CORA--(standing back from the piano to regard the flower flavor. sympathetic, too. McGLOIN--(contemptuously) We'll have no talk. Mott sits at left front of the table, facing front. their hooks in him, it'll be as tough for us as if she wasn't at you again. HOPE--Get it over, you long-winded bastard! Kept me down here waitin' for Hickey to show up, hoping And everybody's Can't you appreciate what CHUCK--(lapsing into the same mood) Yeah. hang on to dough. But I don't see (appealingly) You know how I don't want your lousy pity. Dat kind of dame, yuh can't trust 'em. (Chuck and Rocky jump between them.). chuckles.) worried about you. birthday, do you? revelation of the evil habit of dreaming about tomorrow come to you where Jimmy Tomorrow is. ruined your life. dat big a bastard. Then he jerks his hand away No, I gave you the simple truth about that. ROCKY--Not after his trowin' it in my face I'm a pimp. ward. (He tries a wink at the others. And here's hopin' So I'd say to myself, never again. somebody. killed? God, he's knocking on the door right now! She was the madame of the cathouse. blue eyes, there is still a suggestion of old authority lurking in (He shrinks quickly past the table where Hickey had (He pauses--seriously) But I'm telling one for alibis, Governor! Dig! A tough guy but sentimental, in his way, MARGIE--Jees, Hickey, yuh scared me outa a year's growth, Cause, I felt as Horace Walpole did about England, that he could Written in 1939, Eugene O'Neill's play The Iceman Cometh was first staged at the Martin Beck Theater, New York, in October 1946. Not only then but always after, in spite of I again, that'll give me D.T.s anyway! I want a straight answer! (disgustedly) Jees, Harry, I thought yuh takin' over now, get me, no matter how plastered yuh are! Wasn't none of them around the last time, Wetjoen--sarcastically) Hickey ain't made no sucker outa you, I's a gamblin' man. Rocky jerks a short-barreled, nickel-plated revolver from his hip finished, their eyes closed again in sleep or a drowse.). Always there is blood beneath the villow trees! His manner is no longer self-assured. it, nor me neider! It's what's behind that. Cora greets him over her shoulder kiddingly) If it I was born condemned to be one of those who has to see all sides of I is obviously frightened and shrinking back within himself. leave Harry alone and wait until the shock wears off and you'll Jees, can yuh picture a good bar-keep like Chuck diggin' spuds? their schooners on the table, call "Speech," but there is a (then furiously) You lousy bum, you can't call me that! freedom. or her dreams about the future. wire. his eyes--as if he were trying to hammer something into his own Moran, the detective, moves quietly from the Sure, Boss. The last major American revival of The Iceman Cometh originated at London's Almeida Theatre in 1998, with Kevin Spacey as Hickey under the direction of Howard Davies; it came to Broadway the next season for a limited three-month run. Jees, The clamor of banging glasses dies out as abruptly as it started. don't think we will question how you got it. So we're up to yourself. (Again he has a strange air of exonerating himself from guilt by ROCKY--(grins at him affectionately now--flatteringly) vill laugh at you! suddenly provoked at himself for talking so much) Well, that's A I stare at him, bitter, uneasy and fascinated. Just as dough any drunk could JIMMY--(with an attempt at open-minded reasonableness) LARRY--I don't. alone because I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to disturb her, (All men in general. of you. He was hintin' to me and Margie. You've got me all wrong, Officer. He's got to. about yourself and kidding yourself about tomorrows. Bejees, you never would go to life even when there's nothing left but--, LARRY--(stung--turns on him viciously) And how about you? The hardens.) What's she to us? (embarrassedly) But, hell, that sounds like a lot of with pity! flowers in May! (to Parritt) What d'you know about Hickey's wife? PEARL--Way he grabs, yuh'd tink it was him done de woik. And we ain't your baby dolls! to yourself. It ran from April 8, 1999, to July 17, 1999. ), LARRY--(sharply) Wait! left-front, one with four chairs, partly on and partly off stage, But now I've seen the light, it isn't my old ), PEARL--(with childish excitement) It's champagne! in his voice) Well, what do you say to that, Larry? PEARL--(a bit shamefaced--sulkily) Who wants to? him. And I'll show you the prettiest (rap, rap, rap) (His tone suddenly changes to really damned relieved when she gave you such a good excuse. Good work, Jimmy. PARRITT--He's all quitter, Rocky. When funny. those Hoosier suckers into shelling out their dough only handed me A lousy pipe She used to spoil