SCENE 1 BEFORE RISE NARRATOR SETTING

Transcription

1 Plays is protected by U.S. copyright law. Only current subscribers may use this play ( Middle and Lower Grades The Will Curses, foiled again! Harold Hero saves the day in a melodrama of murderous greed... by Phyllis J. Perry Characters NARRATOR FRAN FAITHFUL INEZ INNOCENT LAWYER SLIPPERY WALLACE WILEY WANDA WILEY, his wife FREDDY WILEY, their son HAROLD HERO DR. DIANE DEADLY SHERIFF SHARP SCENE 1 BEFORE RISE: NARRATOR, carrying signs, walks out in front of curtain, addresses audience. NARRATOR: Good evening. You are about to see an old-fashioned melodrama, The Will. Now, the audience at a melodrama has a very important role to play. Whenever the villains appear or perform some dastardly deed, the audience should hiss and boo. (Demonstrates while holding up sign reading, HISS, then sign reading, BOO) When the young heroine, Inez Innocent, appears, you should recognize her youth and bravery by giving an admiring (Holds up sign reading, A-H-H) Ah-h! And finally, when Har-old Hero appears on the scene, ready to do good and to rescue the young heroine, greet his entrance with a loud cheer. (Holds up sign reading, CHEER) Now that you have your instructions, let me set the scene. Old George Gilden, senior partner in the Gilden Bank, died quite suddenly at his birthday party three nights ago. Poor old George had promised to make a special announcement that night after dinner, but he died before he had the chance. Lawyer Slippery has invited all interested parties to come to the Gilden Mansion right after the funeral today to hear the reading of George s last will and testament. (Curtain opens as NARRATOR moves to corner of stage. When hero, heroine, or villain appears, NARRATOR will take a couple of steps toward center with appropriate sign to encourage audience participation.) * * * SETTING: Living room of the Gilden Mansion. Sofa is center, behind coffee table. Chairs and other furnishings are placed around room. Working door up right leads outside. Exits left and right.

2 AT RISE: FRAN FAITHFUL enters up left, carrying a tray that holds teapot, cream, sugar, cups and saucers, and plate of cookies. She puts tray on table, then pulls a handkerchief from pocket and dabs her eyes. INEZ INNOCENT enters up left, and NARRATOR holds up A-H-H sign. INEZ (Going to FRAN and patting her on back): Now, now, Miss Faithful, you mustn t cry. You have the satisfaction of knowing that you took wonderful care of Uncle George for years. FRAN: You re quite right, of course, Miss Inez. Crying will do no good. But it s hard with your uncle going so suddenly. We ll never know what his special announcement was going to be. INEZ: We mustn t fret. When the will is read, I m sure we ll find that Uncle George has provided for us. (Doorbell is heard off. INEZ sits. FRAN opens door to LAWYER SLIPPERY and WAL- LACE, WANDA, and FREDDY WILEY.) FRAN: Won t you please come in. (They all brush by her. NARRATOR holds up BOO sign.) SLIPPERY (To INEZ): May I express my condolences on this sad occasion. WANDA (Approaching INEZ, pulling FREDDY along beside her): You have our deepest sympathy, my dear. Whatever will you do all alone in the world with no one and nothing? INEZ: Surely good, kind Uncle George will have provided for me. WANDA (Laughing wickedly): Well, we shall have to see about that, won t we. (WANDA and FREDDY greedily help themselves to cookies.) WALLACE (Gruffly): Speaking of the will, shouldn t we begin? SLIPPERY (Looking around): Yes, indeed. It seems everyone is here, so we ll proceed. (WILEYS sit.) INEZ: Not everyone is here. FREDDY (Puzzled): Who s missing? INEZ: Harold Hero hasn t arrived yet. SLIPPERY: Of course not. I didn t invite him. WANDA (Haughtily): Why would Harold Hero be invited? He s just an unimportant bank employee. INEZ: Beg pardon, but I invited him. He should be here for the reading of the will. Uncle George depended upon Harold in every way. I know that Uncle intended to make Harold his assistant bank manager one day. WALLACE (Sneering): Well, my dear, your Uncle George is gone now, and he never once mentioned to me making Harold Hero an assistant bank manger. I will now be the sole manager of the bank and make all future decisions about my staff. I m confident that the assistant bank manager s position will be most ably filled by my son, Freddy Wiley. WANDA (Smugly): An excellent decision, Wallace. FREDDY: Thank you, Father. And with the substantial raise that I shall receive, I look forward to moving into a home of my own, and finding a suitable wife for whom I shall now be able to provide. (He turns and looks meaningfully at INEZ.) SLIPPERY (Clearing his throat): Shall we proceed? (FRAN sits next to INEZ.) INEZ: Where can Harold be? It s not at all like him to be late.

