Cordelia the Cruel

A Melodrama in 3 Acts

Place: Harlem

Time: The Present

Cast of Characters

Cordelia Mason, an emerging Harlem chippie lately from North Carolina
Arabella Mason, her sister

Maizie and George, her baby sister and brother
Mr. & Mrs. Uriah Mason, her father and mother

Basil Venerable, her West Indian sweetheart, a boarder in her parents flat
Kid Vamp, a young sweetback

Roy Kane, his pal

Anna Craig, a common law pair also roomers in the Mason flat.

Jesse Stone

Guests a parties, gamblers and drinkers in the Kid's apartment, police men, neighbors.

Cordelia Mason is a strong willed, sensual, prematurely mature Negro girl about 17 years of age. She is of medium height and build, with sturdy limbs and form. In color, she approaches a teakwood tan. She has slicked down, babbled her, dressed abbreviated and flashier.

Arabella, Maizie and George are typical young men children in such a typical family. Arabella is about fourteen and saucy. The younger pair are seven and eight respectively, impudent and intolerant of all their elder's doings.

Mr. and Mrs. Uriah Mason are a hard pushed, hard working pair, bewildered by their new environment, unable to cope with conditions they accept, submit to each new assault docilely with just a few shivers of protestations and surprises.

Basil Venerable, a young West Indian chap who works days and attends school at night, is aggressive and self assured, and obviously in love with Cordelia. He is also characterized with a strong moral sense. He is slender, dark skinned, with high cheek bones and a prominent forehead.

Kid Vamp, a typical sheik of Seventh Avenue, who dresses well. He is a light &亮, big &strong, and a reddish brown skin chap with long wavy hair brushed back so as to show each ripple and wave. He is terse, mannered and blase. He lives by his wits, gambling, and mulcting money from women and homo sexuals.

Roy Cane is his less positive counterpart, weak willed and sly, but obviously of the sweetback variety, not being a baneful, curley-headed millet.

Anna Craig and Jesse Stone are two designing animals, bits of color who refuse to be dimmed by a drab environment. She is a fine what is known as a high yall r. He is a stovepipe bannde.

Act 1: The scene

A five room railroad flat in the depths of dark harlem. One middle room and portions of the two adjoining rooms are shown. The center room

2

The centre room is bared of all furniture save a player piano, a piano bench, a red cretonne covered iron folding couch pushed back into a corner, and three chairs. In the front and back adjoining rooms can be seen corners of other peices of furniture, aside board and dining table in the rear room, a brass bed and rocking chair in the front. The rooms are dark and dingy, the solitary window in the centre room faces on a mephitic air shaft. The rooms are feebly lit with blue and red globes, reflecting their dinginess. As the curtain goes up the two small children are seen dusting the rounds of the chairs sliding along the floor from chair to chair touching up the base boards as they go. From across the air shaft comes a medely of sounds. A man swearing at a woman, a victrola spewing forth the salacious moans of a deep toned blues singer, sounds of food frying, of a pulley line befeeching in protest as clothes are taken off of it peice by peice. This exterior activity keeps up in varying degrees ranging from monetary pianomissimo to thunderous crescendo during the entire action of act one

## The Action

After the off stage sounds have made their impression, Arabella enters carrying a small baby. She begins to quarrel with herself because she has had to keep the baby and cook dinner at the same time, while Cordelia slept. After a few words with George and Maizie about Cordelia, the approaching party, and their family conditions in general. Arabell goes up front and calls Cordelia who finally comes into view stretching and yawning. She says nothing to any of the children, but walks about lazily inspecting things. While during this her mother comes in from work loaded down with wash she is bringing home to do nights. She immediately begins to nag at Cordelia, who ignores her, and struts into the dining room where she can be seen arranging her table in front of a mirror. Next the father comes in. There is conversation of a strained nature between he and his wife. He also assails Cordelia, and he also is met with silence. Meanwhile Arabella is still trying to get them to come to dinner. The baby is crying off stage. The noise from the air shaft becomes louder and louder making it necessary for the characters on the stage to almost shout at one another. All go towards the kitchen to eat save Cordelia. Basil comes in, begging. He attempts to talk to Cordelia, begging her to marry him, asking her to remember certain relationships that exist between them. She answers him in the same lazy unconcerned way that she seems to do everything. They almost quarrell. He finally goes off stage to return immediately with some books. He exits trying to patch up the peace reminding her of the nights activities. The scene closes with Cordelia finally answering calls from the kitchen that she come eat.

## Scene 2.

Same as scene 1. Later in the evening. It is completely dark outside. Lights come in across the air shaft from other apartments. Now only sounds of laughter and music emanate from that place. The scene opens with a piano player and a drummer coming in. They have been hired for the evening. They and Cordelia laugh and talk for some time discussing other parties et cetera. Mrs. Mason leaves the party with the baby and two younger children to take refuge in a neighbors apartment until the night's festivities are over. Mr. Mason and Arabella are attired in white aprons. They are to serve the pigs feet and liquor off stage. Other people come in, wear aprons.

Linda Craig, June Stone