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back IRENE ZIEGLER  |  The Little Lion

Act One

CHARACTERS

LAIBALE (LAY buh lay) GILLMAN
REBEKKAH WEINSTEIN
JOEL
ESTHER
GEORGE
VALTER LEITUKIS / CAPTAIN LEITUKIS (Lie TOO kiss)
MR. LEITUKIS (Lie TOO kiss)
MENACHIM (Mah KNOCK him)
NESE (NAY say) GILLMAN
PETRAS REPSYTAS (Rep SEE tus)
DR. ELKES
RABBI SHAPIRO
MOSHE (MOE shee) GILLMAN
ISRAEL GILLMAN
SHEINA (SHAY na) GILLMAN
ANOTHER SHEINA (SHAY na)
COLONEL CRAMER
MASTER SERGEANT RAUCA
SCOUT / SERGEANT
ZOSIA
MECK
TOWNSPEOPLE
GERMANS

SETTING

The play takes place in and around Kovno, Lithuania, between November 1938 and April 26, 1944.

NOTES

Some scenes require the participation of the ENSEMBLE, or all available actors. VOICE or ACTOR #1 / #2 indicates one speaker from the ENSEMBLE. The stage should be outfitted with a projector and sound system to display archival photographs at key points, which are indicated by PROJECTION and SOUND in the stage directions.

 

Scene 1

(The streets of Kovno, Lithuania—November 1938.

Darkness.

ENSEMBLE assembles on stage.
Low backlight reveals them in silhouette. They are still.
One by one they vocally imitate, slowly at first, the sound of a motorcycle engine being turned over. This is not a well-oiled machine.

There are also birds. Sluggish at first, then in full call as the motorcycle engine revs to speed.)

ENSEMBLE
Tick.

Tick.

Caw.

Harumpf.

Tick.

Harumpf. Clunk.

Tick.

Ca-caw.
Chirp.
Tweet.

Harummmmmmmmmm, chug, rattle, clunk.

Caw caw.

Tick.

VOICE
Come on, Icarus.

Tick.

(Eventually, the engine turns over, and the vocalizations become deep, rumbling, assured, as the engine comes to full life. The bird calls escalate then diminish as the flock flies away in a swoosh.

PROJECTION: Birds take off, dark and ominous.

SOUND: Motorcycle race.

PROJECTION: Race images.

The silhouettes become the Lithuanian TOWNSPEOPLE, who cheer the motorcycle racers. A passerby could mistake it for a melee, they are so pumped. The favorites seem to be LAIBALE and another boy named VALTER. It’s the end of the race. The two are obviously neck and neck.

LAIBALE wins!

MR. LEITUKIS curses the sky and throws his stub on the ground, spits on it.)

REBEKKAH (squeals as if at a rock concert)
LAY-BELL-AYYYYYY!

(LAIBALE rides into the theater on a motorcycle. He wears a shirt with a nifty art deco graphic on it: Kovno #1. He is “mobbed” then escorted, still on the bike, onto the stage. Among his supporters are JOEL, ESTHER, MENACHIM and GEORGE.

GEORGE has a rudimentary camera. He takes pictures throughout the scene.)

GEORGE
Hold still for a picture, Laibale.

(JOEL, a large boy who often scratches his neck, head, and chest, steps forward. He wears a shirt with the same design: Kovno #2.)

JOEL
What about me?

GEORGE
All right. Get in there, Joel.

MENACHIM
Great shirts!

LAIBALE
Joel designed them!

GEORGE
Hold still.

(VALTER’s father, MR. LEITUKIS, confronts his son.)

MR. LEITUKIS
Valter! You lost to a Jew boy?

VALTER
He cheated!

JOEL
He did not!

VALTER
Laibale did something to the engine so he could go faster.

LAIBALE
That is not cheating, my friend. That is competing.

MR. LEITUKIS
He is not your friend.

(MR. LEITUKIS spits on the ground in front of LAIBALE.)

JOEL
Hey!

MR. LEITUKIS
Stay away from me, you!

REBEKKAH
Laibale, you won!

(REBEKKAH places a medal with a ribbon around LAIBALE’s neck.)

LAIBALE
Do I get a kiss, too?

(LAIBALE’s mother, NESE, comes forward.)

NESE (joking with LAIBALE)
I thought you’d never ask.

LAIBALE
I meant Rebekkah!

NESE
You don’t want to kiss your mother?

VALTER
Of course he does. All Jew boys are mother lovers, isn’t that right?

NESE
You mind your manners, Valter Leitukis.

MR. LEITUKIS
I can correct my own son, Nese Gillman.

NESE
With what? Your fists? You might try being a decent example to the boy.

VALTER
Your son is a cheater!

ESTHER
You lost fair and square, Valter. Grow up.

VALTER
Oh, I will. Don’t you worry. And you’ll be the first one to know it, Esther. That I can promise you.

ESTHER
What’s that supposed to mean?

MR. LEITUKIS
Enough. You don’t need to show up at the garage, tomorrow, Laibale. I won’t be needing you anymore.

VALTER
Ha!

LAIBALE
What? Why not?

MR. LEITUKIS
Did you adjust the carburetor on your motorcycle?

LAIBALE
Yes, but—

MR. LEITUKIS
And you used my tools?

LAIBALE
Yes, but—

MR. LEITUKIS
And my garage?

LAIBALE
. . . Yeah.

MR. LEITUKIS
Then you stole from me, didn’t you?

NESE
My son does not steal!

VALTER
Thief!

ESTHER (to VALTER)
Name-caller!

LAIBALE
Mr. Leitukis, you told me you didn’t mind if I used the garage after work hours.

MR. LEITUKIS
I didn’t know you were planning to cheat my son.

JOEL
He didn’t cheat!

MR. LEITUKIS
You stay out of this! And I told you to keep away from me.

VALTER
Yeah! Go wash your head in kerosene, Typhus Boy!

MR. LEITUKIS
Be quiet, Valter. You should have won this race. You have shamed this family.

VALTER
That’s not fair! You’re an idiot if you think—

(MR. LEITUKIS threatens to backhand VALTER.)

NESE
No!

LAIBALE
Mr. Leitukis, please don’t fire me. I’ll show Valter what I did to the carburetor so he can win next time.

VALTER
I don’t need your help.

LAIBALE
And I’ll work extra hours without pay to make up for using your tools.

TOWNSPERSON
A Jew offering to work for nothing? Did I hear that right?

(Some laughter)

JOEL (to TOWNSPERSON)
How would you like a punch in the mouth?

NESE
Stop it! Mr. Leitukis, I will make a dress for your wife. Take it, and no more talk of thievery. Do we have a deal?

JOEL
Tell her yes. And give Laibale his job back!

MR. LEITUKIS
I’ll take the dress for my wife, but I don’t want to see any of you anywhere near my garage. If I do, you’ll have me to reckon with!

VALTER
And me!

JOEL (fake-charges VALTER)
Boo!

(VALTER shrinks back. The crowd laughs. VALTER’s father pushes him offstage.)

Don’t worry about them, Laibale. You’ll find another job. You’re the best motorcycle mechanic in Kovno—probably all of Lithuania—and everybody knows it.

LAIBALE
I’m sorry, Mother.

NESE
Congratulations on your win, son. I’ll see you at home.

LAIBALE
Wait. I’ll give you a ride.

NESE
That motorcycle will be the death of me one day, Laibale. Please don’t be late for dinner.

(NESE exits.)

JOEL (scratching)
I was real proud to be racing alongside you, Laibale.

LAIBALE
Yeah, too bad about that potato cart jumping out in front of you like that. You okay?

JOEL
Sure. But I don’t think the potato cart will ever be the same.

(JOEL imitates the crash. They laugh.)

Anyway. I’m proud of you. Score one for the Jews, right?

LAIBALE
I suppose.

JOEL
Hell yes, you suppose. Okay, I gotta go. My mother and I are leaving for Germany tomorrow to sit shiva for my bubbe.

ESTHER
I’m sorry to hear about your bubbe, Joel.

JOEL
Thank you, Esther. I’ll be back in a couple days. Hey, Mrs. Gillman, wait up! My mother wants me to tell you something.

(JOEL exits.)

ESTHER
I drew some pictures of the race, Laibale.

(ESTHER shows him.)

LAIBALE
Wow, Esther. These are pretty good!

MENACHIM
Esther can draw just about anything, can’t you, Esther?

ESTHER
Oh, I don’t know about that.

MENACHIM
I do!

GEORGE
You were great, Laibale. Let me get another picture. Hold up your medal.

LAIBALE
Where did you get a camera?

GEORGE
My uncle gave it to me. Hold still.

LAIBALE
For how long?

GEORGE
Got it.

REBEKKAH
I don’t like the way that Russian soldier is looking at us.

GEORGE
We should get out of here before giving him a reason to come over here. Can I walk you home, Esther?

ESTHER
Menachim already asked.

GEORGE
Oh. Can I take your picture then?

ESTHER
Some other time, George. Bye, Laibale.

(MENACHIM and ESTHER exit.)

REBEKKAH
Oh, Laibale. You were so brave! I was worried you would fall.

LAIBALE
I never fall.

REBEKKAH
You led the whole way, as if you were flying!

LAIBALE
Sometimes I think I am flying.

REBEKKAH (draws closer)
Laibale, there’s something I want to say to you . . .

(PETRAS enters.)

PETRAS
Laibale?

LAIBALE
Petras! Where did you come from? Did you see the race?

PETRAS
Oh, I saw. Congratulations.

LAIBALE
I haven’t seen you in so long, I barely recognize you.

(To REBEKKAH)

Petras and I used to play together when we were small. We used to have spitting contests. He would always win. My mother taught his mother to sew.

PETRAS
But then Laibale went to Hebrew school and I went to public school, and we lost touch.

REBEKKAH
Hi. I’m Rebekkah.

PETRAS
Hi.

LAIBALE
Come by the house. My mother would love to see you.

PETRAS
. . . I don’t think I should.

LAIBALE
Why?

PETRAS (shrugs)
I just wanted to say hi.

LAIBALE
I’m really glad you did.

PETRAS
I better get going.

(To REBEKKAH)

Nice to meet you.

REBEKKAH
Goodbye.

LAIBALE
Goodbye, Petras.

(They share a moment. PETRAS exits.)

REBEKKAH
I have something I need to say to you, Laibale. Can we go someplace where we can be alone?

