ACT ONE
1862 – Marietta, Georgia, twenty miles from Atlanta. A young Confederate soldier stands alone in a field under a large oak tree.
THE OLD RED HILLS OF HOME
YOUNG SOLDIER
Farewell, my Lila-
I’ll write every evening.
I’ve carved our names
In the trunk of this tree.
Farewell, my Lila—
I miss you already,
And dream of the day
When I’ll hold you again
In a home safe from fear,
When the Southland is free.
I go to fight for these old hills behind me,
These old red hills of home.
I go to fight for these old hills remind me
Of a way of life that’s pure—
Of the truth that must endure—
In a town called Marietta
In the old red hills of home.
Pray on this day as I journey beyond them,
These old red hills of home:
Let all the blood of the North spill upon them
‘Til they’ve paid for what they’ve wrought,
Taken back the lies they’ve taught,
And there’s peace in Marietta
And we’re safe again in Georgia
In the land where honor lives and breathes—
The old red hills of home!
Farewell, my Lila. Farewell:
Peachtree Street in Atlanta, Georgia.
April 26, 1913 – the Confederate Memorial Day Parade. The soldier is now a half-century older, in Confederate uniform; in place of his right leg, a wooden peg.
OLD SOLDIER
Look there, my Lila
They call me to tell it:
The lives that we led
When the Southland was free.
We gave our lives for the old hills of Georgia,
The old red hills of home.
Not much survives of the old hills of Georgia
But I close my eyes and hear
All the treasures we held dear:
OLD SOLDIER
|The rushing of the Chattahoochee|The rustlin’ of the wind|And Mama in the kitchen singin’|And me and Lila swingin’ in a tree|Oh, I hear it calling, calling|And I would gladly give|My good right leg again!|Again!
TOWNSPEOPLE|The tall pines and the red clay
|The blue skies and the dog wood trees|A man can grow his cotton and his crops|Oh, I hear it calling, calling|Still!|Again!
ALL
God bless the sight of the old hills of Georgia,
The old red hills of home.
Praise those who’d fight
For the old hills of Georgia.
For those proud and valiant men
We’ll sing “Dixie” once again
For the men of Marietta:
For the brothers of Cobb County:
For the fathers of Atlanta:
For the patriarchs:
Who gave everything for Georgia
And the old red hills of home!
THE DREAM OF ATLANTA
TOWNSPEOPLE
Ever more lives the dream of Atlanta
Ever more her eternal pride!
Strong and sure is the dream of Atlanta
When her brothers are unified!
And the sound of her voice is clearer
When her people are proud and free!
Not a star to the sky could be nearer
Than my heart is, Atlanta, to thee!
HOW CAN I CALL THIS HOME?
GOVERNOR JOHN SLATON
Today we honor those who honored us some fifty years ago. Those who gave life and limb for Georgia and suffered unimaginable degradation. But never defeat. The men of Georgia and the women of Georgia have never been defeated:
LEO (making his way awkwardly through the crowd)
I go to bed at night,
Hoping when I wake
That this will all be gone
Like it was just a dream
And I’ll be home again,
Back again in Brooklyn,
Back with the people who look like I do
And talk like I do,
And think like I do,
But then
The sun rises in Atlanta again:
SLATON
They have risen from the ashes of war with honor and courage and strength!
LEO
These people make me tense.
I live in fear they’ll start a conversation.
These people make no sense:
They talk and I just stare and shut my mouth.
It’s like a foreign land.
I didn’t understand
That being Southern’s not just being in the South:
When I look out on all this,
How can I call this home?
SLATON
I am proud to be a Georgian on this day!
LEO
|These men belong in zoos.|It’s like they never joined civilisation.|The Jews are not like Jews:|I thought that Jews were Jews,|But I was wrong.|I thought I would be fine,|But four years down the line,|With ev’ry word it’s very clear|I don’t belong:
|I don’t cuss, I don’t drawl|So how can I call this home?
ASSORTED SPECTATORS
|Excuse me! Sorry!|Get your souvenirs!|Watch your step, Sir!|Where’s the fella with the beer!|Mama, that man pushed me!|Lucinda! Hey now, fella!|You got balloons? I want one!|Settle down:|I never in my life! I’ll take a beer!|That Slaton’s handsome:|La la la la in the land o’ cotton:
SLATON
Proud that our state is growing and building!
