Harry Leon Wilson · aftercurtain

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The Man from Home

Writer · Play · 1907

At intervals throughout the play the mandolins and guitarist are heard playing The Fishermen's Song, usually off stage. During the opening of Act III an unseen orchestra softly plays an aria from Pagliacci, the music coming through the open doors of the conservatory at the rear of the salon. Act I (The terrace of the Hotel Regina Margherita in Sorrento. Morning.) Exposition between Mariano and Ribiere identifies the main characters and their relationships. The Earl, his son, Lady Creech, Ethel, Hoarce, and Hélène form one party. The Grand Duke has met Pike at a hotel in Naples and is bringing him along to Sorrento. Hawcastle and Hélène discuss their latest venture, the capture of Ethel and Hoarce's money through promised matrimony. News of an escaped Russian convict alarms Hélène, but Hawcastle assures her it cannot be Ivanoff. Almeric confirms Ethel has accepted him. Hawcastle tells Hoarce the "settlement" will be £150,000. Hoarce acquiesces in order to appear worldly, though this is Ethel's entire estate. Mariano explains a commotion from the village is the arrival of Herr von Gröllerhagen and his American friend. The Earl's party dismiss the German as common and the American as gauche. Ethel and Hoarce are embarrassed by their countryman, and horrified to learn he is Ethel's guardian. Pike, in turn, is astonished at the settlement and Ethel's choice of fiancé. (Curtain) Act II (The hotel's entrance garden. Afternoon.) Pike, working on the engine of Doc's auto, ignores Hoarce's protests. Pike has refused to discuss a settlement with Hawcastle. Pike sends Doc for some clean rags, which amuses him. Lady Creech is seen peering out a second story window, spying on Pike. Ivanoff appears on the garden wall and begs Pike's help. With the reluctant help of Doc, Pike is able to convince the carabinieri that Ivanoff is a chauffeur. Mariano expedites matters by secretly revealing Doc's real identity to the carabinieri. Ivanoff tells his story to Pike and Doc. Doc allows Ivanoff to stay in his suite of rooms, but is troubled. Lady Creech steals away to tell Hawcastle what she has seen. Pike and Ethel argue about the settlement. A letter from England that Pike hoped would dissuade her fizzles out but does let Ethel know Pike is fond of her. Hawcastle now confronts Pike: approve the settlement or face Italian justice for aiding a fugitive. (Curtain) Act III (A private salon in the hotel. Evening.) Pike discusses the situation with Doc about Ivanoff and Hawcastle's threat. He apologises for getting him into this situation. Doc is unconcerned; he has already had Ribiere take steps about which he doesn't tell Pike yet. Pike calls Ivanoff into the room to give him the situation. Doc leaves on an errand of his own outside. Ivanoff notices his silver cigarette box and vodka bottle and realizes Doc is really Russian. He and Pike look out the window to see Doc speaking with the carabinieri, who salute him. Ivanoff panics, but Mariano enters to announce Lady Creech. Pike dismisses Ivanoff, but Lady Creech isn't fooled. She repeats Hawcastle's threat, but Pike has a sudden epiphany about the Earl, Hélène, and Ivanoff. He summons Ethel to the salon, and commands her to stay no matter what. Ethel agrees, and when her brother, the English party and the Cometesse arrive, she resists their demands to leave. Pike forces Hawcastle to repeat his threat in front of Ethel. He then summons Ivanoff, who recognizes his wife and Glenwood in Hélène and the Earl. Hélène is terrified of her husband and Hawcastle alarmed. He urges Almeric to go for the police, but Doc enters and announces the carabinieri have been dismissed. When Hawcastle challenges him, Ribiere identifies Doc as the Grand Duke Vasili, who has arranged a pardon for Ivanoff. Pike is stymied when Ethel still stands by Almeric; she has given her promise. (Curtain) Act IV (Same as Act I. Morning.) Hélène has already gone. Hawcastle urges Almeric to keep after Ethel, as he prepares to flee in fear of a now free Ivanoff. Lady Creech reveals Ethel has wept upon hearing Ivanoff's tale. Ethel also had Pike give Ivanoff a large sum of money. As porters load his carriage, Hawcastle rushes out. Grand Duke Vasili now takes his leave of Ethel and Pike, praising the latter and signaling to the girl he knows where her heart is drifting. Ivanoff then comes to thank Ethel; he will go to London to teach languages and serve as a reproach to Hawcastle. As Ethel is still determined to honor her promise, Pike grants her request for the settlement. Hoarce is angry, but Ethel seems happy. However, Almeric blights it all by congratulating Ethel for "buying off the convict". She repudiates her promise on his opinion of her venality. Most of all she is angry with Pike for acquiescing now, and not earlier. But as she berates him, she realizes he has acknowledged her right to choose the life she wants. Slowly she enters the hotel, and soon the sound of her playing the piano and singing Sweet Genevieve, Pike's favorite song, drifts through the open door. Pike is staggered, then as a man in a dream, goes towards the music. (Curtain)