LAIBALE
I don’t know what Rabbi Shapiro would have to say about that.

REBEKKAH
He would say, “Shame on you, children!”

LAIBALE
“Shame on you, children!”

(They laugh.

LAIBALE holds out a hand and REBEKKAH slips onto the back of the bike.)

LAIBALE
Hold on.

REBEKKAH
Always.

 

Scene 2

(In the woods, near Zezmer.

PROJECTION: Trees.

LAIBALE and REBEKKAH have arrived, get off the motorcycle.)

REBEKKAH
What is this place?

LAIBALE
We’re near Zezmer. I love these woods. No Russians, no boiling laundry, no bleating goats off to slaughter.

(Mock formal)

Would you care to sit, my lady?

REBEKKAH
On the ground?

LAIBALE
God made the ground. I imagine it is good enough for your tukis.

REBEKKAH
This tukis has done little more than sit on a piano bench lately. Maybe the ground will do it good.

LAIBALE
This is my favorite time of day.

REBEKKAH
The gloaming.

LAIBALE
The what?

REBEKKAH
Gloaming. When everything glows.

LAIBALE
You glow all the time.

REBEKKAH
Is that good?

LAIBALE
Yes, that is very good.

REBEKKAH
Won’t your mother be upset that you’re late for dinner?

LAIBALE
I’m always late for dinner.

(Beat)

Do you hear that?

REBEKKAH
Hear what?

LAIBALE
Over there.

(REBEKKAH turns, and LAIBALE kisses her briefly. REBEKKAH is speechless.)

LAIBALE
I’ve been wanting to kiss you since third grade.

REBEKKAH
I’ve been wanting to kiss you since first grade.

LAIBALE
Really? I thought you liked Valter Leitukis.

REBEKKAH
He likes me, but I don’t like him.

LAIBALE
That is very good news.

REBEKKAH
I did kiss him once, though.

LAIBALE
That is very bad news. Why?

REBEKKAH
Because he told me I didn’t look Jewish.

LAIBALE
Rebekkah.

REBEKKAH
He was being sweet.

LAIBALE
You should be proud of being Jewish.

REBEKKAH
I am! It’s just . . . hard, sometimes. And when Valter started paying attention to me, I thought he liked me, but . . . he didn’t. Not really.

LAIBALE
You do realize that Valter Leitukis is an ass.

REBEKKAH
He really is, isn’t he?

LAIBALE
Yes, he is.

REBEKKAH
I don’t think you’re an ass.

LAIBALE
Are you sure?

REBEKKAH
Not one hundred percent, no.

LAIBALE
Very wise. Rabbi Shapiro says doubt is closer to God than certainty.

REBEKKAH
I doubt that.

(They laugh, fall silent. Beat.)

REBEKKAH
I think we should get married.

(LAIBALE looks around.)

LAIBALE
Are you . . . ?

REBEKKAH
Talking to you? Yes.

LAIBALE
You must be meshuggah.

REBEKKAH
Probably.

LAIBALE
Gee, thanks a lot.

REBEKKAH
No, I don’t mean meshuggah for wanting to marry you; I mean, meshuggah for . . . oh, I don’t know.

LAIBALE
Rebekkah, what’s gotten into you?

REBEKKAH
Why shouldn’t we get married, Laibale? You’re very clever for fifteen, and you’re nice and you have a job—

LAIBALE
Not anymore.

REBEKKAH
—And Esther and Menachim are talking about getting married, and if they’re old enough, then we’re old enough, so why shouldn’t we?

LAIBALE
Esther and Menachim are in love.

REBEKKAH
We could be in love.

LAIBALE
Rebekkah, what’s this about?

(REBEKKAH cries.)

Please tell me what’s going on.

REBEKKAH
My father is moving us to America.

LAIBALE
. . . America!

REBEKKAH
I don’t want to go!

LAIBALE
Why?

REBEKKAH
Because Kovno is my home!

LAIBALE
No, I mean, why America?

REBEKKAH
He says Europe is not safe for Jews.

LAIBALE
It will get better.

REBEKKAH
Papa says it’s getting worse! He says the Russians are confiscating property and transporting people to Siberia.

LAIBALE
But they are not targeting Jews.

REBEKKAH
It doesn’t matter! The townspeople will blame everything on us anyway. If the Russians don’t get us, they will. You heard Mr. Leitukis.

LAIBALE
Mr. Leitukis is the ass that begot the ass.

REBEKKAH
I know, but the crowd laughed.

LAIBALE
Of course they did. He’s ridiculous. He and Valter both.

REBEKKAH
No, Laibale. The crowd didn’t laugh at Mr. Leitukis. They liked what he was saying. Didn’t you get that?

LAIBALE
Not really.

REBEKKAH
Well, I did. It’s not good to be Jewish, Laibale. Everybody hates us.

LAIBALE
Then we’ll just have to mind our own business, worship in private, and stick together. That’s what Rabbi Shapiro says.

REBEKKAH
That just makes them hate us more. They pass out those stupid brochures showing us with horns and hooked noses. They call us devils.

LAIBALE
Maybe it’s good that you’re going to America then.

REBEKKAH
It’s not!

LAIBALE
And later you can come back. When it’s better.

REBEKKAH
When will it be better, Laibale?

LAIBALE
After the Russians are gone.

REBEKKAH
You don’t get it, do you? The only ones who can kick the Russians out are the Germans. It may be bad now, but if the Germans come, we’re doomed.

LAIBALE
One day, it will be better. I promise.

REBEKKAH
You can’t promise that.

(REBEKKAH clings to LAIBALE.)

I don’t want to go to America.

LAIBALE
I know.

REBEKKAH
I want to stay here. With you.

LAIBALE
Then you will stay.

(They hold each other.)

REBEKKAH
Sometimes I think I’m going crazy. I hardly recognize myself. It’s like I’ve been whisked away and this other Rebekkah is in my place.

LAIBALE
I see you, Rebekkah. You’re still here.

REBEKKAH
But if you don’t marry me, I can’t stay here.

LAIBALE
Then I suppose I should marry you.

REBEKKAH
Really? You’ll do that?

LAIBALE
If that’s what you want.

REBEKKAH
It is what I want! I don’t want anything else!

LAIBALE
Then give me your hand.
“Wear me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is infinitely strong.”

REBEKKAH
Just saying the words doesn’t make it a real marriage.

LAIBALE
It is real in my heart. Is it real in yours?

REBEKKAH
Yes, but—

LAIBALE (takes off his medal)
Here.

REBEKKAH
You’re supposed to give me a ring.

LAIBALE
One day, I will buy you a real ring, Rebekkah. A gold band, just like my mother used to wear.
Only yours. It will belong only to you, and you will never take it off. But for now, this is all I have.

(LAIBALE places the medal around her neck.)

“I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.”
I love you, wife.

REBEKKAH
“I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.”
I love you, husband.

(REBEKKAH caresses the medal.)

I will never take it off.

LAIBALE
And now you won’t have to go to America.

(Birds stir.)

We better get back.

(As they mount the bike . . . )

REBEKKAH
May I ask you something, Laibale?

LAIBALE
Call me husband.

REBEKKAH
May I ask you something, husband?

LAIBALE
You may, wife.

REBEKKAH
Do you love me more than your motorcycle?

LAIBALE
I did not know my motorcycle loved you.

REBEKKAH
No, yutz, do you love me more than you love your motorcycle?

LAIBALE
Oh, I see.

REBEKKAH
Well?

LAIBALE
Yes, Rebekkah. I love you more than my motorcycle.

REBEKKAH
Do you love me more than you love Joel or George or Esther or Petras?

LAIBALE
Yes, Rebekkah. I love you more than my friends.

REBEKKAH
Do you love me more than you love your mother?

LAIBALE

(Beat)

No.
I don’t.
I don’t love anybody more than my mother.

(REBEKKAH, behind him on the motorcycle, lays her head on his back.)

REBEKKAH
That’s all right.

Scene 3

(Interior, the Gillman home.

NESE sits at her sewing machine.

SHEINA sets the table. ISRAEL is sharpening a pair of scissors.)

ISRAEL
He’s getting too big for his britches.

NESE
Which is exactly why I am sewing a new pair for him.

ISRAEL
That’s not what I meant. I mean he is—

NESE
I know what you meant, Israel. Don’t you think you are a little too old to be jealous of your little brother?

SHEINA
Please keep your voices down. If Sara wakes up, she’ll never go back to sleep.

NESE
I’m sorry, Sheina. I’ve never seen a toddler fight to stay awake like that one.

SHEINA
She takes after Moshe.

ISRAEL
I’m hungry! Why do we have to wait for Laibale before we eat?

NESE
Because, Israel, that is what we do.

(MOSHE enters.)

MOSHE
Hello, Sheina, love of my life, mother of our perfect child.

SHEINA
Hello, Moshe, love of my life, father of our perfect child.

MOSHE
Did you see Laibale today? He was a tiger!

SHEINA
He was a hero.

NESE
He was a lion!

MOSHE
He was not a hero among the townspeople. Everyone bet on Valter Leitukis. They lost a lot of money.

SHEINA
So they blame Laibale for their own stupidity. Typical.

ISRAEL
Laibale, Laibale, Laibale. I am so tired of hearing about him all the time. Anyone can take apart a motorcycle.

MOSHE
Then why don’t you?
Hello, Mama. What’s for supper?

NESE
Hello, Mama, what’s for supper. Hello, Mama, what’s for supper. Every day you ask me the same thing. Hello, Mama, what’s for supper. And what do you suppose my answer will be?

MOSHE
The same as it always is, I suppose. Kugel and borscht.

SHEINA
Kugel and borscht.

ISRAEL
Kugel and borscht.

NESE
So why do you always ask?

MOSHE
Maybe one day you will say something different.

NESE
Maybe one day I will grow feathers and feed you worms.

(NESE removes the britches from the sewing machine. She begins to prepare a new garment.)

ISRAEL
That would be a welcome change.

MOSHE
Israel, do you ever do anything but grumble?

ISRAEL
I do plenty, brother.

MOSHE
Chasing women is not doing something.

ISRAEL
It is if you catch one.

MOSHE
And you’ve caught one, have you?

ISRAEL
As a matter of fact, I have. You are not the only one who can afford a wife and child, Moshe.

NESE
You have a wife and child!?

ISRAEL
No, I don’t. I mean, not yet. I am engaged.

NESE
Engaged! To whom?

ISRAEL
Sheina.

