PETER: Vi, I love Ann.
VI: So do I. (Beat) We’re your sisters. You have to! (Smiles) Not that it’s always been— (Touching her forehead) I was looking in the mirror earlier, see this? (Points to a spot on her forehead) See this little mark? You know how I got that? You, Petey—
PETER: Don’t call me—
VI: You hit me with a stone. I was maybe—four? Do you remember this?
(Peter shakes his head.)
Why should you. (Beat) The scars we leave. (Sits down) The first time I had sex— Does this embarrass you?
(Peter shakes his head.)
Good. I was fifteen. He was a boy. Also from London. He hadn’t seen his parents for—years, too. We hung around. We played. When Ann wouldn’t let me play with her friends. (Beat) We did it outside. In the woods. I didn’t have anything. No one told me about French letters. At least not how to get one. We both were pretty frightened. He was younger than me. Same as you. You’d like him, I think. I don’t know where he is now. (Beat) Then that afternoon—when I got back to the house from the woods? A telegram was waiting for us. To tell us that Mother had died. (Beat) Guilty? Did I feel guilty, Peter? The scars we leave. (Beat) There is no greater curse on a child, I believe, than to tie together once and forever—sex and death.
(Pause.)
PETER: I mean—I love Ann as a woman.
(Vi turns to him.)
I love her body. I love to touch—
(Vi suddenly slaps him hard across the face. He nearly falls over.)
VI: Stop it! Stop it!! That’s disgusting!!
(Ann enters from the kitchen.)
ANN: What—?!
VI (Making a “joke”): He got fresh. (Tries to laugh)
PETER (Trying to lie): I hit my head against . . . (Looks to find something he could have hit his head against)
ANN: Against what?
PETER: The sofa. The side of the sofa.
ANN: How did you—?
PETER: I was leaning and I—?
ANN: Why were you leaning?
PETER: I just hit it. That’s all. I’m not sure how it happened. It was one of those—things.
(Ann goes to him and looks at the bruise. She touches his face. Vi watches.)
VI: Is the supper . . .?
ANN: It needs to cook. (Continues to touch Peter’s face)
PETER: I’m all right. I really am.
VI: Leave him alone.
ANN: What?? (Lets go of Peter)
VI: Leave our brother alone. He’s not a child. We don’t have to keep fawning over him.
(They look at each other.)
(Turning away) Leave him alone. What were we talking about? The day Mother died. I was just talking about the day Mother died. I walk out of the woods, a little bloody, and Mum’s dead. We’re not the sisters you left. Are we, Ann? So much happened. There’s so much Peter doesn’t know about. So much he’s missed. (Beat) There was that woman. Weeks? Months later? After Mother’s death, Father comes to visit us—with a woman. What was her name?
(No response from Ann.)
We never wrote to you about any of this. And the most remarkable thing was that she looked like Mother. Like a rather blurry carbon copy of Mother. Wouldn’t you agree?
ANN: Exactly.
(Peter looks at Ann.)
VI: We look at her—we didn’t know what to say. Father’s got his arm around her. They hold hands. What am I to feel? Do I love her? Do I hate her? She tried—to be nice. At supper that night she was very nice. Then we went for a walk in the morning. Just “us girls.” (Beat) And we learned, didn’t we, that she was obsessed with Mother. With things he’d heard—been told—
ANN: That Father was telling her—
VI: Lies. How Mother had been so mean with some things—
ANN: Books, he told her.
PETER: Mother was never mean with books—
VI (Over this): And positively extravagant when it came to other things—for herself. Shoes. How many shoes?? That was not true! He was lying to her about Mother! Mother bought maybe three pairs of shoes at one time only because she had such narrow feet that when she found shoes that fitted her—which was rare!—she bought a few pairs! That makes sense. Doesn’t it make sense?! That doesn’t make her a spendthrift. That doesn’t make her selfish for God’s sake!! She kept every damn shoe she ever bought and dyed them over and over and over! This wasn’t our mother, woman! I know it sounds petty, but I can still see that face, that almost-Mother’s face, how I wanted to slap that face as she said, I remember every word, as she took my hand on that walk and said: “It seems your mother wasn’t a very kind woman. How hard that must have been for you. Still, I’m sure she tried to love you in her own way.” (Short pause) We’re weak, Peter. We’ve become very weak.