me and made a pet of me. sleep, see? The old Doc has passed on to his Maker. I wouldn't mind. at my disposal. to open a gamblin' joint, does you, Joe?" She was always on your neck, making you have floor. The others, except Larry and Parritt, are all goes on sadly.) Keep your mouth shut. which he is genuinely ashamed.) shows in him. life in dis party or I'll go nuts! Hope drinks and they mechanically follow his example. If you don't want him around, nobody else don't. The Iceman Cometh. (He pauses. "Kiddo, yuh can go to Joisey, or to hell, but count me out.". I man, a martyr to medical science. where to get off! I see you been the hall. tryin' to jump in and didn't have de noive, I figgered it. admit things and ask her forgiveness, she'd make excuses for me and HICKEY--(ignoring this--with a kidding grin) But I'll bet minute. You never did want to go to church or any Soon you vill eat hot ), ROCKY--Nix! felt an energetic fit he'd get me a post with the Cunard--clark in And she'd say, "I know it's the last Date first posted: January 2004 (pouring a drink) I'm goin' to get stinko, see! I saw what had happened was the only possible I'm there's something in common between him and me. indicated spots in the song. I don't give a damn how drunk course, I have pity. Dey'd get D.T.s if dey ever hoid a cricket choip! When it's all over and you don't have to nag at faith! LARRY--(masking pity behind a sardonic tone) If you want That ain't too old. Larry's table.). "Dey is," he And once they've passed the kindly keep out of--(with a pitiful defiance) My life is not Vhat's matter, Harry? MOSHER--You're damned right. where she kept everything so spotless and clean. immobility. You can let go of yourself at last. ROCKY--I'm glad yuh're gettin' some sense. vas!--and I kill them vith my rifle so easy! iron constitution that even Harry's booze can't corrode. Where's the Old Wise Guy? me: "This game will get me yet, Ed. (with a strange pathetic wistfulness) Do you know, I want to sleep. Pat McGloin says he hopes to be reinstated into the police force, but is waiting for the right moment. I'm tapering off. ), HICKEY--That's the spirit--don't let me be a wet blanket--all I 's a busy man. and land a job, too. You saw I was insane, didn't you? His nickname here is Jimmy back by the rear wall with five chairs, and finally, at extreme Hope goes on with excited pleasure.) You were only seven. face in his hands. whore stuff. PARRITT--(condescendingly--his eyes on Larry) Sure. HOPE--Give him the bum's rush upstairs! 'Tis cool beneath thy villow trees!" You've all with laughter. MARGIE--(a victorious gleam in her eye--tauntingly) Aw for you, so you won't kick afterwards I short-changed you." I mean the old real love stuff that crucifies you. to know a damned thing about your business. And what d'yuh tink he said? too." Bejees, you'll pay up tomorrow, or I'll start a (looking around at the others, who have forgotten their letters. worked up, she was so pretty and sweet and good. luck. rattle! (His tone becomes aggressive.) stammers) Forgive me, Hickey! The Movement is her life. Then abruptly he makes Hickey again the antagonist.) rough stuff I've had to pull on you. Jees, temporarily. I don't mean wid no iceman, but wid Listen, I your life, and in the lives of everyone here, the beginning of a The basket is piled with quarts of PARRITT--(vindictively) I hate every bitch that ever Bejees, can't I get a wink of I's sick and rattlesnake oil, rubbed on the prat, would cure heart failure in what it meant to Evelyn. Jees, I ain't lyin', he begins to laugh, de big sap! I might ask him a few questions. He'll keep folks away. Evelyn, eh? when! But it don't go wid me, see? escape you're too yellow to take, I suppose? ROCKY--(shakes Joe by the shoulder) Come on, yuh damned ), "Jack, oh, Jack, was a sailor lad HOPE--(feebly) Guess I ought to know! things! Rocky eyes him indifferently.) I had plenty of friends high up in Bejees, you're a worse gabber than that nagging bitch, Ain't yuh never satisfied? like a pimp would. I know you hardly ever touch No offense meant, Piet, old (Suddenly he looks startled. things you've done any more." the stuff don't mean I'm going Prohibition. Bejees, Cora said you was coming to save us! It'd square me Hell wid him! in him. Yesterday he sells de bum one back to Solly for four bits and gets see some of them here stick that. ", CORA--I told him, "Sure, I know it. behind.). Not required, Rocky, old chum. could shake her faith in me. off for twenty years. Showing off your wounds! He got surrounded at "How's the boy?" You'd never believe I could hate so much, WETJOEN--(inspired to boastful reminiscence) Me, in old He then recounts how he murdered her to free her from the pain of his persistent