robert shaw: the man in the glass booth

7/23/2019 Robert Shaw: The Man in the Glass Booth

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/robert-shaw-the-man-in-the-glass-booth 1/59

\The

Man

in

the

Glass

ooth

I

A DRAMA N

TW CTS

By Robert Show

S A M U E L F R E N C H

I N C .

25 WEST 5 ~ ~TREET

NEW Y O U 36

7623SUNSETOULEVARD HOLLYWOO

46

LONDON

TORONTO



Copyright

0 968 by

Robert Shaw

LL RIGHTS RESERVED

C AU TI O N : Professionuls and amateurs are hereby warned that THE MAN IN

THE

G I A S S BOOTH is subject to a royalty. It is ill y protected under the copyright laws

of th e United States of America. the British Commonw ealth, incl d i n g Ca nad a, and

ull other courrfries of th e Copyright Union. All rights, including professionul.

urnureur, motion pictures, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio broadcast-

ing, television, rd the rights of translation into foreign lunguuges are strictly

reserved. In

its

present fonn the play is dedicated to the reading public only .

THE MAN IN

T H E

GLASS BOOTH m y be given stage presentation b y amateurs

upo n puyment of

a

royalty of Fifry Dollars for the irst performance, and T hirty-jive

Dollar s for each uddirional performunce, payab le one week before the dare when

the play is given, to Samuel French, Inc ., ar 25 West 45th Street, New York,

N .

Y .

10000?6,r at 7 623 Sunset Boulevard, H ollywood, Ca lif.900490046 r to Sam uel French

(Cunuda) .Ltd..

8

RichmondStreet East, Toronto. Ontario, Cunuda

M C

I PI .

Royulty of the required amount must be paid whether the play is presented for

char ity or guin und whether or not admission is charged.

Stock royalty quoted on upplication to Samuel French, ln c .

For all other rights than

fhos

sripulored above, apply to Inter~larionalCreative

Management, 4 W est 57th Srreer. New York ,N . Y . 10019.

Pu nic ulu r em phas is is laid on the qu estion of amateur or professional readings,

permission and term s for which must

be

secured in writing from Samuel French ,

Inc .

Co pying from this book in whole or

in

part is strictly forbidden by la w , and the

right of performance is not transferable.

W hene ver the play is produced the ollowing notice must appear on all programs.

prirlting and advertising for the play: Produced by special arrangement with

Sam uel French. Inc.

Due nuthorship credit must be given o n all program s, printing arui advertising

for the play.

Printed

in

U.S .A .

IS N 57 61217 X



THE MAN IN THE GL SS BOOTH y Robert

Shaw directed

by

Harold

Pinter was

presented t the

Royale Theatre

New York.

/

73390

CHARACTERS

In

der of

Their

Appearance

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

OLDMAN

D m d d

Pleasance

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

AM Graham rown

ACK

Madison Arnold

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

HARLIEorn Lawrence Pressman

LOWERMAN John Coe

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

R.RESSE~

Jack

HoUander

UDIN F Muna y

Abraham

RS.ROSEN Romi

L.

Gilbert

TEIGER P a d

Manjred

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

UREI~

Michael Ebert

RESIDINGUDGE

Boris

Turnark

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

UDGES

Martin Rudy, Ben

Rapin

RS.LEVI

Florence Tarlow

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ROSE UTOR

Jack Hollander

LD

MAN

AROWSKI Madison Arnold

ZELNIKER

P.

Murray

Abraham

ANDAU Abe

Vigoda

RS.

EHMANN

Tresa Hughes

ERGEANT

Clinton

tkitrson

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

um s dter A Z h ,

Roberf

Anthony

Production Stage Manager

John

ezo Devereaux

The play

takes

place in New York and Israel

in

1964-

1965.

3



he

Man

in

the

Glass

ooth

CT ONE

T h e Verdi Requicm o n

a

fine Autumn morning.

A

bald-headed

MAN

n a silk dressing-gown p a y s beside

a

tomb.

A

masterpiece rests upon an emel.

A

glats

ELEVATOR rises in to one side of the room : doors

and haU lead off ; one of the doors is locked.

French windows open to a roof garden full of statues,

artijicid flowers and artificid trees. Beyond the

garden rise th e peaks of Manlzattan. A

ELL

soundi

the hour; eight o clock. In to the room come Two

SERVANTSarrying a masterpiece. They change this

masterpiece for the masterpiece already on the easel.

They leave the room. The

SERVANTS

re-eater,

ONE

with morning cofiee wwlrich he sets down beside

chair, and switches ot-r a STOCKMASTER; the

OTHER

it h silk jacket, a tie and a bowl of water.

T h e SERVANTSait; GOLDMANises from his knees.

He dusts the urn, and puts the duster into his dress-

ing-gown pocket, goes to lzis chair. His colored valet,

SAM, takes his silk dressing gown, washes his E M -

PLOYER S

hands, while

J A C K ,

Goldman s bu tler, pours

his EMPLOYER Soflee. GOLDMANits

itz

the chair

gazing all the while at tlre Stockmaster. JACK leaves

the room.

S M

ties his

EMPLOYER S

ie, slips on his

EMPLOYER Sacket.

CHARLIE

OHN,Goldman s sec-

retary, enters, carrying the New York dailies, which

he gives to SAM ho puts the m on the desk



6

THE

MAN IN THE

GLASS OOTH

ACT

CHARLIE.Good

morning,

Mr.Goldman.

(But there is no answer. CHARLLE

OHN

goes and seats

himself on the love seat, prepares to take notes.

GOLDMAN

s his

coffee.)

GQLDMAN.

Switch off the Requiem. (SAM witches ofl

the

REQUIEM, and

then the

STOCKMASTER. h e

market s very good.

SAM.Should I sell?

GOLDMAN. old. I11 pass you the word.

GOLDMAN

urns

and

stares at the

painting,

presses a beU.

Rises.

CHARLIEises. JACK

enters.)

JACK.Yes,Mr. Goldman?

GOLDMAN.m

bored

with

the

Rembrandt, brivg in a

Poussin.

JACK.

Which one,

sir?

GOLDMAN.

AfC8dia.

JACK

und m

take down the Rembrandt, erit. Pause.)

CHARLIE.

(Crossing to desk.)

Happy birthday, Mr.

Goldman.

GOLDMAN.

OW S

omma?

CHARLIE.Never better, thank you, Mr. Goldman.

GOLDMAN.

hat

woman

ou ht to

go

on a diet. Birth-

da y? You say it s my birthday?

CHARLIE.Yes, Mr. Goldman.

GOLDMAN.

Reading

the front

page.)

Friday the

2 th

of November

1964.

How old

am

I,

Charlie?

C ~ ~ I E .ou re fifty-two, Mr.Goldman.

GOLDMAN.

hank

you, Charlie. (SAM

e-enters.)

What s

the temperature outside?

Sm

Fahrenheit r Centigrade?

GOLDMAN.

YOUknow my preference.

Sm Forty-one and half,



CT THE

MAN

IN THE GL SS BOOTH

GOLDMAN.

O down to the cuisine and sample the

cheesecake.

SAM

Yes, sir

SAM goes out, taking the valet stand.)

GOLDMAN

Crossing

below

desk to

u

L.

c.

Forty-one

and a half. Pause.) If wasn't so old I'd don*myvicuna.

Matilda always adored me

in

my vicuna.

Pause . )

It's a

house without

a

woman, Charlie.

Pause.) I

ought to get

a new

wife.

CHARLIE

es, Mr

Goldman

GOLDMAN Sits

o

the love seat.)

should bring in

naked servants. Naked black female servants

CHARLIE

hat would be very delightful,

Mr.

Goldman.

GOLDMAN.

iss America. Miss America 1964 That's

what

I

need. I'd

knock

her up in no time.

Waving his

hand.)

It's all these empty closets that's gettin' me down.

All

these coathangers with no frocks on 'em.

man with-

out

a

woman

a man

without a woman

GOLD-

MAN

sighs.)

Maybe got to go for intelligence

maybe I need one of those reporters one of those

Time and Life-long-legged-Washington-Posts

one of those articulates.

GOLDMANigh again. Rises,

crosses to desk and sits.)

When are we due a t the Banks?

CHARL~E

leven-o-five at th Irving Trust. Eleven-

twenty-two the

Bank

of Montreal Eleven-forty-seven the

Trade and twelve-thirty-five the Chase Manhattan.

GOLDMAN.

hen do

see Levinsky?

CHARLIE

e's coming from Boston this afternoon, Mr.

Goldman,

GOLDMAN.

all Schwab--tell him I'm

in.

CHARLIE

or how much, Mr. Goldman?

G O L D M AN .

All the way, all the way. He's my blood

brother, Charlie. Charlie, the thing about wife

is

Where do

I

go tonight?

CHARLIESits on love seat.)

The opera tonight, Mr.

Goldman. You're escorting the Duchess. And there's

twenty-two begging letters

this

morning.

GOLDMAN.

ive

'em

all somethin' but not too much.

Pause.)

Listen, when you call Schwab tell

him

my limit's



THE MAN N TH GLASS

BOOTH ACT

a hundred thousand:

I

think you're right there, I

think

you made a substantial point Hey, I don't like that

Bernstein, do you?

CHARLIE. O

I

don't, M r. Goldman.

GOLDMAN

O. NO ,

I

don't like that Bernstein.

CEIARLIE. don't trust him, Mr. Goldman.

GOLDMAN. don't trust

him

neither, Charlie.

Pause . )

Charlie, maybe

I

ought to go for one.of those news an-

nouncers-maybe

I

ought to get me one of these weather-

girls. Hey, call OY Brien-white-curtained walls for Lexing-

ton.

CHARLIE. op to bottom?

GOLDMAN.

ll

but the penthouses.

U p

there well have

gold. Gotta give the

somethin' to live in-you

follow?

CHARLIE.Yes, I follow.

GO LD MAN . ho's comin' to the game tomorrow?

CHARLIE.Mr. Winkler, Mr. Hochschild, the Senators

and the Mayor.

GOLDMAN.

Upset

)

No ladies

CHARLIE.N O, sir. N ot as yet.

GOLDMAN.harlie Charlie Inv ite somebody beautiful,

will ya I can't spend the entire afternoon w i d those

bums. Imagine the drive back, Charlie.

CHARLIE.

f I

may say

so

i t will be cold out there

in

the

Stadium , M r. Goldman-the forecast

GOLDMAN.

O get me some sables with interior electric

currents--build in some cabinets of champagne and pu t a

few scent sprays in the collars.

I

gotta have somebody

pretty to look at , Charlie And nothin' common

I

gotta

have somebody with a face. Somebody with bones. Some-

body aristocratic, Charlie See if Garb's in town.

CHARLLERises and rosses

L

of GOLDMA N.) es, M r.

Goldman. Mr. Goldman, on Sunday your guests will be

picked up by the autobus in geographical order-I have

worked tha t ou t very carefully-they will arrive a t the

lake-side

in

Westchester at approximately ten-twenty-



CT

THE

MAN I N THE

GL SS

Boom 9

seven-I have synchronized the fireworks personally

and

will set off the first rocket

as the

autobus

descends the hillb

GOLDMAN.

Thank

you,

Charlie.

(He

smiles.

hyv

like

m y

bus.

CHARLIE

think they will,

Mr.

Goldman.

GOLDMAN. don't suppose none of 'em's bin in

a

bus

for twenty years.

CHARLIE.erhaps longer, Mr. Goldman. Perhaps never.

GOLDMAN.S

there a bed

m

there for

Mrs.Weissbart?

CHARLIE.Of

COUIW,

Mr.

Goldman. Up beside

the

driver.

GOLDMAN.Good. Yeah, well theyll all like my bus.The

first bus I

ever remember had a

clock in

it. went to

Tannhauser and the bus had

a clock.

My

mother

used

to

sing like Flagstad. Listen, when

I'm

at the architect's get

down

to

Parke Bernet. Make me a

bid

for that Tjlgenvare

jug.

CHARLIE.

The

one with the silver mount.

GOLDMAN.

he

f

5

60.

CHARLIE.What

shall

go to?

GOLDMAN.

ust get it.

He looks at is watch.)

How

long do we have now?

CHARLIE.

or ty-two minutes.

GOLDMAN.All right. All right, dear Charlie, while I m

ponderin' on Madison read me some more

of this

brochure

you're writing for us.

GOLDMAN

icks

up

a newspaper.)

CHARLIE. Taking his brochure

out

o the folder

and

sits on love seat.) It

w s

n the golden spring of 1947,

at

about

the time

the

Pelican

building

project

was

about

to

rise-

GOLDMAN. N o t looking up front the paper.)

Cut out

that

golden. And ascendy'-((about to ascend.''

I'm

not

too old for the ladies, Charlidon't think that. No, I'm

not too old for the Princesses. It's just that gotta have

class

CHARLIE.

Was about to ascend into the blue

skies-

GOLDMAN.

Cut out that blue.))

CHARLIE.

Was

bout to

ascend

into the

skies that the



10

TH

MAN

IN TH GLASS

BOOTH

CT

beginnings of the lease to the MacTavish Publishing

Com

pany were planted-"

GOLDMAN.

That the seeds of the

lease

were "sown,"

Charlie. Seeds

and

sown.

If

you have

a

seed

you

s w

i t

. you follow?

CHARLIE.

es.

GOLDMAN.abies. Maybe

I

gotta have babies.