LEO
Home calls, and I’m free of the Southern breeze,
Free of magnolia trees and endless sunshine!
Evermore lives the dream of Atlanta,
But not mine!
Not mine!
|A Yankee with a college education,|Who by his own design|Is trapped inside the land that Time forgot!|I’m trapped inside this life|And trapped beside a wife|Who would prefer that I’d say “Howdy!”, not “Shalom!”|Well, I’m sorry, Lucille,|But I feel what I feel|And this place is surreal,|So how can I call this home?
SLATON AND ENSEMBLE
|We stand together|In the great state of Georgia|Strong and proud:|God bless the sight of the old hills of Georgia,
|The old red hills of:|Ever more lives the dream of Atlanta|Ever more her eternal:|Old red hills of home!
THE PICTURE SHOW
FRANKIE EPPS
Well, hey sunshine!
MARY PHAGAN
Sunshine? Looks like rain to me.
FRANKIE (pulling on her hair ribbon)
Not in here, it don’t.
MARY
Frankie Epps! Quit that, you hear?
FRANKIE
Oh, what? I ain’t doin’ anything!
I’m gonna go to the picture show.
There’s a movie I got to see.
You know the one called “The Silver Gun”—
Well, I been watching since Chapter Three!
I can’t wait – It’s at eight,
And I was wondering: if you’re free:
MARY
Go on, go on, go on, go on,
You know my mama’d never let me till I turn sixteen.
Go on, go on, go on, go on,
Besides, I only go to pictures that I haven’t seen.
FRANKIE
Well, when do you turn sixteen?
MARY
Two years from next June.
FRANKIE
Too bad about your Mama.
MARY
Too bad for you.
FRANKIE
I know a spot near McConnach’s lot
Where you can see the parade real clear.
I got a book – you wanna take a look?—
It’s called “The Thief and the Brigadier.”
I got gum – you want some?
MARY
I haven’t chewed gum for a year.
FRANKIE
Go on, go on, go on, go on,
I bet your mama’d let me take you to the picture show.
MARY
Go on, go on, go on, go on,
I guess you weren’t really listenin’ when I said “No!”
Why not ask Iola Stover?
Her mama lets her do whatever she wants.
FRANKIE
I was hopin’ I could go with you.
MARY
Go on, ask Iola Stover—
Her mama lets her see whoever she wants.
FRANKIE
Well, maybe I will.
MARY
I hope you do.
FRANKIE
Hey, where you goin’?
MARY
To the factory. I didn’t get my pay this week.
FRANKIE
Okay. See you around.
MARY
At the picture show.
FRANKIE
What? I thought your Mama wouldn’t let you.
MARY
She will with Essie and Betty Jean. Just not with you!
FRANKIE
Bye, Sunshine!
Dee-dee, dee-dee, dee-dee, dee-dee:
Go on, go on, go on, go on:
Well, Iola! You goin’ to the pictures tonight?
LEO AT WORK/WHAT AM I WAITING FOR?
TOWNSPEOPLE
Strong and sure is the dream of Atlanta
When her brothers are unified!
LEO (in his office at the National Pencil Factory)
Twenty-eight boxes of caps
At four dollars the gross—
This is wrong, this is wrong,
I can fix this – Wait.
Nine more boxes in back,
Twenty-eight minus nine,
And then thirty-one girls on the line:
LUCILLE (at home, at her dressing table)
|Suit and a tie:|Terrible quiet:|Quite a well-paid position.|”Go on, Lucille:”|”Bring him his coffee:”|Straight from New York, Lucille!|Isn’t he smart, Lucille?|Mama, he’s comin’ around today:|Mama, he’s at the door!|Mama, I don’t know what I should say:|”Well, what are you waitin’ for, Lucille?”|What am I waiting for?
LEO
|Times six, one eight-six|Divide:Seven sixty:|God – all the noise, and on Yontiff yet:|Four cents a girl for the week:|And ten cents an hour:
This is wrong, this is wrong, it’s an eight, not a six:
LUCILLE
House and a maid;
Two sets of china—
Everything I was wishin’—
New winter coat;
Real ermine collar—
Who would have known, Lucille?