MOSHE
Sheina!

(ISRAEL and NESE look at SHEINA.)

SHEINA
Not me!

MOSHE
Not this Sheina. Another Sheina.

NESE
Another Sheina?

MOSHE
She is moving in tomorrow.

NESE
Here—?

MOSHE
Israel, we haven’t the room.

ISRAEL
We will make the room.

SHEINA
It isn’t proper! There is no privacy as it is!

ISRAEL
We are staring down the barrel of another war. Nothing is proper. I’ve asked Sheina to marry me, and she said yes. That is all.

MOSHE
That is NOT all!

ISRAEL
It is! Ever since Father left, you have been calling the shots, Moshe, and leaving me out of everything. Laibale gets all he wants, because he is the youngest.

NESE
Laibale does not get—

ISRAEL
And all I get is what you hand down to me. All my life I have been in the middle, waiting for someone to take notice of me, and I am tired of being ignored.

MOSHE
Then say something worth listening to.

NESE
Moshe—

MOSHE
Well, he sounds like a baby!

NESE
Go on, Israel.

ISRAEL
Every day, we hear the word no. No, you cannot attend law school because you are a Jew. No, you cannot live near the park because you are a Jew. Any time you asked something of me, Mama, I have said yes. Moshe, when you needed to borrow money, I said yes. But do I ever hear yes from you? Sheina is a good woman, and she said yes to me. Now, I want all of you to say yes to me. Because I am tired of only hearing no. So. What do you have to say?

(LAIBALE enters.)

LAIBALE
Hello, Mama. What’s for supper?

(They laugh.)

What’s so funny?

NESE
Nothing. You didn’t hear, Laibale. Israel is engaged to Sheina.

LAIBALE
Sheina—

MOSHE
Not my Sheina. Another Sheina.

LAIBALE
Another Sheina?

ISRAEL
Yes! Another Sheina!

(Sara cries offstage.)

SHEINA
Wonderful. I hope Another Sheina knows how to keep her voice down. I’ll never get Sara back to sleep now. Moshe, can I talk to you alone?

(SHEINA thrusts a bowl of potatoes into ISRAEL’s arms.)

Make yourself useful.

(SHEINA exits.)

ISRAEL
It’s settled then?

MOSHE
No. It is not settled. Not by a long shot.

(MOSHE exits.)

LAIBALE
Israel, I can’t believe—

ISRAEL
Enough! I’m not going to take insults from the likes of you.

LAIBALE
But—

ISRAEL
But what, little lion? But what?

LAIBALE
I was just going to say mazel tov.

ISRAEL (embarrassed)
Thanks.

(ISRAEL shoves the bowl at LAIBALE. Exits.

LAIBALE turns to NESE, who has resumed sewing.)

LAIBALE
So you got home okay?

NESE
As you see.

LAIBALE
Smells good in here.

NESE
As it should.

LAIBALE
I’m sorry I’m late.

NESE
The race was over hours ago, Laibale. Where have you been?

LAIBALE
Out.

NESE
Well, that explains everything.

LAIBALE
I took a victory lap is all.

NESE
With Rebekkah?

LAIBALE
Yes.

NESE
Where did you go?

LAIBALE
Around.

NESE
Out. Around. I’m supposed to know from this?

LAIBALE
Do you know the woods near Zezmer?

NESE
Where the birds light?

LAIBALE
That’s it.

NESE
I haven’t been there for years. I always thought that an unsettling place.

LAIBALE
But you like birds.

NESE
I like finches. Especially in the spring, before their trilling turns.

LAIBALE
Turns? What do you mean?

NESE
From hunger to something else. Accusation. Torment. Grief.

LAIBALE
I’ve never noticed such a thing.

NESE
No. You’re too young.

LAIBALE
They just sound like birds.

NESE
And so they are.

LAIBALE
Is that the dress for Mr. Leitukis’s wife?

NESE
She is so big I will have to get more cotton.

LAIBALE
Why not use wool?

NESE
Oh no! It is too precious. And I only have a few meters left.

(Stage whisper)

Besides, Mrs. Leitukis is allergic to cotton.

(They laugh)

LAIBALE
Ha! I can’t wait for Joel to get back so I can tell him that.

NESE
Oy. That boy. I don’t want him in the house, Laibale.

LAIBALE
Why?

NESE
You know why. He has lice. If it gets in my fabric, that will be the end. I don’t want you getting too close to him either.

LAIBALE
He can’t help it, Mama. His little brothers bring it home from school. His mother is sick all the time, and Joel tries to keep up, but it gets away from him. He does the best he can. And look what a good job he did with our motorcycle shirts!

NESE
Joel made those shirts?

LAIBALE
His mother did, but Joel designed them. He’s very clever that way. You should see his—

NESE
Take it off!

LAIBALE
What?

NESE
Take it off and get rid of it.

LAIBALE
But—

NESE
Now!

(LAIBALE removes the shirt, throws it out the door.)

No one in my family will be called a dirty Jew.

LAIBALE (putting on another shirt)
Somebody calls me a dirty Jew every day.

(Stung, NESE stops sewing.)

NESE
Come here.
You are a gift to this world, do you hear me? There is one less star in heaven because it came to earth when you were born. Your soul is made of honey and love. Kindness is written in your eyes.

LAIBALE
You forgot to say I am motorcycle champion of the universe.

NESE
And you forgot to apologize to Mr. Tokeris for his potato cart.

LAIBALE
Did you see that, Mama? Potatoes went flying!

NESE
Mr. Tokeris is very upset, Laibale.

LAIBALE
Not with me. Joel ran into his cart.

NESE
He says you are the ringleader. You and your little gang: Joel, Esther, George. You get them all worked up. The townspeople don’t like it.

LAIBALE
So Mr. Tokeris lost a few potatoes. He probably sold more than he lost since there were so many people in town to see the race.

NESE
That is beside the point. You and that motorcycle are trouble. And every time your friends are involved, there is more trouble. Last week, Joel climbed onto my roof and broke half a dozen slates.

LAIBALE
He just wanted to see over the smokestacks.

NESE
And Esther, she asked me for a pencil and never gave it back.

LAIBALE
She likes to draw.

NESE
George took my hatbox.

LAIBALE
He needed to make a camera, a big one—

NESE
This is how it is going to be, Laibale. I want Joel to apologize to Mr. Tokeris for upsetting his potato cart.

LAIBALE
Yes, Mama.

NESE
And I want Esther to give me my pencil back.

LAIBALE
Yes, Mama.

NESE
I want George to leave my hatboxes alone.

LAIBALE
Yes, Mama.

NESE
And I want you to get your medal back from Rebekkah.

LAIBALE
My medal—how did you know?

NESE
A mother knows. Is there something more you would like to tell me?

(LAIBALE parts his mother’s hair in the back.)

What are you doing?

LAIBALE
Looking for the eye in the back of your head.

NESE (laughing)
Stop, you’re messing up my hair.

(NESE’s finger slips beneath the sewing machine’s needle.)

Ouch!

LAIBALE
What happened? You’re bleeding.

NESE
I sewed my finger.

LAIBALE
Well, that wasn’t very smart.

NESE
Thank you. That helps in every way.

LAIBALE
I’ll get a shmate.

NESE
And now my machine won’t work!

LAIBALE
Here, wrap your finger in this. Does it hurt?

(NESE laughs.)

What is funny?

NESE
You always take care of me, Laibale. It is supposed to be the other way around.

LAIBALE
We take care of each other.

(LAIBALE kisses her finger, wraps it.)

Now, let me look at that machine.

(LAIBALE manipulates the sewing machine throughout their exchange.)

NESE
What else did Rebekkah have to say?

LAIBALE
Her mother is sending her to America. Her father’s jewelry store was smashed, and her father was beaten like a dog.

NESE
How awful! That poor family. I must take them something to eat.

LAIBALE
Rebekkah doesn’t want to go to America.

NESE
She is too young to know what she wants.

LAIBALE
Am I too young to know what I want?

NESE
Yes, my little lion. You are.

LAIBALE
I don’t feel young. Especially when I am around Rebekkah.

NESE
Is that why you gave her your medal?

LAIBALE
All fixed.

NESE
It works?

(LAIBALE works the sewing machine.)

And better than before. How do you know these things?

(NESE sits at the machine.)

LAIBALE
It is just a machine. Machines are easy. Girls, not so much.

NESE
Oh?

LAIBALE
How do you know when you’re in love?

NESE
There are different kinds of love, bubbale.

LAIBALE
You know the kind I mean.

NESE
You know you are in love when you’d rather be with that person than without them. And you would be willing to fall rather than see them fall, willing to hurt rather than see them hurt, willing to die rather than see them die.

LAIBALE
Did you love my father?

NESE
At first.

LAIBALE
Are you sorry you married him?

NESE
To regret love is to wish away your children. I cannot imagine my life without you and Moshe and Israel.

LAIBALE
And Sara.

NESE
And Sara.

LAIBALE
And Sheina.

NESE
And Sheina.

LAIBALE
And Another Sheina.

(They laugh.)

Are you going to let Israel move her in here?

NESE
I haven’t decided yet.

LAIBALE
What was he thinking?

NESE
Nobody wants to be alone, bubbale. They might say they do, but they don’t.

LAIBALE
Nobody wants to be packed in a tin with thirty-one other sardines, either.

NESE
No. But we will never have to worry about that.

(NESE hands him pants.)

Here.

LAIBALE
What’s this?

NESE
For you.

LAIBALE
Pants?

NESE
Motorcycle pants.

LAIBALE
Ima!

NESE
I sewed some leather on the knees in case you fall.

LAIBALE
This is—I can’t—

NESE
Stop it. Get ready for supper.

(LAIBALE clings to her waist.)

They are just pants, Laibale. Go get washed.

(ISRAEL enters with ANOTHER SHEINA, who wears a mink coat.)

LAIBALE
Look, Israel! Pants!

ISRAEL (mocking his enthusiasm)
Pants!

LAIBALE
Pants!

(LAIBALE bounds away, ecstatic.)

ISRAEL (to NESE)
Pants!

NESE
Don’t make fun. It is nice to see someone around here happy for once. You must be Another Sheina. What a lovely coat. May I take it for you?

ANOTHER SHEINA
No, thank you.

NESE
No?

ISRAEL
She never takes it off.

ANOTHER SHEINA
I never take it off.

NESE
Oh. All right then.