CHARLIE.In

1947

Mr. Arthur Goldman, who

was then

only a junior broker-"

COLDMAN.

aybe ought to have

a

fertility test.

CHARLIE.

--was negotiating

a

sub-lease with the Mac-

Tavish Organization on

Fifth

Avenue-"

GOLDMAN. illy Goldstein's

dead

CHARLIE.

Oh,

dear-

GOLDMAN.Very orthodox, Very donating, that Billy.

Jesus The Pope's forgiven the Jews. Jesus.

he

Pope

has

forgiven the Jews.

CHARLIE. --because the MacTavish

Organization

wanted

to

move to

Park

Avenue. I t

was

a t

t is

point that

Mr. Arthur Goldman had

the

fvst

of

his

many

brilliant

ideas. While canvassing M anhattan for potential customers

for the building about to

be

vacated by MacTavish,

he

happened to get into the elevator with the young lad y who

worked at

the

acTavish

reception

desk. Good morning,

Mr.-' Looks at GOLDMANnd rises.) Excuse me, are

you feeling faint?

GOLDMAN.ontinue.

CHARLIE. Good morning, M r.

Goldman,'

she

said, 'and

how is everything with you

this

fine morning?'

GOLDMAN. hat a horrible voice you got, Charlie.

CHARLIE.'m sorry Mr. Goldman.

GOLDMAN. et's have quiet

till

we get to

the Banks.

Pause.)

So the Pope has forgiven the Jews. And to t ink

poor Billy Goldstein didn't live to know it.

JACK and

SAM

enter with the Arcadia.

GOLDMAN d COHN

watch

in silence as they hang

it

up.

GOLDMAN

oes to

A r c h ,

places

a

hand

o JACK'S

skoulder,

looks

at

it. This

guy

Poussin needed beauty-he

wanted

to return

to

innocence.



CT

I THE

MAN

IN

THE

GLASS BOOTH

Calm and sunny, beautiful young men dignified

young women shepherds death reigns but

has

not terror. Even in Arcady death is. You follow? Do

you think they'll cable poor Billy Goldstein

in

Arcady,

J d ?

JACK.

Was

he a painter

too,

Mr. Goldman?

GOLDMAN.Grinning.)

Ta ke i t out and leave an empty

space,

in

memory of

poor

Billy Goldstein. (JACKand SAM

go, taking Arc with them .) Get

th

Pope on the tele-

vision.

CHARLIE. hat?

GOLDMAN.

e

have thirteen channels-he

has to be

on

one of 'em.

(CH ARL IE O H N oes to the

TELEVISION,

turns it on. The

HOUSE PHONE

rings; Corn answers

i t . )

Nobody

in

bere but us Jews.

CHARLIE.

es T he fresh flowers, M r. Goldman.

GOLDWIN.

Okay,

okay. So get me the Pope

CHARLIE.Elevator's coming down.

CHARLIE

angs

up

the

hm e- ph on e, goes to the

television.)

Many

Happy

Re-

turns Mr. Goldman.

GOLDMAN Thank

you, thank you. Try the educational.

Try

thirteen. When was

th

Pope made infallible? Don't

answer that question.

( T h e

ELEVATOR

leaves the room

and

sli es

down. So the Pope has absolved the Jews, eh?

CHARLIE Yes

GOLDMAN.And I always thought it was J.C. himself

who

did

that Jesus, there

he

is

We

got him

in

color.

GOLDMAN

mm

to the television beside CHARLIE COHN

They watch the broadcast from Rome,

COMMENTATOR.nd now the Pope takes

his

seat

be-

tween

his two senior Cardinal deacons, Alfredo Cardinal

Ottav iani, seventy-four years old, and Alberto

Cardinal

de

Jorio, eighty years old. T he Pope is dressed in his-

GOLDMAN.

urn down the sound. I make my own com-

ments from now on Let's cut out all this schtick. As



2 THE

MAN IN THE

GLASS BOOTH ACT I

C ~ I E

OHN turns down the SOUN so that it be-

comes indistinguishable, the

ELEVATOR

slides into the

room again and a MAN of Goldm an s ow n weight and age,

dressed

n

a smsrrt suit, loaded

with

artificial flower plants,

steps out of it

CHARLIE

urries to help and to lead him

to the roof-garden but GOLDMANdoes not turn round

and

sits absorbed. making his comments.)

Hey, he's giving the

Virgin Mary a new title-1 can

see

that Monsignor

Dante's fumbling for his handkerchief- Monsignor

Dante's bustin' into tears

. The

Arabs must

be

. . .

bustin' into

tears .

The Fuehrer said: Es darf

Nunmehr fur die welt hein Fuehrer oder ein mann,

j tz

spricht das deutsche Volk

.

The Fuehrer said

.

.

.

No longer

speaks

one man but the German people

. .

Th e Fuehrer said, Your Holiness: In order to carry on

his existence as a parasite on other peoples, the Judlein is

forced to deny his inner nature. The more intelligent the

individual

Jew

s the more

.

. the more he will succeed

i

this deception.''

(T ur nin g around to

CHARLIE. od

bless America, we got him

in

color, Charlie.

( A s

GOLDMAN

turns

h

sees

CHARLIE

nd the

MAN

who brought the

jbwers in coming back rom the roof-garden, and some-

thing about this FLOWERMAN startles

GOLDMAN.) ey.

.

know you,

FLDWER

MAN.

Sir?

GOLDMAN.I

h o w you.

(P awe . )

You know know

you.

FLOWERMAN.

I've delivered here before.

(Pause

GOLDMAN.

My mistake, then.

CHARLIE.All right, Mr. Goldman?

GOLDMAN.My mistake. CHARLIE OHN ods to the

FLOWER

AN,

ho leaves.) I'm

sorry,

Mr. Cohn. A like-

ness

CHARLIE.

ir?

GOLDMAN.ace my

coffee.

( A s COHNpours brandy into

Goldman s coffee,

GOLDMAN

sits down, staring ahead,

frowing. Rising.)

A

moment of privacy, please.



ACT

I

TH

MAN

I N

THE GLASS

OOTH

3

( C o r r ~

eaves the rootn.

GOLDMAN

wallows cogee and

brandy .

A

long silence, then the ELEVATOR re-

enters the room, the FL OW E R

MAN

gets out again.)

FLOWERM A N . I lef t my hat .

GOLDMAN.our ha t?

FL OW E RM A N . Yes.

T h e

FLOWERM A N

crosses Up-

s t a ~ c s t c p and turns back . )

GO LDMAN . ou ve lost weight.

FL OW E RM A N .Sir?

T h e

FL OW E R

M A Nsmiles.)

GO LD M AN . very time

I

say somethin to you , you

smile

at

me. T h e FLOWERM A N smiles

again.

Where s

your ha t?

FLOWER

AN.

must have left it someplace else.

T h e

FL OW E RM A N enters the ELEVATOR and disappears.)

( GOL DMAN

tares blankly about him, goes to the tele-

vision set.

GOLDMAN

witches

08 the T E L E V l S l O N ,

shouts: )

GOLDMAN.harlie. JVlzen CHARLIECOHN enters, mn

nitzg t o R .

of

desk . )

Check

up

on that

guy

CHARLIE. he Flower Man?

GOLDMAN.Crossitzg below desk to above love seat.)

P u t Arnold

onto it

. .

have him followed. I m not going

to the Banks. I m not goin to th e office on this da y

.

And you stay

here.

CHAR LIE. i r?

GOLDMAN.ell M omma you re sleepin here from now

on. Pause. ) I need you, Jewish Charlie. Pause.) It s all

this wealth . it goes to one s Pause.) Was he

wearin a hat When he came in here , was he wearin a

h a t ?

CHA RLIE. don t think so, M r. Goldman.

Pause.

GOLDMAN. OUsee, Charlie, the thing about

m y Amer



4 THE MAN IN THE GLASS BOOTH ACT

ican wife, Matilda, was she restored me. T h e L

V TO R

ascends.) Who s this? M y cousin aga in?

CHARLIE. Look ing at his watch.) It ll be Doctor Kes-

sell Mr. Goldman.

B u t GOLDMANas crossed abruptly to the locked door.

He opens the various locks and enters. The EL -

V A T O R doors open and DR. KESSELets out.)

KESSEL.Morning, Charlie.

CHARLLE. orning, Dr. Kessel.

(GOLDMAN

omes out of the locked room carrying a gun.)

KESSEL. P u t s his bag on tile desk.) Morning, Mr.

Goldman. What s the m atter, Mr. Goldman?

GOLDMAN.nybody who needs vitamins has got some-

thing wrong with them. Give em to Charlie. Pause. DR.

KESSEL laughs.) Take your syringe and stick it up

Charlie.

Pause. GOLDMANaves his gun.) kid you not.

CHA RLIE. don t mind, Doctor Kessel.

KESSE L. t s only

B 12.

CHARLIE

OHN takes off his jacket, takes down his

trousers.

DR. KESSEL

gives him the injection. A

pause. Then

GOLDMAN

aughs and laugizs.

GOLDMAN

puts his gun away.)

GOLDMAN.orry to bother you, fellas. Just a psychi-

atrist re-proving a point to his friends. Sit down, Doc. One

moment, I ll pour you a d rink. You took me back a b it

right there.

H e brings trolley Downstage to

R.

oj desk.)

KESSEL. t s a little early for me to drink, Mr. Gold-

man.

S it s desk chair.)

GOLDMAN.ll pay for your time. Put it on the bill.

Jack Charlie, weren t yau going to your tailor-today-

your tailor one of ours?

H e closes t he vault:)

CHARLIE.es Mr. Goldman.



ACT

I

THE MAN IN

TH

GLASS BOOTH 15

GOLDMAN. all him up-tell

him

we're having

a

party.

Tell

him

we'll have your fitting up here. Tell him I'll pay

him for

his

time. You know that flower guy's name,

Charlie?

CHARLIE.NO, M r. Goldman.

GO LDMAN . h a t flower guy's name was Dorff. D.0.-

R.F.F. Dorff. Cousin Adolf, Charlie. Cousin Adolf Dorff.

(CHARLIEoes to

thc

phone.

JACK enters.)

JACK.Yes, Mr. Goldman?

GOLDM AN. ourbon, and beers for chasers. (JA CK

oes

to the trolley and starts to pour. CHARLIEegins to :alk

to h s tailor t

phone.)

You see, Doc, I can't go out.

I'm under observation. 'l'hey're on

to

me.

l c?

g t a stay

here with you guys and work somethin' out. Don't

think

I m fevered. As

I

recall, the Fuehrer said-

To JACK.)

Get lost, Jack. (GOLDNANakes the

bourbon

m ACK,

and

JACK

goes gut.) The Fuehrer %id:

ir, 5

J+i

people

the

will

to self-sacrifice does not go beyond the

in-

dividual's naked instinct for self-preservation." Not

a

bad

writer. (GOLDMANands out the drinks.) The Fuehrer

said:

Is

there a ny form of f l th , any form of profligacy,

particularly in cultural life, without at least one Jew n-

volved

in

i t? C ut even cautiously into such

an

abscess, you

find like a maggot in a rotting body, often, dazzled by the

sudden ligh t-+in Judlein. " Those vitamins got to you

yet?

CHARLIE.Not yet.

GOLDMAN.ot feelin' sexy?

CHARLIE.NO, Mr.

Goldman.

GOLDMAN.t's slow

then

slow . I known 'ein take

quicker

than this. (GOLDMAN

akes a comb out of

CHARLIE'S

ocket, holds it icnder his nose as a moustakhe,

throws out his arm in a llitler salute and shotrts,

high-

pitched

.)

Remember me

KESSEL.Yes, 1-1 remember all that, Mr. Goldman-

(B u t abruptly GOLDMAN o w m

I ~ S

rink,

and

gozs into



6

TH MAN I N TH GLASS BOOTH CT I

the locked room. KESSEL ooks at CH A R LIE O H N ,

CO H N

ives

KESSEL

bewildered slzrzrg.)

CHARLIE.He's never not gone to the banks.

KESSEL.What's he doing with that

gun?

CHARLIE. Po in tin g at tlze locked door.) Out of there.

I

never h e w he had one.

KESSEL.What else is in there?

C::RLIE. I don't know. J A C K nters wi th a tray of

beer, whiclr he t ak es t o tlze tro lle y. CHARLIEtops talking,

looks at J A C K , who is opening the beer, nnd then con-

tinues speaking.)

I've never been in there. None of us

has ever been in there.

Pause . )

Valuables,

I

suppose.

Pause . )

Maybe some things of

hi a.t_p :.:if:, xzri a.'s.

don't

Know,

I've never been in here. (JACK xits.)

KESSEL.Who cleans it?

CH AR LIE. e cleans it.

KESSEL.Who's this cousin Dorff?

CHAXLIB arn Lewiidrre6

Doctor Kessel.

B u t

GOLDMAN

omes back.)

GOLDMAN ne quarter of the city's Jewish . . . I've

been considering my buildings, my palaces

. . .

I've been

givin' my work a moment's thought. When's your tailor

comin' up?

CHARLIE, ight away, Mr. Goldman.

GOLDMAN.

ave him checked at the door. Is he a blue-

blooded American three-generation Hebrew?

C H A R L I E .

h, yes, Mr. Goldmati.

G O L D M A N .now his voice?

CHARLIEAnywhere.

GOLDMAN.heck i t on the phone. Have him speak to

you.

I

want no more Flower Guys up here. Not with no

wreaths. (GOLDMAN

e@ls

l

glasses.)