Tweedles

Writer · Play · 1922

Act I (Mrs. Albergone's Antiquity Shop. A Saturday summer afternoon.) Mrs. Ricketts tries to pump Mrs. Albergone about Julian Castlebury's purchase of Bristol glass three weeks ago. Why did he leave his purchase there instead of taking it home? The stoic shopkeeper is not obliging but does admit to having a waitress for the Tea Terrace, her niece Winsora. From her, Mrs. Ricketts learns Julian visits his glass collection daily. When Julian enters the shop, he smiles at Winsora but abruptly tries to leave when Mrs. Ricketts hails him. He has turned down her invitation to go motoring, and doggedly declines to explain his sudden interest in collectible glass. Julian departs; his parents now enter the shop. Mrs. Ricketts draws their attention to the glass collection that Julian purchased. She tricks Winsora into leaving to look up a price. Alone with the Castleburys, Mrs. Ricketts suggests Julian should go motoring rather than hang around a tea room waitress. Mr. Castlebury is concerned, but Mrs. Castlebury recognizes the widow as the greater danger to her son. Later, Julian returns to pester Winsora, speaking aimlessly about the glass, while Winsora expects him to broach another subject. Mrs. Albergone tells Julian to take his glass away, but he cannot until Monday. Constable Philemon Tweedle, who calls the shop's antiques "queeriosities", cautions Julian to stay away from Winsora, his deterrence lessened by a bonhomie fueled by confiscated liquor. Adam Tweedle also warns Julian to stay away; the young man puzzles and alarms Adam by his indifference to local public opinion. (Curtain) Act II (Same as Act I. Sunday, dinner time.) The Tweedles and Mrs. Albergone have just finished dinner. Adam reads a bible passage, aimed at Winsora, about preserving the family name. They are astonished when Julian comes knocking at the closed shop door. He seems impervious to increasingly hostile suggestions to leave, his one and only concern to see Winsora. Challenged to be fair, Adam agrees to let Winsora talk to Julian alone in the shop. Julian is unable to vocalize his feelings, so their conversation goes in circles, both sensing the other's affection. Julian's circumlocution continues when Adam returns, but he finally confesses his intentions. Adam is angry, but he is not prone to physical violence. When Julian's parents arrive, Adam invites them to confer with Julian, his sister and Winsora. Adam misunderstands Mr. Castlebury's talk of family position and social prominence; he assumes the summer visitors are admitting their son is not worthy of an alliance with the exalted Tweedle family. Worse, Mr. Castlebury reveals Julian's struggle at prep school and withdrawal from college after freshman year. Adam is delighted to inform them of Winsora's graduating high school with honors and completing a year at college. Though Adam and the Castleburys hold the same views on the young couple, the latter are too mortified to speak at his assumption of social superiority. They exit, leaving Julian struggling to get Winsora to understand him. When she suggests he cares only for the Bristol glass and not her, he lifts the chest containing it and smashes it on the floor. "It is you I care about" he tells her. (Curtain) Act III (Same as Act I. Monday morning.) The industrious Mrs. Albergone is delighted at the arrival of Monday morning after an enforced Sunday idleness. Winsora's mood is less clear; pensive and winsome, certainly, but her aunt wonders will she break into joyful laughter as she did last night? Constable Philemon has confiscated a small picnic basket from Mrs. Ricketts, which clinks when moved. His efforts to "destroy" this contraband render him benign and loquacious towards Julian. He reveals the sharp practitioners and blackguards of Tweedle family history, including a Revolutionary War traitor. Philemon mentions how Mrs. Albergone, after enduring a loveless first marriage, adored her second husband, Capt. Albergone, whose portrait hangs in the shop. Julian uses this information to put Adam on the defensive, and recites a litany of errant Castlebury ancestors to further show how foolish family pride can be. Julian now asks permission to take Winsora for a walk, but she speaks up for herself: "You're asking the wrong person, ask me" she tells Julian. Mr. Castlebury and Adam, now reconciled to the inevitable, confer as the young couple stroll out together. (Curtain)

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