Married so well, Lucille?
How can he want me, so plain, so prim?
How can he be so sure?
Don’t I wish I could be sure like him? Like Leo?
LEO
Yes, Lucille, I am building a life for us:
LUCILLE
For Leo?
LEO
No, Lucille, we cannot have a picnic:
LUCILLE
Didn’t my wishes come true for me
The day he walked through the door?
Isn’t he all that I knew he’d be?
Brilliant and filled with humility?
Loyal and stable as any tree?
So why do I wait for more?
What am I waiting for?
LEO
Twenty-three cartons of leads
At two-sixty the gross:
This is wrong, this is wrong,
I can fix this:
MARY
Hey.
LEO (startled)
Yes?
MARYI came for my pay.
LEO
Name?
MARY
Mary Phagan.
INTERROGATION
NEWT LEE (chained hand and foot)
I am tryin’ to remember:
I was checkin’ roun’ the fact’ry.
And I went into the basement,
Down the stairs into the basement
And I shine my light around here,
In the corners and the ceiling,
And I’m ’bout to check the washroom
And my light, it kinda catches
On this pile of rags in the middle of the room:
The factory basement. Leo is brought in to view a body covered with a dirty cloth.
LEO (trembling, nearly fainting)
Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!
DETECTIVE STARNES
Do you know who this is, Mr Frank?
LEO
Oh my God! It’s the little girl I paid yesterday.
She came up to my office.
NEWT
I ain’t seen no pile o’ rags there before,
So I go over and I kick it,
And I shine down my light and Lord,
Lord, ain’t no pile of rags at all:
LEO (to the policemen)
Who did it? Do you know who did it yet?
NEWT
This small white body
With her tongue stickin’ out,
This pretty little child
With her eyes wide open:
LEO
Oh no. You don’t think it was my night watch-man. Newt? (No answer) Newt Lee? You think it was Newt? (Silence)
NEWT
So I ran to the phone
And I called Mr Frank,
But the phone kep’ ringin’,
So I called y’all to help me—
Mr Frank, he didn’t answer:
And that’s all I can remember.
LEO
Oh God! Oh my God! You think I – you think – that’s absurd! It’s preposterous. I didn’t even know this child. I only remembered her name because she was in my office yesterday:
MRS PHAGAN (approaching the factory)
‘Scuse me.
ROOKIE POLICEMAN
Yes, ma’am?
MRS PHAGAN
I’m hopin’ you can he’p me.
ROOKIE POLICEMAN
Yes, ma’am.
MRS PHAGAN
Well, my daughter didn’t come home las’ night.
ROOKIE POLICEMAN
Can I have your name please, ma’am?
BIG NEWS!
CRAIG
Big news!
Another week goes by in Atlanta!
Another fascinating, scintillating, stimulating, spirit-stirring week!
Big news!
Another Sunday comes to Atlanta!
Another week of news so thrilling
That your average city newshound
Wants to take a flying jump into the creek!
You got a kitten up a tree?
Well, come to me! And I’ll see
It makes it on the front page!
The Mayor’s mother broke her toe?
They gotta know!
Stop the press – it’s a mess!
It’s the scandal of the age!!
Hell, it’s big news!
Another shock to rock Atlanta!
Another information feast
From the gateway to the whole Southeast!
Look! In the mines and the mills
And the Mexican hills, the got stories to tell.
Look! Now Ohio’s afloat.
Soon the women’ll vote and we’ll all go to Hell.
Look! Now that Wilson is in
And old Taft didn’t win, Hell, they’re comin’ to blows!
Look! The Titanic went down,
But I’m stuck in this town with my thumb up my nose
And that’s Big News!
Another stir-crazy freak in Atlaaaanta.
The Board of Estimates approved a new street! (Yippee!)
They’re building churches out of high-grade concrete! (Looka that!)
They say the rain’ll give a break from the heat.
It’s a scoop! It’s a twist!
It’s a reason to exist!
Pray to Heaven! Pray to Zeus!
There’s a genius on the loose!
And that’s really really really really Big News!
You never saw such things in atlanta!
Another brilliant mind deceased
In the gateway to the whole Southeast!!
What a town!