Perhaps I'm miss-

ing my Matilda today, Doc. A good clean-livin' all

em-

bra&'--

Orig ind ly Swedish .

American gal. Naive

enough to restore me. Didn't know too

much

. .

.

you



A I TH MAN IN THE GLASS B m 7

follow? But

sexy.

Very lovin'. Very passionate. Very

sen-

sual-spiritual. Made a great noise. That's why polish her

urn, Doc.

(GOLDMAN

rinks deep.)

Which

one of my

palaces do you prefer, Doc?

Which

one

of

m y

temples

most tzkes your eve?

KESSEL. like very much that new apartment house on

Lexington and Fifty-seventh.

GOLDMAN.

OUdon't hear none of your

neighbors

love

life in those bathrooms. Yes,

I

remember

then a l,

Doc.

I shared Scott Fitzgerald's bed, sat

naked with

him

in

the Astor Bar-that's why I made no bid for the Astor-

KESSEL.When are you taking your vacation,

Mr.

Gold-

man?

GOLDMAN.

harlie, did you know Scotty and

I

swam

n

Zelda's panties, in the Pulitzer Fountain before the P l a

Hotel? I had

the

pink,

he

'had the purple.

CHARLIE. didn't know that, sir No, I didn't know

you knew the Fitzgeralds.

GOLDMAN.Oh, yes indeedy. We drove

on

the roofs of

onr

landaus

from

Broadway to Washington Square.

Call

me a

liar,

Chariie.

ui, ?5:9u,~hHarlem where

they

all

threw t i c k e r t a p t h e only good

H i ~ ~ : ' s tii

one-

we

finished at Childs for breakfast. After the cheesecak,

I said to Scotty: "Let's go to the morgue," and by

God

he and Papa rattles

us

all downtown and we had a cup of

coffee

with

the stiffs.

KESSEL. think you

are a

little bit fevered, Mr. Gold-

man.

GOLDMAN.Don t you call

me a

liar.

KESSEL.

wouldn't dream of it.

GOLDMAN.Don't you call me a liar. Let's sit quiet.

Let's pay our respects. (GOLDMAN i ts o the love seat

CH RLE D L. Long pause.) Doc, I m seeking both

to

in-

spire and distract myself.

KESSEL. rom what?

GOLDMAN.

From the arbei

t-macht-frei

gr y

stone

edi-

fices he innumerable three-floor-high-identidedi-

fices. Charlie, y u

call

this a metropolis hat

p h



8 THE MAN

IN

THE

GLASS

BOOTH ACT I

that place was

bundless.

Being an athlete

stood me in good stead. Sing me the Internationale,

Charlie, move me, render

me,

rape my senses.

From

tbe

dead,

Doc, from the dead. It s

my

b i y ,

you

see

1- EL.

Oh.Macy

happy ~ t r r ~ b .

C H W ~ .

m sorry

I

don t know

that

song,

Mr

Gold-

man.

GOLDMAN. hen you re in neglect. It s

the

living w ho

are in neglect. It s not ended, you @ow. Rises, crosses

c.) What can we do for the living? (Very quietly.

The

last time saw Dorff . the last time but one saw

m y

cousin

Dorff,

he

was

goin from

bed

to

bed,

rom

litter

to litter, from

place

to place with

his

pistol. He was

tappin them on their domes with the barrel,

he

was

testin

*eir brains out, he was listenin to

see

what

was

hollow.

One,

wo, three, not another sound but the

echo. Bang,

bang, bang and I bring

up

the trolley.

(The

PHON

rings.

CHARLIE

oes to the phone, N k s it up.)

Check

rhc

voice

CHARLIE.

Hello.

What?

No

No. You

must

bave

the

wrong number. This is -W ,dUl'rhUr Goidman's residence.

GOLDMA::

(E~ s i f ing , m t c h e s away

the

p h s

and

h c i s

up.

What you tell

him

that

for?

Idiot. You don t

tell nobody nothin from now on.

CHARLIE. m sorry.

GOLDMAN. foreign voice?

CHARLIE.NO an American voice.

GOLDMAN.

Crosses to the trolley.)

hat

wasn t

no

wrong number. And

that

was a foreign voice. (Pause.)

The first time

I

saw that Dorff was early wanted to

knock

up my sister. He was thirteen years old at the time

I do believe he made it.

Silence.

Then HOUS

PH ONE

rings.

CHARLIECOHN

ooks

at his EB~,OYEP.

Pick

i t

up.

CHARLIE. t s Mr. Rudin, Mr. Goldman.

GOLDMAN.

Rudin?

CHARLIE.

M y

tailor, Mr. Goldman.

GOLDMAN.s he Kosher?



ACT I

THE

MAN IN THE GLASS BOOTH

19

CHARLIE.

One hundred percent,

Mr.

Goldman.

GOLDMAN.

obody s one hundred percent. Ask

him

if

he s

got

tape

with

him.

CHARLIE.ave

you

got your

tape with

you? Oh,

yes

Mr.

Goldman.

GOLDMAN. ave him come up.

CHABLIE Mr.

Goldman says to come up.

CHARLIEuts

down

the phone. Pause. he ELEVATOR

descetsds.

GOLDMAN

ours another

Bourbon

into

a

jresh gkus. GOLDMANaughs. Pawe.

GOLDMAN

be-

comes absorbed. The elevator ascendr, GOLDMAN

takes oul

his

pistol.)

GOLDMAN.n Israel

they can t even define it.

J

E

W.

Can t define that word in

Israel.

They

got

Coun-

cils workin

at

it: Boards and Councils.

(To CHARLIE,)

Identify

him.

We re all Germans, Charlie.

All Germans

and

all

J

E

W s.

So

identify

him.

CHARLIEuns to the ELEVATOR; r soon r i t arriaes,

he calls hurriedly.)

CHAPLIE.

It s Rudin, Mr. Goldman.

Putting away the gun, beaming,

GOLDMAN

dvances to-

ward t b levator with outstretched hand.)

GOLDMAN.What do you

think

of

the

Pope s edict,

Rudin3

RUDIN.

Who needs

i t?

GOLDMAN

Spoken

like

a Democrat. Charlie, put on

Deany C 12, B 13,

Have you got

a

quarter

CHARLIE.

es.

sir. Right here.

CHARLIE

O H N oes to

the

JUK BOX, puts ha a quarter, and presses the but-

h-

GOLDMAN.

Do

you go

to

the ball games

Rudin?

Rmm Yu, ir



20

THE

MAN

IN TH

GLASS BOOTH ACT

GOLDMAN.

ee

the last

of

Y. A. Tittle?

RUDIN.

Yes,

ir,

I

did

GOLDMAN.Gives RUDINa drink nd takes the suit.)

Catch up, we're

ahead

of you. Jack Seat yourself. W hat

are you wearing under the vicuna? Silk?

RUDIN.NO, sir, m ohair.

J A C K enters. A Dean Martin RECORD comes on. )

GOLDMAN.Take

the

h v i t e tailor's vicuna. GOLDMAN

holds

up hik hand, dances a whil with the suit, takes

RUDIN'S

coat and gives them to JACK, who exits. Smjling

at

RUDIN.)Can't wear a vicuna when you're old. Rudin,

I discovered the secret of America twenty-five years ago

a silk suit and a vicuna what a young man

needs to make it. In the winter you wear the coat

when you get into the steam-heat you take the coat off

in the summer you carry the vicuna over your arm

and when you get into the air-conditioning you put the

vicuna on only way to sta y alive in America

the thing was,Rudin Yiddle, Doc Yiddle, Charlie Yiddle,

a

large part died because of the hazards of the weather

Take the measurements, Rudin.

RUDIN.I already have Mr Cohn's measurements, Mr

Goldman.

GOLDMAN. ot Charlie's. Mine.

KESSEL ight I replenish my glass? KESSELoes so

and sits D.

a.

RUDINbegins to measure GOLDMANnd w i t e s the figures

in a small notebook.)

GOLDMAN.

n this day

me

get

loaded This

is the day

I

was chosen you follow? This is the day I was

born Correct me

if I m

wrong, Rudin. Charlie, gently. I

gotta protect myself. (CHARLIEOHN djusts the CON

TROLS.Dean Martin sings gently.) Correct me if I'm

wrong, Rudin.

When

Y.

A

Tittle comes back the New



ACT

I THE

MAN

IN

THE

GLASS OOTH 21

York Giants are down. He hits Joe Morrison on the

Browns forty-nine.

He

calls Gifford on a square-out to

the sidelines in fron t of Pa rrish . H e gets the ball on a

two coun t. He goes straigh t back. H e s covered by three,

he

holds up the ball, he throws to the sideline as

Gifford

fakes all of his life

was

in tha t pass that

I

know, boys..Y.A. s last game you follow? T he ball

was almost in Gifford s hands when B ernie Par rish picked

it out of the air, and Bernie Parrish ran straig ht down

the

line. So Y.A. lost the ball on a square-out. He s been play-

ing square-outs for thirty years. Fifty-two-twenty the

final

At the end Gary Wood

is

running the team,

and

he,

Y.

A

Tittle, is benched.

Okay

Rudin?

RUD IN. Right.

GOLDMAN.Don t forget the head.

RUDIN.What?

(GOLDMAN oints to his head. Another Dean Martin

RE ORD

comes on, softly.)

GOLDMAN..A.

said he wished he could have given the

people

a

little more to finish up with. Gentlemen, my will

is in m y treasure house. A H ebrew, yo ur highnesses, can t

get converted because how

can

he bring himself to believe

in the

divinity of another Hebrew

erman

fellow-

citizens,

I

. in Germ an law there is a time limit

as a zoologist, there are no villains no villains

and no heroes Gentlemen, once I was passionate.

I

WAS

PASSIONATE. Abrupt ly , GOLDMANcreams in

anguish: DR. KESSELises, CHARLIEises, RUDINrises.)

Sit down.

RUDINsits on the love seat.)

Be seated, Doc, I

don t

need

you. (KESSEL

its.)

Just an old wound opening

up I ll close it . I ll close it when I work it out

you follow? (SAM

and JACK ome running

in

to C

GOLD-

M A N

crosses up.)

You guys kosher?

SAM.NO sir.

GOLDMAN. Aflectwnately

.)

Get lost,

then

Take

the

day T A K E

THE DAY OFF.

Go to the race-track, fellas.



22

TH MAN IN THE GLASS

BOOTH

ACT

I

Here.

GOLDMAN

hrows them a roU of banknotes.) Get in

the elevator and h ave the d ay on me. SAMand

JACK

get

into the ELEVATOR

and

descend. WLDMANakes note-

book from RUDIN nd sits at the desk.)

What size

sho s

do

I take,

Charlie?

CHARLIE.even and

a

half.

GOLDMAN.

Read to me, Charlie? Give me time to

re-

flect.

I

got the image. It's

the

details that bother me.

CHARJ-mCOHN

witches ofi the

JUKEBOX

GOLDMAN

smiles. CELABLIE Corn comes back to his brochure,

reads.)

CHARLIE

L.

of desk.) Mr. Arthur Goldman's

latest

building is

a thirty-two million dollar transaction. I t

is

called the 'Friday Evening

Building as

a result of a lease

for about one quarter of the building's total space to Mac-

Tavish Publishing Company, publishers of the world-

famous 'Friday Evening Playgirl' and several other lead-

ing-

GOLDMAN.

Rudin, make Charlie a couple of cashm eres

and a vicuna. Since I'm old, make me a Saxony, and a

blue gaberdine with

a

removable fur. How are your pa-

tients

taking

it, Doc

KESSEL. aking what?

GOLDMAN.

OW re

your

clients gonna take it,

Rudin?

RUDIN.Some of my custom ers are over-eager for ac-

ceptance, M r. Goldman.

GOLDMAN. Pleased.) You're smart, Rudin you

follow my drift.

The

Pope's edict, Doc. Religion. Rell-

gion's the stabilizing force, Rudin.

If

you can't get

in

through the clubs, you gotta get

in

through the charities.

You're sm art, Rudin. D'you

carry a gun?

RUDIN.NO.

GOLDMAN.

m

looking

for a

bodyguard.

No

special

Jewish guilt in the Crucifixion,

eh

Rudin, do you spit on

that

RUDIN.

Yes I

do,



ACT

THE

MAN N THE

GLASS

BOOTH 3

GOLDMAN.OC, o you spit on that?

KESSEL

O, I don t,

Mr.

Goldman,

I

think-

GOLDMAN.

Coldly . )

Doc,

I spit

on all these Cardinals

and

all these Rabbis.

(Pause.)

Where you goin for your

vacation, Rudin?

Palm

Beach? Know any good Krauts,

Rudin?

RUDIN.Miami.

GOLDMAN.ake your golf clubs?

RUDIN.

Yes, sir.

C ~ L D M A N

Great. You ll do

well.

Charlie. Charlie, do

you spit on all

these

Cardinals

and all

these

Rabbis?

CHARLIE.

h,

yes, M r. Goldm an; yes,

I

spit on

all

these

Cardinals and Rabbis.

Long pause.)

GQLDW. Thank you, Charlie.

(Pause.GOLDMANires

draws his pistol, whistling Rosamunda. )

On your feet,

scum. (The Two MEN

jump

up.) This isn t

a

rest cure.

Back to work, scum. Nobody gets out except through the

chimney.

If

you don t like it,

try

the electric wire. GOLD-

MAN laughs.) Sorry to bother you, fellas. I ve gotta get rid

of you-I m alm ost there it s

a

matter of cunning

from here on in.