ANOTHER SHEINA
Your boy is going to fall off that motorcycle one of these days, you know.

NESE
You are welcome in our home, dear, but please don’t bring your crystal ball to the table. There’s hardly enough room as it is.

(Calling)

Kugel and borscht!

(Knock on door)

ISRAEL
Who is this, arriving right at suppertime?

LAIBALE
It’s Dr. Elkes! Come with medicine for Mama.

ISRAEL
Does he have to come now? He’ll want to share our meal, I suspect.

NESE
Dr. Elkes, welcome.

DR. ELKES
Pardon the intrusion at this awkward time.

NESE
I’ll set another plate.

DR. ELKES
No, no, Nese. Very kind, but I’ve not come to eat.

ISRAEL
Praise God.

(MOSHE enters.)

MOSHE
Dr. Elkes! Join us!

DR. ELKES
Not today, Moshe.

LAIBALE
Did you see me win the race today, Doctor? George took my photograph, and Esther sketched me.

DR. ELKES
I did see you win, Laibale! You flew like Icarus himself.

LAIBALE
Who’s Icarus?

DR. ELKES
You don’t know your Greek mythology? He and his father angered a king and had to flee the island of Crete. They escaped by fashioning wings from feathers and wax.

LAIBALE
They flew?

DR. ELKES
They did, but Icarus did not listen to his father’s warnings.

(SHEINA enters, holding Sara.)

SHEINA
What brings you to our home, Dr. Elkes?

DR. ELKES
May I sit?

NESE
Of course, Doctor. Sit. Another Sheina, please get Dr. Elkes a glass of water.

(ANOTHER SHEINA looks at ISRAEL, as if to ask “Is she talking to me?”)

DR. ELKES
We have been friends a long time, Nese.

NESE
Yes? And so?

DR. ELKES
Have you ever known me to be an unhappy man? Because these edicts, they make me want to cry.

NESE
What now?

MOSHE
Are we at war?

DR. ELKES
Not yet, but it is only a matter of time.

ANOTHER SHEINA (gives water)
What is happening, Israel?

ISRAEL
Shush. Listen.

DR. ELKES
Thank you, my dear. A public notice was hung on the court building. It forbids Gentiles to mix with Jews.

ISRAEL
Mix? What are we, bread dough?

DR. ELKES
It also forbids Gentiles from buying merchandise from Jews.

NESE
My customers cannot buy their garments from me anymore? Moshe, what will I do?

DR. ELKES
And no Jews are allowed to buy from Gentiles.

NESE
Where will we get our honey?

ANOTHER SHEINA
Where will we get our perfume?

DR. ELKES
Any Jews shopping in Gentile stores will be immediately arrested.

ISRAEL
They can’t do that!

DR. ELKES
They can, and worse. I believe you must think about leaving this place.

ANOTHER SHEINA
But I just got here.

SHEINA
Moshe?

MOSHE
It will be all right, Sheina.

SHEINA
We have to think of Sara.

DR. ELKES
Yes, parents are very concerned for their children. Some are sending them to relatives in America.

(Fixes LAIBALE with a look)

And do not take kindly when others interfere.

NESE
Impossible! We can’t afford to go to Zezmer, much less America!

DR. ELKES
In that case, it is important, no, vital, that we all keep records of what you see, hear, or do.

NESE
Why must we keep records?

DR. ELKES
If not us, who?

MOSHE
He makes a point.

DR. ELKES
If we are vigilant, all will one day know what happens to us in the months and years to come.

SHEINA
But . . . what is going to happen?

DR. ELKES
I do not have a crystal ball.

ANOTHER SHEINA
That is just as well, because Nese doesn’t permit them at the table.

DR. ELKES
Er . . . yes. All I know is what I hear on the radio. And it is not good.

SHEINA
We need to fix the radio, Moshe.

ISRAEL
I tried. It is unfixable.

LAIBALE
It’s the coil.

MOSHE
It was fixable, Israel, until you made it unfixable.

LAIBALE
It’s the coil.

MOSHE
Go get it. I’ll look at it.

ISRAEL
Am I your donkey? You get it.

MOSHE
Everything you touch turns to ash.

ANOTHER SHEINA
Not everything, I hope.

SHEINA
Go get the radio, Moshe.

(MOSHE exits.)

Like children, these brothers!

DR. ELKES
Have you locks on your windows?

NESE
Against what?

DR. ELKES
Your neighbors.

NESE
No one has disturbed us.

DR. ELKES
Others have not been so lucky.

SHEINA
I don’t understand what is happening! Has the world gone upside down? Jewish or Catholic, we are all Lithuanians! How can we unite against a common enemy if we are so afraid of our own countrymen?

ISRAEL
Calm down, Sheina.

SHEINA
I won’t! Isn’t it enough the Russians have deported thousands to Siberia? Where is the rage against them?

ANOTHER SHEINA
Volume. Oy vey.

SHEINA
The Germans will march in here any day and these Gentiles act like that will be the answer to all their problems. They love that the Germans wish to destroy us.

NESE
The Germans do not wish to destroy us. They are a highly educated people, not mass murderers.

SHEINA
If you would read the newspaper once in a while, Nese, you would not say that.

ISRAEL
Sheina, enough.

SHEINA
Stop talking to me as if I was your wife, Israel.

DR. ELKES
I’d better go now, Nese. I am sorry to be the cause of family discord.

NESE
You have done nothing. It is always good to see you, Doctor. Thank you for my medicine.

DR. ELKES
Use it sparingly. Everything is precious now. Laibale, will you walk with me outside? Can you spare him a moment, Nese?

NESE
Of course.

(MOSHE returns with radio.)

DR. ELKES
Good night, Gillmans.

(But his farewell falls on deaf ears as MOSHE is descended upon by NESE, ISRAEL, SHEINA, and ANOTHER SHEINA, all speaking at once, and all with their own ideas of how to fix the radio.

DR. ELKES and LAIBALE move out of earshot.)

LAIBALE
Israel nicked the coil when he tried to fix it.

DR. ELKES
I have something I believe belongs to you.

(DR. ELKES presents the first place medal.)

LAIBALE
My medal! How did—

DR. ELKES
Mr. Weinstein asked me to return it.

LAIBALE
But I gave it to Rebekkah.

DR. ELKES
Mr. Weinstein is very unhappy with you and his daughter. You are lucky he came to me and not Rabbi Shapiro. What’s this about the two of you blaspheming the marriage contract?

LAIBALE
We meant no disrespect. Rebekkah and I love each other, and when I get my job back, we will move in together.

DR. ELKES
No, Laibale, you won’t. Even if you were really married, which you are not, Rebekkah’s father would not allow it. You are children.

LAIBALE
But Rebekkah—

DR. ELKES
Rebekkah has already gone, Laibale.

LAIBALE
No! She leaves next month.

DR. ELKES
Under the circumstances, Mr. Weinstein thought it best to speed things up.

LAIBALE
But I love her!

DR. ELKES
Letting her go is the most loving thing you can do.

LAIBALE
No! I can stop them on my motorcycle.

DR. ELKES
It is too late.

LAIBALE
Tell me where they are!

DR. ELKES
I cannot.

LAIBALE
Tell me!

DR. ELKES
It is time for you to grow up and accept. Only babies believe they can change things with tears and tantrums.

LAIBALE
Rebekkah—!

DR. ELKES
This is what heartbreak feels like, Laibale. I know it is terrible to lose somebody, but I hope you will never hurt as much as you do right now.

LAIBALE
She is my wife!

DR. ELKES
You know in your heart that is not true. I have something else to say to you. You must get rid of your motorcycle.

LAIBALE
No.

DR. ELKES
The Russians are confiscating property. You want them to take it?

LAIBALE
No one will take my motorcycle.

DR. ELKES
You must hide it then. Do you hear me? It is all well and good to enjoy attention and popularity, but you must be cautious. If you cannot leave this place, you must do everything you can to take care of yourself and your family, even if it means doing things you don’t want to do. Do you understand?

(LAIBALE nods.)

Good boy.

LAIBALE
I am not a boy.

DR. ELKES
Forgive me. You are right. You are a young man. And a fine one.

LAIBALE
I am also a husband. I don’t care what you say.

(LAIBALE puts on his medal.)

I will never take it off.

(Noises, breaking glass)

DR. ELKES
More bad business. Keep your eyes and ears open, Laibale. History springs from facts, and hope springs from history.

LAIBALE
Yes, sir.

(DR. ELKES exits. LAIBALE reenters the house. Dialogue overlaps.)

MOSHE
It’s the antenna. If the wire isn’t bent just right, it won’t pick up the radio waves.

ANOTHER SHEINA
I don’t see any waves.

ISRAEL
It’s the capacitor.

NESE
What’s a capacitor?

SHEINA
I think it’s this thingamajig here.

ISRAEL
Please do not talk of this if you don’t know what you’re talking about.

MOSHE
Maybe it’s the headphones.

LAIBALE
IT’S THE COIL!

(LAIBALE exits in a huff. Others look to each other, wondering “What’s the matter with him?”)

 

Scene 4

(Makeshift garage, a meeting place.

GEORGE, ESTHER, and MENACHIM listen to LAIBALE, who holds a carburetor.
ESTHER sketches. GEORGE sneaks an occasional picture of her.)

LAIBALE
If a motorcycle sits for a while with gasoline in its system, the lighter bases of the gasoline will evaporate and leave behind a thick gunk that will clog your carburetor. If that happens, you have to clean it out. That means you have to drain the gasoline, remove your carburetor, take it apart—

(MENACHIM raises his hand. He wears round wire-rimmed glasses.)

This isn’t school, Menachim. You don’t have to raise your hand.

MENACHIM
Wouldn’t it be easier to prevent that gunk from getting in there in the first place?

LAIBALE
Well, yeah, it would, but then—

(VALTER enters. He has a bruise on his face.)

VALTER
But then Laibale wouldn’t have anything to talk about. Isn’t that right, Laibale?

GEORGE
What do you want, Valter?

VALTER
I thought my father told all of you to stay away from our garage.

GEORGE
Your garage is across the street.

VALTER
Well, I still don’t like you being close by. It’s bad for business.

LAIBALE
Why don’t you sit down, Valter? You might learn something.

VALTER (notices ESTHER)
What’s this? A sketch?

(VALTER takes it.)

ESTHER
Hey!

MENACHIM
Give it back, Valter.

VALTER
Who’s going to make me, four eyes? You?

