ALL MY SONS 11947] oe by Arthur Miller u9is- For Elia KazanCHARACTERS — JOR KELLER, a factory owner KATE KELLER, his wife ‘cums KELLER, their son ANN DEEVER, their house-guest GroRGE pExVER, her brother DR. JIM BAYLISS, friend of the Kellers SUE BAYLISS, his wife FRANK Lunry LYDUA LUBEY } he Keto’ next door neighbors BERT, @ neighborhood eight-year-old SYNOPSIS OF SCENES Act 1: The back yard of the Keller home in the outskirts of an American town. August of our era, Act n: Scene, as before. The same evening, as twilight falls. Scene, as before. Two o'clock the following morning. ACT ONE eee The back yard of the KELLER home in the outskirts of an American town. August of our era The stage is hedged on right and left by tall, closely planted poplars which lend the yard a secluded atmosphere. Upstage is filled with the back of the house and its open, un- roofed porch which extends into the yard some six feet. The house is two stories high and has seven rooms. It would have cost perhaps fifteen thousand in the early twenties when it was built. Now itis nicely painted, looks tight and comfort able, and the yard is green with sod, here and there plants whose season is gone. At the right, beside the house, the en trance of the driveway can be seen, but the poplars cut off view of its continuation downstage. In the left corner, downe stage, stands the four-foot high siump of a slender apple tree whose upper trunk and branches lie toppled beside it, fruit sitll clinging to its branches, Downstage right is a small, trellised arbor, shaped like a sea-shell, with a decorative bulb hanging from its forward. curving roof. Garden chairs and a table are scattered about. A garbage pail on the ground next to the porch steps, a wire leaf-burner near it ON THE RISE! It is early Sunday morning. soe KELLER is sitting in the sun reading the want ads of the Sunday paper, the other sections of which lie neatly on the ground besideSIX GREAT MODERN PLAYS he arbor, DOCTOR JIM BAYLISS is reading part of the paper at the table. . A heavy man of stolid mind and ke many years, but with the imprint nachine-shop worker and boss still upon him. When ien he speaks, when he listens, it is with the ter~ uneducated man for whom there ‘many commonly known things, a man igments must be dredged out of experience and a A man among men. ing forty. A wry self-controlled ith a wisp of sadness that clings even to his self-effacing humor. AT CURTAIN, JIM is standing at left, staring at the broken tree. He taps a pipe on it, blows through the pipe, feels in his pockets for tobacco, then speaks. att, Where's your tobacco? KELLER. I think I left it on the table. [a1 goes slowly to table finds a pouch, bench, filling his pipe.] Gonna rain tonight. JIM. Paper says so? KELLER. Yeah, right here, si. Then it can't rain, LuDEY enters, from ris soplars. FRANK. is wo but balding. A opinionated man, uncertain of himself, /oward peevishness when crossed, but Walking off my break sky.] That beautiful? Not a cloud. KELLER. No, I'm ‘ALL MY SONS / ACT ONE 359 FRANK. Every Sunday ought to be like this. Want the paper? i's all bad news. What's today's KELLER. I don't know, I don’t read the news part any more. It’s ‘more interesting in the want ads. ‘FRANK. Why, you 6 people want, for two New: with two Newfound- y'know? For i Jand dogs? FRANK. That is fuany. KELLER. Here's another one. Wanted—Old Dictionaries. High prices paid. Now what's a man goi tionary? FRANK. Sure, there's KELLER [shakes his head]. my day, either you were a lawyer, or a doctor, or you worked in a shop. Now. . FRANK. Well, I was going to be PRANK. Yeah, I got a (Turns to KELLE: all asteep yet. I'm just w: FRANK [struck]. You know?— It's KELLER. What? FRANK, Larry was born in August. He'd been twenty-seven this month. And bis tree blows down, KELLER [touched]. I'm surprised you remember his birthday,360 Frank. That's nice, FRANK. Well, I'm working on his horoscope. you make him a horoscope? That's for the ight? he was killed it was on wants. asked you to make a horoscope? ‘what she wants to find out is whether November /orable day for Larry. that, favorable day? le day for a person is a fortunate day, In other words it would be practically for him to have died on his favorable day, that his favorable day?