Hasn’t everyone always wanted a musical where the female alto is the lead and the female soprano is the villain? Wish granted! With pirates, no less. What more could you want?
This post continues my summary of the story of two queens, analyzing how it depicts us dreamer souls
*Psst! Read part 1 here*
Sidebar: See, I told ya we’re all pirate queens 😉
Here’s me and my friend Kim dressed as steampunk pirate queens just for funsies.
Costuming by Kim Kouski and photography by Yasmeen Hudson.
Don’t forget: listen along with the full playlist free on YouTube here.
A Day Beyond Belclare <3
Perhaps the best part of the show happens between songs.
It seems like Grania lost her dream, doesn’t it? She’s housewife to a douchebag – no longer a pirate at sea, fighting for her land. She’s been put in her place, and it was her own choosing, her own sacrifice that did it.
And yet.
Word comes that the English have attacked at Belclare, and Donal and his men go to fight while the ladies, Grania included, sit at home.
But!!! Brace yourself! Plot-twist!
It’s all a trick! The real target is Grania while the men are gone and the women “defenseless.” Ha! Grania rallies the O’Flaherty women who seduce the men and kill them when they’re ehh, least suspecting. Say whaat! I’m sorry, I just love this part 🙂
You guys, Grania had sacrificed everything for her land’s freedom, and her dream still came to her. The people who were a warring clan, suddenly those women were her warring buddies, and they dub her the leader of the O’Flaherty women while Donal is off at sea. Our dream will come if we give to it. Our dream will come with people rallying for our cause.
Okay, so now we actually get to this song, “A Day Beyond Belclare.” The men return from battle, and Donal is perturbed by the newfound respect for Grania in the clan. Tiernan announces that Grania’s father was mortally wounded in battle. Grania of course is going to see him, but then the O’Flaherty women pledge to join her. “All that you’ve seen us through, we now can repay.”
Donal interjects to say, “Then we all go and I lead clan of O’Flaherty.” Ya know, just cause he’s gotta act like it was his idea to take the clan. Donal celebrates that Grania’s father’s death will make him leader of both clans. However, Grania’s father surprises everyone by passing his mantle to Grania.
This is my most favorite moment of the show. The triumph of Grania. Her sacrifice has paid off, her dream has not forsaken her. She’s a pirate queen again, and with even more allies!
You can’t escape your destiny, it follows you. That’s the thing about destiny – it’s not what could happen or should happen, it’s what DOES happen. It will find you, you just have to watch for it and take your chance. Grania’s sacrifice doubled her allies as she fought for her land. Oh so beautiful inspiration!
Sail to the Stars
A beautiful funeral lament for Grania’s father. A sailor’s death, flaming boat set to sea. Starts in Gaelic, then into English translation. Mournful and triumphant.
Sidebar: Please play this at my funeral. Preferably with Broadway-talent Gaelic choir, but I’d accept just this soundtrack. Gorgeous!
Entr’acte (instrumental)
Grania, captain of the Pirate Queen ship once again, gives birth aboard. Donal is excited, anticipating his rule again since the son will be heir to both clans.
Sidebar: Listen to this while driving through a lightning storm. It makes for quite an adventure.
Enemy at Port Side
The English attack while Grania is still weak from birthing. Donal wants to surrender, and Grania demands her sword to fight. With Grania once again at the lead, they are victorious against the English.
I Dismiss You
Grania is fed up with Donal’s cowardice. Donal is fed up with Grania incessantly besting him.
If you need some good insults, this song has got it for ya.
- “Whoring’s made you soft. / Drink has left you weak. / Not a drop of Irish blood is left within your veins.”
- “You’re a deadweight in war, / a disgrace to your clan, / what you’re not is a man!”
- “You’re an ace at your trade, / you’re a half decent shot, / fairly skilled with a blade… / but a woman you’re not!”
A wonderful loophole you haven’t been privy to yet is that according to Irish tradition, a marriage is only permanent after 3 years, and until that time a spouse can “dismiss” the other. And that’s just exactly what Grania does.
They dump Donal at port the next stop. I don’t know how this actually goes down, but I like to imagine the O’Flaherty clan sticks with Grania and her son (their future leader) instead of following Donal, but either way, Donal has messed up his life.
If I said I Loved You
Hey remember, there was another romance? Tiernan is wondering if it’s too late to tell Grania he still loves her. Grania is wondering if it’s too soon to tell Tiernan that she loves him. And they’re reunited 🙂
The Role of the Queen
Queen Elizabeth considers the dilemma of her role to produce an heir. Just a step behind Grania, in terms of realizing her dream of ruling the Kingdom is both hindered by and requiring her woman-ness.
Funny (ironic, odd) that Bingham refers to Grania as an “aberration of her sex” to the queen who is also conflicted by her masculine job as a woman. Anyhow, Bingham has acquired a new ali: Donal O’Flaherty has agreed to betray Grania, and with it his country.
The Christening (instrumental)
Grania and clan gathers for the christening of her son, Eoin.
Let a Father Stand by his Son
Donal pretends to be penitent, preying on Grania’s close relationship with her father, saying that her son should have a chance to know his father as well.
Grania agrees: “I dismissed the husband cursed by his sin. / The father, though, may come in.”
Donal, along with the English, enter the ceremony and attack, killing many and taking Grania prisoner. It was a trick! (of course).
Donal plans to restore clan O’Flaherty with his boy, but Grace begs Tiernan to take Eoin – “Keep that beast from my boy! / Save my child, save my son!”
Tiernan kills Donal (woohoo!) and keeps Eoin safe.
*7 years pass* with no song
This isn’t some chick flick where everything goes bad for a couple weeks and then there’s the happily ever after. Your dream isn’t a chick flick either (unless your dream is to, like, make a chick flick).
Everything seems lost. There’s the silence of no songs for this part of the story. That’s because nothing is happening for poor Grania. The English take over Ireland. Grania has been in prison for 7 years – she’s lost her land and her child.
A dream is kinda like a rollercoaster – you’ll hit triumphs, like getting the O’Flaherty clan women to love you. You’ll hit downfalls, like having to marry Donal (yech.) You’ll think you’re winning only to be slapped back to worse than where you started. 7 years may pass. Keep dreaming. This isn’t the end of the story.
Don’t worry, there’s more to the story! It’s not over yet, dear dreamer 🙂 Read the finale next. Until then, tell me about you in the trenches working towards your dream.
- What’s your unlikely successes?
- Tell us about your silent 7 years.
- Is there light at the end of the tunnel? What is it?
I like this!!
My unlikely successes are 1) I got my book published and 2) I got a great job at Salvation ARmy as a book keeper and I am looking at going back to school for accounting.
The 7 silent years were when I lived in St.Louis and had huge financial troubles. It lasted for 15 years. Horrible times.
Jesus is the Light at the end of my tunnel. I can’t do this without Him.
Beautiful testimony of a dreamer, Kim! You’re making it out of the woods <3