I Need to Eat

[MME. FRAU]
We are looking for a dancer as good as Elsie was
Before she died
So don't hold back
Let's do the whole combination
Facing away from the wall
Fünf, sechs, sieben, acht

[DANCE BREAK]

[MME. FRAU, SPOKEN]
Again, fünf, sechs, sieben, acht

[DANCERS]
I need to eat
I need to eat
Last night my dinner was a candle
(Last night my dinner was a candle)
The landlord's calling
I'm out of fishnets
There's not much more than I can handle
(There's not much more than I can handle)
How am I gonna feed my kids?
Why did I have so many kids?
I think I'm gonna have to sell my kids

[MME. FRAU]
Einz, zwei, drei, vier, funf, sechs

[DANCERS]
Who is this girl?
She's really bad
She oughta be way in the back
(She oughta be way in the back)
This girl has got no sense of space
And does a weird thing with her face
She pops her head and she's got bad feet

[MME. FRAU]
All right, so you can dance
Some of you
But that is not enough
I want to know why you are here

[DANCER 1]
I guess it all started when my parent's marriage fell apart
The marriage counselor's office was next to a dance studio
I used to sneak in there and stomp around to drown out the sound of Mother and Daddy fighting over whose life was more disappointing
The next thing I knew, I was pointing my feet
And falling in love with guys that didn't want me that way

[DANCER 2]
Dad was in the military
You know, the type with a whistle
He used to force my brothers, sisters, and me to perform for guests at dinner parties
God, I hated when he did that
So, this one night, I begged him for a taste of champagne
He said, "no," but I didn't let that stop me, oh, no
He had a girlfriend, real fancy
She had some kind of royal title, I kid you not
Later that night, she gave me the whole damn bottle
That's when I started class

[DANCER 3]
Why am I here?
I grew up in Buffalo and went through puberty
That's it
Puberty
Buffalo

[MELISSA]
Wow, you guys have been through so much
I feel bad, even competing or assuming your lives are better because you're so thin and beautiful
But, uh, maybe

[MELISSA]
I am a doctor
And a doctor doctors
I'm proud to be called an MD
But every time I deliver a baby
I wonder when that'll be me
Even when I perform to perfection
Shoulder dystocia
Emergency C-section
The days can be pretty rough
And I feel like I'll never ever be enough
So this size twelve
Would love the chance to shine
And also clear my husband of murder

[MME. FRAU]
Enough talk
Now dance for your life

[DANCERS]
I need to eat tonight
Not work the street tonight
I need to eat tonight