—November 25th? ing on to find out. Tt takes time! 25th was his favorable day, e somewhere, because IM now. JIM is look- ‘ough at an idiot. To sIM—with an uncertain even see you, sense? just completely out of his mind, ved]. The trouble with you is, you don't Delieve in le is that you believe in anything. You his morning, did you? ine? He walked off with his thermometer. Right @ problem. One look at a girl and he takes [Goes to driveway, looks upstage toward street.) ~ FRANK. That boy's going to be a real doctor; he's smart. SIX GREAT MODERN PLAYS » see. Larry was reported 4s [looks toward MY SONS {ACT ONE 361 . Over my dead body he'll be a doct A good beginning, an honorable protesion. _ oe ath a will you stop talking like a of weeks ago, reminded © me of you. There was a doctor in that picture . _xzttzn, Don Ameche! ftp hur : Sy: T would love to belp humanity on a Warner Brothes *. salary. eutan [points a hing. That’ very good, Jim. 1 tomard house, Welk bet We bes il was supposed to be here? FRANK [excited]. years goby, ad she was “That was a very ve in your house, Jim, Like To meat hs The Bock can we apr phone, . sim What's the matter with her now? ee ~=suB. I don’t know, dear. She sounds like she's in terrible pai unless her mouth is full of candy,362 31M. Why don’t you just SUE. She enjoys it more when you when are you going to see Mr. H gi. My dear; Mr. Hubbard to do than to sit there and bol Sue. It seems to me that for ten hand, git [fo KELLER). If your son read SIX GREAT MODERN PLAYS her to lay down, And yard? ind I have better things. ind. ity years. [He exi KELLER. Why do you needle him? He's a doctor, women are ‘supposed to call him up. SUE. All I said was Mrs. Adams is on the phone. C: some of your parsle KELLER, Yeah, sure. [She goes le/t to parsley box and pulls som urse too long, i]. Now you said it! [Emer Lypia ight. She is a robust, laughing girl of twenty. rank, the toaster ... [Sees the others.) Hya. dear, fix it back like it mn to turn on a simple its right.) lly very handy. [She sees broken | ind get your tree? a pity. Annie g be down soon, Wait'll you meet her, Sue, she's Sve. I should've been a man. People ai always introducing me to be: ‘ul women. [70 Joe.] Tell her to come over laters Is she still unhappy, Joe? | ER. Annie? I don’t suppose she goes around dancing on ther toes, but she seems to be over it . +. Annie's here and not even married, . T always thought it'd be the other toes. Thad two sons, now I got . In my day when you had “sons it was an honor. Today a doctor could make a = dollars if he could figure out a way to bring a boy world without a trig DIA. You know, I wi . Lydia, come in here! If you want the toaster to work don't plug in the malted mixer. like his father, smense affection [and loyalty, ie has a cup of coffee in one hand, part of a [doughnut in other zx. You want the paper? 8. That's all right, just the book section, pulls out part of paper on porch floor . You're always reading the book section and you never (He bends down364 SIX GREAT MODERN PLAYS. buy a book. canis [coming down to settee]. I like to keep abreast of my ige norance. [He sits on sette exter. What is that, every week a new book comes out? curs. Lot sench, takes oll cabinet.| Psss! Annie up yet? lownstage of stool, ‘See what happened to the tree? ‘unis [without looking up]. Yeah. to say? [BERT runs on from drive- way. He is about eight, He jumps on stool, then on KeLtER's ing him around and putting him down]. Hal Where's Tommy? He's got his father’s ther- mometer agei taking a reading. only oral. KELLER. Oh, well, there’s no harm in oral. So what's new this ,, Bert? [He goes to broken tree, walks around KELLER. Then you couldn't've made a complete insp the block. In the beginning, when I fiest made you a every morning with something new. Now, nothin’s ever new. pert. Except some kids from Thi ie block, and I made them go away be- Bert. Now you're on ible to make you a d BERT [pulls him down by the lapel and whispers in his e Isce the jail now? 365 see any bars in the base- you ever arrest anybody? Tommy said ‘another dirty word to Doris yesterday, and you didn’t even jemote him. suze fhe chuckles and winks at cuRis, w this]. Yeah, that's a da that Tommy. [Beckons him closer. word does he say? st [backing away quickly in great embarrassment]. Ob, 1 Sican't say that is enjoying all and pulls him back}. Well, ‘embarrassment steps back]. 1 can't Mr. Keller. Uaughing]. Don't make him do that. -ER. Okay, Bert. I take your word. Now go out, and keep both eyes peeled. /hole neighborhood is depending ‘on you. A policeman don't ask questions. Now peel them eyes! aT (mystified, but wil rds in bewilderment}. Okay. [BERT exits downstage Uaughs). 1 got all the kids crazy!SONS / ACT ONE ‘cus. One of these days, they'll all come in here and beat 1 don't want to argue with her, your brains out, r she going to say? Maybe we ought to tell her “shoulda't she dream of him, walk the nights waiting for | © him? Do we contradict her? Do we say straight out that How could she see it? T was the first one up. She was f.12..