Little
Women
Little
Women
by Louisa Mae Alcott
Stage
adaptation and original content by Stephen J. Cramer
©2010
Please note: This is a work in progress and subject to many changes. It is posted to give the flavor of the adaptation for those interested.
Scene 1 (11 minutes)
Jo: (lying on the rug) Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents.
Amy: I don’t think it’s fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all.
Beth: We've got Father and Mother, and each other.
Jo: (sadly) We haven't got Father, and shall not have him for a long time.
Meg: You know the reason Mother proposed not having any presents this Christmas. It is going to be a hard winter for everyone and she thinks we shouldn’t spend money for pleasure, when our men are suffering in the army. It is just a small sacrifice….
Jo: Well, I don't think the little we should spend would do any good. Aunt March gave each of us a dollar, and the army wouldn't be much helped by our giving that. I don’t expect anything from Mother or you, but I do want to buy Hamlet for myself. I've wanted that for so long.
Beth: I was going to spend mine on new music.
Amy: I want a big box of color pencils and some paper.
Jo: Mother didn't say anything about our money, and she can’t wish us to give up everything. When we go caroling tonight, let's each buy what we want. I'm sure we work hard enough to earn it.
Meg: I know I do—taking care of spoiled children every day.
Jo: You don't have half such a hard time as I do, taking care of Aunt March. How would you like to be shut up for hours with a nervous, fussy old lady, who keeps you running about and is never satisfied?
Beth: Well, I think washing dishes and keeping things tidy here in our home is the worst work in the world. My hands get so stiff—I can't practice well at all.
Amy: I don't believe any of you suffer as I do, for you don't have to go to school with impertinent girls, who plague you if you don't know your lessons, and laugh at your dresses, and label your father if he isn't rich, and insult you when your nose isn't nice.
Jo: If you mean libel, I'd say so, and not talk about labels, as if Papa was a jar of pickles.
Amy: I know what I mean, and you needn't be satirical about it. It's proper to use good words, and improve your vocability.
(Jo shakes her head and Beth stifles a laugh)
Meg: Stop pecking at one another! I wish we had the money Papa lost when we were little. How wonderful and happy we'd be, if we had no worries!
Beth: You said the other day you thought we were a deal happier than the King children, for they were fighting and fretting all the time, in spite of their money.
Meg: So I did, Beth. Well, I think we are. For though we do have to work, we make fun of ourselves, and are a ‘pretty jolly bunch’, as Jo would say.
Amy: Jo does use such slang words!
(Jo sits up, puts her hands in her pockets and begins to whistle)
Amy: Don't, Jo. It's so boyish!
Jo: That's why I do it.
Amy: I detest rude, unladylike girls!
Jo: Well, I hate affected, niminy-piminy chits!
Meg: Really, girls, you are both to be blamed. You are old enough to stop playing all those boyish games and behave better, Josephine. It didn't matter so much when you were a little girl, but now you are so tall. And put your hair up! You should remember that you are a young lady.
Jo: I'm not! And if putting my hair up makes me one, I'll wear it in pigtails ‘til I'm twenty. I hate to think I've got to grow up, and be Miss March, and wear long gowns, and look so prim and proper. I wish I were a boy. Then I could go and fight with Papa instead of staying home and knitting like some poky old woman.
Meg: As for you, Amy, you are altogether too particular and prim. Your airs are funny now, but you'll grow up an affected little goose, if you don't take care. I like your nice manners but your misuse of words is as bad as Jo's slang.
Beth: If Jo is a tomboy and Amy a goose, what am I, please?
Meg: You're a dear, and nothing else.
Beth: Thank you!
Meg: You’re welcome!
Jo: ‘Thank you!’ ‘You’re welcome!’ If I should be so polite, would you call me a dear?
Meg: No! You would be…Roderigo! (picks up fireplace shovel and lunges at Jo, who is quick to respond by grabbing a fireplace brush to sword fight)
(Jo stands down center stage, sword-fighting with Meg, who is SR) and Amy stands behind her. Laurie is far SR in the Laurence library, sneaking looks out the window at the March house, where he can see the action through the living room windows.)
Jo: Release Princess Zara to me now, Dom Pedro!
Meg: Never!
Jo: Then you shall die as if by your own hand!
Meg: Better my hand than yours, Count Roderigo!