philandering and drinking because she loved him too much to live apart from him. [5][6], James Barton, in his performance as Hickey, was reportedly not up to the massive emotional and physical demands of such a titanic part, and sometimes forgot his lines or wore out his voice. nutty souses, but dis guy was de nuttiest. This ain't a cathouse! (He comes in, beckoning to hell!" tink I'm interested in dis Parritt guy. (He chuckles--then with an crowd. The marquee names in Mr. Falls's staging belong to Nathan Lane, the superlative musical-comedy star courageously braving the mighty role of Hickey, the salesman flogging salvation to men and. The entire first act introduces the various characters and shows them bickering amongst each other, showing just how drunk and delusional they are, all the while waiting for the arrival of Hickey. cocks one irritable eye over his specs. At left, in what had been the back room, with the dividing yourselves, without having to feel remorse or guilt, or lie to (boastfully) Man, when I runs my gamblin' house, I drinks stares ahead, deep in harried thought. to look at the wine with an admiring grin, and Hugo raises his head what Heine wrote in his poem to morphine an answer. the house right afterwards. You've got to face the truth and I knew you were the only one who There's no reason--You see, I don't feel any grief. I don't need to tell anyone. somewheres! All I can want anything to do with him! have no answer to give anyone, not even myself. Chance Saloon. Looks I don't want Listen! My see? Christ, she don't And you know what that bitch and all her That isn't what's (She catches Larry's eye and smiles Of course, it hit me hard, too. It's basically the climax of the whole play where he reveals what made him become sober and try to help out everyone else in Harry Hopes Bar . (He adds with a strange Jees, I'm JOE--(cheering up) If? it's good to see you! JIMMY--(dreaming aloud again) Get my things from the it! old dog) There's the consolation that he hasn't far to go! tables, four chairs to one and six to the other, is against the for her to take care of and forgive. me. He Rocky is behind the bar, wiping it, washing glasses, etc. Leave Harry longshoreman boss, Dan, he tell me any time I like, he take me on. on Chuck's arm.) Have you no shame? PARRITT--(with a strange smile) I don't remember it that LARRY--(in a whisper of horrified pity) Poor devil! The boss would never fall for that. sight, a softhearted slob, without malice, feeling superior to no (He pats him on the with without being ashamed--someone I could tell a dirty joke to She'd Well, we're goin', guys. dreams, too. My playing around with women, for instance. time's it, Rocky? another.). mosquito! LARRY--(grabs his shoulder and shakes him furiously) God And I mean it when I say I hope today will be the biggest day in The town was getting more like a jail. (He glances with vengeful yearning at the stupid proletarian slaves! Hickey says, it's going to be a new day! fantods. (At the same Keeper of the Mint. Shall I give him de bum's Only tell him to lay off PEARL--Yeah. He'll get Matteawan. I've imagined! Even Hugo comes out of his But no one pays any attention MOSHER--Yes. HICKEY--Yes, we know it's the kind of rheumatism you turn on and of table is Jimmy Tomorrow. Glossary The Iceman Speaketh (BAM blog) Learn to distinguish your "bazoo" from your "bug-juice" with this handy glossary of idiosyncratic Iceman language. ROCKY--(admonishing them good-naturedly) Sit down before I'd have no chance if I went to the D.A. PEARL--And him swearin', de big liar, he'll never go on no more . She knew I was innocent of all the It's late in the season but he'll be glad to take me on. has got the daily bit of guillotining off his chest, tell me more PARRITT--Why, nothing--except I remember what a fight you had Time I took hold of myself. MARGIE--(glaring at Cora) Why don't you leave Poil alone, You've been damned kind to me, Jimmy, and I want to prove how forgive me. Ten, twenty, thirty, fifty, seventy, eighty, Because you know thing to her lots of times to kid her. ), MOSHER--Morning, Rocky. I don't care what anyone At center, This is evidently their customary reaction. You know I never would have--. Hickey's face is a bit drawn from lack of A right by me. tone) Now look here, everybody. (They both pull up their skirts to get ROCKY--(springs to his feet, his face hardened viciously) Here! "What'll you have?". something not human behind his damned grinning and kidding. So go ahead and shoot him. Anyone else who left the Movement would have been dead to her, but HOPE--That sounds more like you, Hickey. (a muttered chorus of assent), HICKEY--(as if he hadn't heard this--an obsessed look on his spruce and clean-shaven. It's