(Looks at sketch)

Hey, it’s you, Menachim. It’s pretty good. But she forgot something. Horns!

(VALTER picks up a piece of charcoal, and before Esther can stop him, draws horns.)

There. Much better.

MENACHIM
Give it back to her, Valter.

VALTER
What are you going to do? Hit me with a book? Hey, Esther, why don’t you draw my picture?

ESTHER
With those bruises? You look like something shat from the hind end of a goat.

MENACHIM
Ha!

LAIBALE
What happened to your face, anyway?

VALTER
None of your business.

(JOEL enters, out of breath and very agitated.)

Well, if it isn’t Typhus Boy.

JOEL
If you call me that one more time, Valter Leitukis, I’m going to spit in your mouth.

LAIBALE
Joel! I thought you were sitting shiva for your bubbe in Germany.

JOEL
I was. I’m back now. Listen to me. I saw something terrible.

LAIBALE
What?

JOEL
The Nazis.

ESTHER
They’re no more terrible than a regular German soldier. They all look like mud snakes in jackboots.

JOEL
I’m not talking about soldiers. These were townspeople. They were burning buildings.

VALTER
Who cares? I hope they burn down their whole country.

JOEL
I’m talking about synagogues and schools and stores being set on fire and Jews being beaten and arrested.

LAIBALE
Come on, Joel. That’s impossible.

JOEL
I saw it! The rabbis were all running around, trying to save the Torahs. The Brownshirts just laughed at them. They made them urinate on the holy books at gunpoint.

ESTHER
What!?

JOEL
They held down one old rabbi and yanked out his beard.

VALTER
Oh, wow! Ha ha!

GEORGE
Shut up, Valter!

JOEL
Shopkeepers were pulled into the streets and beaten with mattocks and hoes, anything they could get their hands on. There were lots of German soldiers, but they just stood there and watched it all happen. Mama and I hid for hours in an alley behind some old sauerkraut kegs. I thought we’d be next. There was so much glass, Laibale. Broken glass, everywhere. I’ll never forget the sound. Mama’s shoes were all torn when we finally got out of there. Her feet were bleeding.

VALTER
Maybe she should have worn better shoes.

ESTHER
And maybe you should have run a little faster from your father, Valter, because we all know that’s how you got those bruises.

MENACHIM
Esther.

ESTHER
No!

(To VALTER)

You hear a story like this, and you laugh? You make fun? So tell me. When your father was beating on your face, did you laugh then, too? Is it so funny when it’s happening to you?

MENACHIM
Let’s go, Esther.

ESTHER
I feel sorry for you, Valter. You’re just a frightened bully who’s been taught to be mean.

VALTER
And you’re just a dirty little Jew whore.

(ESTHER makes a run at VALTER, but MENACHIM holds her back.)

You’re finished. All of you. And you’re so stupid you don’t even know it. Wait until the war comes. The Nazis will clean house and get rid of all you dirty Jews.

(VALTER exits.)

ESTHER
Donkey dick!
Let me go, Menachim.

MENACHIM
You sure?

ESTHER
Let go, please.

(He does. ESTHER exits, MENACHIM follows.)

LAIBALE
Donkey dick. Ha ha!

(To JOEL)

You okay?

JOEL
You don’t get it, do you, Laibale?

LAIBALE
I don’t get what?

JOEL
I am not okay. I don’t think I’m ever going to be okay again. Not after what I saw.

LAIBALE
Come home with me. Mama will make us kugel and borscht.

JOEL
You need to grow up, Laibale.

LAIBALE
I’m only three months younger than you!

JOEL
In the last few weeks, I’ve aged in dog years.

LAIBALE
You’re . . . really scared, aren’t you?

JOEL
Aren’t you?

LAIBALE
I’m not scared of anything. Except maybe your lice.

JOEL
Go ahead and laugh.

LAIBALE
Aw, c’mon, Joel.

JOEL
I’ll see you around.

LAIBALE
Joel! Wait! I’m sorry.

(JOEL exits.)

GEORGE (about the carburetor)
This looks complicated.

LAIBALE
Things come apart easily. The hoses, the float bowl, the jets, the air screw. You’ll be surprised how little time it takes. If you pay attention to the order in which things break down, you’ll have a much easier time putting it all back together again. But if you don’t pay attention, and let things come apart in no particular order, you’re going to end up with a nightmare that seems to never end, no matter how much you scrub the pieces, no matter how much you care.

(GEORGE takes a picture.)

 

Scene 5

(REBEKKAH from New York. Piano music.)

REBEKKAH
Dear Laibale,

I am living with my uncle in New York. He has a piano. I have two Gentile friends named Linda and Betty. They both have blond hair.

Laibale, I had to give up your medal to Father. He threatened to take away the dresses your mother made for me if I didn’t, and I didn’t want you to get in trouble with Rabbi Shapiro. I hope you’re not too upset.

Please talk to Mr. Leitukis, Laibale. If you get your job back, you can visit me. Please come soon. I am afraid I will forget what you look like.

Love, your wife,
Rebekkah Weinstein

 

Scene 6

(The Leitukis garage.

LAIBALE runs into scene, a man with a mission.)

LAIBALE
Mr. Leitukis? Mr. Leitukis, I need my job back!

(PETRAS emerges wiping hands on a rag.)

Oh—hi.

PETRAS
Hi.

LAIBALE
Do you . . . work here now?

PETRAS
I just started.

LAIBALE
Oh.

PETRAS
So.

LAIBALE
I was looking for Mr. Leitukis.

PETRAS
He went home for lunch.

LAIBALE
Oh. What are you doing?

PETRAS
I was, uh, just trying to figure out how to, uh . . .

LAIBALE
You don’t know what you’re doing, do you?

PETRAS
I haven’t the foggiest idea.

LAIBALE
Need some help?

PETRAS
Oh, man, that would be great. Let me back it out.

(PETRAS goes inside garage.)

LAIBALE
Why isn’t Valter helping you?

PETRAS (offstage)
He’s supposed to be here, but as soon as his father leaves, he disappears. Which would be good except for one thing . . .

LAIBALE
He keeps coming back.

PETRAS
You got it.

(SOUND: Car starts up.

PROJECTION: The back end of a 1938-era Mercedes-Benz.)

LAIBALE
Is that a Mercedes-Benz?

PETRAS
Yeah! From Germany.

LAIBALE
Well, of course from Germany. Whose is it?

PETRAS
I don’t know.

LAIBALE
So what are we doing here?

PETRAS
Mr. Leitukis just said to change the tire, give it a wash, and gas it up.

LAIBALE
Which is the bad tire?

PETRAS
Uh, I don’t know.

LAIBALE
Huh. Guess we’ll have to change them all then.

PETRAS
Really?

LAIBALE
No. It’s this one.

PETRAS
How can you tell?

LAIBALE
I have eyeballs. You know how to place the jack?

PETRAS
Uh.

LAIBALE
That’s what I thought. Step aside; genius coming through.

(LAIBALE gets to work.)

PETRAS
I’m a little surprised to see you here, Laibale.

LAIBALE
And why is that?

PETRAS
The edict. Jews are not allowed to work for Gentiles.

LAIBALE
I was hoping Mr. Leitukis would make an exception. Okay, hand me that tire iron.

(PETRAS hands him a wrench.)

That’s a wrench.

PETRAS
Oh. I knew that. Here.
Listen, Laibale, Mr. Leitukis isn’t going to make an exception.

LAIBALE
He has to. I shouldn’t be punished just because I’m a better mechanic than Valter. This is a crowbar.

PETRAS
Dammit.

LAIBALE
This is a tire iron.

PETRAS
Got it.
So, I hear that Esther and Menachim are getting married.

LAIBALE
Mazel tov to them.

PETRAS
I thought maybe you and Rebekkah—

LAIBALE
We did.

PETRAS
What!? When?

LAIBALE
In secret, right before she went to America.

PETRAS
Why in secret?

LAIBALE
Her father. She thought if we got married, she would get to stay, but . . . I need my job back so I can earn enough money to go there before she forgets what I look like.

PETRAS
Oh. Huh.

(Beat)

I really appreciate your help with this. I owe you one.

LAIBALE
You mean that?

PETRAS
Of course.

LAIBALE
Because I could use a favor.

PETRAS
Name it!

LAIBALE
Would you ask Father John if I can hide my motorcycle at the church?

PETRAS
Isn’t that dangerous?

LAIBALE
No more so than hiding it at my house.

PETRAS
No, I mean for Father John.

LAIBALE
Oh. I didn’t think about that. Never mind then. I’ll think of something else.

PETRAS
No, I’ll ask. Maybe in the cemetery. No one would think to look there.

(SOUND EFFECT: Coughing German World War II-era motorcycle.

German SCOUT pulls up to Leitukis garage on motorcycle. A droll sense of humor masks his dangerous nature. He is a textbook alpha male— threatening without having to raise his voice. He dismounts.)

SCOUT
You. Come here.

LAIBALE
Me?

SCOUT
Who belongs to this place?

LAIBALE
Mr. Leitukis.

SCOUT
And you are?

LAIBALE
Laibale Gillman.

SCOUT
Gillman. You are a Jew.

LAIBALE
Yes, sir. You are a Nazi.

SCOUT
I am not. I am a German scout. If I were a Nazi, I would have chewed you up and spit you out by now.

LAIBALE
Are you going to kick out the Russians?

SCOUT
Give me a minute. I just got here.

(To PETRAS)

And you are?

PETRAS
Petras Repsytas.

SCOUT
You are Jewish as well?

PETRAS
No. I am Catholic.

SCOUT
Where is Mr. . . . ?

PETRAS
Leitukis. He went home for lunch.

LAIBALE
Your motorbike has a dirty carburetor.

SCOUT
You know this machine?

LAIBALE
Of course. You need a tune-up, or you won’t be going anywhere.

SCOUT
Is that so?

LAIBALE
That is so.

SCOUT
And you can provide this service?

LAIBALE
Well, yeah, but I don’t (work here—)

SCOUT
Go ahead then.

LAIBALE
But—

SCOUT
You will do it now.

(LAIBALE looks at PETRAS, who shrugs.)

LAIBALE
Yes, sir. I’ll need to get a few things.

(LAIBALE goes inside the garage. The SCOUT lights a stage cigarette—no tobacco—and looks around, very deliberately.)

SCOUT (to PETRAS)
When does this Mr. Leitukis return?

PETRAS
I don’t know.