Jo: As you wish! HA! (stabs ‘Dom Pedro’, and Meg dramatically staggers and finally falls to the floor)
Amy: (clapping) Hooray!
(Beth, SL, puts on something resembling a witch hat)
Beth: (cackling) Noooooo!
‘Hither, hither, from thy home,
Airy sprite,
I bid thee come!
Born of
roses, fed on dew,
Charms and
potions are my brew.
Bring you
here, with elfin speed,
The fragrant
philter which I need.
Make it sweet
and swift and strong,
Zara, answer
now my song!’
(the ‘witch’ stretches out her hands, as if to draw the ‘Princess’ toward her, but Amy has been looking out the window at Laurie and they are waving to each other)
Jo: Amy! That’s where you go over to the witch.
(Mr. Laurence enters the study)
Mr. Laurence: Theodore! Come away from that window! If you’re going to live with me, young man, then you must learn to mind your own affairs. Mr. Brooke will be here soon to begin your lessons.
Laurie: Yes, Grandfather. I’m sorry. (turns away from looking at the March children and goes back to reading his book, and Mr. Laurence glances out the window toward the March house, shakes his head with a disapproving ‘tsk’ and exits)
Amy: (walking backwards) Help me! Help…..(trips over Meg)
Jo: No! That’s not how you do it!
Meg: (painfully) I should hope not!
Jo: Do it this way. Clasp your hands so, and stagger across the room, crying frantically, “Roderigo! Save me! Save me!” (dramatically crossing the stage)
Amy: (following, but stiffly and jerking, as if pulled by a motor) Roderigo! Save me! Save…Ow! (trips and falls)
(Jo groans and Meg laughs out loud. Laurie also has managed to see the fall and laughs.)
Jo: It's no use! Do the best you can when the time comes, and if the audience laughs, don't blame me.
Beth: I don't see how you can write and act such splendid things, Jo. You're a regular Shakespeare
Jo: Not quite. I do think The Witches Curse is rather good, but I'd like to try MacBeth. If we only had a trapdoor for Banquo. I always wanted to do the killing part. (rolling her eyes and clutching at the air) “Is that a dagger that I see before me?"
Meg: No! (holding up one of her knitting needles) It's a knitting needle!
All: (laugh)
(Mrs. March enters)
Mrs. March: Glad to find you so merry, my girls.
Girls: Marmee, you’re home!/Marmee!/You’re back!/ (girls rush to see their mother and help her off with her coat and scarf and hang things up)
Mrs. March: I am sorry that I didn’t come home to dinner, but there was so much to do, getting the boxes ready to go tomorrow. (sits in chair and her children gather around)
I've got a treat for all of you!
Jo: (excitedly) A letter?
Mrs. March: Yes, a nice long letter from your father. (takes an envelope from her pocket and begins removing the letter) He is well, and thinks he shall get through the cold season better than we feared and sends all sorts of loving wishes for Christmas…and a special message to you girls. (opens the letter)
(Meanwhile Mr. Laurence enters the library, carrying an open letter)
Laurie: Is it from father?
Mr. Laurence: (sits) Yes. He
is doing well…saw your mother in Washington…says they call her the ‘Healing
Angel’. A very good woman, your
mother…. The
20th Regiment is in Fredericksburg now. (reading but not sharing
much…shaking head) Humph. (pause)
Laurie: What does it say, Grandfather?
Mr. Laurence: (folding the letter
closed) ‘Give Teddy my love and tell him that we shall picnic at Walden’s
Pond by spring, as the War will surely be
finished.’
Laurie: (brightly) Really?
Mr. Laurence: (gravely) I fear that will not be true, dear boy.
(freeze and lights fade slightly, then brighter on March house)
Meg: I think it was so splendid in Father to go as chaplain when he was too old to be drafted, and not strong enough for a soldier.
Beth: When will he come home, Marmee?
Mrs. March: He will stay and do his work faithfully as long as he can, and we won't ask for him back a minute sooner than he can be spared.
(lights up on far SL, where Mr. March is sitting on a cot, writing his letter)
Mrs. March: Here we are— (reading)
‘Give them all of my dear love and a kiss. Tell them I think of them by day, pray for them by night, and find my best comfort in their affection at all times. And remind them that while we wait we may all work,
(Mr. March stops writing and begins to read along with Mrs. March)
Together: …so that these hard days need not be wasted.’