FUNERAL: “THERE IS A FOUNTAIN”/IT DON’T MAKE SENSE
MOURNERS
There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains,
Lose all their guilty stains,
Lose all their guilty stains,
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.
CRAIG
The simple white coffin was carried by three of Mary’s cousins and three of her young friends.
MOURNERS
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day.
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.
CRAIG (overlapping)
Several more friends volunteered to serve as pall-bearers, but they were deemed too small to shoulder the burden. Recent heavy rains made the North Georgia red clay soil glow, as Mary Phagan, just two months shy of fourteen, was laid to her final rest.
FRANKIE
God forgive me what I think.
God forgive me what I wish right now.
CRAIG
Well, you must’ve known Mary pretty well.
FRANKIE
Yessir, I did.
CRAIG
Then this must be a mighty hard day for you.
FRANKIE
Did you ever hear her laugh?
When she laughed, you swore you’d never cry again.
Did you ever see her smile?
Her smile was like a glass of lemonade.
And she said funny things,
And she wore pretty dresses,
And she liked to see the pictures at the VFW Hall,
And she loved ridin’ swings,
And she liked cotton candy,
But I think she liked the pictures best of all:
No, it don’t make sense to me
That she won’t be around.
No, it don’t make sense to me
To put her in the cold and lonely ground.
And no, it don’t make sense
The way the world can let you fall—
I swear if don’t make sense to me at all.
MOURNERS
Dear dying Lamb,
Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its pow’r:
GIRL
She had two crooked teeth:
KID
She had cuts on her fingers:
SECOND GIRL
She worked next to me last summer:
THIRD GIRL
Once a week we used to play:
SECOND GIRL
And she knew how to read:
GIRL
She would smile at the foreman:
CHILDREN
And I can’t believe they took my friend away:
MOURNERS & CHILDREN
|No, it don’t make sense to me|That she will not be there|No, it don’t make sense to me.
FRANKIE
|When she laughed, you swore you’d never cry again.
A MOTHER
She loved when I tied ribbons in her hair:
ALL
And no, it don’t make sense,
They way the sun can still burn down.
No, it don’t make sense to me:
FRANKIE
God forgive me what I think.
CRAIG
Tell me, son, you got any idea who it was?
FRANKIE
God forgive me what I wish right now.
I don’t know the coward’s name.
I don’t know the bastard’s face.
But I swear right now to God:
He ain’t never gonna get away with what he done to Mary!
Let him quiver in his boots!
Let him run until he bleeds!
I won’t rest until I know
Hes’s burning in the ragin’ fires of Hell forevermore!
MOURNERS
There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins:
FRANKIE
God forgive me what I think.
God forgive me what I wish right now:
MOURNERS (overlapping)
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.
REAL BIG NEWS
CRAIG
Big news! My saviour has arrived!
My intuition’s never been so strong!
Big News! My career has been revived—
All I needed was a snippy, pissy Yankee all along!
Take this superstitious city, add one little Jew from Brooklyn
Plus a college education and a mousy little wife,
And big news! Real big news!
That poor sucker saved my life!
So give him fangs, give him horns,
Give him scaly, hairy palms!
Have him droolin’ out the corner of his mouth!
He’s a master of disguise!
Check those bug-out creepy eyes!
Sure, that fella’s here to rape the whole damned South!
They’ll be bangin’ down my door,
Yellin’ “More, Craig, more!”
“Call for justice! We need justice!
Beat the bastard! Kill the bum!”
Big news! Real big news!
My saviour has finally come!
According to reports obtained exclusively by this reporter,
Prosecutor Dorsey has the villain in his sights.
A highly ranking unnamed source in this investigation tells me
Leo Frank’s the only likely culprit in this case.
Anyone with any information on the suspect, Leo Frank,
Should contact this reporter care of the Atlanta Georgian.
MAN
I saw this little kid—
Said, “Look what Leo did!”
And then she run and hid:
CRAIG
Go on, go on, go on, go on now!
PRETTY GIRL
He sat down next to me—
His hand went on my knee—
I had to shake it free!
REPORTERS
Go on, go on, go on, go on now!
KID
|I say it isn’t fair!|I saw his books, I swear—|That man’s a millionaire!