SCOUT
You know where he lives?

PETRAS
Yes, sir.

SCOUT
Go there.

PETRAS
Now?

SCOUT
Yes, now.

PETRAS
But I’m supposed to—

SCOUT
You are supposed to do as I say.

(PETRAS starts off.)

Wait. Repeat to me. What are you doing?

PETRAS
I’m going to get Mr. Leitukis.

SCOUT
Wrong. Did I tell you to get him?

PETRAS
I thought so.

SCOUT
You thought wrong. I told you to go to his house. And when you get there, I want you to tell him to stay home.

PETRAS
Stay home? For how long?

SCOUT
Forever ought to do it. This garage now belongs to the German army. Off you go.

(PETRAS exits.)

Have you ever been to the Ninth Fort, Laibale Gillman?

LAIBALE (reenters with tools)
No, sir. Why do you ask?

SCOUT
Because if I don’t like what you do to my motorcycle, that is exactly where you are going. And do you know what happens to Jews who go to the Ninth Fort?

LAIBALE
They die?

SCOUT
Every last one.

(Beat)

You have nothing to say?

LAIBALE
No, sir.

SCOUT
Why not?

LAIBALE
Because I am not stupid.

SCOUT
No, it appears you are not.
How many bikes will fit in this garage?

LAIBALE
I don’t know. A dozen or more. Are there more of you on the way?

SCOUT
Oh, yes. Many, many more.

(SCOUT looks at his watch.)

What else can you repair?

LAIBALE
Radios.

SCOUT
Radios. You have one then?

LAIBALE
Uh . . . no. I—no.

SCOUT
Hmm. What else can you fix?

LAIBALE
I don’t know. Anything with moving parts.

SCOUT
You don’t look like a mechanic.

LAIBALE
You don’t look like a German scout.

SCOUT
How are German scouts supposed to look?

LAIBALE
My friend says you all look like mud snakes in jackboots.

SCOUT
And that is what I look like to you?

LAIBALE
No, sir. You look like a motorbiker.

SCOUT (takes out pad and pencil)
What is this friend’s name?

LAIBALE

(Beat)

Valter . . . that’s V-A-L . . .

SCOUT
I know how to spell this name.

LAIBALE
Are you going to send Valter to the Ninth Fort?

SCOUT
You ask a lot of questions. What is this?

LAIBALE
My medal. I won it in a motorcycle race.

SCOUT
I’ll have it.

(SCOUT takes LAIBALE’s medal.)

LAIBALE
No!

SCOUT
Shush, shush.

LAIBALE
It’s mine!

SCOUT
Don’t worry. I will give you something to replace it. Something better. A star. Let go.

LAIBALE
No. I promised someone I would wear it forever.

SCOUT (produces pistol)
Forever begins now if you like. Makes no difference to me.

(LAIBALE lets go of the medal. SCOUT puts it in his pocket.)

Now you will fix my motorbike.

LAIBALE
I’ll need to remove the carburetor.

SCOUT
Remove it then. You have one hour.

LAIBALE
One hour? This takes all afternoon!

SCOUT
Today, it will take one hour.
And then you will repair the Colonel’s automobile.

LAIBALE
Where is it?

SCOUT
Right there. If it were a mud snake in hip boots, it would bite you.

(LAIBALE sets to work.)

SCOUT (talks to cigarette butt as he crushes it beneath his boot)
Out, out you go, little spark. Nothing more from you.

(Lights out.

SOUND: Many, many motorcycles, then laughing, cheering.

PROJECTION: Archival photos and drawings of Germans arriving in Kovno and townspeople greeting the German army.)

 

Scene 7

(ESTHER and MENACHIM’s wedding.

A Jewish wedding takes place as GEORGE recites the details of the massacre. Beneath a canopy, MENACHIM stomps on the goblet.)

CROWD
Mazel tov!

GEORGE
The massacre at the Leitukis garage began with laughter.

(Wedding crowd eruption)

I was taking pictures at Esther’s wedding when I heard cheering and clapping and thought there must be a victory celebration of some sort going on near the Leitukis garage. When I got there, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

(Wedding crowd jubilance.

GEORGE takes pictures as he speaks.)

A group of civilian townspeople armed with rifles had herded fifty or sixty Jewish men into the garage. The Jews were forced to clean the floor of horse manure with their bare hands. After they were done, they were led to a water hose and told to wash up. The bystanders jeered and laughed, but the voice that chilled me most was one I knew.

VALTER
Now we’ll have some REAL fun!

GEORGE
The townspeople attacked the Jews with spades, sticks, rifle butts, crowbars, and other tools from the garage. Some wore white armbands. When the Jews collapsed, they forced the hoses into their mouths and turned them on.

VALTER
Get up! GET UP!

GEORGE
A young man named Algirda Pavalkis grabbed a man by his hair and dragged him across the lot.

(The crowd cheers.)

He struck the poor man with a crowbar.

(Crashing sound effect)

Sometimes it took only one blow.

(Cheering)

Other times, it took two or three. Within forty-five minutes, the young man had beaten over fifty Jews to death.

(PROJECTION: Archival picture of ALGIRDA ANTANA PAVALKIS.)

And when he was finished, Algirda Antana Pavalkis put the crowbar to one side, fetched an accordion, stood beside the mountain of corpses, and played the Lithuanian national anthem.

(Cue accordion music—Lithuanian national anthem—singing.)

The townspeople sang. In the front row, women with children in their arms stayed for the whole thing. They watched. They sang. They clapped.

(PROJECTION: Archival picture of crowd.)

Apparently, the night before, Russian soldiers had dragged Algirda’s parents from their beds and accused them of being enemies of the state. They were shot on the spot.

Algirda blamed the Jews. He believed the anti-Semitic propaganda, which blamed the Jews for Soviet occupation. He believed the Jews were responsible for his suffering.

And the crowd.
These Lithuanian civilians.
Mothers, fathers, policemen, workers.
A few Nazi soldiers.
This crowd did nothing.
Except watch.
And clap.
And laugh.
And sing.

(ESTHER and MENACHIM kiss. ALL freeze on stage.)

And take photos.

 

Scene 8

(German headquarters. Office of COLONEL CRAMER.

DR. ELKES, RABBI SHAPIRO, and COLONEL CRAMER.)

COLONEL CRAMER
What do you mean we did nothing?

RABBI SHAPIRO
Colonel Cramer, your men stood by while fifty-three men were beaten to death!

COLONEL CRAMER
They did not stand by. They kept order.

RABBI SHAPIRO
It was a melee!

COLONEL CRAMER
An orderly melee, Rabbi, and I will thank you not to raise your voice to me.

DR. ELKES
These Lithuanians are out of control. Their killing spree must be stopped!

COLONEL CRAMER
I agree. If we allow them to continue, they will put us out of a job.

RABBI SHAPIRO
Is this humor? Because I find it neither amusing nor appropriate.

COLONEL CRAMER
What would you have me do, Rabbi? You said yourself the townspeople are out of control. Would you have me arrest them?

RABBI SHAPIRO
Yes!

COLONEL CRAMER
Then I would arrest the entire non-Jewish population of Kovno. Where would I put so many prisoners? Catholics no longer wish to live together with Jews. The choice is up to you—either the present bloodbath, or move into a ghetto where you can live and work together, unmolested.

RABBI SHAPIRO
We will not be moved from our homes!

COLONEL CRAMER
Then you will continue to be kidnapped off the streets and end up who-knows-where, and that will be your fault, not mine.

RABBI SHAPIRO
This is revolting! Death is staring at us through the windows!

DR. ELKES
Peace, Rabbi. Colonel Cramer, what ghetto did you have in mind?

COLONEL CRAMER
Slobodka.

RABBI SHAPIRO
Slobodka! Slobodka cannot accommodate us! There is not enough housing. There are no resources.

COLONEL CRAMER
But you will stay out of the way of the townspeople and protect one another.

(Knock)

What is it, Sergeant?

(SERGEANT, who is the SCOUTfrom earlier, enters with LAIBALE.)

SERGEANT
Herr Colonel Cramer. The Jew you ordered.

DR. ELKES
Laibale!

COLONEL CRAMER
Danke. Leave us.

(SERGEANT exits.)

Come here, little Jew. Do you see this boy, gentlemen?

LAIBALE
I am not a boy.

DR. ELKES
Not now, Laibale.

(To COLONEL CRAMER)

You will not harm him!

COLONEL CRAMER
Why should I want to harm him? I want to use him as an example. This boy is a credit to his race. He fixed my Mercedes and my sergeant’s motorcycle. He is essential. Without him, I have no one to repair vehicles, and that would be a tragedy of a truly large degree.

RABBI SHAPIRO
My God.

COLONEL CRAMER
My advice to you is this. Stop talking to me about this one or that one killing a few Jews. Separate and isolate yourselves. Move into Slobodka and make yourselves essential.

RABBI SHAPIRO
It will not contain us!

COLONEL CRAMER
Then you will all have to leave certain items behind to make room.

RABBI SHAPIRO
What sort of items?

COLONEL CRAMER
Nonessential items.

RABBI SHAPIRO
Goniff!

COLONEL CRAMER
Come, come, Rabbi. What use do you have in the ghetto for an automobile? Where will you wear jewelry or put all your heavy furniture? We are doing you a favor, taking it off your hands.

RABBI SHAPIRO
Doctor, it is time for us to leave.

DR. ELKES
One moment. I wish to be clear in my mind. You are recommending that some 35,000 Jews crowd into a space barely big enough to house 8,000?

COLONEL CRAMER
I don’t know the numbers.

DR. ELKES
Those are the numbers.

COLONEL CRAMER
If you say so.

DR. ELKES
And bring with them only pots and pans?

COLONEL CRAMER
Why bring pots when you have pans?

RABBI SHAPIRO
You make yourselves rich on the backs of our people?

COLONEL CRAMER
Turnabout is fair play, Rabbi. Your people have been amassing wealth unfairly for centuries. It is time you learned humility.

RABBI SHAPIRO
We will not do this. We will not do as you say.

COLONEL CRAMER
Then you will be killed in the streets like rats.

RABBI SHAPIRO
Reason with him, Doctor!

DR. ELKES
Colonel Cramer—

COLONEL CRAMER
It is a win-win solution. You get protection from your overenthusiastic neighbors, we get what you already know must be left behind. I am appointing you, Dr. Elkes and Rabbi Shapiro, as head of the Jewish Council in charge of this transfer. You will appoint Jewish policemen who will see to it that this move to the ghetto takes place in an orderly fashion.