Mr. March: I know they will remember all I said to them, that they will be loving children to you, will do their duties faithfully, and conquer themselves so beautifully that when I come back to them I may be fonder and prouder than ever of my little women.
(writing) With all my love.
(lights fade on both Mr. March and the Laurence house)
Mrs. March: ‘With all my love.’
(everyone is silent for a moment)
Amy: I am such a selfish girl! But I'll truly try to be better, so he won’t be disappointed in me.
Meg: We all will. I think too much of my looks, but won't any more, if I can help it.
Beth: And I’ll stop complaining about dishes and envying girls with nice pianos.
Jo: I'll try and be what he loves to call me, `a little woman' and not be rough and wild, but do my duty here instead of wanting to be somewhere else.
Mrs. March: I know you will. I know you all will.
(The clock chimes four times on the starting note of the song)
(sings Christmas Song, and each girl joins in and so does Mr. Laurence and Laurie and Mr. March (and everyone else). And then the girls exit to go caroling)
(lights fade)
(Laurie is in the library putting some decorations on a little tree he has set up. Hannah enters.)
Hannah: Merry Christmas, Teddy! You are up early this morning.
Laurie: Merry Christmas, Hannah! I just thought it was time to have some cheer in this house.
Hannah: Oh, there ain’t been no cheer for a long time. Not since Lizzie…well, not for a long time.
Laurie: Lizzie?
Hannah: I shan’t tell you about her. Your grandfather won’t like it.
Laurie: Please, tell me!
Hannah: Your father never told you about having a little sister?
Laurie: A sister? Why no, he’s never said much about growing up, except…except he did say there was a sadness, but he never said anything, and I stopped asking.
Hannah: Dear child. I suppose some things are best unspoken. She went to heaven before you were born.
Laurie: I saw a painting in the attic when I was putting my cases away. Was that her?
Hannah: I reckon so. Your grandfather told me to burn it, but I hid it instead. He doesn’t go up there, especially now.
Laurie: She was called Lizzie? For Elizabeth?
Hannah: Yes. Elizabeth. But your grandfather always called her Lizzie.
Laurie: Tell me about her. What happened? How did she die?
Hannah: It would pain your grandfather so for me to speak of it.
Laurie: Please….
Hannah: (lowering her voice) Do you see that piano? She played it so beautifully. Such an Angel. But she always sickly that one. Finally the fever took her. That’s the last time that piano was played. It’s been twenty years now.
Laurie: When I saw the painting I thought it was one of the girls next door.
Hannah: (laughs) Oh that’s the truth. And Beth was named after her too. Miz March did it so she would live on, but your grandfather didn’t like that. And Beth even plays the piano, so I suppose that makes it even worse.
(lights up on bedroom, far SL, where the girls are sitting on and around the bed in what appears to be Beth’s room, wrapping presents. There is a witches hat nearby hanging on the bedpost, and some dolls nearby.)
Beth: After Marmee read the letter, I just couldn’t spend my dollar on music for myself. I bought handkerchiefs. See? I even had her name stitched on them!
Jo: They say, ‘Mother’ on them!
Meg: (horrified) Beth, you should have put ‘M. March’ or just ‘MM’.
Beth: (becoming upset that she has done something terrible) But…but that would be your initials too, and I only want her using them.
Jo: (coming to her aid) It's all right…quite sensible…a very good idea, don’t you think, Meg? (glares at Meg for making a fuss over it)
Meg: Yes, a very good idea now that you mention it, for now there can be no mistake. (smiling at Beth) These will please her very much, I know.
(lights brighter on library)
Laurie: I was watching them through the window yesterday and it was quite funny. They were practicing a play. At least I hope that’s what they were doing.
Hannah: Yes, yes. They gonna perform it later like they always do each Christmas. Jo wants to be a writer.
Laurie: Jo? That sounds like a boy’s name.
Hannah: Josephine just don’t seem to fit her. She’ll tell you that. I guess only her Aunt calls her Josephine. Everybody else, she’s just Jo.
Laurie: I like her!
Hannah: She’s 17, just like you. But I don’t think your Grandfather would care for her much. She’s no lady and I’m sure he would want someone proper for you.
Laurie: Proper young ladies are just so…boring!
Hannah: Oh yes, you’ll get along with Jo just fine.