(To Ann) Leave him alone.
(Ann looks at Peter.)
PETER: I told her. She knows.
(Ann nods. Peter turns to her, leans and kisses her on the mouth and fondles her breast. She lets him.)
VI (Covering her ears and closing her eyes, shouts): No!!!!!!!
(Silence.)
ANN: What else has he missed about our family, Vi? There’s the letters. (To Peter) Why didn’t he burn them? He was off to war, for God’s sake! Letters to Father from women. Over years and years. (Beat) Mother must have known.
VI: We disagree about that.
ANN: I’ve read them. Vi’s read them. Betty’s so far refused. Just say when. (Takes Peter’s hand in hers)
VI: This is wrong. I hurt so much. (Holds herself and whimpers) No. No. No.
(Short pause.)
PETER (To Ann): Vi got that part in that play. The director changed his mind.
ANN: Good for you, Vi.
VI: I went to see the director today. At his flat. And slept with him.
(Beat. As a second thought) The girl without— (Gestures) And her legs crossed? She had had the role.
(Short pause.)
ANN: As Vi said—we’re not the sisters you left.
(Short pause.)
PETER: So poor Vi will have to be away from home for a while.
(Short pause.)
ANN: Mike’s looking at a new flat, Vi—for the baby. So I could be away from home, too.
(Door opens, Betty enters.)
(Letting go of Peter’s hand) Betty, why are you—?
VI (Same time): Where’s Hugh?
(Betty looks at them and smiles. She is suddenly calm, not at all the flighty person she has been.)
BETTY: I don’t know. I just—left. I don’t know what happened—it was like someone spoke to me and said: “Look at this man, Betty. Have you looked at him?” (Beat) So I did. And I saw—a nose I disliked. Talk about thick ankles—look at his nose. And hands—with all those hairs. And I hate his laugh. I hate his teasing. So why am I here? (Beat) This isn’t me. So I said I didn’t feel well and came home. (Turns to Ann) Ann, could you put the kettle on, please?
VI: I’ll do it—
BETTY: Let Ann. She’s always telling us not to wait on her.
VI: When has she said—?
BETTY: Sh-sh.
ANN (Getting up): I’ll put the kettle on. (Goes)
BETTY: In the pub. Hugh got quite close to me and said, “I hope this isn’t difficult for you, but I’ve asked Mike to join us for dinner. I think he’s bringing his other nurse.”
(Ann returns.)
ANN: Kettle’s on. (Beat) We’ll eat when Mike’s home.
BETTY (Picking up a framed photo): I think it was Mother who spoke to me. Her voice. That’s what I’m going to believe. Now I’m going to get out of her dress and give it back to her.
(She goes down the hallway to her bedroom. Ann looks at Peter.)
VI: Leave him alone.
(Beat.)
ANN: I should keep an eye on the stew.
(She hesitates, goes to Peter, squeezes his shoulder, then leaves for the kitchen.
Vi picks up the photo Betty had held. She sets it back down.
P
eter stands, begins to follow Ann, when:)
VI: Stay in here.
(Peter sits back down. Beat.)
The ship after yours—the next ship carrying boys and girls to Canada—was torpedoed by the Germans and sank.
PETER: I know that.
VI (Ignoring him): They wouldn’t let anyone—go after that. You were the last. (Beat) We waited a full week wondering what had happened. If it had been your ship. (Beat) We thought then we might have lost you. I even imagined, sitting in the bath, what it would have been like, felt like—to drown. And to float to the bottom of the sea. Like a leaf, I thought, as it falls. We cried ourselves to sleep. (Beat) The first newspaper accounts said that the little boys had stood in perfect lines, all straight, all calm. Some could get into boats, some couldn’t. Calm. Betty said that surely meant you couldn’t be on that ship, our little Peter couldn’t ever stand still. (Smiles at Peter) For a week we held our breath. And then we heard. You were in Canada. You were lucky. How we celebrated! Mum and Dad and Betty and Ann and me. How happy we were that our Peter was safe. I’d never known a happier day. (Picks up the photo again) I began to dream you were coming home. (Beat) Then, finally, you really were coming home. (Sets the photo back down) Now you’re home.
