Duc de la Rochemartel, “Zouzou” Leo Ditrichstein Herbert Ross Theodore de la Farce, “Dodor” Alex L. Gisiko Gerald Du Maurier Antony, art student W.M. de Silke Thomas Lorimer, art student Edwin Brandt Gayer Mackay Rev. Thomas Bagot Edward L. Walton Charles Colonel Kaw, a theatrical manager Reuben Fax Holman Clark Philippe, a footman Trilby O’Ferrall, an artist’s model Virginia Harned Dorothea Baird Mrs. Bagot Rosa Rand Frances Ivor Madame Vinard, a concierge Mathilde Cottrelly Rosina Filippi
Angele, a grisette Pierrepont Cicely Turner Honorine, a grisette Lucile Nelson Agnes Russell Musette, a grisette Josephine Bennett Sadie Wigley Ernestine, a grisette Sybil Erlyn Mimi, dancer from the Salle Valentino Menta Elmo Olive Owen La petite Noisette, dancer from the Salle Valentino Winnie Leon Hortense, dancer from the Salle Valentino Madge Langton Desirée, dancer from the Helen Graeme
LAIRD. I should console myself with the sentiment of my illustrious name-sake. (Crosses R. Recites) And often he thought as he ga’ed through the glen, She’s daft to refuse the of Cockpen. MADAME VINARD (L.). And she might love another. LAIRD (R.). I should call my trusty claymore to my aid and lay that “other” low (gestures with mighty claymore). MADAME VINARD (L.C.). Ah, but you are ferocious, Monsieur (R. Sheathing his imaginary claymore). Voilà l’espèce d’homme que je suis (goes up to window, at easel). MADAME VINARD (laughing). I must go. I have to see Maître Galvin, the lawyer, about that wretch Svengali’s rent. Bonjour, Monsieur Sandy (exit D.F.). (bowing low). Bong jour, Madame Vinard (at piano filling pipe. Lights pipe which he smokes upside down; then begins to arrange the lay-figure Toreador, singing as he works) Here are we met, three merry boys Three merry boys, I trow, are we; And mony a we’ve merry been, And mony mae we hope to be. TAFFY (enter from L.2 E. carrying logs. Sadly). Hello Sandy (crosses to fire, throws on the logs recklessly. Back to L.C.). Ha, my bold militaire. (Sings) We’re na fou, we’re no that fou,
TRILBY (taking cigarette from pouch at her side). You carry your wings inside, for convenience. SVENGALI. En v’la une orichinale. (Makes another burlesque bow and crosses to piano in alcove R.2 E. Gecko after a wistful look at Trilby, follows him. Stage Music). TRILBY L.1 to Billie). Are you angry with me? BILLEE. How can I lie about it? You have hurt me—awfully— TRILBY (eagerly). How? What have I said? What have I done? (Billee is about to answer when Taffy comes up and offers a match to Trilby. She lights cigarette. Billee with a gesture of annoyance returns to his easel. Taffy sits with Trilby, she watches Billee, pretending to listen to the music. Taffy sits by Trilby on couch). BILLEE (cross to C. half angrily). Why don’t you play, Svengali? (Music “Last Rose of Summer”). SVENGALI (at piano, playing). What shall I play? I know what you call music. “Annie Laurie.” “Last Rose of Summer.” Bah! (Music “Annie Laurie,” his fingers run over the keys; the playing being really done in the wings). LAIRD (at easel, painting). Do you sing, Svengali? (Music. Billee at back of dais, standing). SVENGALI (beginning to play “Adieu” of Schubert, violin played by Gecko). Nein. I cannot sing myself. And I cannot play the violin. But I can teach the violin, hein, Gecko?