(lights brighter on bedroom)
Jo: Marmee’s slippers were all worn out so I spent my dollar on these!
Beth: Oh Jo, those are beautiful!
Jo: I was going to buy her Army boots, but they were too expensive.
Amy: Army boots? Marmee isn’t in the infirmary.
Meg: (laughs) No she isn’t. And she isn’t in the infantry either! The slippers look nice, Jo.
(lights brighter on library)
Hannah: Meg is the oldest girl…well, I reckon she’s a woman and should have her own family by now. But she’s as stubborn as Jo. Won’t marry for money, only love. Oh, there have been suitors, and they could be the saving grace for the March family. But she won’t hear of it.
Laurie: Well, you should love the person you marry.
Hannah: Lotsa things should be that ain’t. (under her breath) I for sure know about that!
(lights brighter on bedroom)
Meg: These gloves will keep her hands warm, don’t you think?
Amy: Let me see! Let me see! (handles them) Ohhhh…so soft.
Meg: And the lining is soft too!
Jo: They only cost a dollar?
Meg: Eighty-nine cents! The lining was pulled away slightly, but I sewed it back and you can’t even tell.
Beth: Marmee will love those even more than my handkerchiefs.
Meg: And I was thinking she would love your handkerchiefs more than my gloves! (Beth and Meg laugh together)
(lights brighter on library)
Laurie: There was also a little girl who waved at me and I waved back.
Hannah: That’s Amy. Pretty face but a head full of feathers that one. I suppose she’ll have no problem finding a wealthy suitor when she’s older. And I don’t think she gonna worry about finding true love.
Laurie: You seem to know all the March girls quite well.
Hannah: I should. Been taking care of them their whole lives.
Laurie: I thought you worked for Grandfather.
Hannah: Not always, just these past ten years.
(lights brighter on bedroom)
Amy: Look at what I bought with my dollar!
Meg: Why, I think that’s the largest bottle of cologne I’ve ever seen.
Jo: You didn’t have to get such a large one. Weren’t you also going to buy color pencils?
Amy: I just couldn’t use any of the money for myself. I tried, but I just couldn’t. (starts crying, upset that she won’t be able to have her pencils)
Beth: Here Amy, take this.
Amy: Five cents?
Beth: It’s the change from my dollar.
Meg: I can give you a dime! (brightly) And a penny! (pause, then everyone looks at Jo)
Jo: Oh, all right. I can give you something too.
Amy: (hugs her) Oh thank you! You’re so facetious!
Jo: I certainly am!
(lights brighter on library)
Laurie: Grandfather said Mr. March spent his money unwisely.
Hannah: I guess he did at that. But it’s in his nature to give. Some folks are just like that. It’s in his nature.
Laurie: What did he spend it on?
Hannah: Freedom.
Laurie: You can’t buy freedom.
Hannah: Oh yes you can, and he did, sho ‘nuff. And every year he bought more freedom. Now, maybe that was unwise, but that’s what he did. You don’t know nothing about that now, do you? You don’t know bout people being bought and sold.
Laurie: Grandfather’s an Abolitionist! He’s against all forms of slavery!
Hannah: I suppose he is, and that’s a good thing, and he’s a good man, I ain’t saying different. Just saying what Mr. March did, that’s all. He went down South and paid money to set people free. And after he married Ms. March, they both kept doing that ‘til there warn’t none of her money left nor his either. They’d of lost the house too if it warn’t for her Aunt. They have a place to live but nothing more. I was Nanny to all the girls, but after Amy was born…well, Mr. March said he couldn’t pay me no more even though I said I would just work for a place to live. But he said I’d be a servant without pay, and that was the same as slavery and he’d have no mind for that.
(Mrs. March enters the center stage carrying a blanket, with a basket on top and is filling it with whatever she can find and eventually exits SR.)
Laurie: So you went to work for Grandfather.
Hannah: Yes I did. Oh, I still look after the girls and help where I can, especially with Mr. March gone.
Laurie: He should have thought more about his wife and his own family.
Hannah: Maybe so. Maybe so. Well, I fixed some breakfast for you and your Grandfather and I’m going to help Ms March now. I’ll tell the girls you asked about them. Uh huh. Yes, I will!
Laurie: I think that is very kind of you to keep helping out without being paid.
Hannah: It’s the only thing I can do. (pause) You see, that first time, Mr. March didn’t just buy freedom for anyone. He bought it for me!