KESSEL.Mr. Goldman I

want

to give you

a

pre-

scription

GOLDMAN.

Pressing the button for the elevator.)

Never

argue

with

a

drunk, Doc-haven t

been

saner in my life.

You come around tomorrow. Charlie, get

Mr.

Rudin s

vicuna. Back to your rags Rudin. Got my measurements?

RUDIN.

Yes,

sir.

GOLDMAN.

Laughing.) Let

me have them. (RUDIN

does so.) I

need them for

m y

diet.

Two saxonies,

a vicuna

and a coffin.

Doc

look in tomorrow. Drop in before

Miami, Rudin. (KESSEL

and RUDIN go down in ELE-

V A T O R . CHARLIE

@ts the glasses,

cup

and

saucer on the

drink

troUey and wheels t Upstage

into

positwn.) What

do pay you?



24

THE MAN IN THE

GLASS

BOOTH ACT

CWIE.

Four hundred, Mr. Goldman.

GOLDMAN.

our hundred Four hundred dollars a week

CHARLIE.es, Mr. Goldman.

GOLDW.

(Whistling.)

I m

generous, ain't

I

Charlie?

CHABLm.

YOUcertainly

are Mr.

Goldman.

Pause.

GOLDMAN

t w a at C m m , then smiles

happily

GOLDMAN.

YOU

see,

Charlie it don't really matter

whether that Flower Guy

was

my cousin Dorff or not.

(GOLDMAN

akes ofl

his

jacket.)

Shu t the louvers.

CHARLIE.H e does so.)

Shall pu t on

a

light?

GOLDMAN.

Yes, a soft light. ( C m m

does so.)

Did

you buy me a birthday present? Crossing to CHABLm

above desk.)

CHARLIEes, Mr. Goldman.

Go .

YOUdid?

CHABLIE Of course,

Mr.

Goldman. Shall I get

it?

Gomw .

NO . Later. Later. Thank you, Charlie. Thank

you. Go to the study, get a new line on that phone,

a

new

number. Keep it to yourself and when you've got it-

call

me

overseas. Let's

have

a

breeze.

Put on the fan.

( C m m does as atked.) Not freezin', young Charlie.

None of your high winds of Asia blowin' over the face of

the earth-no whip to it , you

see. I was

great at tennis,

Charlie. Could have been a pro.

(GOLDMANakes of his

waistcoat and t ie.)

CUE.

Yes?

GOLDMAN.eep oyal to

me

and

I ch nge

my

will.

You

follow

?

CHARLIE.es,Mr.

Goldman.

GOLDMAN Gently placing

his

hand o C ~ . ~ ~ I E S

shoulder.) A

man who

has no shoes is

a

fool. I won't in-

volve you

I

need you, Charlie. Bear

with

me, and

I ll

not put you down. Okay? I ll be wantin' The Vatican

Cairo and Jerusalem. Okay,

dear

Charlie.

(CHARLIE

eaves

the room.

GOLDMAN

after

him.

Nothin' for half of



CT

I

THE

MAN IN THE GLASS

BOOTH

25

an hour.

(GOLDMAN

a k a off

his skirt, lights a

cigar

rom

a

table lighter, singJ sofgy:

What bells will

ring

for

those

who

died

like

7

Dies irae, dies illa

Solvet swlum

in favilla,

What

bells will ring

for

those who died

defiled?

For those

who

died

in excrement?

Rest

eternal

grant

them

Light

eternal

shine upon them

(GOLDMAN

olds

U

the cigar,

draws

deep

on

it

and

I:old ~

lze

lighted md oJ the cigar under his

t ft

arm

Pit.

T H E

CURTAIN FALLS

CT ON

During the blackout the TAPE RECORDER be*.

When the lights go on, CHARLIE OHN s Sitting

d

GOLDMAN S esk smoking a cigar, drinking brandy,

and

black

coflee, wearing a dressing

gown

T PE

ECORDER.GOLDMAN Soice. I

don t

w nt

none

of

these superlattves, Charlie. You

must

model

your style

upon the

masters-not upon the

also-ran. On

seven

and

ten you got too many adjectives Remember Lexington

Remember

the

apartments

Artificial

sunlight where they

wait

for their t xis and

the

sidewalk heated all around

the block. If you w nt to keep Jewish,

stay

out of Israel.

Pause.)

You need

any

cash-call

Morty. Anybody

asks

for

me, I m spending a long Thanksgiving with a

sick

aunt.

T h e PHON rings. CHARLIEwitches of th TAPE

RECORDER, picks it

up.)



26 THE

M N IN THE GLASS BOOTH

CT I

CHARLIE.

ello. Oh, hello, M omm a. No, you didn t

wake me.

I

was working. Momma,

as

soon as he

gets

back

I ll

come right home. Tomorrow night

at

the earliest.

Buenos Aires. Momma,

I

don t

ask

him

things

like

that.

Momma, he

has

sent

all

the servants to

the country and

I have strict instructions not to Ieave the apartment.

miss you too, Momma. I know you can t sleep without

me, Momma, but you must

try.

Now go to

sleep.

Momma,

you must go to

sleep.

Momma, take

a

couple of

pills and

go

to

sleep.

Good

night, Momma.

(CHARLIE

uts

down

the phone,

switckes ots the TAPE

RECORDER

again.)

TAPE

ECORDER.GOLDMAN S

oice.)

remember

them

inert, Charlie. Phantoms. Crawling for bread. These

peo-

ple

now in Manhattan, they only speak to you in

a bliz-

zard Can t

wait to

check

a coat.

(Pause.)

Anybody

asks

for me tell em I m after

a

pedigree. Tell em I m meetin

a man about a dog. Last known n Chile--present where-

abouts,

Brazil.

CHARLIE

tops

TAPE,

re-plays.)

Any-

body asks for me tell em I m after a pedigree. Tell em

I m meetin a man about a dog. Last

known in Chile--

present whereabouts Brazil.

(Pause . ) Send

the

servants

to

the

country, Charlie. Give em

some

air. Keep the

rooms

dusted and don t forget the urn. Don t forget

Matilda.

f

don t

reappear

you can open the

will.

(CHARLIE

rosses to the locked door,

d t s

notebook,

begins

to open the combination lock.) Yes,

think you ll

be

pleased

with

my

testament, Charlie. And

I

think

you ll

be

pleased with my palaces.

Take

care of my

palaces,

Charlie. Some of

my

best friends are

Jews. Pause.) Page

seventeen-I don t like th at comma.

Page

twenty-two,

cut out the colons. Put on the Fuehrer.

Charlie.

Put on

the

Fuehrer.

It

might give me inspiration.

(CH ARL IE xits into the room.

Then,

o the

TAPE

RECORDER,

sounds

o

one of Hitler s speeches.

he



CT

TH

MAN IN TH GLASS BOOTH

7

E L E V A T O R L I G H T comes on. T h e E L E V A T O R

door opens and GOLDMANnters. He stops, l is te m to

the tape for a moment, then crosses the Stage to the

desk. He quietly puts down his briefcase, turns

u

the

V O L U M E

of th e Hitler tape recording. CHARLIE

comes to the door. Long pause. GOLDMAN urns ofl

th e T A P E . )

CHARLIE. didn 't know you were back. just didn't

know you were back. (Pause.) You told me to look after

everything. was checking all th e doors.

was

just going

to work on the brochure. I had no idea you'd returned.

You said

tomorrow night. Will it will it

change

every thing?

GOLDMAN.Point s his pistol at CHARLIE.) Charlie,

you're drinkin' too much.

CHARLIE.I m sorry, Mr. Goldman.

GOLDMAN.rom now on you will address me as Colonel.

CHARLIE. 'm sorry, Colonel.

GOLDMAN.Okay. Okay. Light the fish. CHARLm

m it ch e s on the LI GH TS on the fish tanks.)

And feed 'em.

(CHARLIE oes so. GOLDMANloses the vault.) Have you

ever been in there before?

CHARLIE.Oh,

no.

No,

can

assure you. I m so sorry

Mr. Gddman. You see, I didn't know you were back.

GOLDMAN.elax. The Fuehrer was always forgiving to

his friends. Sit down. (GOLDMANmiles reasuringly.

CIIARLIE

its on love seat.) Snow on the way?

CHARLIE. hat's the forecast,

Mr.

Goldman.

GOLDMAN.Sits

a t

the desk.) Colonel

hat Saint s

being honored this December night?

CHA RLIE. hall I look it up, Colonel?

GOLDMAN.ater. Later.

CHARLIE.Did you have a successful trip to South

Americs, Colonel

?



2

THE MAN

IN

THE GLASS BOOTH ACT

GOLDMAN

ince Christ appointed Saint Peter there've

een two hundred and sixty-two Popes. Seven y-seven have

been declared Saints, eight othe rs have been beatified

and

declared "blessed."

A

preparatory step. Something for you

to work at, Charlie.

CHARLIE.es Colonel.

GOLDMANWhen

you

die,

Charlie when you die

. .

it's a condition

in

my Will everything you leave

go s

to the first Jewish Pope. The first Jewish American Pope.

You follow? To be held in perpetu ity if necessary.

You follow?

CHARLIE.

Yes.

GOLDMAN That would be something, wouldn't it,

Charlie?

The

first Jewish American Pope.

CHARLIE.Pope Hymie.

GOLDMAN.Sur-*ised.) I didn't know you were a wit

CHARLIE.

'm not.

GOLDMANEverything's a matter of practice, keep at

it. Crossing

L.)

The

fish

ain t happy.

CHARLIE.erhaps they smell the snow.

GOLDMAN

Crosses

D .

L .

1

love seat.)

You're sensitive.

Of course, this guy Dorff might just be eliminated. That's

m y worry. You see I've done all my research. I've

got m y

case. Pause . ) They

say the word s

around

town

I'm thinkin of suicide.

CHARLIE. Astonished

.

I've

certainly not heard that,

Mr. Goldman.

GOLDMANColonel, Charlie, Colonel. Yeah, they say

I

carry

poison. They got

a

great museum

in

Prague-

seventy thousand dead names painted on

the

walls

.

couple of hundred years and my . effort might

be in vain. Only Israel left.

CHARLIE.

ow'd you mean Colonel?

GOLDMAN Sits on love seat.)

The final assimilation.

What

the council said, Charlie

.

what the

Pope s

council said was: "The Jewish people should never be

prezsnted

as

one rejected, cursed, or guilty of deicide, and

the council deplores and condemns hatred and persecution



ACT

I THE

MAN

IN

TH

GL SS

BOOTH 9

of

Jews w hether they arose in fo rm er or in our own days.

Overwhelming majority Ain't that ironic?

The HOU SE-PH ONE rings. CHARLIE akes i t . )

C H A R L I E .

h at ? All right, .I'll tell h im.

C H A R L I Euts

d o wn ze

phone.)

Mr Goldman, Pete says two men are

sitting across the street in Cadillac and like you

s id

he

was to tell you if he thought anyone was watching the

apartment.

Pause.

G O L D M A N . id he say what kind of men?

CHARLIE.WO young men.

P a w e . )

GOLDMAN.R is es , crosses t o desk.) gotta think about

this.

Pause . )

Life

goes

so

fas t. pulled down seven of

m y own constructions last year. even of my own build-

ings-I pulled 'em down. P a w e . ) Tell Pete to describe

'em. Sits.) Without letting them see him

tell

him

to

describe 'em.

C H A R L I E .H e

picks

u p the photte.)

Pete. Mr . Goldman

says don't let 'em see you but what do they look like?

Pause . )

Both young, one blond, Mr. Goldman.

COLDMAN.

hey got hats on ?

CHARLIE.

ats?

No.

GOLDMAN. O, don't

think

they wear hats. Pause . )

You say one's blond?

CHARLIE.es.

G O L D M A N .hey're not Arabs then?

CHARLIECould they

be Arabs

Pete? Pause . ) Pete

doesn't think they're Arabs.

G O L D M A N .erman?

CHARLIE.

German

Pete?

Pause . )

Maybe,

Mr.

Gold-

man.



30

THE

MAN

IN TH

GLASS BOOTH ACT I

GOLDMAN.

olonel, Charlie, Colonel. Between you and

me it s Colonel. Charlie, tell Pete to come to a conclusion,

for Chrissake.

CH AR LIE. ome to a conclusion, for Chrissake.

Pause.)

He says he can t, Colonel.

GOLDMAN.

kay.

CHARLIEangs up and crosses to

c . )

CHARLIE.hy

don t we call the police?

G O L D M A N .an t do that . Don t

w nt

nobody shot.

Pause.)

Hey, there s a

guy

in Carolina

upset.

Goddam

Jewish father s gotta boy actin Jesus Christ in the School

Nativity. Boy won t give up the part. Says it s a great

role. CHARLIErosses

U C .

and looks out.) I got an idea

from that. There s all kind of sick Semitics in these shtetls,

Charlie.

They

got these cardiac Jews, that s Jewish-in-the-

heart Jews, they got these revolvin door Jews, that s in-

at-Rosh-Hashannah-out-on-Yom-Kippur-ews, they got

these South-African-keep-silent-about-apartheidJews

and they got these suicide -Jews. They got

them

all over.

So fill in y grave, Charlie.

CHARLIE.Crossing down to L. of desk.)

I

thought you

wanted to be

cremated, Colonel.

GOLDMAN. Laughs.) Yeah, put me in one of my own

incinerators. Can t make any difference. However

however,

that

matter may soon

be

out of my hands.