(after pause). By whom? Oh, by Billee. (The ceases in the orchestra). TRILBY (kissing them). Dear white violets! Then he has forgiven me! (Enter Madame Vinard with wine). See, Madame Vinard—the violets that Billee bought me. MADAME VINARD (C.). Litrebili? Oh no, it was Sandy bought them. TRILBY (L.C.). Sandy! (Laird confused). Why did you deceive me? (Sees wine on tray) Ah, you have been deceiving me all along. (Crosses to table with wine) Billee isn’t coming back to dinner. He hasn’t forgiven me. Taffy, tell me the truth, has Billee gone away? MADAME VINARD (R. by table). Why, Monsieur Litrebili has gone to his mother in Florence. TRILBY (L.). Sandy, has he really gone? (L.C.). Aye, my poor lass—he has really gone. (Taffy R. by table). TRILBY (fiercely to Taffy). Why did you let him go? helpless). You envied our happiness. How base. How unworthy! No, Taffy, no! I beg your pardon, dear, I’m out of my mind with grief—bewilderment. But Billee won’t be so—he won’t leave me like this. I can’t live without him. (Sits on couch, overcome with grief) Sandy, you have always told me the truth. Will Billee come back? LAIRD (sits by her L. on couch). He has asked us to send his pictures to Florence.
SVENGALI. They have insulted me—me, Svengali, but we could not refuse—hein—Gecko! We could not refuse to make music while they drowned the latch-key of Litrebili in the punch-bowl. (Svengali exits with Gecko L.U.E. Madame Vinard closes curtains quickly). MRS. BAGOT (amazed). Drowning his latch-key? MADAME VINARD to Mrs. Bagot). Ma foi, madame, this Svengali is crazy; he has the oddest words; but they mean nothing. MRS. BAGOT. Drowning my son’s latch-key in a punch bowl? Thomas, do you understand? REV. BAGOT (closing sketch book with a snap). A classical phrase. I remember it is Apuleius. Or was it Petronius Arbiter? It means drinking the bridegroom’s health. (Svengali’s head appears between the curtains, he listens). MRS. BAGOT (to Madame Vinard). You must pardon me. But does … does my son … (Business for Svengali). … talk freely with you his family? MADAME VINARD. Freely? Monsieur Litrebili? (Business for Svengali). Why I knew you from his description. MRS. BAGOT. Then has he—has he never told you of a young lady, the daughter of an English clergyman, highly connected, and of his intention to conform to our wishes and marry her? (Svengali withdraws his head, after signifying that he has heard and understood). MADAME VINARD. Ma foi Monsieur Litrebili has told me many things; he has told me this and that; and no doubt he has talked of the young English miss; but really, really …
(Exclamations of surprise). ANTONY (R.C. to What’s to be done, Sandy? You’ve the canny head. LAIRD (seated on stool C. nonplussed). There’s the difficulty (sits in thought). DODOR (L.C.). Zouzou, suggest, suggest. ZOUZOU (L. of Dodor). Suggest? Ah, oui, messieurs, Mesdames, I no spik Angliche; but I suggest what you call it—évasion—elopement. (General satisfaction) TAFFY. What do you say to that, Sandy? LAIRD (seated C. hesitating). Eh, it might be wise, man. The Belgian law is different from the French. TAFFY (rises). Then to Belgium, we’ll go (L.). (Enter Svengali R.2 E. to bay window). We’ll have carriages here at midnight; post-haste to the Northern Railroad, be over the frontier before noon tomorrow, and get the marriage legally celebrated by nightfall. Hooray! TAFFY (L.). We’ll order the carriages at once. Trilby will wait for us here. (Cheers. Green lights from Dock). Attention; form battalion; march. (Zouzou, Antony, Lorimer, Laird, and Taffy march and exit door in flat). TRILBY (seated at table L.). Billee, dear, I—I fear we are doing wrong. BILLEE (stands by her L.). No, my mother loves me. We’ll win her over by and by. Let us do as Taffy tells us. Be strong, love, be strong, and nothing can part us (kisses her and exits door in flat).