(Hannah exits, and Laurie is left speechless, with lights fading out on the library)
Meg: Let’s put all our gifts in my knitting basket and put it in Marmee’s chair and then eat our breakfast. We won’t say a word and then she will find it and it will be a big surprise!
Girls: Oh yes!/That’s a wonderful idea!/What fun!
(The girls exit the bedroom together, and then Jo checks the living room carefully to make sure Mrs. March isn’t there and then waves the others in and they enter the main stage carrying the basket with gifts and place it in a chair. They don’t see Hannah entering the room until she speaks.)
Hannah: Merry Christmas!
Girls: (screech in surprise)
Meg: Hannah, you scared us!
Hannah: Well, don’t you mind that. Come along and help me with breakfast. I saw your mother and she’ll be back soon. Some poor creeter came beggin and she went straight off to see what was needed. You should all remember, that no matter how little you have, there are others with less!
Jo: That’s what Marmee says!
Hannah: And I learned it from her, just as she learned me to read and write. Come now, its Christmas and your Aunt March has sent over a fine feast.
Meg: I smell sausages!
Beth: And muffins!
Jo: (dreamily) Oh, I love muffins!
Hannah: And there are oranges…
Amy: (interrupting) Oranges!
Hannah: And hotcakes too. Set the table and help me carry everything in. You won’t need to eat for a week after this.
(door opens and closes)
Jo: There's Mother now!
(Mrs. March enters)
Girls: Merry Christmas, Marmee! (they go over to help her off with her coat and scarf)
Mrs March: (keeping her coat on and not letting them take anything) Merry Christmas, little daughters! I have something to tell you before we sit down. Not far away from here lies a poor woman with a little newborn baby. Six children are huddled into one bed to keep from freezing, for they have no fire. There is so little to eat, and the oldest boy came to ask me for some comfort this Christmas day. My girls, will you give them your breakfast as a Christmas present?
Jo: I’m…I'm so glad you came before we began!
Beth: May I go and help carry the things to the poor little children?
Mrs. March: Of course you may!
Meg: I shall take the muffins and sausages.
Amy: (a bit reluctantly) I’ll…I’ll take the oranges.
Mrs March: I thought you'd do it. You shall all go and help me, and when we come back we will have bread and milk for breakfast, and make it up at dinnertime. Hannah, why don’t you sit by the fire until we return?
Hannah: Thank you Ms. March, but I just came to tell you Mr. Laurence needed me this morning.
Mrs. March: Oh, but you must at least come back later to have some Christmas dinner with us!
Girls: Please Hannah!/Oh yes, come for dinner!/You have to Hannah!/You must!
Hannah: I’ll do my best. Now, go help those poor children. Merry Christmas!
All: Merry Christmas, Hannah!
(fade out as they exit)
Scene 3
(later that day)
(Scene opens with the girls performing their play upstage, with their backs to the audience. It is the same section seen earlier, only it continues without Amy falling down, etc., and the Beth-witch keeps Amy-Zara nearby, etc. Ultimately, Roderigo is triumphant and rescues the girl by giving the witch an apple, which is poisoned and she eats it and dies.)
(Hannah enters from SR, followed by Laurie and a maid, all carrying pots and baskets.)
Hannah: Come quick, while they are still doing the play!
Laurie: They will be so surprised! (looking at the girls) Surely they must be really starved by now if all they had was bread and milk this morning. I could never go without my breakfast.
Hannah: I’m sure your father is going with much less, Teddy. Maybe you could learn something from their sacrifice.
(Mrs. March enters from SL)
Mrs. March: Hannah! Is this for us?
Hannah: This and a lot more. I told Teddy how you took your breakfast to feed that German family and he talked to Mr. Laurence.
Mrs. March: Thank you Teddy!
Laurie: No, it wasn’t me at all. When Grandfather heard what you and the girls did, he jumped right up from the table. I was stunned! He said, ‘Now boy, we cannot have women and children starving right under out noses.’
Hannah: I thought there was a fire, the way he called me. ‘Hannah, Hannah’ he said, ‘Come here!’ Why I was so frightened. I didn’t know what to think! And then he put everyone to work, cooking and baking. Why, he even helped! Mr. Laurence! Can you imagine?
Mrs. March: My word! No!
