"JOHNNY-THE-PRIEST"
TWO LONGSHOREMEN
A POSTMAN
LARRY, bartender
CHRIS. CHRISTOPHERSON, captain of the barge "Simeon Winthrop"
MARTHY OWEN
ANNA CHRISTOPHERSON, Chris's daughter
THREE MEN OF A STEAMER'S CREW
MAT BURKE, a stoker
JOHNSON, deckhand on the barge
"Johnny-the-Priest's" saloon near the waterfront. New York City.
The barge, Simeon Winthrop, at anchor in the harbor of Provincetown,Mass. Ten days later.
Cabin of the barge, at dock in Boston. A week later.
The same. Two days later.
Time of the Play—About 1910.
SCENE—"Johnny-The-Priest's" saloon near South Street, New York City.The stage is divided into two sections, showing a small back room onthe right. On the left, forward, of the barroom, a large window lookingout on the street. Beyond it, the main entrance—a double swingingdoor. Farther back, another window. The bar runs from left to rightnearly the whole length of the rear wall. In back of the bar, a smallshowcase displaying a few bottles of case goods, for which there isevidently little call. The remainder of the rear space in front of thelarge mirrors is occupied by half-barrels of cheap whiskey of the"nickel-a-shot" variety, from which the liquor is drawn by means ofspigots. On the right is an open doorway leading to the back room. Inthe back room are four round wooden tables with five chairs groupedabout each. In the rear, a family entrance opening on a side street.
It is late afternoon of a day in fall.
As the curtain rises, Johnny is discovered. "Johnny-The-Priest"deserves his nickname. With his pale, thin, clean-shaven face, mildblue eyes and white hair, a cassock would seem more suited to him thanthe apron he wears. Neither his voice nor his general manner dispelthis illusion which has made him a personage of the water front. Theyare soft and bland. But beneath all his mildness one senses the manbehind the mask—cynical, callous, hard as nails. He is lounging atease behind the bar, a pair of spectacles on his nose, reading anevening paper.
Two longshoremen enter from the street, wearing their working aprons,the button of the union pinned conspicuously on the caps pulledsideways on their heads at an aggressive angle.
FIRST LONGSHOREMAN—[As they range themselves at the bar.] Gimme ashock. Number Two. [He tosses a coin on the bar.]
SECOND LONGSHOREMAN—Same here. [Johnny sets two glasses of barrelwhiskey before them.]
FIRST LONGSHOREMAN—Here's luck! [The other nods. They gulp down theirwhiskey.]
...