A WOMAN
|He likes ’em young and small!|Got nekkid pictures all|Pinned to his office wall!
REPORTERS
Go on, go on, go on, go on now!
(Oo, oo, oo)
A MAN
|He has a kid, you know—|Knocked up some student so|He paid to make her go|I know it, yes, I seen it, yes!
A MAN
|My brother says he knows|Wherever Leo goes|He carries Mary’s clothes!|I know it, yes, I seen it, yes!
A PSYCHIATRIST
|I’ve watched him for a while|Behind that creepy smile—|The classic pedophile!|I know it, yes, I seen it, yes!
ENSEMBLE
|I know it, yes, I seen it, yes!|I know it, yes, I seen it, yes!
REPORTERS
|Go on, go on, go on, go on now!
|Go on, go on, go on, go on now!
CRAIG
Look! You just scribble it down and it covers the town like molasses or mud!
Look! For us drunken ol’ bums, opportunity comes in a magical flood!
Look! You might never be sure if your motives are pure, but your profits are clear!
Look! You were down and depressed, now you’re ridin’ the crest of the scoop of the year!
DORSEY
Jim Conley. I got a piece of paper here says you spent a little time on the chain gang.
CONLEY
That right?
DORSEY
Twice, according to this. And the second time it says here you were out with the road gang and you just up and disappeared.
CONLEY
Well, you know, my time was about up.
DORSEY
Really? I think you had a few more months to serve. You know what that makes you, don’t you?
CONLEY
Lucky?
DORSEY
I was going to say an escaped convict. Now, what should we do about that?
CONLEY
What was that you was askin’ me about Mr Frank?
REPORTERS AND CRAIG
|Accordin’ to reports obtained ex-
|Clusively by this reporter,|My Leo Frank has been in-|Dicted on the charge of murder!|Prosecutor Dorsey states the|Trial will begin in the
|Atlanta County Courthouse|Only one month from today!|Mrs Frank, the Suspect’s wife,|Has still not spoken to reporters!|What’s the word from Mrs Frank?|What’s the word from Mrs Frank?|Mrs Frank! Mrs Frank!
ENSEMBLE
|Extra! Extra! Leo Frank indicted!
|Trial set for a month from now!|Prosecutor Dorsey will|Try the case himself, he says!|Luther Rosser will represent
|Mr Frank in the fight of his life!|Dorsey promises surprise witnesses|And a quick finish!
|Mrs Frank, the Suspect’s wife,|Has still not spoken to reporters!|What’s the word from Mrs Frank?|What’s the word from Mrs Frank?|Mrs Frank! Mrs Frank!
LUCILLE
Let me alone! Please! Let me alone!
YOU DON’T KNOW THIS MAN
LUCILLE
You don’t know this man.
You don’t know a thing.
You come here with these horrifying stories,
These contemptible conceits,
And you say you understand how a man’s heart beats
And you don’t know a thing.
You don’t know this man.
You don’t even try.
When a man writes his mother every Sunday,
Pays his bills before they’re due,
Works so hard to feed his family—
There’s a murderer for you—
And you stand there spitting words
That you know aren’t true:
Then you don’t know this man.
I don’t think you could.
You don’t have the right to know
A man that wise and good—
He is a decent man!
He is an honest man!
And you don’t know.
And you never will.
Not from me, not from anyone who knows him—
Not a morsel, not a crumb, not a clue.
I have nothing more to say to you.
THE TRIAL (FINALE ACT ONE):
PEOPLE OF ATLANTA
FIDDLIN’ JOHN
People of Atlanta, stand together on this day!
TOM WATSON
I have come to Atlanta with a message from the Lord!
FIDDLIN’ JOHN
|People of Atlanta|Swear that someone’s|Gonna pay!
ENSEMBLE (variously)
|Jimmy!|What’s he gonna say?|Looka this! Wait!|Hey, git away from that window!|Boy, ya better move!
|I see ‘im on the way!
TOM WATSON
|I have come
|To see the devil get his
|Just and true reward!
ENSEMBLE
|Jimmy!|Well! We’re gonna see ‘im get his
|Yes! Gonna see ‘im get his
|Just and true reward!
FIDDLIN’ JOHN
People of Atlanta,
Better bow your heads in shame
THREE WOMEN
Amen!
