Welcomeby Richard Stuart Dixon
© Richard Stuart Dixon, 2005
(Note: Performance of this play requires the author’s permission. Please contact Good School Plays for details.)
Production Notes:
• running time: approx. 55 minutes.
• style: light dramatic realism
• suitable for general audiences
• 23 characters (18 female, 5 male)
• black-box staging (no set required)
Summary of Script Content:
• “Snowy Mountain” is the story of a group of townspeople and bus passengers who find themselves changed by unexpected circumstances on the evening of December 24, 1945.
(This play was first performed on December 12, 13, 14, 15, in the year 2005, at Gleneagle Secondary School in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.)
Go to:
Act One, Scene 1
Act One, Scene 2
Act One, Scene 3
Act One, Scene 4
Act One, Scene 5
Act Two, Scene 1
Act Two, Scene 2
Act Two, Scene 3
Act Two, Scene 4
Act Two, Scene 5
Act Two, Scene 6
Act Two, Scene 7
Act Two, Scene 8
Act Two, Scene 9
Act Two, Scene 10
Act Two, Scene 11
Act Two, Scene 12
Act Three, Scene 1
Act Three, Scene 2
Act Three, Scene 3
Act Three, Scene 4
Act Three, Scene 5
Act Three, Scene 6
Act Three, Scene 7
Act Three, Scene 8
Characters:
Gwen Fraser, a teenage girl who lives in Snowy Mountain
Libby Reese, Gwen’s friend
Trudy Hegel, Gwen’s friend
Janet Fraser, 37, Gwen Fraser’s mother
Sally Reese, 36, Libby Reese’s mother
Evelyn Hegel, 37, Trudy Hegel’s mother
Bea Daley, 45, manager of Snowy Mountain Bus Depot
Chip Morgan, 32, Mrs. Daley’s assistant
Pheonix Nam, 52, owner of the Tuckaway Cafe
Klara Zilenka, 50, cook at the Tuckaway Cafe
Emmy Lightfoot, 21, waitress at the Tuckaway Cafe
Bert Morris, 43, bus driver for Trailwise Bus Company
Jake Bowman, 23, a soldier
Rev. Norman Muncey, 36, Anglican minister
Alice Muncey, 29, Rev. Muncey’s new wife
Jessica Murray, 25, a teacher from Jackpine
Jackie Frost, 27, a nightclub singer/dancer
Constable Ken Kleig, 35, RCMP officer
Martha Walford, 41, Constable Kleig’s prisoner
Lynette Gordon, 21, very pregnant
Nancy Gordon, 24, Lynette’s sister
Abbey Mortensen, 27, a granddaughter
Marlene Mortensen, 83, Abbey’s grandmother
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 1:
(BEA DALEY is onstage checking a schedule on a clipboard. CHIP MORGAN enters.)
CHIP MORGAN
It’s snowing pretty hard out there, Mrs. Daley.
BEA DALEY
I wouldn’t want to be on the highway tonight.
CHIP MORGAN
Any word on the six o’clock bus?
BEA DALEY
Billy gave me a shout from Woodsmoke, said it just went through.
CHIP MORGAN
Then it should be here pretty quick.
BEA DALEY
If it don’t hit the ditch or somethin’.
CHIP MORGAN
You think that bus’ll make it to Edmonton tonight?
BEA DALEY
Not with that snowslide blocking the road at Three Mile.
CHIP MORGAN
You gotta feel sorry for them folks tryin’ to make it home for Christmas.
BEA DALEY
Not much of a Christmas Eve for them.
CHIP MORGAN
I don’t mind working on Christmas Eve ‘cause there ain’t no one home at my place except me.
BEA DALEY
Why don’t you get a cat or somethin’?
CHIP MORGAN
They make me sneeze.
BEA DALEY
Chip, go to the Tuckaway café and ask Mrs. Nam to stay open a while longer.
CHIP MORGAN
Why, Mrs. Daley?
BEA DALEY
There’s gonna be a lot of folks on that bus with nothin’ to do and lots of time to do it.
CHIP MORGAN
Guess they’ll want coffee and a hot meal.
BEA DALEY
That’s right, so go on over and ask her.
CHIP MORGAN
Hope she don’t get mad at me.
(He exits.)
End of Act One, Scene 1.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 2:
(GWEN FRASER, LIBBY REESE, and TRUDY HEGEL enter. TRUDY is in a wheelchair, and is pushed by LIBBY.)
GWEN FRASER
Hi, Mrs. Daley.
LIBBY REESE
Merry Christmas.
TRUDY HEGEL
The bus get here?
BEA DALEY
No it didn’t, and it’s not Christmas yet.
LIBBY REESE
It’s Christmas Eve…that’s the same thing.
GWEN FRASER
The Norwegians open gifts on Christmas Eve.
BEA DALEY
I’m not a Norwegian, Gwen, and neither are you.
TRUDY HEGEL
I’m Danish.
BEA DALEY
Since when?
TRUDY HEGEL
Since forever.
BEA DALEY
Don’t get smart, Trudy Hegel, or I’ll phone your Mom.
LIBBY REESE
Her mom’s not home, Mrs. Daley, and neither is mine.
GWEN FRASER
Or mine.
BEA DALEY
Where are they? Lost in a snowdrift?
LIBBY REESE
Nope. Out looking for us.
BEA DALEY
You planning on running away?
GWEN FRASER
I wish I was running away.
BEA DALEY
You got a good home, Gwen Fraser., and you know it.
TRUDY HEGEL
Gwen hates Snowy Mountain.
LIBBY REESE
She hates it even more than me an’ Trudy.
GWEN FRASER
It’s so small. There’s nothing to do.
BEA DALEY
There’s a rink, and dances at the Legion.
LIBBY REESE
Whoop-de-doo.
TRUDY HEGEL
How am I supposed to skate in this chair?
GWEN FRASER
And the boys here are boring.
BEA DALEY
One day you’ll figure out that boys are the same everywhere.
LIBBY REESE
Yeah, ‘cause they’re boys!
GWEN FRASER
Men are better.
BEA DALEY
Only in dime store novels, kid.
TRUDY HEGEL
Gwen reads ten books a week.
GWEN FRASER
Don’t tell.
LIBBY REESE
She’s a bookworm.
GWEN FRASER
Shut up, Libby! I am not.
TRUDY HEGEL
She reads in bed and so she can have dream lovers.
GWEN FRASER
You want me to dump you out of that chair?
LIBBY REESE
Mrs. Gorky at the library says if books was hamburgers, Gwen would weigh as much as a truck.
GWEN FRASER
So what if I read? There’s nothing else to do!
BEA DALEY
Why aren’t you kids at home on Christmas Eve?
TRUDY HEGEL
We want to see who’s on the bus.
LIBBY REESE
They’re gonna be trapped here ‘cause the road’s blocked at Three Mile.
TRUDY HEGEL
Gwen wants to meet a mysterious stranger.
GWEN FRASER
It’s not just me.
BEA DALEY
I don’t want you hanging around the depot making trouble for the passengers.
LIBBY REESE
Let’s go to the Tuckaway for Cokes ‘til the bus gets here.
TRUDY HEGEL
(to LIBBY)
Are you buying?
LIBBY REESE
It’s your turn, Trudy.
GWEN FRASER
I’ll buy, if you promise to quit teasing.
TRUDY HEGEL
I don’t care if it’s cold out; I’m gonna have a Coke float.
LIBBY REESE
Me too. And a double side of fries.
(They exit.)
End of Act One, Scene 2.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 3:
(PHOENIX NAM enters with CHIP MORGAN.)
CHIP MORGAN
Mrs. Nam’s mad, Mrs. Daley.
PHOENIX NAM
Why should I keep my café open, Mrs. Daley?
BEA DALEY
Because the bus is coming in soon, and the passengers don’t got nowhere to go.
PHOENIX NAM
Send them to the hotel.
BEA DALEY
As soon as the snowslide at Three Mile gets cleared, the bus’ll leave, Mrs. Nam.
PHOENIX NAM
I want to go home and soak my feet.
CHIP MORGAN
She’s got sore feet, Mrs. Daley.
PHOENIX NAM
And I want to go to bed.
BEA DALEY
Look, Mrs. Nam, couldn’t you stay open as a Christmas present for the passengers?
CHIP MORGAN
They’re gonna buy lots of food and cigarettes, Mrs. Nam.
PHOENIX NAM
Don’t get cheeky, Chip Morgan.
BEA DALEY
Could you just stay open for an hour or so longer, as a favour to the bus company?
CHIP MORGAN
It’s for a good cause, Mrs. Nam!
PHOENIX NAM
All right, but you owe me a big favour, Mrs. Daley.
BEA DALEY
Maybe I can get you a free bus ticket to Edmonton, Mrs. Nam.
PHOENIX NAM
Good. Then I can visit my mother at the hospital for old people.
CHIP MORGAN
See, Mrs. Nam? It’s Christmas; everyone gets a present!
PHOENIX NAM
Hmmmppphhhh.
(KLARA ZILENKA and EMMY LIGHTFOOT enter.).
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
Well, Mrs. Nam, are you gonna keep the café open or what?
KLARA ZILENKA
I want to go home to my “iubito sot”! I promised to make ciorba de corcan! It is Craciun…Christmas!
PHOENIX NAM
Speak English, Klara!
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
She’s does it on purpose, Mrs. Nam, just to confuse me!
KLARA ZILENKA
Why don’t you learn Romanian, stupid girl!
BEA DALEY
Mrs. Nam’s going to keep the café open for a bit longer tonight, so the bus passengers have somewhere to go.
KLARA ZILENKA
It is the damned viscol, the snow storm! Now I must cook the greasy burgers on Christmas Eve!
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
I was spozed to help Mama decorate the tree. I always put the star on top.
PHOENIX NAM
Perhaps you should give a present to Emmy and Klara, Mrs. Daley?
BEA DALEY
I might be able to get you gals a couple of bus tickets to Edmonton.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
Tickets to Edmonton! You promise?
BEA DALEY
I’ll do my best.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
Maybe I could stay in the McDonald Hotel for a night, and pretend I’m a movie star or a dubutant!
KLARA ZILENKA
Is fair deal . Give me ticket to Edmonton. I have sister there.
BEA DALEY
We’ll see, Klara.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
We better get back to the café. Them girls might steal something.