Pause.)

don t know if they re enemies or friends, you

see.

Pause.)

Jesus,

I

hopk

I m

right to do this.

Pause.)

I d like to see your new suits. Give my love to your

Momma that s a word it s a word tha t I

don t

use too often

L

V E.And I never

speak of the children. Examine

th

will, I t ll please you,

Charlie.

Pause. The T L PHON rings.

GOLDMANn-

swers it.)

Yeah?

GOLDMAN

uts

the phone down. Look-

ing ironicdy upward as

he

rises.)

Okay, J.C. o down

there and invite em up.

CHARLIE.

hat?



ACT THE MAN IN THE GLASS BOOTH 3

GOLDMAN.Crosses to CHARLIE.)I want 'em all up

here, my little lanzman.

CHARLIE,

can't,

Mr.

Gofdman

GOLDMAN. harlie, Charlie, I got the cash.

CHARLIE. can t, Mr. Goldman. I m too frightened.

GOLDMAN.

O you want

me

to change

my

will?

Tell

'em I

have

to

h d peace with m y

former

encrnies.

They'll

believe that. Tell 'em it's for the youth of Gemny .

Theyll believe that too. Until offer them the cash I got

the cash, got the cash,

got

the loot.

CHARLIE. ll

right

Mr.

Goldman.

GOLDMAN.uick

as

you can Charlie.

(CHARLIE

OHN

leaves in the ELEVATOR.

GOLDMAN

opens the vault door. GOLDMANrops his pistol i n the

@h tank , Takes a capsule from the desk and Puts it

i n his mouth. T h e n goes to the Hi-Fi, smiles, puts on

a BRASS-BAND Rosamunda. Sits down again.

T h e

ELEVATOR

rises. Out of the elevator come

TWO OUNGMEN, guns in their hands, followed by

CHAFZLIEOHNand MRS. ROSEN.MRS. ROSEN as

her gun in CHARLIE OHN'S

ack.)

Mas

ROSE:;,

Turn that

off.

CHARLIE@shes th

T V

b y mistake, th en shuts off the s i -H . Sit

down.

CFIARLZE

sits

D.

L.)

Search

the place.

STEIGERoes out of the hall, DLTRERnto the locked

room. CHARLIE OHN sits trembling,

MRS.ROSEN

points her gun at GOLDMAN.)

GOLDMAN.I m

not armed, kid Gave

my gun

to the h h .

MRS. ROSEN.On your knees.

GOLDMAN. on't talk to

me

like that Rosy

Rosen.

MRS. ROSEN.SO you know me?

GOLDMAN.f you. Of you,

Rosy

MRS.

ROSEN. hen t's mutual. Tell me

a

joke.

GOLDMAN.orn in Brooklyn. Didn't like the President.

Didn't

like

Roosevelt. Emigrated.Emigrated to Tel Aviv.



32 TH

MAN I N TH E

GLASS

BOOTH

ACT

I

(Silence. STEIGE Romes back.)

STEICER.

O one else here.

MRS. ROSE N.

Check him.

(D U R E R omes out of the

locked room.) What's in there?

DURER.A

stool. A table. Cartons of chocolate bars.

And

a

c c ~ y

f "Mein Kampf."

GQLCMAN

Go*

~ I I I C L L ~

MRS.

ROSEN.

What?

GOLDMAN.

O Wmuch?

MRS.ROSEN.

What for?

GOLDMAN.

or my life.

MRS. ROSEN. Smiling.) Not Christ's blood would buy

it. Not from

me. I

can't think what

you

heard.

GOLDMAN.Slowly.)

But

I

understood one million

dollars one million dollars cash. Three. Three

million dollars cash. Give me a few days and I'il make it

seven. Seven million dollars hard

cash.

A CU_~C.'

There's

been a mistake.

(Th e Two YOUNGM E N

search

GOLDMAN.

h e y

take o j

his slzirt. TIzey examine,

they poke. j

STEIGMAN

eh

Peh (D UR ER its GOLDMAN :j;z

.~tntra+r; : cyd

GOLDMAN

~ ~ Si G

the capsule. STEIGER

picks i t trp o l

the poor.)

Phial

of poison.

MRS. ROSE N.

ift

up

his left arm.

STEICER.

car

MRS.

ROSE;{. insign ia and blood type tattooed under

t k

scar,

Mr.

Cohn.

CZIARLIE

nsignia of what?

MRS.

ROSEN. .S. Insignia.

(STEIGERuns his jingers over GOLDMAN'Sollar bone and

GOLDMAN'Seft kneecap.)

STEIGER.

W O ld fractures--same places

a s the X-rays.

(M as. ROSEN akes

a

photograph out o the briefcase,

studies it, nods her head.)



ACT

I THE

MAN

N

THE GLASS BOOTH

33

MRS.ROSEN.What's his cap size?

DURER. wenty-two.

MRS

OSEN.Bring

him

here.

STEIGER

h 0 2 ) e ~im to

the desk.

DURER

wist3

his hand. GOLDMAN

alls on

his

knees. MRS. ROSEN tares down at GOLDMAN.)

YOU are

Adolf Karl Dorff.

CHARLIE.

orff

MR S. ROSEN.YOUare Adolf Karl Dorff.

GOLDMAN.ight million dollars hard

cash.

Mas ROSEN.

f

you cooperate you will be given a fair

trial

and the benefit of

legal

counsel.

GOLDMAN.Don't you understand it's cash?

CHARLIE.OUare Israelis then?

MRS.

ROSEN.

f you do not cooperate will shoot you

here.

CHARLIE.Where will you take him?

MRS. ROSEN.H e was a Colonel in the Einsatzgruppen,

the mobile killing unit of the

S.S.

CHARLIE.

hat did he do?

MRS. ROSEN.The court will decide that.

GOLDMANises.)

GOLDMAN.

am an American citizen.

X s s . ROSEN.We have discussed -that.

GOLDMAN.

am

a

citizen

of

the United States.

MRS. ROSEN.

?ie

have discuss that.

GOLDMAN.

he United States will not

permit the viola-

tion of

its

sovereignty.

MRS.ROSEN.There's already been a precedent.

GOLDMAN. hat's different.

That

wasn't in the United

States.

MRS. ROSEN.

SO you want to be shot?

GOLDMAN. urderer.

MRS

OSEN. have my orders.

GOLDMAN.

Crossing to c.

Orders1 Orders1 had my

orders1

GOLDMAN raws Iritnself u p . Thu nd ers.)

What

are

the

demands of justice? What

are

the demands

of



4

THE

MAN IN

TH

GLASS OOTH

CT

law?

(Pause.)

Who are my judges? And by what right

(Pause. Calmly.

will go with you.

I

will go

with

you,

sheep Yes, I ll tell you a joke, Rosy Rosen, I tell you

a

couple

of jokes and I ll bleed you

that

blood you re talkin

about

CURT IN



CTTWO

A cell. Outside the peephole

a

GUARD; nside DURERn a

stool, MRS.ROSENon

a

chair, and GOLDMAN the

bed. It is hot.

GOLDMAN

s d r e ~ s e dn p sun clothes.

Silence.

MRS.ROSEN.

Rises , crosses

u

c . ) In the reports of the

Einsatzgruppen notice plain words do not occur: we

have "final solution," "evacuation," and "special treat-

ment." On the other hand, in your reports you always

stated "extermination" or "killing." Why is that?.

GOLDMAN.Rises to her.) Always call a spade a spade.

Those euphemisms you speak of were best for keepin'

order-they didn't want the typ ists to get f ie message-

you follow? But

in

my

case I'm not here

to

tell you

I

didn't enjoy it-I'm here to tell you I did. GOLDMAN

laughs.) No clerk, Rosen Issued my own orders, plotted

my own plots, had a ball. You follow?

IV~RS.OSEN.

Why did you pretend to

be

Jewish?

GOLDMAN.

ave you noticed

I 'm

losin' weight? Much

fitter. It

w s

all that rich food done me

in.

And I

am

sleepin' great.

am

sleepin' great. You should come

in

and join me. Come in and diet. Come in and lay yourself

down and diet.

MRS. ROSEN.

Why

did you pretend to

be

Jewish?

GOLDMAN.

'm not here to plead I took orders. I had

initiative. Firs t honest man who's stood in your dock. Like

you got the Fuehrer himself in here. Indicating tape

recorder.)

That

a

German

machine? Tha t

a

Grundig?

MRS. ROSEN.

apanese.

GOLDM AN. reat people for trade, your lot. Rosy, you

wear too much make-up.

Mas.

ROSEN.

h y did you pretend to be Jewish?

5



36 L1Jk M A N I N THE GLASS

OOTH

ACT n

GOLDMAN.Uways had

a

sense o humor.

I m

con-

cerned about your make-up, madam, concerned about

your maquillage, you re beginnin to attr ac t me.

MRS.

OSEN.

(She sits

in

chair.

Are you

Jewish?

GOLDMAN.

Sits on the bed, facing

ROSEN.)

I bet you

people got troubles with the Americans by now.

MRS.ROSEN.

hy do you say tha t?

GOLDMAN. m a citizen of the United States.

I know

you ve got troubles with the A mericans by now. Th ey

won t waive sovereign righ ts so easily.

I

know tha t.

I

know

the American nation.

MRS.

OSEN.

W hy did you pretend to

be

Jewish?

GOLDMAN.

might demand

an

InternationaI Court. I

might just get th at . have a lo t of acquaintances.

I m

sayin you should go on a diet.

MRS.

ROSEN.We

won t give you u p .

GOLDMAN.

N O ?

I

got

the

funds.

I

have the loot.

Brooklyn, I m sayin

you eat too

much.

MRS.OSEN.

The world

will learn

to understand that

we

will

never give you up.

GOLDMAN.Gently . Don t be so goddamned arrogant.

Don t be so goddamned Israeli. Not with

me.

I m no

clerk. I ain t got gu ilt.

I m

not riddled and weary I m an

American I m

still

an American

T o

keep me here

you \

need my

help.

MRS.OSEN.

OW

o you

mean?

GOLDMAN.

Lies back

on

the bed.) Th at s all for

the

day-

I

gotta work it out.

MRS.OSEN.

(Sits above

GOLDBUN n

the bed.) Are

you Jewish?

GOLDMAN,

Sitting UP. Am I an encyclopaedia? I m

human that s what I am. There s too many d e h i -

tions around here. Do I wear a yomulka?

MRS.

ROSEN.

hy did you pretend to be Jewish?

GOLDMAN. Laughing.) A woman of your age, you

should wear no make-up at all.

Three

corselets but

no

maquillage. got nothin against you personal, sweetheart,

but the

way

you go round, you re a dog. (P au se . MRS.



ACT THE

MAN

N THE

GLASS

BOOTH 37

ROSEN

azes at

him,

smiles, leaves the cell wi th DURER.

A

GUARD nters

and sits

watching GOLDMAN,) That

woman Rosen eats too

much.

She's what

they call a com-

pulsive. Mind you I

always

like Kosher.

We

got a

res-

taurant in New York killed more Hebrews th n

did.

Rises, crosses u.c. I m sexin her up for the Court

ypu follow?

Sitence.) Of

course like

a

bit of pork ow

and

again. They

keep

askin

me if I m Jewish. I don't

know what th a t word means. (He stands a t the joot of

the

bed . )

Silence.

The LI HT

turns to mwtting.

MRS.

OSEN

enters the ceU

with STEIGER. he

GUARD

oes

out.)

MRS.OSEN.Good morning Colonel Dorff. Sits

in

the

chair.)

GOLDMAJT.s~i?orning,sexy,have

a

good breakfast?

(STEIGFR

witcizes

o

the TAPE

RECORDER.)

MRS.ROSEN.

hy did you pretend to be Jewish?

GOLDMAN.

f

it should

be

proved

I

mean proved

that gave false information when became a citizen of

the United States now that would help

you

with

the

Americans. But

I

know you

can t

prove that, sexy.

MRS. ROSEN.HO W o you

know

we

can t

prove it?

GOLDMAN.

Laughing.)

I

believe you were

asking

me

why I pretended to

be

Jewish. Are you

Jewish?

MRS.OSEN. OWdo you know we can t prove you

g ve false information when you applied to. ecome a

citizen of

the

United States, Colonel Dorff?

GOLDMAN.

re you Jewish, Rose? (Pause. Sits.) I pre-

tended to

be

Jewish because made the acquaintance of

old-American-Jewish-Uncle-Hymie's nephew, Arthur

Gold-

man.

Got to know him in Deutschland.

Got

to know

Arthur so well

I

called him cousin.

Perhaps

he

was

cousin.

MRS.OSEN. e is dead?



38 THE MAN

IN

THE GLASS BOOTH CT

GOLDMAN on t you know t ha t?

MRS.

ROSEN.

Who killed Arthur Goldman?

GOLDMAN etween you and me the question is who

didn t kill Ar thur Goldman.

MRS

OSENDid you kill Arthur Goldman?

GOLDMAN

have brooded on that. I have pondered on

that. Pa use . Rises and crosses u. c . Get thls while you

can, fatty: Takes mike rom STEIGER.) the under-

signed. Yeah, that s it.

I

the undersigned Adolf Karl

Dorff, declared of my own lree will, dear President John-

son, and dear people and government of the United States,

that it has become clear to me there is no point in hiding

any more. I declare I came to Israel of my own free will

and am willing to stay here and face an authorized court.

I

understand

I

will be given legal aid but

I am

going to

decline it becaiije I want to present such a case as will

interest the new generation.