(Leads her to chair L. of table L.C.). But it is too late. My life has passed into hers. And every note she sings I know that it is killing both her and me. GECKO (enter from R.I.E. excited. Crosses to Svengali). There is yet five minutes. But I have met—the Duke, what you call him? Zouzou, and he tells me the “trios Angliches” will be in the audience. SVENGALI (eagerly). All three? (above Svengali R.3). All three. SVENGALI. Hast thou found me, oh mine enemy? (Cross to R.3 E.) Then, tonight, she shall sing like a nightingale. I will pour my passion into her heart if it makes my own stand still. (Hand to heart, pause, as if controlling his emotion) She shall sing tonight as she never sang before. GECKO (behind Svengali, L. of him). You have been making her work too hard. (Trilby SVENGALI (at R.3 E.). Have I spared myself? Did I not fall down in a fit in the streets of Prague? Would any doctor alive allow that I had a year to live? TRILBY (her hands behind her foot raised on stool). Svengali, do not be cross with me. I am doing my best. (Weeping softly) Oh, do not be cross with me. (Putting up arm as if to ward off blow) Do not beat me. GECKO (L. of Svengali, threatening him). You have beaten her? SVENGALI (by window. Snarling). Silence, dog. TRILBY. You call me names, horrid names, but how can it touch that note? Don’t be cross with me. (Shrinking) Don’t call me names. (Putting up arm as before) Don’t beat …
(Billee starts back). Never looks backward. To her the past is dead. And so are all who were in it (over for situation). TAFFY. Then she is not Trilby, our Trilby, I’ll swear it. (Trilby, sitting, begins to talk to herself, smiling). BILLEE (to Trilby, R. of her). Tell me one thing, and I will ask no more. Was it really your regard for my mother’s wish that made you give me up? Or was it your desire to be rich and famous with—(pointing to Svengali) with Svengali? Won’t you answer? Don’t you know when you went away it broke my heart. (Goes to they go up C.). TRILBY (seated R. of table L. Vacantly). Yes. (by Trilby, R. of her. Coming down). Trilby, I appeal to you. You know what I always thought of you. I don’t mind confessing that I think the same today. I never believed that you did anything on that beastly night, five years ago, but what you thought to be right and proper. TRILBY (repeating mechanically). This time I will be strong. Mrs. Bagot, I give you my promise. I will not marry your son. (turns to Laird and Billee). Svengali has forbidden her to speak to us. But these were the words she used to your mother. She repeats them to show us why she ran away. BILLEE (C.—fiercely). Why shouldn’t she tell us so herself? TAFFY. She’s afraid. She has made her bed, poor girl, and must lie on it (crossing down R.). BILLEE (crosess to Trilby). Only tell us, Trilby, that we embarrass you by talking to you.
(Business: Zouzou). ZOUZOU, DODOR, ANTONY, and LORIMER. À la mariée. (They drink imaginary toast, kiss their hands to Trilby and exit). TRILBY. Dear fellows! What do they mean? (Laird and Taffy sit on sofa near her). TAFFY. Trilby, the doctors give us splendid reports of you (crosses to L.). TRILBY. Do they? (Billee presses her hand). (behind Trilby). You’ve just had a peculiar sort of brain fever, and you’ve come through it grandly; and we’re going to get all this singing and nonsense out of your head and send you away from Paris. TRILBY (seated L. of table L. Softly). With Madame Vinard? No, with Little Billee—as his wife. TRILBY (with gentle surprise). What? TAFFY. Yes, Trilby, you’re getting stronger every minute, and we want to pack you happily off as Little Billee’s wife. TRILBY. Now, I am sure this is a dream. TAFFY (L.). Little Billee holds you to your promise of five years ago. You and he will begin a new life together, and everything that has gone will be forgotten. MADAME VINARD (enters to collect the tray). Run away, chatterboxes. Trilby must sleep. Run away. PHILIPPE (enter at back). The Reverend Thomas Bagot.