CAUTION: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that The Last Encore is fully protected
under the copyright laws of the
e-mail:
willwithaway@yahoo.com.
Website: www.renaissanceentertainmentexp.com
This play is a work of fiction inspired by a true story.
Cover photo posed by Willie
James Jones in 1973, copyright © 2009.
Photos
on pages 59, 60, 93, 94 & 120 copyright © 2009 by Willie James Jones
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Control number:
2008942123
ISBN Number: 978-0-9822222-0-1
Manufactured in the
The Last Encore
An unprecedented
live television airing of this play happened in
(In order of
appearance)
Wanda Essex………………………………Sheila Morgan
Cory Jones………………………..……….James Morgan
Matt Godbey………………………………..Jason Brown
Tonya Ward…………………………………..….Beverly
Rachel Konerman……………………………....waitress
Paul Raines……………………………..…………..C.C.
Tamar T. Israel-Giffin………………………………..Icy
Heather Hayes……..………………………..Baby Sister
Directed by C. Dean Tabler
Executive Producer
Taffy
David Pinkelton Willie
James Jones Mark Watkins
Video Director Stage Manager Technical Director
Bob Leibold Barbara Tensi Lettie Davis
Lighting Director audio Set Design
Bob Leibold, Deidra
Tompkins & Brent Vinson
Cameras
ACT ONE
Sheila enters up stage last week at the picnic right from the kitchen. She crosses through the dining room area, sits on the living room couch, located stage left and starts dialing on the phone.
SHEILA: Hello?
Can I speak to
JAMES: (Speaking to
someone outside) How’s it going, man? Okay, then tell your wife we might
stop by later. Okay, see you later. (Enters and goes to the kitchen)
SHEILA: (Smiles and
winks at her husband) Yeah, that’s him now, girl. Uh, huh. (Surprised) Ask him what? I ain’t. Okay,
okay, okay. Okay, I said. I’ll ask him. (Calls
to James in the other room) Hey, James!
JAMES: (From the kitchen) Thanks.
THE LAST ENCORE
SHEILA: So how did it go today, baby?
JAMES: (Coming out
of the kitchen) Oh, not too bad. I gave a quiz today and I’ll be damned if
a joker didn’t try and cheat on that easy test.
SHEILA: What kind of a test was it?
JAMES: It was about knowing parts of the stage. I gave it
to the drama class.
SHEILA: How did you catch him?
JAMES: Well, after the papers were checked, see, one of
the students who got an E decided that he would steal him a paper from a
student that got an A.
SHEILA: Aw, wow.
JAMES: So, he erased her name and put his at the top. The
joker didn’t stop to think how stupid it would look with him having two papers.
One with an E and one with an A. Needless to say I figured out who the erased
name was. Plus, she stepped forward and identified the paper as hers.
SHEILA: Ha, ha, ha. Dead on the case, eh, Holmes?
WILLIE JAMES JONES
JAMES: Yeah, dig that. (Kisses her on the cheek) Say, whom were you talking on the phone
with about my old pal? I heard you out here.
SHEILA: (Smiles)
Oh, yeah, we were just gossiping about your friend. She said she hope she never
sees that bum again. (Laughs)
JAMES: Aw, that was cold, Jack. (Smiles) That was cold. (Exits
to kitchen)
SHEILA: She said she don’t know why he didn’t stay home
that day, as sleepy as he looked. (Excited)
Hey, hey, baby, dig. Come here. Come here!
JAMES: (Enters)
What?
SHEILA: first, he’d say to her, how long have you known
Sheila? Then he’ll nod out for a little while like this. (Nods her head slowly down)
Then, after a little while he’ll wake up again and say, where is James? Aw,
Man. He was a commercial.
JAMES: Oh, yeah? I bet he was a riot. (Exits to the kitchen)
SHEILA: If I were a Television producer I’d put him on
T.V. and make me tons of money.
(James enters with
cookies and a drink)
THE LAST ENCORE
James, you still haven’t told me where you met…(Sees the food and jumps up irritated) Oh, no you don’t. Those cookies are for
company later on after we get through working!
JAMES: (Playfully)
Oh? They are?
SHEILA: (Chasing him
around the dining room table) As if you didn’t know. Now, come on, James.
Put them back. And you haven’t eaten dinner yet, either.
JAMES: (Moving
quickly away from her) Okay, I’ll put them back. Just let me get one bite
out of them.
SHEILA: No.
JAMES: Aw, come on.
SHEILA: No! It’s the principal of the matter.
JAMES: Just one little piece
SHEILA: No. I told you they’re for company later on. Now
put them back!
JAMES: (Laughing)
But what harm can one little piece do?
WILLIE JAMES JONES
SHEILA: (Stops
pursuing him around the table) What did I say?
JAMES: (Takes a bite)
One little piece?
SHEILA: Wait a minute. (Points
a finger at him) I know what to do for you. (Exits to kitchen)
JAMES: Aw, come on now, baby. All I wanted was a teeny
weenie piece of it. I could understand it if…(Sees
Sheila enter and walk toward him with a butcher knife in a way to make him
wonder if she’s serious, as his smile suddenly leaves, replaced by a startledreaction) Okay, okay, okay!
(Irritated) Put
that thing down before somebody gets hurt.
SHEILA: (Shows a
broad smile as she extends her hand)
Hand it over then.
JAMES: Okay, okay. (Starts
to give it to her)
SHEILA: (Suddenly
turns and walks back to the kitchen) Never mind now. You had your hands on
it. See? I can mess with you, too.
JAMES: (Talking to her in the kitchen) Now, I’ve told you about playing with me with a knife, didn’t I? One day that stuff is going to play out, and I’m going to take that knife from you.
