DANCELAND. A PRODUCTION RECORD, 

by 

GLEN CAIRNS 

B.A., The University of Saskatchewan, 1981 

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF 

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF 

MASTER OF ARTS 

i n 

THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES 

DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND FILM 

We accept t h i s thesis as conforming 
to the required standard 

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 

December 1995 

© Glen Cairns, 1995 



In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced 
degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it 
freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive 
copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my 
department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or 
publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written 
permission. 

Department of 

The University of British Columbia 
Vancouver, Canada 

Date / 4 / W - / / / f f ^ -

DE-6 (2/88) 



- i i -

ABSTRACT. 

The t h e s i s i s a r e c o r d o f the w r i t i n g and 

r e h e a r s a l p r o c e s s which l e d t o the B r i t i s h p r e m i e r e o f 

the f u l l l e n g t h Canadian p l a y , Danceland, a t The O l d 

Red L i o n T h e a t r e , London, i n November o f 1994. The 

f i r s t chapter i s a d i s c u s s i o n o f the d r a m a t i c t h e o r i e s 

and h i s t o r i c a l r e s e a r c h which informed the i n i t i a l 

c r e a t i v e w r i t i n g p r o c e s s . The second c h a p t e r i s t h e 

f i n a l d r a f t o f the p l a y i t s e l f . The t h i r d chapter i s a 

r e c o r d o f the r e h e a r s a l and p r o d u c t i o n p r o c e s s , as w e l l 

as an overview o f the major d r a m a t u r g i c a l problems 

which the a c t o r s , d i r e c t o r and d e s i g n e r s encountered 

d u r i n g r e h e a r s a l s o f the p l a y . A f u l l c a s t and crew 

l i s t and the reviews from the B r i t i s h p r e s s a r e 

c o n t a i n e d i n the a p p e n d i c e s . 

The p l a y w r i g h t ' s "experiment" which s i t s a t the 

h e a r t of t h i s p r o d u c t i o n r e c o r d i s t h a t A r i s t o t l e ' s 

i d e a o f "place" i s e s s e n t i a l to the c r e a t i o n o f an 

i n d i g e n o u s , Canadian d r a m a t i c l i t e r a t u r e . The w r i t i n g 

p r o c e s s , however, i s o n l y the b e g i n n i n g o f the 

t r a n s l a t i o n o f drama from the page t o the stage; and i t 

i s t h i s f i n a l , r e h e a r s a l and p r o d u c t i o n p r o c e s s which 

demands t h a t a l l d r a m a t i c t h e o r y be p l a c e d w i t h i n the 

c o n t e x t o f b e l i e v a b l e c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n and d r a m a t i c 

a c t i o n . 



- I l l -

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

A b s t r a c t i i 

T a b l e of Contents i i i 

Chapter One 1 
The Alchemy of P l a y w r i g h t i n g 2 
A Prologue 2 
The Idea o f P l a c e 8 
The Genesis of The P l a y 12 
Between S t o r y and B a c k s t o r y 19 
A B r i e f Note on Language 
And S t r u c t u r e 22 

Chapter Two 25 
Danceland 26 

Chapter Three 113 
A P r o d u c t i o n Record 114 
The O l d Red L i o n 114 
Notes On The S c e n i c 
Treatment 116 
Notes On Sound 118 
The R e h e a r s a l Process 120 
Notes For F u t u r e P r o d u c t i o n s 125 
L o c a t i n g The Spine Of The 
P l a y 126 
Some Thoughts On The P l a y ' s 
S t y l e 133 
F i n d i n g A R e a l i s t i c Root 
For The C h a r a c t e r s 138 
Some F i n a l Thoughts On 
The P l a y 147 

Appendix Reviews From The B r i t i s h 
Press 149 



1 

CHAPTER ONE. 



2 

THE ALCHEMY OF PLAYWRIGHTING: 

1. A Prologue 

Saskatchewan l i e s a c r o s s the n o r t h e r n f r o n t i e r o f 

The Great P l a i n s l i k e a b l a n k e t , the p l a c e where the 

l a s t s t r a n d s o f p r a i r i e e v e n t u a l l y g i v e way t o the 

muskeg, s c r u b and g r a n i t e of the Canadian S h i e l d . I t 

i s a E u c l i d i a n landscape w i t h a S i b e r i a n c l i m a t e and an 

o f t e n t i g h t - l i p p e d P r e s b y t e r i a n c u l t u r e , and i t i s the 

l a s t p l a c e i n the w o r l d I would have expected t o f i n d 

echoes o f j a z z , b o o t l e g g e r s , and a r s o n i s t s , the ghosts 

of D e p r e s s i o n e r a American g a n g s t e r s , rumours of 

community-sanctioned murder, and Danceland, one of the 

l a r g e s t d a n c e h a l l s on the c o n t i n e n t . 

Danceland s i t s i n the bottom o f a g l a c i a l v a l l e y 

t h a t c u t s l i k e a s c a r a c r o s s the r o l l i n g h i l l s of the 

p o t a s h c o u n t r y south o f Saskatoon. D r i v i n g through the 

c o u n t r y s i d e a t dawn, you can chase the shadow of your 

c a r as i t r a c e s a l o n g ahead o f y o u , and a t dusk you can 

watch through your r e a r view m i r r o r as i t s t r e t c h e s out 

behind you f o r a m i l e . In the w i n t e r , the snow takes 

on the c o l o u r s of the sky and the sun, s i l v e r , b l u e , 

p i n k and mauve. In the s p r i n g the landscape i s a 



3 

v e r d a n t green; the heat o f summer burns i t t o an 

i r r e d e s c e n t g o l d . A p e r s o n i s the t a l l e s t t h i n g i n 

t h i s l a n d s c a p e . You can see the e a r t h curve downward, 

a hundred m i l e s i n any d i r e c t i o n . 

The f i r s t time I dropped down i n t o t h a t a n c i e n t 

g l a c i a l v a l l e y , on a sunswept day i n e a r l y F e b r u a r y o f 

1987, I knew i n s t i n c t i v e l y t h a t I had found an 

a s t o n i s h i n g source o f myth and h i s t o r y ; an almost 

e e r i l y d e s e r t e d landscape which seems t o beckon t o me 

l i k e some k i n d o f p e r s o n a l Manawaka, a Canadian Natchez 

T r a i l . S i n c e t h e n , the v a l l e y and i t s s u r r o u n d i n g 

v i l l a g e s have become the c r u c i b l e o f p l a c e i n which I 

set much o f my r e c e n t work, i n c l u d i n g my f u l l l e n g t h 

p l a y , D a n c e l a n d . 

You f a l l f o u r hundred metres i n a minute once 

your c a r c r e s t s the i n c l i n e d curve a t the top of the 

v a l l e y , and then you s i g h t b l u e , b l u e water. L i t t l e 

M a n i t o u , Saskatchewan, named f o r the n a t i v e God, 

M a n i t o u , the maker o f e v e r y t h i n g , s l i c e s l i k e a 

s c i m i t a r , a knifewound through the e a r t h ' s mantle t h a t 

c r a d l e s a s a l t l a k e f o u r t e e n m i l e s long and l e s s than a 

m i l e wide, b u b b l i n g up from the depths o f an immense, 

s u b t e r r a n e a n s e a . As you rumble a c r o s s the g r a v e l 



4 

causeway at the l a k e ' s n o r t h end, the f e t i d s m e l l o f 

the s a l t marsh wraps around your f a c e l i k e an unwanted 

l o v e r ' s hand, i n v a d i n g your mouth and nose and eyes. 

And then you see Danceland, b u i l t on a p i e r halfway 

down the southern shore of the l a k e , i t s e l e g a n t A r t 

Deco c u r v e s and whitewashed e x t e r i o r r i d i n g a s t r i d e the 

s h o r e l i n e l i k e a swan. 

The l a k e was a s a c r e d p l a c e o f h e a l i n g f o r the 

A s s i n i b o i n e and Cree n a t i o n s . They would not f i g h t 

t h e i r wars i n the v a l l e y , but would t r a v e l beyond i t 

f o r t h a t p u r p o s e . Legend has i t t h a t the l a k e ' s 

h e a l i n g p r o p e r t i e s were d i s c o v e r e d by a p a r t y o f 

A s s i n i b o i n e w a r r i o r s , who were t r a v e l l i n g n o r t h t o do 

b a t t l e w i t h t h e i r n o r t h e r n r i v a l s , The C r e e , when a 

dozen o f them were s t r u c k w i t h an outbreak o f s m a l l p o x . 

The A s s i n i b o i n e s made a camp f o r t h e i r s i c k a t the edge 

o f the l a k e , and l e f t them w i t h horses and s u p p l i e s 

b e f o r e c a r r y i n g on t o war. One o f the a f f l i c t e d 

w a r r i o r s , i n a d e l i r i u m , wandered i n t o the s a l t l a k e t o 

c o o l h i s f e v e r , and then f e l l a s l e e p , f a c e up i n the 

s h a l l o w , s a l i n e w a t e r . When he awoke, h i s f e v e r had 

abated and he made h i s way back to the camp where he 

proceeded t o c a r r y the o t h e r s i c k men i n t o the l a k e , 



5 

where t h e y , t o o , were c u r e d . The legend goes on t o 

r e l a t e how, h e a l e d and empowered by the l a k e , the 

A s s i n i b o i n e w a r r i o r s proceeded t o c a t c h up t o t h e i r war 

p a r t y and l e a d i t t o v i c t o r y over The C r e e . 

T h i s s t o r y may o r may not be t r u e , but i t i s a 

c o m p e l l i n g one. The legend was a p p r o p r i a t e d by the 

f i r s t homesteaders i n the a r e a , and was used as a 

f o u n d a t i o n f o r a b r i e f f l o w e r i n g o f c u l t u r e and 

commerce i n the e a r l y p a r t o f the c e n t u r y . 

The book, P r a i r i e R e f l e c t i o n s : Watrous, Venn, 

Manitou Beach, Renown, Amazon and D i s t r i c t s ( p u b l i s h e d 

i n 1983 by The Watrous and D i s t r i c t H i s t o r y Committee), 

which i s based on o r a l h i s t o r i e s of the a r e a , p r o v i d e s 

i n v a l u a b l e i n s i g h t i n t o the p a t t e r n s o f e a r l y European 

s e t t l e m e n t o f the r e g i o n . 

The v a l l e y s u r r o u n d i n g L i t t l e Lake Manitou was 

f i r s t homesteaded i n 1905 by John J . M a c l a c h l a n , on the 

west s i d e , and by Edwin E v i s o n on the e a s t . The 

s t r e e t s i n town are named a f t e r the f a m i l y members, Roy 

S t r e e t , E l i z a b e t h S t r e e t , A l b e r t S t r e e t and John 

S t r e e t , t o name a few. These s t r e e t s , i n t u r n , are 

b i s e c t e d by s t r e e t s named f o r P r a i r i e c i t i e s , Winnipeg 

S t r e e t , Saskatoon S t r e e t , Regina S t r e e t . The town does 

not look l i k e much, now, but i n 1910 i t was a prime 



6 

p i e c e o f r e a l e s t a t e , l y i n g as i t does, at the j u n c t i o n 

of the Grand Trunk P a c i f i c Railway from Winnipeg, and 

the CPR l i n e from Moose Jaw t o Saskatoon and Edmonton; 

b o t h o f these l i n e s connect s o u t h , t o C h i c a g o , New York 

and Denver. 

With the CPR c a n n i b a l i s i n g the c o u n t r y f o r the 

b e n e f i t o f i t s grand h o t e l s and d e s t i n a t i o n r e s o r t s a t 

Banff and J a s p e r , the GTPR sensed a good b u s i n e s s 

opening and o f f e r e d John M a c l a c h l a n $75,000 f o r h i s 

p r o p e r t y . T h e i r i n t e n t i o n was t o b u i l d a l u x u r y h o t e l 

and h e a l t h spa on the shores of the l a k e , and market i t 

as a d e s t i n a t i o n r e s o r t . M a c l a c h l a n , b e i n g a f e i s t y 

Scotsman, t u r n e d them down and developed i t h i m s e l f . 

T h i s p r o p e r t y became known as "the main beach", and i t 

was not long u n t i l h i s n e i g h b o r , E v i s o n , s t a r t e d up the 

r i v a l , "east beach" s u b d i v i s i o n i n 1910-1911. 

By the 1920's what had s t a r t e d out as a f a m i l y 

o p e r a t i o n of a two and a h a l f s t o r y b a t h house w i t h 

twelve rooms f o r b a t h e r s , two l a v a t o r i e s , a w a i t i n g 

room and a r e a l e s t a t e o f f i c e , blossomed i n t o a f u l l y 

f l e d g e d r e s o r t , the A t l a n t i c C i t y o f i t s day, h o s t i n g 

summer r e t r e a t s and p a r t i e s f o r up t o f o u r hundred and 

f i f t y employees o f the T . Eaton Company and The 

Hudson's Bay, who would a r r i v e from Edmonton o r 



7 

Winnipeg or Toronto by t r a i n . I t boasted f i v e 

d a n c e h a l l s , auto l i v e r i e s , seventy seven c o t t a g e homes, 

The Whitmore H o t e l , Brown's Muskikee Wapui Sanatorium, 

The M a i t o u H o t e l , M a r t i n ' s T o u r i s t H o t e l , The Hiawatha 

H o t e l , two drug s t o r e s , moving p i c t u r e shows a t The 

Empire T h e a t r e , E t h i e r ' s G a s o l i n e and S e r v i c e S t a t i o n , 

a b a r b e r shop, t h r e e g r o c e r y s t o r e s , f o u r i c e cream 

p a r l o u r s , candy s t o r e s , and two hot b a t h houses. 

People came by t r a i n from New Y o r k , B o s t o n , C h i c a g o , 

P h i l a d e l p h i a , Denver, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, R e g i n a , 

Moose Jaw, and Edmonton. The r i v a l r y between the "east 

beach" and "the main beach" was i n t e n s e . The Hiawatha 

H o t e l burned t o the ground f i v e times i n t e n y e a r s . 

American t o u r i s t s , e s c a p i n g the s h a c k l e s o f 

p r o h i b i t i o n , demanded e n t e r t a i n m e n t , j a z z bands, 

d a n c e h a l l s , and Canadian whiskey. 

The town r o a r e d u n t i l t h a t b l a c k F r i d a y i n 1929, 

when W a l l S t r e e t c r a s h e d and Canada's Yankee T r a d e r 

masters s t a r t e d throwing themselves out of o f f i c e tower 

windows, and the gods r e f u s e d t o send the r a i n s f o r t e n 

y e a r s , and the wind swept up from the d e s e r t south of 

the b o r d e r , s t r i p p i n g a metre of the r i c h e s t t o p s o i l on 

the c o n t i n e n t o f f the f a c e o f the e a r t h , d e p o s i t i n g i t 

i n the muskeg, hundreds of m i l e s to the n o r t h . 



8 

Today, Danceland and the v i l l a g e o f L i t t l e 

M a n i t o u , s t a n d l i k e the s t a t u e o f Ozymandias, humbled 

at the western edge o f the s k y , a monument t o t h i s 

c o u n t r y ' s c o l o n i a l o b s e s s i o n w i t h American c u l t u r e . An 

a r c h i t e c t u r a l metaphor i f I ever saw one, Danceland 

s t a n d s , d e f y i n g t i m e , r e f l e c t e d i n the b l u e , b l u e l a k e , 

a winged f i g u r e t h r e a t e n i n g t o set s a i l a c r o s s the eye 

of the gods. 

2. The Idea o f P l a c e . 

The i d e a t h a t p l a c e s i t s a t the h e a r t o f f i c t i o n 

i s not a new one, stemming as i t does from sources as 

d i v e r s e as S o p h o c l e s ' Athens, Chekhov's Moscow, I b s e n ' s 

O s l o , James J o y c e ' s D u b l i n , Samuel B e c k e t t ' s d a r k l y 

humourous n e t h e r w o r l d o f l i g h t , shadow and emptiness; 

i n A m e r i c a , the l i s t o f p l a c e s c o n t i n u e s , e s p e c i a l l y i n 

the s o u t h e r n g o t h i c t r a d i t i o n o f Tennessee W i l l i a m s , 

Truman Capote and Harper Lee; i n Sam S h e p a r d ' s Southern 

C a l i f o r n i a and i n Lou Reed's New Y o r k ; i n W i l l i a m 

F a u l k n e r ' s Yokanatawptha County and Eudora W e l t y ' s 

Natchez, M i s s i s s i p p i . In Canada, one t h i n k s of 

Margaret L a u r e n c e ' s Manawaka, M i c h e l T r e m b l a y ' s 

M o n t r e a l , George F . W a l k e r ' s E a s t End T o r o n t o , or 



9 

J u d i t h Thompson's K i n g s t o n . In f a c t , p l a c e as an 

element o f f i c t i o n i s one o f A r i s t o t l e ' s f o r m a t i v e 

" u n i t i e s " , the o t h e r two b e i n g time and a c t i o n , so my 

d i s c o v e r y of i t s h o u l d not have r a t t l e d me t o the c o r e 

the way i t d i d . But i t d i d . F i n d i n g a p l a c e , i n t h i s 

i n s t a n c e , L i t t l e M a n i t o u , was l i k e an epiphany i n my 

ongoing s t r u g g l e as a p l a y w r i g h t . 

P l a c e , l i k e t i m e , g i v e s me a s p e c i f i c , l o c a l i z e d 

frame i n which t o s e t the d r a m a t i c a c t i o n . I t g i v e s 

me, l i t e r a l l y , a p l a c e t o s t a r t a s t o r y , and a p l a c e 

t o end i t ; i t a l s o t e l l s me a l o t about what happens i n 

the m i d d l e . Who l i v e s t h e r e , what a r e they d o i n g , and 

why? 

When you s t a r t w r i t i n g , you a r e i n v a r i a b l y t o l d by 

both i n s t r u c t o r s and well-meaning f r i e n d s t o "write 

about what you know". T h i s i s undoubtedly good a d v i c e , 

but i f I had taken i t as dogma when I s t a r t e d working 

on Danceland, I might have i g n o r e d the voyages o f 

d i s c o v e r y which are made p o s s i b l e through simple a c t s 

of i m a g i n a t i o n . Most o f us can imagine o t h e r w o r l d s ; 

we can r e a d , we can t r a v e l , we can l e a r n about o t h e r 

p l a c e s , o t h e r t h i n g s , o t h e r p e o p l e . Y e s , we must w r i t e 

about "what we know", but we must not l i m i t o u r s e l v e s 

t o a day t o day, documentary a c c o u n t i n g o f e x i s t e n c e . 



10 

To w r i t e i s t o c r e a t e , on the page, a f i c t i o n a l , 

y e t b e l i e v a b l e w o r l d which i s p o p u l a t e d by b e l i e v a b l e 

c r e a t u r e s who are engaged i n b e l i e v a b l e a c t i o n . T h i s 

w o r l d may be c a l l e d T r a n s y l v a n i a , Mars o r The Kingdom 

o f Heaven, but from Kafka t o Kerouac, at the v e r y 

l e a s t , f i c t i o n i s the r e s u l t of somebody a t t e m p t i n g t o 

t r a n s p o r t us t o o t h e r r e a l i t i e s through the s i m p l e a c t 

of s t o r y t e l l i n g . W r i t i n g , l i k e r e a d i n g and l i s t e n i n g , 

i s r o o t e d i n the i n t e r a c t i o n o f the s t o r y t e l l e r and h i s 

a u d i e n c e . Between us i s where we l i g h t our s y m b o l i c 

f i r e o f myth, symbol and r i t u a l , and i t i s t h i s 

communal f i r e of the i m a g i n a t i o n , o f dreams, p o s s i b l e 

w o r l d s , which u n i t e s us i n s m a l l g r o u p s , i n t r i b e s and 

i n n a t i o n s . S t o r i e s , i n s h o r t , a r e the bedrock of 

c u l t u r e . They are the v e h i c l e w i t h which we engage i n 

s o c i a l t r a v e l . When we w r i t e , when we r e a d , when we 

l i s t e n , we can be t r a n s p o r t e d , and when we r e t u r n from 

these voyages of the i m a g i n a t i o n , we can be changed. 

To accept the a c t o f s t o r y t e l l i n g as a f o u n d a t i o n 

of c u l t u r e , i s t o a c c e p t r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r the s t o r i e s 

you choose t o t e l l . I f s t o r y t e l l i n g r e a l l y i s the 

s t u f f o f f i r e , then we must f i g h t t o keep the flame 

a l i v e , t o a l l o w i t t o warm us and p e n e t r a t e the 



11 

darkness which surrounds u s , and t o a v o i d b e i n g p u l l e d , 

l i k e so many moths, i n t o i t s f l a m e s . The words and 

s t o r i e s o f Goethe, M i l t o n and Shakespeare are a t h i n 

s h i e l d from the words and s t o r i e s of the dark Messiahs 

among us who long t o u n l e a s h the dogs o f war, 

i n t o l e r a n c e and h a t r e d . Y e t , w h i l e the pen may be 

m i g h t i e r than the sword, a w e l l m o t i v a t e d swordsman can 

take a v i c i o u s whack out of an unarmed p o e t , and t h a t 

i s p r o b a b l y another reason why g r e a t c u l t u r e s owe t h e i r 

v e r y e x i s t e n c e to common myths and s t o r i e s ; common 

b e l i e f s are a g r e a t u n i f i e r o f p e o p l e , and the b e s t way 

to share and uphold those b e l i e f s , whatever they might 

be, i s by handing down, through s t o r y , through h i s t o r y , 

the wisdom and e x p e r i e n c e of p r e v i o u s g e n e r a t i o n s . I t 

a l s o goes a long way toward e x p l a i n i n g why despots l i k e 

S t a l i n , H i t l e r , P i n o c h e t , and P o l Pot d e d i c a t e d such 

f r i g h t e n i n g amounts o f energy t o the wholesale 

s l a u g h t e r of p o e t s . (The r e c e n t e x e c u t i o n of N i g e r i a n 

p l a y w r i g h t and p o e t , Ken S i r o - W i w a , i s another t r a g i c 

example.) 

There i s a much more humane way t o temper the 

s t o r y t e l l e r ' s power: the a p p l i c a t i o n o f informed 

c r i t i c i s m . C r i t i c s are w i t h us f o r a r e a s o n . They 

e x i s t t o c a l l our s t o r i e s , as w e l l as our i n t e n t i o n s 



12 

and a b i l i t i e s as s t o r y t e l l e r s i n t o q u e s t i o n . At b e s t , 

they can guide a l l o f u s , s t o r y t e l l e r , reader o r 

l i s t e n e r toward a r i c h e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f the s t o r y at 

hand, and a t t h e i r worst they o p e r a t e as c y n i c a l t o u r 

guides on a decadent r i d e through consumer j o u r n a l i s m . 

The d u l l ache of h i s t o r y may w e l l be w r i t t e n by the 

v i c t o r s , but reviews are w r i t t e n by c r i t i c s , and they 

can s t i n g . 

To w r i t e a s t o r y , i n any l i t e r a r y form, be i t a 

n o v e l , a poem, an e s s a y , a l i b r e t t o or a p l a y , i s t o 

embark on a long and p e r i l o u s j o u r n e y . 

3. The Genesis Of The P l a y . 

My own j o u r n e y s t a r t e d the day a f t e r I got home t o 

Saskatoon, from t h a t f i r s t c a r t r i p t o L i t t l e M a n i t o u . 

Three c h a r a c t e r s immediately p r e s e n t e d themselves to 

me: an e l e g a n t woman i n her mid t h i r t i e s who sang a t 

Danceland; a l i t t l e g i r l i n a flowered s k i r t and a p a i r 

o f c a s t o f f b o y ' s brogues; and an o l d e r man w i t h s i l v e r 

h a i r , who s a t i n a w h e e l c h a i r , h i s l e g s covered 

w i t h a b l a n k e t . I d i d not know how, o r even i f they 

were r e l a t e d t o each o t h e r , but I c o u l d see them 

c l e a r l y i n my m i n d ' s eye. The woman wanted t o s i n g t o 



13 

me, the o l d e r gent regarded me w i t h a c e r t a i n degree of 

c y n i c i s m and d i s t a s t e , and the l i t t l e g i r l would not 

speak t o me at a l l . I was not sure how t o s t a r t , how 

to b e g i n c r a f t i n g these images i n t o a s t o r y , so I d i d 

two t h i n g s . I wrote a poem about the landscape at 

L i t t l e M a n i t o u , and I s t a r t e d v i s i t i n g the l o c a l 

h i s t o r y room o f The Saskatoon P u b l i c L i b r a r y . The poem 

soon mushroomed i n t o a l a r g e r s e r i e s o f landscape 

poems, and my notebook f i l l e d w i t h a wealth o f d e t a i l , 

i n c l u d i n g the c u r i o u s l o c a l s t o r y t h a t the D e p r e s s i o n 

e r a American g a n g s t e r , John D i l l i n g e r , had spent some 

time here i n the e a r l y 1930's, hanging out a t the 

d a n c e h a l l s at L i t t l e M a n i t o u , and t h a t he was rumoured 

t o have committed a s t i l l u n s o l v e d murder i n the nearby 

town o f B i e n f a i t . I immediately s e i z e d on t h i s n o t i o n 

and went o f f a g a i n , s h u f f l i n g through the y e l l o w e d 

papers of the a r c h i v e s , s e a r c h i n g f o r the t r u t h ; what I 

found i n s t e a d was t h a t the t r u t h does not n e c e s s a r i l y 

square w i t h the f a c t s , and f a c t s almost never stand i n 

the way of a good s t o r y . 

John D i l l i n g e r may o r may not have been p r e s e n t i n 

South C e n t r a l Saskatchewan d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d , but h i s 

c r i m i n a l e x p l o i t s had s e i z e d the p o p u l a r i m a g i n a t i o n o f 

people a l l a c r o s s the American and the Canadian west. 



14 

He was s t e a l i n g from the banks, which i n t u r n were 

f o r e c l o s i n g on s m a l l b u s i n e s s e s and farms. By e a r l y 

1934, he had become a p o p u l a r symbol o f r e s i s t a n c e at a 

time when a s p i r i t o f r e v o l u t i o n was t h r e a t e n i n g t o 

take h o l d on the North American c o n t i n e n t . Unions were 

m o b i l i z i n g , workers were marching, thousands of men 

were i n t e r n e d i n l a b o u r camps and, when a union 

o r g a n i z e r a t the coalmine i n B i e n f a i t , Saskatchewan, 

was shot dead, rumours flew t h a t the k i l l i n g must have 

been the work of John D i l l i n g e r , who might have c r o s s e d 

the Canadian b o r d e r i n s e a r c h o f a h i d e o u t . I t i s t r u e 

t h a t the c i t y o f Moose Jaw, a hundred m i l e s t o the 

s o u t h , had, i n d e e d , been an o p e r a t i o n a l c e n t r e f o r the 

American b o o t l e g whiskey t r a d e . Y e t , a more l i k e l y 

e x p l a n a t i o n o f the B i e n f a i t i n c i d e n t , i s t h a t the u n i o n 

l e a d e r was murdered by p o l i c e a t the behest of the mine 

owners and the rumour o f D i l l i n g e r ' s involvement had 

been f l o a t e d as a k i n d o f a l i b i . A f t e r a l l , i f you 

cannot t r u s t the p o l i c e t o p r o t e c t y o u , who can you 

t r u s t ? 

A l t e r n a t e l y p o r t r a y e d i n the p o p u l a r p r e s s as 

e i t h e r an e l e g a n t l a d i e s ' man or an agent o f S a t a n , 

D i l l i n g e r ' s image r e f r a c t e d through the l e n s of urban 



15 

myth t o become a k i n d o f modern day S a t y r , some k i n d o f 

l i b i d i n o u s goat-man, a d e v i l w i t h a twelve i n c h p e n i s . 

Indeed, a p e r s i s t e n t urban l e g e n d , s t i l l b e i n g t o l d 

today, i n v o l v e s h i s m u t i l a t i o n a t the hands o f an 

F . B . I , agent, who supposedly used h i s pocket k n i f e t o 

s l i c e o f f D i l l i n g e r ' s male member j u s t to make s u r e he 

was dead, and the supposed d i s p l a y o f D i l l i n g e r ' s 

posthumously honoured a n a t o m i c a l r e l i c , p r e s e r v e d i n a 

b o t t l e of formaldehyde, on a s h e l f at The Smithsonian 

I n s t i t u t e ' s a r c h i v e s i n Washington, D . C . 

S u r e l y t h i s k i n d of m u t i l a t i o n legend i s 

worthy o f a r e l i g i o u s martyr l i k e S a i n t S e b a s t i a n ; i n 

any c a s e , the s t a t e hunted John D i l l i n g e r l i k e an 

a n i m a l . When they found him, they k i l l e d him. While 

i t i s q u i t e p o s s i b l e t h a t he r e a l l y was j u s t a 

murderous t h u g , i t must have been what he s y m b o l i z e d , 

the s t o r i e s he i n s p i r e d , the j e e r i n g o f the people i n 

the face of the s t a t e , t h a t made him f a r more dangerous 

than the u s u a l p e r p e t r a t o r s of s p e c t a c u l a r bank 

r o b b e r i e s and garden v a r i e t y h o m i c i d e s . America was, 

and i s , r i c h i n s t o r i e s o f legendary c r i m i n a l s , but few 

of them have i n s p i r e d as much f o l k l o r e as John 

D i l l i n g e r . 



16 

My problem, as a p l a y w r i g h t , t h e n , was how t o 

t r e a t t h i s c h a r i s m a t i c c h a r a c t e r , who o b s t i n a t e l y 

demanded t o be i n my p l a y . In the f i r s t d r a f t o f 

Danceland, I attempted the o b v i o u s , and p l a c e d 

D i l l i n g e r i n the c e n t r a l r o l e . The d r a f t was an 

u n m i t i g a t e d f a i l u r e , r e m i n i s c e n t i n i t s b e t t e r passages 

o f the worst d i a l o g u e i n a bad Jimmy Cagney movie. And 

then i t s t r u c k me t h a t what had made D i l l i n g e r such a 

powerful t h r e a t i n r e a l l i f e , and such a p o t e n t i a l l y 

c o m p e l l i n g d r a m a t i c hero i n my p l a y , was not h i s 

p r e s e n c e , but h i s abscence and the i m p l i e d v i o l e n c e o f 

h i s imminent a r r i v a l . T e r r o r , a f t e r a l l , l i v e s i n 

the mind of the v i c t i m . I r e a l i z e d t h a t I was not 

a f t e r a p o r t r a i t of the man h i m s e l f ; I was now more 

i n v o l v e d i n an attempt t o evoke h i s almost m y t h o l o g i c a l 

s t a t u r e . John D i l l i n g e r was, i n d e e d , one of the l a s t 

S a t y r s i n the w o r l d , s a c r i f i c e d on the a l t a r o f the 

modern age. The m y s t e r i o u s way i n which he i n f i l t r a t e d 

the p o p u l a r i m a g i n a t i o n o f h i s day had n o t h i n g t o do 

w i t h documentary accounts o f h i s gruesome r i d e through 

the American Midwest. R a t h e r , i t l a y i n the c o n v i v i a l , 

f r a t e r n a l l i e s t h a t passed f o r c o n v e r s a t i o n i n Chicago 

whorehouses, i n booze cans, i n the l y r i c s o f dope 

a d d l e d j a z z s i n g e r s , and i n the whispers of r u r a l 



17 

f a t h e r s t o t h e i r sons, "He got away a g a i n . Those 

goddamned bankers deserve i t " . 

The p l a y d i d not want an h i s t o r i c a l f i g u r e as a 

c e n t r a l c h a r a c t e r , what i t wanted was a male 

a n t a g o n i s t , somebody o t h e r than D i l l i n g e r ; an almost 

demonic s t o r y t e l l e r ; a l o q u a c i o u s and charming l o c a l 

l i a r who c o u l d weave D i l l i n g e r ' s presence i n and out o f 

the p l a y l i k e some k i n d o f phantom, a bogeyman whose 

presence was so p a l p a b l y dangerous t h a t sometimes the 

s t o r y t e l l e r might even f r i g h t e n h i m s e l f . 