Laurie: He said he wanted to help, since it was Christmas and didn’t want Hannah to do it all. You should have seen him with flour all over his clothes and his face. Why he looked like a ghost!
All: (burst out laughing)
Mrs. March: (catching herself) Oh dear. I am sorry to laugh at his expense, for he has given us so much.
Hannah: I think you have given him much more. He said he had ‘forgotten the meaning of the day, and you reminded him.’ You gave him quite a gift today, Ms. March. You and those girls. Yes you did!
(girls bow in the background to applause from backstage and from the actors themselves)
Laurie: (looking back, seeing Amy and remembering) Oh! The oranges! I must not forget the oranges! I shall return in a minute!
(Mrs. March takes the baskets from Laurie and he exits SR)
Mrs. March: Oh, we must hurry! The girls have finished!
Hannah: I’ll tell them we have a surprise in the dining room.
(Lights fade slightly as Hannah walks upstage while lights up on library. Mr. Laurence is walking in, carrying a painting and begins to hang it on the wall. It is Elizabeth. He stares at it, smiling, and puts his hand on the piano in fond remembrance. She is ‘alive’ again. Meanwhile, far SL, the bed is a cot again, and Mr. March is sitting there eating some bread and drinking from his canteen. The sound of cannons can be heard in the background.)
(Lights far SL and SR fade as the March living room gets brighter. Laurie enters from SR, carrying too many oranges for his arms to hold. Jo enters from SL, and he loses control of his fruit and they drop and start rolling. Jo laughs and they meet center stage, scurrying about the floor gathering up the oranges.)
Jo: Mr. Laurence, surely you have brought far too much food for us already!
Laurie: It is from my Grandfather, Miss March. And please, call me Laurie!
Jo: Laurie Laurence? What an odd name!
Laurie: My first name is Theodore, but I don't like it, and everyone at school called me Dora, so I made them say Laurie instead.
Jo: (sitting on floor, downstage center, with some of the orange in her arms, with Laurie sitting next to her with the remaining oranges) I hate my name, too. (agonizingly) Josephine! So sentimental! I wish every one would say Jo instead of Josephine. How did you make the boys stop calling you Dora?
Laurie: I hit them!
Jo: I can't hit Aunt March, so I suppose I shall have to bear it.
Laurie: May I call you Jo?
Jo: That would be nice, Mr. Laurence.
Laurie: Laurie.
Jo: (smiles) Laurie.
Laurie: I liked your play.
Jo: Oh no! You saw it? When?
Laurie: Yesterday. You were rehearsing in your living room…and the window is right there across from the study. I…I didn’t mean to be a snoop or anything. You were rather good!
Jo: I was horrid!
Laurie: Weren’t you supposed to be…uh…horrid?
Jo: I suppose I was at that! Yes, I was horrid!
Laurie: Really horrid!
Jo: Really?
Laurie: I was a Thespian myself at school.
Jo: (excitedly) An actor? Have you been on the stage?
Laurie: Yes, I played Hamlet! (stands and holds one orange in his hand to contemplate and later refers to the other oranges cradled in his other arm during his speech)
‘To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?—To die,—to sleep,—
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to,—’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d. To die,—to sleep;—
To sleep: perchance to dream:—ay, there’s the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.’
Jo: (applauds) Bravo! Bravo! (Laurie bows) I love Hamlet!
Laurie: (dramatically, while offering his hand to help Jo up) Then come Ophelia, let us away, for your mother has invited me for dinner. (pause, then in a normal voice) I hope that is agreeable with you.
Jo: (with similar dramatic flair) It is most agreeable, dear Hamlet! Shall we take our oranges into the dining room?
Laurie: (offering his arm) Ay, my lady!
(they exit SL, laughing, as lights fade)
Scene 4
(The scene opens on the Laurence library, where Mr. Brooke is
standing and Laurie seated for his lessons, obviously quite tired and bored.)
Mr. Brooke: (pacing) After the battle of Toulon and after saving the Directory from the Paris mob, Napoleon was invited to a party given by one of the Directors, Paul Barras. It was there he was introduced to Marie-Josephe-Rose de Beauharnais. Barras assured Napoleon that she had money, that she was a good catch, and that she would make a perfect wife for him. And so Napoleon began to pursue Rose.
(Laurie yawns and Brooke notices)
By the way, he didn't like her name so he told her he would call her Josephine!
