Charlie’s Wedding, A Play in One Act Essay

Gertie, a black charwo reality, dressed-up in neat black satin, stands at the window, her back to the audience. She may be polishing the frosting or she may be eves-dropping on the two fashionably dressed white ladies, Mona and Sheila, who sit on a divan directly tardily her, facing the audience. Mona What on earth did he say hence, Sheila? Sheila, (smiling coyly) He express he deficiencys to embrace me, of course, silly. Mona But he squeeze issuet do that bed he? I mean(a pause) strong you hit the sack what I mean. Men similar him Sheila Thats retri exceptive the point workforce c atomic number 18 himthey mountain do whatever they wish.Mona Well, Im just now reflectionthey fagt buy a cow when the milk is so cheap. Sheila Well, he might buy the cow that gives milk as well-be excited as this mavin does. Mona feigns embarrass custodyt, her custody going to her face as she buries her show in her hands for a moment. Gertie moves to the right and supposes at p ictures in frames on the mantle of the fire roll, now obviously take in heeding, cocking her head to hear better. Mona Girl, you eat up no shame. (Giggles) But you atomic number 18 ab away to graduate from here eachway. You slangt shoot to marry, you dont have to do any issue exactly use up your bags and run, girl. Sheila But I might just c only for to pay married.Isnt it what every young lady is re atomic number 18d to do? arent we born and bred to be the wives and ornaments of powerful men? Isnt it my duty as a woman? Isnt it my c in solelying? My raison detre? (Misprounounces the in classifyigences) Mona If its what you want, then by wholly means you should do it. Be my guest. I pass on dance at your hook up with with a cow-bell on. But its non going to be to that two-timing Charlie OBrian, I surely do hope, child. Gertie moves until she is standing at the side of Sheila, picks up a small bowl from the end hold over and is wiping it slowly. Sheila Well how d ejection you be so presumptuous?I mean, what do you turn back about it anyway? And why do you say he is a two-timer? If you know about gossip that I dont then you ar bound by your duty as a woman to tell me. Gertie regularises down the bowl and speaks Yes, command Mona, do tell all you know about this two-timing Charlie OBrian. Do you have some reason to suspect he may not be as morally upright and Christianified as he purports to be? Is he, perhapsaman of low degree? The three women fraudulence and Gertie takes a seat in the chair, in profile to the audience, putting her feet up on a ottoman and fanning herself from her labor.Gertie Let me tell you about men all men. They are idiotsall idiots, and Charlie OBrian is their Lizard King. They are all just commodious sons. They neer grow up and they never judge with the head they have on their shoulders. I know you mint speculate which head it is that they do think with, without me having to say. But they control the money and governing and they control the laws and we have to work well-nigh them to get what we want. Now, as for this Charlie OBrian, he has proposed to half the women in this sorority and that is a natural fact. He got big drunk last Christmas and asked me to run off with him.I told him that for twenty dollars I would run into the pantry with him for a spell, but that is all of the running I meant to do. Child, no man is ever faithful to no woman and I ordain tell you how you erect be sure of what a man is up to. If you think he is faithful to you then he is virtually desirely deceiver on you. But if you think he is cheating on you, then he is positively cheating on you. And you can take that to the bank, honey. Sheila We all know how men are. But Charlie is different. He retires me. He in truth does Gertie Sugar, last year he loved Abbie, and the year earlier that he loved Sara Lynn.He loves a lot of ladies. And lots of ladies love him. But aint none of them ever got a statio n on his lil narrow behind. Mona laughs Gertie, you are such a romantic soul. But you are wrong about Charlie boy. He loves a lot of women but he dont love any of them. We all know about commercial affection. Thats why in that location are riotous houses and sporting ladies who can be found in them, and men know all them and they go sow their wild oats and then pray for a crop failure. Charlie OBrian haunts sporting houses. He is a sporting man. He is going to leave you crying.Sheila looks at Mona, irritated Well Miss Know It All, that just proves my point, because men dont marry sporting ladies do they? They marry good girls, from good families. They marry ladies of wit, fostering and sagacity. They go sow those wild oats but then when nesting time comes around they look for a woman who is better than any sporting lady. They look for someone who can entertain for them, can give them sons and can obtain their home for them. I dont care where my man gets his kicks so long as he kicks his boots off at home with me. I am a pragmatic person. I understand the ways of the world.I did not just fall of no turnip truck, and remember it or not, I did not come to this town riding two to the mule. Mona looks at Gertie who shrugs her shoulders, then speaks Honey, you are missing one very important point. You are too good for Charlie OBrian. He is beneath you and thats a fact. You leave never be happy with someone like him. He is leafy vegetable as dirt. He is in the trades. He will maintain you filled up with a belly-full of children and leave you barefoot and pregnant. He is not good enough for you. Get him out of your pretty little repeal head. Now, permits discuss this party, we have to finish these plans.We are really getting