That i s how the c h a r a c t e r o f Murray came t o be 

b o r n . H i s f i r s t words t o me, long s i n c e e x c i s e d from 

the t e x t o f Danceland were, "Sorry I'm l a t e , I was down 

i n the basement; i t ' s dark down t h e r e and I mighta 

bumped my head on a p o s t " . At once humourous and s l y , 

and always r o o t e d i n an a n i m a l i s t i c s e x u a l i t y , Murray 

f l o o d e d i n t o the p l a y , u n i f y i n g the a c t i o n w i t h h i s 

l i e s , and when he would get caught i n a l i e by one o f 

the o t h e r c h a r a c t e r s he would make up a new one on the 

spur o f the moment, even more monstrous than the one 

b e f o r e , and a l l the time b e l i e v i n g t h a t once a l i e i s 

spoken i t forms the complete and g o s p e l t r u t h . Murray 

i s a chameleon, but h i s p a r t i c u l a r t a l e n t l i e s i n 



18 

changing the c o l o u r o f the world t o h i d e the unchanging 

n a t u r e of h i s own s k i n . To M u r r a y , l y i n g i s a s i n , and 

t h e r e f o r e , i n a world where everybody l i e s , the worst 

crime i s t o get caught. The p l a y became, over the next 

few d r a f t s , a s e a r c h f o r t r u t h , a c r y from the h e a r t 

from i t s new p r o t a g o n i s t , the t o r c h s i n g e r , L i l y , whose 

s e a r c h i s f o r p a s s i o n i n a world where men and commerce 

have k i l l e d the a n c i e n t gods. As I worked on the 

p i e c e , the d i a l o g u e became s a t u r a t e d w i t h the rythms o f 

the d e v i l ' s music, j a z z , and the o l d man i n the 

w h e e l c h a i r , who had p r e s e n t e d h i m s e l f t o me on my f i r s t 

t r i p to Danceland, became L i l y ' s husband, L l o y d , a 

b r i l l i a n t m u s i c i a n , c r i p p l e d some months b e f o r e the 

a c t i o n of the p l a y b e g i n s , by a gunshot from the 

marauding D i l l i n g e r . And the l i t t l e g i r l ? E v e n t u a l l y , 

she r e v e a l e d t h a t her name was Rose. She was M u r r a y ' s 

d a u g h t e r , and the reason f o r her s i l e n c e was a l s o the 

reason f o r M u r r a y ' s c o m p u l s i v e , almost p s y c h o p a t h i c 

l y i n g . 



19 

4. Between S t o r y and B a c k s t o r y . 

Having d i s c o v e r e d the i d e n t i t i e s o f the 

c h a r a c t e r s , and the b a s i c i n t e r p l a y o f t h e i r 

r e l a t i o n s h i p s , I s e t about p l a c i n g them back i n s i d e the 

parameters o f time and p l a c e : the p l a y takes p l a c e over 

the course of one day, dawn t o dusk, a t L i t t l e M a n i t o u , 

Saskatchewan, i n the summer of 1934. The scenes take 

p l a c e a t Danceland and i n L l o y d and L i l y ' s c a b i n . 

O f f s t a g e , e x i s t a number o f g e o g r a p h i c markers: the 

l a k e , the h i l l s on the n o r t h s i d e , the p i e r below 

Danceland, The Hiawatha H o t e l . Together they form a 

u n i f i e d space, the v a l l e y i t s e l f , c o n s t a n t l y r e f e r r e d 

t o , but never seen. 

What emerged next was a s e r i e s o f b a c k s t o r i e s , the 

s t o r i e s o f what happened p r e c e d i n g the a c t i o n o f the 

p l a y ; a s t o r y about a woman from L i t t l e Manitou 

who, as a t e e n a g e r , ran away from the P r e s b y t e r i a n 

c o n s t r a i n t s o f home t o pursue a c a r e e r as a band s i n g e r 

i n C h i c a g o . Hanging out i n a l l the d a r k e s t c l u b s , she 

was taken under the wing of a f o r t y year o l d l i o n of a 

b a n d l e a d e r , named L l o y d , who, no doubt hungering f o r 

s e x u a l a d v e n t u r e s , proceeded t o t e a c h her how to s i n g . 

What f o l l o w e d f o r them was a tumultuous, f o u r t e e n year 



20 

s t r e t c h o f road t r i p s , through C h i c a g o , D e t r o i t , 

M i n n e a p o l i s , Denver, Kansas C i t y and New Y o r k . 

My f e e l i n g i s t h a t L l o y d p r e f e r r e d a h a r d e r , 

b l a c k e r , s t y l e of p l a y i n g and t h a t t h i s p e r s o n a l j a z z 

s t y l e , coupled w i t h h i s u n w i l l i n g n e s s t o compromise, i s 

what p r e v e n t e d them from b r e a k i n g through as a p o p u l a r 

a c t on r a d i o . So, when the D e p r e s s i o n h i t , and those 

b i g t o u r i n g combos of the 1920's c o u l d no l o n g e r a f f o r d 

t o t o u r , L l o y d and L i l y ' s a c t would have been put under 

severe s t r e s s ; L l o y d would have to adapt h i s s t y l e of 

a r r a n g i n g , or l o s e h i s c a r e e r . Younger and more 

a d a p t a b l e , L i l y ' s p r o f e s s i o n a l a m b i t i o n s a r e s t r a i n i n g 

the bonds of t h e i r m a r r i a g e . In the y e a r s s i n c e they 

f i r s t met, L l o y d has e v o l v e d i n t o an i r r i t a b l e , m u s i c a l 

i d e o l o g u e , a b r i l l i a n t , f i f t y year o l d white m u s i c i a n 

who has p a i d h i s dues, and who now wants t o keep 

p l a y i n g b l a c k music w i t h b l a c k m u s i c i a n s i n b l a c k 

c l u b s , and t h i s i s why he i s so e m o t i o n a l l y a t t a c h e d to 

the c h a r t s which he w r i t e s at the top of Scene T h r e e . 

L i l y , on the o t h e r hand, would have been i n her l a t e 

t w e n t i e s when these s e i s m i c s h i f t s i n t h e i r l i v e s took 

p l a c e ; she i s f r u s t r a t e d ; she i s young, her c a r e e r 

s h o u l d be on the r i s e , but L l o y d ' s i s f a i l i n g . L i l y 

wants to r e c o r d , to get on the r a d i o , to l e a d her own 



21 

band, and she wants t o do i t w i t h or without L l o y d . 

T h i s has d r i v e n L l o y d i n t o a s u s t a i n e d s t a t e of s e x u a l 

and p r o f e s s i o n a l j e a l o u s y . They both f e e l they have t o 

prove themselves to each o t h e r ; t h e i r t r a g i c flaw i s 

p r i d e . Domestic t e n s i o n s between the two are r u n n i n g 

h i g h when one of L i l y ' s a d u l t e r o u s a s s i g n a t i o n s leads 

them t o the edge o f d i s a s t e r . 

Murray i s a couple of y e a r s younger than L i l y . He 

would have been two or t h r e e y e a r s behind her at 

s c h o o l , and has had a l i f e l o n g , s e x u a l o b s e s s i o n w i t h 

h e r . As an a d o l e s c e n t , L i l y must have seemed 

u n a t t a i n a b l e to him; but when she suddenly r e t u r n s t o 

L i t t l e M a n i t o u , i n the summer of 1934, h i s e r o t i c 

dreams become l i v i n g , b r e a t h i n g f l e s h . 

A number o f o t h e r back s t o r i e s emerged, but these 

are the ones t h a t d i d not make i t i n t o the f i n a l d r a f t 

o f Danceland, and I o f f e r them i n the hope t h a t they 

may shed some l i g h t on the p s y c h o l o g i c a l p r e s s u r e s a t 

work on the c h a r a c t e r s over the course o f the p l a y ' s 

a c t i o n . 



22 

5. A B r i e f Note on Language and S t r u c t u r e . 

The p l a y c o n s i s t s o f s i x scenes which a l t e r n a t e 

between L l o y d and L i l y ' s c a b i n at Brown's Sanatorium 

and the i n t e r i o r of D a n c e l a n d . The f i r s t a c t c o n t a i n s 

f o u r scenes and runs a p p r o x i m a t e l y f i f t y f i v e minutes; 

the second a c t c o n s i s t s of the f i n a l two scenes and 

runs a p p r o x i m a t e l y f i f t y m i n u t e s . Danceland was 

o r i g i n a l l y intended to be p l a y e d w i t h o u t an 

i n t e r m i s s i o n , but pragmatic c o n s i d e r a t i o n s such as a 

bathroom break f o r the a c t o r s and audience as w e l l as 

the d e s i r e by t h e a t r e managements t o generate revenue 

through i n t e r m i s s i o n l i q u o r s a l e s d i c t a t e d o t h e r w i s e . 

Much of the d i a l o g u e i s w r i t t e n i n a "phonetic" 

s t y l e . That i s , I have t r i e d t o approximate the 

i d i o m a t i c sound o f the E n g l i s h language o f South 

C e n t r a l Saskatchewan. T h i s i s p a r t i c u l a r l y t r u e of the 

c h a r a c t e r s of Rose and M u r r a y , a l t h o u g h L l o y d 

o c c a s i o n a l l y s l i p s i n t o a k i n d of S o u t h s i d e Chicago 

s l a n g . What I wanted t o p o r t r a y , more than a n y t h i n g 

e l s e , was the c l a s s d i f f e r e n c e s between the two f a m i l y 

u n i t s . 



23 

I f the p l a y was t o be t r a n s l a t e d i n t o Quebecois F r e n c h , 

f o r i n s t a n c e , I would want i t t o be rendered i n a mix 

o f j o u a l f o r Rose and M u r r a y , and a k i n d o f e l e v a t e d , 

almost P a r i s i a n F r e n c h f o r L l o y d and L i l y . Of the f o u r 

of them, i t i s L i l y who, having f o r s a k e n her r o o t s , 

possesses the most "posh" a c c e n t . F o r h e r , accent has 

been an important t o o l i n her c l i m b up the p r o f e s s i o n a l 

and s o c i a l l a d d e r . 

The d e l i b e r a t e m i s s p e l l i n g of words i n the s c r i p t 

i s not meant, i n any way, as a judgement o f the 

c h a r a c t e r s ' i n t e l l e c t s ; none of them a r e s t u p i d , 

a l t h o u g h two o f them are q u i t e d e f i n i t e l y uneducated. 

The p h o n e t i c s p e l l i n g approximations a r e , q u i t e s i m p l y , 

an attempt t o r e n d e r , on the page, the n a t u r a l sound o f 

r u r a l , Western Canadian E n g l i s h . L i k e e v e r y t h i n g e l s e 

i n the p l a y , the a c c e n t s o f the c h a r a c t e r s should 

s p r i n g from a s p e c i f i c sense o f p l a c e and c h a r a c t e r . 

Readers of the p l a y w i l l a l s o n o t i c e t h a t the 

d i a l o g u e i s , i n a sense, "heightened" o r even ( t h a t 

dreaded word), " p o e t i c " . Sandwiched as i t i s between 

j a z z l y r i c s and the work of t h r e e g r e a t American p o e t s , 

Walt Whitman, E z r a Pound and C a r l Sandburg, t h i s 

s t y l i z a t i o n o f language seemed the most o r g a n i c 

treatment p o s s i b l e . I do not i n t e n d the p l a y t o be a 



24 

throwback t o the l y r i c a l l y b e a u t i f u l , but somehow 

e m o t i o n a l l y s t e r i l e " p o e t i c t h e a t r e " o f T . S . E l i o t or 

C h r i s t o p h e r F r y , but r a t h e r , I i n t e n d i t t o be an 

e x t e n s i o n of the k i n d o f "naive p r i m i t i v i s m " which one 

f i n d s i n the work o f e a r l y Canadian p l a y w r i g h t s l i k e 

Gwen P h a r i s Ringwood o r Herman Voaden. I t i s i n t e n d e d 

t o be the language o f the l a n d ; i t i s a l s o i n t e n d e d t o 

be spoken r e a l i s t i c a l l y w h i l e , s i m u l t a n e o u s l y , 

p r o v i d i n g a c o u n t e r p o i n t t o the j a z z rhythms which 

permeate the p l a y . 



25 

CHAPTER TWO. 



26 

DANCELAND. 

L i t t l e Manitou Beach, Saskatchewan, 

L a t e August, 1934. 

CHARACTERS: 

L I L Y : 

LLOYD: 

MURRAY: 

ROSE: 

S t y l i s h . T h i r t y t h r e e . A s i n g e r . 

Her husband. Mid f i f t i e s . An American 
bandleader and c l a r i n e t i s t . A l c o h o l i c . 
L l o y d has o f l a t e been c o n f i n e d t o a 
w h e e l c h a i r . He has been unable to veric as 
a m u s i c i a n f o r some t i m e . 

L a t e t w e n t i e s . Handsome. He owns and 
o p e r a t e s the 

boat t a x i s e r v i c e on L i t t l e Manitou L a k e . 

M u r r a y ' s daughter. Pubescent. 

SET: Should be as s i m p l e as p o s s i b l e . 
E v o c a t i v e , not r e p r e s e n t a t i v e . L i g h t and 
sound a r e the most p e r v a s i v e s c e n i c 
elements. 

SOUND: The a c t o r p l a y i n g L l o y d need not p l a y 
c l a r i n e t , a l t h o u g h a f a m i l i a r i t y w i t h the 
embouchure and f i n g e r i n g p a t t e r n s i s 
h e l p f u l . The p l a y b e n e f i t s from m u s i c a l 
u n d e r s c o r i n g w i t h s o l o c l a r i n e t . The 
songs, however, should be sung a c a p e l l a . 
They a r e more l i k e p r a y e r s o r i n v o c a t i o n s ; 
a c o n t i n u a t i o n of the a c t i o n of the scenes 
r a t h e r than m u s i c a l "numbers". 

NOTE: The name o f the town, B i e n f a i t , i s 
pronounced "Bean-fay". 



27 

SCENE ONE. 

L l o y d ' s c a b i n . Brown's Sanatorium. 

S a t u r d a y . Dusk. 

L l o y d i s s i t t i n g i n h i s w h e e l c h a i r , l e a f i n g through a 
worn volume o f American p o e t r y . He i s e x c i t e d . H i s 
hands tremble as he searches through the pages. 

L i l y i s changing out o f beachwear, g e t t i n g ready t o go 
down t o the d a n c e h a l l f o r the n i g h t ' s g i g . 

LLOYD: 
( F i n d s the poem h e ' s been l o o k i n g f o r . ) 

H e r e , h e r e , h e r e , h e r e , h e r e . Here i t i s , I found 
i t . E z r a Pound, The R i v e r M e r c h a n t ' s W i f e . C'mere; 
s i d d o w n . . . I want t o read t h i s t o y o u . 

L I L Y : 
J u s t h o l d your h o r s e s . J e e z , I'm g o i n g t o be l a t e . 
I knew I d i d n ' t have time to come down here f o r a 
swim; I should j u s t have met you a t Danceland a f t e r 
the g i g . 

LLOYD: 
( G e n t l e . ) 

Come o n . Siddown. J u s t s i t down and c l o s e your 
eyes f o r a minute. T h i s i s b e a u t i f u l . 

L i l y slams a c h a i r down and then s i t s on i t . 

He reaches over and s t r o k e s her h a i r . 

LLOYD: 
L i s t e n . J u s t c l o s e your eyes and l i s t e n . I t ' s the 
most b e a u t i f u l t h i n g i n the w o r l d . T h i s woman, t h i s 
Chinese woman i s t a l k i n g . . . 

L I L Y : 
I ' v e heard i t b e f o r e . 

LLOYD: 
. . . I t h i n k i t ' s supposed t o be h i s g i r l f r i e n d , 
H i l d a . She was o n l y about s i x t e e n . 

L I L Y : 
Oh, the n a s t y man. 



28 

LLOYD: 
I t ' s how she f e l t about Pound. 

L I L Y : 
Are you sure i t i s n ' t how he f e l t about h i m s e l f ? 

LLOYD: 
D o n ' t be a c y n i c . S h e ' d do a n y t h i n g f o r him; 
p r o b a b l y d i e . 

L I L Y : 
( D r y . ) 

Lucky him. ( B e a t . ) Read me a d i f f e r e n t one, okay? 

LLOYD: 
A l r i g h t . H e r e . I l o v e t h i s one, i t ' s another 
Pound, i t ' s c a l l e d " A l b a " ; i t ' s l i k e a photograph. 
(Reads.) "As c o o l as the p a l e wet l e a v e s 

o f l i l y - o f - t h e - v a l l e y 
She l a y b e s i d e me i n the dawn." 

Pause. 

LLOYD: 
N i c e , hunh? 

L I L Y : 
I t ' s a l r i g h t . ( B e a t . ) Do they a c t u a l l y do 
a n y t h i n g , o r does she j u s t keep l y i n g t h e r e l i k e a 
p l a n t ? 

LLOYD: 
Of c o u r s e . 

L I L Y : 
Does i t say? 

LLOYD: 
I t ' s i m p l i e d . 

L I L Y : 
What's i m p l i e d ? 

LLOYD: 
That t h e y . . . you know. 

L I L Y : 
What? C r o s s p o l l i n a t e ? 



29 

She p u r s e s her l i p s t o g e t h e r and p r e t e n d s t o blow some 
d a n d e l i o n down a t him. 

L I L Y : 
Y o u ' r e a hopeless r o m a n t i c , L l o y d . You s h o u l d get 
your mind out o f books and back down i n the g u t t e r 
where i t b e l o n g s . 

She gets up and resumes d r e s s i n g . 

L I L Y : 
Who e l s e i s i n t h e r e ? Anybody a l i t t l e more, o h , 
s t i m u l a t i n g ? 

LLOYD: 
( L e a f i n g t h r o u g h . ) 

S u r e . L o t s o f p e o p l e . Emerson. T h o r e a u . Some 
Sandburg. I l i k e Sandburg; met him i n a bar i n 
Chicago a c o u p l e o f y e a r s back. 

L I L Y : 
What's he l i k e ? 

LLOYD: 
Sandburg? He's g r e a t , a g r e a t guy. He accompanies 
h i m s e l f on g u i t a r when he r e a d s ; h e ' s p r e t t y good, 
t o o . M u s i c a l but muscular; he w r i t e s r e a l muscular 
v e r s e . 

L I L Y : 
Oh, I l i k e t h a t . 

LLOYD: 
(Moving o n . ) 

H e r e ' s a couple by E m i l y D i c k e n s o n . 

L I L Y : 
That morbid b i t c h . 

LLOYD: 
L i l y ! 

L I L Y : 
W e l l , she i s . A l l those tombstones; death r i d i n g 
p a s t i n a horse drawn c a r r i a g e . 

LLOYD: 
She was melancholy, t h a t ' s a l l . 



30 

L I L Y : 
She was c r a z y . D i d you ever meet her? 

LLOYD: 
No. She d i e d the year I was b o r n . 

L I L Y : 

Lucky y o u . 

They l a u g h . 
LLOYD: 

Here., H e r e ' s some Whitman; Walt Whitman. "Give Me 
The S p l e n d i d S i l e n t Sun". Does t h a t sound good? 
Whaddaya t h i n k ? 

L I L Y : 
Whatever you want. 

LLOYD: 

I l o v e you a l l t o p i e c e s . 

L i l y laughs and resumes d r e s s i n g . 
L l o y d p i c k s up a b o t t l e o f bourbon o f f the f l o o r b e s i d e 
him and takes a p u l l o f f i t . 

Then he b e g i n s t o r e a d . 

LLOYD: 
"Give me the s p l e n d i d s i l e n t sun w i t h a l l h i s beams 
f u l l - d a z z l i n g . 
G i v e me autumnal f r u i t r i p e and r e d from the 
o r c h a r d , 
G i v e me a f i e l d where the unmow'd g r a s s grows, 
Give me an a r b o r , g i v e me the t r e l l i s ' d g r a p e , 
G i v e me f r e s h c o r n and wheat, g i v e me serene moving 
animals t e a c h i n g c o n t e n t , 
G i v e me n i g h t s p e r f e c t l y q u i e t as on h i g h p l a t e a u s 
west of the M i s s i s s i p p i , and I l o o k i n g up a t the 
s t a r s . 

He looks up a t L i l y f o r a moment, then c o n t i n u e s 
r e a d i n g . . . 



31 

LLOYD: 
( C o n t i n u e s . ) 

"Give me odorous at s u n r i s e a garden f u l l o f f l o w e r s 
where I can walk u n d i s t u r b e d , 
G i v e me f o r m a r r i a g e a sweet b r e a t h ' d woman of whom 
I s h o u l d never t i r e , 

Give me a p e r f e c t c h i l d , g i v e m e . . . " 

He s t o p s r e a d i n g . H i s face i s s t r e a k e d w i t h t e a r s . 

L I L Y : 
God, I l o v e y o u . 

He c l o s e s the book and puts i t down. 

LLOYD: 
( G r u f f . ) 

S o r r y . I f o r g o t how maudlin the o l d p e d e r a s t c o u l d 
be. ( B e a t . ) How was your swim? 

L I L Y : 
I n v i g o r a t i n g . You s h o u l d t r y i t . 

LLOYD: 
Are you k i d d i n g ? I t ' s a goddamned swamp. 

L I L Y : 
L i t t l e M a n i t o u 1 s a p l a c e of h e a l i n g , L l o y d . People 
have been coming here f o r y e a r s ; the A s s i n i b o i n e s , 
the C r e e . . . 

LLOYD: 
I t ' s a s m e l l y , s u l p h o u r o u s , e v i l goddamned swamp. 
The water s t i n k s and the sand i s f u l l o f f l e a s , the 
g r a s s i s f u l l of t i c k s and the a i r i s f u l l of 
mosquitoes the s i z e o f goddamned r o o s t e r s ! You 
c o u l d n ' t get the c l a p cured i n a p l a c e l i k e t h i s . 
( B e a t . ) Nope. I'm a c i t y guy. Gimme the s t r e e t s 
o f Manhattan; g i v e me D e t r o i t , P h i l a d e l p h i a ; g i v e me 
n i g h t c l u b s and E l l i n g t o n ; Satchmo. Give me Kansas 
C i t y at dawn. Give me New O r l e a n s , w i t h me and the 
band and you up f r o n t , howling the b l u e s l i k e a 
wounded s h e - w o l f , s t a n d i n g a l l alone on the jagged 
edge o f the A t l a n t i c C i t y s h o r e . ( B e a t . ) I s h o u l d 
have stayed i n Chicago and p l a y e d w i t h the band. 

L I L Y : 
You c o u l d n ' t have p l a y e d w i t h the band. 



32 

LLOYD: 

I c o u l d ! 

S i l e n c e . 
LLOYD: 

I'm a m u s i c i a n , L i l y . I need t o p l a y . ( B e a t . ) 
Howzabout i t ? T o n i g h t . J u s t one s e t . 

L I L Y : 
Not without a r e h e a r s a l , L l o y d . Your s t y l e ' s too 
s t r o n g ; y o u ' l l throw my band o f f s t r i d e . 

LLOYD: 
So f i r e the bums; w e ' l l swing t h a t d a n c e h a l l 
s i n g l e h a n d e d . Whaddaya say? 

L I L Y : 
I t ' s not t h a t s i m p l e , I c a n ' t j u s t . . . ( B e a t . ) L e t ' s 
g i v e i t another week, hunh? I d o n ' t want you t o 
push y o u r s e l f too h a r d . 

LLOYD: 
You a f r a i d I ' l l embarass you? 

L I L Y : 
We've had a g r e a t day, L l o y d . P l e a s e d o n ' t s t a r t . 

LLOYD: 

I'm not s t a r t i n g a n y t h i n g . 

Pause. 
L i l y moves away to r e t r i e v e some c l o t h i n g . 

LLOYD: 
I do embarass y o u , d o n ' t I? 

L I L Y : 

I'm g o i n g t o p r e t e n d I d i d n ' t hear t h a t , okay? 

She s t a r t s t o p u l l a l o o s e sundress over her head. 

LLOYD: 
Where'd you get t h a t mark? 

L i l y s t o p s , m i d - m o t i o n , t o look down a t her h i p . L l o y d 
wheels over and p u t s h i s hand on h e r . L i l y p l a y f u l l y 
s l a p s h i s hand away. 



33 

L I L Y : 
You had a l l a f t e r n o o n f o r t h a t ; you missed your 
chance. 

L l o y d grabs a t h e r . 

LLOYD: 
What i s i t ? A l o v e b i t e ? 

L I L Y : 
Around here? I t ' s more l i k e a f l e a b i t e , and you 
know i t . 

L l o y d grabs h o l d o f her hand and won't l e t go. 

LLOYD: 
What's t h a t supposed t o mean? 

L I L Y : 
N o t h i n g . J u s t a j o k e . 

LLOYD: 
You d i s a p p e a r up the beach f o r hours at a t i m e . I 
d o n ' t know what y o u ' r e d o i n g , o r who y o u ' r e w i t h . . . 

L I L Y : 
L l o y d , we d i s c u s s e d t h i s b e f o r e we l e f t C h i c a g o . . . 

LLOYD: 
. . .and how come you have to s t a y i n some fancy h o t e l 
up i n t o w n . . . 

L I L Y : 
. . . L l o y d . . . q u i t k i d d i n g a r o u n d . . . 

LLOYD: 
. . . w h e n I'm s t u c k way the h e l l and gone out here? 

L I L Y : 

. . . t h a t ' s not f u n n y . . . L e t go! 

She breaks f r e e . 

Pause. 
LLOYD: 

I f I so much a s m e l l him on y o u . . . 



34 

L I L Y : 
What a r e y o u . . . ? D i l l i n g e r ' s dead, L l o y d . Sortie 
woman saw him coming out of a movie t h e a t r e i n 
Chicago l a s t month, the cops s e t up and ambush and 
shot him down. ( B e a t . ) I ' d b e t t e r go, I'm g o i n g t o 
be l a t e f o r work. 

She scoops up the l a s t o f her t h i n g s and heads f o r the 
d o o r . 

LLOYD: 
Wait a minutei Wait a m i n u t e . . . where a r e y o u . . . 
d o n ' t you walk out on mel I came twelve hundred 
m i l e s t o t h i s goddamned swamp so t h a t I c o u l d be 
w i t h y o u . . . 

L I L Y : 

Then BE w i t h me! BE WITH ME! 

Pause. 
L I L Y : 

I l o v e y o u , L l o y d . B e l i e v e me. 

She moves i n t o him and wraps her arms around h i s c h e s t , 
her face c l o s e t o h i s e a r . 

L I L Y : 
Y o u ' r e my b e s t one; my o n l y one. ( B e a t . ) T e l l you 
what; I ' l l move my t h i n g s out here from the h o t e l 
tomorrow. I can always keep the room a t The 
Hiawatha f o r a getaway between s e t s . People I knew 
as a k i d keep coming backstage t o gawk a t me. 
P r e s b y t e r i a n s . God. I mean, what do they t h i n k ? 
I moved t o Chicago and grew horns? 

LLOYD: 
Maybe they j u s t wanna look up your ass t o see i f 
your h a t ' s on s t r a i g h t . 

They l a u g h . Then L i l y moves around and s i t s , g e n t l y , on 
L l o y d ' s l a p . 

LLOYD: 

C a r e f u l . C a r e f u l . 

L i l y a d j u s t s h e r s e l f . 



35 

L I L Y : 
B e t t e r ? 

LLOYD: 
I guess. I d o n ' t k n o w . . . 

L I L Y : 

What? Should I get o f f ? 

She s t a r t s to get o f f him. He stops h e r . 
LLOYD: 

No, no. I t ' s j u s t . . . I d o n ' t know. ( B e a t . ) 
Sometimes I f e e l l i k e my bones are t r y i n g t o crawl 
out through my s k i n . ( B e a t . ) Y o u ' r e s t i l l so 
y o u n g . . . ( B e a t . ) D o n ' t leave me, hunh? I couldn't 
bear i t i f you ever l e f t me. 

She l e a n s i n and k i s s e s him, l o n g and deep and h a r d . 
When they f i n i s h k i s s i n g , L i l y gets up o f f L l o y d . S h e ' s 
c r y i n g . L l o y d reaches out and t a k e s her hand. 

LLOYD: 
I t d i d n ' t h u r t , you know. The gunshot. I t j u s t 
s t a r t l e d me more than a n y t h i n g ; t h a t f i r s t 
e x p l o s i o n . Then I was f a l l i n g . I f e l t heat; waves 
of cramp i n my b e l l y . I t a l l seemed t o be happening 
so slow. ( B e a t . ) I ' l l never f o r g e t the s i l e n c e ; 
the s i g h t of those white hotelroom c u r t a i n s hanging 
s t r a i g h t down; no b r e e z e . Then f a r away, a c r o s s the 
c i t y , I heard the s i r e n s s t a r t to w a i l . P o l i c e . 
Ambulance. ( B e a t . ) Jazz everywhere. ( B e a t . ) You 
were h o v e r i n g over me l i k e an a n g e l . ( B e a t . ) And 
I f e l t h a t e , L i l y . I remember f e e l i n g h a t e . . . 
I'm a g e n t l e man; b u t , h a t e . . . i t f e e l s h o t ; l i k e a 
shot o f Bourbon. ( B e a t . ) I l i k e d i t , L i l y . I 
l i k e d the way hate f e l t . 

He l e t s go of her hand. 

Pause. 

LLOYD: 
Y o u ' d b e t t e r go, y o u ' r e gonna be l a t e . 

T h e y ' l l w a i t . 
L I L Y : 



36 

LLOYD: 
They won't have much c h o i c e . 

L l o y d p i c k s the b o t t l e o f f the f l o o r and s t a r t s t o wheel 
away. 

L I L Y : 

L l o y d ? 

He s t o p s , but he d o e s n ' t look back. 

LLOYD: 

Yeah? 

Pause. 
L I L Y : 

Save me a shot f o r l a t e r . 
She t u r n s to leave and almost t r i p s over l i t t l e Rose, who 
has appeared i n the doorway. 

L I L Y : 
J e s u s ! D i d n ' t anybody t e a c h you t o knock? 

She takes a q u i c k look back a t L l o y d and then makes her 
way out the d o o r . 

Rose j u s t stands t h e r e , s t a r i n g a t L l o y d . 

Pause. 

LLOYD: 
So, what are you s t a r i n g at? 

ROSE: 
N o t h i n ' . 

LLOYD: 
W e l l , beat i t t h e n . C a n ' t you see I'm busy? 

ROSE: 
Y o u ' r e not busy; you were j u s t f i g h t i n ' w i t h your 
w i f e . 

LLOYD: 

I s a i d , get l o s t . 

He wheels away. 



37 

ROSE: 

Are you r e a l l y a c r i p p l e ? 

L l o y d stops and t u r n s back to h e r . 
LLOYD: 

Look. Why d o n ' t you go home and t e l l your mother 
she wants you? 

ROSE: 
Because s h e ' s dead. 

LLOYD: 

Oh. S o r r y . 

Pause. 
ROSE: 

I f y o u ' r e a c r i p p l e , how come I seen ya w a l k i n ' w i t h 
them s t i c k t h i n g s up the road t o the e a s t beach the 
o t h e r day? 

LLOYD: 
( P o i n t e d . ) 

What do you want? J u s t t e l l me and then go away. 

ROSE: 
My Daddy's comin' by i n the boat t o p i c k me up from 
v i s i t i n ' , and he t o l d me s p e c i a l t o come an' ask yas 
i f ya wanted a r i d e up t o Danceland f o r the d a n c i n ' 
l a t e r o n , s e e i n ' as how h e ' s g o i n ' up t h e r e anyways 
an' he says i t must be awful h a r d f o r youse t o get 
around. 

LLOYD: 
Oh. ( B e a t . ) No. No, t h a n k s . Maybe l a t e r . 

ROSE: 
He makes another run a t n i n e , but i t ' l l c o s t you a 
q u a r t e r , s e e i n ' as how i t ' s a r e g u l a r run an' not a 
s p e c i a l l i k e t h i s t i m e . 

LLOYD: 
W e l l , I t h i n k I can a f f o r d i t . I j u s t d o n ' t want t o 
go y e t . 

Rose approaches him and puts her hand on h i s knee. 



38 

ROSE: 
Is i t a r t h u r i t i s ? 

LLOYD: 
( S h a r p . ) 

D o n ' t be s i l l y ! ( B e a t . ) I t ' s n o t . . . I t ' s . . . No, 
i t ' s not a d i s e a s e . 

ROSE: 
I j u s t thought maybe i t was a r t h u r i t i s . ( B e a t . ) 
Y o u ' l l get b e t t e r , though. L o t s a people do. They 
come here an' swim i n the l a k e a n ' then go home a l l 
b e t t e r . T h a t ' s why L i t t l e M a n i t o u ' s c a l l e d The 
Lake Of H e a l i n g Waters. A l l k i n d s a people come here 
a l l s i c k an' c r i p p l y , an' then go home b e t t e r . 

LLOYD: 
( C o n s i d e r s . ) 

Maybe they do. ( B e a t . ) Maybe they do. 

Rose l o o k s a t him f o r a moment. P u z z l e d . 

ROSE: 

D o n ' t be s a d . 

She s t a r t s to c r a w l up onto h i s l a p . 

LLOYD: 
C a r e f u l 1 C a r e f u l , c a r e f u l , 
you might break my bones. 

LLOYD: 
E a s y . E a s y . T h a t ' s a g i r l . 

Rose s e t t l e s down on h i s l a p and wraps her arms around 
him. 

ROSE: 

I ' l l be your angel f o r the summer i f you want? 