Laurie: (suddenly more attentive) Huh? What? He did?
Mr. Brooke: I thought that would get your attention.
Laurie: Do you think he called her ‘Jo’?
Mr. Brooke: I don’t think so. The French despise nicknames. (pause) You seem to have nothing else on your mind this past month. Surely your Grandfather doesn’t approve.
Laurie: He hasn’t met her.
Mr. Brooke: I should say not.
Laurie: Why are you so hard on her?
Mr. Brooke: I am not hard on her. I simply wish she were more like her sister Margaret, that is all. More…reserved…proper…and showing her good upbringing. I daresay that your Josephine will never be accepted by your family, so it would be best to look elsewhere. Margaret would be my choice.
Laurie: I think she already is!
Mr. Brooke: No, she needs someone with means, not a poor tutor. Although when I see her at the gate she has always had a smile for me and we exchange greetings.
Laurie: A smile? Greetings? Why don’t you visit and talk with her? (pointing through the window) She lives right there!
Mr. Brooke: You’ve been abroad far too long. That isn’t the way it is done here. Perhaps I will see her at a social.
Laurie: Perhaps? You leave too much to chance!
Mr. Brooke: Chance favors the prepared mind. If Providence gives me the opportunity, I will be ready. (looks out the window, and Jo and Meg are walking down center stage and pausing) That is enough for today. It is late and I must go. (packs his things quickly) Good day! Don’t forget your Milton.
(Brooke exits, Jo continues SR, and Laurie gets up from his chair and looks out the window, seeing only Meg)
Laurie: (to himself) Hmm…it seems that Meg also favors chance…and Mr. Brooke!
(Mr. Brooke walks over to Meg while Laurie looks for Paradise Lost on the bookshelf. He finds it, sees the size of the book, and shakes his head.)
Laurie: (opening the book and flipping through the pages) I do believe this is the longest poem I have ever seen!
Jo: (entering) Surprise!
Laurie: Jo? What are you doing here?
Jo: Meg and I have been making candles and we brought some over to Hannah. And I made a special one for you. Here!
Laurie: (smells it) Vanilla!
Jo: And cinnamon. Marmee said if they weren’t made of wax, you could eat them! (sees the piano) Oh, what a beautiful piano! Beth would love it. Ours has two keys that stay down. Beth says she can’t play anything in ‘G’.
Laurie: Maybe she could come over here and play this one. I don’t think it has been played in years.
(Meanwhile, Brooke has given his ‘greeting’ to Meg and they chat a moment, and then with a tip of his hat he continues on and Meg returns to the March house.)
Jo: Do you play?
Laurie: Not lately.
Jo: Please do now. I want to hear it, so I can tell Beth.
Laurie: Won't you first?
Jo: Don't know how. Too stupid to learn, but I love music dearly.
Laurie: Then let’s sit and talk a bit, if you don’t mind.
Jo: Not a bit. I'll talk all day if you'll only set me going. Beth says I never know when to stop.
Laurie: Do you like your school?
Jo: Don't go to school, I'm a businessman -- girl, I mean. I go wait on my great-aunt, and a dear, cross old soul she is, too. (mimicking her Aunt) ‘Josephine! My tea is too cold!’ ‘Josephine! Oh where is that girl?’ ‘Josephine! The banister is dusty!’ That’s all I hear, day in and day out.
Laurie: Well, grandfather can be trying as well. ‘Theodore, have you finished your lessons?’ ‘Theodore, come now, must not dawdle!’ You should meet him sometime…if you aren’t afraid.
Jo: I'm not afraid of anything or anyone, especially your grandfather, although he does look rather gruff in that painting. (sitting up straight with a frown, looking out over the audience at the imaginary portrait, her hands on her hips)
(front door is heard opening and closing)
Laurie: He does look a bit scary.
Mr. Laurence: (offstage) Good Afternoon, Hannah!
Hannah: (offstage) Good Afternoon, Mr. Laurence!
Jo: (alarmed) It's your grandfather! (jumps up out of the chair)
Laurie: Well, what if it is? You are not afraid of anything, you know.
Jo: I think I am a little bit afraid of him, but I don't know why I should be. Marmee said I might come, and I don't think you're any the worse for it.