LAIBALE
May I say something?

DR. ELKES
Not now, Laibale.

COLONEL CRAMER
Let him speak. What is it?

LAIBALE
Can my brother’s girlfriend bring her mink coat to the ghetto? Because she loves it so much she never takes it off.

COLONEL CRAMER (laughs)
This is wonderful, truly. Out of the mouth of babes. Such concern for another. Of course, of course, your brother’s girlfriend will wear her mink coat. She was supposed to have turned it in already, but I can make an exception in this case. You see, gentlemen? I am a reasonable man.

RABBI SHAPIRO
I am going before I say something offensive to my God.

DR. ELKES
Come, Laibale.

COLONEL CRAMER
This one stays with me. We have business.

DR. ELKES
What sort of business?

COLONEL CRAMER
He will be returned, Doctor. You have my word.

DR. ELKES
And do I have your word that if we move into the ghetto, the killings will stop?

COLONEL CRAMER
Once you move into the ghetto, we can control your neighbors, yes. Those killings will stop.

RABBI SHAPIRO
Doctor, come. I am sick to my stomach.

DR. ELKES
Are you all right, Laibale?

(LAIBALE nods.)

Come to my office when you are through here. Bring your friends. Do you understand?

LAIBALE
Yes.

(DR. ELKES and RABBI SHAPIRO exit.)

COLONEL CRAMER
So. You are clever with tools. My sergeant tells me you claim you can fix anything.

LAIBALE
This is true.

COLONEL CRAMER
I have something very important to the war effort, but it no longer works. You will fix it.

LAIBALE
I’ll try.

COLONEL CRAMER
There will be no try. You will fix it, or you will disappear. Simple.

LAIBALE
But you promised Dr. Elkes I would be returned unharmed.

COLONEL CRAMER
Ah, yes, so I did. You said you have a brother?

LAIBALE
Yes.

COLONEL CRAMER
Then he will disappear instead. Do we understand each other?

LAIBALE
Yes.

COLONEL CRAMER
Very good. It is here.

(COLONEL CRAMER unveils a sewing machine.)

It is a sewing machine. The latest model. But it bedevils me.

LAIBALE
What’s wrong with it?

COLONEL CRAMER
I don’t care what is wrong with it, little Jew, I care only that you fix it.

LAIBALE
Now?

COLONEL CRAMER
If it is convenient.

(LAIBALE pulls up a chair.)

LAIBALE
Do you sew with this machine yourself?

COLONEL CRAMER
No, I dig holes with it. Of course I sew with it. What do you think?

LAIBALE
What do you make?

COLONEL CRAMER
Toys. For my grandchildren. Like this.

(COLONEL CRAMER produces a stuffed toy. It is not well sewn. It is hard to figure out what it is.)

LAIBALE
Oh. That’s. Good.

COLONEL CRAMER
It is good, isn’t it? Sewing calms me. It . . . removes the world. But good wool is difficult to come by.

LAIBALE
My mother sews.

COLONEL CRAMER
Is that so?

LAIBALE
She makes dresses and blouses and coats and pants.

COLONEL CRAMER
She has wool?

LAIBALE
Uh, no. As you say, it is difficult to come by. Only cotton.

COLONEL CRAMER
You will bring the cotton to me.

LAIBALE
What? No. She needs it.

COLONEL CRAMER
I don’t like this word no,little Jew, have I not made that clear? Where do you live?

LAIBALE
I would rather not say.

COLONEL CRAMER
Very well. I have changed my mind. You are no longer essential. You need not fix the machine.

LAIBALE
I already did. It was the tension.

COLONEL CRAMER
Tension?

LAIBALE
It just needed adjustment. Can I leave now?

COLONEL CRAMER
One moment. Where did you get those pants?

LAIBALE
My mother. She made them.

COLONEL CRAMER
Is that leather on the knees? Allow me to see them.

(LAIBALE rises.)

No, I mean, remove them.

LAIBALE
What?

COLONEL CRAMER
Remove your pants.

LAIBALE

(Beat)

No.

COLONEL CRAMER
You are refusing?

LAIBALE
You can’t have them.

COLONEL CRAMER
I can have whatever or whomever I wish, little Jew. That is the world you live in now. Remove your pants, or I will remove them for you.

LAIBALE
But—what will others think of you when I walk out of here with no pants?

COLONEL CRAMER
You think I care?

LAIBALE
They will think, “A boy walks into an office wearing pants and walks out with no pants. What has occurred between this boy and the Colonel that a boy who had pants now has no pants?”

COLONEL CRAMER
What do you mean?

LAIBALE
I think you know what I mean.

(COLONEL CRAMER hits LAIBALE. Hard.)

COLONEL CRAMER
I could eliminate you right now, are you aware of that? I will ask you again. Where do you live?

LAIBALE
Konsta Street. Next to the butcher.

COLONEL CRAMER
Get up. Remove your pants and I will not take your mother’s cotton.

(LAIBALE does so. COLONEL CRAMER holds out the stuffed animal.)

Here. For you.

(LAIBALE reaches for it. COLONEL CRAMER snatches it away.)

Aha! Just kidding. Here.

(LAIBALE takes the toy, warily.)

You will report to the garage in the morning and repair motorcycles.

(COLONEL CRAMER opens the door.)

And now you will leave. Sergeant!

(SERGEANT enters.)

SERGEANT
Ya wolt!

(SERGEANT double-takes when he sees LAIBALE with no pants.)

COLONEL CRAMER
The little Jew will leave now.

(LAIBALE exits.)

Sergeant.

SERGEANT
Jawohl, Herr Colonel.

COLONEL CRAMER
Tonight I want you to go to Konsta Street. Next to the butcher.

SERGEANT
I know the place.

COLONEL CRAMER
A woman there wears a mink coat. Bring it to me.

SERGEANT
Jawohl.

COLONEL CRAMER
If she resists, shoot somebody.

SERGEANT
Jawohl.

(SERGEANT exits.

COLONEL CRAMER sits before the sewing machine. He places fabric beneath the needle and sews. He hums a German lullaby.)

 

Scene 9

(DR. ELKES’s office.

DR. ELKES talks to LAIBALE, GEORGE, ESTHER, JOEL, RABBI SHAPIRO.)

DR. ELKES
The rumors are bearing fruit. Tomorrow, we will be ordered into the ghetto.

ALL (except RABBI)
What?
What does this mean?
How can they do that?
Impossible!

DR. ELKES
Listen now, speak later! Please. I have important instructions.
Few on the outside know what is happening here. Whatever fate befalls us, it is up to you, the artists, to immortalize every aspect of our ghetto reality.

GEORGE
What do you mean?

DR. ELKES
Keep records! Documents. Photographs. Drawings. Paintings. Diaries. Maps. Graphs. Even your songs, poems, theatrical pieces. We will prepare these things in secret. No one must know what we are doing.

JOEL
Why?

DR. ELKES
Because the Germans will show a skewed picture to the world. We must document the truth.

ESTHER
How?

DR. ELKES
Esther. I have seen your drawings. You capture a likeness quickly and accurately. But no more sketches of wildflowers or snowflakes. You must draw what happens here. Every day. Sketch your surroundings, make portraits of the Germans who give the orders, record our daily life, our chores, our labors. You are done with pretty, do you understand? You must record truth.

ESTHER
Sometimes the truth is pretty.

DR. ELKES
The Germans will not suppress pretty truths. They will hide all that is ugly. You must sketch the ugly.

ESTHER
I understand.

DR. ELKES
George. Even if you hide your camera, they will find it. Give it to them. Make them think you have nothing more.

GEORGE
I will have nothing more.

DR. ELKES
I have seen you make a camera from a hatbox. Can you make something smaller?

GEORGE
I think so.

DR. ELKES
Do it. But you must find a way to take pictures so that nobody knows. And you must shoot more than pretty girls, George. Train your eye on all of your people.

GEORGE
Yes, Dr. Elkes.

DR. ELKES
Joel.

JOEL
I’m not artistic.

DR. ELKES
You designed those motorcycle shirts. Everybody wanted one.

JOEL
That’s different.

DR. ELKES
And you mapped the route for the race.

JOEL
Yeah . . .

DR. ELKES
Valuable skills. Make a map of the ghetto. Every street, every house, the location of the river. Use Esther’s colored pencils. Make it clear, accurate, and beautiful. Give it to the Germans.

GEORGE
Give it to them? Why?

DR. ELKES
A gift. So they come to you with future needs. They will want maps of new roads. Or bridge locations. They will want graphs to chart their progress. They will want you to print the edicts that hang in the town square. You will have advance knowledge of such things, knowledge you will share with Rabbi Shapiro and me.

JOEL
You mean, like a spy?

RABBI SHAPIRO
We are all spies. But we are not playing a game, children. This is very serious.

LAIBALE
Then stop calling us children.

RABBI SHAPIRO
You make a point.

LAIBALE
What do I do, Dr. Elkes?

DR. ELKES
Exactly what they want you to do. I have seen you repair a machine, Laibale, and it is nothing short of artistry. You have a head for figures and a sharp memory. You must keep track of the vehicles that move in and out of the garage. That will give us an idea of how many troops are coming through. Whatever you do, do not sabotage engines.

LAIBALE
Why not?

DR. ELKES
Because they won’t shoot you, Laibale. You are too valuable. They will kill one hundred other Jews instead. That goes for all of you. Your art is your sabotage. Tell me you understand this.

ALL
We understand.
Yes, okay.
Got it.

DR. ELKES
And finally, Rabbi Shapiro.

RABBI SHAPIRO
I will keep a diary. I will write down every lie they tell, every profanity they utter.

DR. ELKES
We will give the materials to a trusted Lithuanian for safekeeping until the war ends, a priest perhaps.

LAIBALE
Petras Repsytus can help with that.

DR. ELKES
If any of us survive, we will retrieve the archive and show it to the world. If nobody survives, the priest will give it to a Jewish organization. History will not forget us.

ESTHER
What will happen to us, Doctor?

DR. ELKES
Honestly, I don’t know. But whatever fate befalls us, we must not think of ourselves as victims, ever. We are civilized human beings leaving detailed messages for the future. We will do more than stay alive. We will listen . . . see . . . think . . . build . . . compose. We will give ourselves a purpose, and our art a life after death. Draw in, everyone.