Murray shouts from o f f , down a t the p i e r . 
MURRAY: 

Rosel Where are ya? Rose? 

ROSE: 
I g o t t a go. My Daddy's c a l l i n ' . 

ROSE: 

I'm b e i n ' as 
l i g h t a n ' c a r e f u l 
as an a n g e l . 



39 

Rose s l i p s o f f L l o y d ' s l a p and s t a r t s t o go. S t o p s . 
Turns back to L l o y d . 

ROSE: 
Can I? Wouldja l i k e t h a t , i f I was your angel f o r 
the summer? 

MURRAY: 
( O f f . ) 

A n g e l ? ! Rose?! 

ROSE: 
I c o u l d do s t u f f f o r ya? 

LLOYD: 
I d o n ' t know, sweetheart. You b e t t e r go. 

ROSE: 
Please? 

LLOYD: 

W e l l . . . ( B e a t . ) Whatever you want. 

Rose i s e l a t e d . 
ROSE: 

R e a l l y ? I can h e l p you l i k e an angel? 

LLOYD: 
S u r e . But the next time you come o v e r , you knock. 
Understand? 

ROSE: 
Oh, y e s ! 

LLOYD: 
Now beat i t . 

She s p i n s on her h e e l s and heads out the d o o r , y e l l i n g a t 
the top of her l u n g s . . . 

ROSE: 
Daddy! Daddy! I got somebody t o h e l p , j u s t l i k e an 
a n g e l ! I got somebody t o h e l p ! I got somebody to 
h e l p ! 

L l o y d watches her go. S m i l e s . Then wheels a c r o s s the 
room. 



4 0 

There i s t h u n d e r , low and rumbling i n the d i s t a n c e . 

Fade out a s . . . 

A smokey j a z z r i f f p l a y s . 



41 

SCENE TWO. 

Fade i n . The i n t e r i o r of D a n c e l a n d . E a r l y Sunday 
morning. 

Dawn i s b r e a k i n g through a s i n g l e pane window. A d u s t y 
white c u r t a i n b i l l o w s on a g e n t l e b r e e z e . 

L i l y walks through the d e s e r t e d d a n c e h a l l , smoking a 
c i g a r e t t e . Her s i l k d r e s s i n g gown flows out behind h e r . 

L I L Y : 
( S i n g s t o h e r s e l f . ) 

Weatherman 
Once the s k i e s were b l u e 
Now each d a y ' s c o l d and g r a y 
Won't you chase the c l o u d s away? 
I c a n ' t endure the temperature. 

Weatherman 
I depend on y o u . 
In my h e a r t t h e r e ' s a c h i l l 
Where t h e r e used t o be a t h r i l l . 
I need my man 
Weatherman. 

The winds a r e b l o w i n ' 
I shake and s h i v e r 
My thoughts are g o i n ' 
Down t o the r i v e r . . . 

The doors to Danceland swing open. S u n l i g h t s l a s h e s i n t o 
the s p a c e . 

L i l y i s s t a r t l e d . She stops s i n g i n g a b r u p t l y . 

A man i s s t a n d i n g i n the doorway, framed by the l i g h t . 
L i l y c a n ' t make out who he i s . 

MURRAY: 
( L a c o n i c a l l y . ) 

Knock, knock. 

S i l e n c e . 
L I L Y : 

Murray? 



42 

MURRAY: 
Yup. 

L I L Y : 
You gave me q u i t e a s t a r t . 

MURRAY: 
S o r r y , M i s s . I never thought. 

L I L Y : 
What a r e you d o i n g here a t t h i s h o u r , s h o u l d n ' t you 
be g e t t i n g ready f o r church? 

MURRAY: 
No, M i s s . We d o n ' t a t t e n d . 

L I L Y : 
( D r y . ) 

Smart. 

Rose comes b u r s t i n g i n from the shadows b e h i n d M u r r a y . 

ROSE: L I L Y : 
We used to go, J e s u s ! 
but Daddy l o s t b e l i e f . 

MURRAY: 
No, I n e v e r . You hush, Rose. I ' v e got my own ways. 
( B e a t . ) S o r r y , M i s s . We d i d n ' t mean to s t a r t l e y a . 

L I L Y : 
I t ' s a l r i g h t . I j u s t wasn't e x p e c t i n g anyone. The 
guys i n the band c l e a r out p r e t t y q u i c k l y a f t e r the 
l a s t s e t , but sometimes I l i k e to s t a y and watch the 
sun come up. 

MURRAY: ROSE: 
I know. T h a t ' s the b e s t 

way t o say h e l l o 
to God, i s n ' t i t ? 

L I L Y : 
Y e s . Y e s , i t i s . I never thought of i t t h a t way. 

ROSE: 
He l i v e s i n the l a k e , d o e s n ' t He, Daddy? 

MURRAY: 
So they say. 



43 

ROSE: 
He l i v e s i n e v e r y t h i n g . In e v e r y l i v i n g t h i n g . 
T h a t ' s why we d o n ' t have t o go t o c h u r c h ; we can 
t a l k to God w i t h o u t a p r e a c h e r . 

Rose h o l d s out a w i l d f l o w e r . 

ROSE: 

T h i s i s f o r y o u . 

L i l y takes the f l o w e r . 
L I L Y : 

Where d i d you f i n d t h i s ? 

ROSE: 
Growing a l o n g the road by the l a k e . 

L I L Y : 
I t ' s b e a u t i f u l . Thank y o u . ( B e a t . ) How d i d you 
know I ' d be here t o g i v e i t to? 

Rose b l u s h e s and l o o k s t o M u r r a y . 

ROSE: 
The god i n the l a k e t o l d me t o . . . 

MURRAY: 
( I n t e r r u p t s . ) 

We were g o i n ' down t o the p i e r t o s t a r t the boat f o r 
the mornin' run up the l a k e t o Brown's when I seen 
y e r husband, L l o y d , s i t t i n g down t h e r e on h i s 
w h e e l c h a i r . 

L I L Y : 
L l o y d ? ( B e a t . ) Oh, J e s u s , he was supposed t o w a i t 
a t home. 

She goes t o the window and looks down t o the p i e r . 

MURRAY: 
S u r e . He's been s i t t i n ' down t h e r e ever s i n c e I 
brung him up the l a k e , about n i n e o ' c l o c k l a s t 
n i g h t . I w o u l d n ' t worry about him, though; I ' v e 
been k e e p i n ' an eye on him; I even went down a 
couple times l a s t n i g h t and asked him why he 
d i d n ' t j u s t come on i n s i d e l i k e everybody e l s e ? 



4 4 

MURRAY: 
( C o n t i n u e s . . . ) 

( B e a t . ) He's been d r i n k i n ' a l o t , eh? C u r s i n ' and 
d r i n k i n ' an' p l a y i n ' a l o n g w i t h you on h i s c l a r i n e t ; 
he never missed a song, a l l n i g h t . ( B e a t . ) C r a z y , 
eh? 

L I L Y : 

Something l i k e t h a t . I ' d b e t t e r s c o o t . 

L i l y s t a r t s to go. 
MURRAY: 

Oh, I ' d l e a v e him out t h e r e t o sober up; I ' d l e t him 
c o o l down a b i t i f I was y o u . W e ' l l take him i n the 
boat w i t h us when we go; t e l l him how g r e a t you were 
l a s t n i g h t ; how me an' Rose walked ya home a l o n e t o 
The Hiawatha r i g h t a f t e r the show. ( B e a t . ) I hate 
people when t h e y ' r e a c t i n ' c r a z y ; the s c a r e the 
bejesus o u t t a me. 

Pause. 

ROSE: 
I'm named a f t e r y o u . 

L I L Y : 
Is t h a t so? 

MURRAY: 
(Embarassed. ) 

W e l l , y a b o t h got the name of f l o w e r s . 

L i l y l a u g h s . 

ROSE: 
A n ' we were w a t c h i n ' you through the c r a c k i n the 
door 'cause I wanted to see the l a d y I'm named 
a f t e r , an' Daddy s a i d we c o u l d , but o n l y t h i s once, 
but he bumped the door an' made a n o i s e , so we hadta 
open i t . 

MURRAY: 
We were not s p y i n ' . You q u i t l y i n ' , Rose. 

ROSE: 
I'm not l y i n ' . 



45 

MURRAY: 
Y e s , y a a r e . Now you go on down t o the boat an' 
s t a r t b a i l i n ' . 

R O S E : 
B u t , D a d d y . . . 

MURRAY: 
I s a i d , g i t g o i n ' or I ' l l send ya home an' never 
b r i n g y a out f o r the mornin' run up the l a k e a g a i n . 

ROSE: 
But I n e v e r . . . 

MURRAY: 
Rose, I mean i t . God says l y i n ' s a s i n , an' you 
l i e d . Now g e t . 

Rose runs out the d o o r . I t creaks and slams shut b e h i n d 
h e r . 

MURRAY: 

K i d s , eh? 

Pause. 
L I L Y : 

Thanks. 

MURRAY: 
For what? 

L I L Y : 
The a d v i c e . No sense i n u p s e t t i n g him any f a r t h e r . 
What's a l i t t l e white l i e ? 

MURRAY: 

A l i t t l e white l i e . 

They b o t h l a u g h . 
In the d i s t a n c e , L l o y d , down on the p i e r , s t a r t s t o p l a y 
" I t ' s A S i n To T e l l A L i e " . 

L i l y laughs and begins t o s i n g a l o n g w i t h the c l a r i n e t , 
t e a s i n g M u r r a y . 



46 

L I L Y : 
Be sure i t ' s t r u e 
When you say I l o v e y o u . 
I t ' s a s i n t o t e l l a l i e . 
M i l l i o n s of h e a r t s have been broken 
J u s t because these words were spoken 
"I l o v e y o u . Y e s , I do. I l o v e you". 
I f you break my h e a r t I ' l l d i e . 
So be sure t h a t i t ' s t r u e 
When you say I l o v e you 
I t ' s a s i n t o t e l l a l i e . 

She sprawls out on the f l o o r i n f r o n t o f him l i k e a b i g 
c a t , l a u g h i n g a t her own j o k e . 

Pause. 

MURRAY: 
I remember you from s c h o o l up at Watrous, b e f o r e you 
went away t o be a s i n g e r . ( B e a t . ) I remember when 
ya l e f t h e r e . Boy, d i d people t a l k . (He l a u g h s . ) 
I t ' s no wonder ya s t a y e d away so l o n g . You 
c o u l d n ' t a come back i f ya wanted. At l e a s t not 
u n t i l ya got famous enought t a rub i t i n t h e i r 
noses. 

L I L Y : 
Rub t h e i r noses i n i t . 

MURRAY: 

Whatever. 

Pause. 
L I L Y : 

I d i d n ' t , you know. 

MURRAY: 
What? 

L I L Y : 
Come back t o rub t h e i r noses i n i t . 

MURRAY: 
I know. 

L I L Y : 
What do you know? 



4 7 

MURRAY: 
Why you come b a c k . 

L I L Y : 
You do, do you? 

MURRAY: 
Yeah. I do. ( B e a t . ) Ya come back because ya 
c o u l d n ' t s t a y away. 

L I L Y : 
I came back because my husband i s i l l . 

MURRAY: 
An' ya knew t h a t ya c o u l d b r i n g him back here an' 
the l a k e would h e l p him get b e t t e r . L i t t l e 
M a n i t o u ' s a s a n c t u a r y ; maybe i t d o e s n ' t look l i k e 
Eden i n The B i b l e , but i t ' s an Eden j u s t the same. 
Where e l s e c o u l d ya see a b l a d e a g r a s s throw a 
shadow f i v e f e e t long? 

L I L Y : 
I know. 

MURRAY: 
I know ya know. T h a t ' s why ya come back. 

L I L Y : 
I know. 

MURRAY: 
T o l d y a , d i d n ' t I? 

L I L Y : 

Y e s , you d i d . I suppose you d i d , y e s . 

She gets up and goes t o the window o v e r l o o k i n g the l a k e . 

L I L Y : 
I t ' s so b e a u t i f u l . The l a k e . So b l u e a g a i n s t the 
brown o f the h i l l s . ( B e a t . ) I t ' s funny how smooth 
they l o o k . 

MURRAY: 
T h e y ' r e n o t , ya know. 



48 

L I L Y : 
I know. L l o y d and I took the t r a i n out from 
C h i c a g o . I t ' s a l o t slower than coming out by c a r , 
but i t ' s e a s i e r f o r him t o t r a v e l t h a t way now. We 
used t o d r i v e e v e r y w h e r e . . . S t . L o u i s . New O r l e a n s . 
New Y o r k . Once we even drove a l l the way t o Mexico 
C i t y , j u s t l i k e a couple o f o u t l a w s , then a l l the 
way back home t o C h i c a g o . But you know what's 
funny? On a l l those car t r i p s I never once saw the 
l a n d as c l e a r l y as I saw i t from the t r a i n . And you 
know what? I t s c a r e d me. I t s c a r e d the l i v i n g 
d a y l i g h t s out of me to see how the h i l l s are covered 
w i t h rose bushes and t h i s t l e and l i t t l e b i t s o f 
s h a t t e r e d r o c k , and how e v e r y t h i n g i s d r i e d up, 
s t u n t e d , t w i s t e d out o f shape because the sky i s 
l y i n g r i g h t on top o f i t . 

MURRAY: 
( E n t r a n c e d . ) 

I l i k e d r i v i n ' over the p r a i r i e i n a c a r . I t makes 
ya f e e l r e a l s m a l l , l i k e a mouse r u n n i n ' over a 
t u r t l e ' s back. 

Pause. 

MURRAY: 
I . . . I . . . I s h o u l d be h e a d i n ' out soon. 

L I L Y : 
D o n ' t h u r r y away on my a c c o u n t . 

MURRAY: 

I'm n o t . I t ' s j u s t . . . what a b o u t . . . ? 

He nods toward Rose and L l o y d , down a t the p i e r . 

L I L Y : 
I t ' s a l r i g h t . Rose i s p r o b a b l y t e a c h i n g him how to 
s k i p r o c k s . 

Pause. 

MURRAY: 
I b e t t e r go. 

Pause. 



49 

MURRAY: 
I never been anyplace e l s e l i k e you have. W e l l , 
nowhere s p e c i a l l i k e Chicago or New York C i t y . But 
I can t e l l ya t h a t t h i s p l a c e i s s p e c i a l , t o o , a n 1 
t h a t ' s why ya can f e e l the sky l y i n ' r i g h t on top of 
y a . But i t ' s a good l y i n ' on top of y a , l i k e a t 
n i g h t when ya were a k i d an' y a ' d s c a r e y e r s e l f an' 
then pray t a Jesus an' H e ' d come an' cover ya a l l 
over w i t h a warm b l a n k e t of l o v e . 

L I L Y : 
I see. 

MURRAY: 
I know ya do, M i s s . 

L I L Y : 
L i l y . 

MURRAY: 
A l r i g h t . L i l y . I l i k e t h a t . L i l y . ( B e a t . ) L i l y . 
( B e a t . ) I never knew anybody famous. ( B e a t . ) But 
you d o n ' t count, do y a , 'cause I a l r e a d y knew ya 
b e f o r e . W e l l , s o r t o f . I seen ya around here 
anyway, when we were k i d s . Up a t s c h o o l , o r down a t 
the e a s t beach, o r smokin' c i g a r e t t e s w i t h the o l d e r 
guys down under the l a t t i c e work below here at 
Danceland. ( B e a t . ) An' l a t e one n i g h t when I was 
about t w e l v e , I seen ya l y i n ' a l l a l o n e on the p i e r 
an' I thought to myself t h a t a l l the soundsa the 
d a n c i n ' an' the music f l o a t i n ' o u t t a here i n 
Danceland was j u s t a dream an' here we were, the 
o n l y two s o u l s i n the u n i v e r s e an' b o t h o f us 
h e a r i n ' the same t h i n g s , j u s t l i k e Adam an' E v e . 

L I L Y : 
Nothing but s i l e n c e mixing w i t h the music o f the 
s p h e r e s . 

S i l e n c e . 

MURRAY: 
Was i t h e a r i n ' the music t h a t made ya want t o be a 
d a n c e h a l l s i n g e r , o r d i d j a always want t a be one? 

L I L Y : 
Always. 

She p u l l s out a pack o f smokes. 



50 

L I L Y : 
Want one? 

MURRAY: 
Oh, no. Thank y o u , M i s s . . . L i l y . 

L I L Y : 
Oh, come o n . You smoke. I ' v e seen you l o t s o f 
t i m e s . Have a smoke w i t h me, then you can take 
L l o y d on up t o Brown's w i t h y o u . 

Pause. 

Murray takes a c i g a r e t t e . 

MURRAY: 

Thanks. 

Pause. 

L i l y l i g h t s t h e i r smokes. 

MURRAY: 
D i d you r e a l l y see me l o t s o f times? 

L I L Y : 
S u r e . Y o u ' r e always d r i v i n g p a s t me i n your b o a t . 

MURRAY: 
I know. I always see you w a l k i n ' a l o n g the s h o r e . 

L I L Y : 
Then you should wave, s i l l y . 

MURRAY: 
I wanted t o a c o u p l a t i m e s , but you always looked 
l i k e you wanted t o be a l o n e , so I n e v e r . 

L I L Y : 

W e l l , next time wave. 

Pause. 
MURRAY: 

Where e l s e d i d j a see me? 

L I L Y : 
I d o n ' t know. L o t s of p l a c e s . 



51 

MURRAY: 
L i k e where? 

L I L Y : 
A l l o v e r . A t the t r a i n s t a t i o n i n Watrous. 

MURRAY: 
Where e l s e ? 

L I L Y : 
What's t h i s ? 

MURRAY: 
J u s t t e l l me where ya seen me l i k e I t o l d where I 
seen y o u . 

L I L Y : 
A l r i g h t . I ' v e seen you d r i v i n g down the l a k e i n 
your b o a t ; I ' v e seen you p i c k i n g up passengers w i t h 
your car at the t r a i n s t a t i o n ; and l a t e l a s t n i g h t 
I saw you out i n the middle of the l a k e , d i v i n g 
naked o f f your boat and p l a y i n g l i k e a d o l p h i n i n 
the m o o n l i g h t . 

MURRAY: 
I know. I seen ya w a t c h i n ' me. I wanted t a swim 
over to y a an' t a l k , but I was too embarassed, so 
I j u s t s t a y e d i n the l a k e , swimmin' an' p l a y i n ' , 
u n t i l ya l e f t an' went back i n t a h e r e , i n D a n c e l a n d . 

L I L Y : 
I knew y o u ' d seen me. T h a t ' s why I s t a y e d so l o n g . 
( B e a t . ) You s u r p r i s e me. 

MURRAY: 
Do I? 

L I L Y : 

Oh, y e s . Oh, y e s , you do. 

She moves away from him. 

Pause. 
MURRAY: 

So, we're even, eh? 

L I L Y : 
How so? 



52 

MURRAY: 
You were w a t c h i n ' me j u s t l i k e I watched you t h a t 
n i g h t when I was t w e l v e . 

L I L Y : 
I suppose so. But we're not c h i l d r e n anymore, are 
we? 

Pause. 

MURRAY: 
Do ya l i k e w a t c h i n ' people? 

L I L Y : 
Sometimes. 

MURRAY: 

Me, t o o . 

Pause. 
MURRAY: 

D i d j a ever see y e r s e l f ? L i k e t u r n around an' see 
y e r s e l f comin' up b e h i n d ya? 

L I L Y : 
I d o n ' t t h i n k s o , no. 

MURRAY: 
I d i d . Once when I was twenty f o u r . A n ' i t sure 
d i d s u r p r i s e me 'cause m o s t l y I j u s t keep an eye 
out f o r what o t h e r s are d o i n ' , eh? 

L i l y l a u g h s . Murray catches her by the jaw. 

MURRAY: 

No. R e a l l y . D o n ' t l a u g h . 

He r e l e a s e s h e r . 
MURRAY: 

One n i g h t I c o u l d n ' t s l e e p , an' then j u s t b e f o r e 
dawn I got up a n ' went f o r a walk. J u s t t a see 
the sun comin' up an' t o hear the b i r d s s t a r t t a 
s i n g i n ' . An' I walked a l o n g here by the l a k e , an' 
nobody e l s e was around, j u s t l i k e t h i s m o r n i n ' . 
An' I walked an' walked, an' s a i d a l i t t l e p r a y e r 
t a The L o r d t a thank him f o r a l l the beauty a n ' 
such around me, an' then I s a t down on t h i s b i g 



53 

MURRAY: 
( C o n t i n u e s . . . ) 

rock b e s i d e the l a k e , j u s t l o o k i n ' at the sun comin' 
up a n 1 a t the water movin' by, an' then I j u s t k i n d a 
f e l l a s l e e p but my eyes were open a n 1 I c o u l d see 
e v e r y t h i n g but I was a s l e e p , s i t t i n ' t h e r e l o o k i n ' 
out at n a t u r e , when a l l o f a sudden t h i s snake 
s l i t h e r s o u t t a the g r a s s r i g h t i n f r o n t a me. I t 
was j u s t a g a r t e r snake, r i g h t . T h a t ' s the o n l y 
k i n d we got h e r e , so i t never s c a r e d me o r n o t h i n ' , 
i t j u s t got my a t t e n t i o n r e a l q u i c k . So I looked 
up, an' t h e r e I was, w a l k i n ' down the p a t h toward 
m y s e l f . ( B e a t . ) I guess t h a t snake s t a r t l e d me 
a n ' my body woke up b e f o r e my s o u l d c o u l d get back 
i n t o i t . A n ' i t ' s a l u c k y t h i n g , t o o , i t was a 
snake I seen, an' not a p e r s o n , 'cause i f a p e r s o n 
c r o s s e s y e r p a t h w h i l e y e r s o u l ' s o u t t a y e r body 
they can snap the l i t t l e t h r e a d t h a t keeps i t 
connected, an' then y e r s o u l d c a n ' t f i n d y a , a n ' 
i t h a s t a spend a l l e t e r n i t y roamin' around, l o o k i n ' 
f o r y a , so i t can get back i n t o ya through y e r 
e y e b a l l s , which i s where i t come o u t . ( B e a t . ) So 
t h a t made me s t a r t t h i n k i n ' about h a v i n ' a s o u l , 
an' b e i n ' one a God's c h i l d r e n , but s t i l l b e i n ' a 
p a r t o f the animal w o r l d , t o o , an' how sometimes 
t h i n g s mean t h i n g s . I mean, they c a n ' t happen 
a l l by themselves, can they? 

L I L Y : 

No. They c a n ' t . 

Pause. 
L I L Y : 

How o l d ' s your daughter? 

MURRAY: 
Twelve. 

L I L Y : 
Where's her mother? 

MURRAY: 
I dunno. Up n o r t h , p r o b ' l y , I d o n ' t know. 

L I L Y : 
Why d i d n ' t she take the c h i l d ? 



54 

MURRAY: 
She d i d . S o r t o f . F o r a w h i l e , anyway. Then she 
brought i t back home an' took back o f f w i t h some guy 
from B a t t l e f o r d , who works a t The Sask. ( B e a t . ) 
C r a z y , hunh? ( B e a t . ) She was an I n d i a n . ( B e a t . ) 
So a f t e r t h a t , I hadta look a f t e r Rose. A n 1 my Mom 
s a i d s h e ' d h e l p ; t h a t y e r l i f e i s y e r l i f e , an' y e r 
c h i l d i s y e r c h i l d , an' s h o u l d n ' t be made t a be 
brought up i n the ways o f s t r a n g e r s . ( B e a t . ) 
T h a t ' s why we d o n ' t go t o c h u r c h anymore. ( B e a t . ) 
'Cause o f a l l the g o s s i p goes o n . ( B e a t . ) So, 
I'm not r e a l l y m a r r i e d anymore. W e l l , I am, but 
j u s t s o r t a . 

He moves to L i l y . 

Pause. 

MURRAY: 
Y o u ' r e the one who's m a r r i e d . 

L I L Y : 

S o r t o f . 

S i l e n c e . 
MURRAY: 

Look. The s k y ' s t u r n i n ' i n s i d e o u t . 

L I L Y : 
Y e s . Dawn. 

Murray moves i n b e h i n d h e r . They b o t h gaze out the 
window. 

MURRAY: 
The whole sky l o o k s l i k e i t ' s t u r n e d i n s i d e o u t , an' 
y e r l o o k i n ' down a t i s l a n d s i n the ocean. 

L I L Y : 
How do you know what the ocean looks l i k e ? 

MURRAY: 
I d o n ' t . But I can imagine. 

L I L Y : 
I ' l l bet you c a n . 



55 

MURRAY: 
I love imaginin'. I t's ray f a v o u r i t e t h i n g t a do; 
besides watchin' people. A n ' every day, winter an' 
summer, a l l year long, year a f t e r year, ya can look 
at the sky an' imagine i t ' s . . . a very b e a u t i f u l 
woman. 

Pause. 

He begins to n i b b l e on her neck and fondle her b r e a s t s . 
Pause. 

L i l y moves away from him and stubs out her c i g a r e t t e . 
L I L Y : 

I've been watching you. 
MURRAY: 

I know. I seen ya doin' i t . 
L I L Y : 

I know. I ' ve seen you see me. 
She moves i n t o h i s arms and they begin to make love as 
they dance. 

MURRAY: 
When I see my arms goin' around your shoulder blades 
I f e e l l i k e I'm h o l d i n ' b i r d bones. My arms look 
bigger than they r e a l l y are, an' my veins s t i c k out 
a l l blue an' muscley the way I always t h i n k a man's 
arms Should look an' mine never do. 

L I L Y : 
Ssssssshhhhhh! Don't t a l k . 

She pushes h i s s h i r t up o f f h i s chest and nuzzles on h i s 
n i p p l e s and b e l l y . 

MURRAY: 
Mmmmmmmmm. So s o f t . So s o f t . 

He l i f t s her face to h i s , and they exchange long, deep 
k i s s e s . 
He undoes her d r e s s i n g gown and s t a r t s to k i s s her 
b r e a s t s . 



56 

The door swings open and Rose comes r u n n i n g i n t o the 
d a n c e h a l l . 

ROSE: 
M r . L l o y d says t o . . . 

She stops dead i n her t r a c k s , t u r n s and heads back t o the 
d o o r . 

MURRAY: 
( B e l l o w s . ) 

Rose! You get back h e r e . You s i t . 

He p o i n t s t o the ground a t h i s f e e t . 

Rose h e e l s l i k e an o b e d i e n t dog. 

MURRAY: 
Now you s t a y p u t . What d i d you see? 

ROSE: 
N o t h i n ' . 

MURRAY: 
Were you s p y i n ' ? 

ROSE: 
No. 

MURRAY: 
D o n ' t l i e , Rose. Were you s p y i n ' ? 

L I L Y : 
I t ' s a l r i g h t , M u r r a y . She wasn't s p y i n g , were you 
Rose? 

ROSE: 
No, M i s s . 

MURRAY: 
Are ya sure? Are ya sure ya never seen us n e c k i n ' ? 

ROSE: 
No. 

MURRAY: 
Good. Or e l s e I ' l l take ya out an l e a v e ya a t the 
s i d e a the road f e r , f e r t h a t t h a t American f e l l a , 
unh, unh, D i l l i n g e r , yeah, D i l l i n g e r , t a g i t . 



57 

ROSE: 
( T e r r i f i e d . ) 

D o n ' t , Daddy. D o n ' t . 

MURRAY: 
H e ' s . . . h e ' s h i d i n ' up a t B i e n f a i t . I . . . I seen 
him m y s e l f . A l i t t l e guy i n a hat an' g l a s s e s . 
An American f e l l a . A n ' he comes up here l o o k i n ' 
f e r l i t t l e g i r l s who spy, an' he p i c k s them up 
o f f the s i d e a the road an' takes them away t a 
feed to h i s dogs. 

ROSE: 
I wasn't s p y i n ' . Honest. 

L I L Y : 
Y o u ' r e s c a r i n g h e r , Murray, so stop i t . I t ' s 
a l r i g h t honey, your Daddy d i d n ' t mean to s c a r e 
y o u , d i d you Murray? 

MURRAY: 
No. But i f y e r l y i n ' , Rose, y e r gonna g i t such 
a h i d i n 1 . . . 

ROSE: 
Y o u ' r e the l i a r , Daddy! Y o u ' r e the l i a r ! 

MURRAY: 
Ohhh. I am n o t . I am n o t . 

He s t a r t s to move i n on Rose. 

L I L Y : 
Murray, D i l l i n g e r ' s dead and you know i t . Some 
woman saw him coming out o f a movie t h e a t r e i n 
Chicago l a s t month and c a l l e d the c o p s . They 
s e t up an ambush and shot him down. 

MURRAY: 
A n ' he had h i s f a c e changed, so how do you know i t 
was r e a l l y him t h a t they shot down? 

Oh, come on. 
L I L Y : 



58 

MURRAY: 
A n 1 how come the Mounties been around, l o o k i n 1 f o r 
an American f e l l a they say d i d the k i l l i n ' up i n 
B i e n f a i t l a s t week? Why'd anybody except D i l l i n g e r 
wanna come a l l the way up here j u s t t a do a k i l l i n ' 
when t h e r e ' s p l e n t y t a do r i g h t a t home i n The 
S t a t e s ? No. No, i t was him I seen. I know i t . 
He's h e r e . He's here h i d i n ' out a g a i n , j u s t l i k e 
he does every summer, an' h e ' l l g i t ya Rose i f ya 
d o n ' t come over here r i g h t now an' take a good 
l i c k i n ' . 

Rose s h r i e k s and c l i n g s t o L i l y f o r s a f e t y . 

ROSE: 
Nooooooooooooooooo ! 

L I L Y : 
D o n ' t f r i g h t e n the c h i l d . 

MURRAY: 
D o n ' t t e l l me how t a r a i s e my d a u g h t e r . 

L I L Y : 
I'm n o t t e l l i n g you how t o . . . 

MURRAY: 
You d o n ' t even have one, so how would you know how 
to r a i s e i t ? 

L I L Y : 
Because I remember what i t f e l t l i k e t o be one! 

MURRAY: 
Rose! G i t over here r i g h t now, I'm gonna tan y e r 
h i d e f o r d i s o b e d i e n c e ! 

Rose c l i n g s harder t o L i l y . 

ROSE: 
Nooooooooooooooooo! 

MURRAY: 
I s a i d , g i t over h e r e ! 

He grabs Rose from L i l y , and throws the c h i l d a c r o s s the 
f l o o r . 

L i l y and Rose scream t o g e t h e r . . . 



59 

L I L Y / R O S E : 
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo1 

The c h i l d h i t s the f l o o r , and Murray p u l l s h i s b e l t out 
of h i s b e l t l o o p s i n a s i n g l e motion. 

L i l y lunges a t him and grabs h i s u p r a i s e d arm. 

Murray stops dead. S u r p r i s e d by her s t r e n g t h . 

L I L Y : 
I ' l l t e l l you something, M u r r a y . D i l l i n g e r ' s n o t 
dead. I l i e d . He d i d have h i s face changed. Then 
he drove twelve hundred m i l e s up here w i t h the 
F . B . I , on h i s t a i l , because h e ' s a f r i e n d of mine 
and he knew I ' d h e l p him o u t . T h a t ' s h i s white 
Chevy c o n v e r t i b l e t h a t ' s been parked out b e h i n d 
The Hiawatha H o t e l a l l week. He h i d e s out i n 
my d r e s s i n g room. So i f you l a y so much as one 
f i n g e r on t h a t c h i l d , o r mention so much as one 
word about what went on i n here t h i s morning, 
I'm g o i n g to whisper i n h i s ear what a dangerous 
son o f a b i t c h you r e a l l y a r e , and h e ' l l hunt you 
down and put a b u l l e t through your b r a i n j u s t l i k e 
he d i d t o t h a t poor b a s t a r d o f a u n i o n man up i n 
B i e n f a i t l a s t week. 

S i l e n c e . 

MURRAY: 

C'mon, Rose. We g o t t a go. 

He h o i s t s Rose up o f f the f l o o r and h u r r i e s to the d o o r . 

As he g e t s t h e r e , he t u r n s back t o L i l y . 

MURRAY: 
W e ' l l take y e r husband, L l o y d , w i t h u s , t o o . 
T h e r e ' s no p o i n t i n h i s w a i t i n ' around a l l 
m o r n i n ' f o r an a d u l t e r e s s . 

Murray and Rose plunge through the doors and run down to 
the p i e r . 

S u n l i g h t b l a s t s p a s t them u n t i l the double doors slam 
s h u t . 



60 

L i l y i s i n a s t a t e o f shock. 

L I L Y : 
( Q u i e t l y . ) 

Jesus C h r i s t ! 

Fade O u t . 



61 

SCENE THREE. 

Fade i n . L l o y d ' s c a b i n . 

E a r l y a f t e r n o o n . Sunday. 

I t i s extremely h o t . 