(Stands. Calls) Betty, I’ll help you with that dress!
(She heads down the hallway. Peter sits alone on the sofa.
Suddenly, from far off, the distant cry of a baby.
The cry gets louder and louder, closer and closer. The baby is screaming now.
Peter doesn’t move, doesn’t flinch as the baby continues to scream.)
SCENE 8
Months later. Midnight.
The room is dark. Outside, in the hallway, a baby is crying.
Someone is trying to unlock the door. Finally it opens and Mike and Ann enter. She carries their crying infant.
ANN (Rocking): Sh-sh. They’re not up. They’re asleep. Maybe we should—
MIKE: They won’t be for long. (Nods down the hall to the bedrooms) Someone’s turned on a light.
ANN (Rocking): Sh-sh. Turn on a lamp.
(Mike turns on a lamp. There is a cup and saucer on a table.)
Look at this mess. These children need a mother.
MIKE: It’s a cup and saucer.
(Betty, tying her dressing gown, enters from her bedroom.)
BETTY: Ann? Is that you? What are you—?
VI (Right behind her): They brought Mary!
(The aunts go to the child.)
BETTY: What’s wrong? Is something wrong?
ANN: Sh-sh. Sh-sh.
MIKE: Colic. I tell her it’ll pass. She’s worried—
ANN: I’m not worried.—
MIKE (Over this): And I’m also her doctor! Give her to them. Give her— Look at your sisters, they’re drooling to— They won’t drop her—
(Ann begins handing over the baby to Betty.)
BETTY: Sh-sh. Sh-sh. She’s so sweet.
VI: What time is it?
MIKE: Midnight.
VI: What are you doing—?
MIKE (To Betty): We miss you at the surgery.
BETTY (Just rocks the baby, ignoring Mike): God, I love her.
(Peter appears in the doorway of Mike and Ann’s old bedroom, now his. He has thrown on trousers, and is buttoning his shirt. He is barefoot.)
PETER: What is—all this?
MIKE: Peter! (To Ann) He is here. You weren’t sure—
PETER: Sure what?
VI: Ann’s brought Mary.
MIKE: I’ll wager he guessed that.
PETER (About the crying): What’s wrong?
ANN: It’s nothing—colic. It goes away. It’s a phase, Mike says.
BETTY: Maybe she needs to be changed.
ANN: You can try that, sometimes—
VI: Or she’s hungry.
ANN: I just fed her.
MIKE: We brought nappies—
BETTY: Let’s take her into our room and change her on the bed. (To Ann) Do you mind?
ANN: I’ll have my chances. Please. I hold her enough.
VI (To Betty): Why don’t you let me—
ANN: Please, don’t fight over her.
(Smiles. Vi takes the crying baby out of the room. Mike sits on the sofa and sighs:)
MIKE: The lungs on that child. I am so tired.
(Soon he will fall asleep sitting up. Ann and Peter look at each other.)
ANN: I thought you might want to see your niece. You can go—if you want—
PETER: She’s beautiful. I’ll see more of her later. She’s very beautiful.
(Big yawn from Mike.)
MIKE: Children . . .
ANN: It’s not too late—?
PETER: No.
ANN: You were up?
PETER: Yes.
(Beat.)
ANN: You didn’t come to the hospital. I don’t blame you, they’re— (Beat. Looks around) Our first time out. We just brought her home, you know. She was crying. We couldn’t sleep. (Looks at Mike who is falling asleep) I couldn’t sleep. (Smiles) So I thought to myself—where can we go? Who’d take us in? (Smiles again) And I knew you’d be anxious to see her. To meet your niece. I thought you’d been waiting— It’s great to see you.
(They look at each other. He reaches for her hand. She resists.)
You deserve better than me. You’re my brother.
(Young Rose, Hugh’s daughter, comes out from Peter’s bedroom, wearing Peter’s dressing gown.)
ROSE: Peter?? What’s going on? Why is that baby crying?
(Ann is stunned to see Rose.)
PETER: Go back to bed. They’ll be gone soon.
ROSE: Is the baby all right? It’s not sick—
ANN: She’s fine. They’re changing her.
ROSE: Could I watch? I love babies.
ANN: Put some clothes on first.