Laurie: (sitting back in his chair, somewhat amused to see the dauntless Jo frazzled) I'm a great deal better for it, and happy you came to visit. I'm just afraid you’re very tired talking to me. It was so pleasant, I couldn't bear to stop. Why don’t you sit back down? Grandfather should be coming in here shortly. I would like you to meet him!
Look at that face! He may be old and grumpy and his face all wrinkled up like some dried raisin…and he does smell of pipe tobacco, but he isn’t a bad sort. (motioning to the ‘painting’, but not seeing his real grandfather who has entered the room behind him, overhearing and reacting to each insult)
Jo: (who also has been looking at the ‘painting’, not realizing the man is in the room behind them) Well, I'm sure now that I shouldn't be afraid of him, for he's got kind eyes, though his mouth is rather grim…and he isn’t as handsome as my grandfather…but he does look as though he has a tremendous will. (satisfied) I like him!
Mr. Laurence: Thank you, ma'am. So you're not afraid of me, hey?
Jo: (startled, turning around, and Laurie jumps up out of his chair) (timidly) Not much, sir.
Mr. Laurence: And you don't think me as handsome as your grandfather?
Jo: (a little braver) Not quite, sir.
Mr. Laurence: And I've got a tremendous will, have I?
Jo: I only said I thought so.
Mr. Laurence: But you like me in spite of it?
Jo: Yes, I do, sir.
Mr. Laurence: (laughs) You've got your grandfather's spirit, if you haven't his face. He was a fine man, my dear, but what is better, he was a brave and an honest one, and I was proud to be his friend.
Jo: (smiling and more relaxed) Thank you, sir.
Mr. Laurence: (sharply) But what have you been doing to this boy of mine, hey?
Jo: Only trying to be neighborly, sir.
Mr. Laurence: You think he needs cheering up a bit, do you?
Jo: Yes, sir, he seems a little lonely, and young folks would do him good perhaps. We are only girls, but we should be glad to help if we could, for we don't forget the splendid Christmas present you sent us.
Mr. Laurence: Tut, tut! That was the boy's affair. How is the poor woman?
Jo: Doing nicely, sir.
Mr. Laurence: Good!
Laurie: Jo was admiring the piano, and I was hoping you would let her sister play it sometime.
Mr. Laurence: Of course! No one is here at all, as I am gone most days. But Hannah will take care of her, just as she always has, I suppose. Yes! Tell your sister she can practice her lessons here. It is more than time we had music in this house again.
Jo: Oh thank you! Beth will love you for that!
Mr. Laurence: Beth? Oh…yes…I didn’t know she was the one who played. Of course. Tell Beth she may play this piano whenever she wishes.
Laurie: (changing the subject) Grandfather, what Jo says is right. I have been quite lonely here and don’t know anyone at all. Could we have a social…a Ball…right here? I would have a chance…yes, a chance to meet everyone. And we must invite Mr. Brooke, or course!
Mr. Laurence: Well…I don’t think…
Jo: Oh if only you would! Winter is so long and boring and the War so depressing it would be wonderful to have some relief…just for a night!
Laurie: You wouldn’t have to do anything, grandfather. Hannah could prepare a punch…
Jo: …and I know my Aunt March will help pay for the deserts. She has always said that we need more ‘social opportunities’. And Marmee will help too, I’m certain of it! Teddy will move the furniture, won’t you Teddy? [Why, everyone in the City will say…]
Mr. Laurence: (interrupting) That will do, that will do, young lady. You are very much like your grandfather! Once he set his mind on something, that was it. Yes, we will have a Cotillion, not quite a Ball, but nice enough, I would think. A Grand Cotillion. But your Aunt March must be involved. If you do not have her support, I will not allow it.
Teddy, you must speak with Hannah. I shall not task her with any more than her agreed responsibilities. No, you must ask her yourself.
Laurie: (showing surprise at being called ‘Teddy’) I will. Thank you grandfather.
Mr. Laurence: (sitting) All this excitement has been tiring. I must have my tea. Miss March, please give my regards to your mother.
Jo: Thank you, sir.
(Laurie and Jo exit and move downstage center)
Laurie: (with excitement) Did you hear him call me ‘Teddy’? He has never called me Teddy before. It has always been ‘Theodore’. How did you do that?
Jo: Why, I suppose…well, I suppose I must have hit him!
(both laugh and lights fade)
The Cotillion
© by Stephen J. Cramer, statutory, author protected, 2010