L l o y d i s a l o n e , s h a r i n g a couple o f s t i f f c o c k t a i l s w i t h 
h i m s e l f and working on some new arrangements. 

He hums a few n o t e s , then t r i e s to w r i t e them down. He's 
not b e i n g too s u c c e s s f u l and i s g e t t i n g f r u s t r a t e d . 

He snaps h i s p e n c i l i n h a l f and slams back a c o u p l e b e l t s 
of r y e . 

LLOYD: 
J a z z . C h r i s t . What a l i f e . 

He t o s s e s h i s sheet music i n t o the a i r . I t f a l l s down 
around him l i k e snowflakes. 

He hears f o o t s t e p s a p p r o a c h i n g . 

L I L Y : 
( O f f . ) 

L l o y d ? 

L l o y d wheels away i n t o a dark c o r n e r . 

We hear the p e r s i s t e n t drone o f f l i e s . 

L i l y e n t e r s , c a r r y i n g a couple o f s m a l l s u i t c a s e s . 

L I L Y : 

L l o y d ? 

S i l e n c e . 
She puts the s u i t c a s e s down, then s t a r t s t o p i c k up the 
sheafs o f sheet music. 

LLOYD: 
(From the shadows.) 

Looking f o r something? 

L I L Y : 
L l o y d ! ? 



62 

LLOYD: 
S u r p r i s e , s u r p r i s e . 

L I L Y : 
Y o u ' r e h e r e . 

LLOYD: 
I l i v e i n t h i s h o v e l , y o u ' r e the one has t o s t a y i n 
a fancy h o t e l . 

L I L Y : 
N i c e t o see y o u , t o o . Y o u ' r e i n a good mood. 

LLOYD: 
I d o n ' t have moods. 

L I L Y : 
Good. N e i t h e r do I . ( B e a t . ) Are these your new 
arrangements? I t o l d the boys i n the band I ' d work 
w i t h them l a t e r t o d a y . 

LLOYD: 
Oh, you d i d , d i d you? And where do I f i t i n t o t h e s e 
p l a n s ? 

L I L Y : 
W e l l . . . you d o n ' t . I t ' s my band. 

LLOYD: 
And t h e y ' r e my arrangements. 

L I L Y : 
I know, but i t ' s our n i g h t o f f and we've been 
p l a y i n g the same tunes f o r two weeks now, we 
need some new m a t e r i a l . I j u s t thought I ' d take 
them down to Danceland and run through them a 
couple o f t i m e s . 

LLOYD: 
W e l l , t h i n k a g a i n , M i s s y . Think a g a i n . 

L I L Y : 
But you wrote them f o r me. 



63 

LLOYD: 
I wrote them f o r me. T h e y ' r e my t i c k e t out of here 
and I'm not g i v i n g them t o anybody u n l e s s I get t o 
see a s u b s t a n t i a l p a r t of the a c t i o n . Those clowns 
i n your band c a n ' t even r e a d . You t h i n k I want 
people h e a r i n g farmers p l a y my arrangements? 

L I L Y : 
T h e y ' r e not f a r m e r s . T h e y ' r e from Saskatoon. 

LLOYD: 
Same d i f f e r e n c e . T h e y ' r e so white t h e y ' r e almost 
b l u e . Who the h e l l do you t h i n k you a r e , l e a v i n g 
me s t r a n d e d on a p i e r . . . 

L I L Y : LLOYD: 
I d i d n ' t leave you s t r a n d e d . . . i n the middle o f 
on a p i e r . . . I d i d n ' t even h e l l ' s h a l f a c r e a l l 
know you were t h e r e 1 n i g h t and then come 

w a l t z i n g i n here t o 
s t e a l my arrangements 
as i f n o t h i n g 
happened 

L I L Y : 
I wasn't s t e a l i n g your arrangements; I was j u s t 
going t o borrow them! 

LLOYD: 
Borrow! Is t h a t what you c a l l i t ? Borrow? R i g h t . 
And t e a c h them to a bunch of t h i e v i n g m u s i c i a n s ; the 
next t h i n g I know I'm h e a r i n g my tunes on the r a d i o 
and h a v e n ' t got a penny to show f o r i t . S i x months 
work spread around as f r e e and easy as a case of 
c r a b s . 

L I L Y : 
D o n ' t be so v u l g a r . 

LLOYD: 
Oh, I f o r g o t . You r e g a i n e d your v i r g i n i t y when we 
c r o s s e d the b o r d e r . 

L I L Y : 
Stop i t , L l o y d , I'm s i c k of i t . You throw a j e a l o u s 
c o n n i p t i o n f i t a t l e a s t twice a day! 

I do n o t ! 
LLOYD: 



6 4 

L I L Y : 
Y e s , you d o . You h a v e n ' t l e t up on me s i n c e we 
got h e r e . Two whole weeks. 

LLOYD: 
And I ' v e got seven more weeks t o go; day a f t e r day 
cooped up i n t h i s Hades hot c a b i n l i s t e n i n g t o the 
goddamned f l i e s r i c o c h e t o f f the screens w h i l e you 
s t a y up i n town screwing around w i t h the l o c a l 
p l a y b o y s . 

L I L Y : 
I am not screwing around w i t h the l o c a l . . . 

LLOYD: 
Murray t o l d me he saw some man h i d i n g i n your 
d r e s s i n g room t h i s morning. 

L I L Y : 
T h a t ' s s t u p i d , L l o y d . How c o u l d Murray see somebody 
who wasn't t h e r e ? 

LLOYD: 
Maybe h e ' s c l a i r v o y a n t . 

L I L Y : 
T h a t ' s a l a u g h . 

LLOYD: 
I f t h a t sucker had h a l f a b r a i n i t ' d be l o n e l y , but 
he d o e s n ' t have any reason to l i e to me. He came 
r u n n i n g out of Danceland t h i s morning as i f h e ' d 
seen the D e v i l h i m s e l f . He p r a c t i c a l l y kidnapped 
me o f f the p i e r . I wanted to s t a y and spend the 
morning a t the h o t e l w i t h y o u , but he w o u l d n ' t l e t 
me. He was s t u t t e r i n g away and h i s daughter was 
c r y i n g ; they drove me up the l a k e l i k e a bat out o f 
h e l l and dumped me out on the beach. I had t o crawl 
up f o r h e l p to push t h i s goddamned w h e e l c h a i r 
through the sand and I want t o know where the h e l l 
you've been! 

L I L Y : 
P a c k i n g ! G e t t i n g ready t o move out here w i t h y o u , 
a l r i g h t ? ! 



65 

LLOYD: 
Murray says D i l l i n g e r ' s 
here and The Mounties a r e 
l o o k i n g f o r him. T h a t ' s 
why you s t a y e d up a t 
Danceland a l l n i g h t i s n ' t 
i t ? The papers say he 
had h i s face changed. 

L I L Y : 
F o r God's sake, calm down. 

LLOYD: 
I AM NOT HYSTERICAL! I took a b u l l e t i n the b e l l y 
from t h a t son o f a b i t c h , and I am not h y s t e r i c a l ! 

L I L Y : 
WE WERE SHOOTING COCAINE, WE WERE NOT SCREWING! 
I t ' s not my f a u l t you came b u s i n g i n t o a p r i v a t e 
h o t e l r o o m . He thought you were a cop. J e a l o u s y , 
L l o y d ! One o f these days i t ' s g o i n g to k i l l y o u . 
( B e a t . ) I was a t the h o t e l . P a c k i n g . A l r i g h t ? 
E i t h e r a c c e p t my word on i t o r I ' l l pack your 
waxy o l d c a r c a s s back onto the t r a i n t o C h i c a g o . 

LLOYD: 
You w o u l d n ' t d a r e . 

L I L Y : 
J u s t watch me. ( B e a t . ) I d o n ' t know why I d i d n ' t 
dump you y e a r s ago. 

LLOYD: 
Because you needed my t a l e n t ; you s t i l l do! 

L I L Y : 
I d o n ' t b e l i e v e t h i s . 

LLOYD: 
I made you who you are and now t h a t I'm a c r i p p l e , 
you j u s t shuck me o f f onto the f l o o r l i k e a used 
r u b b e r . H e l l , the maid'11 be around i n the morning 
to p i c k me up. ( B e a t . ) You sucked my t a l e n t l i k e 
a vampire. Sometimes when we'd make l o v e , your 
hands f e l t l i k e claws i n my back, and I ' d hear your 
tongue so l o u d i n my e a r , s u c k i n g and s u c k i n g , 
t r y i n g to suck the music r i g h t out o f my b r a i n , and 
I ' d know you needed me and I ' d know you hated me f o r 
i t . 

L I L Y : 
D i l l i n g e r ? ! 
F o r the l a s t t i m e , 
L l o y d , D i l l i n g e r ' s 
dead! 

Y o u ' r e h y s t e r i c a l 



66 

L I L Y : 
Y o u ' r e wrong about when I s t a r t e d to hate y o u . 
( B e a t . ) I t d i d n ' t s t a r t i n b e d . I might have 
needed you, and God knows I worshipped your t a l e n t , 
worshipped i t t o the p o i n t where I d i d n ' t t h i n k I 
had any m y s e l f . 

LLOYD: 
Oh, come o n . . . 

L I L Y : 
I s t a r t e d to hate y o u . . . I s t a r t e d t o hate you the 
moment you walked i n t o t h a t hotelroom i n C h i c a g o . 

LLOYD: 
So what was I supposed t o do? 

L I L Y : 
The look on your f a c e . . . 

LLOYD: 
Keep on p l a y i n g b l a c k j a c k . . . 

L I L Y : 
You were p u r p l e w i t h r a g e . . . 

LLOYD: 
. . . d o w n i n the bar? 

L I L Y : 
JEALOUSY, LLOYD! JEALOUSY! 

LLOYD: 
YOU WERE MY WIFE! 

L I L Y : 
You were s h o u t i n g . . . 

LLOYD: 
I LOVED YOU! 

L I L Y : 
You were s h o u t i n g . . . 

LLOYD: 
I l o v e d you! 

L I L Y : 
You took away my c h o i c e ! 



67 

LLOYD: 
I l o v e d y o u . 

L I L Y : 
You d e s t r o y e d my freedom. ( B e a t . ) You have no i d e a 
what you walked i n o n . The freedom. The 
p o s s i b i l i t i e s . To be i n t h a t room w i t h t h a t man. 
To be s i t t i n g t h e r e w i t h John D i l l i n g e r , the most 
dangerous man i n the w o r l d . . . I was f l y i n g . I was 
f r e e . Maybe j u s t f o r a minute. Maybe j u s t f o r a 
couple o f h o u r s , but Jesus C h r i s t , I c o u l d have been 
f r e e and i f a p e r s o n c a n ' t be f r e e i n t h i s l i f e , 
even i f i t ' s o n l y f o r long enough t o f e e l an 
a s s a s s i n ' s b u l l e t i n your b r a i n , then i t sure as 
h e l l i s n ' t worth l i v i n g . ( B e a t . ) Y o u ' r e not the 
man I m a r r i e d . Y o u ' v e become u n b e l i e v a b l y c r u e l . 
I d i d not suck your t a l e n t . You were t h i r t y f o u r 
when we met; I was o n l y s i x t e e n , what d i d I know? 
I ' d run away from home. I ' d o n l y been i n Chicago 
f o r t e n days 1 

LLOYD: 
E x a c t l y my p o i n t . 

L I L Y : 
What. 

LLOYD: 
Who ever heard of a s i n g e r b e i n g from Saskatchewan? 
Nobody. T h a t ' s who. U n t i l I p i c k e d you up and made 
you who you a r e . 

L I L Y : 
I am who I am because of me, not because of y o u , so 
d o n ' t p a t r o n i z e me, you b a s t a r d . 

LLOYD: 
(Mimmicks.) 

D o n ' t p a t r o n i z e me, you b a s t a r d . J u s t fuck me and 
make me famous. 

L I L Y : 
( B e a t . ) You s e l f p i t y i n g p a r a s i t e . I f y o u ' d j u s t 
stop f e e l i n g s o r r y f o r y o u r s e l f you might make 
something of y o u r s e l f a g a i n . B u t , oh, no. Y o u ' d 
r a t h e r c r i p p l e around i n your w h e e l c h a i r , whining 
and c o m p l a i n i n g . 



6 ® 

LLOYD: 
I DO NOT WHINE! 

L I L Y : 
Y e s , you do. YOU WHINE! You do n o t h i n g but whine 
and b i t c h and f e e l s o r r y f o r y o u r s e l f . Y o u ' r e an 
emotional c r i p p l e , L l o y d , and I'm not going t o 
take i t . You l i k e b e i n g s i c k . You l i k e b e i n g a 
c r i p p l e . You l i k e i t because i t makes you f e e l as 
i f you have c o n t r o l over me a g a i n , j u s t l i k e when 
we f i r s t met. 

LLOYD: 
C o n t r o l ? ! C o n t r o l ? ! Nobody c o u l d c o n t r o l y o u . 
You screwed e v e r y m u s i c i a n and c r i m i n a l i n the 
midwest! 

L I L Y : 
SO?! ( B e a t . ) You know something, L l o y d ? Y o u ' r e 
r i g h t . I have needs. Sexual needs. Remember? 

LLOYD: 
Who c a r e s ? 

L I L Y : 
I c a r e ! And so should you! 

LLOYD: 
A l r i g h t ! So why d o n ' t you j u s t d i d d l e me and get 
i t over w i t h ; j u s t q u i t a l l t h i s y i p , y i p , y i p ! 

L I L Y : 
(To h e r s e l f . ) 

C h r i s t . 

S i l e n c e . 
LLOYD: 
( L o s t . ) 

I d o n ' t know what I ' d do without y o u , a l r i g h t ? 

Pause. 
L I L Y : 

Y o u ' d manage. 

LLOYD: 
P r o b a b l y . But I w o u l d n ' t l i k e i t . 



69 

L I L Y : 
Why not? Nobody to boss around? 

LLOYD: 
Naah. Nobody t o dance w i t h . ( B e a t . ) Y o u ' r e a 
s w e l l d a n c e r . 

Pause. 

LLOYD: 
(Subdued.) 

I'm s o r r y . 

L I L Y : 
( B e a t . ) J u s t be s t r o n g e r , a l r i g h t ? 

LLOYD: 
A l r i g h t . I p r o m i s e . ( B e a t . ) I t r e a s u r e y o u . 

L I L Y : 
D o n ' t t r e a s u r e me, L l o y d . J u s t l o v e me. ( B e a t . ) 
J u s t l o v e me the way you used t o . 

Pause. 

LLOYD: 

I l o v e y o u , L i l y . I r e a l l y do. 

S i l e n c e . 
LLOYD: 

C'mon. ( B e a t . ) Dance w i t h me. 

L I L Y : 
Y o u ' r e k i d d i n g . 

LLOYD: 

I never k i d about d a n c i n g . 

Pause. 
L l o y d , v e r y s l o w l y and w i t h c o n s i d e r a b l e p a i n , draws 
h i m s e l f up onto h i s f e e t . 

He stands f o r a moment, unsure i f he can s u p p o r t h i m s e l f . 

Then he g a i n s h i s f o o t i n g and reaches out to h e r . 



70 

LLOYD: 
C'mon. J u s t once. For o l d t i m e ' s sake. 

She goes t o him and takes h i s hands, s u p p o r t i n g h i s 
w e i g h t . 

LLOYD: 

( B e a t . ) We had some t i m e s , hunh? 

They s t a r t to dance; a slow, c l o s e w a l t z . 

A f t e r a w h i l e , L l o y d b e g i n s t o s i n g v e r y s o f t l y t o h e r . 

LLOYD: 
J u s t when romance got i t s s t a r t 
You d e c i d e d i t was time t o p a r t 
How c o u l d ya? 

L i l y j o i n s h i m . . . 

LLOYD/LILY: 
'Cause i t was on a n i g h t l i k e t h i s 
You l e f t me and d i d n ' t leave a k i s s 
How c o u l d ya? Oh, o h , how c o u l d ya? 

You know t h a t love i s j u s t l i k e a p p l e p i e 
I t ' s e i t h e r sweet or t a r t . 
You c o u l d be the a p p l e o f my eye, 
But y o u , y o u , you upset the apple c a r t . 
I was l o o k i n ' forward to 
A l l those l i t t l e t h i n g s you d i d n ' t do 
How c o u l d y a , c o u l d y a , c o u l d ya break my h e a r t ? 

By the time they f i n i s h , they are l a u g h i n g and k i s s i n g . 

The l a u g h t e r s u b s i d e s . 

S i l e n c e . 

LLOYD: 

Oh, baby, I ' v e g o t t a siddown. 

L i l y s l o w l y lowers him back down i n t o h i s w h e e l c h a i r . 

L I L Y : 
Y o u ' r e g e t t i n g b e t t e r , L l o y d . Come on, l e t ' s spend 
some time i n the l a k e , take a mudbath down on the 
s h o r e . 



71 

LLOYD: 
D o n ' t be r i d i c u l o u s . No goddamned magic mud i s 
g o i n g t o get me another band l i k e The Dawn P a t r o l 
Boys. 

L I L Y : 
( B e a t . ) The mud i s n ' t magic. I t ' s got m i n e r a l s 
i n i t . 

LLOYD: 
Who c a r e s , i t ' s s t i l l mud. 

L I L Y : 
I know, but i t ' s s p e c i a l mud. L i k e at K a r l s b a d , 
i n Germany. 

LLOYD: 
Maybe the i d e a o f a mudbath sounds b e t t e r i n K r a u t . 

L I L Y : 
Maybe i t does. ( B e a t . ) Look. I t ' s s i m p l e . You 
cover y o u r s e l f i n mud and then l e t the sun bake i t 
onto your s k i n ; i t p u l l s a l l the p o i s o n s out o f y o u . 
Then you go f o r a l o n g , s a l t y swim i n the l a k e and 
wash i t o f f , and then you do i t a g a i n and a g a i n , a l l 
day l o n g , a l l summer l o n g . 

LLOYD: 
I know. I j u s t f e e l r e a l l y s t u p i d s i t t i n g around 
a l l covered w i t h mud i n a w h e e l c h a i r at the beach. 

L I L Y : 
W e l l , d o n ' t take the w h e e l c h a i r , s i l l y . Use your 
c r u t c h e s . ( B e a t . ) C'mon, l e t ' s go. I ' l l l i m p , so 
t h a t when we get t h e r e you can say the c r u t c h e s are 
mine. 

She goes t o get some towels and t h e i r swimwear. 

L I L Y : 
When I was w a l k i n g out here I found some long s a l t 
c r y s t a l s down on the beach. They must have been 
s i x o r seven i n c h e s l o n g . I was g o i n g t o b r i n g them 
t o y o u , but I was a f r a i d t h e y ' d t u r n to dust i n my 
p o c k e t . 

She hands him h i s t r u n k s and a t o w e l , then s t a r t s to 
undress him. 



72 

L I L Y : 
L i t t l e M a n i t o u ' s a s a n c t u a r y ; an Eden. I t ' s where 
I grew up; where I'm from. ( B e a t . ) When we were 
k i d s we'd come out here on w i n t e r evenings and 
toboggan down the r a v i n e over by Winnipeg S t r e e t , 
or go s k a t i n g out on the l a k e . And a f t e r w a r d s , a l l 
the f a m i l i e s would gather a t the h o t e l . Not The 
Hiawatha. The o t h e r one. The o l d one. I f o r g e t 
what i t was c a l l e d . I t b u r n t down. ( B e a t . ) The 
h o t e l s a t the l a k e a r e always b u r n i n g down. 

L l o y d i s naked now. 

LLOYD: 
God, y o u ' r e something. 

Pause. 

He c r a w l s i n t o h i s t r u n k s . 

L I L Y : 
I t ' s even more b e a u t i f u l here i n the w i n t e r than i n 
the summer. E v e r y t h i n g takes on the c o l o u r o f the 
sky and the sun; e v e r y t h i n g t u r n s mauve and p i n k and 
b l u e , every shade o f b l u e ; except the h i l l s . The 
wind blows a l l the snow down i n t o d r i f t s on the l a k e 
and the h i l l s s t a y as bare and brown i n the w i n t e r 
as they do i n the summer. I t sweeps the snow back 
o f f t h e i r brows l i k e my mother used t o sweep the 
h a i r back o f f my f o r e h e a d . (Pause.) I remember 
w i n t e r n i g h t s when the boys would come down from 
Watrous t o p l a y hockey. We'd a l l t e l l our Moms 
we were coming down t o p r a c t i c e f i g u r e s k a t i n g , but 
we w e r e n ' t . We were coming down t o watch the boys 
get rough w i t h each o t h e r . And sometimes, a f t e r 
t h e y ' d p l a y e d f o r a w h i l e , we'd snuggle down w i t h 
them i n the s n o w d r i f t s under the l a t t i c e work at 
Danceland and smoke c i g a r e t t e s ; and maybe one o f 
the o l d e r boys, one o f the tough ones, would neck 
w i t h you. 

She hands L l o y d h i s c r u t c h e s . 

He takes them from h e r , then lowers them down onto the 
f l o o r . 

He reaches out and g e n t l y c a r r e s s e s h e r . 



73 

L I L Y : 
I t ' s funny, you know. I remember one n i g h t ; a f t e r 
c h o r e s ; a f t e r supper, i n the d a r k ; a f t e r the boys 
had come down and s h o v e l l e d the snow o f f the i c e , 
they brought down t h i s can o f g a s o l i n e and poured 
i t o u t , a l l over t h e i r hockey r i n k . Then they had 
everybody stand back and one o f them, one of the 
o l d e r guys, I f o r g e t h i s name, he was a g r e a t 
k i s s e r , h e ' s a farmer now, l i t a match and t o s s e d 
i t o u t onto the i c e . The whole l a k e seemed t o 
e x p l o d e . The flames must have been ten f e e t h i g h , 
and they burned l i k e h e l l f o r about a minute and 
a h a l f ; they a c t u a l l y set the i c e on f i r e and 
s c o r c h e d the s n o w d r i f t s a t the s i d e o f the r i n k . 
I ' l l never f o r g e t i t . They a c t u a l l y burned the 
snow. And we a l l j u s t s t o o d and watched, h o r r i f i e d , 
but f a s c i n a t e d , because we knew the f i r e c o u l d n ' t 
go anywhere; i t was so hot and c o n t a i n e d t h a t i t 
had t o burn i t s e l f o u t . And when i t was o v e r , 
except f o r a few patches o f flame, l i n g e r i n g i n the 
c o r n e r s , the l a k e i c e was covered w i t h a t h i n f i l m 
of water. And we watched as i t f r o z e ; i t o n l y took 
about another minute; i t ' s so c o l d here i n the 
w i n t e r . And t h e n , when i t was f r o z e n , m i r r o r 
p e r f e c t , you c o u l d see the s t a r s r e f l e c t e d i n i t , 
the boys rushed out onto the i c e and s t a r t e d gouging 
and c h i p p i n g away a t i t w i t h the h e e l s of t h e i r 
s k a t e b l a d e s . And I jumped o u t , t o o . Not to wreck 
i t , but t o p r o t e c t i t ; t o keep i t p e r f e c t ; j u s t one 
t i n e y c o r n e r o f the i c e r i n k . And when the boys 
would swoop p a s t me on t h e i r s k a t e s , I ' d slam my 
elbow i n t o t h e i r r i b s ; I l e a r n e d t h a t from watching 
them p l a y hockey; and t h e y ' d f a l l down and then get 
up and g l i d e t o t h e i r b u d d i e s ; and i t happened a g a i n 
and a g a i n , a h a l f dozen t i m e s , u n t i l they formed a 
gang and came sweeping down the i c e toward me, and 
I s t a r t e d jumping up and down, d o i n g i t m y s e l f , 
gouging and c h i p p i n g away w i t h the h e e l o f my 
s k a t e b l a d e , b e t t e r than any one o f them c o u l d have 
done. ( B e a t . ) I never understood why I d i d t h a t . 
I guess, I j u s t f e l t t h a t i f something p e r f e c t was 
g o i n g to be d e s t r o y e d , I ' d r a t h e r do i t m y s e l f . 
( B e a t . ) T h e r e ' s a power h e r e ; i n t h i s v a l l e y . 
Where e l s e c o u l d you see a b l a d e of g r a s s throw 
a shadow f i v e f e e t long? 

I d o n ' t know. 
LLOYD: 



74 

L I L Y : 
N e i t h e r do I . 

LLOYD: 
( B e a t . ) C'mon. I'm j u s t about ready f o r t h a t 
mudbath. 

L I L Y : 

Good. L e t ' s go, t h e n . 

She reaches up and g e n t l y c a r r e s s e s h i s f a c e . 
L I L Y : 

When i t gets d a r k , I ' l l show you how the sky 
t u r n s i n s i d e o u t . 

She puts her arms around him and they head f o r the d o o r . 

Fade o u t . 



75 

SCENE FOUR. 

D a n c e l a n d . 

Dusk. Sunday. 

Deep mauve l i g h t s p i l l s i n through the c u r t a i n s . G o l d 
l i g h t flows i n under the d o o r s . 

Rose i s wearing L i l y ' s d r e s s i n g gown. 

She i s e n t e r t a i n i n g M u r r a y . The two o f them are 
c o n v u l s e d w i t h l a u g h t e r . 

As t h e i r l a u g h t e r s u b s i d e s , Murray s p e a k s . . . 

MURRAY: 
Do i t a g a i n , Rose. 

ROSE: 
Nooooo, Daddy. 

MURRAY: 
R o s e . . . C'mon, be L i l y a g a i n . 

ROSE: 
No, Daddy. 

MURRAY: 
C'mon, Rose, you do her so good. ( B e a t . ) R o - o s e . 
( B e a t . ) Be L i l y a g a i n . 

ROSE: 
D o n ' t be monkeynuts, Daddy. I t ' s g e t t i n ' dark out 
an' p e o p l e ' 1 1 be c o m i n ' . 

MURRAY: 
P l e a s e . I ' l l watch the d o o r , Rose. P l e a s e . 

ROSE: 
I am too named a f t e r h e r . 

MURRAY: 
I know t h a t . J e e z . (He s i n g s s o f t l y . . . ) 
Weatherman, Weatherman... 

ROSE: 
( B e a t . ) A l r i g h t . But j u s t one more t i m e . 



76 

MURRAY: 
Okay. Then w e ' l l put her n i g h t i e t h i n g back i n 
her d r e s s i n g room. 

ROSE: 
( R e l u c t a n t . ) 

A l r i g h t . 

MURRAY: 
Good g i r l . 

He g i v e s her a k i s s . Then she s t a r t s to s i n g . 

ROSE: 
Weatherman 
Once the s k i e s were b l u e 
Now each d a y ' s c o l d and gray 
Won't you chase the c l o u d s away? 

Murray s i n g s a l o n g , l o s t i n h i s own f a n t a s y w o r l d . 

ROSE/MURRAY: 
I need my man 
Weatherman. 

Murray s t o p s s i n g i n g . Rose c o n t i n u e s . 

ROSE: 
The winds are b l o w i n ' 
I shake and s h i v e r 
My thoughts are g o i n ' 
Down t o the r i v e r . . . 

Murray l o o s e s a hideous growl and chases Rose, b o t h o f 
them screaming w i t h l a u g h t e r , through the d e s e r t e d 
d a n c e h a l l . 

He catches her from b e h i n d , h o i s t s her up i n t o the a i r 
above him, l a u g h i n g and g r o w l i n g . He s t r i p s the d r e s s i n g 
gown o f f her and then p r e t e n d s t o eat her a l i v e . 

They c o l l a p s e i n t o a jumble o f arms, l e g s , l a u g h t e r and 
t e a r s . E v e n t u a l l y they both calm down a b i t . 

ROSE: 
I l o v e y o u , Daddy. 

MURRAY: 
I l o v e y o u , t o o , Rose. 



77 

Pause. 

Then Rose t r i e s to p u l l the d r e s s i n g gown away from 
him. Murray grabs a t a t . I t r i p s . 

S i l e n c e . 

MURRAY: 
Oh, no. No. You r i p p e d i t . You r i p p e d her 
n i g h t i e t h i n g . 

Pause. 

MURRAY: 
Oh, s h e ' s gonna know. She's gonna t h i n k I r i p p e d 
i t . You see what you d i d ? 

ROSE: 
We c o u l d take i t away w i t h us and then s h e ' l l t h i n k 
somebody s t o l e i t . 

MURRAY: 
Oh, t h a t ' s b a d . T h a t ' s bad. T h a t ' s s t e a l i n ' . 
R e a l l y . D o n ' t you ever s t e a l . No. I'm gonna h a f t a 
say I r i p p e d i t . I'm gonna h a f t a l i e f o r y a , and 
t h e r e ' s a worse punishment f o r l y i n ' than t h e r e i s 
f o r s t e a l i n * . YOU SEE WHAT YOU DID?! 

Murray growls and lunges a t Rose. She c u r l s up i n a 
l i t t l e b a l l . 

ROSE: 
Mmmmooooomnimmmmeeeeeee! 

Murray stops dead i n h i s t r a c k s . He p i c k s up the 
d r e s s i n g gown and d i s a p p e a r s i n t o L i l y ' s d r e s s i n g room. 

S i l e n c e . 

ROSE: 
(Whimpers.) 

Mommy? Mommy? 

S i l e n c e . 
Rose l o o k s up. She i s a l o n e . 



78 

Daddy? ( B e a t . ) 
are you? 

ROSE: 
Daddy? ( B e a t . ) Daddy, where 

S i l e n c e . 

ROSE: 
Daddy, where are you? 

Pause. 

C mon, Daddy. I 
ROSE: 

know y o u ' r e t h e r e . 

S i l e n c e . 

ROSE: 
I d i d n ' t mean t o do i t , so come on o u t , Daddy. 
( B e a t . ) I'm g o i n ' home, Daddy. ( B e a t . ) Daddy, 
I'm g o i n ' home now. 

S i l e n c e . 

ROSE: 
( S h r i e k s . ) 

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadddddeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! 

She runs out o f the d a n c e h a l l . The doors slam shut 
behind h e r . 

S i l e n c e . 

Murray e n t e r s from the gloom of the d r e s s i n g room, s t i l l 
h o l d i n g L i l y ' s s i l k d r e s s i n g gown. He c a l l s a f t e r 
R o s e . . . 

S i l e n c e . 

ROSE: 
Daddy? 

MURRAY: 
S c a r e d y c a t ! 

S i l e n c e . 

Murray i s l o s t i n thought. 



79 

He runs h i s hand over the d r e s s i n g gown, e n j o y i n g t h e 
smooth f e e l o f the s i l k . Then he l i f t s i t t o h i s f a c e 
and i n h a l e s d e e p l y . 

MURRAY: 
Mmmmmm. So good. Perfume and t a l c u m powder and 
flower p e t a l s . 

He i n h a l e s i t s f r a g r a n c e a g a i n . 

MURRAY: 
So p r e t t y . A r e n ' t you the p r e t t y one? P r e t t i e r 
even than when I used to watch you up a t s c h o o l 
i n Watrous. 

He goes t o the window and peers o u t . Nobody's t h e r e . 
Then he c r o s s e s t o the door and q u i c k l y peeks out through 
the k e y h o l e . A g a i n , nobody's t h e r e . 

Murray undoes the b u t t o n s on h i s s h i r t and g e n t l y rubs 
the s i l k a c r o s s h i s c h e s t . E v e n t u a l l y , he takes h i s 
s h i r t r i g h t o f f and stops t o i n h a l e L i l y ' s s c e n t . 

MURRAY: 
Mmmmm. I can s m e l l y a . Y e s , I c a n . I can s m e l l 
y a . ( B e a t . ) Can you s m e l l me? Can y a s m e l l my 
sweat? Can ya? I can s m e l l y o u r s . Your not so 
c l e a n . Not so p r e t t y t h a t you d o n ' t sweat, t o o . 
Ya sweat j u s t l i k e me, d o n ' t c h a ? (Pause.) Does 
y e r husband l i k e the s m e l l of y e r sweat? I bet he 
d o e s n ' t . I bet he h a s n ' t s m e l l e d y a f e r a long 
t i m e . A l o n g , long t i m e . An' I bet ya miss i t . 
M i s s b e i n ' s n i f f e d an' l i c k e d the way I c o u l d s n i f f 
an' l i c k y a . Oh, y e s . Oh, y e s , you d o . ( B e a t . ) 
I'm gonna get ya from him. Y e s , I am. I'm gonna 
g e t you f o r my own. Even i f I h a f t a l i e f o r y a ; 
oh, yeah, I ' d l i e f o r y a . Y e s , I would. I ' d l i e 
t a make you my own. 

He k i c k s o f f h i s shoes, then undoes the b u t t o n s on h i s 
pants and pushes them down around h i s a n k l e s , a l l the 
time r u b b i n g the s i l k d r e s s i n g gown on h i s c h e s t , h i s 
stomach, h i s t h i g h s . 

He s t r a d d l e s the d r e s s i n g gown and then l i e s down on top 
o f i t , s l o w l y making l o v e t o an imaginary L i l y . 



