Andrew Lloyd Webber
Arrival of the Trio — “Are You Ready to Begin?”
SQUELCH:
Are you ready to begin?
Are you ready to get on?
You're about to start out
On the journey of your lives

RAOUL:
(Is this some kind of joke?)

ONLOOKER 1:
(Nah, it's a publicity stunt for that freak show on Coney!)

REPORTER 1:
(It's a front page feature, is what it is!
[Aside.] You gettin' this, Smitty?)

PHOTOGRAPHER:
(You bet'cha.)

GANGLE:
If you're ready then get in
Once you're in then we'll get gone
And who knows once it goes
Where you'll be when it arrives?

RAOUL:
(This is outrageous!)
VARIOUS [Spoken]:
It's amazing!
(It's brilliant!)
I'm telling you, that Mr. Y is an absolute genius

FLECK:
It's a fun house where the mirrors
All reflect what's real

FLECK/GANGLE:
And reality's as twisted
As the mirrors reveal

FLECK/GANGLE/SQUELCH:
And the fun is finding out what the mirrors show...

RAOUL:
(This is unacceptable! Do you hear me?! I will be taking this up with your employer, whoever he is!)

GUSTAVE:
Everything and everyone
It's all just how I dreamed
All the freaks and all the fun
Exactly how I dreamed!
And Phantasma still awaits...
Wonder what's behind its gates?
REPORTER 1:
(That was somethin', wasn't it?)

ONLOOKER 2:
(Meh, I was hoping she'd sing. Caruso sang half of Pagliacci for us when he got off the boat.)

ONLOOKER 3:
(Eh, I bet she ain't got it no more, not like the old days. Oh sure, she's pitch-perfect, but empty, inside, like the flame went out of somethin'.)

ONLOOKER 4:
(Oh, look, it's The Rockefellers!)