Synopsis
Act I
It is cold winter’s day in the present as Dirk arrives home from his job on The Skyway, thinking of his wife, Gayle, who soon arrives home. She has just successfully defended her master’s thesis on the Peronistas of Argentina and reminds Dirk that he promised to take her there once she completed her degree. He balks at the high cost, since he wants to buy a small house under the skyway and start a family with her. The argument escalates until he storms out in frustration. Left alone, Gayle reveals that she found There’s Gold In Buenos Aires by discovering the rumored location of the elusive Perón fortune. Dirk eventually returns and Gayle insists passionately that Argentina Is Calling. She leaves Dirk to think it over. He admits aloud he would do anything For Gayle. She returns and interrupts with Argentina Is Calling as he finally relents and they prepare to go.
A few days later on a bustling street corner in Buenos Aires, Gayle’s contact Victor contemplates The Curse that keeps fortune hunters flocking to Buenos Aires where he can easily fleece them. Dirk and Gayle show up and he quickly convinces them that he is The Right Man For The Job. Meanwhile, back in a safe house, Consuelo, the leader of the People’s Revolutionary Brigade, relates The Tale of Juan Perón. She wants to find the Perón fortune for herself and her cause. She has hired Victor and focuses him on working with the Americans to find The Argentinian Prize. He arranges a meeting with them at the historic Café Tortoni that evening to finalize plans for The Expedition to the tomb. At the café, Gayle reveals that the key to unlocking the Perón fortune lies in the ring buried with Perón himself. As the meeting breaks up amidst excitement and anticipation, both Gayle and Consuelo can’t help but wonder about the seemingly incompetent Dirk — Who Is This Man Called Dirk?
In the hotel room and the safe house, the two couples separately prepare for their adventure. They begin by Checking The List of essential things to bring to the tomb. At midnight in Finale Act I, Dirk overhears Victor speaking Russian urgently on the telephone, then the foursome arrive together in the cemetery. At the tomb, they have a heated argument about who should go in. All agree that Dirk is clueless enough to be trusted and they wait anxiously as he enters the tomb alone. When he finally emerges, he admits that he couldn’t get the ring off Perón’s hand, so he resorted to cutting off the hand instead. Consumed with greed, the others dream fervently of the gold as the act ends.
Act II
Act Two begins later that night in the hotel room where Dirk is energized by the evening’s thrilling adventure, having discovered The Man Inside Me during the escapade. Meanwhile at the safe house, Victor, singing Dulce Niña, is told he must find a way to keep Consuelo away from the vault, so he can seize the gold for mother Russia — where his true loyalties lie. He attempts to romance her through his heartfelt rendition of Dulce nina, but the plan fails and Consuelo spurns him. Left alone in her thoughts, she again wonders how Dirk can bring off such a clever plan. As the scene changes, she is joined by Gayle in Who Is This Man Called Dirk?
The next day in the marketplace, Victor and Consuelo are watching Dirk and Gayle as they get caught up in The Grand Mercado. There, as in every classic Latin American movie, they dance while discovering layers of intrigue hidden within the vibrant open air. Victor makes a plan with Gayle to move against Consuelo. Consuelo tries to figure out Dirk, even as Dirk discovers a ring that looks exactly like the one he saw on Juan Perón’s hand. Later that day in the safe house, a frustrated Consuelo finally develops a plan to swap Perón’s hand with another. When Victor asks where she will find another hand, she eyes his hand and gives him a chance to say Good-bye Manuela (his hand) before she cuts off his hand.
Back at the hotel room, in a reprise of For Gayle Dirk confesses he is still waiting for the day they can finally start a family together. Gayle gives up on him in frustration and exits. Alone now, Dirk fiddles with the severed hand and finally gets the ring off — only to confuse it with the similar ring he purchased in the market. Just then Consuelo arrives with an elaborate cake and seduces him with the song Spice, while she secretly switches Victor’s severed hand for the Perón hand and exits.
Later that night in the basement of the hotel, the foursome find the vault. Chaos erupts as tensions rise: Victor turns on Consuelo, Gayle redirects her anger at Victor, and Consuelo retaliates by turning on Gayle. In a moment of revelation, she acknowledges that she knows precisely where the vault is hidden and reveals that she possesses the coveted ring. With a sly smile, she lets Dirk go free. Just as he begins to make his way out, he realizes that the ring he has been holding is actually the key they need. In a twist, he unlocks the door to unveil the legendary Perón fortune just as the others allow their greed to consume them in Finale Act II.
Production Note
This show was conceived with a cast of four actors. It would be possible to perform with an additional two male and two female actors to bring more ambient life to the public scenes such as the street in Buenos Aires, the Café Tortoni and the marketplace as well as to enhance the vocal sound of the music. In addition, each actor can cover one of the four roles. Anther possibility would include adding two additional actors where each understudies two of the other roles.
The original production was scored for piano and percussion.