80 

MURRAY: 
I l o v e y a , L i l y . Y e s , I do. I l o v e y a . An' ya 
want me. Yeah. Ya do. I know i t . Oh, y e a h , y a 
needed me so bad t h i s m o r n i n ' . I c o u l d f e e l ya 
p r e s s e d up a g a i n s t me, t h r o b b i n ' an' a c h i n ' j u s t 
l i k e me. An' I needed t a f i l l y a up, f i l l ya up 
a l l creamy, an' then f e e l myself r u n n i n ' s t i c k y 
back down o u t t a y a , on your t h i g h s an' on mine, 
an' know t h a t when we f i n i s h e d we'd got each o t h e r ' s 
shape s t o r e d up i n our bodies an' s o u l s , a n 1 we'd 
always become each o t h e r ' s shape, whenever we made 
l o v e , even to o t h e r p e o p l e , 'cause our l o v e would 
h o l d , as pure an' s t r o n g as s t e e l . I t was. I t was 
when I was s m e l l i n ' your h a i r , a n 1 f e e l i n ' your s k i n 
an' h e a r i n ' your b r e a t h i n ' so c l o s e t o the s u r f a c e 
t h a t I c o u l d t e l l what you were t h i n k i n ' . Oh, y e a h , 
I c o u l d hear your t h i n k i n ' through your b r e a t h i n ' . 
Y e s , I c o u l d . I c o u l d hear your t h i n k i n ' j u s t as 
l o u d as my own. 

A shadow passes over the window, s t a r t l i n g M u r r a y . 

MURRAY: 
S h i t . Oh, s h i t . S h i t . 

He f r a n t i c a l l y attempts to s i m u l t a n e o u s l y d i s e n t a n g l e 
h i m s e l f from the d r e s s i n g gown and p u l l h i s pants and 
s h i r t back o n . 

Having accomplished most o f t h i s , he now d o e s n ' t know 
what t o do w i t h the d r e s s i n g gown, so he j u s t chucks i t 
on the floor-. 

He t h i n k s b e t t e r o f t h i s , runs t o i t , p i c k s i t up and 
t o s s e s i t o f f i n t o L i l y ' s d r e s s i n g room. 

S i l e n c e . 

Somebody r a t t l e s the door from the o u t s i d e . 

MURRAY: 

Who's t h e r e ? Is t h a t y o u , honey? Is t h a t you? 

He goes t o the door and opens i t . 
MURRAY: 

Rose? Rose? Hon? 

S i l e n c e . 



81 

Murray p a n i c k s . 

He slams the door and b o l t s i t . 

S i l e n c e . 

MURRAY: 

D i l l i n g e r . S h i t . He's l o o k i n ' f o r a p l a c e t a h i d e . 

The door r a t t l e s a g a i n . 
Murray hunches down onto the f l o o r and begins t o crawl 
toward L i l y ' s d r e s s i n g room. 

He stops dead. 

MURRAY: 
S h i t . 

He inches back to h i s shoes, g a t h e r s them up and resumes 
h i s journey a c r o s s the f l o o r . 

MURRAY: 
H e ' s comin' i n . . . . h e ' s comin' i n . . . h e ' s comin' 
i n . . . Ooooooooh, s h i t , h e ' s comin' i n h e r e . . . 
h e ' s c o m i n ' . . . he 1 s c o m i n " . . . he ' s c o m i n " . . . 

A door opens and bangs shut a t the back o f the d a n c e h a l l . 

Murray crouches i n t o a t i g h t l i t t l e b a l l . H i s whimpering 
punctuates the s i l e n c e . 

A l i g h t goes on i n L i l y ' s d r e s s i n g room. 

S i l e n c e . 

Murray cowers on the f l o o r . 

The l i g h t goes o u t . 

The door at the back opens and bangs s h u t . 

S i l e n c e . 

In the d i s t a n c e , a couple o f l a r g e dogs b a r k . 

MURRAY: 
Jesus mercy, Jesus mercy, Jesus m e r c y . . . 



82 

Pause. 

He g e t s up and l o o k s o u t the window. 

Nobody t h e r e . 

He c a u t i o u s l y e x i t s i n t o L i l y ' s d r e s s i n g room. 

S i l e n c e . 

M o o n l i g h t streams i n through the window. The c u r t a i 
b i l l o w g e n t l y on the b r e e z e . 

MURRAY: 
( O f f . ) 

I t ' s gone. He took i t . 

S i l e n c e . 
Murray r e - e n t e r s . 

MURRAY: 
Why'd D i l l i n g e r wanna take her n i g h t i e t h i n g ? 
( B e a t . ) S h i t . I bet h e ' s gonna k i l l her f o r 
s c r e w i n ' around w i t h another guy; t h a t ' s what 
I ' d do. I ' l l bet h e ' s gonna k i l l her f o r 
s c r e w i n ' around w i t h . . . me. 

He g a t h e r s h i s courage and moves t o the d o o r . A s s u r e d 
t h a t nobody i s t h e r e , he takes a l a r g e b r e a t h and then i n 
one movement, u n l o c k s the door and d i v e s headlong i n t o 
the m o o n l i g h t . 

MURRAY: 

L l l l i i i i i i i i i i i i i i l l l l l l l l l l l e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e ! 

H i s v o i c e echoes a c r o s s the v a l l e y . 
The door at the back c r e a k s open and then bangs s h u t . 

Rose e n t e r s from the shadows, c a r r y i n g L i l y ' s d r e s s i n g 
gown. 

ROSE: 

S c a r e d y c a t . 

Fade o u t . 
(INTERMISSION.) 



83 

ACT TWO. SCENE ONE. 

The c a b i n . 

L a t e e v e n i n g . Sunday. 

T h e r e ' s a near empty b o t t l e of bourbon s i t t i n g on the 
k i t c h e n t a b l e . 

L l o y d i s i n h i s w h e e l c h a i r , h i s book o f p o e t r y on h i s 
l a p . 

LLOYD: 
( M u t t e r i n g . ) 

Sandburg, Sandburg, Sandburg. Where the h e l l i s 
Sandburg? 

He l e a f s through the book u n t i l he f i n d s Sandburg. 

LLOYD: 
Here i t i s , here i t i s . " L i m i t e d " . 

He l i f t s the b o t t l e o f f the t a b l e and takes a l o n g p u l l 
o f f i t . 

LLOYD: 
( P l e a s e d as h e l l . ) 

P o e t r y . J e s u s . N o t h i n ' l i k e a b i t o f p o e t r y f o r a 
l o n e l y o l d b a s t a r d who's had too much t o d r i n k . 

He takes another p u l l o f f the b o t t l e and commences to 
r e a d a l o u d t o h i m s e l f . He i s h a v i n g a w o n d e r f u l , maudlin 
t i m e . 

LLOYD: 
I am r i d i n g on a l i m i t e d e x p r e s s , one of the c r a c k 
t r a i n s of the n a t i o n . 
H u r t l i n g a c r o s s the p r a i r i e i n t o b l u e haze and dark 
a i r go f i f t e e n a l l - s t e e l coaches h o l d i n g a thousand 
p e o p l e . 
( A l l the coaches s h a l l be s c r a p and r u s t and a l l the 
men and women l a u g h i n g i n the d i n e r s and s l e e p e r s 
s h a l l pass to a s h e s . ) 
I ask a man i n the smoker where h e ' s g o i n g and he 
answers: "Omaha". 

Pause. 



84 

L l o y d wipes a t e a r o r two from h i s cheek, c l o s e s the book 
and takes another p u l l o f f the b o t t l e . Then he slams i t 
down onto the t a b l e . 

He wheels over t o the window and l o o k s out i n t o the 
n i g h t . 

A f t e r a moment, he l i f t s h i s face up to the moon and 
b e g i n s t o howl l i k e a l o n e l y w o l f , over and over u n t i l he 
s t a r t s t o l a u g h . 

H i s l a u g h t e r f i l l s the c a b i n b e f o r e i t b e g i n s t o f a l t e r 
and L l o y d s t a r t s t o sob. 

A f t e r a w h i l e , h i s sobbing s u b s i d e s and he becomes v e r y 
s t i l l . The moonlight flows i n through the window. 

Pause. 

Murray comes b u r s t i n g i n t o the c a b i n . 

MURRAY: 
L i l y i L i l y ! L l o y d ? ! H i d e ! H i d e ! H e ' s c o m i n ' ! 
H e ' s c o m i n ' ! 

LLOYD: 
Who's coming? 

MURRAY: 
D i l l i n g e r ! 

LLOYD: 
( A n g r y . ) 

Says who?! 

MURRAY: 
Me! Me. I seen him. I seen him m y s e l f . 

LLOYD: 
T h a t ' s what you t o l d me t h i s morning; d o n ' t l i e t o 
me. I hate l i a r s ! 

MURRAY: 
L l o y d ! L l o y d , ya g o t t a b e l i e v e me; I got no reason 
t o l i e t o you; I d o n ' t l i e ! I seen him. Seen him 
m y s e l f ; j u s t now; down a t D a n c e l a n d . . . I . . . I . . . 
I was down t h e r e p l a y i n ' w i t h R o s e . . . my daughter 
R o s e . . . an' we were p l a y i n ' h i d e an' seek an' games 
a n ' s t u f f an' then she got s c a r e d one time when I 



85 

MURRAY: 
( C o n t i n u e s . ) 

h i d too l o n g a n ' r u n home t a my Mom; a n ' t h a t ' s 
when I seen him. ( B e a t . ) Ohohohoh, I seen h i s 
shadow on the window, then I heard him r a t t l i n ' 
on the d o o r . 

LLOYD: 
A l r i g h t , M u r r a y , j u s t calm down. J u s t calm down, 
now. 

Pause. 

Murray takes a couple o f deep b r e a t h s ; then he swallows 
h a r d as he remembers why he came. 

MURRAY: 
Where's L i l y ? 

LLOYD: 
She's up i n town. She s a i d she had a band p r a c t i c e ; 
and she f o r g o t her makeup o r some damn t h i n g i n her 
o l d room a t The Hiawatha. 

MURRAY: 
But I checked The Hiawatha, s h e ' s not i n her room. 

LLOYD: 
( B e a t . ) I c o u l d use another d r i n k . 

MURRAY: 
Me, t o o , L l o y d . Me, t o o . 

LLOYD: 
T h e r e ' s a f r e s h b o t t l e of Bourbon and a couple o f 
shot g l a s s e s i n my boot; i n the k i t c h e n . 

Murray goes out t o p i c k up the s h o t g l a s s e s and the 
b o t t l e . 

LLOYD: 
( M u t t e r s . ) 

D i l l i n g e r . In a p i g ' s eye. 

Murray h i g h t a i l s i t back out o f the shadows, b o t t l e and 
s h o t g l a s s e s i n hand. 



86 

LLOYD: 
You d i d r i g h t t o come, M u r r a y . So you j u s t s i t 
y o u r s e l f down h e r e . We're going t o d r i n k some 
whiskey and y o u ' r e g o i n g t o t e l l me e x a c t l y what 
you saw. 

Murray s i t s . 

L l o y d pours him a shot o f whiskey and watches w h i l e he 
knocks i t b a c k . Then L l o y d pours him a n o t h e r . Murray 
knocks t h a t one back, t o o . 

L l o y d pours h i m s e l f a s h o t , downs i t , then pours out two 
more. 

LLOYD: 
Y o u ' r e a l r i g h t now. You d i d r i g h t t o come. ( B e a t . ) 
So t e l l me what you saw. 

MURRAY: 
I was down i n Danceland an' i t was g e t t i n ' d a r k . 
A n ' I seen him pass by the window. That American 
f e l l a . The one The Mounties been l o o k i n ' f o r , d i d 
the k i l l i n ' up i n B i e n f a i t l a s t week. The same one 
I seen t h i s mornin' , s n e e r i n ' a t me from the shadows 
i n . . . i n y e r w i f e , L i l y ' s , d r e s s i n ' room. I seen 
him around here a c o u p l a times b e f o r e , t o o . 

LLOYD: 
D i l l i n g e r ? 

MURRAY: 
D i l l i n g e r . 

LLOYD: 

( B e a t . ) John D i l l i n g e r . 

Pause. 
L l o y d i s undergoing a s t r a n g e t r a n s i t i o n . H i s v o i c e i s 
f i l l e d w i t h a c o l d , s t e e l y anger. He i s calm and 
f o c u s s e d ; he suddenly seems dead s o b e r . 

LLOYD: 
( C o l d . ) 

So you saw him through the window. 



87 

MURRAY: 
Then he t r i e d t a get i n through the d o o r , o n l y i t 
was l o c k e d 'cause I got s c a r e d myself a f t e r my 
l i t t l e g i r l run away. 

LLOYD: 
Is your l i t t l e g i r l a l r i g h t ? Is she safe? 

MURRAY: 
J e s u s . I d o n ' t know. I sure hope s o . J e s u s . 
J e s u s , I hope s o . 

LLOYD: 
A l r i g h t , a l r i g h t . I t ' s a l r i g h t , M u r r a y . She's 
p r o b a b l y safe a t home. 

MURRAY: 
She must be. Yeah. She must be, 'cause she was 
gone about t e n minutes b e f o r e I seen him l o o k i n ' 
i n a t me through the window. ( B e a t . ) Oh, God, 
I hope so. 

LLOYD: 
So, then what happened? How do you know f o r sure 
i t was D i l l i n g e r ? 

MURRAY: 
'Cause then he come i n through the back d o o r , an' 
went i n t a h e r . . . y e r w i f e , L i l y ' s . . . d r e s s i n ' room, 
an' t u r n e d on the l i g h t . 

LLOYD: 
D i d you see him then? D i d you get a look a t h i s 
face? 

MURRAY: 
Yeah. Yeah. He was w e a r i n ' a h a t . 

LLOYD: 
Was he t a l l o r s h o r t ? 

MURRAY: 
U n h . . . u n h . . . T a l l ! 

LLOYD: 
L i a r ! 

Murray reaches over and grabs L l o y d by the knee. 



88 

MURRAY: 

No! No! S h o r t ! 

L l o y d r e c o i l s from M u r r a y ' s g r a s p . 

LLOYD: 
D o n ' t ! D o n ' t t o u c h my l e g s ! 

MURRAY: 
S o r r y ! S o r r y ! 

LLOYD: 
Nobody touches my l e g s ! 

MURRAY: 
S o r r y ! 

LLOYD: 
J u s t be c a r e f u l , a l r i g h t ? ! 

MURRAY: 
A l r i g h t . 

LLOYD: 
A l r i g h t . 

MURRAY: 
S o r r y . 

LLOYD: 
Stop a p o l o g i z i n g ! 

MURRAY: 
I s a i d I was s o r r y ! 

LLOYD: 
And 1 s a i d , shut up! 

MURRAY: 

I am shut up! J e e z , y o u ' r e not my mom, you know 

L l o y d c r a c k s him a c r o s s the s k u l l . 

Pause. 
MURRAY: 

I'm r e a l s o r r y , L l o y d . I won't t o u c h you no mor< 
okay? 



89 

LLOYD: 
Never mind. ( B e a t . ) So then what d i d he do? 

MURRAY: 
H e . . . H e . . . He p i c k e d up her n i g h t i e t h i n g and, 
o h , God, L l o y d , he was so u g l y . H i s f a c e i s a l l 
s c a r s where they s t i t c h e d i t back on, and h e . . . 
h e . . . he was r u b b i n ' her n i g h t i e t h i n g on h i m s e l f . 
To g e t the s m e l l . L i k e a . . . l i k e a . . . l i k e an 
a n i m a l . S n i f f i n 1 i t a n 1 then r u b b i n ' i t on h i m s e l f . 

LLOYD: 
( Q u i e t . ) 

I'm g o i n g t o k i l l the b a s t a r d . 

Pause. 

MURRAY: 
I hope ya do k i l l him, L l o y d . I hope an' p r a y ya 
do k i l l him. H e ' s an a n i m a l . J u s t l i k e an a n i m a l . 
K i l l i n ' people an' s t e a l i n ' t h e i r money. A n ' what 
he done t a y e r w i f e . . . t a h e r . . . her n i g h t i e t h i n g . 
H e ' s . . . h e ' s j u s t l i k e an a n i m a l . 

LLOYD: 
(Very c o l d . ) 

Shut up and d r i n k your whiskey, M u r r a y . 

Murray does. 

Pause. 

LLOYD: 
Then what d i d he do? 

MURRAY: 
H e . . . H e . . . He t u r n e d out the l i g h t an' h e . . . an' 
h e . . . he l e f t ! ( B e a t . ) I seen i t a l l ; I seen h i s 
gun. I thought f e r sure he was comin' out here i n 
h i s c a r , t h a t white Chevy they say he d r i v e s ; the 
o n e ' s been parked out back o f The Hiawatha H o t e l 
a l l week; comin' out here t a k i l l her f o r l o c k i n ' 
o u t t a h i s h i d i n ' p l a c e . ( B e a t . ) Oh, God, L l o y d , 
I hope I'm wrong. 

LLOYD: 
D i d you see h i s c a r when you came in? The Chevy? 
D i d you? 



90 

MURRAY: 
No, L l o y d , I n e v e r . An* I sure was l o o k i n ' . 

LLOYD: 
You came out by b o a t , d i d n ' t you? 

MURRAY: 
Yeah, I . . . 

LLOYD: 
I f he was coming out by c a r h e ' d have got here 
b e f o r e y o u , w o u l d n ' t he? 

MURRAY: 
U n l e s s h e ' s h i d i n ' i n the bushes. 

LLOYD: 
No. He's n o t h i d i n g i n the bushes, M u r r a y . I know 
D i l l i n g e r . 

MURRAY: 
Ya do? 

LLOYD: 
I do. ( B e a t . ) H o t e l rooms, M u r r a y . He h i d e s i n 
h o t e l rooms. 

MURRAY: 
He does? 

LLOYD: 
He does. Which room d i d you check? 

MURRAY: 
U n h . . . top f l o o r . 

LLOYD: 
D i d you knock? 

MURRAY: 
Nope. I peeked i n through the k e y h o l e . 

LLOYD: 
Good move. Never knock on D i l l i n g e r ' s d o o r , the 
b a s t a r d ' s f a s t as a r a t t l e s n a k e . 

He i s ? 
MURRAY: 



91 

LLOYD: 
He i s . 

MURRAY: 
So, where i s he? 

LLOYD: 
H e ' s at The Hiawatha H o t e l , M u r r a y . 

MURRAY: 
But I checked The H i a w a t h a . . . 

LLOYD: 
You d i d n ' t check h a r d enough! ( B e a t . ) Nope. 
He's a t The Hiawatha H o t e l i n the view room on 
the top f l o o r a t the f r o n t w i t h my goddamned 
whore o f a w i f e . ( B e a t . ) S h e ' s gonna d i e , t o o . 

MURRAY: 
Oh, no, L l o y d . D o n ' t k i l l y e r w i f e . D o n ' t . 
J u s t d o n ' t , eh? 

LLOYD: 

I'm not gonna, M u r r a y . ( B e a t . ) You a r e . 

He wheels away from M u r r a y . 
MURRAY: 

Oh, no. No, no. No, no, no, no, n o . . . 

Pause. 

L l o y d motions f o r Murray t o come t o him. Murray does. 

L l o y d pours a couple b i g s l u g s of the rye i n t o t h e i r 
g l a s s e s , then t u c k s the b o t t l e i n t o the s i d e p o c k e t on 
h i s w h e e l c h a i r . 

LLOYD: 
Now you l i s t e n , and you l i s t e n good. I'm o n l y g o i n g 
to t e l l you t h i s once. You get i t wrong, y o u ' r e a 
dead man. You understand? 

MURRAY: 
(Nods.) 

S u r e , L l o y d . S u r e . Whatever you want. 



92 

LLOYD: 
Good. T h i s what we're gonna do. We're gonna take 
t h i s b o t t l e and get back i n your b o a t . We're gonna 
f i l l i t w i t h g a s o l i n e and s t u f f a r a g i n the t o p . 
Then we're gonna get o f f your boat a t the p i e r below 
Danceland, j u s t l i k e i t ' s a r e g u l a r n i g h t . Then I'm 
gonna h i d e out i n s i d e and y o u ' r e gonna go over t o 
The Hiawatha, l i g h t the r a g on f i r e and t o s s i t 
through the window on the top f l o o r a t the f r o n t 
where the s i n n e r s a r e s l e e p i n g . ( B e a t . ) H e l l f i r e , 
M u r r a y . Y o u ' r e gonna f l u s h 'em out w i t h H e l l f i r e . 
And then y o u ' r e gonna come back over t o Danceland 
t o h e l p me. Y o u ' r e gonna h e l p sad o l d Job t u r n h i s 
p a i n to j o y . We're gonna wait i n the shadows and 
ambush John D i l l i n g e r and h i s s c a r l e t whore o f 
B a b y l o n . 

Pause. 

MURRAY: 
So ya t h i n k t h e y ' l l come? 

LLOYD: 
Where e l s e are they gonna go? 

MURRAY: 
( B e a t . ) Okay. Okay, L l o y d . I ' l l do i t . 

LLOYD: 

Y o u ' r e a good man, Murray. 

L l o y d reaches down and g i v e s M u r r a y ' s s h o u l d e r a squeeze 
LLOYD: 

P r o d i g a l s always come home. ( B e a t . ) C h e e r s . 

MURRAY: 
C h e e r s . 

They c l i n k g l a s s e s and shoot back t h e i r d r i n k s . 

L l o y d hands Murray the o t h e r , empty b o t t l e o f Bourbon. 

Murray gets to h i s f e e t . He's n e r v o u s , but w i l l i n g . 

MURRAY: 
( B e a t . ) What i f y e r wrong, and h e ' s h i d i n ' on 
the boat? 



93 

LLOYD: 
Then w e ' l l know where he i s , won't we? H e r e . 
Wait a minute. I ' l l need you to wheel me up from 
the p i e r once we g e t t h e r e . 

L l o y d wheels over t o h i s c r u t c h e s , h o i s t s h i m s e l f up onto 
them and r o l l s the w h e e l c h a i r a c r o s s the f l o o r . The 
empty w h e e l c h a i r stops i n f r o n t o f Murray: he j u s t s t a r e s 

Pause. 

LLOYD: 
J u s t push i t f o r C h r i s t ' s sake. 

MURRAY: 
I know. I know. J e e z . 

Murray s t i c k s h i s hand i n h i s pocket and makes a mock 
gun, which he p o i n t s a t L l o y d . 

MURRAY: 
Bang, bang, y e r dead. 

LLOYD: 
For C h r i s t ' s sake, Murray, j u s t s t a r t the b o a t , I ' v e 
got you c o v e r e d . 

MURRAY: 
S u r e , L l o y d . S u r e . I was j u s t s c a r e d , t h a t ' s a l l . 

Murray pushes the w h e e l c h a i r out through the door and 
watches i t s slow p r o g r e s s through the d a r k n e s s . Then he 
b o l t s out a f t e r i t . 

L l o y d watches Murray go. Then he looks around the room. 
He hobbles over t o the darkened k i t c h e n , opens a drawer 
and p u l l s a p i s t o l o u t . He t u c k s i t i n t o h i s b e l t and 
heads f o r the d o o r . On h i s way o u t , he passes h i s 
c l a r i n e t . S t o p s . P i c k s i t up. 

LLOYD: 
B e t t e r not f o r g e t y o u . Who knows, I might even want 
t o p l a y a l i t t l e serenade. 

He hobbles out the d o o r , c l a r i n e t i n hand. 

Fade o u t . 



D a n c e l a n d . 

M i d n i g h t . Sunday. 

In b l a c k . . . 

A lonesome, b l u e s y c l a r i n e t w a i l s . A p e r f e c t r i f f . 
Smokey j a z z . The sound i s coming a c r o s s the water, from 
L l o y d , who i s a p p r o a c h i n g i n M u r r a y ' s b o a t . 

Fade i n . Rose, a l o n e i n the d a n c e h a l l . She i s a p p l y i n g 
l i b e r a l amounts of L i l y ' s white makeup t o her f a c e . 

She s t o p s , and s t a r t s to p r a y . 

ROSE: 
The L o r d i s my shepherd, I s h a l l not want. 
He l e a d e t h me b e s i d e the s t i l l waters 
He maketh me t o l i e down i n green p a s t u r e s . 

She s l o w l y l i e s down. Then s i t s back up a g a i n . 

She p u t s on some eyeshadow - her f a c e i s b e g i n n i n g t o 
look l i k e a Kabuki mask. 

ROSE: 
He maketh me t o l i e down i n green p a s t u r e s . 

She s l o w l y lowers h e r s e l f t o the ground a g a i n , then 
c o n t i n u e s the p r a y e r . 

ROSE: 
And Y e a , though I walk through the v a l l e y o f the 
shadow of d e a t h , I s h a l l f e a r no e v i l , f o r The 
L o r d i s my shepherd I s h a l l n o t want. No I 

She s i t s back up a g a i n , f r u s t r a t e d because she c a n ' t 
remember the r i g h t w o r d s . . . 

She adds a p a i r o f huge r e d l i p s t o her face mask. 

ROSE: 
Thy r o d and thy s t a f f , they comfort me? Y e s . 
They rod and thy s t a f f , they comfort me. 

She stands up and begins to s i n g i n a lewd, b l u e s y 
s t y l e . . . emulating L i l y ' s most p r o v o c a t i v e stage moves. 



95 

ROSE: 
Jesus l o v e s me, t h i s I know 
F o r The B i b l e t e l l s me so. 
L i t t l e ones to him b e l o n g , 
He i s w e a k . . . I am weak, but He i s s t r o n g . 
Y e s , Jesus l o v e s me 
Y e s , Jesus l o v e s me 
Y e s , Jesus l o v e s me. 
The B i b l e t o l d me s o . 

Rose f i n i s h e s the song, then resumes her p r a y e r s . 

ROSE: 
God b l e s s me. God l o v e me. B l e s s the l a k e and the 
f l o w e r s and a l l the l i t t l e a n i m a l s , t o o . And God? 
B l e s s a l l the l i t t l e s t a r v i n g b a b i e s . And, God? 
And, p l e a s e , God? I f I be good as an a n g e l , l e t 
my Mom come home from l i v i n 1 i n your bosom f o r e v e r 
and e v e r . Amen. 

Her mouth drops open j u s t as L l o y d , o f f i n the 
approaching b o a t , l e t s l o o s e another l o n g , mournful 
c l a r i n e t w a i l . 

Rose i s s u r p r i s e d , d e l i g h t e d . As i f the sound had come 
from h e r . 

ROSE: 
(Awestruck.) 

Gawd. 

She l i f t s her f a c t t o the sky and opens her mouth w i d e . 

The c l a r i n e t w a i l s a g a i n , h i g h and l o u d . 

ROSE: 
( S t a r t i n g t o s p i n . ) 

I'm an a n g e l . An animal a n g e l . I'm an a n g e l , 
I'm an a n g e l , I'm an a n g e l . 

The door a t the back o f the d a n c e h a l l creaks open and 
then bangs s h u t . 

Rose s t o p s dead. Then she scoops up the makeup and 
d i s a p p e a r s i n t o the shadows. 

L i l y e n t e r s from the d r e s s i n g room. 



96 

L I L Y : 
( M u t t e r s . ) 

M a k e u p . . . m a k e u p . . . where the h e l l d i d I l e a v e 
my makeup? 

She stops and takes a l o n g , deep b r e a t h . 

S i l e n c e . 

L I L Y : 
(Low.) 

C h r i s t i t ' s l o n e l y h e r e . ( B e a t . ) Where's o l d 
l o n g dong D i l l i n g e r when you r e a l l y need him? 

ROSE: 
(From the shadows.) 

H e ' s dead, M i s s . J u s t l i k e . . . 

L I L Y : 
J e s u s ! What a r e you d o i n g here? 

ROSE: 
N o t h i n * . 

L I L Y : 
(Sees Roses f a c e . ) 

You l i t t l e t h i e f . Y o u ' r e the one who took my 
makeup. 

ROSE: 
No. 

L I L Y : 
D o n ' t l i e t o me. 

ROSE: 
I'm n o t . ( B e a t . ) I'm b e i n ' a l o s t A s s i n i b o i n e 
P r i n c e s s , c r a w l i n ' toward the l a k e through the 
f e v e r y n i g h t . 

Rose gets down on the f l o o r t o demonstrate what t h a t 
might look l i k e . She c r a w l s t o L i l y and then s t o p s a t 
her f e e t . 

ROSE: 
Except f o r me, t h e r e ' s j u s t white people l i v i n ' here 
now. P r e s b y t e r i a n s . 



97 

L I L Y : 
Oh. Them. 

ROSE: 
( B e a t . ) I want t o be l i k e y o u . 

L I L Y : 
Oh. ( B e a t . ) No. No, you d o n ' t . 

ROSE: 
Y e s , I do. 

L I L Y : 
Whatever f o r ? 

ROSE: 

Because y o u ' r e l i k e an a n g e l . 

L i l y g e n t l y l i f t s Rose up o f f the f l o o r . 

L I L Y : 
So a r e y o u , sweetheart. So are y o u . 

ROSE: 
I know. T h a t ' s why I l i k e y o u . We're b o t h a n g e l s . 
Animal a n g e l s , c r y i n ' f o r the s t a r s a t n i g h t . 

L I L Y : 
Animal a n g e l s . R i g h t . Voodoo v i x e n s i s more l i k e 
i t . Now l e t ' s get you c l e a n e d up and send you home 
b e f o r e your D a d d y . . . 

ROSE: 

NO! 

She jumps back from L i l y . 

L I L Y : 
Rose? What's the matter? 

ROSE: 
I'm not g o i n ' . I'm s t a y i n ' here w i t h y o u . 

L I L Y : 
B u t , honey, i t ' s l a t e . . . 

ROSE: 
I'm an a n g e l ; we're both a n g e l s , an' I'm s t a y i n ' 
here w i t h y o u . 



98 

L I L Y : 
But people w i l l be worried, about y o u . 

ROSE: 
People s h o u l d be w o r r i e d about y o u . 

L I L Y : 
What are you t a l k i n g about? 

ROSE: 
Y o u ' r e a l l a l o n e , an' you s h o u l d n ' t be. ( B e a t . ) 
T h i n g s a r e c o m i n ' , I can hear 'em. 

L I L Y : 
What t h i n g s ? 

ROSE: 
O l d t h i n g s . From the l a k e . I can hear 'em howling 
l i k e a pack of coyotes p u l l i n ' down a deer i n a 
s n o w d r i f t . 

L I L Y : 
Now y o u ' r e b e i n g s i l l y ; y o u ' r e f r i g h t e n i n g me. 

ROSE: 
But y o u ' r e an a n g e l , t o o . C a n ' t you hear 'em? 

L I L Y : 
No, Rose, I c a n ' t . T h e r e ' s n o t h i n g t o h e a r ; now 
l e t ' s wipe o f f t h a t makeup and get you home b e f o r e 
your D a d d y . . . 

ROSE: 
NO! 

Rose crouches low and her mouth drops open. She i s 
having a s e i z u r e . 

L i l y watches as Rose s t r u g g l e s t o l e t her p a i n o u t . 

Then, from the depths o f Rose's b e l l y comes a c r y , low, 
sraokey, b l u e s y , almost l i k e a c l a r i n e t w a i l . 

Rose s u b s i d e s onto the f l o o r . 

L i l y goes t o Rose and takes her i n her arms. Rose i s 
s o b b i n g . 



99 

E v e n t u a l l y Rose becomes v e r y q u i e t and v e r y s t i l l , 
slumped i n L i l y ' s arms. 

Pause. 

ROSE: 
( Q u i e t . ) 

L i t t l e Manitou was made from angel t e a r s . T h a t ' s 
why the l a k e ' s so s a l t y ; i t ' s made from angel t e a r s 
j u s t l i k e mine. I t ' s a magic p l a c e , and nobody ever 
drowned here except f o r one b e a u t i f u l A s s i n i b o i n e 
P r i n c e s s who c o u l d hear the animal a n g e l c r y i n s i d e 
her so l o u d she had t o l e t i t o u t . And her husband 
heard i t and was so s c a r e d he beat her up t o make i t 
s t o p . And i t d i d . But then the P r i n c e s s was so 
l o n e l y t h a t she wanted t o d i e . Then one n i g h t she 
heard her animal angel a g a i n , f a r away i n the 
d i s t a n c e , j u s t l i k e a l o n e l y coyote c r y i n g f o r the 
s t a r s at n i g h t . But the angel was a f r a i d t o come 
c l o s e on account of i t d i d n ' t want the P r i n c e s s t o 
get beat up a g a i n . So the P r i n c e s s d e c i d e d t o run 
away t o be w i t h the angel a g a i n . And my Daddy s a i d 
the god i n the l a k e heard her f o o t s t e p s r u n n i n g 
a c r o s s the l a k e i c e , and he c o u l d n ' t s t a n d f o r her 
t o leave the v a l l e y and him be l e f t l i v i n ' a l l 
a l o n e , so he reached up through the i c e and p u l l e d 
her down t o l i v e i n h i s bosom f o r e v e r and ever at 
the bottom o f the l a k e . ( B e a t . ) D o n ' t leave me. 
Mama, d o n ' t l e a v e me. Mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, 
d o n ' t leave me. 