PHOENIX NAM
Did you lock the cigarette cabinet?
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
Oh my gosh, the cigarettes! I forgot!
(She hurries off.)
KLARA ZILENKA
Mrs. Nam, Emmy pretends she has a small brain, you know? She forgets everything.
PHOENIX NAM
But she’s such a sweetheart, Klara.
KLARA ZILENKA
She is lazy, Mrs. Nam, and careless. One day she will burn down the café.
(She exits.)
PHOENIX NAM
Excuse me, Mrs. Daley. I must get ready for the passengers.
(She exits.)
BEA DALEY
Go out and see if you can see the bus coming down the hill, Chip.
CHIP MORGAN
It’s cold out there.
BEA DALEY
You don’t get paid for keeping your toes warm.
CHIP MORGAN
Awwww.
(He exits.)
End of Act One, Scene 3.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 4:
(JANET FRASER, SALLY REESE, and EVELYN HEGEL enter.)
EVELYN HEGEL
You seen my girl Trudy tonight, Bea?
SALLY REESE
And Libby and Gwen?
JANET FRASER
Gwen’s got to get ready for midnight mass.
BEA DALEY
They’re over at the Tuckaway having Coke floats and French fries.
EVELYN HEGEL
They better not be. Trudy’s not allowed to eat fries.
BEA DALEY
Why not?
EVELYN HEGEL
They give her nightmares. Dunno why, but they do.
JANET FRASER
Our girls used to love Christmas Eve at home.
EVELYN HEGEL
Now they’d rather go skittering down the streets in a snowstorm.
SALLY REESE
They make any trouble for you, Mrs. Daley?
BEA DALEY
Nope. They’re just waiting for the bus.
JANET FRASER
What for?
BEA DALEY
They want to see who’s on board.
EVELYN HEGEL
What kind of kids would rather wait for a bus than stay home on Christmas Eve?
SALLY REESE
The crazy kind.
BEA DALEY
Kids their age get bored real easy.
JANET FRASER
They wouldn’t be running around like alley cats if their dads were here.
EVELYN HEGEL
You’d think an army that beat the Germans could get its men home before Christmas.
SALLY REESE
If John was here, he’d knock some sense into Libby.
JANET FRASER
When Scotty left, he said, “Janet, don’t let Gwen forget she’s got a dad.” I guess I didn’t do too good a job.
EVELYN HEGEL
Martin’s never seen Trudy in that chair. He was long gone before the accident.
BEA DALEY
You done the best you could. We’ve all made sacrifices for the war.
SALLY REESE
Hard to believe it’s over, but it is.
JANET FRASER
At least our fellas are still alive. Others weren’t so lucky.
EVELYN HEGEL
Got to count our blessings.
JANET FRASER
Let’s get on over to the Tuckaway café and grab those girls before they skedaddle again.
SALLY REESE
If you see them, Bea, send them home.
BEA DALEY
You bet.
(The three mothers exit.)
End of Act One, Scene 4.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 5:
(CHIP MORGAN runs in.)
CHIP MORGAN
Mrs. Daley, Mrs. Daley! The bus is here!
BEA DALEY
Take it easy, Chip. It’s just a bus, not His Majesty the King.
CHIP MORGAN
There’s snow and ice all over it.
BEA DALEY
Go unload the freight, Chip. That’s your job.
CHIP MORGAN
If I can get the freight compartments open.
(He exits. BERT MORRIS enters.)
BERT MORRIS
Hey there, Bea, how’s it going?
BEA DALEY
Good, Burt, considering. Where’s the passengers?
BERT MORRIS
I told ‘em to stay put until I got the goods on that slide up at Three Mile.
BEA DALEY
The road’s still blocked.
BERT MORRIS
Damn. What am I gonna do with a bus full of folks on Christmas Eve?
BEA DALEY
Phoenix Nam’s keeping her café open late. They can go there.
BERT MORRIS
That’s better than nothin’, I guess.
BEA DALEY
How bad is the highway?
BERT MORRIS
Slippery as hell. Saw four trucks in the ditch between here and Woodsmoke.
BEA DALEY
Helluva Christmas Eve.
BERT MORRIS
The wife’s already mad at me for takin’ the Christmas shift.
BEA DALEY
Someone’s got to do it.
BERT MORRIS
I’ll go get them passengers off the bus.
(He exits.)
(GWEN FRASER, LIBBY, and TRUDY enter in a hurry.)
LIBBY REESE
How come you told on us, Mrs. Daley?
TRUDY HEGEL
Our moms are after us!
GWEN FRASER
We’re gonna hide in your freight room!
BEA DALEY
(as they exit)
Now wait a minute! No one’s allowed in there except Chip! Damn! Everything happens at once!
(She exits in pursuit of the girls. Rev. Muncy and his wife ALICE enter.)
ALICE MUNCEY
Oh Norman, we’re going to miss your first Christmas Day service!
REVEREND MUNCEY
We shouldn’t have made that last minute trip to your sister’s.
ALICE MUNCEY
I’m sorry. I’ve spoiled everything.
(CONSTABLE KLEIG enters with MARTHA WALFORD, who is under arrest.)
CONSTABLE KLEIG
I guess you won’t be sleeping in a jail tonight, Mrs. Walford.
MARTHA WALFORD
Do you think you could remove these cuffs, Constable Kleig? After all, it’s Christmas.
CONSTABLE KLEIG
It’s against regulations, but if you’re real good, we’ll see.
(LYNETTE and NANCY GORDON enter. LYNETTE is almost nine months pregnant.)
LYNETTE GORDON
What if I go into labour before we get to Edmonton, Nancy?
NANCY GORDON
Women have given birth on buses before, Lynette.
LYNETTE GORDON
I should’ve stayed home and had the baby with a midwife.
NANCY GORDON
You shouldn’t have gotten pregnant in the first place.
(JESSICA MURRAY enters with JACKIE FROST and JAKE BOWMAN.)
JACKIE FROST
Looks like we’re gonna be holed up here for a while, eh?
JESSICA MURRAY
That appears to be the case, Miss Frost.
JAKE BOWMAN
At least it’s warm in here.
JACKIE FROST
I guess I ain’t gonna see my Dad before Christmas.
JESSICA MURRAY
We’re all in the same boat…or should I say bus, Miss Frost.
JAKE BOWMAN
At least there ain’t no one shootin’ at us.
(ABBEY MORTENSEN enters with MARLENE MORTENSEN.)
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Abbey, why did we have to get off the bus?
ABBEY MORTENSEN
The road’s blocked at Three Mile, Granny.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Oh dear, what are we going to do?
ABBEY MORTENSEN
We’ll have to wait until the road’s cleared.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
But we’ll miss Christmas with your mother!
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Mom will understand, Granny.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
I should never have agreed to this trip, Abbey.
(GWEN FRASER, LIBBY, and TRUDY hustle across the stage.)
LIBBY REESE
Boy oh boy, she’s mad!
TRUDY HEGEL:
Let’s get out of here!
GWEN FRASER
Excuse us, folks!
(They exit and BEA DALEY enters at the same time as BERT MORRIS and CHIP MORGAN.)
BEA DALEY
(trying to collect herself after dealing with the three girls)
Evening, folks! Welcome to Snowy Mountain! I’m Bea Daley, manager of the Trailwise Bus Depot.
BERT MORRIS
This is everyone, Bea.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Ask her if this depot has a rest room, Abbey.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Do you have bathroom facilities here, Mrs. Daley?
BEA DALEY
There’s a working toilet just off to your right, ma’am, but I’ve got to ask you not to use the sink.
JESSICA MURRAY
Why not?
BEA DALEY
The pipes are frozen.
REVEREND MUNCEY
How long must we stay here?
BEA DALEY
Until I get a call from Three Mile…that’s where the road’s blocked.
ALICE MUNCEY
How ever will we pass the time?
CHIP MORGAN
The Tuckaway Café’s still open.
BERT MORRIS
It’s right next door. You can get burgers, fries, hot coffee, whatever you need.
LYNETTE GORDON
I couldn’t eat a thing!
NANCY GORDON
My sister’s in her ninth month…is there a doctor in this town?
BEA DALEY
Sorry…Doc Hollister’s out of town for a convention.
CONSTABLE KLEIG
I’m escorting this prisoner to Edmonton. It might be best if she’s held in custody until the bus leaves.
BEA DALEY
There’s no jail in Snowy Mountain, constable. We don’t even have a police station.
CHIP MORGAN
What’d she do?
CONSTABLE KLEIG
That’s confidential.
MARTHA WALFORD
They say I killed my husband. And maybe I did.
CONSTABLE KLEIG
That’s enough, Mrs. Walford.
MARTHA WALFORD
Don’t look so scared, folks. I won’t bite you.
JAKE BOWMAN
Don’t people ever get tired of killing each other?
JACKIE FROST
I’m going over to the café. I could eat a horse, and chase it down with a hot rum and butter.
BEA DALEY
Snowy Mountain’s dry, ma’am….has been since thirty-two.
JACKIE FROST
I guess it’ll have to be coffee, then.
JESSICA MURRAY
I commend your town, Mrs. Daley, for outlawing alcohol. In Jackpine, where I have the misfortune to be the one an only teacher, hard liquor
accounts for tragedy on a daily basis.
JACKIE FROST
You’re a bit of a hard-ass, ain’t you, lady!
JESSICA MURRAY
Excuse me?
BERT MORRIS
Why don’t you all go over to the café. It’s cozy there.
JACKIE FROST
I wonder if they have cherry pie?
JAKE BOWMAN
Anything’s better than army chow.
(He and JACKIE exit.)
JESSICA MURRAY
I suppose I might enjoy an egg salad sandwich and a cup of tea.
(She exits.)
MARLENE MORTENSEN
I simply must use the rest room, Abbey. I can’t wait another second.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
All right, Granny…perhaps the plumbing in the café is working properly.
(They exit.)
ALICE MUNCEY
Come on, Norman. Maybe we can place a call to St. Mary’s in Kincaid and let them know about our predicament.
REVEREND MUNCEY
I suppose Sam Robbins can run the Christmas service without me.
(They exit.)
LYNETTE GORDON
I’m feeling terribly uncomfortable, Nancy.
NANCY GORDON
A stroll to the café might help, Lynette.
LYNETTE GORDON
Yes, and a visit to the rest room, providing that elderly woman doesn’t monopolize the throne.
(They exit.)
