CHILD OF THE CENTURY Written by Scott Jacobs Adapted from the book by Ben Hecht (c) Scott Jacobs 2326 W. Medill Chicago, IL 60647 773-517-6008 Email: [email protected] March 12, 2020 ii. CAST Principals:(6) Ben Hecht . Narrator Ben Hecht . writer/actor Rose Caylor . wife Charles MacArthur . co-writer Herman Mankiewicz . screenwriter Peter Bergman . activist Featured Players:(11) playing multiple roles Sherman Reilly Duffy Margaret Anderson Sherwood Anderson Carl Sandburg Adolph Hitler John Barrymore Charles Ort Mac McEvoy Franny Brice Stoolie Don DiMico Rabbi Chaim Levin Cameos/Extras/Other: Hecht’s Mother, Unicyclist, Bearded Lady, Silk Dancer, Deliveryman, Harry the Acrobat, Bursar, Frat Boys(3), Uncle Manny, John Eastman, Martin Hutchens, Henry Justin Smith, Brooks Beitler, Copyboy, Queen Lil, Whores(2), Malloy, Clarence Darrow, Neighborhood Jews(2), Keating, Cuban President, Cap’n Loftus, The Pinheads(twins), Captain Helpern, Rabbis(4), Harpo Marx, Helen Hayes, Bill “Mr. Bojangles” Robinson, David O. Selznick, Victor Fleming, Billy Rose, Marlon Brando. Act I A relaxed Ben Hecht, the very picture of his picture, sits in a spotlight off to the side of an empty stage, a half-smoked cigar dangling from his fingers. The black background is a huge video scrim stretched across the span of the stage. HECHT NARRATOR For a number of years, I have thought of writing a book about myself. I deferred believing that I might become brighter and better informed as I grew older. I was, in my dreams, never quite finished with becoming what I hoped to be. But I have decided to put away such convenient humility because, obviously, if I keep postponing the task, no book at all will come to pass and the empire I call myself will vanish without any chronicle from the man most suited to provide it –– me. VIDEO: On the scrim, a grainy 1908 film clip of downtown Racine includes a boy catching frogs in a creek bed, playing with friends and lying on his back watching clouds as described. HECHT NARRATOR I grew up in Racine, Wisconsin. My mother had a store in Monument Square -- the Paris Fashion Shop -- where I would hang out every day. When I was not hunting frogs by the creek bed, or chasing make-believe Indians through the streets, I was laying out on the jetty staring at the cloud galleons overhead, imagining where they might take me. SCENE ONE - PARLOR OF HECHT’S BOARDING HOUSE Hecht boyhood home at 827 Lake Avenue. Dissolve to parlor backdrop. A young Hecht practices his violin while his mother watches silently in the doorway. An acrobat passes through on a unicycle, a bearded lady sits in a chair reading a newspaper, a silk dancer and strongman play backgammon at a table. HECHT NARRATOR We lived in Mrs. Castello’s boarding house. She had once been a bareback-riding beauty in P.T. Barnum’s circus, and the place was filled with retired circus folk from the sawdust world. My mother hoped I might grow up to be a great musician. But knowing my predilections, she didn’t trust me to practice so she made me play in the parlor where she could watch my every move. On my 13th birthday, four huge crates arrived with my name on them. They were a gift from my father. Inside were all the great books of literature, or so his professor friend had told him because, a tailor by trade, he had read none of them. 2. Deliveryman goes off. Others exit carrying their props. Scrim dissolves to attic bedroom. Hecht reads on bed. There were 15 volumes of Shakespeare, a complete set of Charles Dickens and Mark Twain, and a 52-volume History of The World in Literature. I read every one, thrilled by the adventures of Jason and the Argonauts and wishing I was there to help Perseus free Andromeda from Poseidon’s rock. Scrim goes dark. A trapeze is lowered with Harry on it. When I could read no more, I would slip out the window to the Castello’s barn where Mrs. Castello’s son Harry hung a trapeze to practice his act. Silent tableau of Harry swinging and talking to Hecht about upcoming circus tour. Harry had dreams too. He was organizing a one-ring circus to tour all the small towns in Wisconsin, and he invited me to tag along. My mother was skeptical, but she relented when Harry promised I would be doing a violin solo. I don’t think the violin ever came out of its case, but I had the time of my life –– what life I had –– until we hit Fond du Lac and the money ran