L i l y p u l l s Rose c l o s e i n t o her bosom. Rose begins t o 
calm down. 

L I L Y : 
I t ' s a l r i g h t . I won't leave y o u . I ' l l p r o t e c t y o u . 
I won't ever l e a v e y o u . 

ROSE: 
( H a r d . ) 

Y e s , you w i l l . And I ' l l f i n d you i n the s p r i n g t i m e , 
j u s t l i k e my Mommy. S t a r i n ' up a t me through the 
l a k e i c e , w i t h your hands a l l t a n g l e d up i n f i s h i n g 
l i n e . 

S i l e n c e . 

The doors t o Danceland explode open and L l o y d , i n h i s 
w h e e l c h a i r , comes c a r e e n i n g i n t o the s p a c e . 



100 

Rose b o l t s through the shadows, out the back door o f the 
d a n c e h a l l . The f r o n t and back doors squeak and bang shut 
s i m u l t a n e o u s l y . 

L I L Y : 
L l o y d ? ! 

L l o y d wheels around, s t a r t l e d . He p u l l s the gun on h e r . 

LLOYD: 
Where the h e l l i s he? 

L I L Y : 
Who, L l o y d ? Who? 

LLOYD: 
D i l l i n g e r . T h a t ' s who. 

L I L Y : 
L l o y d , put the gun down b e f o r e you h u r t y o u r s e l f . 
Nobody's h e r e . 

LLOYD: 
Then who the h e l l j u s t went s c u t t l i n g out the back 
l i k e a s h i t h o u s e r a t ? 

L I L Y : 
Nobody. Rose. ( B e a t . ) D i l l i n g e r ' s dead, L l o y d . 
I t o l d y o u . Some woman saw him coming out of a 
movie t h e a t r e . . . 

LLOYD: 
D o n ' t l i e t o me. 

L I L Y : 
. . . i n Chicago l a s t month. 

LLOYD: 
D o n ' t you l i e t o me. 

L I L Y : 
They s e t up an ambush and shot him down. 

LLOYD: 
D o n ' t you ever l i e t o me! 



101 

L I L Y : 
I'm not l y i n g . Why would I 
D i l l i n g e r ' s dead. Gone. B u r i e d . 
D o n ' t you even read the p a p e r s ? ! 

S i l e n c e . 

LLOYD: 
(Low. B r u t a l . ) 

Dance w i t h me. 

L I L Y : 
Y o u ' r e drunk, L l o y d ; i m a g i n i n g t h i n g s ; 
h a l l u c i n a t i n g . 

LLOYD: 
SHUT UP! Shut up, shut u p , shut u p , shut up, shut 
up! 

L l o y d draws h i m s e l f up onto h i s f e e t , a l l the time 
b r a n d i s h i n g the gun i n her d i r e c t i o n . 

He stands f o r a moment, unsure i f he can s u p p o r t h i m s e l f . 
Then he f i n d s h i s b a l a n c e and s l o w l y , w i t h g r e a t 
a s s u r a n c e , p o i n t s the gun a t L i l y ' s head. 

LLOYD: 
( C o l d . ) 

I s a i d , dance w i t h me. 

L i l y goes to him. He takes her i n h i s arms, the p i s t o l 
p o i n t e d t o the back of her neck. 

They dance i n s i l e n c e . 

LLOYD: 
What happened t o u s , L i l y ? 

L I L Y : 

I f e e l o l d when I s l e e p w i t h y o u . 

L l o y d crumples t o the f l o o r . 

S i l e n c e . 
Rose appears i n the doorway of L i l y ' s d r e s s i n g room. 

l i e ? ( B e a t . ) 
Kaput. 



102 

L I L Y : 
T h e r e ' s your John D i l l i n g e r , L l o y d . Are you 
s a t i s f i e d , now? 

LLOYD: 

Oh, C h r i s t . 

S i l e n c e . 
L I L Y : 

C'mon, Rose. We'd b e t t e r go. 

L i l y takes Rose by the hand and they head o u t . 

S i l e n c e . 
LLOYD: 

Oh, C h r i s t , L i l y , come b a c k . Come back, hey? Come 
back; L i l y , I l o v e y o u . Come back, hey? I l o v e 
y o u . I l o v e y o u , L i l y . Come back, hey? ( B e a t . ) 
Y o u ' r e the c r i p p l e . Y o u ' r e the emotional c r i p p l e , 
L i l y . 

He sees the b o t t l e of Bourbon s t i c k i n g out of the s i d e 
pocket o f h i s w h e e l c h a i r . He c r a w l s over t o i t and takes 
a couple of b i g s l u g s . 

LLOYD: 
I taught you how t o backphrase! I taught you how 
t o s e l l a tune! ( B e a t . ) B i t c h . You weren't so 
innocent when we f i r s t met. 

He takes a couple more p u l l s o f f the b o t t l e . 

LLOYD: 
Y o u ' r e the c r i p p l e , L i l y . Y o u ' r e the emotional 
c r i p p l e . ( B e a t . ) Come back, hey? Come back and 
l e t ' s make l o v e . ( B e a t . ) C a n ' t l o v e your man 
anymore. C a n ' t l o v e the man who l o v e s you because 
he c a n ' t l o v e you because h e ' s a f r a i d h i s bones 
might b r e a k . ( B e a t . ) But I c o u l d k i s s y o u . I 
c o u l d k i s s y o u , and h o l d y o u , and s t r o k e your h a i r . 
And i f you were r e a l g e n t l e we c o u l d make l o v e , and 
i n our heads i t would be j u s t the same as i t was 
b e f o r e . J u s t l i k e b e f o r e , when you l o v e d me. 

S i l e n c e . 

The door a t the back c r e a k s open. 



103 

Murray s i d l e s i n through the shadows. 

MURRAY: 

L l o y d ? 

S i l e n c e . 
MURRAY: 

I done i t , L l o y d . I t o r c h e d t h e . . . 

LLOYD: 
Go t o h e l l . 

MURRAY: 
B u t , L l o y d , I j u s t t o r c h e d t h e . . . 

LLOYD: 
Get out of h e r e ! 

MURRAY: 
What's wrong, L l o y d , s h o u l d we t a l k about i t ? 

LLOYD: 
I s a i d , get out o f h e r e ! 

MURRAY: 

Okay. A l r i g h t . J e e z , whatever ya say, L l o y d . 

Pause. 
MURRAY: 

A r e n ' t ya happy now, L l o y d ? I thought t o r c h i n ' 
The Hiawatha would make o l d Job happy. 

Pause. 

MURRAY: 
L l o y d ? 

LLOYD: 
( S n a r l s . ) 

What? 

MURRAY: 
L l o y d , I t h i n k ya s h o u l d k n o w . . . 

LLOYD: 
What? 



104 

MURRAY: 
F e r y e r own g o o d . . . 

LLOYD: 
WHAT?! 

MURRAY: 
W e l l . . . w e l l , people are t a l k i n ' , L l o y d . People 
a r e t a l k i n 1 . 

LLOYD: 
About what? 

MURRAY: 
About y o u , L l o y d . About y o u . 

LLOYD: 
Why would people be t a l k i n ' about me, Murray? 

MURRAY: 
I dunno, L l o y d , but I heard 'em. Heard 'em m y s e l f . 

LLOYD: 
T h a t ' s b u l l s h i t , M u r r a y , and you know i t . 

MURRAY: 
No. No, L l o y d . I t ' s not b u l l . I'm not l y i n ' . I 
was s t a n d i n ' t h e r e w a t c h i n ' the flames l i c k i n ' up 
the i n s i d e a the c u r t a i n s on the top f l o o r a t the 
f r o n t , where I t o s s e d the g a s o l i n e , when t h i s woman 
come u p , s a i d she heard g l a s s b r e a k i n ' , an' I s a i d , 
yeah, t h e r e ' s a f i r e g o i n ' o n . An' she s a y s , d i d 
anybody t e l l the people i n The Hiawatha o r c a l l the 
f i r e b r i g a d e , an' I says no, so she run o f f t a do i t 
h e r s e l f . She run o f f , an' I j u s t stood t h e r e 
s t a r i n ' a t the f l a m e s . I c o u l d n ' t look away. The 
Flames A H e l l , ya s a i d ; t h a t ' s where s i n s get 
p u r g e d . An' I j u s t kept s t a r i n ' a t 'em t h i n k i n ' , 
The Flames A H e l l , t h a t ' s what they must look l i k e 
when t h e y ' r e l i c k i n ' up t a r o a s t y a . Then the woman 
comes back an' s a y s , "what're you s t a r i n ' a t ? " , an' 
I j u s t s a i d , The Flames A H e l l . An' she s a y s , y e r 
f u l l a hooey, t h a t ' s j u s t an o r d i n a r y h o t e l f i r e , we 
got 'em around here a l l the t i m e . An' I s a y s , no, 
n o . Look. J u s t l o o k . Ya can see the D e v i l i n 
t h e r e , l a u g h i n ' i n the f l a m e s . He's j u s t l a u g h i n ' 
an' l a u g h i n ' . L a u g h i n ' a t L l o y d an' h i s w i f e , L i l y , 
but e s p e c i a l l y l a u g h i n ' a t L l o y d ' s w i f e , L i l y , f e r 
f a l l i n ' down from Grace by s l e e p i n ' i n t h e r e w i t h 



105 

MURRAY: 
( C o n t i n u e s . ) 

t h a t American f e l l a , D i l l i n g e r , d i d the k i l l i n ' up 
a t B i e n f a i t l a s t week. ( B e a t . ) So I t o l d her t h a t , 
a n 1 then I t u r n e d around an* h i g h t a i l e d i t back 
h e r e , j u s t l i k e y a s a i d t o . ( B e a t . ) Do y a t h i n k 
t h e y 1 re gonna come? 

LLOYD: 
J u s t l i k e the p r o d i g a l son? 

MURRAY: 
Yeah. Are we gonna k i l l 'em when they do? 

LLOYD: 
Yeah. T h a t ' s r i g h t . 

MURRAY: 
I t ' s a l r i g h t t a k i l l 'em, L l o y d . . . 

LLOYD: 
I know. 

MURRAY: 
I t ' s a l r i g h t t a k i l l 'em 'cause t h e i r s o u l s are 
a l r e a d y i n H e l l . 

LLOYD: 
T h a t ' s r i g h t , M u r r a y . 

L l o y d motions f o r Murray t o l e a n c l o s e . Murray does. 

L l o y d grabs Murray by the neck and s t a r t s t o s t r a n g l e 
him. 

Murray grabs L l o y d by the arms and p u l l s back, l i f t i n g 
L l o y d out of h i s w h e e l c h a i r . The men appear t o be 
d a n c i n g as they f i g h t . T h e i r motion s e t s the d a n c e h a l l ' s 
m i r r o r b a l l s p i n n i n g . 

LLOYD: 
You l i e d t o me, M u r r a y . You l i e d about L i l y . I 
hate l i a r s . . . You l i e d about D i l l i n g e r ; I hate 
l i a r s , I j u s t hate them! 

L l o y d i s out o f c o n t r o l . So i s M u r r a y . 



106 

LLOYD: MURRAY: 
You l i a r ! You l i a r ! L l o y d ! L l o y d ! Stop i t ! 
You l i e d t o me; you Stop i t ! Yer g o i n 1 c r a z y ! 
l i e d to me; d o n ' t Stop i t ! Yer h u r t i n ' me! 
ever l i e t o me; I Stop i t ! I'm y e r f r i e n d ! 
hate l i a r s . I j u s t Stop i t , L l o y d , I'm y e r 
hate 'em! f r i e n d ! 

Murray has L l o y d by the t h r o a t now, s t r a n g l i n g him. 

Murray takes h o l d o f L l o y d ' s head w i t h b o t h hands and 
g i v e s i t a sharp t w i s t . He breaks L l o y d ' s neck. L l o y d 
c o l l a p s e s onto M u r r a y . Murray s l o w l y lowers L l o y d t o the 
f l o o r . 

S i l e n c e . 

L l o y d l i e s v e r y s t i l l . 

Murray prods him w i t h h i s f o o t . 

MURRAY: 

L l o y d ? 

Pause. 
MURRAY: 

L l o y d ? 

Pause. 
MURRAY: 

Jesus C h r i s t , h e ' s dead. Oh, J e s u s , J e s u s , J e s u s . 
J e s u s , h e ' s dead, an' I k i l l e d him. ( B e a t . ) Oh, 
s h i t . Oh, God. I k i l l e d him. 

Murray b o l t s over t o the double doors and throws them 
open. He i s e n g u l f e d i n b l a c k n e s s . 

MURRAY: 
C h r i i i i i i i i i i i i i s t ! ( B e a t . ) Oh, C h r i s t , I k i l l e d 
him, an' what am I gonna do? 

Pause. 

Murray takes out h i s h a n d k e r c h i e f and begins t o wipe h i s 
f i n g e r p r i n t s o f f a n y t h i n g he might have t o u c h e d . 



107 

In the course of w i p i n g h i s p r i n t s o f f t h i n g s , he p i c k s 
up L l o y d ' s u n f i n i s h e d b o t t l e of Bourbon. 

Pause. 

MURRAY: 
W e . . . w e . . . we drank t h i s b o t t l e a l r e a d y t o n i g h t . 
I took i t away an' f i l l e d i t w i t h g a s o l i n e j u s t l i k e 
ya s a i d , L l o y d . What are ya d o i n ' , b r i n g i n ' i t back 
l i k e t h a t ? What a r e y a d o i n ' ? ( B e a t . ) Q u i t 
l o o k i n ' at me. Q u i t l o o k i n ' at me, L l o y d . I done 
what, ya s a i d , so you got no c a l l l o o k i n ' a t me. 
( B e a t . ) L l o y d ? L l o y d ? 

Murray goes over t o L l o y d and, once a g a i n , prods him w i t h 
h i s f o o t . 

L l o y d r o l l s o v e r . 

Murray screams and jumps away, as i f h e ' d j u s t stepped on 
a r a t t l e s n a k e . 

MURRAY: 
C h r i i i i i i i i i i i s s s s s t ! 

He stops on c o n t a c t w i t h the f l o o r on the o t h e r s i d e of 
the d a n c e h a l l . 

Pause. 

MURRAY: 
God l o v e s me. ( B e a t . ) Jesus l o v e s me. He l o v e s 
me, a n ' . . . an' He f e r g i v e s me f e r what I done, so 
you q u i t l o o k i n ' at me w i t h them D e v i l eyes, L l o y d . 
You q u i t l o o k i n ' a t me w i t h them D e v i l eyes. 

Pause. 

The f i r s t r a y s of dawn, g o l d and l a v e n d e r , b e g i n to creep 
i n through the window. 

Murray gets an i d e a . 

He s l o w l y and d e l i b e r a t e l y goes t o the w h e e l c h a i r and 
t i p s i t o v e r . 

Then he drags L l o y d ' s body over t o the w h e e l c h a i r , and 
s a v a g e l y smashes h i s head a g a i n s t the f l o o r a couple of 
t i m e s . Then he p l a c e s L l o y d ' s gun b e s i d e h i s c o r p s e . 



108 

MURRAY: 
I t was your i d e a t a t o r c h The Hiawatha, L l o y d . I t 
was your f a u l t . You were the one a c t i n ' vengeance, 
not me. I was j u s t d o i n ' as I was t o l d . I t was 
your i d e a , L l o y d , not mine. A n ' now y e r r e a p i n ' 
what ya sowed. 

Pause. 

MURRAY: 
Ya t r i c k e d me, L l o y d . Ya t r i c k e d me, but now y e r 
w i t h the D e v i l , where ya b e l o n g . ( B e a t . ) L y i n ' s 
b a d , L l o y d , an' you l i e d . I n e v e r . I j u s t d i d as 
I was t o l d . 

Murray p i c k s up the b o t t l e of Bourbon, uncorks i t , takes 
a b i g p u l l o f f i t , then empties the remainder over L l o y d . 

MURRAY: 
H e r e , L l o y d , have a d r i n k . Have a d r i n k , you l i a r . 

Murray takes a box o f wooden matches from h i s p o c k e t , 
s t r i k e s one and throws i t a t L l o y d . 

He r e c o i l s , e x p e c t i n g an e x p l o s i o n . 

The Bourbon f a i l s t o i g n i t e . 

Murray t r i e s a g a i n . 

Nothing happens. 

MURRAY: 
Oh, w e l l . Y o u ' l l be b u r n i n ' soon enough. 

He takes h i s hankie and wipes the b o t t l e , then wraps i t 
up and p u t s i t i n h i s j a c k e t p o c k e t . 

MURRAY: 
You made me take t h i s b o t t l e away once a l r e a d y 
t o n i g h t , L l o y d . So now I'm gonna take i t an' put 
i t back i n the H e l l f i r e a c r o s s t a The Hiawatha, 
s o ' s i t d o e s n ' t f o l l o w me around l i k e a t a i l f o r 
the D e v i l t a c a t c h h o l d o n . ( B e a t . ) He sure 
caught y o u r s , L l o y d . He sure caught y o u r s . 

The f r o n t doors swing open. Murray t u r n s q u i c k l y t o see 
who i s t h e r e . 



109 

L I L Y : 
( E n t e r i n g . ) 

L l o y d ] L l o y d ? The h o t e l ' s on f i r e . L l o y d ? 

Pause. 
She sees "the a c c i d e n t " . 

L I L Y : 
Oh, God. 

She goes t o L l o y d and t r i e s t o r e v i v e him. 

MURRAY: 
I . . . I . . . I was p a s s i n ' b y . . . u n h . . . u n h . . . p a s s i n ' 
by i n my boat an' I , an' I , an' I , I heard a s h o t . 

L i l y i s too concerned w i t h L l o y d t o pay Murray much 
a t t e n t i o n . 

MURRAY: 
T h e . . . t h e . . . the b u l l e t musta missed a n ' . . . a n ' . . . 
an' L l o y d musta f a l l e n a n ' . . . ( B e a t . ) I was j u s t 
d r i v i n ' by i n my b o a t , g o i n ' out swimmin', an' I 
heard a shot so I come i n . I thought y a mighta 
been i n t r o u b l e , o r L l o y d was, was d o i n ' somethin' 
c r a z y . . . y e a h . . . people heard the two o f yas 
h o l l e r i n ' a t each o t h e r a l l day; a n ' then I seen the 
f i r e an' got r e a l l y s c a r e d , an' then I seen him; 
seen t h a t D i l l i n g e r f e l l a take out h i s gun an' take 
a shot a t L l o y d . I musta s t a r t l e d him o r s o m e t h i n ' , 
'cause he took o f f o u t t a here l i k e a swallow o u t t a 
h i s n e s t , swoopin' an' d i v i n ' ; a n ' then I seen L l o y d 
f a l l . ( B e a t . ) I'm s o r r y , M i s s L i l y . I'm r e a l 
s o r r y . 

L I L Y : 
Q u i t l y i n g , M u r r a y . 

MURRAY: 
I ' m . . . I'm not l y i n ' , L i l y . I d o n ' t l i e . I . . . 
I heard i t . Seen i t . 

L i l y c a n ' t bear to look a t M u r r a y . 

L I L Y : 
Which way was he p o i n t i n g the gun, Murray? 



110 

MURRAY: 
U n h . . . u n h . . . towards L l o y d . ( B e a t . ) I never 
k i l l e d him, L i l y . I never k i l l e d nobody. ( B e a t . ) 
I t was an a c c i d e n t . I never meant t o do i t . 
( B e a t . ) They o n l y hang ya i f ya meant t a do i t , 
d o n ' t they? ( B e a t . ) I was j u s t comin' by i n my 
b o a t . . . comin' by t a t e l l L l o y d , f o r h i s own good, 
what people were s a y i n ' about h i m . . . an' he l o s t 
h i s temper an' s t a r t e d c h o k i n ' me, c a l l i n ' me a 
l i a r , an' I . . . an' I . . . I pushed him o f f a me an' 
he f e l l an' h i t h i s head, an' musta broke h i s neck. 
( B e a t . ) T h a t ' s not a murder, i s i t L i l y ? ( B e a t . ) 
Oh, J e s u s , I'm s c a r e d , L i l y . I'm s c a r e d . I never 
meant t a do i t . 

L I L Y : 
(Moans.) 

Y o u ' r e gonna hang, M u r r a y . 

MURRAY: 
I l o v e y a , L i l y . I d o . I always l o v e d y a . Even 
b e f o r e ya run away from here t a be a s i n g e r . 
( B e a t . ) Come away w i t h me. We c o u l d run away 
t o g e t h e r . You an' me an' Rose. 

L I L Y : 
Where we gonna go, Murray? Saskatoon? 

MURRAY: 
No, no. Mexico C i t y . J u s t l i k e a buncha o u t l a w s . 
O r , o r New Y o r k . Yeah. We c o u l d d r i v e t a New York 
C i t y . A n ' e v e r y t h i n g c l o s e up'11 be w h i z z i n ' by 
so f a s t i t ' s j u s t a b l u r , an' the sky an' c l o u d s ' 1 1 
be so b i g an' so f a r away t h e y ' l l look l i k e t h e y ' r e 
h a r d l y movin' a t a l l , a n ' w e ' l l f e e l r e a l s m a l l , 
l i k e t h r e e l i t t l e mice r u n n i n ' over a t u r t l e ' s back. 

L I L Y : 
S u r e , M u r r a y . L e t ' s get l o s t . 

She p i c k s L l o y d ' s gun o f f the f l o o r and p o i n t s i t a t 
M u r r a y . 

L I L Y : 
How does i t f e e l , Murray? How does i t f e e l t o know 
y o u ' v e k i l l e d a l i t t l e p i e c e o f Jesus? 

O f f s t a g e , i n the shadows, Rose s t a r t s t o s i n g "Jesus 
Loves Me". 



I l l 

Murray hears h e r . 

MURRAY: 

Rose?! I need a w i t n e s s ! A n g e l ! 

L i l y s t r u g g l e s to p u l l the t r i g g e r . 

Murray cowers on the f l o o r . 
L i l y c a n ' t do i t ; she l e t s the gun f a l l , u n f i r e d , i n t o 
her l a p . 

Pause. 

MURRAY: 
T e l l ya what. T e l l ya w h a t . . . I ' m . . . I ' m . . . 
I'm gonna go get the R . C . ' s . I'm gonna go get 
the R . C . M . P . up i n Watrous. T h e r e ' s been a 
k i l l i n ' h e r e , an' I'm gonna go an' get The 
M o u n t i e s . ( B e a t . ) Are ya comin'? I c o u l d 
say Rose an' me was g i v i n ' you a r i d e out here 
an' you were w i t h us the whole t i m e . ( B e a t . ) 
Are ya comin'? 

L I L Y : 
I ' d r a t h e r be s e t on f i r e . 

MURRAY: 
Okay. A l r i g h t . I t ' s your l i f e . Ya g o t t a make 
y e r own r o a d . 

L I L Y : 

Y o u ' r e goddamned r i g h t . 

Pause. 
MURRAY: 

I l o v e y o u , L i l y . ( B e a t . ) We'da made a good 
c o u p l e , j u s t l i k e Adam an' E v e . 

L I L Y : 

Gooooooooooo!!! 

Murray t u r n s and f l e e s the d a n c e h a l l . 

L i l y c r a d l e s L l o y d . 

A f t e r a moment, Rose e n t e r s from the shadows. 



112 

ROSE: 

H e ' s gone. ( B e a t . ) He took the b o a t . 

Pause. 
Rose moves to L i l y and. L l o y d . Then, w i t h her hands, she 
makes a slow c i r c l e over L l o y d ' s c o r p s e , g a t h e r i n g h i s 
s o u l i n t o the palm o f her hand, and then r e l e a s i n g i t 
heavenward l i k e so much d a n d e l i o n down. 

Then she crouches down t o L i l y . 

ROSE: 
I t ' s a l r i g h t . I t ' s a l r i g h t to c r y . ( B e a t . ) 
We're a n g e l s . 

L I L Y : 
T h a t ' s r i g h t . Animal a n g e l s , c r y i n g f o r the s t a r s 
a t n i g h t . 

L i l y ' s jaw drops open i s a s i l e n t scream o f a n g u i s h . 

A c l a r i n e t w a i l s , h i g h and l o u d , as i f i t i s emanating 
from the depths of her s o u l . 

Fade o u t . 



113 

CHAPTER THREE: 



114 

A PRODUCTION RECORD. 

1. The O l d Red L i o n . 

The London p r o d u c t i o n of Danceland came about, as 

independent p r o d u c t i o n s o f t e n do, through a combination 

of p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s and s e r e n d i p i t y . I gave a 

copy o f an e a r l y d r a f t of the p l a y t o my f r i e n d , DeNica 

F a i r m a n , i n the summer o f 1992. At the t i m e , DeNica 

had been working as an a c t o r w i t h The RSC f o r s e v e r a l 

y e a r s , and was f e e l i n g f r u s t r a t e d by the a r t i s t i c 

c o n s t r a i n t s o f working f o r a l a r g e , i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d 

t h e a t r e company. She read the p l a y , f e l l i n l o v e w i t h 

the c h a r a c t e r o f L i l y , and bought a one y e a r o p t i o n on 

the B r i t i s h performance r i g h t s . 

At the end o f t h a t y e a r , h a v i n g exhausted h e r s e l f 

p u r s u i n g commercial p r o d u c e r s , name d i r e c t o r s and s t a r 

a c t o r s i n v a r i o u s u n s u c c e s s f u l attempts t o "package" 

the p l a y , she t e l e p h o n e d me i n Vancouver w i t h the 

r a d i c a l p r o p o s a l t h a t we s h o u l d j u s t do i t o u r s e l v e s . 

On the f a c e of i t , s e l f - p r o d u c i n g i s a r e l a t i v e l y 

s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d c o n c e p t , but the r e a l i t y i s t h a t i t 

takes an i n o r d i n a t e amount of a r t i s t i c commitment and a 

h e a l t h y bank a c c o u n t . Commitment was a q u a l i t y we 



115 

s h a r e d ; f i n d i n g the money was a p r o b l e m . 

By the summer o f 1993, DeNica was a b l e t o r a i s e 

one thousand, seven hundred and f i f t y pounds from The 

Canadian High Commission i n London, f i v e hundred pounds 

from S i r Anthony H o p k i n s , t o whom she had o f f e r e d the 

p a r t o f L l o y d , f i v e hundred pounds from her f r i e n d , 

B r i a n Hughes, and another thousand pounds from a 

" f r i e n d " of the p r o d u c t i o n , whose name, I d i s c o v e r e d 

l a t e r , was Joan P l o w r i g h t . With t h i s much cash on 

hand, DeNica then remortgaged her house to f i n a n c e the 

r e s t o f the p r o d u c t i o n . 

She then c o n t a c t e d our mutual f r i e n d , the Glasgow 

born Canadian d i r e c t o r , Tom K e r r , and asked him t o 

d i r e c t the p l a y . A F e l l o w of T r i n i t y C o l l e g e , London, 

and t r a i n e d as a d i r e c t o r by Tyrone G u t h r i e , Tom 

brought a wealth of knowledge and e x p e r i e n c e to the 

f l e d g l i n g Red R i v e r P r o d u c t i o n s . He a l s o demanded, and 

g o t , a major r e w r i t e b e f o r e he agreed t o d i r e c t 

D a n c e l a n d . Over the next few months, DeNica and Tom 

o r g a n i z e d the company and managed t o l o c a t e and book a 

s u i t a b l e venue. 

The O l d Red L i o n T h e a t r e s e a t s s i x t y people i n 

t h r e e L-shaped rows a l o n g one s i d e and the end o f a 

twenty by t h i r t y f o o t b l a c k box. L o c a t e d above a pub, 



116 

two b l o c k s east of Angel tube s t a t i o n on the I s l i n g t o n 

H i g h Road, the stage i s a p p r o x i m a t e l y f o u r t e e n f e e t 

wide by twenty four f e e t l o n g ; a t h r u s t o f s o r t s , w i t h 

two doors g o i n g o f f s t a g e , one up c e n t r e and the o t h e r 

down l e f t . The c e i l i n g i s twelve f e e t h i g h , so the 

l i g h t s , a l l f o u r t e e n of them, have to be yoked up above 

the g r i d t o a t t a i n any k i n d o f p l a y a b l e atmosphere. My 

f i r s t r e a c t i o n upon s e e i n g the space was one of sheer 

p a n i c : i t was so s m a l l . A d m i t t e d l y , I wrote the p l a y 

w i t h a bare stage i n mind, but I had always imagined i t 

as a BIG bare s t a g e . 

The s e t and costume d e s i g n e r , L i s a R o b i n s o n , and the 

l i g h t i n g d e s i g n e r , L i z z P o u l t e r , are used t o working i n 

t i n y performance s p a c e s , and a t our f i r s t meeting t o 

view the t h e a t r e , they l a t c h e d f e r o c i o u s l y onto my 

d e s c r i p t i o n of the s e t as b e i n g " e v o c a t i v e , not 

r e p r e s e n t a t i v e " . I know what I meant by t h a t , but what 

d i d they mean by i t ? I t was a s o b e r i n g moment. 

2. Notes On The S c e n i c Treatment. 

L i s a , L i z z , the p l a y ' s d i r e c t o r , Tom K e r r , and I 

had a number o f t a l k s about a s c e n i c treatment f o r the 

p l a y , and we a l l agreed t h a t what i t needed was a k i n d 



117 

of s t r i p p e d down minimalism which i s not t h a t e a s i l y 

a c h i e v e d . E v e r y p i e c e had to be a b s o l u t e l y p r e c i s e , 

p a r t o f a c o h e s i v e , s t y l i s t i c whole. The o t h e r u n i t i n g 

p r i n c i p l e we agreed on was t h a t the s e t t i n g s needed t o 

a c t , p r i m a r i l y , as n e u t r a l p a l e t t e s and t h a t c o l o u r , 

when r e q u i r e d , s h o u l d be a c h i e v e d through 

l i g h t . Tom was anxious t o c r e a t e a dynamic flow o f 

movement through the space, and he, w i t h L i s a , d e c i d e d 

t h a t the b e s t way t o anchor the d e s i g n concept was t o 

r o o t i t i n the h a r s h r e a l i t i e s of the t h e a t r e ' s 

e x i s t i n g a r c h i t e c t u r e ; r a t h e r than b u i l d i n g w a l l s and 

d o o r s , they chose t o i n t e g r a t e the e x i s t i n g w a l l s and 

doors of the t h e a t r e i n t o the s e t . In f a c t , they 

d e c i d e d to c r e a t e an environment r a t h e r than a s e t . 

I had made some panoramic, 35mm shots i n 

Saskatchewan t h a t p a s t summer, mostly of e n d l e s s s k i e s 

and r o l l i n g w h e a t f i e l d s , and when I showed them t o L i s a 

she became e x c i t e d . She d e c i d e d to p a i n t t h r e e w a l l s 

o f the t h e a t r e as a p r a i r i e s k y , w i t h the doors p a i n t e d 

l i k e s k y , t o o . L i s a ' s image f o r the p l a y was t h a t 

p e o p l e would walk through the sky out onto a wooden 

dance f l o o r , as i f they were d a n c i n g i n the c l o u d s ; and 

a s e c t i o n o f the f l o o r would be h i n g e d , a l i t t l e above 

c e n t r e , and h o i s t e d up and down by means o f a p u l l e y , 



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t o form the back w a l l o f the c a b i n . L i s a ' s v i s i o n was, 

to my mind, d e f i n i t i v e . She found a van l o a d of o l d 

wood a t a c o n s t r u c t i o n s i t e , and used i t t o b u i l d the 

f l o o r . Then, o f f s t a g e , through the doors up c e n t r e and 

down l e f t , she b u i l t the i n t e r i o r s o f the back e n t r a n c e 

to the Danceland, and L i l y ' s d r e s s i n g room. She l e f t 

s m a l l s e c t i o n s out of the f l o o r t o c r e a t e a f l o a t i n g 

s e n s a t i o n . Then she p a i n t e d the exposed f l o o r i n a 

s h i n y , r e f l e c t i v e g r a y , and then L i z z bounced l i g h t o f f 

i t t o c r e a t e the e f f e c t o f water. Then she c l o s e d the 

doors and p a i n t e d her g i g a n t i c , t h r e e w a l l e d s k y . The 

o n l y p i e c e s of f u r n i t u r e were a coat r a c k which l i v e d 

a l t e r n a t e l y i n L i l y ' s d r e s s i n g room d u r i n g the 

Danceland scenes, and then was moved i n t o the c a b i n to 

f a c i l i t a t e L i l y ' s onstage changes o f c l o t h i n g : a l i t t l e 

t a b l e f o r L l o y d to put t h i n g s on, and a s m a l l s t o o l f o r 

Murray t o use i n the second a c t . A l l i n a l l , i t was 

s i m p l e , e l e g a n t and u n i f i e d , a b e a u t i f u l r e n d e r i n g of a 

t h e a t r i c a l i d e a ; t h r e e spaces i n one. 