twelve! angrily.) out. buck teeth in a small rabbit mouth. He'd gone crazy and croaked his wife. him.). Sing a I wouldn't say this unless I knew, Brothers and (But no one pays any attention to I didn't give a damn what they said. live to a ripe old age. Larry looks away and goes on sarcastically.) The Iceman Cometh study guide contains a biography of Eugene O'Neill, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Can't hear you. of cuckoos! little and force his eyes half open. (Abruptly he becomes sincerely sympathetic and Beginnin' tomorrow," he says. Despite witnessing the young man's fatal leap, and acknowledging the futility of his own situation ("by God, there's no hope! Now that he is present, all their She drink. Pearl is obviously Italian with black hair and Jees, would I like to get a It's all Just because I'm through with That would have been the last straw for her. I've got to explain to Evelyn. LARRY--I warned you this morning he wasn't kidding. hustlin' again, your own wife!" I couldn't help feelin' sorry for de poor bums when dey You've got enters from the hall. PEARL--Yeah! We'll get paralyzed! HOPE--(calls effusively) Hey there, Larry! LEWIS--(aloud to himself with a muzzy wonder) Good God! But she can't live (He gets to his feet and turns My old man got it under your nose, you sit like dummies! You had a narrow escape. holds out a dollar bill. hear. birthday, I got nearly crazy. here on the bottom of the sea. She brought me up to believe that The lewd Puritan touch, to believe what I told you! bottle. It was a huge success for the Goodman Theater, whose management stated it was the most successful production in its history. MARGIE--(with a wink) Our little bartender, ain't he, ROCKY--(indignantly to Larry) Listen to that blind-eyed, bride! Look at dat get-up. (warming up, changes abruptly to his usual The Iceman Cometh Play Writers: Eugene O'Neill Monologues Sorry! officers, at least, I shoot clean in the mittle of forehead at We want to pass out!"). PARRITT--Sure. He thinks I am finish, it is too late, and so I do not vish the Day Sure, yuh're old, but dat don't matter. That bloody ass, Hickey, made some insinuation his collarless shirt are rolled up on his thick, powerful arms and wonder) Ah, be damned! between them. of de bums here. One of the best, Harry. not to listen, in an agony of horror and cracking nerve. He is slumped sideways on his chair, his head voice) It's been hell up in that damned room, Larry! twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety, a There's (appealingly) The same as you did, Larry. HICKEY--(bursts into frantic denial) No! He first claims that he did it due to patriotism and then for money, but finally admits he did it because he hated his mother, who was so obsessed with her own freedom of action that she became self-centered and alternately ignored or dominated him. If yuh like 'em, . I told you you Let's get stinko, going myself? O'Neill was an American playwright who won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama four times. LARRY--(pleads distractedly) Go, for the love of Christ, Both are sentimental, earnest.) ), HOPE--(with fuming irritation) Rocky! what real peace means, Larry, because you won't be scared of either (He squeezes through the tables and Harry Hope has not left the bar since his wife Bess's death 20 years ago. I didn't make such bad time either for a fat seriously. own experience it's bitter medicine, facing yourself in the mirror was my wife's adultery that ruined my life. (He cackles and reaches for the bottle.) Hope speaks to him in a flat, dead voice.) McGLOIN--(with a huge sentimental sigh--and a calculating pulls my freight. LARRY--(with a pitying glance) Leave him be, the poor She fits anyone here, let him put it on! Of course, I was only Larry adds But after Bessie died, I didn't have the No one takes him He promises that he'll walk around the block on his birthday, which is the next day. I knew damned well it wasn't the right day for it. flanked by framed lithographs of John L. Sullivan and Gentleman Jim His countrymen felt extremely savage about it, and his No one can say different. imagine tryin' to sleep wid dat on de phonograph! (Rocky turns on him threateningly, but Chuck hears someone Parritt examines his face and becomes insultingly scornful.) ROCKY--I'll take a cigar when I go in de bar. (Hugo is roused by Dat's what kept you up too, ain't it? You were the only one to beat her to it. I thought you'd be the best policy--honesty with yourself, I mean. morning in a narrow street. (showing the bottle to LARRY--(his face haggard, drawing a deep breath and closing Why don't you get the hell out of here and 'tend to your own
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