[SMALL ALISON]
Daddy! Hey, Daddy, come here, okay? I need you
What are you doing? I said come here
You need to do what I tell you to do
Listen to me
Daddy!
Come here! Hey, right here! Right now!
You’re making me mad
Listen to me
Listen to me
Listen to me...

I wanna play airplane
I wanna play airplane
I wanna play airplane!
I wanna put my arms out and fly!
Like the Red Baron in the Sopwith Camel!
No, wait—
Like Superman! Up in the sky!
'Till I can see all of Pennsylvania...

[BRUCE, spoken]
Hey! Gimme a hand

[SMALL ALISON, spoken]
What’d you get, Daddy?
[ALISON, spoken]
Right, right, right

[BRUCE, spoken]
It’s from Clyde Gibbon’s barn. What a haul!
He said, “Take what you want.”
I said, “Clyde, are you sure?”
He said, “It’s all junk to me.”
I said, “Okay, Clyde, okay!”
C’mon. Take a look
You go to auctions, yard sales, comb the dump. There’s crap, there’s crap, there’s—
Hey... What’s this?

[SMALL ALISON, spoken]
More crap?

[BRUCE, spoken]
No

(sung)
Linen!
This is linen! Gorgeous Irish linen!
See how I can tell?
Right here, this floating thread, you see
That’s what makes it damask
And the weight, the weight, this drape!
And the pattern, crisp and clear!
See how it’s made from matte and shine?
It’s tattered here, but all the rest—
How beautiful! How fine!
(spoken)
Okay, okay. What else?
Oh, crap... crap... oh, dead mouse...

[SMALL ALISON, spoken]
Ooh, can I have it?

[BRUCE, spoken]
It’s all yours...
What’s this?

(sung)
Silver?
Is this silver?
Is this junk or silver?
With polish, we can tell
I love how tarnish melts away
Opening to luster
And the mark, is there a mark?
Yes, this stamp, you see, right here
That’s how the craftsman leaves a sign
That he was here and made his work
So beautiful, so fine!

This has traveled continents to get here
And crossed an ocean of time
And somehow landed in this box
Under a layer of grime
I can’t abide romantic notions
Of some vague long ago
I want to know what’s true
Dig deep into who
And what, and why, and when
Until now gives way to then
[ALISON, spoken]
Did you ever imagine I’d hang on to your stuff, Dad? Me either. But I guess I always knew that someday I was going to draw you... in cartoons
Yes, Dad, I know. You think cartoons are silly. But I draw cartoons, and I need real things to draw from. ‘Cause I don’t trust memory

(sung)
But, god, this thing is ghastly!
You were so ecstatic when you found it at a yard sale
No, no, wait—
In Mr. Gibbon’s barn
It all comes back
It all comes back
It all comes back!

There’s you
And there’s me
But now I’m the one who’s forty-three
And stuck
I can’t find my way through!
Just like you
Am I just like you?

                                                        [BRUCE]
[ALISON]                                       A sign that he was
I can’t abide romantic notions      here
Of some vague long ago.             And made his work

[ALISON AND BRUCE]
I want to know what’s true
Dig deep into who
And what
And why
And when
Until now gives way to then

[SMALL ALISON]              [ALISON]
Daddy!                                What is true?
Hey Daddy
Come here, okay?               Oh—
I need you

[SMALL ALISON]             [BRUCE]
What are you                    This has
Doing?                                traveled to get
I said come here.               here
                                           So beautiful

[ALISON]
I wanna play             [SMALL ALISON]
Airplane.                    I wanna play
                                  airplane
[ALISON]
I wanna play
Airplane.          [SMALL ALISON]           [BRUCE]
                         I wanna play                    Beautiful!
                         airplane!

[ALISON & BRUCE]
What is true?

[ALISON, spoken]
Caption: My dad and I were exactly alike

[SMALL ALISON, spoken]
I see everything!

[ALISON, spoken]
Caption: My dad and I were nothing alike

[SMALL ALISON, spoken]
I’m Superman

[ALISON, spoken]
My dad and—
My dad and I—

[SMALL ALISON, spoken]
But, Daddy, come back!