ROSE (In disbelief): What??
ANN: I said, young lady, put some clothes on first.
(Rose looks at Peter, hesitates, then hurries back to put on clothes.)
Was that who I think it was?
PETER: Rose.
ANN: Thank you, I forgot the name. God you people keep secrets.
PETER: We just went out for the first time tonight.
ANN: I see. (Beat) Good for you. Good for you.
(She goes to hug Peter. He hesitates, then allows himself to be hugged.)
Though I hope you don’t get serious about her. You can do better than that. After all, you’re my brother.
(This makes Peter smile. Ann sits in a chair. Mike is sound asleep.)
It’s breezy outside. She’ll probably catch a cold. (Beat) What kind of mother am I? (Turns to Peter for comfort or a compliment)
PETER: I don’t know.
(Short pause.)
ANN: When I was in labor, when I was—out. Mike made sure I was out. I had a dream about the baby. I dreamed my baby and I were taking a trip together. Just us. Her and me. We were climbing mountains somewhere. Maybe—Canada? Your mountains?
PETER: They’re not my—
ANN: The sky was so blue. Her face young and happy. And then suddenly she slipped, Peter, and she started to fall. I reached down and grabbed her hand. I was the only thing keeping her from death. (Beat) She was dangling over the side of a cliff, my hand gripping her wrist. She was so heavy, Peter. I thought my whole arm would fall off. But I held on. (Beat) Then somehow I found the strength, the power inside me, a power that surprised me, that I never knew I possessed, and I pulled my baby to safety. I saved her, Peter. (Beat) I saved her. (Beat) And then there she was again—a baby in my arms. (Beat) You’ll adore her. And she’ll worship you.
(The crying has stopped.)
She’s stopped crying.
(Vi appears.)
VI (In a loud whisper): If you sing to her, she stops crying!
(Vi hurries back to the baby. Off we hear Vi and Betty singing. Ann and Peter listen.)
PETER: What are they singing?
(They and we begin to
make out the song, “Goodnight Children Everywhere”:)
VI AND BETTY (Off):
She’s with you night and day.
Goodnight children, everywhere.
(Mike snores.
Peter and Ann don’t move, can’t move, they only listen.)
Sleepy little eyes and sleepy little head
Sleepy time is drawing near
In a little while
You’ll be tucked up in your bed
Here’s a song for baby dear . . .
(Fighting back tears, and without looking at each other, Peter snaps his fingers once, thinking of Mother. Ann snaps her fingers once.
Then after a moment, Ann snaps her fingers twice, thinking of Father. Peter snaps his fingers twice.
The singing continues. Rose bursts in buttoning her blouse. She crosses the room and exits to go and see the baby. Neither seems to notice her.
From off:)
Goodnight children, everywhere
Your mummy thinks of you tonight.
Lay your head upon your pillow,
Don’t be a kid or a weeping willow.
Close your eyes and say a prayer
And surely you can find a kiss to spare.
Though you are far away
She’s with you night and day.
Goodnight children, everywhere.
END OF PLAY
FRANNY’S WAY
For Tim Sanford
PRODUCTION HISTORY
Franny’s Way was first produced by Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director; William Russo, General Manager) on March 6, 2002. It was directed by the playwright; the set design was by Thomas Lynch, the costume design was by Susan Hilferty and Linda Ross, the lighting design was by Jennifer Tipton, the sound design was by Scott Lehrer and the stage managers were Jane Pole, Kevin Bertolacci and Clare Gardner. The cast was as follows:
FRANNY
Elisabeth Moss
DOLLY
Domenica Cameron-Scorsese
SALLY
Yvonne Woods
PHIL
Jesse Pennington
OLDER FRANNY/GRANDMA
Kathleen Widdoes
Franny’s Way was subsequently produced by The Geffen Playhouse (Gilbert Cates, Producing Director; Randall Arney, Artistic Director; Stephen Eich, Managing Director) on June 28, 2003. It was directed by the playwright; the set design was by Thomas Lynch, the costume design was by Susan Hilferty, the lighting design was by David Weiner, the sound design was by Scott Lehrer and the stage managers were Elsbeth M. Collins and Andrea Iovino. The cast was as follows:
Goodnight Children Everywhere and Other Plays Page 31