out. SCENE TWO - UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN A scenic shot of Bascom Hill. HECHT NARRATOR Since I faced a summer of sitting around doing nothing, my father insisted I enroll at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. A now 16-year-old Hecht stands at the bursar’s desk. A gaggle of fraternity boys in stiff- collared suits sit around a darkened table. BURSAR Name? HECHT Hecht. Ben Hecht. BURSAR First year? HECHT Yup. 3. BURSAR Major? HECHT I’m 16. Is that major enough? (Hecht laughs. The bursar is not amused.) I’ll be 17 in February. BURSAR That’s nice. But what’s your major? What do you want to study? HECHT I want to study everything. BURSAR (non-plussed) Arts & Sciences. HECHT Yeah, that sounds good. Arts & Sciences. BURSAR (Rounds up papers. Hands Hecht a catalog.) Here’s your catalog. Classes start Monday. Young Hecht takes the material and walks over to the table. HECHT NARRATOR I lasted all of three days at the university. Never even made it to the first class. The frat boys are jovially drinking. Hecht sits and buries his head in the catalog. I was staying in a fraternity with some of the most stiff-necked swells I ever met. They were so full of themselves I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. They seemed amused that I was taking classic literature courses. When I told them I wasn’t worried because I’d read most of the books, they accused me of snobbery. FRAT BOY #1 Did’ya hear that boys? He thinks ole Snifflebeak’s class is going to be a breeze. FRAT BOY #2 Maybe he should teach it. 4. They laugh. FRAT BOY #1 There’s a reason we call them freshmen. They’re fresh as baby poo when they come in. FRAT BOY #2 Here’s a word of advice, freshman. Nobody likes a know-it-all. You’ve got to pay your dues before people will take you seriously. Think about it. Spotlight. HECHT NARRATOR I did think about it––for about a minute. Okay, ten minutes. Then I bolted down to the train station to catch the next train to Chicago. VIDEO: Young Hecht sits alone in a train car. Historical footage of Chicago neighborhoods flash by in the window. The train arrives at Union Station. Hecht walks over to lie down on a bench in the waiting room.. HECHT NARRATOR (CONT’D) I spent my first night in Chicago on a bench in Union Station. I had $50 in my pocket –– my university money –– and I planned to spend it all before going back to Racine. SCENE THREE - MAJESTIC THEATER VIDEO: State Street in 1910 ends on a street view of the Majestic Theater. HECHT NARRATOR I went to take in a vaudeville show at the Majestic Theater and was standing outside when I heard someone call my name. UNCLE MANNY Bennie! Bennie Hecht! What the hell are you doing here? HECHT NARRATOR It was my Uncle Manny, my mother’s brother, who left Racine for the liquor business in Chicago. HECHT I’m going to see a show. UNCLE MANNY That I can see. But what are you doing in Chicago? 5. HECHT Looking for a job. UNCLE MANNY What kind of job? HECHT One that pays. UNCLE MANNY Any particular kind of job? (Hecht shrugs.) Are you trained in anything? Bookkeeping? Sales? HECHT I worked as an acrobat once. And I can play the violin. UNCLE MANNY That and a nickel will get you a cup of coffee. You drink? Nah, of course you don’t drink. You’re too young. But it never hurts to know people who do. Come with me. I’ll introduce you around. SCENE FOUR - THE CHICAGO JOURNAL Reporters stare as Uncle Manny leads Hecht into the newsroom of the Chicago Journal. John Eastman, the publisher, is happy to see them. EASTMAN Manny, Manny, Manny . Where have you been? I told you my wife is throwing a big shindig tonight. What do you have for me? UNCLE MANNY Only the best. 120 proof whiskey . and a bonus. My nephew here is new in town and looking for a job. I thought you could use some fresh eyes in this tired old place. (To Hecht.) Bennie, meet John Eastman, publisher of the esteemed Chicago Journal. HECHT It’s a pleasure, Mr. Eastman. UNCLE MANNY He’s a writer. EASTMAN Everybody’s a writer, or so they say. What kind of writer are you because, right now, I need a poem for a toast tonight. 6. HECHT I can do that. EASTMAN You can, huh. MANNY He’s a literary genius. EASTMAN Okay, so there’s this bull out in a pasture who swallows a God damn bumblebee. It goes down his throat into his stomach and -- two days later -- comes out his ass in a big load of bullshit.