The Iceman Cometh by Harold Bloom, Eugene O’Neill Page A

at right, front , MARGIE and PEARL are arranging the cake and presents, and ROCKY stands by them. All of them, with the exception of CHUCK and ROCKY , have had plenty to drink and show it, but no one, except HUGO , seems to be drunk. They are trying to act up in the spirit of the occasion but there is something forced about their manner, an undercurrent of nervous irritation and preoccupation .
    CORA
    Standing back from the piano to regard the flower effect .
    How’s dat, Kid?
    CHUCK
    Grumpily .
    What de hell do I know about flowers?
    CORA
    Yuh can see dey’re pretty, can’t yuh, yuh big dummy?
    CHUCK
    Mollifyingly .
    Yeah, Baby, sure. If yuh like ’em, dey’re aw right wid me.
    CORA goes back to give the schooner of flowers a few more touches .
    MARGIE
    Admiring the cake .
    Some cake, huh, Poil? Lookit! Six candles. Each for ten years.
    PEARL
    When do we light de candles, Rocky?
    ROCKY
    Grumpily .
    Ask dat bughouse Hickey. He’s elected himself boss of dis boithday racket. Just before Harry comes down, he says. Den Harry blows dem out wid one breath, for luck. Hickey was goin’ to have sixty candles, but I says, Jees, if de old guy took dat big a breath, he’d croak himself.
    MARGIE
    Challengingly .
    Well, anyways, it’s some cake, ain’t it?
    ROCKY
    Without enthusiasm .
    Sure, it’s aw right by me. But what de hell is Harry goin’ to do wid a cake? If he ever et a hunk, it’d croak him.
    PEARL
    Jees, yuh’re a dope! Ain’t he, Margie?
    MARGIE
    A dope is right!
    ROCKY
    Stung .
    You broads better watch your step or—
    PEARL
    Defiantly .
    Or what?
    MARGIE
    Yeah! Or what?
    They glare at him truculently .
    ROCKY
    Say, what de hell’s got into youse? It’ll be twelve o’clock and Harry’s boithday before long. I ain’t lookin’ for no trouble.
    PEARL
    Ashamed .
    Aw, we ain’t neider, Rocky.
    For the moment this argument subsides .
    CORA
    Over her shoulder to CHUCK — acidly .
    A guy what can’t see flowers is pretty must be some dumbbell.
    CHUCK
    Yeah? Well, if I was as dumb as you—
    Then mollifyingly .
    Jees, yuh got your scrappin’ pants on, ain’t yuh?
    Grins goodnaturedly .
    Hell, Baby, what’s eatin’ yuh? All I’m tinkin’ is, flowers is dat louse Hickey’s stunt. We never had no flowers for Harry’s boithday before. What de hell can Harry do wid flowers? He don’t know a cauliflower from a geranium.
    ROCKY
    Yeah, Chuck, it’s like I’m tellin’ dese broads about de cake. Dat’s Hickey’s wrinkle, too.
    Bitterly .
    Jees, ever since he woke up, yuh can’t hold him. He’s taken on de party like it was his boithday.
    MARGIE
    Well, he’s payin’ for everything, ain’t he?
    ROCKY
    Aw, I don’t mind de boithday stuff so much. What gets my goat is de way he’s tryin’ to run de whole dump and everyone in it. He’s buttin’ in all over de place, tellin’ everybody where dey get off. On’y he don’t really tell yuh. He just keeps hintin’ around.
    PEARL
    Yeah. He was hintin’ to me and Margie.
    MARGIE
    Yeah, de lousy drummer.
    ROCKY
    He just gives yuh an earful of dat line of bull about yuh got to be honest wid yourself and not kid yourself, and have de guts to be what yuh are. I got sore. I told him dat’s aw right for de bums in dis dump. I hope he makes dem wake up. I’m sick of listenin’ to dem hop demselves up. But it don’t go wid me, see? I don’t kid myself wid no pipe dream.
    PEARL and MARGIE exchange a derisive look. He catches it and his eyes narrow .
    What are yuh grinnin’ at?
    PEARL
    Her face hard — scornfully .
    Nuttin’.
    MARGIE
    Nuttin’.
    ROCKY
    It better be nuttin’! Don’t let Hickey put no ideas in your nuts if you wanta stay healthy!
    Then angrily .
    I wish de louse never showed up! I hope he don’t come back from de delicatessen. He’s gettin’ everyone nuts. He’s ridin’ someone every minute. He’s got Harry and Jimmy Tomorrow run ragged, and de rest is hidin’ in deir rooms so dey won’t have to listen to him. Dey’re all actin’