MARTHA WALFORD
You’re not going to make me stay here while everyone else enjoys a Christmas Eve meal, are you, Constable Kleig?
CONSTABLE KLEIG
I’ll buy you a burger and put it on the taxpayer’s tab, Mrs. Walford.
MARTHA WALFORD
What about these cuffs?
CONSTABLE KLEIG
All right, I’ll take them off at the café. But no shenanigans or they go right back on.
(They exit.)
CHIP MORGAN
They all sound sort of mad.
BERT MORRIS
I guess they all wanted to get somewhere for Christmas, and now they’re not gonna make it.
BEA DALEY
It’s a helluva time of year to be travelling, but everyone wants to go home for the holidays. Chip, go see if you can get that pipe thawed so’s the sink works.
BERT MORRIS
Don’t burn the place down with that propane torch, Chip.
CHIP MORGAN
Why don’t no one trust me?
(He exits.)
BERT MORRIS
(pulling out a flask)
You want a nip of Christmas cheer, Bea?
BEA DALEY
You shouldn’t be drinkin’ that stuff on the job, Bert.
BERT MORRIS
Hell, I ain’t drivin’, so I might as well be drinkin’!
BEA DALEY
Don’t make me report you to the head office.
BERT MORRIS
You wouldn’t do that, would you, Bea?
BEA DALEY
All right, just a quick nip, and that’s all.
(She takes the flask and has a sip…BERT takes one too.)
BERT MORRIS
Now it feels more like Christmas.
BEA DALEY
How you gettin’ along with your wife, Bert?
BERT MORRIS
Oh, you know, it ain’t too bad if the light’s out.
BEA DALEY
Bert Morris! You oughta be ashamed of yourself, sayin’ somethin’ like that right in front of me!
BERT MORRIS
You want to go in your office and have a couple more snorts?
BEA DALEY
Maybe. But keep your hands to yourself, Hans!
BERT MORRIS
I’ll keep one hand on the whiskey, and the other in my pants!
BEA DALEY
I swear, you are the cheekiest man!
(They exit.)
End of Act One, Scene 5.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 1:
(GWEN FRASER, LIBBY, and TRUDY run in, followed by their mothers JANET, SALLY, and EVELYN.)
LIBBY REESE
We’re not kids! You can’t make us go home!
EVELYN HEGEL
Trudy, you’re in a wheelchair! You can’t be out in the cold on a night like this!
TRUDY HEGEL
I can do anything I want! I got to do anything I want! Don’t you understand, Mom?
GWEN FRASER
Trudy’s young just like me and Libby, Mrs. Hegel! She’s got to have a little fun once in a while!
JANET FRASER
No one asked your opinion, Gwen! And you’ve got to get ready for midnight mass!
GWEN FRASER
I’m not going.
JANET FRASER
But you love midnight mass.
GWEN FRASER
Not after what Father Michael said to me.
SALLY REESE
What did he say?
LIBBY REESE
He said God doesn’t want her to read smutty books.
JANET FRASER
Smutty books?
TRUDY HEGEL
Romance novels.
SALLY REESE
They are smutty! I won’t let Libby read them!
LIBBY REESE
You don’t let me do nothin’! I oughta run away!
SALLY REESE
If your dad was here, he’d paddle your bottom!
LIBBY REESE
Well he’s not here! I can’t even remember what he looks like!
EVELYN HEGEL
Your dads have been overseas fighting a war! You should be grateful and obedient!
TRUDY HEGEL
The war’s over, Mom…or haven’t you heard?
GWEN FRASER
Now it’s time for us to have some fun! Sorry to say it, Mom, but you’ve forgotten what that is!
JANET FRASER
I don’t see what’s so exciting about running around the streets in a snowstorm!
LIBBY REESE
It’s better than sitting at home listening to the gramophone playing that stupid old Christmas record for the ten millionth time!
SALLY REESE
Don’t exaggerate!
GWEN FRASER
We’re just sick of the war, and all those gloomy days waiting for news about our dads.
TRUDY HEGEL
And gloomy nights and bad dreams.
EVELYN HEGEL
We all went through the same thing, worrying and wondering.
JANET FRASER
That doesn’t give you cause to shame us by acting like orphans on Christmas Eve.
LIBBY REESE
Well, we’re not going home ‘til we feel like it! Come on, let’s get out of here!
(LIBBY, GWEN, and TRUDY head for the door and exit.)
SALLY REESE
What’s got into them?
EVELYN HEGEL
I’d swear they’ve been drinking!
JANET FRASER
There’s no point chasing them all over town.
SALLY REESE
God knows what John’s going to think when gets home from Europe.
EVELYN HEGEL
And the girls, what’ll they do when they see their dads again?
JANET FRASER
The girls? What about us, Evelyn?
SALLY REESE
We’ll pick up where we left off.
EVELYN HEGEL
I can’t remember where we left off.
JANET FRASER
Scotty didn’t write much, and no photos. Wonder what he looks like now?
SALLY REESE
Do you think they stayed loyal to us all these years?
EVELYN HEGEL
How could they for so long? They’re men, not saints.
JANET FRASER
Lots of women left soldier husbands for someone closer to home.
SALLY REESE
Maybe I should have done that. Sometimes it’s best to start over.
JANET FRASER
After five years, you can’t stitch a marriage back together like it was just a torn hanky.
EVELYN HEGEL
That’s right. Take a look at me…thirty-seven years old, with a daughter in a wheelchair.
SALLY REESE
Trudy knows how to look after herself.
EVELYN HEGEL
But will Martin understand how things have changed?
JANET FRASER
I guess we’ve just got to wait and see, Evelyn.
SALLY REESE
Now I don’t feel like going home.
EVELYN HEGEL
Let’s join those bus passengers at the café.
JANET FRASER
Maybe our kids are on to something…it might do us good to talk to someone from outside this little town.
(They exit.)
End of Act Two, Scene 1.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 2:
(EMMY LIGHTFOOT comes running in, followed by KLARA ZILENKA.)
KLARA ZILENKA
You must come back to the café, Emmy.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
I won’t go back ‘til you say you’re sorry, Klara.
KLARA ZILENKA
It was a mistake!
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
No it wasn’t! You made me spill that coffee on that minister!
KLARA ZILENKA
I bumped you by accident! Dumnezeu in paradis! You blame me for everything!
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
Blame you? You blame me! But I’m not as dumb as you think!
KLARA ZILENKA
Then do not be a baby. Come back and do your job before Mrs. Nam fires you.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
I don’t care if she fires me! It’s Christmas Eve and I can’t even go home to be with my mom!
KLARA ZILENKA
You are lucky. You have a mother. Mine is dead.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
Yeah, but you’re old.
KLARA ZILENKA
It makes no difference that I am old. I cry just the same as you.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
My dad’s dead…killed in the war, in Italy.
KLARA ZILENKA
I know…Mrs. Nam told me.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
Doesn’t that make you feel a little bit sorry for me?
KLARA ZILENKA
All my family is dead, except my sister in Edmonton.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
All of them?
KLARA ZILENKA
I am Jewish-Romanian. The fascists in Romania killed my family, every one.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
Gosh, I didn’t know…
KLARA ZILENKA
You are the first I tell it to, because you must grow up.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
Grow up?
KLARA ZILENKA
Always acting like a little kid. But you are not little, Emmy Lightfoot…you are a woman.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
I’m only twenty.
KLARA ZILENKA
All you talk about is movie stars and rich people. Is stupid, a waste of time.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
I just like to daydream. What’s wrong with that?
KLARA ZILENKA
While you daydream, your life is going by. Soon you will be forty, and still waiting tables in the Tuckaway Café.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
No way. I’m going to get married when the right fella comes along.
KLARA ZILENKA
A man who works at the mill, stacking two-by fours?
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
What’s wrong with that?
KLARA ZILENKA
You are smart. You pretend you are dumb. Is bad choice. Do something with your life.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
Like what?
KLARA ZILENKA
Come to Edmonton with me. I will let you meet my sister. She is a writer.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
I don’t know nothin’ about writing.
KLARA ZILENKA
My sister needs a secretary. You would learn about writing and publishing books.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
It sounds hard.
KLARA ZILENKA
Of course it is hard. Don’t be so lazy. You live in wonderful country that is free. Make for yourself a better life.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
Why are you telling me all this?
KLARA ZILENKA
I have only my sister. Everyone else is gone. So I make you my godchild.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
Godchild?
KLARA ZILENKA
I will help you. It is a way to honour my family. Is a way to have a new family.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
Does this have something to do with Christmas?
KLARA ZILENKA
It is my gift to you. Will you take it?
(PHOENIX NAM enters.)
PHOENIX NAM
What are you doing? The customers want their food!
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
I spilled coffee on the minister, Mrs. Nam! I’m so sorry!
PHOENIX NAM
Klara bumped you. I saw. Don’t feel bad.
KLARA ZILENKA
Accidents happen.
PHOENIX NAM
The customers are waiting. I can’t run the café by myself.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
Sorry, Mrs. Nam. I’ll get right to it.
(She exits.)
KLARA ZILENKA
There’s still hope for Emmy.
PHOENIX NAM
What do you mean?
KLARA ZILENKA
I am going to save her from herself.
(She exits.)
PHOENIX NAM
Soon I will sell the Tuckaway Café, and get the hell out of this little town.
(She exits.)
End of Act Two, Scene 2.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 3:
(CHIP MORGAN enters with a wrench. ABBEY MORTENSEN enters with her Grandmother MARLENE)
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Excuse me, young man…Is the bus ready to leave yet?
CHIP MORGAN
Heck no, lady. We’re still waiting for news from Three Mile.
(He exits.)
ABBEY MORTENSEN
I told you they’d call us when the bus was ready, Granny.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
I just wanted to be sure.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Please try to relax, Granny. Everything’s going to be fine.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
I shouldn’t have let you and your mother talk me into this, Abbey.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
We didn’t! Don’t you remember? You wanted to visit Mom so you asked me to come and get you.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Don’t talk to me as if I was a child, Abbey. I remember perfectly. Your mother sent me a letter asking me to come visit her for Christmas.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
That was last year, Granny. This year you sent Mom a letter, asking if you could visit us.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
You’re deliberately trying to mix me up!
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Everything will make sense once we get to Mom’s.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Where’s my suitcase?
ABBEY MORTENSEN
On the bus.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
What’s it doing there?
