"Bridal Shower," Scene A

On September 1, 1976, a couple months before "Bridal Shower" aired, the Rev. Shooting Script was submitted.  I don't think there are any major differences from what would end up onscreen, certainly nothing like what happened to "Good Time Girls," but we shall see what changes were made. 

The opening scene is set at the Pizza Bowl at night.  In the script, it says that "Carmine is singing onstage," but it doesn't say what song, and I'm working with the DVD copy, so shrug.  I do think this line of his was dropped before filming, "Thank you, thank you all.  If you liked me, my name's Carmine Ragusa, the Big Ragoo...  If you didn't my name is Vic Damone."

The detail that Lenny would "stuff forty of these little white beauties," meaning marshmallows was lost, as was this:

LENNY STRUTS AROUND ACTING LIKE A WINNING PRIZEFIGHTER.  THE CROWD "BOO'S" AND JEERS.

LENNY

Thanks, everyone....

SQUIGGY

You're welcome.

LENNY SHOVES SQUIGGY OFF THE STAGE.

LENNY

I appreciate your support, and I'll be out there stuffin' for each and every one of you.

And this was chopped out of the Carmine & Frank exchange:

CARMINE

Hey, Mr. De Fazio...  Couples' Night is really working out good, huh?

FRANK

Yeah, even better than when I had Moustache Night.

After Frank is half incoherent about what he thinks of Carmine's singing, Carmine was supposed to "turn to the people in the bowl" and ask, "Does he like me, or doesn't he?  Who can understand?!"

After Laverne orders, this was originally in the script:

SHIRLEY

Shhh!  Do you have to shout like that and draw attention?

LAVERNE

Nobody notices.

CARMINE WALKS OVER TO THEM.

CARMINE

(SHOUTS) Hey!  What ya say, girls?  Ya missed my first set.

SHIRLEY

Sorry, Carmine.  How'd it go?

CARMINE

I don't know.  I asked her father.

LAVERNE

You shoulda heard him tell me the facts of life.

They omitted Shirley saying, "Well, I'm glad for her.  I always liked Elinor," and Laverne adding, "Yeah, me, too.  She was so sweet."

They dropped Carmine remarking, "I'm tired of getting paid in breadsticks," for his Pizza Bowl gig.

For some reason, Laverne's line about Elinor's father, "His students like him," was changed to "He was the ice cream man."

When Squiggy scolds Lenny for doing mouth exercises while Squiggy is talking to girls, he originally "mimicked Lenny's mouth exercises," so then there was this:

LENNY

I didn't do this... (PULLS HIS CHEEKS)  I did this... (PULLS HIS LIPS)

Onscreen, the boys instead talk about "roadwork" and "bridgework."

This is the dropped ending of the scene:

CARMINE

My first number's dedicated to a very good friend of mine...  Mr. Pizza himself, Frank De Fazio...

CARMINE BEGINS TO SING "THAT'S AMORE".  FRANK WALKS UP, HANDS CARMINE A BREADSTICK.

Thoughts:

• Lenny is more humble onscreen, and Squiggy pushes him offstage.
• Lenny will be stuffing for each and every one of us.
• I wonder if Frank brought back Moustache Night after he grew one of his own.
• The.  People.  In.  The.  Bowl.
• I wish we could've heard Laverne's father explain the facts of life.
• It would've been nice to get more of the girls' fondness for Elinor into this first scene.
• Mmm, breadsticks.