Prologue Summary

As the audience enters the theatre, Artie Shaughnessy sits at a piano, plays and sings. He repeatedly tries to get the audience to stop talking and pay attention, then shouts offstage for someone to give him the blue spotlight he was promised. When he's done, he gathers up his music, bows and leaves the stage.

Prologue Analysis

This brief scene performs several functions. Firstly, it introduces the central character, Artie and reveals that he's an amateur songwriter eager for attention and success. These aspects of his character play important roles in the play's dramatic and thematic action. Secondly, the scene introduces the convention of characters speaking directly to the audience, which all of the principal characters do throughout the play. This makes the audience not only viewers, but also participants in the story.

Thirdly, the scene introduces the symbolically important element of the...