ABBEY MORTENSEN
You don’t need it right now. There was no point in taking it off the bus.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Are you sure it’s on the bus? Maybe we forgot to bring it.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
It’s on the bus, Granny. You saw the man put it in the freight compartment.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
When I was a little girl, Christmas was simpler.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
I know, Granny.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
We didn’t travel about in buses in a snowstorm.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
You spent your Christmases at Great-great-grandfather William’s farm.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
He had a pond, and we would go skating.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
And you fell through the ice and nearly drowned.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
My brother Ernie pulled me out, and my clothes were frozen as stiff as a board.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
And you got pneumonia, and dreamed an angel took you to heaven.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
It wasn’t a dream, dear. An angel really did take me to heaven.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
How did you get back to earth?
MARLENE MORTENSEN
The angel told me I still had gifts to give, and then she put me on a big shiny slide and sent me scooting back to my little bed in Grandfather William’s attic.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
That’s a wonderful story, Granny.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
It’s not a story, dear. Where’s my handbag?
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Right here, Granny, see?
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Thank heavens! You never know when someone might steal it.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Just make sure you hang on to it tightly, and it’ll be fine.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
I’m sorry to be so much trouble.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
You’re no trouble at all.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Why haven’t you gotten married, dear?
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Because of the war, Granny.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
The war?
ABBEY MORTENSEN
The war that just ended…it took most of the young men away.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Your uncle James was killed in the trenches.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
That was the First World War, Granny.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
He was my firstborn.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
I know, Granny.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
They gave him a medal. It’s in a velvet-lined box in my desk.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
He died for a good cause.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Don’t be silly, Abbey.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Pardon?
MARLENE MORTENSEN
You don’t know anything about that war, and neither do I.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
I suppose you’re right.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
I shouldn’t have had that tea. I need to use the rest room again.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
We’ll go back to the café.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Café?
ABBEY MORTENSEN
The café where you had your tea.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
I don’t want any tea.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
But you do want to use the washroom.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Then what are we waiting for, Abbey, for heaven’s sake?
(They exit.)
End of Act Two, Scene 3.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 4:
(LYNETTE and NANCY GORDON enter.)
LYNETTE GORDON
It feels good to stretch my legs.
NANCY GORDON
You should have had something to eat.
LYNETTE GORDON
Maybe later.
NANCY GORDON
Lynette, I wish you’d tell me who the father is.
LYNETTE GORDON
What good would that do?
NANCY GORDON
It’s his duty to marry you.
LYNETTE GORDON
I don’t want to get married.
NANCY GORDON
You’re so selfish.
LYNETTE GORDON
No I’m not. It’s the rest of you who are selfish.
NANCY GORDON
The rest of us?
LYNETTE GORDON
You’re all so worried about the shame of having a relative who got pregnant out of wedlock.
NANCY GORDON
It is shameful! You let us all down!
LYNETTE GORDON
You let me down!
NANCY GORDON
How?
LYNETTE GORDON
There’s no point talking about it.
NANCY GORDON
Was it Jeff McGregor?
LYNETTE GORDON
Don’t waste your time.
NANCY GORDON
I’ve stuck by you through this whole pregnancy, Lynette. The least you could do is tell me who the father is!
LYNETTE GORDON
Yes, you’ve stuck by me….and lectured at me non-stop!
NANCY GORDON
I’m your older sister! I have an obligation to guide your morals!
LYNETTE GORDON
Just guide your own morals and leave me alone.
NANCY GORDON
I have no intention of “leaving you alone”….even after the baby’s born.
LYNETTE GORDON
You’re like a ball-and-chain.
NANCY GORDON
Thanks a lot.
LYNETTE GORDON
I think you like having me around just so you can feel superior.
NANCY GORDON
Don’t be silly.
LYNETTE GORDON
You can look at my big, fat belly and tell yourself what a good girl you are compared to me!
NANCY GORDON
I am a good girl!
LYNETTE GORDON
Because Ben didn’t get you pregnant?
NANCY GORDON
Ben Dobson has always been a perfect gentleman with me.
LYNETTE GORDON
That’s not what he told me.
NANCY GORDON
What?
LYNETTE GORDON
I said, that’s not what he told me!
NANCY GORDON
Since when does he tell you anything?
LYNETTE GORDON
He’s pretty smooth.
NANCY GORDON
What are you saying?
LYNETTE GORDON
I’m saying he’s a womanizer, Nancy.
NANCY GORDON
A womanizer?
LYNETTE GORDON
And that’s all I’m going to say.
NANCY GORDON
You’re lying.
LYNETTE GORDON
I’ve got no reason to lie.
NANCY GORDON
You’re trying to get back at me because I’m still a virgin.
LYNETTE GORDON
Most of the young men went off to war, but not Ben Dobson.
NANCY GORDON
He has a business to run.
LYNETTE GORDON
And with hardly any men around, it’s easy for him to find victims.
NANCY GORDON
Victims?
LYNETTE GORDON
Lonely women…like you….and me.
NANCY GORDON
I don’t believe any of this.
LYNETTE GORDON
Suit yourself.
NANCY GORDON
Ben might ask me to marry him.
LYNETTE GORDON
Sure, and the moon might fall out of the sky.
NANCY GORDON
I’m going back to the café now.
LYNETTE GORDON
Good. You can go back there and pretend this conversation never happened.
NANCY GORDON
It didn’t.
(She exits.)
End of Act Two, Scene 4.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 5:
(REVEREND MUNCEY and ALICE MUNCEY enter.)
ALICE MUNCEY
Excuse me, miss….are you all right?
LYNETTE GORDON
I’m in my ninth month, so I guess you could say it’s almost impossible to be “all right”.
REVEREND MUNCEY
Are you going to Edmonton for your confinement?
ALICE MUNCEY
Oh, Norman, you’re so old-fashioned! Modern women don’t call it a “confinement”…
REVEREND MUNCEY
What do they call it?
ALICE MUNCEY
Giving birth.
REVEREND MUNCEY
I prefer “confinement”.
LYNETTE GORDON
To answer your question, Reverend, I am going to Edmonton to have my baby.
ALICE MUNCEY
Is your husband going to meet you there?
LYNETTE GORDON
No.
REVEREND MUNCEY
Is he in the army?
LYNETTE GORDON
I don’t have a husband.
ALICE MUNCEY
Why, you poor girl!
LYNETTE GORDON
I’m fine.
REVEREND MUNCEY
Was he a casualty of war?
ALICE MUNCEY
Honestly, Norman, sometimes you can be awfully dense!
REVEREND MUNCEY
Oh! I see what you mean. You really don’t have a husband.
LYNETTE GORDON
It always takes people a while to understand.
ALICE MUNCEY
And the young woman who’s with you?
LYNETTE GORDON
My sister.
ALICE MUNCEY
Do you have a place to stay before you go into hospital?
LYNETTE GORDON
My sister’s supposed to drop me off at the YWCA.
ALICE MUNCEY
And after you have your baby, what do you plan to do?
LYNETTE GORDON
I thought I’d come straight home with the baby.
ALICE MUNCEY
Norman and I live in Kincaid, just a stone’s throw from the city,
REVEREND MUNCEY
Alice, I don’t think….
ALICE MUNCEY
(interrupting him)
Please, Norman!
(to LYNETTE)
You must stay with us until you go to hospital, and for the first few weeks afterwards, until the baby’s old enough to travel.
LYNETTE GORDON
That would be wonderful.
REVEREND MUNCEY
Alice….
ALICE MUNCEY
Norman, we have an extra room. And it’s Christmas. Have you forgotten that?
REVEREND MUNCEY
No…
ALICE MUNCEY
Then it’s settled.
LYNETTE GORDON
Thank you. You’re very kind. Will you please excuse me? I must get to the rest room.
ALICE MUNCEY
Of course. We’ll talk later.
(LYNETTE exits.)
REVEREND MUNCEY
Alice, have you gone out of your mind?
ALICE MUNCEY
Whatever do you mean?
REVEREND MUNCEY
We can’t have a single girl with a baby at our house!
ALICE MUNCEY Why not?
REVEREND MUNCEY
The congregation won’t understand.
ALICE MUNCEY
They’re Christians, aren’t they?
REVEREND MUNCEY
Yes, but Christians or not, there’ll be rumours and gossip!
ALICE MUNCEY
It’s a sin to turn our backs on those in need.
REVEREND MUNCEY
Kincaid is a very conservative little town, and St. Mary’s is my first church!
ALICE MUNCEY
Yes, and Bethlehem was a conservative little town, and a stable was Jesus’s first church.
REVEREND MUNCEY
That’s a silly comparison!
ALICE MUNCEY
Is it? Joseph and Mary weren’t married, and she had a baby. And someone was kind enough to give them a stable to stay in.
REVEREND MUNCEY
Mary was a virgin…God was the father of her baby.
ALICE MUNCEY
God creates every baby, Norman.
REVEREND MUNCEY
All right, I’ll consider it.
ALICE MUNCEY
No. You’ll do it! You’ll allow that woman to stay in our home.
REVEREND MUNCEY
And if the congregation turns on us and demands my resignation?
ALICE MUNCEY
Then you can go back to being a bank clerk. Now take me back to the café and buy me a piece of humble pie!
(They exit.)
End of Act Two, Scene 5.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 6:
(JAKE BOWMAN, JESSICA MURRAY, and JACKIE FROST enter.)
JAKE BOWMAN
You think you left your purse somewhere in here, Miss Murray?
JESSICA MURRAY
I must have, unless it’s on the bus!
JACKIE FROST
I don’t see it anywhere.
JESSICA MURRAY
It has all my identification papers and over one hundred dollars in cash!
JAKE BOWMAN
Well, if it’s gone, it’s only money and paper.
JESSICA MURRAY
Thank you for paying for my meal, Mr. Bowman.
JAKE BOWMAN
A pleasure.
JACKIE FROST
Maybe you should take a look on the bus.
JESSICA MURRAY
Yes. Excuse me.
(She exits.)
JAKE BOWMAN
You’d think a teacher would be better organized.
JACKIE FROST
Maybe she’s just excited about going home for Christmas.
JAKE BOWMAN
And you, Miss. Frost, why are you travelling east on Christmas Eve?
JACKIE FROST
You can call me Jackie.
JAKE BOWMAN
And you can call me Jake!