3 . Notes on Sound. 

Sound i s an important element i n the p l a y , and 

Mark S c h o l f i e l d , the composer f o r the London 



119 

p r o d u c t i o n , i n i t i a l l y thought t h a t the p l a y should be 

s c o r e d l i k e a f i l m , but then he changed h i s mind. 

He d e c i d e d t h a t s o l o c l a r i n e t and s i l e n c e should be the 

c e n t r a l m o t i f s i n the s c o r e , and t h a t the s o l o c l a r i n e t 

r i f f s should always emanate, as r e a l i s t i c cues, from 

L l o y d . The "musical s i l e n c e " he was l o o k i n g f o r was 

much harder t o a c h i e v e . In the end, what he d e c i d e d t o 

do was t o f i l l the scene changes w i t h l o u d , v i n t a g e 

r e c o r d i n g s o f n o i s y D i x i e l a n d j a z z ; the c u t s he chose 

were from a r e c o r d i n g o f Duke E l l i n g t o n ' s sidemen, and 

t h i s c h o i c e o f music s e r v e d as a c o n t r a s t t o the p l a y ' s 

many s i l e n c e s , c r e a t i n g s o n i c shadows. The joyous 

n o i s e o f E l l i n g t o n ' s j a z z p r o v i d e d a r y t h m i c 

u n d e r p i n n i n g t o the flow o f the p l a y , as w e l l as 

emotional c o n t r a s t t o the scenes. The o n l y o t h e r 

r e c o r d e d cues were a s t e r e o pan o f M u r r a y ' s b o a t , b o t h 

l e a v i n g and approaching the space; and some v e r y f a i n t 

l o o n c a l l s . A l l o f the o t h e r sound e f f e c t s , except 

one, were performed l i v e by the a c t o r s ; the s o l e 

e x c e p t i o n b e i n g the b a r k i n g dog i n the f o u r t h scene, 

which was performed from the l i g h t i n g booth by the 

A s s i s t a n t Stage Manager, Rob Payne, who s t a r t e d d o i n g 

i t as a joke d u r i n g r e h e a r s a l s and ended up stuck w i t h 

i t . 



120 

4 . THE REHEARSAL PROCESS. 

Danceland i s a l o v e s t o r y , and I hope t h a t I have 

c o n s t r u c t e d i t i n a way which demands t h a t the a c t o r ' s 

words and a c t i o n s be p u l l e d p r o m i n e n t l y forward i n 

terms o f the d i r e c t o r i a l mix. With Tom's guidance on 

the f i n a l r e w r i t e s , I b a l a n c e d the through l i n e s o f the 

c h a r a c t e r s by p l a c i n g L i l y at the c e n t r e ; we chose to 

emphasize her as the p r o t a g o n i s t . She begins the p l a y 

and she ends i t . I t i s the s t o r y o f her r e l a t i o n s h i p 

w i t h L l o y d , not the s t o r y of her a f f a i r w i t h M u r r a y . 

The p a r t o f Murray i s i n f u s e d w i t h t h e a t r i c a l i t y , 

and i t i s tempting to l e t the a c t o r p l a y i n g him run 

rampant a c r o s s the s t o r y l i n e . Yet i f he i s not r e i g n e d 

i n , he t h r e a t e n s to overwhelm the b e l i e v a b i l i t y o f the 

a c t i o n . Tom's s o l u t i o n was t o t r e a t Murray as 

r e a l i s t i c a l l y as p o s s i b l e ; what makes Murray so 

dangerous i s t h a t he a c t u a l l y b e l i e v e s every word he 

s a y s , and he i s such a good l i a r t h a t he s h o u l d make 

everybody e l s e b e l i e v e him, t o o . 

L l o y d and Rose a c t as c a t a l y s t s t o the a c t i o n , but 

have v e r y independent d r a m a t i c l i v e s o f t h e i r own. 

They b o t h a c h i e v e t h e i r u l t i m a t e o b j e c t i v e s ; L l o y d ' s 

j e a l o u s y consumes him, and Rose's b e l i e f i n angels 



121 

f r e e s h e r . Murray i s d e s t r o y e d by h i s compulsive 

l y i n g , and L i l y i s changed i r r e v o c a b l y by the end o f 

the p l a y . She gets what she wants, t o o . Freedom. A 

p a i n f u l embrace from l i f e . 

The a c t i n g company assembled f o r the p r o d u c t i o n 

c o n s i s t e d of DeNica Fairman as L i l y , P e t e r M a r i n k e r as 

L l o y d , K e v i n Howarth as M u r r a y , and C a t h e r i n e Holman as 

Rose. Each o f them brought commitment, t a l e n t , and a 

u n i q u e l y i n d i v i d u a l s t y l e o f a c t i n g t o the p r o j e c t . 

Tom's c h a l l e n g e , as a d i r e c t o r , was to b l e n d t h e i r 

d i s t i n c t i v e e n e r g i e s i n t o a u n i f i e d performance s t y l e . 

The r e h e a r s a l arrangement between Tom and I was 

t h a t I was r e s p o n s i b l e f o r making any changes t o the 

t e x t which might be n e c e s s a r y to f a c i l i t a t e o r c l a r i f y 

the a c t i o n o f the p l a y , and t h a t he would do e v e r y t h i n g 

i n h i s power to stage the p l a y as I had w r i t t e n i t . He 

was determined t h a t the r e h e a r s a l p e r i o d should not 

d e t e r i o r a t e i n t o a workshop of the p l a y ; and he was 

a l s o determined t o g i v e the a c t o r s as b e l i e v a b l e a s e t 

of d r a m a t i c a c t i o n s as p o s s i b l e . What I d i s c o v e r e d 

through t h i s p r o c e s s i s t h a t "place", which had been my 

key i n the w r i t i n g p r o c e s s , can be an u t t e r l y 
j 

meaningless i d e a t o a c t o r s . What a c t o r s need, more 

than a n y t h i n g , i s to be a b l e to f o l l o w the d r a m a t i c 



122 

a c t i o n o f the s t o r y l i n e by e x p l o r i n g the r e l a t i o n s h i p s 

between the c h a r a c t e r s . "Place" i n p r o d u c t i o n e x i s t s 

i n d e s i g n , i n l i g h t , i n sound, i n e x p o s i t i o n a l 

d i a l o g u e ; i t cannot, by i t s e l f , d r i v e the n a r r a t i v e o f 

a p l a y , but the a c t o r s i n the London p r o d u c t i o n became 

so f a s c i n a t e d w i t h the i d e a t h a t t h e r e were times when 

I wished I had never thought o f i t . E v e n t u a l l y I 

brought i n s e v e r a l hand drawn maps o f the a r e a , 

o u t l i n i n g the l o c a t i o n o f every b u i l d i n g , every town, 

every r a i l l i n e and e v e r y c i t y between Denver and 

P r i n c e A l b e r t . One day, exasperated by t h e i r seemingly 

e n d l e s s q u e s t i o n i n g about Saskatchewan, I launched i n t o 

a long monologue about the type of f i s h which l i v e i n 

L i t t l e Manitou Lake ( b r i n e s h r i m p ) . T h i s put the 

"place" i s s u e p r e t t y much t o r e s t , a l t h o u g h on s e v e r a l 

o c c a s i o n s when r e h e a r s a l s were g e t t i n g t e n s e , one of 

the a c t o r s would i n e v i t a b l y ask, "Now, what about t h i s 

p i e r ? Where i s i t ? " 

We had f i v e weeks of r e h e a r s a l , and w h i l e the 

r e h e a r s a l p l a n o f t e n bumped up a g a i n s t the sometimes 

uncomfortable concept o f r e h e a r s a l r e a l i t y , Tom and I 

managed t o spend the f i r s t two days w i t h the a c t o r s 

r e a d i n g and d i s c u s s i n g the t e x t . He then wanted t o put 

the p l a y on i t s f e e t ; t o do a rough b l o c k so we c o u l d 



123 

have another look at the p l a y . We t r i e d t o e s t a b l i s h a 

p a t t e r n of r e h e a r s a l s i n which we would a l t e r n a t e our 

o b j e c t i v e s as w r i t e r and d i r e c t o r ( t o complete the 

f i n a l r e w r i t e and to get the p l a y s t a g e d ) . We 

d e l i b e r a t e l y c r e a t e d "overlaps" i n which I c o u l d get 

caught up on r e w r i t e s w h i l e he kept the p r o d u c t i o n as a 

whole moving f o r w a r d . The p a t t e r n t h a t emerged was: 

two days r e a d i n g and d i s c u s s i o n , t h r e e days rough 

b l o c k i n g ; f o l l o w e d by a day o f r e a d i n g and d i s c u s s i o n . 

The scenes we were not happy w i t h a t the o u t s e t of 

r e h e a r s a l s were the ones I t a c k l e d on the f i r s t 

weekend. I brought my new m a t e r i a l i n on the Monday, 

and we i n t e g r a t e d i t i n t o the p l a y . The second week 

was then spent p r i m a r i l y on e x p l o r a t o r y scene work and 

i m p r o v i s a t i o n s ; the t h i r d was spent p o l i s h i n g scenes 

and r e s t o r i n g l i n e t r i m s which had been r e q u e s t e d by 

the a c t o r s i n the f i r s t two weeks; the f o u r t h was spent 

working up t o a s e r i e s o f r u n s . The f i f t h week was 

taken up w i t h the a c t u a l move i n t o the t h e a t r e and 

t e c h n i c a l r e h e a r s a l s . I t was a l s o the week i n which I 

found a key flaw i n the p l a y ' s s t r u c t u r e . I had one 

n i g h t to f i x i t ; the crew had f o u r hours to r e - c u e the 

show. Tom and the a c t o r s had f o u r hours t o rehearse i t 

b e f o r e the f i r s t o f t h r e e p r e v i e w s . 



124 

I had been bothered f o r some time by the opening 

sequence o f the p l a y . As o r i g i n a l l y w r i t t e n , i t was a 

k i n d o f p o e t i c p r o l o g u e i n which Rose was alone on 

stage p r a y i n g . I t was a mysterious scene, and I knew I 

wanted t o c r e a t e a sense o f mystery a t the top o f the 

p l a y , but i n watching the runs of the p l a y i n the 

r e h e a r s a l h a l l I found i t c o n f u s i n g : i t had no c o n t e x t . 

I t was s i m p l y a t h e a t r i c a l g e s t u r e , i t was an e f f e c t , 

not a scene. The s o l u t i o n was t o i n t e g r a t e the 

p r o l o g u e i n t o the top o f the f i n a l scene of the p l a y 

and, i n t h i s way, g i v e i t a through l i n e o f d r a m a t i c 

a c t i o n . I c a l l e d Tom i n the middle o f the n i g h t to 

e x p l a i n t h i s t o him and was g r e e t e d by a long pause, 

f o l l o w e d by the words, "the crew i s g o i n g t o hate y o u , 

but y o u ' r e r i g h t . Do i t . J u s t d o n ' t t e l l anybody 

b e f o r e I get a chance to s e t i t up". E a r l y the next 

morning he got on the phone and worked a s m a l l m i r a c l e 

of d i r e c t o r i a l d i p l o m a c y ; I got to make my s t r u c t u r a l 

change. 

I b r i n g t h i s up as way of i l l u s t r a t i n g the s p e c i a l 

n a t u r e o f r e h e a r s i n g a new p l a y . I t i s v i r t u a l l y 

i m p o s s i b l e f o r me t o f i n i s h w r i t i n g a p l a y b e f o r e I g e t 

t o see i t i n "runs". For me, the r e h e a r s a l p r o c e s s i s 

an i n t e g r a l p a r t of my f i n a l w r i t i n g p r o c e s s ; I need t o 



125 

hear the words out l o u d , and I need t o see the a c t i o n s 

p l a y e d through i n sequence. I t i s o n l y t h e n , when the 

whole p l a y i s l i v i n g and b r e a t h i n g i n f r o n t o f me, t h a t 

I can f i n e tune s t r u c t u r a l elements. 

5. NOTES FOR FUTURE DIRECTORS. 

The r e h e a r s a l and f i n a l r e w r i t i n g p r o c e s s of 

Danceland was f i l l e d w i t h the j o y o f d i s c o v e r y . E v e r y 

day brought a new c h a l l e n g e ; on some days t h e r e were 

even some h i g h l y e n t e r t a i n i n g c r e a t i v e b r a w l s . In the 

end, however, I have come to b e l i e v e t h a t the f i n a l 

d r a f t o f the p l a y as w e l l as the London p r o d u c t i o n 

i t s e l f , were d e f i n i t i v e r e n d e r i n g s o f my p e r s o n a l 

c r e a t i v e v i s i o n . N e i t h e r p r o c e s s would have been 

complete had i t not been s y m b i o t i c a l l y connected t o the 

o t h e r . 

I o f f e r the f o l l o w i n g b r i e f notes on the major 

s t r u c t u r a l and c h a r a c t e r d i s c o v e r i e s which we made i n 

London, i n the hope t h a t c r i t i c s , d i r e c t o r s , a c t o r s and 

d e s i g n e r s o f f u t u r e p r o d u c t i o n s might b e t t e r understand 

my p e r s o n a l v i s i o n of the p l a y . 



126 

5a. L o c a t i n g The Spine Of The P l a y . 

The s p i n e o f the a c t i o n emerges b e s t when L i l y ' s 

c h a r a c t e r a r c i s p l a c e d i n the c e n t r e o f the d r a m a t i c 

c o n s t r u c t . The o t h e r c h a r a c t e r s ' a r c s flow o f f , 

through and around L i l y ' s , l i k e the framework of a 

g o t h i c b u i l d i n g , and the way f o r a d i r e c t o r t o keep 

t h i s s t r u c t u r e f l o w i n g i s t o keep i n mind the p r i m a r y 

o b j e c t i v e o f the o t h e r t h r e e c h a r a c t e r s - they a l l want 

the same t h i n g : L i l y . In t h e i r own way, each o f them 

wishes to possess h e r . She i s the p r i z e a t the end o f 

the game. She i s o b j e c t i f i e d by a l l t h r e e o f them, and 

t h a t i s why I have chosen to p l a c e her onstage, 

u n d r e s s i n g , at the top of the p l a y . Her beauty i s , i n 

a way, the c u r s e o f her l i f e . The e f f e c t o f the 

opening moment s h o u l d be i n t e n s e l y e r o t i c . Every eye 

i n the house, male o r female, s h o u l d be g l u e d to her 

f l e s h . The e r o t i c i s m o f the moment s h o u l d be f o l l o w e d 

by the r a p i d r e a l i z a t i o n t h a t something t e r r i b l y wrong 

i s about t o happen. 

The purpose of her i n i t i a l o b j e c t i f i c a t i o n by the 

o t h e r t h r e e c h a r a c t e r s i s t h a t i t s e t s up the e n d i n g , 

when L i l y i s f i n a l l y f r e e d . When, through the tragedy 

o f what has happened t o h e r , she becomes f u l l y human. 



127 

I f the a c t r e s s p l a y s the opening scene w i t h an i n t e n s e 

b e l i e f i n her p r i m a r y o b j e c t i v e (to get out of the 

c a b i n q u i c k l y , e a s i l y and without h a v i n g a q u a r r e l w i t h 

L l o y d ) , then the scene w i l l f l y . L l o y d , on the o t h e r 

hand, wants t o keep her t h e r e , and he i s b e i n g as 

c o o p e r a t i v e as a " r a t t l e s n a k e i n a s l e e p i n g bag". The 

s l i g h t e s t move c o u l d set him o f f , and L i l y knows i t . 

She i s not a f r a i d o f him, and she can g i v e as good as 

she can t a k e , but foremost i n her mind i s p u t t i n g L l o y d 

i n a good mood, and then g e t t i n g back to the excitement 

of her i n c r e a s i n g l y s e p a r a t e l i f e . She wants p e a c e f u l 

independence. 

The i n i t i a l i n c i d e n t o c c u r s w i t h i n the f i r s t s i x 

or seven minutes o f the p l a y , when L l o y d spots a l i t t l e 

b r u i s e on L i l y ' s h i p . He grabs her and demands an 

e x p l a n a t i o n . She has n o t h i n g t o h i d e , and brushes i t 

o f f as "a f l e a b i t e " , and i n d o i n g s o , u n w i t t i n g l y 

emasculates L l o y d . He f i g h t s back, "what's t h a t 

supposed t o mean". T h i s a c t i o n l e a d s the a u d i e n c e , 

through a k i n d of n a r r a t i v e f e i n t , d i r e c t l y i n t o the 

f i r s t key p i e c e o f b a c k s t o r y , L l o y d and L i l y ' s p e r s o n a l 

h i s t o r y w i t h John D i l l i n g e r . T h i s p i e c e o f e x p o s i t i o n 

must be b e l i e v e d by the audience i f the r e s t of the 

s t o r y i s t o work; the e x p o s i t i o n a l n a t u r e of the scene 



128 

needs t o be s i m u l t a n e o u s l y r o o t e d i n and d i s g u i s e d b y , 

r e a l i s t i c , b e l i e v a b l e a c t i o n , and s u r e f i r e changes o f 

t o n e , pace, tempo and o b j e c t i v e . I t i s a t r i c k y 

movement, and i t s t r i c k i n e s s i s compounded by the f a c t 

t h a t i t has two d i s t i n c t h a l v e s . The f i r s t , d r i v e n by 

L i l y , s h o u l d be l i k e a r o l l e r c o a s t e r r i d e ; the second, 

d r i v e n by Rose, i s more l a c o n i c i n t o n e . I t i s a 

chance f o r the audience to absorb more e x p o s i t i o n about 

the p l a c e i t s e l f , and t o e s t a b l i s h the sense o f the 

v a l l e y b e i n g an almost s u p e r n a t u r a l p l a c e . I t a l s o 

does something e l s e - i t g i v e s the audience a chance t o 

get to know L l o y d , to see h i s v u l n e r a b i l i t y , h i s 

innocence i n the presence of a c h i l d . T h i s i s L l o y d ' s 

f i r s t and b e s t chance t o get the audience to l i k e him; 

he i s i n c r e a s i n g l y p a r a n o i d a f t e r t h i s scene. The 

a c t o r p l a y i n g L l o y d needs t o be v e r y c h a r i s m a t i c , and 

i t does not h u r t i f , l i k e P e t e r M a r i n k e r i n the London 

p r o d u c t i o n , he i s a handsome o l d dog as w e l l . L l o y d 

may be a bent and broken man, but i t i s v i t a l t o see 

h i s v i r i l i t y t r a p p e d i n s i d e h i s e n f e e b l e d body; the 

r o o t o f h i s j e a l o u s y i s s e x u a l , and the a c t o r p l a y i n g 

him s h o u l d be endowed w i t h the l i b i d o o f a s a t y r . Sex 

i s n o t something you can a c t ; a c t o r s e i t h e r have the 

s e x u a l charisma o r they do n o t . 



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Murray makes h i s f i r s t "appearance", as i t were, 

o f f s t a g e . T h i s was a d e l i b e r a t e c h o i c e on my p a r t , as 

I wanted t o e s t a b l i s h , as b e l i e v a b l y as p o s s i b l e , both 

the r e a l i t y o f the o f f s t a g e w o r l d (the l a k e , the 

v a l l e y , the boat) and the mythic paradigm f o r the p l a y . 

Murray i s one o f the a r g o n a u t s , f o r e v e r f e r r y i n g 

passengers a c r o s s the R i v e r S t y x , a s s i s t i n g people on 

t h e i r j o u r n e y to H e l l . What i s M u r r a y ' s o b j e c t i v e i n 

the scene? To use Rose as a f o i l , so t h a t he can get 

c l o s e t o L i l y . My sense o f Murray i n t h i s scene 

r e v o l v e s around the image o f s p y i n g ; he i s most l i k e l y 

hidden away, j u s t o u t s i d e the c a b i n , l i s t e n i n g i n t e n t l y 

t o the e n t i r e scene i n e x a c t l y the same manner t h a t he 

and Rose spy on L i l y a t the top o f scene two. When 

L i l y s t a r t s t o leave the c a b i n , Murray pushes Rose 

i n s i d e , w i t h i n s t r u c t i o n s to o f f e r her a r i d e . T h i s 

i s why Rose i s so o f f b a l a n c e when she e n t e r s the 

scene: she has l i t e r a l l y been pushed i n t o the room by 

M u r r a y . 

Another t h i n g t h a t i s important f o r the a c t r e s s 

p l a y i n g Rose t o remember i s t h a t , no matter how s i c k 

her r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h Murray may be, she i s unaware o f 

i t s i n h e r e n t s i c k n e s s . I t i s a b s o l u t e l y e s s e n t i a l 

t h a t , a t the b e g i n n i n g of the p l a y , Rose loves M u r r a y , 



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and Murray l o v e s Rose; Rose becomes aware o f the danger 

Murray poses to her w h i l e she i s o f f s t a g e , s p y i n g on 

him d u r i n g the f i n a l d a n c e h a l l scene i n the f i r s t a c t . 

The a c t o r s must not pass moral judgements on the 

c h a r a c t e r s ; they must embrace the i d e a t h a t the two 

c h a r a c t e r s love each o t h e r , because the e x i s t e n c e of 

t h e i r l o v e g i v e s them a t r a g i c h e i g h t from which t o 

f a l l . 

L i l y ' s songs, e s p e c i a l l y the f i r s t two, can be 

p r o b l e m a t i c , and i n g r a p p l i n g w i t h them from b o t h a 

c o n c e p t u a l and a p r a g m a t i c , r e h e a r s a l p e r s p e c t i v e , what 

I have come t o understand i s t h a t L i l y s i n g s f o r the 

s i m p l e reason t h a t she loves s i n g i n g . Her mind i s 

brimming w i t h song l y r i c s ; she r e l a t e s her l i f e t o 

songs. T h i s came up a l o t i n r e h e a r s a l w i t h D e N i c a , 

who, a f t e r a l l , was the person who was g o i n g t o have t o 

s t a n d up i n f r o n t of an audience and s i n g them every 

n i g h t , and who wanted, r i g h t l y , t o know e x a c t l y WHY 

L i l y would s i n g i n the f i r s t p l a c e . I t was a d i f f i c u l t 

a c t i n g q u e s t i o n , and Tom wanted an answer, t o o . My 

i n i t i a l response to D e N i c a ' s q u e s t i o n was t h a t , 

i n w r i t i n g the p l a y I had always assumed t h a t L i l y i s a 

b e a u t i f u l s i n g e r , and t h a t when she s i n g s , she keeps 

s t i l l . While t h i s might be an adequate response t o 



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another w r i t e r , t o an a c t o r i t i s the k i n d o f response 

which makes no sense; i t i s not a r e a s o n , i t i s an 

e f f e c t and, t o D e N i c a , i t f e l t l i k e an a r b i t r a r y 

c h o i c e , an example o f a w r i t e r imposing h i s w i l l on a 

c h a r a c t e r . She r e s i s t e d p l a y i n g t h i s p a r t i c u l a r 

c h a r a c t e r t r a i t u n t i l I f i n a l l y c o n v i n c e d her t o "at 

l e a s t t r y i t " . When she d i d , she found an emotional 

s t i l l n e s s a t the h e a r t o f the c h a r a c t e r , and from t h a t 

sense o f s t i l l n e s s she was a b l e t o f i n d o t h e r moments 

of emotional repose w i t h i n the p l a y . 

Danceland i s v e r y dark i n t o n e , and i t s c e n t r a l 

a c t i o n i s r o o t e d i n the c h a r a c t e r s ' s t r u g g l e s f o r t h e i r 

v e r y s u r v i v a l . In o r d e r t o o f f s e t t h i s d a r k n e s s , I 

have g i v e n each of the f o u r c h a r a c t e r s "something 

e x t r a o r d i n a r y " t o do. L l o y d r e c i t e s p o e t r y , Rose 

b e l i e v e s i n a n g e l s , Murray i s , i n h i s own t w i s t e d way, 

an e r o t i c a l l y charged poet o f the l a n d , and L i l y i s an 

e x t r a o r d i n a r y s i n g e r . I t i s s i m p l y wrong, a 

m i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f the t e x t , i f an a c t r e s s assumes 

t h a t because L i l y l i v e s her l i f e on the t h i n edge o f 

v i o l e n c e and a d d i c t i o n , t h a t she moves around l i k e a 

r o c k s i n g e r and s i n g s w i t h a t h r o a t f u l l of g r a v e l . In 

my view, t h i s d e s t r o y s the n o t i o n o f her as a "great 

j a z z s i n g e r " , i t d i m i n i s h e s her s t a t u r e and, i n d o i n g 



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s o , d i m i n i s h e s the t r a g e d y o f her f a l l . Having her 

s i n g l i k e Grace S l i c k o r J a n i s J o p l i n a l s o d e s t r o y s the 

p e r i o d and s t y l e o f the p i e c e . I gave her songs t o 

s i n g because I wanted her to have moments o f 

t r a n s c e n d e n t beauty which p r o v i d e a s t a r k c o n t r a s t t o 

her amoral (but never immoral) l o v e f o r rough sex, 

a l c o h o l and d r u g s . To d i s r e g a r d the p i t c h and melody 

and i n t r i c a t e j a z z p h r a s i n g s of the songs on the lame 

p r e t e n s e t h a t she i s a "hard" woman, t u r n s L i l y i n t o a 

b a w l i n g f i s h w i f e o r a h a r l o t , and t h a t has never been 

my i n t e n t . L i l y i s a s i n g e r , an a r t i s t , and t h a t , by 

d e f i n i t i o n , i m p l i e s t h a t she i s adept a t a r t i f i c e . 

The o t h e r mistake an a c t r e s s can make w i t h the 

songs i s t o "turn them out" to the a u d i e n c e , t o t u r n 

them i n t o l i t t l e m i n i m u s i c a l t h e a t r e numbers. T h i s , 

t o o , would be a f a t a l m i s t a k e . She s i n g s when she 

s i n g s because, t o her mind, t h a t i s the b e s t , and most 

n a t u r a l , way f o r her to communicate - her s i n g i n g i s 

both a c h a r a c t e r t r a i t and a c o n t i n u a t i o n o f the 

d r a m a t i c a c t i o n o f the scenes. 



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5b. Some Thoughts On The P l a y ' s S t y l e . 

Scene two, L i l y and. M u r r a y ' s "seduction" scene, i s 

about twenty minutes l o n g , and i t i s v e r y t r e a c h e r o u s 

t e r r i t o r y f o r the a c t o r s . What we d i s c o v e r e d i n 

r e h e a r s a l was t h a t i t h e l p s t o t h i n k o f the scene as 

f o u r s e p a r a t e movements which b l e n d t o g e t h e r i n a 

l a r g e r sweep o f a c t i o n . I t moves from the s t i l l n e s s 

and p u r i t y of L i l y ' s song ( p r a y e r ) i n which she s i n g s , 

"I need my man, Weatherman", through the entrance of 

Rose and M u r r a y , t o R o s e ' s subsequent e x i t from the 

d a n c e h a l l . These two s e c t i o n s are p r i m a r i l y 

e x p o s i t i o n a l and, h o p e f u l l y , I have a c h i e v e d my own 

s tandards o f a r t i f i c e and b u r i e d the e x p o s i t i o n d e e p l y 

enough i n s i d e a s p e c i f i c s e t of a c t i o n s t o c a r r y the 

s t o r y f o r w a r d . I t h i n k the key t o making t h i s p a r t o f 

the scene work, m e t a p h o r i c a l l y s p e a k i n g , i s t o t h i n k of 

the e x p o s i t i o n as a s a i l , and the a c t i o n s o f the 

c h a r a c t e r s as the wind - i t i s the f r i c t i o n between 

them t h a t generates the energy which moves the boat o f 

the s t o r y f o r w a r d . 

The movement of the "seduction" scene, i s f r a u g h t 

w i t h s t y l i s t i c p e r i l . I t needs t o be an i n t e n s e l y 



134 

e r o t i c scene, but i t must never s i n k t o the l e v e l o f 

pornography. While i t i s a scene c o n c e i v e d i n 

c e l e b r a t i o n o f animal l u s t , i t more about e r o t i c 

p o s s i b i l i t i e s than e r o t i c i n e v i t a b l i t i e s . 

T h i s movement o f the scene b r i n g s up a l a r g e r , 

a e s t h e t i c q u e s t i o n , and i t i s one which the d i r e c t o r 

and a c t o r s of t h i s p l a y must d e a l w i t h , because i f the 

treatment o f e r o t i c i s m i s m i s h a n d l e d , the p r o d u c t i o n 

w i l l s t r a y from t r a g e d y t o b r u t a l i t y . The p l a y i s , 

f r a n k l y , meant to be e r o t i c , and i t r a i s e s many of the 

same e t h i c a l q u e s t i o n s as e r o t i c l i t e r a t u r e i n g e n e r a l . 

S p e c i f i c a l l y , how t o make something d e l i b e r a t l y e r o t i c 

without e x p l o i t i n g the c h a r a c t e r s , the a c t o r s or the 

a u d i e n c e . How does an a r t i s t demarcate the l i n e 

between e r o t i c a and pornography? I t i s a p r e s s i n g 

q u e s t i o n f o r modern w r i t e r s , and w h i l e some people 

m a i n t a i n t h a t i t s i m p l y cannot be done, I s t e a d f a s t l y 

m a i n t a i n t h a t the dogmatic foes of e r o t i c a are wrong. 

From a modern a c t o r ' s p o i n t o f view, i t i s 

d i f f i c u l t to s u s t a i n a b e l i e f i n the p r o l o n g e d f o r e p l a y 

o f the scene. A c t o r s , i n the p r o d u c t i o n s I have been 

a s s o c i a t e d w i t h , always want to touch too soon. And 

once the c h a r a c t e r s t o u c h , n o t h i n g , i s going t o keep 

those two c h a r a c t e r s from engaging i n f e r o c i o u s sex 



135 

r i g h t t h e r e on the dance f l o o r and i n p l a i n view o f 

anybody who c a r e s to i n t e r r u p t . Once they t o u c h , the 

scene i s o v e r . The p o i n t o f the scene i s s e d u c t i o n , 

not conquest. I t i s d i f f i c u l t f o r a r t i s t s of my age to 

imagine a time when the sexual act was bound up i n a 

p r o s c r i b e d r i t u a l of manners, c o u r t s h i p and s e d u c t i o n , 

but i f t h i s scene i s t o work, we must engage our 

i m a g i n a t i o n . 

The f i n a l movement of t h i s second scene i s a 

crescendo o f a c t i o n , a l l o f i t c o m p l i c a t e d by the f a c t 

t h a t f o r every a c t i o n t h e r e i s a w i t n e s s ; a s i t u a t i o n 

which demands, from the p o i n t o f view o f p e r s o n a l ego, 

i f n o t h i n g e l s e , a c o n t i n u i n g s t r u g g l e f o r the h i g h e s t 

c h a r a c t e r s t a t u s . The moment a w i t n e s s i s p r e s e n t , 

domestic s i t u a t i o n s which would be normal f o r Medea o r 

even June C l e a v e r , need t o be j u s t i f i e d i n o r d e r t h a t 

the witness not see us f o r what we r e a l l y a r e . 

C o n s i d e r the s i t u a t i o n o f a policeman who i n t e r v e n e s i n 

a domestic d i s p u t e ; the v i c t i m i n v a r i a b l y t u r n s v i o l e n t 

upon the i n t e r v e n o r , and t h i s i s the essence o f the 

f i n a l movement of the scene. 

The a c t o r s i n the London p r o d u c t i o n , unsure o f the 

s o c i a l g r a c e s o f South C e n t r a l Saskatchewan i n the mid 

1930's, would o c c a s i o n a l l y ask me "what would I f e e l 



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i n t h i s s i t u a t i o n ? " when they would have been b e t t e r 

a s k i n g , "what would the c h a r a c t e r do i n t h i s 

s i t u a t i o n ? " . I t i s i m p o s s i b l e t o know the answer t o 

t h a t f i r s t q u e s t i o n . What would any o f us f e e l i f we 

were suddenly t r a n s p o r t e d t o another t i m e , another 

p l a c e , i n which the customs of the day seemed v e r y 

f o r e i g n ? The second q u e s t i o n , "what would the 

c h a r a c t e r do?" can be r e a d i l y answered because i t can 

be r e l a t e d back t o the c o n c r e t e evidence which 

c o n t a i n e d i n the t e x t ; i t has a frame o f r e f e r e n c e . 