nobble of time now. Christmas will be here before you know it and we cant wait til the very last minute. Gertie stands and picks up her dust framework and moves behind the divan, facing the audience, looking down at the other two girls This party is going to be such a bore. Boy girl, boy girl, boy girlso boring. We should invite some transvestites and some of them house what you call hermaphrodites of both sexes and allow everyone try to guess who is who and who has what and just look how that messes up the seating arrangements. (Laughs) Mona That would substantiate it a party to remember.Do you know any real transvestites? Oh, Im sure you do. You are so worldly, Gertie. (Mona and Sheila laugh) Sheila Well, Im more interested in making spousal relationship plans than Christmas party plans. I want the hymeneals to be here. Right in this room. Weve all have had so much childs play here, and there are so many good memories associated with this room. Yes, Ive made my mentality up. I want to come down those stairs (points off stage, left) and I want all my friends to be here and imagine me on the happiest day of my life. Gertie Girl, you are serious? You utter yes to Charlie OBrian?Sheila nods and speaks I t old him last nighttime. He said he wants to marry me on New Years Eve. I told him I was going to go away for the holidays but he asked me to hang on in town. Its official. I told him I will marry him on New Years Eve, just like he wants me to. Mona Sheila, please, listen to me. Charlie OBrian is no good. I would never say a word to harm you but I cant sit here and watch you just dash headlong off of no cliff. He is not the man you think he is. He is not a good person. He is a liar and a spurt and he will end up dead or in prison and he will drag you down with him.You are too attractive a person to make such a terrible match. You just cant let yourself sink to his level. Sheila Mona, please. Why are you doing this? What have I ever done to you that you would disrespect me so much? Charlie is the solely man who has ever treated me with any of the common courtesies. He doesnt paw me, or try to kiss me when we are alone. He behaves like the perfect gentleman. Gertie puts down her d ust cloth and moves back to her chair, She pulls it closer to the divan and sits down, leaning forward conspiratorially Sheila, child, I may be out of place to say this, but Mona is right.That Charlie OBrian is bad news. Dont you know he got into a fight with a man over a card game? In a public place? He is one step from disaster all the time. He is a common ruffian when he is drunk and he is drunk most all of the times. He cant be trusted any advertize than you could toss a bull by the tail. He is a soda pops boy and wont ever be zipper that his daddy dont let him be. Hasnt your schooling here taught you any amour? It seems at least you would have learned to read men. Child, Im saying this for your own good, Mona is right, you cant marry that Charlie fellow. He is not good enough for you.I beg of you to reconsider your answer and tell that Mister OBrian that you have reconsidered and you find that you cannot start out his wife. Sheila buries her face in her hands sobbing Mona l eans forward to comfort her, but Gertie gestures for her to stop Gertie Child, I am sorry that I have made you feel bad but the simple fact is that you have to recognize that what Mona and I are say you is for your own good and it is the gospel truth. Sheila stands I dont want to hear anymore of this. I dont know how you experience that Charlie is not good enough for me. He has a good stead in his fathers business and he can take care of me.I know that its not considered proper but he and I have discussed finances. I have agreed to put my trust money into a business proposal which he has become interested in. He is sure it will put us on easy street and I swear in him and I believe in his ideas. His father will finance half of it and I am going to put in the balance. But most importantly, ladies, he loves me passionately. We have spoken of our future together and we have decided to marry right away without any long engagements. You ladies know I was orphaned and this sorority i s what I envision as my family. Its the only family I have ever really had.You are all as close to me as blood sisters could be and I do appreciate you trying to look out for my best interest. But you just dont know Charlie OBrian like I know him. He wants me for the rest of his life and I want him the same. Sheila walks slowly out of the room, stage left Gertie, to Mona, in a velvety voice What are we to do? Mona What can we do? Gertie Has she lost her mind or is she just yanking our chain? I swear I cant get a fix on what she is thinking. But Im prone to think she is believes this. That he is going to marry her. My paragon, this will destroy her if that is the representative. Can we get Miss Edith to ban him?Keep him out of here? Mona Miss Edith? Ban a paying customer? Are you a crack ho? Gimme a taste of what you is using. I dont want no whole one just gimme a lil taste, girl. Gertie laughs, then speaks If he came in here and present her upif he broke her ribs, Miss Edith w ould ban him. Why let him break her heart? Mona How long has she been here? Seriously? How can she believe anything a john tells her? She has served her indentures and is going to leave inside of six months with a nice patch up of change. Hasnt she learned anything? This has to be some grade of elaborate joke, dont you think? You know how she has always been.How she calls us her sistershow she call the house a sorority. She isnt serious, and she isnt putting on airs. It is just her way of coping with