FIDDLIN’ JOHN
There’s a man who came
And spit on your fine city’s name!
SEVERAL MEN
Lemme at ‘im!
CROWD
Watch out!
FIDDLIN’ JOHN
People of Atlanta,
All are victims of this crime!
It is time now!
WATSON
It is time now!
ALL
It is time now!
WATSON
It is time:
TWENTY MILES FROM MARIETTA
DORSEY
Your Honor, Gentlemen of the Jury, and good people of Georgia:
There is a farmhouse in Marietta,
Kinda battered and forlorn,
And in that farmhouse, fourteen years ago,
A girl named Mary was born.
And she would dance in fields of cotton.
There was a tree where she could play,
But when her daddy died, two years ago,
Mary and her mama moved away.
It’s only twenty miles from Marietta
To a fact’ry in the center of this town,
And twenty miles was all it took
To strike that sweet girl down.
People of Atlanta fought for freedom to their graves,
And now their city is a fact’ry and their children are its slaves.
People of Atlanta swing their city gates wide,
(pointing at Leo)
And look at what you’ve wrought!
FRANKIES’ TESTIMONY
DORSEY
So, Frankie, you say you rode downtown with Mary on the English Avenue streetcar?
FRANKIE
Yessir, Mornin’ of the Memorial Day Parade.
DORSEY
And can you tell me what happened?
FRANKIE
Well, she got up to go and she lookedkinda funny. And I said –
(played out in his “memory”)
Somethin’ wrong, Mary?
MARY
Mr. Frank.
FRANKIE
Mr. Frank what?
MARY
Looks at me.
FRANKIE
Looks at you? Everybody looks at you.
MARY
Not like Mr. Frank.
FRANKIE
What’s he do?
MARY
He calls my name,
I turn my head,
He got no words to say.
His eyes get big,
My face gets red,
And I want to run away,
And he looks:
And I wait:
And he smiles:
THE FACTORY GIRLS/COME UP TO MY OFFICE
DORSEY
Iola Stover, will you describe for the court Mr. Leo Frank’s manner in the factory?
IOLA STOVER
He’ll call my name.
I’ll turn my head.
He got no words to say.
His eyes get big,
My face gets red,
And I want to run away.
IOLA
|I’ll feel his breath|Back of my neck.
|His hand against my chair|I’ll punch the clock,|Pick up my check,|It seems like he’s always there.
GIRLS|He’ll call my name|I’ll turn my head|He got no words to say.|His eyes get big,|My face gets red,|And I want to run away.
IOLA, ESSIE
|I’m in the hall|And then he’s there,|He passes much too close.|I change my clothes,|Put up my hair:
MONTEEN|I’m in the lounge,|I turn around,|He passes much too close.|I eat my lunch,
|I hear a sound:
ALL THREE GIRLS
And somehow, I’m sure he knows –
And I turn,
And he smiles,
And he says:
LEO (appearing in their collective “memory”)
Why don’tcha come up to my office?
Got a couple o’ things you might like to see.
Why don’tcha come up to my office,
‘Bout two-fifteen ’til a quarter to three?
If you could maybe swing by, honey,
Well, you know it’d be okay with me
If you came, if you came, if you came,
If you came to my office.
Why don’tcha come up to my office?
I got a bottle o’ wine and the cork ain’t popped!
Why don’tcha come up to my office,
Where it’s nice and cool when the blinds are dropped?
If you could maybe swing by, honey,
We’ll pretend that bad ol’ clock has stopped
If you came, if you came, if you came,
If you came to my office.
I know this new dance that they’re doin’ in Manhattan.
I’ll get you dancin’ like you never done before!
And I’ll give you things that they sent me from Manhattan,
And if you like,
Well, I got more –
Hell, I got more!
Come on and come up to my office,
I got a fine fried chicken with biscuits for two!
Come on and come up to my office,
We got lots of things that we both can do!
Just take a break and swing by, honey –
No one has to know but me and you
That you came, that you came, that you came, that you came,
When you came, when you came, when you came, when you came,
If you came, if you came, if you came, if you came,
So come on!
Come on!
Come on!
Come on!
Come on!
Why don’tcha come up and come on and come up to my:?