THE LAST ENCORE
Then you’re going to be feeling funny. Aren’t you? (No answer from the kitchen) Aren’t you? (Takes
his drink with him to the living room easy chair and sits. He picks up a
newspaper on the coffee table. Soon Sheila enters with a drink in her hand and
sits on the couch)
SHEILA: Before you left for work today I told you that I
was going to be making those cookies in case the company we were expecting
shows up.
JAMES: (Not
concerned) Yeah, yeah.
SHEILA: I mean, since we didn’t go to the show tonight, I
told
JAMES: (Reading the
paper) I hear you. (Irritated)
Let’s talk about something else, okay? Damn. You and those cookies gonna run me
crazy. How did your day go?
SHEILA: Okay. You got a write up on page 16A there. (She watches as James turns to the page)
The guy from the agency called today to discuss filming another T.V.
commercial, or something like that I think.
JAMES: Okay. That was McCoy. I don’t know if I want to
work with that guy again or not.
SHEILA: How come? He sounded like he was a cool guy to me.
JAMES: Oh, yeah? You rap with him a little longer and
you’ll find out what I’m talking about.
SHEILA: You still ain’t told me nothing.
JAMES: Well, he lies when it’s not necessary.
SHEILA: Yeah?
JAMES: Yeah. Anything else you wanna know?
SHEILA: Come to think of it, there is. James, how long
have you known your friend?
JAMES: (Looks up
from the paper changing the subject) Did your sister bring the duplicate
cabinet key back?
SHEILA: No, she said…
JAMES: (Irritated) Why not. She had plenty of time to go to the store and
have that key made, then get back here. What does she think I paid her
for?
THE LAST ENCORE
SHEILA: Well, if you’ll let me finish. She said mamma asked her to do an errand, which threw her back some, time wise. Then she had to go on to class so she said she would do it after she got out.
JAMES: Oh, wow. Now, that’s just great.
SHEILA: She said she would bring it over later after she comes from the Y.W.C.A.
JAMES: (Irritated) That’s just great. She’s walking around out there with two of my keys in her pocket. Now one of her boyfriends could ask her what they’re for, she’ll tell them, they’ll knock her in the head, come here; break in on me, shoot you, rob me…
SHEILA: (Snapping back) Oh, come on. She’s not that dense, James. Besides, I don’t know why you keep that safe around the house, anyway. You say it’s a conversation piece, huh? Well, do you have to keep money inside?
JAMES: (Attempts to focus on the paper) With that steal cabinet in front; you’d never know there was a safe behind it.
SHEILA: (Continues) Three and a half thousand dollars, tons of
uncopyrighted works…
JAMES: Aw shut up.
SHEILA: Shut up? You don’t tell me to shut up. I can talk anytime I want to.
WILLIE JAMES JONES
JAMES: Well, if you must know, I was planning to put the money in the bank and get rid of the damn safe in a couple of days, okay?
SHEILA: Well, I don’t see what you keep it around here for, anyway. If it’s your idea of a joke, I mean, you could have thought of means to express yourself other than this, couldn’t you? (Shivers at the thought) All that money around the house just makes me nervous.
JAMES: (Looks at her) Will you hush, please? Will you? Every time I look
around, yackety yak, yackety yak. Rises
and goes to look out the window)
SHEILA: (Looks silently at James) James. I ain’t forgot. You still didn’t
answer my question I asked you earlier. (Silence)
James!
JAMES: What?
SHEILA: How long have you known
your friend? The one I met at the picnic.
JAMES: Who, Tom Fickle?
SHEILA: Is that his name? I
thought his name was…
JAMES: That’s what we used to
call him years ago. It was invented by one of the guys in the group.
SHEILA: Why?
WILLIE JAMES JONES
JAMES: Why? (Turns from the window to face Sheila) Because he was usually on both sides of an
issue instead of one. And even when he’s pressed to make a decision to break a
tie vote, he would still fickle on my side (Makes
hand jesters as if shaking two hands) and fickle on the side of one of the
other guys.
SHEILA: (Giggles) Aw, wow.
JAMES: His real name is Jason.
And he could sing his behind off, too. Why he’s not in the big time right now
still escapes me.
SHEILA: Him? The big time? What did you all used to
call him? (Laughs)
JAMES: Go on. Laugh. (Smiles)
SHEILA: Tom Fickle? Well,
that’s a bit too difficult to imagine for Tom Fickle.
JAMES: Well, not really for me
cause you see, I think I know what may have caused him to live the life he’s
leading today. (Casually sits on the
couch next to Sheila))
SHEILA: (In anticipation) Well, go ahead, already.
JAMES: Jason and I used to sing together about six years ago and…
THE LAST ENCORE
SHEILA: (Interrupts with amused impatience) Cut it, James, and get to the
point. You know I know that. Tell me something I don’t know.
JAMES: Well, He used to go with
this girl, see, and…
SHEILA: (Interrupts with sarcastic overtone) You mean, he’s gonna blame it
all on a woman, or is that what you’re trying to do?
JAMES: (Mildly impatient) Will you let me talk? Huh? Will you let me talk?
If not, I’ll shut up and let you talk?
SHEILA: (Apologetically) Okay, okay.
JAMES: (Pause) Jason and us were doing pretty good, singing wise. We had
built up quite a reputation in and around the city here. We traveled around the
country, too. Got good bookings. Well, Jason’s lady was in the entertainment
business, too so every now and then he would get her certain bookings around town.
The guy had a lot of big ideas for our group, and as her manager, for her, too.
(Reflects) Ya know that was always
one of Jason’s drawbacks…making promises that were almost unreachable, if
reachable at all. Anyway, one evening they went out to this fancy restaurant.
(Stage lights go down)
SCENE ONE ENDS