JACKIE FROST
I’m an entertainer, Jake.
JAKE BOWMAN
No kidding?
JACKIE FROST
I sing and dance.
JAKE BOWMAN
Isn’t that something!
JACKIE FROST
I was working at a nightclub in Vancouver, and Christmas was coming, and my dad’s in Edmonton, see.
JAKE BOWMAN
So you decided to go visit him.
JACKIE FROST
He’s not doing too good. It might be his last Christmas.
JAKE BOWMAN
I’ll bet he’ll be glad to see you.
JACKIE FROST
I dunno. He hit the bottle pretty hard after Mom died.
JAKE BOWMAN
Guess he must’ve loved her a lot.
JACKIE FROST
Now he loves the bottle.
JAKE BOWMAN
Christmas and booze go hand-in-hand.
JACKIE FROST
Don’t I know it. The men at the nightclubs drink twice as much at Christmas.
JAKE BOWMAN
Do they tip good?
JACKIE FROST
Sure, but they expect a little something in return.
JAKE BOWMAN
A little something?
JACKIE FROST
A dollar to sit and hold hands. Two dollars for a hug. Five for a kiss.
JAKE BOWMAN
What does ten dollars buy?
JACKIE FROST
I stop at five.
(pulling out some money)
But after enough hand holding and kisses, you get quite a roll of cash!
(JESSICA MURRAY enters.)
JAKE BOWMAN
No sign of your purse, Miss Murray?
JESSICA MURRAY
(seeing JACKIE’s roll of money as JACKIE puts it away)
Miss Frost, did I just see you pocketing a roll of money?
JACKIE FROST
What’s it to you, honey?
JAKE BOWMAN
It’s her tip money, Miss Murray.
JESSICA MURRAY
Tip money?
JAKE BOWMAN
From her job. She’s an entertainer.
JESSICA MURRAY
I bet she is. And maybe a thief as well.
JACKIE FROST
Now wait a minute, lady…
JESSICA MURRAY
That looked like my roll of money!
JAKE BOWMAN
All rolls of money look the same!
JESSICA MURRAY
What did you do with my purse, Miss Frost?
JACKIE FROST
So that’s the thanks I get for helping you look for it?
JESSICA MURRAY
I knew you were trouble the moment you sat beside me on the bus.
JAKE BOWMAN
Whoa, there…don’t you think you’re getting a bit carried away, Miss Murray?
JESSICA MURRAY
Anyone can see what sort of woman you are, dressed like that…
JACKIE FROST
Hey!
JESSICA MURRAY
Talking about bars and men, and all that disgusting nonsense about singing and dancing.
JAKE BOWMAN
Nothing wrong with singing and dancing.
JESSICA MURRAY
And then stealing my purse, taking my money, and throwing my purse out into the snow somewhere along the highway!
JACKIE FROST
You’re way out of line, lady…way out of line!
JESSICA MURRAY
I’ve had a very stressful time in my first teaching job in an awful little one-room school in Jackpine, and I’m feeling very vulnerable, and you take advantage of me!
JACKIE FROST
The kids in that school must’ve made you go nuts.
JAKE BOWMAN
Kids can be cruel.
JESSICA MURRAY
So I try to go home for the holidays, and some cheap tramp steals my purse!
JACKIE FROST
Cheap tramp? Take a look at yourself, lady…a dowdy, dull, fussy, old-maid school marm who’s havin’ some sorta nervous breakdown!
JESSICA MURRAY
I’m going to fetch that policeman!
(She exits.)
JAKE BOWMAN
How d’you like that!
JACKIE FROST
What a lunatic!
JAKE BOWMAN
Did you take her purse?
JACKIE FROST
Are you kidding? I spent two weeks in jail for vagrancy once, and I ain’t never going back.
JAKE BOWMAN
What are you gonna tell that cop?
JACKIE FROST
The truth.
( BEA DALEY and BERT MORRIS enter.)
JAKE BOWMAN
Any word on the snowslide at Three Mile?
BEA DALEY
Nothin’ yet, soldier.
BERT MORRIS
Bea’s gonna buy me a slice of pie over at the café.
BEA DALEY
He’s worked up a bit of an appetite.
(They exit.)
End of Act Two, Scene 6.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 7:
(CONSTABLE KLEIG enters with MARTHA WALFORD, and JESSICA MURRAY.)
JESSICA MURRAY
(pointing at JACKIE)
She stole my purse, constable. I demand that you arrest her.
JACKIE FROST
She’s nuts, officer.
CONSTABLE KLEIG
How do you know she stole your purse?
JESSICA MURRAY
She’s got a roll of money on her that belongs to me.
JACKIE FROST
That’s my money! I earned it working in a night club!
CONSTABLE KLEIG
What makes you think it’s your money, Miss Murray?
JESSICA MURRAY
Well, it’s the same size as mine and it’s got a red rubber band on it.
CONSTABLE KLEIG
Let me see that roll, Miss Frost.
JACKIE FROST
I don’t got to show you nothing!
CONSTABLE KLEIG
So you admit you stole the money.
JACKIE FROST
Money’s money! Lots of people have rolls of money with red rubber bands on them!
JESSICA MURRAY
It’s one hundred dollars, constable, and there’s lipstick on the first bill because it put it next to my makeup in my purse!
CONSTABLE KLEIG
Show us the money, Miss Frost…if there’s no lipstick on it, you’re in the clear.
JACKIE FROST
All right…
(She takes out the money and hands it to CONSTABLE KLEIG.)
JACKIE FROST
Here.
CONSTABLE KLEIG
No lipstick. Looks like it’s not your roll after all, Miss. Murray.
JESSICA MURRAY
Maybe she peeled off the first bill and threw it away!
CONSTABLE KLEIG
(looking through the roll)
There’s a hundred dollars here, not ninety-nine.
(handing the roll back to JACKIE FROST)
Sorry about this, Miss Frost.
JACKIE FROST
You better apologize, lady.
JESSICA MURRAY
Then where’s my purse?
JAKE BOWMAN
Maybe you should ask the waitress in the café, Miss Murray. She might have found it.
JESSICA MURRAY
Hmmmphhh.
(She exits.)
MARTHA WALFORD
I saw Miss Murray drop her purse when she got back on the bus at Woodsmoke.
CONSTABLE KLEIG
Why didn’t you tell anyone?
MARTHA WALFORD
It’s not my purse. Why should I care?
JAKE BOWMAN
Maybe because it’s Christmas Eve.
MARTHA WALFORD
One day’s the same as the next, soldier, no matter what kind of tag you put on it.
End of Act Two, Scene 7.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 8:
(GWEN FRASER, LIBBY, and TRUDY enter.)
LIBBY REESE
Hey, are you a real policeman?
CONSTABLE KLEIG
I sure am, kid.
TRUDY HEGEL
Is that woman your prisoner?
GWEN FRASER
Where are you taking her?
MARTHA WALFORD
They say I’m a murderer, girls…
LIBBY REESE
No kidding?
(to CONSTABLE KLEIG)
How come she’s not wearing handcuffs?
CONSTABLE KLEIG
She’s not a threat to public safety.
MARTHA WALFORD
That’s right, I’m no danger to the public, now my husband’s no longer with us.
CONSTABLE KLEIG
Now, Mrs. Walford, you don’t have a lawyer present…
MARTHA WALFORD
They say I drugged my husband with sleeping pills and put him in his car in the garage with the engine running.
JAKE BOWMAN
Sounds like a movie or somethin’.
GWEN FRASER
Why’d you do it?
MARTHA WALFORD
The detectives think I wanted his life insurance money.
LIBBY REESE
How much was it?
MARTHA WALFORD
A tidy sum, girls, a tidy sum. But I never saw a penny of it.
CONSTABLE KLEIG
Shouldn’t you girls be at home on Christmas Eve?
TRUDY HEGEL
We’re old enough to do whatever we want, except drink in a bar and vote.
MARTHA WALFORD
I never could have children. I’m barren, you see. My husband Collin resented that.
JACKIE FROST
They let you escort a murderer on a public bus, Constable?
CONSTABLE KLEIG
She hasn’t been found guilty yet, Miss.
JACKIE FROST
Did you do it, lady?
MARTHA WALFORD
Of course I did. Or did I? Who knows? The point is, my husband is dead, and I have yet to see a penny of his life insurance money.
GWEN FRASER
You’re so mysterious, Mrs. Walford.
MARTHA WALFORD
You’re a very pretty girl, young lady. That soldier has his eye on you.
JAKE BOWMAN
Hey!
MARTHA WALFORD
Don’t deny it, young man. If you’re just back from the war, you must be eagerly anticipating the fertile female rewards of the home front.
JACKIE FROST
Fertile female rewards! I’ve never heard it called that before!
TRUDY HEGEL
She means you, Gwen! You’re a fertile reward!
GWEN FRASER
I am not a fertile reward!
LIBBY REESE
You are so! You’re even blushing, like a ripe fruit!
GWEN FRASER
Stop it! It’s not fair!
JACKIE FROST
Enjoy it, kid! It’s as natural as a bee making honey!
CONSTABLE KLEIG
All right, leave the young lady alone! Mrs. Walford has a way of getting things all stirred up. Don’t let her influence you so easily.
MARTHA WALFORD
My husband had an eye for the ladies. Now he can’t see a thing. You might want to consider that, soldier boy, before you launch your first salvo in your quest for sexual mastery!
CONSTABLE KLEIG
You’re incriminating yourself, Mrs. Walford!
MARTHA WALFORD
The truth is often considered criminal, Constable Kleig. And speaking of the truth, you might want to button up your fly!
CONSTABLE KLEIG
(looking down and letting go of MARTHA’s arm)
My fly?
(MARTHA WALFORD runs out the door.)
CONSTABLE KLEIG
Hey! Stop, right now! Dammit to hell!
(He chases after her.)
JACKIE FROST
I’ve got to see this!
(She rushes off after him, brushing past MARLENE MORTENSEN as she enters.)
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Oh my goodness! Why is everyone rushing around? A woman outside almost knocked me down. Oh, I think I’m going to faint!
(She begins to collapse, and sinks down to the floor. Everyone rushes to her and makes a tableau around her.)
JAKE BOWMAN
(supporting her)
That woman’s running away from the policeman, ma’am.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Whatever for?
LIBBY REESE
She killed her husband with sleeping pills and exhaust fumes!