Why don’tcha come up and come on and come up to my:?
Why don’tcha come up and come on and come up?
Come on and come up?
Come on and come up?
Come on and come up?
Come on and come up?
GIRLS (overlapping)
He calls my name.
I turn my head.
He got no words to say:
His eyes get big,
My face gets red,
And I want to run away,
And he looks,
And I wait,
IOLA
And he smiles:
MY CHILD WILL FORGIVE ME
DORSEY
Mrs. Phagan, can you describe for us, please ma’am, the outfit your daughter Mary wore to town last Memorial Day?
MRS. PHAGAN
It was her Easter Sunday outfit – the little lavender cotton pongee dress I made her, a straw hat with a parasol to match, white stockings, her party shoes.
DORSEY (holding a small pile of torn, ruined clothes)
Would these be the clothes?
MRS. PHAGAN
My child will forgive me for raisin’ her poor,
And for takin’ her out of the school.
My child will forgive me for not doin’ more
To protect her from men who are cruel,
And my child will forgive me for closin’ my eyes
To the dangers of growing too fast.
My child will forgive me with tears in her eyes
When we’re reunited at last.
My child will be safe in the arms of the Lord,
And as pure as the day of her birth.
My child will be cozied and blessed and adored
As she never could be here on Earth.
And my child will be watchin’ me, givin’ me faith
In a future that’s golden and new.
My Mary will teach me to open my heart,
And so I forgive you,
Jew.
THAT’S WHAT HE SAID
DORSEY
Bring in Jim Conley!
CROWD (variously)
Lemme see! Watch out!
What’s he gonna say?
Who’s Jim:Jim Conley?
Why they gonna call that man?
Wait a minute!
Lord, ‘nother nigger:
Watch out!
Looka this!
What’s he gonna say about:?
What’s he gonna say?
What’s he gonna say?
Oh!
Watch out! Look! Jimmy!
Will ya looka that?
Now wait a minute!
He’s no good – No damn good:
Puttin’ on airs!
Slick as an onion!
Who’s this?
What’s he gonna do?
What’s he doin’?
He’s askin’ him a question!
What’s he gonna say?
What’s he gonna say?
CONLEY
He tol’ me to watch the door,
“Watch the door” – that’s what he said.
That’s what he said – I should make sure
No one came and interrupted.
Well, I’d say once or twice a month,
He’d tell me, “Jim you watch the door –
I got a lady comin’.
I got a lady comin’:”
Like I said, once or twice a month,
There’d be a lady come to call
And he’d say, “Jim, you watch the door,”
That’s what he said.
And once, I remember there were two ladies.
Another time, there was this young black gentleman from Chicago:
ROSSER
Objection!
DORSEY
All right, then, Jim, will you tell us about the mornin’ of April 26th?
CONLEY
The day of the parade?
He tol’ me to watch the door.
“Watch the door,” that’s what he said.
That’s what he said, “I got a girl,
She’ll be comin’ up to see me,
She’s a very pretty girl:”
He said, “Don’t let me catch you lookin’ at
Miss Mary Perkins.”
That’s what he called her, I think, uh-huh,
“Miss Mary Perkins.”
So when this Mary came to call
I kep’ my eyes down to the floor
‘Cause Mr. Frank said not to look,
That’s what he said.
Next thing, I hear Mr. Frank is yellin’ somethin’, so I run upstairs, and I opens the door, and Mr. Frank looks up.
He said, “We were playin’ a game!
Playin’ a game!” That’s what he said –
That’s what he said, and little Mary’s
Kinda crumpled in the corner.
He said, “You don’t understand –
She didn’t want to play the game,
And so I went and hit her –
You see, I had to hit her.”
He told me I should go and look,
He said she’s actin’ like she’s sick,
And I said, “Lawd, that chil’ is dead!”
That’s what I said!
And he said, “No! No!
It ain’t my fault that girl is dead!”
He said, “No! No!”
That’s what he said.
CONLEY (CROWD in brackets)
(That’s what he said!)
He said, “No! No!”
And his eyes were wild and his face was red,
He said, “No!” (No!)
“No!” (No!)
That’s what he said!
