The Piano Has Been DrinkingA Stage Play by Toni O Inspired by Tom Waits and a bottle of Jack Daniels. All lyrical references are copyright of Tom Waits.
Characters:
Tom: 45 year old musician, husband to Ronnie Ronnie: 32 year old wife to Tom Little Boy: 11 years old Setting: Modern New York City (A park bench at midnight. The ground is brown with dead grass and sticks. Clearly it’s a cold night. Tom sits slouched in a black suit jacket, wrinkled slacks, and black button up. A fedora sits crooked on his head. He has a bottle of Hennessy in his right hand and a burnt out cigarette in his left. Little Boy cautiously approaches Tom.) Little Boy (tugs on Tom’s jacket) Hey. Wake up. Tom (coughs, hacks) Eh? What time is it? Little Boy About midnight. Tom Oh. (pauses) Then what the hell are you doing in the park this late, kid? Little Boy Nobody was home and my door was locked. Tom So you come to the park? Little Boy Yeah. Nowhere else to go. (Tom sits upright and attempts to drag on his cigarette. He pulls nothing and tosses it at the boy’s feet. He pulls a cigarette from a crushed box of Benson and Hedges and pats his pockets looking for a lighter. The boy strikes a quick match and holds it out to Tom.) Tom Thanks, kid. But why do you have matches? Little Boy Just in case. Tom (drags his cigarette) Can’t argue that. Little Boy Why are you here? Tom Well, I had a show at that bar over there. (Tom points in a general direction, clearly not aware of where he is) Little Boy (points opposite way) The Tinsel Cup. Tom Yeah. I was with my band. Little Boy You sing. Tom That’s right. You know my songs? Little Boy Some of them. (Tom shakes the bottle, hears no splash, and rests it at his feet. The boy stares at it.) Tom (smirks) Guess I'm getting famous, huh? Little Boy I guess. Tom (Grimaces) I guess so, too. Little Boy You still didn’t tell me why you came to the park. Tom Ah, right you are. I finished the set and I ran into a woman who broke my heart. One bottle later I’m here talking to some random kid. Little Boy She broke your heart? Tom Yeah. Well, she tried to but I don’t care. Little Boy If you don’t care why are you drinking in a park. Tom A woman of her caliber will leave you on a bench, caring or not. (There is a long silence between them. The boy sits down beside Tom and stares. Tom stares at his shoes and shifts uncomfortably.) Tom Kid, don’t sit next to me like that. A cop will think I’m a pervert or some s**t. Little Boy But you’re not. Tom Course I’m not! Little Boy You could pretend I’m your son and you’re my father. Tom A good father would have already made sure his son was sleeping and safe though. Little Boy Didn’t say you’d have to be a good one. Tom You’re a strange one, kid. Got to tell you. (Tom smokes his cigarette and tries to gather his clouded thoughts) Little Boy Why did the lady break your heart? Tom Ah, s**t. Let’s just say you don’t defrost the ice box with a ball point pen. Little Boy What does that mean? Tom Okay. Her name is Ronnie. Veronica, but nobody calls her that. She was beautiful, kid. A knockout. Used to come to all my shows and dace in front of me in glittery red dresses. I started bringing her everywhere. Really felt it. But she was a bit of an easy one. Do you know what easy women are? Little Boy Sort of. Tom Well, watch out for women like Ronnie. They’re no good. Little Boy What did she do to you? Tom Let me get there. I had a feeling she was sleeping around, but everyone said I was just being paranoid. A beauty with an old mug like mine is unreal. But I start noticing she isn’t fitting into those pretty red dresses anymore. I think it’s just all the drinking. Suddenly, she stops coming to my shows. I don’t know what to think of it. I think she’s run off for another a*****e musician like me. You got another match? (The boy lights another cigarette for Tom) Tom I get a letter. It says she’s pregnant. She knows it’s mine. She can just feel it. She says the baby has a rhythm that reminds her of me. I don’t know what the hell that means. She says that she doesn’t want to ruin my career by burdening me with a kid. So, she left. Little Boy You saw her tonight? Tom That’s right. I did see her tonight. She came up to me after the set and I was speechless. Didn’t know what the f**k to say to her. I can sing blues all night and talk about the women I loved and left, but I don’t have a word in my body when I see her in person. She tells me she lost the baby. Miscarriage. Little Boy Miscarriage? Tom Yeah. The baby died. Little Boy Why did she tell you that? Tom She tells me that its better that way because she didn’t want it. I was looking at her face. Her nose was white and her eyes like slits. She was so high. Little Boy Why did she tell you the baby died? Tom I don’t know. To hurt me and make me feel like I should have chased her. I always wanted a son, but it wasn’t the right time to think about that. I don’t know, kid. I don’t know. Little Boy She said the baby died. Tom Look, kid. I got to get back to my band and find out what’s going on. Thanks, uh…thanks for listening I guess. Let me give you some cab fare home. (Tom stretches his hand out to give the boy money, but the boy just stares. Tom takes his hand and gently presses the money into his palm.) Little Boy Thank you. Tom Don’t mention it. Get home safe. Someone will open the door for you. (Tom stumbles off and the boy kicks his feet sadly on the bench) Little Boy She said the baby died. (Boy continues to sit and stare. Fade out.) © 2010 Toni O |
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1 Review Added on September 13, 2010 Last Updated on September 13, 2010 |
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