In my view, a c t i n g i s d o i n g , and t h a t , 

p a r a d o x i c a l l y , i n c l u d e s d o i n g n o t h i n g . A c t i n g i s about 

b e l i e v i n g i n the g i v e n c i r c u m s t a n c e s , i t i s about 

watching w i t h an u n p r e j u d i c e d eye, about a c t i v e 

l i s t e n i n g , and about responding t r u t h f u l l y w i t h i n the 

s t y l i s t i c c o n s t r a i n t s o f the p l a y as w e l l as i n the 

p s y c h o l o g i c a l r e a l i t i e s o f the c h a r a c t e r s . 

S t y l e , l i k e accent o r g e s t u r e , i s d e r i v e d from the 

s p e c i f i c c h a r a c t e r demands of l i v i n g i n s i d e c e r t a i n 

k i n d s o f c l o t h e s , c e r t a i n k i n d s o f environments and 

c e r t a i n s o c i a l v a l u e s , but s t y l e , f o r many younger 

a c t o r s , has become a p a s t i c h e of c l i c h e and g e s t u r e , 

r a t h e r than something which beats at the l i v i n g h e a r t 

of a c h a r a c t e r . T r y t o imagine Oscar Wilde without 



137 

s t y l e , t r y t o imagine Sarah Bernhardt or Noel Coward; 

t r y to imagine M a r l o n Brando as S t a n l e y Kowalski 

without c o n j u r i n g up a d e f i n i t i v e sense o f s t y l e . 

S t y l e , i n my view, i s an o r g a n i c component of the 

a c t o r ' s c r a f t , and t o a c t any o f the p a r t s i n Danceland 

r e q u i r e s a sense of s t y l e . The a c t o r s must r o o t t h e i r 

c h a r a c t e r s w i t h i n the parameters o f 1930's s o c i a l 

v a l u e s , and then express them t r u t h f u l l y w i t h i n the 

s t y l e d i c t a t e d by the s c r i p t which was d e s c r i b e d , 

a c c u r a t e l y , I t h i n k , by Hugh C r u t t w e l l , a former 

p r i n c i p a l o f R . A . D . A . and a champion o f the London 

p r o d u c t i o n , as " p o e t i c melodrama w i t h a p r i m i t i v e f e e l 

t o i t " . 

Hugh's use o f the word melodrama made me c r i n g e , 

but s i n c e he o f f e r e d h i s c r i t i q u e on the u n d e r s t a n d i n g 

t h a t the producer wanted a quote to h e l p her r a i s e 

money f o r the p r o d u c t i o n , I have t o conclude t h a t he 

wrote t h a t dreaded word, melodrama, a f t e r a good d e a l 

o f c o n s i d e r a t i o n . As Ibsen s a i d i n An Enemy o f The 

P e o p l e , the o n l y t h i n g we have i n t h i s l i f e i s our 

r e p u t a t i o n . O r , as my g r e a t f r i e n d and sometime 

c o l l a b o r a t o r , Cape B r e t o n p l a y w r i g h t Bryden Macdonald 

once put i t , "the o n l y t h i n g I own i s a bad r e p u t a t i o n , 

and somebody e l s e gave i t t o me". I s u s p e c t t h a t when 



138 

an a r t i s t of Hugh C r u t t w e l l ' s a b i l i t y p u t s pen t o paper 

a t the behest of a f r i e n d who i s p r o p o s i n g to produce 

and s t a r i n a new Canadian p l a y and hoping t o r a i s e 

money from h i s p r o f e s s i o n a l c o n t a c t s and acquaintances 

on the b a s i s o f h i s c o n s i d e r e d o p i n i o n about i t s 

p o t e n t i a l q u a l i t y , h i s i n s t i n c t would be t o cover h i s 

r i s k s and w r i t e an honest assessment o f the t e x t . 

Maybe I t h i n k too h i g h l y o f p e o p l e , but my honest 

r e a c t i o n t o Hugh's quote was t h a t he o b v i o u s l y meant 

i t , and I took i t t o h e a r t i n the f i n a l d r a f t . 

5c. F i n d i n g A R e a l i s t i c Root For The C h a r a c t e r s . 

The p l a y i s i n c o n s t a n t danger o f b o i l i n g o v e r , 

e s p e c i a l l y i f a d i r e c t o r l e t s the emotions o f the 

moment get overheated t o the d e t r i m e n t of the 

b e l i e v a b i l i t y o f d r a m a t i c a c t i o n . The p l a y burns h o t , 

e m o t i o n a l l y , but no matter how f a n t a s t i c the 

c h a r a c t e r ' s s i t u a t i o n s become, i t needs t o be 

c o n s t a n t l y grounded through the p r i s m o f b e l i e v a b l e 

a c t i o n and o b j e c t i v e . In s h o r t , i f i t gets o v e r h e a t e d , 

i t d e t e r i o r a t e s i n t o melodrama. These c h a r a c t e r s e x i s t 

i n s i d e a c l a u s t r o p h o b i c , almost m y t h i c a l w o r l d , and the 

reason they get so c r a z y i s t h a t they keep t r y i n g t o 



139 

make r a t i o n a l sense out o f the c o n s t a n t l y s h i f t i n g 

c o n t r u c t they form on the b a s i s o f t h e i r b e l i e f i n 

M u r r a y ' s l i e s . 

P o l i t i c s may be the a r t o f the p o s s i b l e , but my 

p l a y , i n my o p i n i o n , must occur w i t h i n the realm o f the 

p r o b a b l e , and t h a t i s the p l a y ' s p r i m a r y c h a l l e n g e to 

a c t o r s , d i r e c t o r s and d e s i g n e r s - t o make i t r e a l 

without t r a p p i n g i t i n s i d e the mundanities o f day t o 

day r e a l i t y ; t o be brave and a c t o u t , t r u t h f u l l y , the 

a c t i o n s o f a myth, the f a n t a s i e s of an unrepentant 

l i a r , an e x a g g e r a t o r , a t e l l e r o f t a l l t a l e s . 

In h i s d i r e c t o r i a l approach, Tom r e c o g n i z e d from 

the o u t s e t t h a t the p l a y , through i t s p o e t i c language, 

i t s s t r u c t u r a l antecedents and i t s m y t h i c a l paradigm, 

r e p r e s e n t s a k i n d o f heightened r e a l i t y . He a l s o 

r e c o g n i z e d , from the e a r l i e s t stages of h i s 

d r a m a t u r g i c a l work on the t e x t , t h a t the o n l y way an 

audience can g a i n access to the m y t h i c a l w o r l d of the 

p l a y i s i f the w r i t e r , d i r e c t o r and a c t o r s p r o v i d e a 

r e c o g n i z a b l e , r e a l i s t i c frame of r e f e r e n c e . 

L i k e the b e s t s u r r e a l i s t p a i n t i n g s , the p l a y had t o be 

r o o t e d i n everyday r e a l i t y and be d r i v e n by a p r e c i s e 

sense o f l o g i c . 



140 

For example, t h e r e i s a s h o r t d i a l o g u e s e c t i o n i n 

the t h i r d scene, L i l y and L l o y d ' s b i g f i g h t and 

r e c o n c i l i a t i o n scene, which makes a g l a n c i n g r e f e r e n c e 

to t h e i r emotional s t a t e . When L l o y d accuses L i l y o f 

having sex w i t h John D i l l i n g e r , she r e t o r t s t h a t they 

were "shooting c o c a i n e . Not s c r e w i n g " . I t ' s a b r i e f 

moment, but i t has consequences which were i n i t i a l l y 

missed by the a c t o r s (I guess t h i s was my f a u l t f o r n o t 

p a i n t i n g L l o y d and L i l y ' s a d d i c t i v e p e r s o n a l i t i e s more 

b r o a d l y ) . I t j u s t seems to me t h a t i f L i l y was 

s h o o t i n g c o c a i n e , a c t u a l l y u s i n g n e e d l e s , not more than 

n i n e months b e f o r e the s t a r t o f the p l a y , t h a t she, and 

i n a l l l i k e l i h o o d , L l o y d , were r e g u l a r u s e r s . I f they 

had c r o s s e d the b o r d e r i n t o Canada, t h e i r s u p p l y o f 

c o c a i n e would more than l i k e l y have been cut o f f , 

and even i f they managed t o s c r a p e t o g e t h e r enough time 

and money t o s c o r e b e f o r e they l e f t C h i c a g o , 

undoubtedly, two weeks i n t o t h e i r s t a y a t L i t t l e 

M a n i t o u , they have run out o f c o c a i n e . They are i n the 

t h r o e s o f k i c k i n g t h e i r a d d i c t i o n - not j u s t i n t h i s 

scene, but from the v e r y b e g i n n i n g o f the p l a y . I t i s 

not a p r e t t y thought, but i t goes a l o n g way toward 

e x p l a i n i n g the manic r i s e and f a l l o f t h e i r emotional 

s t a t e s i n the scene. When the dope runs out t h e r e i s 



141 

h e l l t o pay; i t i s always somebody e l s e ' s f a u l t t h a t 

the s i t u a t i o n , has become so d e s p e r a t e , and the l a s t 

t h i n g an a d d i c t w i l l admit i s t h a t he or she i s 

t e r r i f i e d of g o i n g i n t o w i t h d r a w a l ; "I'm not an a d d i c t . 

What are you t a l k i n g about? Of course I d o n ' t need 

another f i x " , i s the s t a n d a r d speech when, of c o u r s e , 

t h a t i s e x a c t l y what an a d d i c t needs. D e n i a l i s a 

c e n t r a l p a r t o f a d d i c t i o n , and t h a t i s why the 

c h a r a c t e r s i n the p l a y never acknowledge t h a t they are 

j u n k i e s , even though, i n t h e i r d r a m a t i c r e a l i t y , t h a t 

i s what they a r e . In the s t r a t o s p h e r e o f j u n k i e s , 

a l c o h o l i c s l i v e a t the bottom; t h e y take an i n f e r i o r 

d r u g , and t h a t i s why, i n her d e s p e r a t i o n , L i l y accuses 

L l o y d o f r e l y i n g too h e a v i l y on the b o t t l e . She does 

not a c t u a l l y c a r e t h a t he i s an a l c o h o l i c , f o r she i s 

an a l c o h o l i c h e r s e l f ; her admonishment t o L l o y d about 

h i s a l c o h o l i s m i s a c r y f o r h e l p as much as i t i s a 

moral judgement. 

L i l y i s d e a l i n g w i t h her e n f o r c e d detox p e r i o d 

b e t t e r than L l o y d f o r the simple reason t h a t she has 

something m e a n i n g f u l , the band and the d a n c e h a l l , w i t h 

which t o occupy her t i m e . But i n the end, t h e r e i s 

n o t h i n g L i l y can do to calm the c h e m i c a l i n f e r n o t h a t 

i s r a g i n g through L l o y d ' s body, except t o t e l l a s t o r y 



142 

about w i n t e r , a s t o r y about the b i t t e r c o l d , a s t o r y 

about the e x t r a o r d i n a r y beauty of the landscape; a 

s t o r y t o l d i n d e f i a n c e o f the unbearable heat o f the 

day; a f a n t a s t i c s t o r y , almost a l l t r u e , which calms 

the f i r e i n h i s nerve e n d i n g s . She subdues L l o y d w i t h 

a b a r r a g e of language, the s t o r y o f the n i g h t the l o c a l 

boys s e t the i c e o f the l a k e on f i r e . By the end of 

the scene, L i l y and L l o y d have a c h i e v e d peace t o g e t h e r 

f o r the f i r s t time i n the p l a y . 

The f i r s t a c t ends w i t h Rose and M u r r a y , p l a y i n g 

t o g e t h e r i n the d a n c e h a l l . Murray has brought Rose 

t h e r e t o make up w i t h h e r , a f t e r t h e i r t e r r i b l e 

encounter e a r l i e r i n the a c t . That i s why he has 

d r e s s e d her up i n L i l y ' s c l o t h e s , and why he i s 

encouraging her t o make fun o f L i l y . Murray i s l i k e a 

c h i l d i n t h i s r e g a r d ; he i s j e a l o u s o f Rose's 

a t t r a c t i o n t o L i l y . I t i s my b e l i e f t h a t the s e x u a l 

t e n s i o n which a r i s e s between Murray and Rose i n the 

course o f the scene i s a new e x p e r i e n c e f o r both o f 

them. I do not b e l i e v e t h a t Murray makes a h a b i t o f 

s e x u a l l y abusing h i s daughter. I t i s j u s t t h a t i n t h i s 

one i n s t a n c e , t h e i r p h y s i c a l c o n t a c t , c o u p l e d w i t h the 

smooth f e e l o f L i l y ' s s i l k d r e s s i n g gown and h i s sudden 

awareness o f Rose's budding s e x u a l i t y , arouses him. 



143 

T h i s d i s g u s t s him, and t h a t i s why he r e a c t s so 

v i o l e n t l y when Rose a c c i d e n t a l l y t e a r s the d r e s s i n g 

gown. He d r i v e s her from the d a n c e h a l l because he 

f i n d s h i m s e l f i n a s t a t e o f such a r o u s a l t h a t he i s 

a f r a i d he w i l l be unable t o c o n t r o l h i m s e l f . I t i s 

a l s o important f o r the a c t o r p l a y i n g Murray t o remember 

t h a t Murray has p r o b a b l y not had sex s i n c e the n i g h t he 

murdered h i s w i f e , f i v e o r s i x y e a r s ago; t h a t h i s 

s e x u a l i t y i s bound up w i t h a profound sense o f g u i l t ; 

and t h a t h i s sense o f g u i l t has been g r e a t l y i n f l u e n c e d 

by the h a r s h P r o t e s t a n t morals o f the community. H i s 

f e t i s h i s m , t h e n , i s a d i r e c t r e s u l t o f y e a r s o f s e x u a l 

r e p r e s s i o n . 

The d i r e c t o r i a l and d r a m a t u r g i c a l key t o the 

scene, as Tom K e r r so a d r o i t l y d i s c o v e r e d i n the London 

p r o d u c t i o n , i s t h a t Rose, o f f s t a g e , i s watching Murray 

masturbate - t h i s t e r r i f i e s her because she sees, f o r 

the f i r s t t i m e , what he might have done t o h e r . So, 

even though Rose l e a v e s the s t a g e , i t i s a b s o l u t e l y 

e s s e n t i a l to "stage", as Tom d i d , her o f f s t a g e a c t i o n s . 

E v e r y knock a t the d o o r , every shadow t h a t c r o s s e s a 

window, i s c r e a t e d by Rose and s u b s e q u e n t l y 

m i s i n t e r p r e t e d by M u r r a y . By the time Rose r e - e n t e r s , 

a t the end of the scene, f o r her "Scardeycat" l i n e , she 



144 

has d e c i d e d two t h i n g s : she hates M u r r a y , and she i s 

never g o i n g to l e t him touch her a g a i n . 

The s t r u c t u r a l antecedents to the scene, slamming 

d o o r s , a c c e l e r a t i n g a c t i o n and the d i s s o l u t i o n of 

i d e n t i t y are pure f a r c e , a l t h o u g h the i n t e n t remains 

t r a g i c , and t h i s f a r c i c a l s u b - s t r u c t u r e comes t o the 

f o r e i n the opening scene o f the second a c t , when 

Murray and L l o y d a r e p l o t t i n g revenge out a t L l o y d ' s 

c a b i n . As a d r a m a t i c gambit, the t e c h n i q u e o f t w i s t i n g 

an e s s e n t i a l l y t r a g i c s t o r y through some j u d i c i o u s 

t h e f t s from Feydeau, has some b u i l t - i n dangers, not the 

l e a s t o f which i s t h a t i f the p h y s i c a l comedy gets too 

f a r out o f hand, i t becomes i m p o s s i b l e f o r L l o y d t o 

b e l i e v e M u r r a y ' s e v i l s t o r y about John D i l l i n g e r 

m a s t u r b a t i n g w i t h L i l y ' s d r e s s i n g gown. L l o y d ' s b e i n g 

c o n v i n c e d by M u r r a y ' s " i n c o n t r o v e r t i b l e evidence" o f 

L i l y ' s m i s s i n g d r e s s i n g gown i s as p i v o t a l t o the p l o t 

of Danceland as Iago's m a s t e r f u l d e c e i t w i t h 

Desdemona's h a n d k e r c h i e f i s t o O t h e l l o . 

The f i n a l scene o f the p l a y i s a l s o the l o n g e s t , 

c l o c k i n g i n at about t h i r t y minutes and, l i k e the long 

scene e a r l y i n a c t one, i s b e s t handled by t h i n k i n g of 

i t as a s e r i e s of movements w i t h i n an o r c h e s t r a l whole. 

The f i r s t two movements (Rose alone and then Rose w i t h 



145 

L i l y ) l e a d t o Rose's r e l e a s e o f her l o n g suppressed 

memories o f the n i g h t Murray murdered her mother. I 

b e l i e v e t h a t Rose witnessed the murder and t h a t M u r r a y , 

s u s p e c t i n g t h i s , has t u r n e d the i n c i d e n t i n t o a k i n d o f 

m y t h i c a l event which he o f t e n t e l l s h e r , as a k i n d of 

macabre bedtime s t o r y . And i t i s h i s r e p e a t e d t e l l i n g 

o f the s t o r y t o Rose which has convi nced her t h a t some 

k i n d o f fearsome, p r i m i t i v e god l i v e s a t the bottom o f 

the l a k e . Rose i s not possessed o f s u p e r n a t u r a l 

powers, a l t h o u g h , over the y e a r s , she has come to 

b e l i e v e t h a t she has them. Her long " c l a r i n e t w a i l " i s 

an a c t u a l c r y from her h e a r t , a v o c a l i z e d response to 

the p a i n f u l u n l o c k i n g o f a t e r r i f y i n g c h i l d h o o d memory. 

T h i s i s the f i n a l b i t o f e x p o s i t i o n i n the p l a y , and 

a f t e r t h i s , the a c t i o n should be s p u r r e d forward w i t h a 

mounting rhythm t o the p l a y ' s c l i m a x , which i s L l o y d ' s 

d i s c o v e r y t h a t he has been duped by Murray and h i s 

r e a l i z a t i o n t h a t Murray has caused him t o d e s t r o y the 

l a s t hopes f o r h i s m a r r i a g e . 

The murder o f L l o y d i s extremely t h e a t r i c a l , and 

L i z z P o u l t e r , the l i g h t i n g d e s i g n e r i n the London 

p r o d u c t i o n , used t h i s o p p o r t u n i t y f o r the show's f i r s t 

n o n - r e a l i s t i c cue: she faded i n the l i g h t from a 

s p i n n i n g m i r r o r b a l l as the men began t h e i r dance of 



146 

d e a t h , and then faded i t back out as Murray r e a l i z e s 

what he has j u s t done. T h i s moment, however, f o r a l l 

i t s i n n a t e t h e a t r i c a l i t y i s the a n t i - c l i m a x o f the 

p l a y , and Tom's d i r e c t i o n s t r e s s e d t h i s f a c t . A g a i n , 

Murray i s such a powerful presence i n the p l a y t h a t he 

can unbalance the a r c o f the s t o r y , and p u l l i t o f f -

c e n t r e , away from the t r a g e d y o f L i l y and L l o y d ' s 

doomed r e l a t i o n s h i p . The key t o keeping the p l a y on 

t r a c k here i s t o u n d e r p l a y M u r r a y ' s c r a z i n e s s i n t h i s 

scene. The a c t o r ' s o b j e c t i v e s h o u l d be "to s t a y calm" 

i n the face o f i m p o s s i b l e p r e s s u r e s . 

Another key to the s u c c e s s f u l s t a g i n g o f the scene 

i s t o p l a c e L l o y d ' s body j u s t above c e n t r e stage; by 

p l a c i n g him h e r e , he remains p r e s e n t i n the a c t i o n and, 

i n f a c t , c o n t i n u e s t o d r i v e i t even a f t e r h i s d e a t h . 

On a more pragmatic n o t e , L l o y d ' s f i n a l p o s i t i o n i s the 

same p o s i t i o n from which L i l y must end the p l a y . Her 

presence b e s i d e L l o y d ' s i n e r t form i s d i c t a t e d by her 

r e l a t i o n s h i p t o him; she cannot l e a v e him. Once she 

sees L l o y d , she must go t o him. Her o b j e c t i v e s a r e to 

h e l p him, t o r e v i v e him, t o l o v e him, and t o p r o t e c t 

him. She must c o n c e n t r a t e on L l o y d w i t h every f i b r e o f 

her b e i n g . Murray i s not as important t o her as L l o y d 

i s . In f a c t , she would p r o b a b l y be r e l i e v e d i f Murray 



147 

k i l l e d h e r , t o o . T h i s i s i m p o r t a n t , because i f the 

a c t r e s s f o c u s s e d too s t r o n g l y on M u r r a y ' s predicament, 

she would d i m i n i s h her own; i f she d e c i d e d , f o r 

i n s t a n c e , to p i c k up the gun and chase Murray around 

the room i n p u r s u i t o f revenge, t h i s f i n a l scene would 

d e t e r i o r a t e i n t o melodrama. I have seen t h a t c h o i c e 

t r i e d i n a number o f r e h e a r s a l s , and i t does not work. 

5d. Some F i n a l Thoughts On The P l a y . 

E v e r y a r t i s t who approaches Danceland w i l l b r i n g a 

u n i q u e , i n d i v i d u a l v i s i o n t o the p l a y , and I welcome 

t h i s . I t i s the f u s i o n o f our a r t i s t i c energy which 

s i t s a t the h e a r t o f t h i s c o l l a b o r a t i v e p r o c e s s we have 

come t o c a l l "Theatre". I do, however, want to 

request one t h i n g from the d i r e c t o r s , d e s i g n e r s and 

a c t o r s who w i l l be engaged i n f u t u r e p r o d u c t i o n s o f the 

p l a y . Be m i n d f u l o f one t h i n g : the a u d i e n c e . They 

have come t o "hear a p l a y " ; they have come t o w i t n e s s 

the b e l i e v a b l e u n f o l d i n g o f a s t o r y , and a l l o f u s , 

myself i n c l u d e d , are r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h a t . We must 

a l l o w the audience to e n t e r the w o r l d o f the p l a y , and 

we must a l l o w them t o empathize w i t h the c h a r a c t e r s . 

We must share the p l a y w i t h them. 



148 

Having completed the p l a y , my journey as a 

p l a y w r i g h t has come f u l l c i r c l e ; I must move on to 

o t h e r p l a y s and o t h e r p l a c e s . For me, the t e x t o f 

Danceland i s an a r t i f a c t , a map of my c r e a t i v e j o u r n e y 

t o t h i s p o i n t i n t i m e . I f the p l a y i s "about" 

a n y t h i n g , i t i s about b r e a k i n g a l i f e l o n g embrace o f 

a d d i c t i o n and d e a t h . L i l y ' s tragedy i s t h a t she, l i k e 

a l l o f u s , must l i v e ; her triumph i s t h a t she manages 

to do i t at a l l . 



149 



150 

THE TIMES 
November 22, 1994 

HOT TIP FROM AN ICY ZONE 

Another c r a c k e r from Canada. T o r o n t o - b a s e d 
G l e n C a i r n s s h o u l d be added t o the l i s t o f hot 
w r i t e r s emerging from the i c y zones n o r t h o f the 
U n i t e d S t a t e s . C a i r n s ' s p o e t i c , f i e r c e l y sexual 
p l a y Danceland, s e t i n smalltown Saskatchewan i n 
the 1 9 3 0 ! s , i n L i t t l e Manitou where the h e a l i n g 
powers of the l a k e cannot quench l u s t and j e a l o u s y , 
i s the b e s t work I have seen at the O l d Red L i o n 
( E C 1 ) . I t i s an e x c e p t i o n a l f r i n g e p r o d u c t i o n . 

A r r e s t i n g l y d i r e c t e d by Tom K e r r , Danceland 
i s an a l l e g o r y of angels and s i n n e r s . I t i s a l s o 
the s t o r y o f s h a t t e r e d m a r r i a g e , f r u s t r a t e d and 
f e t i s h i s t i c e r o t i c i s m , and o f an i n t e n s e l y d i s t u r b e d 
c h i l d . DeNica Fairman i s o u t s t a n d i n g as L i l y , the 
t o r c h s i n g e r who has f l e d C h i c a g o ' s u n d e r w o r l d . 
L i l y , h i g h l y sexed but f a r from a c l i c h e d s c a r l e t 
woman, has r e t u r n e d home i n the hope o f c u r i n g 
L l o y d , her saxophonist husband, c r i p p l i n g l y wounded 
i n the t h i g h by one of her gangland i n t i m a t e s . 

Fairman performs w i t h acuteness and ease and 
has a s u l t r y bloom on her s i n g i n g v o i c e . She i s 
s t r o n g l y supported by K e v i n Howarth's i n t e n s e 
Murray, the dangerous l o c a l man she becomes i n v o l v e d 
w i t h , and P e t e r M a r i n k e r ' s p o s s e s s i v e L l o y d , a 
g o a t - e y e d C l i n t Eastwood. 

C a t h e r i n e Holman, b a r e - l e g g e d i n her flowery 
f r o c k , looks u n s e t t l i n g l y l i k e a n i n e - y e a r - o l d as 
Rose who, a f t e r the drowning o f her N a t i v e American 
mother, i s i n the s p o r a d i c a l l y t h r e a t e n i n g c a r e o f 
M u r r a y , her f a t h e r . Holman i s p r o f o u n d l y 
d i s t u r b i n g , screaming w i t h the g r i e f o f an 
i n a r t i c u l a t e a n i m a l , or powdering her f a c e a g h o s t l y 
white as she r e p e a t s Psalm 23 l i k e an i n c a n t a t i o n 
and l a y s h e r s e l f down, l i k e a f r o z e n c o r p s e . 

- Kate B a s s e t t (p.34) 



151 

WHAT'S ON IN LONDON 
November 16 - 23, 1994 

DANCELAND. 

J u s t t r y to imagine the m u l t i - l a y e r e d drama 
enacted i n t h i s London p r e m i e r e by T o r o n t o - b a s e d 
w r i t e r , d i r e c t o r and filmmaker G l e n C a i r n s as b e i n g 
l i k e a c r o s s between a '30's gangster movie, Twin 
Peaks and a f i l m n o i r t h r i l l e r , and you might get 
some i d e a o f i t s p o w e r f u l , edgy and mesmeric 
q u a l i t i e s . But i t seems u n f a i r to make such 
comparisons, because C a i r n s i s c l e a r l y a d r a m a t i s t 
w i t h a unique t h e a t r i c a l v i s i o n , and I f o r one look 
forward t o s e e i n g more o f h i s work staged h e r e . 

J a z z , booze, d r u g s , sex, mythology, r e l i g i o n 
and a g o o d - v e r s u s - e v i l theme a r e a l l i n g e n i o u s l y 
woven t o g e t h e r i n t h i s h a u n t i n g c a u t i o n a r y t a l e . 
A t f i r s t , the s t o r y seems s i m p l e . L i l y , a t o r c h 
s i n g e r , and L l o y d , her wounded bandleader husband, 
a r e on the run from John D i l l i n g e r , A m e r i c a ' s 
" P u b l i c Enemy Number One." They end up i n L i l y ' s 
b i r t h p l a c e - L i t t l e M a n i t o u , Saskatchewan. The town 
was once a s a c r e d p l a c e o f h e a l i n g f o r the 
indigenous I n d i a n s , l a t e r becoming a b u s t l i n g 
R o a r i n g Twenties spa r e s o r t ; but p o s t - W a l l S t r e e t 
C r a s h i t has begun t o d i e . In t h e i r s a f e haven 
t h i s f r a c t u r e d c o u p l e hope t h a t the l o c a l magic 
mudbath and the m i n e r a l - r i c h l a k e w i l l cure t h e i r 
sulphourous swamp o f a m a r r i a g e . The a c t i o n v e e r s 
m a i n l y between Danceland, one o f the l o c a l dance 
h a l l s , and the h o t e l room where j e a l o u s o l d e r 
husband L l o y d fumes from h i s w h e e l c h a i r , knocks 
back the d r i n k and spouts p o e t r y . 

But when L i l y encounters l o c a l boat-man and 
b r o o d i n g f e t i s h i s t Murray and h i s twelve year o l d 
daughter Rose, the scene i s s e t f o r a complex 
e x p l o r a t i o n o f human f o l l y and cooped-up l u s t , 
a l l i e d w i t h the d e s t r u c t i v e power o f myth and 
l e g e n d . A l l t h i s may appear r a t h e r f o r b i d d i n g , 



152 

and some o f C a i r n s ' i d e a s do seem t o be o v e r s t a t e d 
- not l e a s t the second a c t scenes i n v o l v i n g the 
l i t t l e g i r l and her cosmic c o n n e c t i o n s . But the 
p l a y i s b u r s t i n g w i t h h i g h l y - c h a r g e d moments, 
and o v e r a l l i s a t h o r o u g h l y a b s o r b i n g and h a u n t i n g 
p i e c e o f t h e a t r e . 

C r e d i t i s due to Tom K e r r ' s c o n t r o l l e d 
d i r e c t i o n , L i s a R o b i n s o n ' s e f f e c t i v e p l a i n wood 
s e t t i n g , L i z z P o u l t e r ' s atmospheric l i g h t i n g and 
some e n t h r a l l i n g a c t i n g from a c a s t o f f o u r : DeNica 
Fairman as the s e n s u a l L i l y t o r n between too many 
men; P e t e r M a r i n k e r as the doomed L l o y d ; C a t h e r i n e 
Holman as Rose, the "animal-angel" who c r i e s t e a r s 
f o r the s t a r s a t n i g h t ; and K e v i n Howarth as the 
monstrous Murray who d i s c o v e r s t h a t i t r e a l l y i s 
a s i n t o t e l l a l i e . 

- Roger Foss (page 56) 



153 

TIME OUT 
November 16 - 23, 1994. 

D a n c e l a n d . 

In L i t t l e M a n i t o u , Saskatchewan, John 
D i l l i n g e r , "America's Most Wanted", may or may 
not be dead. L i l y , a d a n c e h a l l h o s t e s s , L l o y d , 
her c r i p p l e d j a z z - m u s i c i a n husband, M u r r a y , her 
would-be l o v e r and h i s s m a l l daughter, Rose, w a i t 
f o r the g r e a t man t o appear. L i l y i s c o n v i n c e d 
t h a t he i s dead, s h e ' s read i t i n the p a p e r s , but 
l i k e the o t h e r s she w a i t s f o r a redemption t h a t 
never comes. 

"Danceland" i s b i l l e d as "a new Canadian p l a y " , 
but when the a u t h o r ' s notes are more i n t e r e s t i n g 
t h a n the p l a y i t s e l f , we know t h a t the w r i t i n g i s 
i n deep t r o u b l e . There are some s t u n n i n g word 
p i c t u r e s through which we can f e e l and see the 
wide expanses o f Western Canada. But u n l i k e 
Sam Shepard, f o r i n s t a n c e , who t a c k l e s the same 
emotional t e r r i t o r y , C a i r n s ' w r i t i n g i s e s s e n t i a l l y 
p r o s e . I t s i m p l y l i e s t h e r e w i t h i t s g r e a t leaden 
beauty and does not budge, r e d u c i n g d i r e c t o r Tom 
K e r r ' s v e r y f i n e work and L i s a R o b i n s o n ' s g r a c e f u l l y 
e v o c a t i v e s e t t o the i l l u s t r a t i o n of a Book at 
Bedtime. 

The powerhouse c a s t a r e l e f t t o go r i g h t over 
the t o p , but they a l s o manage t o f i n d moments of 
q u i e t s t r e n g t h . They a r e a l l e x t r a o r d i n a r y , but 
i t i s the sublime C a t h e r i n e Holman as Rose, the 
l i t t l e c h i l d , who burrows deep i n t o the h e a r t o f 
t h i s t a l e , r i p p i n g i t open t o r e v e a l the c r y o f 
a n a t i o n t r a p p e d i n i t s p a s t and f r i g h t e n e d o f 
i t s f u t u r e . 

- Bonnie Greer (page 134). 



154 

DANCELAND r e c e i v e d i t s B r i t i s h premiere at 
The O l d Red L i o n T h e a t r e i n I s l i n g t o n , 
N o r t h London on November 11, 1994. 

P l a y w r i g h t . G l e n C a i r n s 

D i r e c t o r Tom K e r r 

Set/Costume Design L i s a Robinson 

L i g h t i n g Design L i z z P o u l t e r 

Composer Mark S c h o l f i e d / 
(The B r o t h e r Jonathan) 

C a s t : 

L i l y . . DeNica Fairman 

L l o y d . P e t e r M a r k i n k e r 

Murray K e v i n Howarth 

Rose C a t h e r i n e Holman 

F o r Red R i v e r P r o d u c t i o n s : 

Company/Stage M a n a g e r . . . . H e l e n Dolan 

A s s i s t a n t Stage Manager..Rob Payne 

F i n a n c i a l C o n s u l t a n t Wendy A b e l 

P u b l i c i t y Sue Hyman A s s o c i a t e s