Fathers and daughters -- Drama; New York (N.Y.) -- Drama; Young women -- Drama
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"ANNA CHRISTIE"
A Play in Four Acts
By
EUGENE O'NEILL
CHARACTERS
"JOHNNY-THE-PRIEST"
TWO LONGSHOREMEN
A POSTMAN
LARRY, bartender
CHRIS. CHRISTOPHERSON, captain of the barge "Simeon Winthrop"
MARTHY OWEN
ANNA CHRISTOPHERSON, Chris's daughter
THREE MEN OF A STEAMER'S CREW
MAT BURKE, a stoker
JOHNSON, deckhand on the barge
SCENES
ACT I
"Johnny-the-Priest's" saloon near the waterfront. New York City.
ACT II
The barge, Simeon Winthrop, at anchor in the harbor of Provincetown,
Mass. Ten days later.
ACT III
Cabin of the barge, at dock in Boston. A week later.
ACT IV
The same. Two days later.
Time of the Play--About 1910.
ACT I
SCENE--"Johnny-The-Priest's" saloon near South Street, New York City.
The stage is divided into two sections, showing a small back room on
the right. On the left, forward, of the barroom, a large window looking
out on the street. Beyond it, the main entrance--a double swinging
door. Farther back, another window. The bar runs from left to right
nearly the whole length of the rear wall. In back of the bar, a small
showcase displaying a few bottles of case goods, for which there is
evidently little call. The remainder of the rear space in front of the
large mirrors is occupied by half-barrels of cheap whiskey of the
"nickel-a-shot" variety, from which the liquor is drawn by means of
spigots. On the right is an open doorway leading to the back room. In
the back room are four round wooden tables with five chairs grouped
about each. In the rear, a family entrance opening on a side street.
It is late afternoon of a day in fall.
As the curtain rises, Johnny is discovered. "Johnny-The-Priest"
deserves his nickname. With his pale, thin, clean-shaven face, mild
blue eyes and white hair, a cassock would seem more suited to him than
the apron he wears. Neither his voice nor his general manner dispel
this illusion which has made him a personage of the water front. They
are soft and bland. But beneath all his mildness one senses the man
behind the mask--cynical, callous, hard as nails. He is lounging at
ease behind the bar, a pair of spectacles on his nose, reading an
evening paper.
Two longshoremen enter from the street, wearing their working aprons,
the button of the union pinned conspicuously on the caps pulled
sideways on their heads at an aggressive angle.
FIRST LONGSHOREMAN--[As they range themselves at the bar.] Gimme a
shock. Number Two. [He tosses a coin on the bar.]
SECOND LONGSHOREMAN--Same here. [Johnny sets two glasses of barrel
whiskey before them.]
FIRST LONGSHOREMAN--Here's luck! [The other nods. They gulp down their
whiskey.]
SECOND LONGSHOREMAN--[Putting money on the bar.] Give us another.
FIRST LONGSHOREMAN--Gimme a scoop this time--lager and porter. I'm dry.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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