Text: Original Broadway Cast. The Role Of The Queen.

LADIES
White...

ELIZABETH
The white of virgin skin
Unblemished, powedered, blank
That hides what lies within
The image crowned with

ELIZABETH AND LADIES
Gold...

ELIZABETH
The color of my power
The scepter and the orb
Demands of state that flower
My anger flowing

ELIZABETH AND LADIES
Red...

ELIZABETH
Blood, lips, and blushing cheeks
This body made of flesh
Confining even me

LADIES
White, gold, red...

ELIZABETH
This fortress I create
Made from these pots of paint
No longer serves as it was meant to be

I stand divine
As the monarch clear
Yet on every side
Thund'ring words I hear:
"It's time that she
Wed a consort King"
To produce an heir
Is in fact the role of the Queen


LORDS AND LADIES
She stands divine
As the sov'reign soul
Placed by God Himself
In her royal role
In a child, they say,

Crown and flesh convene

To postpone that day
Has become the goal of the Queen

ELIZABETH
(spoken sing-song)
I love my new map.
Knowing better the topography of Ireland.
We've made great advances in the East.
But...
Why is it in the West
I am consistently defied by this...
Female!!!

BINGHAM
(spoken)
Not for much longer. Things are going according to plan, your majesty. Soon we'll see the end of this so-called Queen of the
Pirates, this trousered pretender, this aberration of her sex.

ELIZABETH
This is your last cha-a-a-a-nce!

BINGHAM, LORDS AND LADIES
She stands divine
As the sov'reign soul
Placed upon the throne
By the hand of God
In sacrifice
She remains serene
In her ev'ry breath
She defines the role of the Queen