(That’s what he said, that’s what he
What he said, he said that’s,
That’s what he said:)
He said, “Gotta get her out –
Let’s get her out!” That’s what he said. (That’s what he said)
And so I found me
This ol’ gunny sack and wrapped ‘er.
He said, “You’re a good boy, Jim –
I know you won’t tell no one nothin’ –
Here’s a hundred dollars!”
(No! It can’t be true!)
I got a hundred dollars.
(God! What can we do?)
And so I put her on my back
We took the elevator down.
He said, “Jus’ throw her on the ground!”
That’s what he said.
(That’s what he said.)
Yes, he said
“No!” (No!)
“No!” (No!)
“There ain’t no reason I should hang!”
He said, “No!” (No!)
“No!” (No!)
That’s what he said!
(That’s what he said!)
He said, “No!” (No!)
“No!” (No!)
“There ain’t no reason I should hang –
You got money in your pocket and there’s plenty more o’ that –
I got wealthy friends an’ fam’ly, and a wife who’s dumb and fat –
I got rich folks out in Brooklyn if I need somewheres to go
And these stupid rednecks never gonna know!”
(Hang ‘im!)
“No!”
(Hang ‘im!)
“It ain’t my fault that girl is dead!” (Hang the Jew!)
He said, “No!” (Hang ‘im!)
“No!” (Hang ‘im!)
That’s what he said! (Make ‘im pay!)
He said, “No!” (Get ‘im!)
“No!” (Now!)
And his eyes were wild and his face was red
He said, “No!” (Hang ‘im!)
(Hang ‘im!)
LEO
No!
(Hang ‘im! Yeah!)
(Hang the killer!)
FIDDLIN’ JOHN
People of Atlanta! (Kill ‘im!)
(Jew! Kill ‘im!)
KID
People of Atlanta! (Hang ‘im!)
FIDDLIN’ JOHN
Raise your voices! (Get ‘im! Yes!)
(Make ‘im pay!
Bastard! Yeah!
Take ‘im down!)
FIDDLIN’ JOHN, KID & FRANKIE
Raise your voices high (Kill ‘im! Get ‘im!)
For Mary! (Nail ‘im! Now!)
(Hang ‘im! Hang ‘im!)
FIDDLIN’ JOHN, KID, FRANKIE & LIZZIE PHAGAN
High!! (Hang ‘im! Hang ‘im!)
High!! (Hang ‘im! Hang ‘im!)
Hang ‘im! (Hang ‘im!)
LEO’S STATEMENT: “IT’S HARD TO SPEAK MY HEART”
LEO
It’s hard to speak my heart.
I’m not a man who bares his soul.
I let the moment pass me by –
I stay where I am in control.
I hide behind my work,
Safe and sure of what to say:
I know I must seem hard,
I know I must seem: cold.
I never touched that girl –
You think I’d hurt a child, yes?
I’d hardly seen her face before –
I swear – I swore we’d barely met.
These people try to scare you
With things I’ve never said.
I know it makes no sense.
I swear I don’t know why:
You see me as I am – You can’t believe I’d lie –
You can’t believe I’d do these deeds –
A little man who’s scared and blind,
Too lost to find the words he needs.
I never touched that child –
God – I never raised my hand!
I stand before you now:
Incredibly afraid.
I pray you understand.
SUMMATION AND CAKEWALK
DORSEY
This angel met her end on the concrete floor of the sweatshop where she toiled away her childhood fastening erasers to pencil caps for ten pennies an hour. She died a noble death without a splotch or blemish upon her (holding up her bloody clothes above his head)
Your Honor, I’ve done my duty;
I have no apologies to make.
There will be but one verdict in this trial:
GUILTY! GUILTY!
GUILTY!
ENSEMBLE (overlapping)
God bless this day in the old hills of Georgia
The old red hills of home.
All sinners pay in the old hills of Georgia
Let us finish what’s begun
And let Jesus’ will be done!
JUDGE ROAN
Gentlemen of the Jury, have you reached a verdict?
FOREMAN
Yes, sir, we have, Your Honor.
JUDGE ROAN
How say you?
FOREMAN
Guilty.
(The eleven other jurors confirm their verdict: GUILTY! The crowd breaks into an exultant celebratory cakewalk. Leo and Lucille embrace each other, terrified.)