I make t is

s t s teven t

with-

out threats of any kind. Since

I

cannot always remember

details

I

hereby ask to be assisted by having access to

certain documents. Finally I reserve the right to know

what witnesses the Stafe of Israel will call to defend my-

self, and to wear my uniform-Colonel, S.S.-in ih e

Court

MRS ROSEN shall have to consult my superiors.

GOLDMAN

ot to be signed unless all the conditions

fulfilled.

I

shall want my uniform brushed and pressed.

And my jackboots gleaming. (MRS.

ROSEN

sighs, leaves

the cell wit STEIGER. he GUARD nters the cell. ;OLD-

MAN goes to sit in the sh ft of sunlight. Takes

08

his

shirt and sunbathes.

He

grins at the

GUARD.) otta get

a good tan for the court. D you love your momma? GOLD-

MAN

l ies on the bed.)

r e m e ~ b e rmy palaces, kid.

I

wander through the ir rooms. I m the las t of the lions, me

and my Sienese primitives. You should have seen my

country place with my wife Matilda. She was no fatso.

Matilda was a princess. Me and Matilda walk with long-

legged dogs down the great terraces and enter her bed-

room through

the

window.

I

seize her beneath the Yom-



CT

n

THE MAN

IN

TH GLASS BOOTH 9

peian frescoes and

I

hurl her upon the four-poster.

Matilda was delighted. A great American gal "What,

no

petting?" she cried. Lemon tea, cognac and sweet cakes,

and when she came she cried like n angel, seventy-two

times in a single night. Oh, how my Matilda restored me.

Forgive me, fella, it's

the

heat. Matilda

w s

a princess,

you see. Fo r some reason for some reason, bought

her Rembrandts, I bought her Rubens, I bought her

Van

Dycks, I bought her Canalettos, I bought her Raphaels

and because she had Botticelli

eyes

I bought her Botticelli.

M atilda . give her bit of everything, faience, maiolica,

ceramics. A little Russian tapestry, a little Greek coral, a

little Louis Quatorze to sit on, and little Madonna, for

she was religious. When she died she wept, and I lived on

in Manhattan. She was very ill, she lived on the edge of

a scalpel. Should have got my pistol out and shot her in

the head, but I couldn't

do

it. With her, my Matilda, I

was sentimental.

I

loved my Gentile wife, Matilda. My

second wife, you understand. (Pause . ) My first wife w s

child-bearer. She bore me a litter. Yes, she bore me a

brood. It's not that I never sowed my seed. (He r i ses ,

puts on his shirt, and stand s

c . )

( T h e L I G H T changes to dawn.

M R S .

ROSENenters the

cell with D U R E R , arrying a document and news-

papers. The

GU RD

oes out.)

M RS. ROSEN.Your guarantee, signed by us. And pub-

lished in the newspapers.

GOLDMAN.T a k es papers and sits on

bed . )

You got it

in the Tribune?

MRS.ROSEN. f course.

GOZDMAN.ondon Times?

MRS OSEN.Of course. (M R S. RO SEN licks her fin-

gers- STEIGER nters with Goldman s uniform. GOLDMAN

salutes. STEIGERi t s i t o n

the

chair. MRS. ROSEN i ts on

the bed. ) How did you manage to convince Hymie Gold-

man that you were his nephew, Arthur?



4

THE

MAN N THE GLASS BOOTH

ACT

n

G O L D M A N .amily likeness. Got it in Pravda?

MRS. ROSEN.D you mean you were related ?

G O L D M A N .ousins. All cousins. M y Au nt Jud ith and

my momma Sarah. Got it in Der Spiegel?

M RS . RO SEN . O ar e you Jewish, Colonel D orf f?

GOLDMAN

ll

I

had to do was convince old American

scntimental isolationist blind bespectacled deaf as a post

in-on e-ear-n ot-do ing- oo-good-at- the- t ime- capital-after-

wards -by-m e- trebled -old-U ncle-M anh attan- guilt -ridden-

Jewish-Hyrnie.

M R S. RO SEN. Are you therefore, Adolf K ar l Dorff-

one-tim e Colonel in the Einsatzgruppen-are you , Colonel,

Jewish?

GOLDMAN.

R is e s, crosses to c.)

Hear this . (GOLDMAN

takes of his shirt and trousers, begins to dress in

th

zlniforrn of an

S.S.

Colonel.)

Ca n t be too specific. D on t

want to ball up my case. Pause.)

Am

I Jewish?

I

tell you

this-my father was Grou p A. A hun dred an d three now.

Still doing great. On e of the oldest guys in Germany.

Cousin of Hind enburg s. T h e F uehrer never forgot th at .

Am

I

Jewish? M y dear madam, it was

I.

G. Farben who

discovered the site. Very suitab le for syn thetic coal-oil

and rubber. I en ter ed the place laughing-my first mis-

sion of th at kind-they handed over their valuables

and

outer clothing-I pu t em in the an ti-t an k ditch.

I

lay em

down flat. I shot em through the nape of the neck, per-

sonal, gaining confidence a t every pull. Sent in

m y

report.

Very honest report. Never slept better in my life. What

with me and mv father,

I

did great. Momma was forgot.

They put her in the closet. One day later, in the pink, in

the prime of life I came to

a

pit . Outside D ubn o, Poland.

Getting quite cold round there. I saw one thousand pairs

of shoes and five hundred pairs of panties. Nobody was

complaining or asking for mercy. Sheep. One old grand-

mother. bald as a coot, should have worn a wig, picks up

a baby: the baby laughs, the father laughs, the mother

laughs. They all look up at the sky, including the baby.

Aad a girl,

a girl

points down to her puhics and she tells



CT

11 THE

MAN

IN THE GLASS BOOTH 41

me she's twenty years old. You follow? So I

walk

over to

the mount, I get to the grave. Wedge 'em in,

I said

laughing. Am

I

Jewish? We light cigarettes and we start

the shooting. We fill up the bottom. They lay in from the

top. The blood runs down from their heads. They lay in

from the sides. We pack 'em more, and underneath, there's

movement. Waving arms and suchlike.

Naked

they go

down the s teps, they climb on the heads of the people be-

low

and I

tell 'em ex ctly where. I'm a gre t packer-

should have made trunks.

Am I

Jewish? They lay on top

of their dead or

dying

and

we sho t, sho t, shot. never

missed one. So the last lot lay on the pyre so high we

reached u p from the sides and give it a t arm's length. Ju st

a day in m y life. Just

a

clear day to enjoy forever.

Am

I

Jewish? I don't know about my mother, but my father

was pure-blooded Aryan. That I 'm proud of.

GOLDMANaughs and laughs. MRS.ROSENwaits.)

MRS OSEN.Tell me about your first wife, Colonel.

GOLDMAN. Indignantly.)

Jesus You don 't

seem

to a p

preciate the pleasure

I

got Very lovely,

my first

wife.

M y

erman

wife, Marlene. Another princess.

The

Fuehrer

said: You gotta great

gal

there, Addy.

I

called

him

Addy. He called

m

Addy. The Fuehrer said: The man

who misjudges and disregards the

racial

laws actually

forfeits the happiness that seems to

be

his.

MRS.ROSEN.N O

children,

Colonel?

GOLDMAN.

hat

was sad, Momma.

MRS.ROSEN.What

w s

sad?

GOLDMAN.ost touch. Lost touch.

MRS.ROSEN.Could we

find

them for you, Colonel?

GOLDMAN.ot a chance. Pause.) Spare m a moment

of grief, madam.

MR S. ROSEN.

s it

a

point of your inner l i f ~ertain

feeling of guilt?

GOLDMAN.esus. YOUsound like a tourist guide. The

Fuehrer wanted it-it

was

great to go along. And I got



42 TH M A N I N

THE

GLASS BOOTH ACT XI

such cooperation from your folks. Your folks always made

u p the transport lists. The chosen, was c h w n , and well

they chose You get i t ? Si ts on the be d.) What about

you and me layin' down to it, sweetheart? What about

you and me producin'? What about a brand new 1965

German-Jewish swaddler?

Pau s e . )

I think

you got the

milk I

think you could nurse him. (GOLDMANmiles

t

her . )

STEIGERrosses slowly to above

GOLDMAN.)

MRS. RO SEN.N O thank you, Colonel Dorff.

GOLDMAN

Ris ing . Br i sk ly . )

M y boots.

MRS.ROSEN.One moment. Rises . ) You have a visitor.

She signs to STEIGER ho exi t s . )

GOLDMAN. what?

M RS. ROSEN. Sh e laughs.) Your only friend the

one person in the whole world who has asked to testify

or

you.

GOLDMAN.or me?

MRS

OSEN.For you.

Pause . )

GOLD M AN. don't wan t no testifyin'. I'll do my

own

testifyin'.

Pau s e . )

Who? Who is it? Who've you ex-

humed, Rosy? Who have you taken that spade to?

Pause . ) You got me nervous, Rosy.

They wai t . Dressed

in

his new suit, CHARLIECOHN

enters

the

ceU.)

CHARLIE.Hello, Mr. Goldman.

GOLDMAN.harlie Charlie, Charlie, Charlie You had

me nervous, Charlie. You got me sweatin'

I

thought

you

was a

contemporary.



M

THE MAN

IN THE GL SS BOOTH 43

CHABLIE.

t's very good to see you, Mr. Goldman.

GOLDMAN.t's very good to see you, Charlie. You look

great.

Just

great.

(CHARLIE

COHN

Puts

out

his hand.

GOLDMAN

ak es i t in both of his. GOLDMAN umps

CHARLIE COHN Shand

up

and down in his own.) Boy

you look a million dollars Ten years younger. Don't say

another word until we get the old bag outta' here.

MRS OSEN. Sh e laughs again.)

See

you in court, Mr.

Cohn.

(Mas.

ROSEN

nd

DURER

eave. The

GUARD

nters.)

STEIGER. ish Marim

H e slams the door. Pause.)

;OLDMAN.

What did

the

tailor charge for the suit?

CHARLIE. our hundred.

GOLDMAN.our hundred. Fou r hundred dollars Who

did he send the bill to?

CHARLIE.

OU,Mr. Goldman.

GOLDMAN.H e smiles, begins to lau gh .) There's some-

thing very

funny

abou t tha t, Charlie. And two of 'em.

Two of 'em a t four hundred. And what ab ou t the vicuna1

(GOLDMANaughs and Laughs.)

CHARLIE ut you

did

s y he should Mr. Goldman.

remember that distinctly.

GOLDMAN.Rubbing his eyes and helpless.) None of

you guys lost your heads None of you fellas lost your

sense of proportion. I'm proud of you, Charlie.

(GOLDMANndicates the chair and CHARLIEits. GOLD-

MAN

sits on bed. Pause.)

CHARLIE.

I

read your statement in the papers.

GOLDMAN.

he

Tribune?

CHARLIE. O, the Times. The Tribune's on its way ou t,

Mr.

Goldman.

I

only take the Times now. It was a very

nice

photograph.

P a w e . ) I

see you've got your uniform

on.



THE MAN

IN THE

GLASS

OOTH

ACT

n

GOLDMAN.

Yes.

CHARLIEUh-huh.

GOLDMAN.

DO you like it?

CHARLIEt s very smart.

GOLDMAN.

t suits me, don t it?

CHARLIE.

Pause . ) Have they been looking after you

all

right?

as

the cooking been to your satisfaction?

Rises to above be d. )

Now what about the bed? Have

you been sleeping all

right?

Pause.)

GOLDMAN.

OW S

my

city? How s Manhattan?

CHARLIE Sits on the stool.)

Worse th n ever, Mr.

Goldman. Temble. Just temble. You can t go into the

Park

now--even

in

the daylight. Sometimes think to my-

self

I

can t walk up this street.

An

then you heard

about the blackout.

GOLDMAN.

O.

CHARLIE.Oh,

yes; all the lights

failed

all the lights

went out.

GOLDMAN.

HOW S he new Mayor?

CHARLIE. can

honestly report,

Mr

Goldman, he is a

very personable young

man

Pause.)

GOLDMAN.

And how s Momma?

CHARLIE.

We are not speaking, Mr. Goldman.

I

was

forced

I

had to move out.

Pause.)

GOLDMAN.

Where you livin ?

CHARLIE. Sits in chair L . )

In the apartment. In the

penthouse.

I

thought

I

had best move back there per-

manen

tl

y

and keep an eye Ion things.

GOLDMAN.Grinning.) Thank

you, Charlie.



CT TH

MAN

IN THE GLASS BOOTH 45

CHARLIE.YOUsee, Momma didn t want me to do tha t.

And I must tell you she didn t want me to come over here.

She did not want me to go into the court. She wanted

m

to disown you, M r. Goldman.

GOLDMAN

Momm a know about the will?

CHARLIE.NO. nly me

and

the lawyers know abo ut the

will.

GOLDMAN Rises to u c. T ha t Tailor know about the

will

CHARLIE.NO.Nobody else, Mr. Goldman.

GOLDMAN

OU hought

that

best

CHARLIE.Oh, yes.

GOLDMAN

S it s on the stool.)

W hat will you do with

it

all, Charlie?

CHARLIE. Rises to h im. ) Well

1 1

would just go on

with

it.

I

would just expand. I would be very prudent,

very careful.

I

would employ the best men. But I do

have

lots of ideas of my own for the decorating.

GOLDMAN

guess you ll take over all of the decoratin

side yourself-all of the interior decoratin .

