调情，安妮与迪塞利相互攻击。大家迅速陷入争吵中，惟独亨利克第一次主动表达自己的情绪，他高声斥责大家的不道德行为并离开餐桌。所有人都被他震惊，也离开了晚餐。弗雷德里卡向安妮透露了亨利克的爱意，于是两人出去寻找他。迪塞利胸有成竹的问弗雷德里克是否需要她把他从生活的桎梏中解救出来，但弗雷德里克说他对她的爱只能在梦里。原本一切都在掌握之中的迪塞利突然感到人生的无常。
亨利克在庄园湖畔准备自杀，被安妮拦下，两人互诉衷情，并导致安妮献出初夜。离他们不远处，佩特拉和弗里德也在享受云雨之欢，佩特拉庆幸自己在进入婚姻牢笼前能享受如此多的快乐。亨利克与安妮满心欢喜称火车离开，准备开始新生活。弗雷德里克发现了他们的秘密，却发现自己并不恼怒。夏洛特向他坦白了自己的计划，离开了他。卡尔不明就里，嫉妒的要求决斗，决斗中弗雷德里克伤了耳朵。卡尔对自己的胜利非常满意，夏洛特看到丈夫如此在意自己也很满意。没有任何束缚的弗雷德里克也想迪塞利表达了自己的爱意，女明星终于吐露实情，原来弗雷德里卡正是他女儿。
在故事宁静而强有力的结尾时刻，阿姆菲尔德夫人询问外孙女对当晚发生事件的感想，她平静的回答，爱情充满坎坷也导致很多诡异的结果，但是这些都是无可避免的，最终人们能意识到爱情才是唯一真实的东西。夫人微笑点头睡过去，并平静的死去。