(They huddle.)

We swear to tell no one of the existence or location of these treasures. No matter what. Even if it means we get hurt.

ESTHER
We will protect our renderings.

GEORGE
Our photographs.

JOEL
Our charts and graphs.

RABBI SHAPIRO
Our words.

DR. ELKES
Our history. May we always know who we are, from whence we came, and what we have endured.

(Music brings us into the next scene.)

Leave here now. Tell no one.

(They exit.)

DR. ELKES
God help us.

 

Scene 10

(NESE at the barbed wire fence.

PROJECTION: ESTHER’s archival drawing of barbed wire fence.)

NESE
Psst! Please! Come closer.
I have a thimble. Silver. You can see?
Look how beautiful. It belonged to my mother. She was an exquisite seamstress. Her needlework was the finest in Lithuania. I learned at her knee, and—
I’m sorry! Don’t go! I talk too much.
—Yes, silver.

(Beat)

Food. My family. The little one, Sara, she needs protein—a few eggs from your basket—
You want to . . . hold it?
But—I don’t know you, and it is all I have, you see.

(Coughs)

No, wait! Come back! Forgive me, it is my allergies. I am not contagious. Please.

(Beat)

If I could see the eggs.
—Very well.

(NESE hands over the thimble through the barbed wire.)

You see how beautiful?
Yes. Silver. Yes. It is very valuable.

(Beat)

May I . . . have the eggs?

(NESE reaches for them.)

Thank you! Oh, wonderful. Thank you, so much. I do hope you enjoy the thimble, it is one of a kind, and—
Wait! Will you come to the fence again?
Will you?
Will you?
Will you?

(Coughs.

Lights out.)

 

Scene 11

(August, 1941.

Outside the House of the Council of Elders, ghetto.

JOEL, at a desk, puts the finishing touches on an edict, which a SOLDIER whisks off his desk and nails to the side of a building.

MENACHIM cleans his glasses and reads the edict.

ESTHER vigorously sketches the action.)

MENACHIM
Good news!

(Enter ISRAEL, MOSHE, LAIBALE, OTHERS.)

ALL
What news?
Tell us, Menachim!
Good news at last!
I thought the days of good news were over.
What does it say?
Read it, man!

MENACHIM
Quiet down! “Five hundred men needed for special work detail.”

ISRAEL
Hard labor at the airport.

MENACHIM
No! It is desk work, and the five hundred will receive extra food. “Only the intelligentsia may apply.”

(CROWD MEMBERS moanand move away, including LAIBALE.)

ESTHER
That’s you, Menachim!

MENACHIM
“Doctors, lawyers, teachers, anyone holding a college degree will work in the city archives.”

ESTHER
You must apply!

MENACHIM
I can hardly believe it! Decent work at last!

(MENACHIM and ESTHER hug. MENACHIM exits.)

ESTHER
I have another letter for you, Laibale.

LAIBALE
Rebekkah! But how . . . ?

ESTHER
She sent it to our old address. The new tenant slipped it to me through the fence. If you need paper or charcoal to write back, just let me know.

(LAIBALE has it open before she finishes talking, moves rapidly to one side of stage while opening the letter. ESTHER exits.

REBEKKAH appears.)

REBEKKAH
Dear Laibale,

Father says that things are awful there in Kovno, and that Hitler is trying to take over the world, but isn’t that just what I told you a long time ago? I don’t know why you haven’t written to me. Did you get your job back? Do you still have my picture?

Laibale, I met a boy named Eric, and he is very nice to me. Even Papa likes him, probably because he works in a law firm and has nice manners. He is also funny and thinks I am smart. I told him I have a boyfriend in Lithuania, but he changes the subject, so it is difficult to remember that I belong to you. If I could hear from you, it would be easier.

Please write to me, Laibale.

Your wife,
Rebekkah

(Lights out on REBEKKAH. LAIBALE turns the letter over and thinks, “Is that it? What the hell?”)

ISRAEL
There are rumors that the Germans executed a thousand Jews in a ghetto in Poland.

MOSHE
There are rumors that Hitler flies over in an invisible dirigible and poisons our water with the blood of a thousand pigs.

ISRAEL
Only a thousand? He’s slipping.

JOEL
Where did you hear the rumors of the executions, Israel?

ISRAEL
The radio. Laibale got it to work.

MOSHE
It was the coil. Who knew?

JOEL
Wait a minute. You heard on the radio they executed thousands of Jews in a Polish ghetto?

ISRAEL
Like I said, a rumor.

JOEL
I don’t think so. It’s just what they would do. Laibale! We have to protect the radio. It is our only link to the outside world.

ISRAEL
Of course we must protect it. It is hidden in a good place.

JOEL
But if they find it during a house search, they will not just kill you. They will kill one hundred of us. Give it to me. They are afraid of our house because of lice. The Gestapo sends in only one man, and he only pokes at things with his rifle butt. It will be safe at my house. We can meet there to listen to it.

ISRAEL
I don’t want to get lice!

LAIBALE
Then I guess you won’t be listening to the radio.
It is a good idea, Joel. Will you hide my mother’s wool as well? It is not very much, but if they take it, it would break her heart.

JOEL
Of course.

(ANOTHER SHEINA runs into scene, pursued by German SERGEANT.)

SERGEANT
Halt! Or I shoot!

ANOTHER SHEINA
Israel! Help me!

SERGEANT (to ISRAEL)
Get out of the way or I will take your head off.

ANOTHER SHEINA
Tell him no, Israel! He can’t have my coat!

ISRAEL
Well, it is August, Sheina. Perhaps you don’t mind so much.

SERGEANT
You were supposed to give it up last winter. You will remove it now.

ANOTHER SHEINA
No!

ISRAEL
Sheina.

ANOTHER SHEINA
Please, please, don’t make me.

SERGEANT
I have orders. If you resist, I shoot this man.

ANOTHER SHEINA
Please don’t take it. Please don’t. Please don’t take it.

(ANOTHER SHEINA is on her knees, crying, pitiful.)

SERGEANT
Get up!

ANOTHER SHEINA
No! Israel! Help me!

ISRAEL
Please. Can you be more respectful toward her?

(SERGEANT turns gun on ISRAEL.)

You must do as he says, Sheina. Look at me. Sheina! Look at me. It is a just a coat.

(ANOTHER SHEINA wails. He shakes her.)

Do not choose this moment to die. Do you hear me? Choose life, Sheina. If not for yourself then for me. It is over. You must give up the coat.

(ANOTHER SHEINA slowly realizes she has no choice.)

SERGEANT
Schnell!

ISRAEL
Please. I ask of you.

(ANOTHER SHEINA musters what dignity she has left, and removes the coat. SERGEANT snatches it from her and exits.)

ANOTHER SHEINA
I will see you at home.

ISRAEL
I will walk with you.

ANOTHER SHEINA
No. I know the way. Do you have a handkerchief?

ISRAEL
No, I—

ANOTHER SHEINA
No. Of course not.

(ANOTHER SHEINA wipes her face with the back of her hands.)

And now I have nothing, just like you.

(ANOTHER SHEINA exits.)

ISRAEL
Sheina.

(ISRAEL exits.

GEORGE runs in.)

GEORGE
Laibale! Your mother! She’s been taken to the Ninth Fort for smuggling!

(LAIBALE collapses as if his skeleton has turned to jelly.)

MOSHE
No! How do you know?

GEORGE
I saw her get arrested. She was caught with two eggs.

MOSHE
Get up, Laibale. We have to get her back. Dr. Elkes will know what to do. I’ll get him. You go home. Tell Sheina I’ll be late.
Get up, Laibale!
Get him up, George.

(Exit MOSHE. GEORGE assists LAIBALE.)

GEORGE
I’m so sorry, Laibale.

LAIBALE
Did he hurt her?

GEORGE
No.

LAIBALE
Was she crying?

GEORGE
I don’t think so.

LAIBALE
Did she look scared?

GEORGE
A little, maybe. But she stood tall, Laibale. She even spoke in German to them.

LAIBALE
I have to go.

GEORGE
Do you want me to get Rabbi Shapiro?

LAIBALE
Why? So he can say kaddish for the dead?

GEORGE
No, I just meant . . .

LAIBALE
Go home, George.

GEORGE
But—

LAIBALE
Go home.

(GEORGE exits.

Distributed lines should overlap. Perhaps actions are performed simultaneously, but should not be literal. Some suggestions are included. The effect should build into something thrumming, frenetic, nightmarish.

PROJECTION: Dark birds.)

ENSEMBLE
Five hundred men needed for special duty. Only the intelligentsia may apply.

And the rest of us stand out here, every morning at dawn, while those Gestapo morons count us over and over and over—

(ENSEMBLE stand five abreast.)

Then we march out to the airfield while they follow on bicycles, prodding us, and calling us names—

(They fall away. Five more step forward.)

We break our backs for what? Reduced rations and shrinking living quarters.

(They fall away. Five more step forward.)

They’ve taken our firewood so we cannot cook!

Electricity is erratic.

Our clothes are threadbare!

Corpses are looted for boots and overcoats!

The streets are dilapidated and filthy!

The Germans say there is a typhus epidemic!

The hospital gates are locked to prevent anyone from leaving!

(SOUND: Clang!)

And then the hospital is burned to the ground with medical staff and patients inside.

My baby!

The ghetto shrinks. We are closed from the outside world. If we leave, we are shot—

—or raped by people we once trusted!

Families are starving!

You are falling down!

Get up, Laibale!

Do something!

REBEKKAH
Do something!

DEAD WOMAN
Do something!

(Light change.

SOUND: Motorcycle engines, whining at high speed.

LAIBALE mimes riding a motorcycle in a race. Body forward, head low, eyes peeled.

ENSEMBLE peel away and assume the same position as LAIBALE until the stage is filled with “motorcycles.”

PROJECTION: Dark birds.

The moment keeps building in volume and intensity. LAIBALE finally screams. He is a warrior, an avenging angel, a dark god.

At the height of intensity, a door is kicked open.

ALL freeze.

Enter CAPTAIN VALTER LEITUKIS, carrying or dragging a corpse.)

CAPTAIN LEITUKIS
Hello, Laibale.

(He drops corpse to the floor. It is MENACHIM.)

Did you miss me?

(PROJECTION: Photo of a pile of discarded round wire-rimmed glasses.

SOUND: Ominous, threatening, climactic.)

continue to Act Two

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   Contributor’s notes

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