3 WALLACE: Irresponsible tardiness! I ve decided to dismiss Harold from the bank immediately. INEZ: But you can t do that! WALLACE (Indignantly): Why can t I? You don t seem to realize that as the sole bank partner now, I can do exactly as I wish. (SLIPPERY clears throat.) SLIPPERY: If you would all be so good as to listen, I shall now read in its entirety the last will and testament of George Gilden. FREDDY (Impatiently): Don t bore us with all the whereas and wherefore stuff. Just skip to the part where it says what he s giving away. WANDA (Dotingly): My son is so sensible and practical. Do just read us the important part, Lawyer Slippery. SLIPPERY: Very well, then. (He pulls from his briefcase a long scroll, tied with a black ribbon. He unties ribbon and runs his finger down document.) Bequests: To my faithful nurse-companion, Fran Faithful, I leave an annuity to pay her usual salary for so long as she lives. FRAN (Crying): Oh, what a good man he was. SLIPPERY: To my niece, Inez Innocent, I leave the Gilden Mansion and its contents, as well as an annuity to pay her a monthly stipend to enable her to live comfortably. It is my desire that she keep Fran Faithful with her as housekeeper and companion. INEZ (Dabbing her eyes with handkerchief): Uncle George was always so good to me. SLIPPERY: My interest in the bank, I leave to my business partner, Wallace Wiley, knowing that he will continue to manage the bank ably and oversee the profits that will provide for the annuities for my faithful nurse-companion and my niece. WANDA: Ah! What a wise decision. SLIPPERY: And that concludes the reading of the will. WALLACE: There is one more important detail to be attended to, Lawyer Slippery. (He stands, hands officiallooking document to SLIPPERY.) Please read this. SLIPPERY: Indeed. (Scans document) This is a very serious matter. Miss Faithful and Miss Innocent, this document, which I witnessed, takes precedence over the will I just read. It is a promissory note stating that in exchange for a special favor that Wallace Wiley performed, George Gilden, at his death, turns over to Wallace Wiley full ownership of the Gilden Mansion as well as any annuities set up by him in the Gilden Bank. INEZ: I I m afraid I don t understand. What does that mean? SLIPPERY (Matter-of-factly): It means, my dear, that your Uncle has left you and Miss Fran Faithful nothing at all. FRAN (Shocked): Nothing at all? SLIPPERY: Nothing at all. (NARRATOR holds up BOO sign. FRAN begins to weep.) INEZ (Bravely): I demand to know what this special favor is that Mr. Wiley is supposed to have performed for Uncle George. SLIPPERY: You can demand all you want, Miss Inez, but Mr. Wiley is under no obligation to answer you. WALLACE: I would prefer not to