being a prostitute. But, lordy, what if she is smitten? What if she has move for the no good scalawag? Gertie You want to know what Charlie OBrian has in mind for a business deal? He wants to buy this house. Do you think he plans to get some funds out of her by saying he will marry her? Maybe we should tell Miss Edith all about this plan. Mona No, I just had an inspiration. Why dont we go the other way? Why not talk it up. Go overboard, all out in favor of it?Make it a intimacy of p ublic record? Announce the engagement. Announce a big wedding right here on Christmas Eve? Let young Mister OBrian put up or shut up? We just gamble we accept it as a done deal. We just go on with the wedding plans. Gertie giggles at the thought, then speaks No WaitWe are goin to be all decorated up for Christmas. We get Miss Edith to announce the threatening wedding when Charlie gets a few under his belt this coming Saturday night? We tell Miss Edith its just all a big joke on Charlie. We get the piano player to play Here Comes the Bride and let Sheila come down them stairs right there in a white gown.Charlie is all hat and no cattle but we can fix that. I know how. It looks like a win-win situation for us. He either backs out, and looks like a liar and a fool, or he goes ahead and marries a lady of the evening, which will cause his daddy to abbreviate his manhood off so he cant reproduce. (laughs) It would be so appropriate to have him look like a bluffer or a fool in front of all his peers. We can get Parson Maybury to hang around just in grimace we need a few appropriate wordsin case Charlie is drunk enough to do it. Oh my god, what I wouldnt give to see him wake up the next morning married to Sheila.Mona Miss Edith would never let us jack with a customer like that. Gertie not if she thinks were serious. But so long as we put it to her as an elaborate joke done in good honest fun It will be perfect for the holidays. We can convince her its entertainment and will bring in some new customers just to watch Charlie OBrian marry a working girl. Arnie Harris works at City Hall. He will get me a blank marriage license if I ask him sweetly. We have good ol Harry on the piano. Todd Baker can take the wedding photos. Most of the men in this town loathe the OBrians and would enjoy a good laugh at Charlies expense.You know, probably fifty per cent of the men in this town have gone up those stairs right there at some time in their life. (points) Then there is fort y per cent of the men in this town who wish they could. Which leaves us with about ten pct who would like to take care of the 40 per cent who cant make it, but thats another story, but about xcv per cent of them do not like the OBrians. Mona Oh my god, girl, that would be the funniest thing I ever saw, to have spoilt, rich, pampered goodie two-shoes Charlie OBrian married in the living room of the finest House in all of New Orleans.And see the pictures spread all over the Sunday Times- Picayunein the society section. We can make up a guest list. Include the governors name. Oh my godgirl, youre a genius. (laughs). We dont have to say they came, just say they was invited. Every man in town who is not an true(a) customer is fair game. Miss Edith would have our heads for revealing the names of real(a) customers but there aint no accessible tabu against revealing names of customers of the competition is there? Gertie No, I would reckon they are fair game. Mona We got to let Cloonie in on this.He can get some of the guys to go along with this. Bring in some tuxedos for the wedding party, for the pictures. Get a pen and paper, Gertie, we got to make a list of everything we need. I want it to be just perfect for Mister Charlie OBrians wedding. What do you call them little fancy flowers men wear in their add hole? Well, we even want to get some of them. Oh yes, we have to do this up right. Charlies momma may want to send these pictures out to all the relatives who couldnt actually make it to her sons social event of the season, a whore-house wedding.Gertis Ill check to make sure, but Beaulah usually keeps some of that laudanum on hand for her croupe. If she is out she can get Doc Baines to send over a fresh bottle. Charlie will go to ordering his fancy little stemware glasses full of brandy and benedictinehe thinks thats so poshthen he slips into that god-awful fake English accent and goes to calling himself Mister B and B. That sweet mess has such an odor about it that I could pour in a cupful of creosote and he wouldnt ever come close to taste the difference.He sure wont notice no spatter of laudanum poured in. After a couple of shots of that stuff he will be cocked and primed. He will do what ever he is told to do, and make a face while he is doing it. Mona You know, there arent many of our customers who are disliked enough for us to pull this off on them. But Charlie OBrian is pretty much universally thought to be a piece of human detritus. Everyone thinks he is a smarmy low life. This is perfect. Gertie well, not only perfect. We still arent sure where Sheila fits into all of this. What she is really thinking.Does she believe Charlie or is she just blowing smoke up our dresses to pass a cold wintertime day? Mona Wellwhat difference is it? If she wants to marry him, she is going to end up married, with a ring and a license and she legally owns half his attribute as well. If she doesnt, then we tell her its just all one big practi cal joke and we laugh about it. Gertie and Mona stand, Gertie speaks Thats the thing I miss most about being in the sporting life. I miss the weddings. This is going to be some good fun. (Both women go away the stage, loudly humming The Wedding March)