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Oh, good heavens! Abbey, Abbey, where are you, dear! I need you immediately!
JAKE BOWMAN
Are you okay, Ma’am? You look awful pale.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Where’s my granddaughter? Did that awful woman murder her?
TRUDY HEGEL
Holy cow, is she ever confused!
JAKE BOWMAN
Is your granddaughter the young woman you were with earlier?
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Earlier? Oh yes, on the bus. Yes. That’s Abbey. Where is she?
(ABBEY MORTENSEN enters.)
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Granny! Why’d you go off without telling me?
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Oh Abbey, thank goodness you’re here! There’s a murderer after me!
ABBEY MORTENSEN
A murderer?
JAKE BOWMAN
She’s kinda mixed up, Miss.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
We should never have attempted this trip! It’s gotten her so disoriented!
MARLENE MORTENSEN
(as ABBEY and JAKE help MARLENE get up and settle her on a bench)
Will the bus ever leave this horrible little town, or are we trapped here forever?
End of Act Two, Scene 8.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 9:
(CHIP MORGAN enters.)
CHIP MORGAN
Hey, I just heard that they’re almost done clearing that slide at Three Mile! Where’s Mrs. Daley and Mr. Morris?
JAKE BOWMAN
Over at the café.
CHIP MORGAN
I got to go get them.
(He exits.)
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Did you hear that, Granny? We’ll be leaving soon!
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Where are we going to go, dear?
ABBEY MORTENSEN
To Edmonton, remember…you’re going to Mom’s house for Christmas!
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Where’s my suitcase?
ABBEY MORTENSEN
On the bus, of course, safe and sound.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
That soldier over there is a handsome fellow. He reminds me of my brother James, who was killed in the trenches in the Great War.
JAKE BOWMAN
I made it home, ma’am, and I’m mighty glad I did.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Poor boy! They shouldn’t make boys fight wars!
ABBEY MORTENSEN
He’s fine, Granny! Look at him…he’s fit as a fiddle!
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Take me to the restroom, Abbey….I’ve had far too much tea tonight.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Excuse us…my grandmother needs one last little walk before we get on the bus.
(They exit.)
LIBBY REESE
You going home, mister?
JAKE BOWMAN
Yep. I just got demobilized in time for Christmas.
TRUDY HEGEL
Did you shoot any Germans?
GWEN FRASER
Trudy! Don’t ask stupid questions!
JAKE BOWMAN
It’s okay, miss, I don’t mind talking about it.
TRUDY HEGEL
So did you?
JAKE BOWMAN
It’s not like the movies. Most of the time you can’t even see the enemy.
LIBBY REESE
Why not?
JAKE BOWMAN
They’re too far away, and they’re hidden by camouflage or by the terrain.
GWEN FRASER
Did the war make you sad?
JAKE BOWMAN
Sad?
GWEN FRASER
I mean, you must have lost some friends, right?
JAKE BOWMAN
Sure. Everyone did.
LIBBY REESE
Our dads are still in Europe.
JAKE BOWMAN
Lots of guys won’t get home until next year.
TRUDY HEGEL
My dad’s alive, and he can still walk and everything.
GWEN FRASER
Trudy was in a climbing accident two summers ago.
TRUDY HEGEL
But I’m not going to let that stop me from doing whatever I want.
JAKE BOWMAN
That’s the spirit, kid.
TRUDY HEGEL
I’m not a kid.
JAKE BOWMAN
You’re right. I’m sorry. You’re a young woman. And a pretty one, too.
LIBBY REESE
You got a girlfriend, mister?
GWEN FRASER
Libby!
JAKE BOWMAN
Nope. And my name’s Jake…Jake Bowman.
LIBBY REESE
I’m Libby…she’s Trudy…and that’s Gwen.
GWEN FRASER
Hi.
JAKE BOWMAN
Hi.
LIBBY REESE
Gwen!
GWEN FRASER
What?
LIBBY REESE
You’re staring!
TRUDY HEGEL
It’s rude to stare, Gwen!
End of Act Two, Scene 9.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 10:
(JANET, SALLY, and EVELYN, the three mothers, enter.)
SALLY REESE
You kids have got to come home right now!
EVELYN HEGEL
We’re not taking no for an answer!
SALLY REESE
It’s late, and you’ve had your fun.
JANET FRASER
Your mothers and I tried to have fun too, but we couldn’t stop worrying about you. It’s time to go home right now!
TRUDY HEGEL
Leave us alone! We’re not kids!
EVELYN HEGEL
Trudy Hegel, you are a girl in a wheelchair out on a stormy night! It’s dangerous and stupid!
LIBBY REESE
We can take care of her, Mrs. Hegel!
EVELYN HEGEL
Her feet could freeze and she wouldn’t even know it, and neither would you, Libby Reese!
GWEN FRASER
We check her feet all the time! They’re warm!
EVELYN HEGEL
She needs grown-up supervision! All three of you are too excitable and irresponsible to make sure Trudy is taken care of!
SALLY REESE
Hauling poor Trudy all over the frozen streets on Christmas Eve! You should be ashamed of yourself, Libby!
LIBBY REESE
You should be ashamed, Mom! And you too, Mrs. Hegel and Mrs. Fraser! We want to live, and you want us to suffocate in our cramped little houses, with nothing to do but daydream.
JANET FRASER
Young man, I’m sorry you must witness this silliness, but we really must reclaim our daughters.
JAKE BOWMAN
They’re your daughters, ladies. It’s none of my business.
(The three girls rush offstage.)
SALLY REESE
They better be headed for home.
JANET FRASER
I give up. Let’s just go home and hope they turn up before morning.
EVELYN HEGEL
You’ve got to help me get Trudy home! It’s almost criminal for her to be outside in the elements on a night like this!
JANET FRASER
All right. We’ll try to round them up one more time.
(They exit.)
JAKE BOWMAN
What a night. More action than on the front lines.
End of Act Two, Scene 10.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 11:
(JANET, SALLY, and EVELYN, the three mothers, enter.)
SALLY REESE
You kids have got to come home right now!
EVELYN HEGEL
We’re not taking no for an answer!
SALLY REESE
It’s late, and you’ve had your fun.
JANET FRASER
Your mothers and I tried to have fun too, but we couldn’t stop worrying about you. It’s time to go home right now!
TRUDY HEGEL
Leave us alone! We’re not kids!
EVELYN HEGEL
Trudy Hegel, you are a girl in a wheelchair out on a stormy night! It’s dangerous and stupid!
LIBBY REESE
We can take care of her, Mrs. Hegel!
EVELYN HEGEL
Her feet could freeze and she wouldn’t even know it, and neither would you, Libby Reese!
GWEN FRASER
We check her feet all the time! They’re warm!
EVELYN HEGEL
She needs grown-up supervision! All three of you are too excitable and irresponsible to make sure Trudy is taken care of!
SALLY REESE
Hauling poor Trudy all over the frozen streets on Christmas Eve! You should be ashamed of yourself, Libby!
LIBBY REESE
You should be ashamed, Mom! And you too, Mrs. Hegel and Mrs. Fraser! We want to live, and you want us to suffocate in our cramped little
houses, with nothing to do but daydream.
JANET FRASER
Young man, I’m sorry you must witness this silliness, but we really must reclaim our daughters.
JAKE BOWMAN
They’re your daughters, ladies. It’s none of my business.
(The three girls rush offstage.)
SALLY REESE
They better be headed for home.
JANET FRASER
I give up. Let’s just go home and hope they turn up before morning.
EVELYN HEGEL
You’ve got to help me get Trudy home! It’s almost criminal for her to be outside in the elements on a night like this!
JANET FRASER
All right. We’ll try to round them up one more time.
(They exit.)
JAKE BOWMAN
What a night. More action than on the front lines.
End of Act Two, Scene 11.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 12:
(GWEN FRASER enters.)
JAKE BOWMAN
Your mom’s pretty mad at you, Gwen. You should probably go home.
GWEN FRASER
Is that what you want me to do?
JAKE BOWMAN
You’re a pretty girl, Gwen, but you’re kinda young.
GWEN FRASER
I’m seventeen. My mom was married at seventeen.
JAKE BOWMAN
Yeah? Well, you’d best stay single for a few more years.
GWEN FRASER
Are you going home to your family, Jake?
JAKE BOWMAN
Sort of. My adopted parents live on the Southside of Edmonton, in Strathcona.
GWEN FRASER
Adopted?
JAKE BOWMAN
Never had no mom or dad. Don’t even know who they were.
GWEN FRASER
You want to hold my hand?
JAKE BOWMAN
Holy smoke, you don’t waste any time, do you!
GWEN FRASER
Pretty soon you’re going to get on the bus and then you’ll be gone.
JAKE BOWMAN
Yeah, and that’s a good reason not to hold your hand.
GWEN FRASER
I do whatever I want to do. Don’t you?
JAKE BOWMAN
Sure.
GWEN FRASER
So hold my hand, if you want to.
JAKE BOWMAN
You win.
(He takes her hand.)
GWEN FRASER
Why do they make it so hard for a guy and a girl to be together?
JAKE BOWMAN
I guess because they don’t want nature to take its course.
GWEN FRASER
What’s wrong with nature?
JAKE BOWMAN
Nothin’, if you don’t mind ending up with a baby like that girl on the bus.
GWEN FRASER
You can’t get a baby from holding hands.
JAKE BOWMAN
One thing leads to another.
GWEN FRASER
Isn’t it better to let it be just one thing, and not another?
JAKE BOWMAN
And what “one thing” is that?
GWEN FRASER
Just a guy and a girl holding hands, and knowing what that means. I think that’s as much as anyone needs.
JAKE BOWMAN
Not many guys would agree with that.
GWEN FRASER
Do you?
JAKE BOWMAN
I don’t have much choice.
GWEN FRASER
Yes you do.
JAKE BOWMAN
You mean you’d let me…
GWEN FRASER
Yes.…it’s Christmas…I’m giving you a gift.
JAKE BOWMAN
Then I guess I want to give you a gift, so I’ll just hold your hand a while longer, and leave it at that.
GWEN FRASER
Thank you.
JAKE BOWMAN
You’re welcome.
(A few moments go by, and then they let go of one another’s hands.)
GWEN FRASER
I’m ready to go home now.
JAKE BOWMAN
Goodbye, Gwen.
GWEN FRASER
Goodbye, Jake.
