sing of the pain. The pain is real." Maggie Frisby, rock singer and central character in David hare's Teeth 'n' Smiles, says that so often in interviews that her roadies have taken to muttering, "Mostly in the arse." Beautiful, talented, self-destructive Maggie has amassed a minor cult following in England singing the songs of her former lover-mentor Arthur. "She'd prefer not to," advises her press agent. "She'd prefer to get up there and scream." Maggie's habit of dragging her band around on profitable provincial tours has landed them all at Jesus College, Cambridge, playing for a dreary undergraduate ball. The gig starts hours late. Arthur pays a surprise visit. Maggie gets drunk and passes out onstage. The band gets busted. Their sleazy but likable manager, Saraffian, arrives to fire Maggie and replace her with his new discovery. Maggie takes a bum drug rap and goes to jail. Life goes on and, as the play's memorable (and meaningfully ambiguous) closing song goes, "The music remains the same."