CHARLIE.Yes I think I will do that, Mr. Goldman.

Yes,

f

do have that in mind.

P ause . )

GOLDMANW hat what are you gonna say in the

court, Charlie? W hat do you have

in

mind for the court?

CHARLIE. just want to t ll them how good you ve been

to me, Mr. Goldman-and to everybody .

GOLDMAN

ere you thinkin of telling them ab out the

will

CHARLIE. O,

I

hadn t thought to do th at.

G O L D M ~

hat hasn t crossed your mind?

CHARLIE.N O , M r. Goldman.

GOLDMAN

H e laughs and laug hs.)

love

ya

Charlie.

CHARLIE.

Smiling.) Th ank you, M r. Goldman.

GOLDMAN

chose the right man.

Lo ng pause.)



6 THE MAN IN TH GLASS BOOTH

ACT

n

CFIARLIE.Mr. Goldman

. .

why have you left

m e

your money?

Silence.)

mean why have you le ft all your

money to a Jew, Mr. Goldrnan?

Pause.)

GOLDMAN.

Because love you, Charlie--you

know

that. (GOLDMAN

stares at

CHARLIE.) Come here.

(CHARLIE

goes to

GOLDMAN.GOLDMAN

waits

until

CHARLIE gets close, then whacks CHARLIE cross the face.

CHARLIE

taggers back, sits on the bed, bursts in to tears.

Ve ry quietly.)

Stay

out of the court. Don 't come in there

and ball me up

H e goes over to

CHARLIE.)There's more

to

this than

my future. There's more to this than my

palaces. GOLDMAN steps back, caUs to DURER. M y

boots.

A

GUARD

nters.

GUARD ives

GOLDMANhe boots.

GOLIE

MAN stamps into them. GOLDMANnd uma leave

the ceU.)

BL CKOUT

T h e

PRO~ECUTOR S

oice on microphone speaks

in the

blackout

.

PROSECUTOR'SOICE.H O W ould it happen? Why did it

happen? What of the Allies? W hy the Germans? And

why the Jews? I tell you only a Jewish court will render

justice to Jews; I tell you it is our duty to sit

in

judg

ment on our enemies, tell you it is our right. But

I

make

no ethnic distinctions-

I

would indict this man for

rimes

against other peoples if crimes there were-but t is man

this monster

.

has concerned himself with Jews,

is only concerned with Jews. This monster has only mur-

dered Jews And when

I

look

a t this monster am

only

concerned with Jews. T h e LIG HT S come on.) You will

he r Jewish witness after Jewish witness, Jewish suffering



ACT

THE

MAN IN

THE

GLASS

BOOTH

afte r Jewish suffering. Yes,

I

will show you the calamity

of the Jewish people in this generation; yes, I will show

you the calamity of Jew ry; yes, will show you what we

suffered, and I will show you why. Becayse because

the

whole tragedy of Jewry is to

be

my cenqal concern.

T h e

PROSECUTOR

i t s d o m . )

During the blackout, the cell has changed into a court.

GOLDMAN

nters wit a

GUARD ho

f i t s h im in to

the bootlz. GOLDMANits

in

a bullet-proof glass

booth;

The

PRESIDINGUDGE

t

a tab le ; The

PROS-

E UTOR

at another;

MRS

OS EN , STEIGER

nd

DURER t another.)

GOLDMAN.

xcuse me.

JUDGE. Yes.

GOLDMAN.Having heard with admiration for many

days the magniloquence of the Prosecutor

having

listened to his many points his many intentions

may make a personal observation?

I

mean not

knowing your Israeli legal procedure precisely, not

wishing

to distu rb it-I just ask. W ha t I mean is Your Honor-

it's obvious you got to be Orthodox around here.

JUDGE. What kind of personal observations?

GOLDMAN.h?

JUDGE. What kind of personal observations?

GOLDMAN.

Been put off my stroke. H e points

to

the

audience.) Just seen Mrs. Dorff out there. Jesus. She's

blond. And they told me she was dead. My German wife,

you understand, Marlene. Excuse me, Your Honor.

Call

me a bigamist. Bit of

a

shock. Changed her name, I

shouldn't wonder. Wearing

a

wig don't doubt.

H e g rim

at MR S. ROSEN .)Don't get jealous, Rosy-that's all over

and done

with.

JUDGE

Adolf Karl Dorff-

GOLDMAN,OSY'S .jealous woman "That's one thing

I11 never forgive," she said. That's what you said, didn t

you, Rosy? Hi Mrs Dorff.

Hi,

Marlene.



8

THE

MAN IN THE GLASS OOTH ACT 11

JUDGE.

Adolf Karl Dorff, what kind of personal ob-

servation?

GOLDMAN.

lease don t shou t, Your Honor.

It

echoes

in

here.

If I

get frightened I might revert. All the time I ve

got to watch that. It s abou t the indictment.

JUDGE. Specific to

th

indictment?

GOLDM AN. O, very general.

JUDGE Then your turn will come ih its proper time.

GOLDMAN.Who s gonna decide th at?

JUDGE.

T he Court will decide tha t. Don t provoke me.

GOLDMAN.m sorry, Your Honor. I m sorry, didn t

mean to do that. That s not my intention, but the point

is,

Your Honor, you know your local rules and I don t. Ex-

cept on times when I m directly answering Jewish ques-

tions,

I

think I should be able to put up my Gentile hand

and

ask you if

I can

make

a

Gentile observation.

I

mean

what are we interested in here, Your Honor, justice or the

suffering of the Jewish people?

JUDGE.

I

shall

decide that. Very well.

I

shall

rule

on

each observation.

GOLDMAN.hank you, Your Honor. To MRS.ROSEN.)

Rosy, you might tell Marlene,

I

saw her friend in Man

hattan

and

he was looking just great.

JUDGE. Keep to the indictment, Dorff.

GOLDMAN. xcuse me the mind wanders

Your Honor, when your prosecutor comes in, comes in

from her press conferences, and getting on the

T.V.

which I didn t-and makes her very magniloquent jerk-

you-in-the-tear-ball speeches-and has been raising ques-

tions of suffering and how could all this have happened ,

and why did it happen to the Jews, and what was every-

body else doin , and why did we Germans do it so bad and

so on and so forth? Now these are very great questions:

but if I understand justice, Your Honor, it s nobody s

suffering tha t should be on trial here, it s what

I

done. I t s

what I did. It s what I did that s the po int. Did I not

hear, Your Honor, th prosecutor conclude her op ning



ACT

n I HE MAN N

THE GLASS BOOTH 9

speech by "the whole tragedy of

Jewry

is to be our central

concern"?

JUDGE.

YOUdid hear that.

GOLDMAN. ut

I

I

Your Honor,

am

your central

concern.

JUDGE Yes, yes. I shall make you my concern.

GOLDMAN. hank you, Your Honor.

May

point out

somethin' else?

JUDGE.

Yes.

GOLDMAN. saved your two young Jewish uys and

Mrs

Rosen, my interrogator, murder; Charlie Cohn in-

vites them into my M anh attan apartmen t and what would

they have done if I'd refused to accompany them out? Is

that not such a crime as you would call my own? Would

not the pistol have been at the back of my head?

JUDGE rrelevant.

GOLDMAN. ut

I

mean what's got to be proved, Your

Honor-that I'm not fit to live?

JUDGE.

From now on when you digress,

I

shall switch

your microphone off.

GOLDMAN. udge, you're honest I appreciate ya

(MRS.LEVI nt rs th s t u d .

MRS

EVI.

Levi. Forty-seven people

were

led barefoot

to the quarry . Dorff stood a t the bottom of the steps

watching his men load jagged boulders on their backs,

then these people had to carry them to the top of the cliff.

Each journey the boulders

grew

heavier. In

the

evening,

fo rty bodies were lying along the road.

GOLDMAN. es, I remember that but

you

did great-

remarkable constitution. Course, some of you might

be

wonderin' why Mrs.

Levi

and her head

friends

got on the

train in the f i rs t p lacegot

an

the train to

the

quarry.

There was only three guards, as

I

recall-Kirlewanger's

got a villa in Cairo, I'm here, and Pohse's drawing a pen

sion in Ham burg-anyway, why did all

these

people

keep

gettin' on cattle trains and goin' to quarries and suchlike?

Might I enlighten you on that, Your Honor?



5

THE MAN N THE

GLASS

BOOTH

m n

JUDGE

No, I know why. Their fate

was beyond

their

knowledge. Every conjecture was arbitrary. They had

no

foundation.

GOLDMAN.

es, that's

it

I

always confused

em.

Every-

thing was

done

so

simple. Ask for your suitcase,

said:

"Sure, later Ask for your baby, I

said:

"Sure,

stick with

the kid." All very peaceful, all very calm. Of course if

I

had to make an example I'd use my imagination--stuff

your genitals in your mouth, bum your

feet

off

somethin' like that. Couldn't allow

any

precedents.

Couldn't allow any heroes you follow?

Silence.

MRS

EVI

eaves the stand.

An

OLD

MAN

nters.)

What

don't get, Your Honor, is why the prosecutor does not

demand the exposure of

all

the

Gennan

authorities who

permitted me to get on

with

my German work, and all

those Jews who helped me?

I

got West Gennan names

here

of

civil servants, businessmen, ministers, priests,

doctors, lawyers, generais, whores and housefraus

. .

Here we are

in

alphabetical order: Mr. I G . Braun,

former ministerialat

PROSECUTOR object- Not admissible evidence.

JUDGE

Sustained.

OLD

AN arowski. The Star of Bethlehem reached

down

and radiated life into my inert body opened my

eyes and gazed .

B u t

GOLDMANlings open

the door of the glass boot h. )

GOLDMAN.his man is

a

nut.

OLD

MAN.

Shouts . )

The Star of Bethlehem,

a

power

above nature, reached down into my

inert body

and

radiated .

GOLDMAN.

Crosses to s tand. Shouts .)

Shut your mouth

or I'll have you shot

JUDGE

Take the prisoner back (GOLDMAN

urns.)

will

not

have

you intimidating

the

witnesses.

(GOLDMAN

starts

back,

then halts

and st mps is

feet.)

Colonel orffl

Lock the prisoner in the booth



CT n

THE M N

N

THE GLASS BOOTH

T h e GUARDS o S O . T h e OLDM N ursts into tears and

s helped from the sta nd .)

GOLDMAN.

H e goes bdck toward the booth, but stops

and looks at the audience.) W hat s happened to M arlene?

You done away with her, Rosy?

MRS.

ROSEN.M a y I answer this?

J ~ G E . es.

MRS.ROSEN.

M rs. Dorff does not wish to give evidence.

She is returning to her family

and

children in Bonn.

GOLDMAN.

Clapping his hands.)

Very wise. Faithful

wife, you

see.

Like a Hebrew wife. Like Brooklyn Rosy

would be

GOLDMANoes b ck into the booth. A YOUNG MA N

enters the stand. GOLDMAN eappears ou t of the

booth.)

YOUNGMAN. Tzelniker.

GOLDMAN.Shouts.)

YOUSouth African Jewish?

YOUNGMAN.Yes.

GOLDMAN.

OU ive in Johannesburg?

YOUNGMAN.Yes.

GOLDMAN.

oin well?

YOUNGMAN.

Yes. I

am

doing very well.

GOLDMAN.O furthe r questions.

JUDGE

T Owitttess.) Continue.

y~~~~ A N .

Adolf

Dorff is a murderer. On May 7th.

1942 he

shot my mother

and

father before my eyes. That

is

all I have to say

J V i t h i ? ~he booth, GOLDMANs seen to clap. The YOUNG

M A N leaves ttzc

witness

stand. Another witness, M R .

LANDAU, nters.)

LANDAU. ,andau. To be truthful, on

the

journey when

Dorff and his men transferred us from Dachau to Buchen-

wald, although the journey lasted just as long as the one



T.qT XI N IN TH GL SS BOOTH CT I.

when I went

i o

Dachau-a journey on which very many

were murderc r 4 n this journey under Dortf no one

ac

tually

w s

murdered.

GOLDMAN.

bis

man is an idiot

JUDGE. Dorff, I will only allow you to spe k as long s

you are respectful. H e

switches

on GOLDMAN'SICRO-

PHONE.

GOLDXAN. xcuse me, Your Honor. 'Course, nobody

was murdered on th at second journey. N o need for it. T he

method Can 't you follow the method? T h a t first journey

was

an initiation and an initiation's

a

project,

An

initia-

tion's a defilement. Make 'em kick each other, make 'em

accuse each other, make 'em curse their God, make 'em

speak of their wives' intercourse and

their own

Make 'em

do it with their wives, make 'em do it with other wives,

make

'em do it with children. After that the~.'ildo any-

thin'-no need to waste your energy twice. And I always

swore

in

the anal sphere. They always had to get per-

mission to defecate. ewish prisoner number six million

and a half most obedientIy prays to be permitted to de-

fecate." What I was always looking out for, what

I

was

always looking for when I was in the camps were

the

survivors. What I sought

was

those not walking dead,

those degraded and defiled but still human.

I

sought

'em

with my pistol. And they were always different. They was

cunning and tenacious. But had an eye for 'em.

I

could

smell 'em. They smelled of freedom.

And

I

sought 'em out

and I sho t them because could not Iet them live.

JUDGE. Thank you, Colonel Dorff.

GOLDMAN

One moment, Judge. One moment. I m just

warrnin' up. You switch me off if I m no t respectful. Okay.