(LIBBY rushes in.)
LIBBY REESE
Gwen! They’ve taken Trudy! We couldn’t get away from them without you!
GWEN FRASER
It’s time to go home, Libby.
(She exits.)
LIBBY REESE
Awwwww! Did you guys do anything?
JAKE BOWMAN
Sure.
LIBBY REESE
What! What! I promise I won’t tell!
JAKE BOWMAN
We held hands.
LIBBY REESE
I bet!
(She runs up to him and kisses him on the cheek.)
JAKE BOWMAN
Hey!
LIBBY REESE
Don’t worry, it’s our little secret!
(She exits.)
JAKE BOWMAN
This is some town!
End of Act Two, Scene 12.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 1:
(KLARA ZILENKA and EMMY LIGHTFOOT enter with suitcases.)
JAKE BOWMAN
Say, aren’t you two supposed to be working at the café?
KLARA ZILENKA
We have quit. We are going to Edmonton on bus.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
I’m going to stay with Mrs. Zilenka’s sister.
KLARA ZILENKA
Emmy is now my goddaughter. I must make sure she is a success.
JAKE BOWMAN
Your goddaughter?
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
Klara’s family was killed by the fascists, so she adopted me.
JAKE BOWMAN
They must put something in the water here.
KLARA ZILENKA
Did you say goodbye to your mother, Emmy?
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
Sure. But first, I put the star on top of the tree like always.
KLARA ZILENKA
There are many stars tonight, up in the heavens, now the clouds have gone away.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
I don’t think I’ll ever come back to Snowy Mountain. When I get rich, I’ll buy a house for my mother and get her out of this town once and for all.
KLARA ZILENKA
Stop dreaming so much, Emmy, and do some work! You have not even started your new job, and already you talk of a giant house for your mother!
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
I hope Mrs. Nam isn’t too mad at us.
(PHOENIX NAM enters.)
PHOENIX NAM
I’ve come to say goodbye to you, Klara and Emmy.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
You’re not mad?
PHOENIX NAM
No, no, I’m not mad. I’m going to sell the Tuckaway Café, anyway.
KLARA ZILENKA
What are you going to do after you sell it, Mrs. Nam?
PHOENIX NAM
I will move to California, and buy a cottage on the beach.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
California! I wish I could go to California!
KLARA ZILENKA
First, Edmonton, Emmy. Then perhaps Toronto. And finally, Hollywood!
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
I love the movies!
PHOENIX NAM
I’ll send you my address in Los Angeles. You must come and visit me. Now I must go back to my café and make the customers pay for their pie.
(She exits.)
End of Act Three, Scene 1.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 2:
(BEA DALEY and BERT MORRIS enter.)
BEA DALEY
Those folks are full of food, that’s for sure.
BERT MORRIS
They ain’t had nothin’ else to do ‘cept stuff themselves.
BEA DALEY
Where the heck is Chip! He’s supposed to load the boxes for Edmonton.
BERT MORRIS
Trouble with Christmas is all the damn parcels on the bus. Everyone sends stuff at the last minute.
BEA DALEY
Good thing Christmas comes but once a year.
BERT MORRIS
(taking her aside)
Say, Bea, do me a favour and don’t tell no one about you and me in your office.
BEA DALEY
Are you kidding me, Bert? Why’d I want to spoil your reputation!
(CHIP MORGAN enters.)
CHIP MORGAN
I got that sink working, Mrs. Daley, but now the toilet’s frozen up!
BEA DALEY
The bus’ll be gone soon, Chip, so don’t worry about it. Just load them boxes, will you?
CHIP MORGAN
Always something else! This is a helluva way to make a living.
BERT MORRIS
I’ll give you a hand, Chip.
JAKE BOWMAN
Me too.
(They exit.)
KLARA ZILENKA
We want our free tickets to Edmonton, Mrs. Daley!
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
I’m gonna learn how to publish books!
BEA DALEY
Well, I suppose I owe you.
KLARA ZILENKA
A promise is a promise.
BEA DALEY
Come on into my office, and I’ll get you your tickets.
(They exit.)
End of Act Three, Scene 2.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 3:
(LYNETTE and NANCY GORDON enter.)
LYNETTE GORDON
So do you believe me now, Nancy?
NANCY GORDON
I just can’t believe that the man I wanted to marry is the father of your child.
LYNETTE GORDON
You’ve got to stop pretending you’re so virtuous, Nancy.
NANCY GORDON
It’s obvious Ben Dobson lied to you about me just so he could hurt me.
LYNETTE GORDON
He wanted to hurt you all right, and me too, but he didn’t lie.
NANCY GORDON
If he really is the father of your child, all I can say is good riddance to him and his money and his lumber business.
LYNETTE GORDON
You’re still missing the point, Nancy.
NANCY GORDON
If you’re trying to get me to admit that Ben Dobson made love to me too, you’re wasting your time, because he didn’t.
LYNETTE GORDON
If you could just get yourself to admit the truth, Nancy, you might begin to understand how you and I are no different…except that you were
lucky…you didn’t get pregnant.
NANCY GORDON
I didn’t get pregnant because I didn’t do anything to get pregnant!
LYNETTE GORDON
I can prove that’s not true. Are you sure you want me to?
NANCY GORDON
You can’t prove anything, except that I dated Ben Dobson a few times.
LYNETTE GORDON
You weren’t very careful, Nancy, using Jane Weston’s house while you were looking after it for her.
NANCY GORDON
I don’t have to listen to this.
LYNETTE GORDON
I didn’t believe Ben when he told me what you and he were doing. So he told me about Jane’s house. One night I went over there to see for
myself.
NANCY GORDON
You spied on me?
LYNETTE GORDON
I thought he was lying. He wasn’t.
NANCY GORDON
So I guess that makes you feel real good about yourself, knowing what Ben did to me.
LYNETTE GORDON
It just makes me sad that you didn’t tell me yourself, when you knew I was going through hell because I was pregnant.
NANCY GORDON
I don’t see how it would have helped.
LYNETTE GORDON I wouldn’t have felt so alone.
NANCY GORDON
Alone.
LYNETTE GORDON
I didn’t want to embarrass you with the truth, Nancy. I just wanted you to be a loving big sister who would tell me that my pregnancy was just an accident that could have happened to any lonely young woman in a small town…even you.
NANCY GORDON
Even me.
LYNETTE GORDON
And now I’m asking you to help me…really help me…not just hold me at arm’s length like something unclean.
NANCY GORDON
I guess I could do that.
LYNETTE GORDON
If you do, it’ll be the best Christmas present I ever received.
End of Act Three, Scene 3.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 4:
(JESSICA MURRAY and JACKIE FROST enter.)
JESSICA MURRAY
I’m terribly sorry I accused you of stealing my purse, Miss Frost.
JACKIE FROST
You were pretty quick to judge me, Miss Murray.
JESSICA MURRAY
It’s just that the way you dress…well, it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in a proper young woman like myself.
JACKIE FROST
Heck, we’re all the same under these get-ups.
JESSICA MURRAY
Yes, but you work in night clubs entertaining the most awful kind of men.
JACKIE FROST
Them men in the clubs are the same men you see working in the banks and lawyers’ offices, Miss Murray.
JESSICA MURRAY
Just the same, you shouldn’t be encouraging them with lewd displays.
JACKIE FROST
I’m not “lewd”! I just tease them a bit, show them something to get their imaginations working, that’s all.
JESSICA MURRAY
Exactly. Then they go home and torment their wives with obscene demands.
JACKIE FROST
It’s just nature, Miss Murray. The birds and the bees. You’re the same as me, and the man you marry will be just the same as the men I entertain.
JESSICA MURRAY
He certainly won’t! The man I marry will have to have better morals than that!
JACKIE FROST
You didn’t like working in that one room school, did you.
JESSICA MURRAY
No I didn’t. Those children behave like little animals.
JACKIE FROST
You’d be a better teacher if you could just get it through your head that they are little animals!
JESSICA MURRAY
My job is to stop them from acting like animals.
JACKIE FROST
No! Your job is to help them learn to enjoy the animal part of themselves without hurting each other.
JESSICA MURRAY
If you’re trying to make me a disciple of some strange, animalistic religion, Miss Murray, you won’t succeed.
JACKIE FROST
I can see that. Tell you what: come with me to one of the night clubs in Edmonton.
JESSICA MURRAY
Why would I do that?
JACKIE FROST
So you can see what I mean.
JESSICA MURRAY
I’ve never been in such sinful places, and I don’t intend to start now.
JACKIE FROST
You’re just scared.
JESSICA MURRAY
I’m not afraid of anything.
JACKIE FROST
Then come with me to club and see for yourself.
JESSICA MURRAY
All right, Miss Frost, I’ll go with you! Goodness knows I won’t get a moment’s peace on that bus if I don’t give in to your demands!
JACKIE FROST
Then it’s a date!
End of Act Three, Scene 4.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene5:
(CONSTABLE KLEIG enters with MARTHA WALFORD, who is handcuffed to him.)
MARTHA WALFORD
The Mounties always get their woman, eh, Constable Kleig?
CONSTABLE KLEIG
You led me on quite a chase, Mrs. Walford, and further incriminated yourself.
MARTHA WALFORD
Oh come on, Constable. You enjoyed every minute of it.
CONSTABLE KLEIG
You weren’t really trying to escape, were you.
MARTHA WALFORD
Of course not. Where could I go? Into a snowdrift?
CONSTABLE KLEIG
Just don’t do it again.
MARTHA WALFORD
Are you married, Constable?
CONSTABLE KLEIG
Engaged.
MARTHA WALFORD
Let me give you some advice.
CONSTABLE KLEIG
All right.
MARTHA WALFORD
If you don’t want to end up dead in the front seat of your car in a garage, treat your wife with respect.
CONSTABLE KLEIG
Are you threatening me, Mrs. Walford?
MARTHA WALFORD
Yes I am, constable.
CONSTABLE KLEIG
You know I’m going to have tell the court about everything you’ve said and done.
MARTHA WALFORD
Tell them anything. I’m looking forward to it.
CONSTABLE KLEIG
This is a Christmas Eve to remember.
MARTHA WALFORD
And my trial is going to be my Christmas present, because the whole world is going to hear the truth about Collin Walford, the beast who made
my life a living hell until I rubbed him out.
CONSTABLE KLEIG
You know, I can’t tell whether or not you’re just kidding with me.