4 answer, Miss Inez, but if you must know....you will recall that your Uncle went to the city not long ago on business. While there, he incurred huge gambling debts. INEZ (Shocked): Gambling debts? WALLACE: He feared that through his foolish actions, he would lose the bank and your home. Fortunately I had some stocks and bonds that had just matured, and was able to give your uncle the money he needed to pay off his debts. That was the favor of which he speaks. WANDA: How clever of you, Wallace, to save George s good name. FREDDY: And to save the bank for us. INEZ (In disbelief): Gambling? Uncle George? I can hardly believe this. SLIPPERY: I m afraid you must believe it, Miss Inez. It s all right here in these documents. WALLACE: Of course I m not a greedy person. (He stands and looks about. NARRATOR holds up HISS sign.) Wanda and I have a lovely home of our own and have no need of this one. So I am giving this mansion to my son, Freddy Wiley. Miss Inez, Miss Faithful, do pack your things and leave the Gilden Mansion as soon as possible. (Turns to WANDA and offers her his arm) Now, Wanda dear, it is time for us to leave. Thank you for your services, Lawyer Slippery. SLIPPERY: Only too happy to oblige. (WALLACE, WANDA, and SLIPPERY move to door. FRAN opens door for them and they exit.) FREDDY (Approaching INEZ, who sits on couch with head held high): This has to be a terrible shock for you, my dear, and ordinarily I wouldn t presume to speak. But seeing you are to be turned out into the world penniless makes me bold. (He kneels.) Marry me, and continue to live here in your beloved home. Miss Faithful can remain as our housekeeper. INEZ: Thank you for your offer, Freddy, but I must decline. FREDDY (Rising; in an oily voice): Don t speak too quickly, foolish woman. Think it over. I shall return tomorrow evening at eight o clock in hopes you have changed your mind. (He goes to door. FRAN opens it for him and he exits. FRAN goes to sofa and sits next to INEZ.) INEZ (Sighing deeply): You heard? FRAN (With spirit): Indeed, I did. And you were quite right in refusing him. Better for us both to be out in the street than to have you marry that dreadful young man. INEZ (Distressed): I simply cannot marry Freddy Wiley. Oh, dear, whatever could have happened to Harold Hero? (She stands.) Well, my dear friend, we had better go upstairs and begin our packing. (They exit. Curtain) * * * SCENE 2 TIME: The next evening. SETTING: The same. Several suitcases are stacked upstage, by door. AT RISE: NARRATOR, with signs, sits at corner of stage. FRAN enters with small suitcase, which she sets down next to others. She looks about, dabs eyes with hanky. INEZ enters, with suitcase, and sets it next to others. INEZ: There, everything is packed. We shall stay here just long enough to receive Freddy Wiley, and I will once again decline his offer of marriage. (Looks around sadly) Then we shall

5 leave our beloved Gilden Mansion forever. (FRAN sniffles, blows her nose.) Now, don t worry, dear Miss Faithful. I have saved a small amount of money, and I have reserved a room for us tonight at the hotel. In the morning, I will begin looking for a position. (Cheerfully) Perhaps I could tutor a child. FRAN: What would I do without you, Miss Inez? It s a wonder we re packed, what with the Sheriff and his men poking about and looking through the trash bins. Do you know they insisted on taking the copies of the papers that Lawyer Slippery left here yesterday? INEZ: How strange. (Doorbell rings.) That must be Freddy Wiley now. He s early, but so much the better. We ll get this over with. Please show him in, Miss Faithful. (INEZ sits on couch. FRAN answers door to HAROLD HERO, who enters.) FRAN (Exclaiming): Harold Hero! (NARRATOR holds up CHEER sign.) INEZ (Turning; startled): Harold! HAROLD HERO: Miss Inez! (Hurries to INEZ and sits beside her) I am so sorry that I was not able to be here yesterday for the reading of the will. But right after the funeral, I went to see the Sheriff and Dr. Deadly, who is helping him with the investigation of your dear uncle s murder. INEZ and FRAN (Shocked): Murder? HAROLD: Yes, murder! I was not convinced your uncle really died of a heart attack. I took my suspicions to the Sheriff, and insisted he investigate. INEZ (Eagerly): Do tell us what you ve learned. HAROLD: Sheriff Sharp and Doctor Deadly will be here any minute. I ll let them give you the news. (Doorbell rings. FRAN opens door. SLIPPERY enters. NARRATOR holds up BOO sign. DOCTOR DEADLY enters. FRAN closes door and follows them down center.) INEZ: Lawyer Slippery, Doctor Deadly, do sit down. (They sit. To DEADLY) Harold Hero tells us you have more information about my uncle s death. DEADLY: I do, but we must wait for the sheriff. He stopped off to pick up the Wileys on his way over. SLIPPERY (Haughtily): I must protest your high-handed manner, Doctor Deadly, demanding that I accompany you here. We took care of all our business yesterday afternoon. DEADLY (Coolly): Not quite all, I believe. (Doorbell rings. FRAN opens door. WALLACE, WANDA and FRED- DY enter. NARRATOR holds up HISS sign. SHERIFF follows them in. FRAN closes door.) WALLACE (Angrily): Why have we been dragged here? I demand to know the meaning of this! WANDA: We want an immediate explanation! FREDDY (Going to sofa and sitting on other side of INEZ): I was planning to be here anyway. (Cloyingly) After thinking over your situation, my pet, have you wisely decided to become my bride? HAROLD (Shocked): Your bride? FREDDY (Sharply): Be quiet, Harold, this doesn t concern you. INEZ (Firmly): My answer remains the same. I will never marry you, Freddy. As you can see (Points to suitcases), Miss Faithful and I are packed and ready to leave.

