TEXT: Act 1 1:57 P.M. MANCHESTER TIME Scene 1 - Ray's Pub, Manchester Fade in. The same pub Niles was thrown out of before. Harry Moon is sitting at a table. Niles comes in, a handkerchief over his face, and walks over to him. Putting it away, he composes himself. Niles: Mr. Moon? Harry: You again! Didn't I toss you out of here last night? Niles: Six times. But if you'll just give me a minute to... Harry: [rising] Gentlemen, this lad has traveled all the way from America to reunite me with my wife. The crowd makes ugly noises as Harry grabs Niles and prepares to toss him out yet again. Niles: [loudly] Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! You never gave me a chance to buy a round of drinks! The crowd changes its tune, calling for Niles to be let in after all. Harry drags Niles over to the bar. Harry: All right, the usual, Ray. Start talking. You got one pint. Ray hands him a pint and he starts drinking as Niles puts money down. He quickly consults some handwritten notes, then begins. Niles: Mr. Moon, a great man once wrote that "The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference." Harry has been drinking the whole time and finishes it off. Harry: Done. Get out! Niles: Mr. Moon, Mr. Moon, your wife, your wife is miserable without you. I think you should give her a second chance. After all, you were married for forty years. Harry: Forty years too long! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm late for work. Niles: Sorry. Harry walks over to a table where a young couple is sitting. He leans over to the woman. Harry: Hallo, aren't you a pretty thing? Fancy a roll in the hay? The young man jumps up. Man: No one talks to my woman that way! He punches Harry in the stomach, leaving him doubled over and gasping in pain as Niles looks on
SUMMARY:
Niles has flown to Manchester and located Daphne's father, Harry Moon. He attempts to persuade Harry to come to America with him and reconcile with his wife. Harry throws Niles out of the pub six times, and each time Niles tries again. Eventually, Harry agrees to go with him to see Daphne (partially motivated by the fact Niles is willing to pay for the plane ticket, which he ensures is first-class). When Daphne and her mother return from their trip to Hawaii , Daphne is delighted to see her father, but Gertrude is furious and upset. Niles tells Daphne that he had to go and fetch Harry, and Daphne reacts angrily because he never consulted with her first. Still, Niles is determined to keep trying to reunite her parents, and arranges for them to have an expensive dinner together at Chez Henri. The occasion, after a promising start, ends in disaster, and Harry decides to return to England, while Gertrude plans to make her permanent home in America. Daphne begins to lose faith in the idea of true love, but Harry assures her that she's met the right man in Niles and tells her how persistent he was in persuading him to visit. Overwhelmed by how much he is prepared to do to make her wishes come true, Daphne shows up on Niles' doorstep late that night and asks him to marry her immediately. Without a word, Niles leads her out of the apartment.