MARTHA WALFORD
Who’s kidding who, Constable Kleig, me or you?
End of Act Three, Scene 5.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 6:
(REVEREND MUNCEY and ALICE MUNCEY enter.)
ALICE MUNCEY
(in mid-conversation, to NORMAN)
…so we will have to make a collection to buy clothing and toys for the baby.
REVEREND MUNCEY
Alice, you talk about that baby as if it was our own!
ALICE MUNCEY
We’re going to make sure that baby gets a good start in the world, Norman.
(seeing LYNETTE)
Miss Gordon! Yoo hoo!
LYNETTE GORDON
Hello, Mrs. Muncey! I can’t tell you how grateful I am for your assistance!
NANCY GORDON
Reverend and Mrs. Muncey, I wonder if I could stay with you too…so I could help Lynette through the first few weeks.
REVEREND MUNCEY
Well, we only have one extra room, Miss Gordon…
NANCY GORDON
I don’t mind, sir. I’ll sleep on the floor if necessary.
ALICE MUNCEY
Of course you can stay with us, Miss Gordon! I’m so glad you and your sister are getting along again!
REVEREND MUNCEY
Perhaps I should quit the church and open a boarding house!
ALICE MUNCEY
Why not do both, dear? We could get the congregation to support a home for unwed mothers.
REVEREND MUNCEY
There aren’t enough unwed mothers in Kincaid to fill it, Alice.
ALICE MUNCEY
You’d be surprised, my dear…you’d be surprised!
REVEREND MUNCEY
Well, I suppose I could achieve a certain cachet among my male friends by being the only man in a house full of young women and babies.
ALICE MUNCEY
Norman! I do believe you just made a joke, even though it wasn’t in very good taste!
REVEREND MUNCEY
I’m going to need a sense of humour when I face my congregation tomorrow.
End of Act Three, Scene67.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 7:
(ABBEY and MARLENE MORTENSEN enter.)
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Granny, you gave me such a fright disappearing into the night like that!
MARLENE MORTENSEN
The back door of the café was open, dear, and I could see the lovely stars in the heavens, so I just had to go out and get a closer look!
ABBEY MORTENSEN
You could have got lost and frozen to death.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
That wouldn’t be such a bad way to end my life, in the perfect silent snow beneath the shining stars.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Do you believe in heaven, Granny?
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Of course. If I look up there into the night, I can see my brother James looking down at me.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Do you know where we are, Granny?
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Why, we’re home for Christmas, of course.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
No, Granny, we’re in a bus depot in Snowy Mountain.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
You poor dear, you don’t understand.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Understand what?
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Everywhere is home.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Everywhere?
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Everywhere…because “home” just means being alive.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
It does?
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Yes, dear…to be alive is to be home…to live is to move into our little spot in the universe for a short, short time.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
That’s lovely, Granny.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
That’s because it’s the truth, dear. The truth is always lovely. Now where’s my suitcase?
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Oh, Granny, don’t tease…you know exactly where it is….at home!
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Now you’re beginning to understand, Abbey, now you’re beginning to understand!
End of Act Three, Scene 7.
Snowy Mountain by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 8:
(GWEN FRASER, LIBBY, and TRUDY enter with their mothers.)
JANET FRASER
If seeing the bus off will get you to come home, then I suppose we should do it.
SALLY REESE
What a long night this has been.
EVELYN HEGEL
I’m worn out! I’ll have to sleep right through Christmas Day!
TRUDY HEGEL
Look at all these people! They’re strangers who’ve come to make our lives a little bit brighter for just one night!
LIBBY REESE
How lucky they are to be climbing on that old bus and riding down the highway into the starry Christmas night!
GWEN FRASER
One day I’ll be on that bus, and I’ll wave goodbye to Snowy Mountain forever and ever, amen!
(CHIP MORGAN enters with BERT MORRIS and JAKE BOWMAN.)
CHIP MORGAN
The bus is all loaded up with boxes full of presents!
BERT MORRIS
Almost time to leave.
JAKE BOWMAN
Gwen!
GWEN FRASER
I had to come back and say goodbye to everyone, Jake…because you all gave me something tonight…
JANET FRASER
What did they give you, dear?
GWEN FRASER
They gave me hope, Mama. Now I know the war’s really over, and Dad will come home, and I can look up from my books and see the whole world
bright with hope again!
(BEA DALEY enters with KLARA ZILENKA and EMMY LIGHTFOOT.)
KLARA ZILENKA
Thanks for the tickets, Mrs. Daley.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
They’re our passports to a new life!
BEA DALEY
Yeah? Well, I hope it’s a good one, ‘cause it cost me sixteen bucks.
(PHOENIX NAM enters.)
PHOENIX NAM
I closed my café for the last time, Mrs. Daley.
BEA DALEY
Is that right? Where am I gonna get my burgers now?
PHOENIX NAM
Just come upstairs to my apartment anytime, and I’ll throw a patty on the hotplate.
BEA DALEY
You ready to roll out of here, Bert?
BERT MORRIS
I’m rarin’ to go, Bea.
BEA DALEY
All right, then, you folks can load up. On behalf of the Trailwise Bus Company, merry Christmas to you all!
PASSENGERS
Merry Christmas!
NANCY GORDON
Come on, Lynette, let’s get our seats at the front so you can see the lights of Edmonton before we get there.
LYNETTE GORDON
I love to see city lights in the distance…they’re like the stars, so clean and full of promise.
(They exit.)
ALICE MUNCEY
Come along, Norman, we’ll sit behind them. I’ve got to keep an eye on my baby.
NORMAN MUNCEY
I can see it won’t be long before you’ll expect me to provide you with one of your own!
ALICE MUNCEY
Do you think you can manage that, dear?
NORMAN MUNCEY
I may be a minister, but I’m also a man!
(They exit.)
CONSTABLE KLEIG
Come along, Mrs. Walford. You’ve got a nice warm jail cell waiting for you.
MARTHA WALFORD
Do they serve eggnog at Christmas?
CONSTABLE KLEIG
I’m afraid not.
MARTHA WALFORD
Good. I hate the stuff.
(They exit.)
BEA DALEY
Miss Murray, I got a call from the Woodsmoke bus depot. They found your purse with the money still in it, and they’re sending it ahead to Edmonton.
JESSICA MURRAY
Well, I suppose Christmas Eve hasn’t been a complete bust after all.
JACKIE FROST
Let’s get going, Miss Murray. The sooner we get to Edmonton, the sooner you can go to a hot and swinging nightclub!
JESSICA MURRAY
I can almost smell the stink of cigarettes, booze, and cheap perfume.
JACKIE FROST
Me too. Isn’t it wonderful!
(They exit.)
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Time to make the last few miles to Mom’s house, Granny.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
I wish I could rid on the roof of the bus and look up at the stars.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
You can have the window seat. That’s almost as good.
MARLENE MORTENSEN
Thank you, dear, for being so patient with me.
ABBEY MORTENSEN
Thank you for being so patient with me!
(They exit.)
KLARA ZILENKA
Well, this is goodbye, Mrs. Nam. You have been a good, kind boss.
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
Thanks for letting me be a lazy waitress!
PHOENIX NAM
Remember to come and visit me in Los Angeles!
EMMY LIGHTFOOT
How could I forget!
(She and KLARA exit.)
BERT MORRIS
Aren’t you going to get on board, soldier?
JAKE BOWMAN
What? Oh, yeah, the bus.
BERT MORRIS
You better get a move on. See you soon, Bea, and thanks for the good times…
BEA DALEY
That’s enough about that, Bert Morris.
(BERT exits. JAKE goes to GWEN FRASER…they stand face to face for a moment, then JAKE exits)
LIBBY REESE
Gee, that was really something, Gwen!
TRUDY HEGEL
Better than a movie, even.
LIBBY REESE
I used to think that making love was all about hugs and kisses, but now I know different.
GWEN FRASER
Me too.
JANET FRASER
Gwen, you’re not going to run off with that soldier, are you?
GWEN FRASER
And ruin everything? Of course not, Mama.
SALLY REESE
I’ve got to go home, Libby. I’m absolutely exhausted.
LIBBY REESE
I’ll help you, Mom. I guess you’re getting old.
SALLY REESE
No thanks to you, kid.
LIBBY REESE
Aw, c’mon, admit it…you had a ball tonight.
(They exit.)
EVELYN HEGEL
Are you ready to go home at last, Trudy?
TRUDY HEGEL
Can we sing carols on the way home?
EVELYN HEGEL
How about Good King Wenceslas!
TRUDY HEGEL
Sure!
(They exit singing “Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the feast of Stephen, when the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even…Brightly shone the moon that night, though the frost was cruel, when a poor man came in sight, gathering winter fuel…etc. The carol now comes in softly in the background.)
JANET FRASER
Are you going to come home soon, Gwen?
GWEN FRASER
Soon, soon, Mama…you go ahead.
JANET FRASER
All right, dear. Merry Christmas, Mrs. Daley.
BEA DALEY
Merry Christmas, Janet…don’t worry, I’ll look after her.
(JANET exits)
CHIP MORGAN
Can I go home now, Mrs. Daley?
BEA DALEY
Sure, Chip. You did a good job tonight. Merry Christmas.
CHIP MORGAN
Merry Christmas, Mrs. Daley. Merry Christmas, Gwen.
GWEN FRASER
Merry Christmas, Chip.
BEA DALEY
You took quite a shine to that soldier, didn’t you, Gwen.
GWEN FRASER
It was everything, Mrs. Daley…the soldier, the snow, all those new people…and my lovely friends, and our mother’s chasing us…it was everything.
BEA DALEY
You want to be alone for a while, honey?
GWEN FRASER
If it’s all right with you, Mrs. Daley.
BEA DALEY
Sure. I’ll just go in my office and take care of a few loose ends. Merry Christmas.
GWEN FRASER
Merry Christmas!
(She stands alone for a while, thinking.)
GWEN FRASER
Dad, I know you’re far away across the sea, but I’ve tried to live the way you’d want me to…I’ve tried to find beauty in the world…and sometimes I’ve been grumpy and spiteful, and sometimes I’ve said awful things about Snowy Mountain, but Dad, you know what? Tonight, Snowy Mountain was beautiful to me, because I was beautiful to myself….I was beautiful to myself.
(The lights fade.)
END OF THE PLAY.