6 SHERIFF: Perhaps that won t be necessary, Miss Inez. Harold Hero came to me yesterday and refused to leave until I agreed to investigate the death of George Gilden. While Dr. Deadly conducted some blood tests, I sent my men over here to look about. SLIPPERY (Muttering): This is a waste of time. SHERIFF: My forgery expert has shown without a doubt that the signature of George Gilden on the promissory note, signed by Wallace Wiley and supposedly witnessed by Lawyer Slippery, was a forgery. (INEZ gasps.) SLIPPERY (Indignantly): That s a lie! WALLACE: Preposterous! SHERIFF: My men also found a bowl of mint sauce hidden in a dining room cabinet. On it were the fingerprints of George Gilden and of Wanda Wiley. WANDA (Disgusted): It s hardly a crime to touch a bowl of mint sauce. SHERIFF: Miss Faithful explained that Wanda Wiley brought the sauce to the birthday dinner as a special treat for George, and that it was not served to anyone else. DEADLY: My tests showed Mr. Gilden died, not of a heart attack, but of arsenic poisoning. An examination of the mint sauce indicates that it was the source of the poison. SHERIFF: So, you see, Miss Inez and Miss Faithful, you can unpack your suitcases. The terms of the will apply; there is no promissory note. The mansion and its contents, as well as the annuities, are yours. INEZ (Stunned): Oh, thank you, Sheriff! SHERIFF: Thank Harold Hero. He was positive that George Gilden would never have gambled away your home and security. (Turning, sharply) Wanda Wiley, I charge you with the murder of George Gilden. WANDA (Stammering): But the sauce someone must have tampered I never (Dramatically) Alas, poor dear George Gilden! WALLACE (Irritably): Oh, give it up, Wanda. (WANDA glares at him.) SHERIFF: Wallace Wiley and Lawyer Slippery, I charge you with forgery and fraud. SLIPPERY: I demand an attorney. WANDA (Irascibly): You are an attorney. SHERIFF (Continuing, evenly): Both of you, as well as Freddy Wiley, face additional charges as accomplices to murder. If proved, the Gilden Bank will go to Miss Inez as the sole living relative, since no one may profit from committing murder. I m taking you to jail. (WILEYS and SLIPPERY bicker as SHERIFF herds them out door.) DEADLY: I ll be on my way, too. Goodnight, all. (FRAN goes to door with DEADLY, who exits. FRAN closes door and stands listening.) INEZ: Oh, Harold. I knew deep in my heart that I could trust you, just as Uncle did. I ve always thought that the announcement Uncle was going to make on his birthday had something to do with you. HAROLD: Indeed it did. Your uncle told me privately that he was planning to retire at the end of the year, and he wanted me to take over as bank manager. He planned to buy out Wallace Wiley s shares in the bank because he had discovered several shady deals

7 that Wallace and Freddy had made. INEZ (Gleefully): Oh Harold! Since it appears that I will own Gilden Bank, we will proceed exactly as Uncle George had planned. Congratulations! (Shakes HAROLD s hand) You are the new bank manager! HAROLD (Not releasing her hand): There is one more thing, Miss Inez. I know that I cannot expect to have an answer now, and I am willing to wait, forever if need be, but I must ask for the honor of your hand in marriage. (He kneels in front of her.) INEZ (Putting both her hands in his): I do not need forever to think about it, dear Harold. For I love and trust you. My answer is yes. (FRAN applauds enthusiastically and NARRATOR holds up AHH sign. Curtain) THE END PRODUCTION NOTES The Will CHARACTERS: 5 male; 4 female; one male or female for Narrator. PLAYING TIME: 20 minutes. COSTUMES: Women wear long, oldfashioned dresses. Fran wears apron. She and Inez have handkerchiefs in their pockets. Men wear suits. Sheriff wears uniform and badge. PROPERTIES: Signs reading BOO, HISS, CHEER, AHH; tea tray, tea pot, sugar, creamer, cups and saucers, cookies; brief case with long scroll tied with a black ribbon inside; official-looking document; suitcases. SETTING: Living room of Gilden Mansion. Sofa with pillows is center, behind coffee table. Chairs and other furnishings are placed around room. Working door up right leads outside. Exits left and right lead to rest of mansion. SOUND: Doorbell ringing, as indicated. 30 PLAYS playsmag.com