So I've no need to mention names. Names

You can

al-

ways get names. So we're

all

Jews. All Germans. And we

all got names. To o

many names

I n the camps, fellas

you all got to

be

mem bers of the P ar ty . You follow? You

got to be Nazis. All of you. You follow? Very few ex-

ceptions. You gotten to believe in our German superiority,

you tortured your own traitors, you took our old uniforms,



CT THE MAN IN

THE

GLASS BOOTH 53

you fixed em up, and you give us

a

sna ppy salute. You got

to love us. You follow? And a s for the Pope. Don t think

he

won t go back on all this dispensin . Don t think he s

not got doctrinal and political considerations. Wait for the

usual pall of silence, fellas. They ll re-read the Gospels

and

make another sta tem ent about the P ill. One of those four-

men commissions.

And I

am delighted, truly delighted

that

the prosecutress does not hold the German people respon-

sible for the Fuehrer. The Prosecutor is a realist and great

for trade. The prosecutor drives a Volkswagen. But why

should we dwell on the pa st? i n a t are these anti-semitic

daubings in London and Chicago? These desecrations in

Cologne? Deprivations in Russia? These publications in

Stockholm? And speaking of love, let me speak to you of

our beiclved Fuehrer. Let me pay him tribute. People of

Israel, (GOLDMANooks

at the JU GE

if

expecting to

be dezied calmly

the JU GE

gazes at him.

T he JU GE

considers M RS . ROSEN,heta nods to G O L D W , who rises

wit

mictoplione.

People of Jewry, let me

speak

to you

of my Fuehrer with love. (GOLDMAN auses.

Very

quiet ly . He who answered our German need. He who

rescued us from the depths. His fam ily background

was

not distinguished, his education negligible. At the end of

that

first World

War not even

a Gerrnan

citizen. T o whom

did he app eal? T o the people. H is power lay in the love he

won from the people. When he spoke, at first he was shy,

he

would hesitate, he would stammer, his

body

stiff, he

felt for his love like a blind man, the voice hushed, the

voice was flat, then the words came stronger,

came

steadier, his body grew free, he would bang out his right

arm like

a

hammer, louder and louder

he

spoke,

a

torrent,

a

waterfall, the climax

was

shouted and shouted, out and

up and beyond, and the end was absolute. Silence. Utter

silence, A great wide sweep of

the

right

arm

and so to the

tremendous

cry

the vast overwhelming

cry

the call

of

love from

the

people. Deutschlanderwache. Heil

Hitler.

Sieg Heil. Sieg Heil. Sieg

Heil.

D o

I

s you

begin

to

raise your hands? Do

I

hear you

stamp

your

feet

H e



-

5 4

Tim

. IAN IN

THE GLASS

BOOTH

ACT XI

gave

: s

UP I.,:~iry. H e gave us our news, he gave us our

art He L L I ~ olidays, he gave us our leisure, and

he

gave

our newly marrieds

a

copy of Mein Kampf. At

the end we loved

him.

In Gotterdam merung we loved him.

M'ith

i5c

1;iilers of the world a t our throa ts, the hordes

from the cast and w e ~ t , he capitalists and the com-

munists, the bombers of cities, the murderers of our chil

dren, with bullets in our guts

we

loved him. Starving we

loved him, With

his

head

wobbling, his left arm slack, his

hands a-tremble, w loved

him.

His generals lost him the

war. His subordinates were unworthy. There

w s

no suc-

cessor. There was oniy him. Hess was mad, Goering re-

viled,

Himmler rejected. He? He was loved. "Great

King.

Brave King. Wait yet a little while and the days of your

suffering will be over. Already the sun of ycxi good

fortune stands behind

the clouds ana soon,

beloved

Fuehrer, soon this sun will rise

upon

you." He never de-

serted us. All but he H e, only, loved to the end. While

he lived, Germany lived. And

the

people demanded it. We

never denied him. People of Israel, we never denied him.

And

those who tell you different lie. Tho% who tell

you anything else, lie in their hearts. And

if, if he were

able to

rise

from the dead, he would prove it to you now.

All over

again f only

.

if

only

we

had someone

o

rise

to . throw out our

arms

to love

.

and stamp

our feet for, Someone

.

someone to lead.

Pause .

Then

calculatedly.) People of Israel people of Israel, if he

had chosen you .

if he

had chosen you you also

would have followed where

he

led.

Pause.

An OLD

WOMAN

ises in

the

front

o

the audience

nd says

quietly:

OLDWOMANhis man is not Dorff.

JUDGE

What's that?

OLDWOMAN his man is not Dorff.

JUDGE. Not Dorff?

OLDWOXAN.This man is not Dorff. I must interrupt

now bec use he is enjoying

himself

too much



CT

II THE MAN IN THE GLASS BOOTH

Silence.

A

GUARD oves towards the

OLD OMAN.

JUDGE. Wait Wait

a

moment. I know this woman.

Yes,

Come

into the court.

PEOPLE

elp the

OLD

WOMANo the stand [ S t a g e ] . GOLDMAN

i ts motiodess.)

Enter the stand, Mrs Lehman.

The WOMANttters

the witness stand.)

OLD

WOMAN.have sat and sat. M r. Goldman

was

en-

lightening me. Hemade many 'points.

Many,

many points.

But in

the

end could not understand him. GOLDMAN

Puts

down

the

mike,) I knew him. I knew his cousin

Dorff. And

I

knew his wife and children. Mr. Gold-

man had three children. Teresa died on the train. Arthur

and Jacob

in

the first year. Mrs. Goldman in the second.

Christina. Pause. GOLDMAN

i ts.)

When Dorff came to

our camp

he

would

talk

to this man and call him, "Cousin

, '

"Cousin Arthur."

Dorff

would

smile

at

this

man,

pat

this

man give-him food s all could see There

was a likeness. A family likeness.

I

think Dorff

must

have

been part Jewish or all Jewish. Dorff would come on Holy

Days, give

Mr

Goldman food and laugh. Mr. Goldman

would wait till

orff

had gone, then give away the food.

People followed Mr. Goldman. He never had enough food

to give them. People lay on the ground for him. The food

w s

too

rich.

Bars

of chocolate. People cursed M r. Gold-

man.

People died because of

the

food. People died because

they wanted it too much.And Dorff could come back and

sit watching, and laugh

and

tell the German band to play

"Rosamunda." Dorff would sit there sni ing in the sweet

brown smoke from the chimneys, and laughing at Mr.

Goldman, and calling him Cousin Arthur. It was a game.

Pause.)

And sometimes he

wourd

speak in memory of

Mr. Goldman's children.

Pause.)

So when

we

were aban-

doned a t the end of the war the ermans left

us in a great huny and someone,ledus to the German bar-

racks outside the electric wire.

n

the tables were plates



6 THE MAN N THE GLASS BOOTH CT

n

of frozen soup. T he wine was yellow ice. There

was

frozen

Schnapps. And we warmed and drank it

all

M r. Goldman

was there. I remember him.

We

huddled together. They

lit

a

fire from the benches, and sang. And

Mr.

Goldman

told jokes.

Lung pause.)

But Dorff came back. He was

shooting us all methodically,

he

would shoot in the nape

of the neck, then throw the twisted body into the snow.

W e sa t and waited for ou r turn . Cousin, Dorff shouted ,

Cousin Arthur, watch me for I shall never leave you.

And then fou r boys, young boys on big horses, rode into

the hut. They had fur

hats

When he saw them, Dorff

dropped his gun and fell on his knees. At first they did

not fire a t Dorff-the Russian boys. Then one of them got

down from his great horse, and picked DorFf up, and

carried Dorff out of the hut, nd threw him onto the wire.

Dorff screamed and pulled off the wire, and they threw

him back onto it again. He stuck on the wire. And we all

ran

and tore at Dorff.

We

tore him to pieces. But

I

re-

member thinking:

Mr.

Goldman has stayed in the hut.

Silence.

MR S. ROSEN

enters the boot/z, und oes

GOLD-

MAN'S tunic, looks at

GOLDMAN'Seft

armpit .

GOLD-

MAN

i s

silent. MRS OSEN omes out of the boo th .)

M RS. ROSEN.M ust have burned himself no

S.S.

insignia there in the first place. Just burned a hole

the

man

just burned a hole in his armpit.

JUDGE

And

his

forearm-the Jewish number?

(MRS.

ROSEN O O ~ S

t

GOLDMAN'S

orearm.)

MR S. ROSEN .Grafted over. The skin is grafted over.

He must have grafted his num ber over. was always look-

ing for a lie. Once

I

told him that. I said to him , Some-

thing about you makes me look for lies. But not this

kind of lie, you understand.

JUDGE YOUdid not look hard enough, Mrs. Rosen.

MRS

OSEN.

Crosses back nd s i t s . )

H e sickened me



ACT n THE MAN IN THE GLASS BOOTH 7

and that is why

I

must have lost my judgment. He will

have got to our agents. Bribed some of our agents.

The

photographs were his photographs-the X-rays, his

X-

rays.

Silence.

OLD

WOMAN.

do

not think we would have followed

where

the Fuehrer led

(GOLDMAN

a i s e s is head, smiles

at

her.)

JUDGE. hat was the point of all this Goldman?

MRS. ROSEN.H e likes

bad

jokes.

Silence.)

JUDGE. understand his need to put a case. I under-

stand

a concern for Justice

.

a concern for law.

I

understand

his

need to put a German in the dock-a Ger-

man who would say what no German has said in the dock.

understand that T h e JUDGE pauses in thought.)

understand

his

guilt

. .

even so, would not have

done this-would never have done this.

MR S. ROSEN.He s more German

than

Jewish.

Silence.)

JUDGE Why did you

do

i t ? Silence.) Haven t you done

us more harm than good? Is not what you have said

against us that will be remembered?

MRS.

~ O S E N .

H e

is

an

anti-semitic Jew.

JUDGE Gent ly . ) Hasn t he th

right

MRS.ROSEN.

Parsionately.)

No, he has not the right.

She houts.) After all that has happened, nobody has the



8 T H E

MAN

TN THE GLASS BOOTH

CT

n

right.

Pause.)

He wanted to go to

Calvary,

Your Honor.

So get out his nails. Take him, part his raiment. Cast

your lots. Th is is the

King

of the Jews, Your Honor. Offer

him vinegar. He wants to

be

crucified.

Let

him make

his

sacrifice. Your Honor, take the old sadist out and stone

him.

Take the old masochist out

and

scourge him.

JUDGE. Be quiet.

GOLDMAN

a u g h . )

OLD

WOMAN.M r. Goldman, tell me. was there.

Silence.

GOLDMAN

omes out of the booth and goes to

the OLDW O M A N nd embraces her .)

GOLDMAN.V e ry gently to tlre OL D

WOMAN.weet-

he ar t, you did me. Where s your bra ins? Y ou re senile.

You should never have spoke. Wanted to make some offer-

ing fo r them--something they d understand. Wanted to

let him take me up and swing me north, south, east

and

west, I wanted when the life was gone, they d kiss my ass,

k ss

the turning cheeks of my swingin ass kiss my ass

and call me sexy Could I help my own dimensions? Could

I

help my sense of progress? Me?

A messenger

of peace

Best thin I ever did w b break my glasses. Lost my con-

tacts

in

a urinal. Should ve stayed down there

in

the

toilets.

JUDGE.Take him out. Gently.

T o

MRS.

O S E N . )

B u t

GOLDMAN

icks at the

GUARDS

e turns to the O LD

WOMAN

gain.)

GOLDMAN.

Grinning.)

W as bein too hard on ya,

sweetheart? H e shouts.) Sweetheart,

if

not u s who

else?

H e wheels round to the audience. He looks at

t h e m . ) chose y a because I knew ya. chose ya because

you re smart. I chose ya because you re Jewish.

I

chose

y a because you re the chosen.

I

chose ya for remem-

brance. G O L D M A N

egins to take ofl

his

shirt.)



CT II THE MAN IN THE GLASS BOOTH 9

WOMAN.

Desperately.) You chose us bec use you

love

US.

GOLDMAN.

Throwing out his

arms

to the audience.)

Battened down a s we were my brothers

my cousins

shunting from siding to siding there was time.. But fter

the

wire rode. rode on Russian horses on

great black

Russian

horses. Every lamp post in anzig a gallows.

clawed out their dead eyes with my nails. rode on Rus-

sian horses and we battered Polish castles we looted

museums we broke we burned

we

raped

and we

drank.

We

draped

ourselves

with

golden

tapestries

we

covered

our fingers with golden rings we arrayed our horses

with

golden armor and we ate the German

boys.

We picked

them up

and

ate them. We crushed

them

we trampled

them

we

ravaged them

in the snow-the snow

th t

kept

on falling. We kicked in their golden heads. We who were

German

and

Jewish.

We did

that

Pause.)

JUDGE.

YOUcan leave the

court. B u t n ow

GOLDMAN

goes to the glass booth.

H e

takes the door ke y and locks

himself

inside H e takes

ofl

t h e rest of

his

clothes.

The

GUARDS

eat

on

the door. The

JUDGE

descends from the

bench and

walks

slowly t o th e naked MAN in

the

booth.

ut

GOLDMAN

s

silent. Silence. T h e n th e

OLD

WOMAN

cries in anguish. Silence. Silence. Silence.)

Carry him out

of

the court.

T h e

GUARDS

ather round the booth examining it T h e

COURT

FFICIALS

uin

them. For the moment they

do not know how

to

get the man out . The LlGHTS

robert shaw: the man in the glass booth

Documents