¥e have no hope any more? That we haven't had any hope a bed. “for years now? For God's sake, three years! Nobody comes back after ree years. It's insane, 8 out here four in the morning? ‘and to me. But not to her. You can talk canis. I dot 1 it cracked she ran back into face, but there's no body and there's house nd : 30 grave, so where are you? Lk. Did you talk to her? Sit down, Dad. I want to talk to you. No, I. I figured the best thing was to leave her alon 2x (looks at him searchingly a moment, and sitting . «1 [aus : ave er aloes © The trouble is the Goddam newspapers. Every month some oy turns up from nowhere, so the next one is going to be KELLER (deeply touched = Lary, gh the floor of my room. pause). What was she doing Rout fem sent dn undertone of ener showing Shes ming about him again, She's walking around at sj curis. I guess she is. . tah. 3 She's getting just like after he died. [Slight paus i fers neta) teste meaning of that? is Tim going to ask her to'marry me. now the meaning of it. [Slight pause.) But T ing, Dad. We've made a terrible mistake wi ith her. That kind of thing always pay ’ ther 8 always pays do we allow her to g0 on thinking that we belices wt rate me, you know that? Isn't it KELLER. What do you want to do, argue with ber? : ui 1 tell this to Mother and she throwsvery time I reach out for i beet KELLER. You're a cor that, cunus. To hell wi end of it. From her Tl find out. And then | lother? Right? Dad, don't avoid vecnceer dee TOUBIE Is, you don't see enough women. You 'm not fast with women, "© why it has to be Ai 8 good answer, but it don't answer anythin her since you went to war: Ie fee i. I know her best Tas bro se years when think of so ink of Annie, What do you t 8 I don't want a diagram <7 Y he's coming back, Chris: You marry Pronouncing him’ dead. Now what Do you know? I don’ (Paus 8 diagram? She thi meone for my f 369 it three years of thoug! 'd hoped that if 1 Mother would for; Larry and then we'd have a | camis. I've been a good son too long, a good sucker. Y'm through with KELLER. You've got a business here, what the he “caus. The business! The business doesn't inspite me “KELLER, Must you be inspired? mis, Yes. like it an hour a day. Thave to grub for money all d ing I want it beautiful. 1 want int to build something T can Jong Lws [Goes to him.} Tell me something, you ‘mean you'd leave =< ¢unus. Yes. On this I would. +. . you don’t want to # |< curis. Then help me stay here. KELLER. All right, but... but dot id I work for? Thi k Tike that. ike that. Because 's only for you, Chris, the here. KELLER [puts @ fist up to CURIS’ jaw’ think that way, © you hear me? ‘cums. I am thinking that way. “KELLER lowe understand you, a pretty tough guy. KELLER. Yeah. I can see that. [MOTHER appears is in her early fifties, a woman of uncon nd an overwhelming capacityHER. Joe? Guxts [going toward porch). Hello, Mom, ing house behind her. To KELLER). Did you take a bag from under the sink? That's my potatoes. [cis into alley. derstand why ‘and I got a maid, why I have t ‘MoTuBE. If You would make up yo full of garbage yc Las out my vegetal on, hands her ike garbage in the house. somuER. Then don't e it easy. Now I got and my wife is workin’ for the chairs. MOTHER comes out on 4 pot of stringbeans.} what are you crabbing about? Isn't Annie finished eating? rund pre id did some job on this pl Sit down, take 10 top of her h ain on the top of my head. cunts, Can 1 get you an aspirin? MorHER |= aaotaer [with an undercurrent of observ. “upiedly at yard). She'll be right ~ %@ few petals off ground, stands there smelling an a century, sa beauty... Fin not complately ou rapidly breaks ‘amis, Just because she "mourning Lary. ae et could've been any number orien directly at hin], Like what, for instance? fs embarrassed, bul stand ‘Whatever tis Can gt yous sop ard ahr he erin i ro ike a headache, . . xeiimn You don't slesp, that's wiy. She's wearing out more toward the trees on51K GREAT MODERN PLAYS [She stops moving] 1 never had vis at KELLER]. What was it, Mom? Did you dream? | More, more than a dream, [Raising her arm over the ¥e used to fly low past the When we used to see his the way I saw him, up. Way, Way up, where the clouds are, He war id Feach out and touch him. And suddenly he crying, crying to me... Mom, © he was in the room, Mom! .. it was touch hi iew L could stop him, if Breaks off, allowing her outstretched hand iP and it was so funny . . . The wind the roaring of must've si ‘body was in such ITo Ketter] at are you through it all that this week, We never took up our lives again, ‘ALL MY SONS / ACT ONE We're like at a railroad station ws comes in. ‘MOTHER [presses top of ker head]. Get me unis. Sure, and let’s break out of the four of us might go out to ing out at the shore. KELLER] We can do ing undertone). Why did he it KELLER, Why does that bother you? smoTuER, She's been in New York three and a half years, why all of a sudden... ? = maybe he just wanted to | MoTHER. Nobody comes seven hundred mil KELLER. How do you know he's even thinking of Morin abou! ELLER. How do you know why she MOTHER, She knows what I know, that