Act One
Scene: day. Old wooden staircase down left with pale, frayed carpet laid down on the steps. The stairs lead offstage left up into the wings with no landing. Up right is an old, dark green sofa with the stuffing coming out in spots. Stage right of the sofa is an upright lamp with a faded yellow shade and a small night table with several small bottles of pills on it. Down right of the sofa, with the screen facing the sofa, is a large, old-fashioned brown TV. A flickering blue light comes from the screen, but no image, no sound. In the dark, the light of the lamp and the TV slowly brighten in the black space. The space behind the sofa, upstage, is a large screened-in porch with a board floor. A solid interior door to stage right of the sofa leads from the porch to the outside. Beyond that are the shapes of dark elm trees.
Gradually the form
DODGE
is made out, sitting on the couch, facing the TV the blue light flickering on his face. He wears a well-worn T-shirt, suspenders, khaki work pants, and brown slippers. He's covered himself in an old brown blanket. He's very thin and sickly looking, in his late seventies. He just stares at the TV. More light fills the stage softly. The sound of light rain,
DODGE
slowly tilts his head back and stares at the ceiling for a while, listening to the rain. He lowers his head again and stares at the TV. He starts to cough slowly and softly.
The coughing gradually builds. He holds one hand to his mouth and tries to stifle it. The coughing gets louder, then suddenly stops when he hears the sound of his wife's voice comingfrom the top of the staircase.
HALIE'S VOICE: Dodge? (DODGE
just stares at the TV. Long pause. He stifles two short coughs.)
Dodge! You want a pill, Dodge?
(He doesn't answer. Takes a bottle out from under a cushion of the sofa and takes a long swig. Puts the bottle back, stares at the TV pulls the blanket up around his neck.)
You know what it is, don't you? It's the rain! Weather. That's it. Every time. Every time you get like this, it's the rain. No sooner does the rain start than you start.
(Pause.)
Dodge?
(He makes no reply. Pulls a pack of cigarettes out from his sweater and lights one. Stares at the TV. Pause.)
You should see it coming down up here. Just coming down in sheets. Blue sheets. The bridge is pretty near flooded. What's it like down there? Dodge? (DODGE
turns his head back over his left shoulder and takes a look out through the porch. He turns back to the TV).
DODGE:
(To himself.)
Catastrophic.
HALIE'S VOICE: What? What'd you say, Dodge?
DODGE:
(Louder.)
It looks like rain to me! Plain old rain!
HALIE'S VOICE: Rain? Of course it's rain! Are you having a seizure or something! Dodge?
(Pause.)
I'm coming down there in about five minutes if you don't answer me!
DODGE: Don't come down.
HALIE'S VOICE: What!
DODGE:
(Louder.)
Don't come down!
(He has another coughing attack. Stops.)
HALIE'S VOICE : You should take a pill for that! I don't see why you just don't take a pill. Be done with it once and for all. Put a stop to it.
(He takes the bottle out again. Another swig. Returns the bottle.)
It's not Christian, but it works. It's not necessarily Christian, that is. A pill. We don't know. We're not in a position to answer something like that. There's some things the ministers can't even answer. I, personally, can't see anything wrong with it. A pill. Pain is pain. Pure and simple. Suffering is a different matter. That's entirely different. A pill seems as good an answer as any. Dodge?
(Pause.)
Dodge, are you watching baseball?
DODGE : No.
HALIE'S VOICE: What?
DODGE:
(Louder.)
No! I'm
not
watching baseball.
HALIE'S VOICE: What're you watching? You shouldn't be watching anything that'll get you excited!
DODGE: Nothing gets me excited.
HALIE'S VOICE : No horse racing!
DODGE: They don't race here on Sundays.
HALIE'S VOICE: What?
DODGE:
(Louder.)
They don't race on Sundays!
HALIE'S VOICE: Well, they shouldn't race on Sundays. The
Scene: day. Old wooden staircase down left with pale, frayed carpet laid down on the steps. The stairs lead offstage left up into the wings with no landing. Up right is an old, dark green sofa with the stuffing coming out in spots. Stage right of the sofa is an upright lamp with a faded yellow shade and a small night table with several small bottles of pills on it. Down right of the sofa, with the screen facing the sofa, is a large, old-fashioned brown TV. A flickering blue light comes from the screen, but no image, no sound. In the dark, the light of the lamp and the TV slowly brighten in the black space. The space behind the sofa, upstage, is a large screened-in porch with a board floor. A solid interior door to stage right of the sofa leads from the porch to the outside. Beyond that are the shapes of dark elm trees.
Gradually the form
DODGE
is made out, sitting on the couch, facing the TV the blue light flickering on his face. He wears a well-worn T-shirt, suspenders, khaki work pants, and brown slippers. He's covered himself in an old brown blanket. He's very thin and sickly looking, in his late seventies. He just stares at the TV. More light fills the stage softly. The sound of light rain,
DODGE
slowly tilts his head back and stares at the ceiling for a while, listening to the rain. He lowers his head again and stares at the TV. He starts to cough slowly and softly.
The coughing gradually builds. He holds one hand to his mouth and tries to stifle it. The coughing gets louder, then suddenly stops when he hears the sound of his wife's voice comingfrom the top of the staircase.
HALIE'S VOICE: Dodge? (DODGE
just stares at the TV. Long pause. He stifles two short coughs.)
Dodge! You want a pill, Dodge?
(He doesn't answer. Takes a bottle out from under a cushion of the sofa and takes a long swig. Puts the bottle back, stares at the TV pulls the blanket up around his neck.)
You know what it is, don't you? It's the rain! Weather. That's it. Every time. Every time you get like this, it's the rain. No sooner does the rain start than you start.
(Pause.)
Dodge?
(He makes no reply. Pulls a pack of cigarettes out from his sweater and lights one. Stares at the TV. Pause.)
You should see it coming down up here. Just coming down in sheets. Blue sheets. The bridge is pretty near flooded. What's it like down there? Dodge? (DODGE
turns his head back over his left shoulder and takes a look out through the porch. He turns back to the TV).
DODGE:
(To himself.)
Catastrophic.
HALIE'S VOICE: What? What'd you say, Dodge?
DODGE:
(Louder.)
It looks like rain to me! Plain old rain!
HALIE'S VOICE: Rain? Of course it's rain! Are you having a seizure or something! Dodge?
(Pause.)
I'm coming down there in about five minutes if you don't answer me!
DODGE: Don't come down.
HALIE'S VOICE: What!
DODGE:
(Louder.)
Don't come down!
(He has another coughing attack. Stops.)
HALIE'S VOICE : You should take a pill for that! I don't see why you just don't take a pill. Be done with it once and for all. Put a stop to it.
(He takes the bottle out again. Another swig. Returns the bottle.)
It's not Christian, but it works. It's not necessarily Christian, that is. A pill. We don't know. We're not in a position to answer something like that. There's some things the ministers can't even answer. I, personally, can't see anything wrong with it. A pill. Pain is pain. Pure and simple. Suffering is a different matter. That's entirely different. A pill seems as good an answer as any. Dodge?
(Pause.)
Dodge, are you watching baseball?
DODGE : No.
HALIE'S VOICE: What?
DODGE:
(Louder.)
No! I'm
not
watching baseball.
HALIE'S VOICE: What're you watching? You shouldn't be watching anything that'll get you excited!
DODGE: Nothing gets me excited.
HALIE'S VOICE : No horse racing!
DODGE: They don't race here on Sundays.
HALIE'S VOICE: What?
DODGE:
(Louder.)
They don't race on Sundays!
HALIE'S VOICE: Well, they shouldn't race on Sundays. The
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