Original Cast of Ordinary Days
Big Picture
[DEB]
I’ll have a mocha caramel latte-chino
Made with skim milk, no whipped cream
Please put that in a Grande cup
But use the same amount of coffee
That you’d put into a Tall
That way, there’s about an inch
Of extra room on top
To stir in my own nutmeg
Without spilling any coffee at all
What do you want?

[WARREN, spoken]
I’ll have a tea

[DEB, spoken]
What kind?

[WARREN, spoken]
Just...tea?

[DEB]
He’ll have your green Darjeeling tea
Which I am sure you know cannot be steeped
For more than ninety-five seconds
Shall we?
So, what’s your deal?

[WARREN, spoken]
My what?

[DEB]
Your deal. What are you about?

[WARREN]
Well, I’m about five foot five, I guess
You really don’t find me funny at all?

[DEB]
Funny, yes
Amusing, no
But seriously, Warren
I want to know

Describe to me
Your big picture

[WARREN]
Well, there’s this Picasso

[DEB]
Don’t start
Everyone’s got
A big picture
Something they shoot for
That sets them apart
We’ve all got
An awful lot
To do before we’re dead
So, where do you see yourself
In, say, five years?
[WARREN]
I haven’t thought that far ahead

[DEB, spoken]
Are you gonna be serious?

[WARREN, spoken]
Do I have to?
(sung)
Well, I work for an artist

[DEB]
Tell me what you do

[WARREN]
I dunno, I watch his cat
And this morning I fixed his curtain rod

[DEB]
Sure, okay
That pays the rent
But that is not exactly
What I meant

When I asked to hear
Your big picture
Something beyond
Your daily routine
Talk about
Your big picture
The fairy tale ending
That you’ve always seen
I am sure
There’s something more
To you than doing chores
Everyone’s got a big picture in mind
[WARREN, spoken]
So, what’s yours?

[DEB]
Well, since you asked
In five years, I’ll have an amazing apartment
With bookshelves built into the walls
A window that looks out on someplace big
And a personal assistant who screens my calls
The book I write will be required reading
To get into the seminars that I’ll be leading
That’s the plan
As far as I can see it
And yet it
Isn’t quite apparent
What I’m supposed to do
To get it

Some big picture
How’s your tea?

[WARREN, spoken]
My what?

[DEB]
Your tea?

[WARREN]
Oh, it’s sort of… gotten cold

[DEB]
These stupid "baristas" don’t know how
To heat a proper –

[WARREN]
Deb, it’s really okay

Look, I know
That we just met
But it seems to me that maybe
You might wanna get

Some perspective on
This "big picture"
"Big," after all, is
A relative term
Maybe this whole
"Big picture"
Shouldn’t be something
On which you stand firm

You’re in a rut
Who cares, so what
If your picture’s not quite clear?
I mean, you and me
And lukewarm tea
This could be
Your really big picture right here

[DEB, spoken]
Oh my God, you’re right

[WARREN, spoken]
See?

[DEB, spoken]
Sitting here at Starbucks drinking mediocre coffee with a professional cat sitter is all my life is going to amount to

[WARREN, spoken]
That’s not really what I meant

[DEB, spoken]
No, it’s okay, I’m a strong woman, I can handle it
Oh my God, what time is it?
(sung)
I have to go

[JASON]
Where are you going, Claire?

[WARREN]
You don’t have to go

[CLAIRE]
Please don’t –

[JASON]
Claire, stop

[DEB]
Yes, I do, I’m late for my appointment

[CLAIRE]
Not now

[WARREN]
Deb, there’s something I want to show you

[JASON]
You can’t just leave me in the rain
And hope that things will wash away, Claire...

[DEB]
I can't

[WARREN]
But Deb...

[DEB]
Not now

[WARREN]
Then soon?

[CLAIRE]
It's not my fault that it's raining...

[DEB]
Yes, later, Warren

[WARREN]
Promise?

[JASON]
Answer me!

[DEB]
I promise, later, Warren

[CLAIRE]
It's not my fault that it is raining, is it?

[WARREN]
Call me then
You'll call me later?

[DEB]
I'll call you later

[JASON]
Jesus, Claire!
Where are you going, Claire?
Can’t you just talk to me, Claire?