Dramatisation on : The Last Leaf

by - June 10, 2021

Theatre Script on The Last Leaf :-  


English Project : The Last Leaf 
O. Henry 


In a little district ,  West of Washington Square there is a place reach in natural beauty . So art people from various places of the country come prowling and hunting for a suitable object or a view that would get a place on their canvas .

At the top of a three story building Sue and Johnsy had their studio . They chance to meet in a hotel , got acquainted and that acquaintance resulted in the joint studio . One November morning Johnsy was attacked with pneumonia and the she lay scarcely moving , looking through the small window passes at the blank side of the next building . Sue called in a doctor .

The curtain rises and the doctor , an elderly man is seen examining Johnsy .

Doctor : What problem , madam ? Let me see your eyes , tongue . ( getting no response from the patient ) I am giving you medicine that will cure you .

[ Outside the room Sue is waiting for the doctor . ] 

Sue : Well , doctor how is your patient ?

Doctor :  Oh, a tough job ! Your little lady has made of her mind that she is not going to get well . Upon this bent of mind no medicine can cure her .

Sue : Then ! What should I do ? 

Doctor : Could you please tell me if she has anything in her mind ? 

Sue : Nothing important ..........that may have any connection with her ailment .

Doctor : See ,  I will do all that medical science can accomplish . But you will have to do one thing .

Sue : What , doctor ?  I will do anything for my dear Johnsy .

Doctor : She appears to be obsessed with something . Try to bring out from her what her obsession is . I will come again in the evening . The malady is in her mind ......( exists ) 



[ After the departure of the doctor Sue goes to the workroom , finishes some illustrations for a Magazine and enters into the bedroom of Johnsy , whistling. ] 

Sue : ( Aside ) No sound , no movement ! Is she asleep ?  Hi ,  Johny , see my illustrations. I have done as you instructed . 

[ Suddenly Sue hears some mutterings ]

Johnsy : Twelve , Eleven , ten , nine , eight and seven together ! 

Sue : ( Moving round and seeing Johnsy looking out through the open window and counting) Hey , what are you counting over there , dear ? 

[ Following her look she finds an old Ivy vine , gnarled and decayed at the roots , climbed up the brick wall . The old breath of autumn has stricken its leaves from the vines , until its skeleton branches cling , almost bare , to the crumbling bricks . ] 

What's there that you count ? 

Johnsy : Six. They are falling faster now . Three days ago there were almost a hundred . It made my head ache to count them . But now it's easy . There goes another one . There are only five left now .

Sue : Five what dear ? Tell me Sudie , please .  I cannot bear your suffering . Tell me what ails you .

Johnsy : Leaves . On the Ivy Vine . When the last one falls I will have to go . I have known that for three days . Did not the doctor tell you ? 

Sue : Never in my life have I heard of such nonsense ! What have those Ivy leaves to do with your getting ill or well ? You are an artist . You should know of the ways of nature !  Leaves come and go .

Johnsy : Why did the doctor say then that my chances of getting well are on ten to one ? 

Sue : What is wrong with the doctor's speculation ? That is almost as good a chance as we have when we ride on the street cars or walk past a new building ? Try to take some food now and let me finish my work so that I may submit the illustrations to the editor man and on the way buy some nutritious food for you and the new medicines the doctor has prescribed today . 

Johnsy : Who are you going to buy medicine for ? and for whom the food ? Who shall take your medicine and your food ? There goes another ! Only four remains . I want the last one fall and with it I will go .

Sue : Johny dear , will you please stop talking nonsense ? And keep your eyes closed and keep from looking out through the window ? Will you please allow me to finish my illustrations sitting in this room ? 

Johnsy : Can not you do it in the other room ? 

Sue : No . I had rather be here by you . Besides ,  I don't want you to keep looking at those silly ivy leaves .

Johnsy : Tell me as soon as you have finished ( closes her eyes ) because I want to see the last one fall . I am tired of waiting . I am tired of thinking . I want to turn lose hold on everything and go sailing down , down , just like one of those poor tired leaves .

Sue : Try to sleep . I must call Behrman to be my model for a quick sketch . I will come back in a minute . Don't try to move till I come back . 

[ Sue goes down to the apartment of Mr. Behrman on the ground floor . Behrman was past sixty and had deep affection for Sue and Johnsy . He had been trying for the last forty years to paint a masterpiece but had never yet begun it . He was a failure in art .] 


Sue : May I come in , sir ? 

Behrman : The door is open . Come in . 

Sue : ( Entering into the dim lighted room finds Behrman dozing on a sofa ) Are you Ok Mr. Behrman ? 

Behrman : Sure ,  I was pondering over a nice sketch . Anyway why are you here at this time ? 

Sue : I am in deep trouble . Johnsy is seriously ill , refusing medicine and food . 

Behrman : Why ? What ails her ? 

Sue : A fancy . She fears she will die as soon as the last leaf on the ivy falls .

Behrman : Ivy leaf ? Where ? 

Sue : Through the open window panes , on a wall of the the adjacent building . She is light and fragile as a leaf herself . The doctor came . He tells me unless the patient cooperates and desires to live no medicine will cure her . Will you please talk to her ? 

Behrman : ( angry and excited but with deep concern ) What foolishness ! Why did you allow that silly business to come in her brain ? 

Sue : The fever has left her mind morbid and full of strange fancies , Mr. Behrman . I don't know what should I do ? 

Behrman : You go ,  I am coming shortly . I cannot allow such a sweet little soul to die . This place has turned into a bad one . Let me paint my masterpiece and we shall go away to a good place . ( Sue exists ) 

[ Half an hour later ] 

Behrman : ( tapping the door softly ) May I come in ? 

Sue : ( going to the door ) Oh , come in . She is sleeping . Let's go to the other room . 

[ They enter into the other room and look out through the window ] 

Sue : See the Ivy Vine .

Behrman : Oh ! the rough weather , cold rain mingled with snow and strong wind . Still a few leaves there . 

Sue : I fear how many of them will be there the next morning .

Behrman : ( coughing severely ) Oh ! the cold wind would not let me live comfortably .  Anyway , you take care of her . Don't worry ( thoughtfully ) She will leave long . I will come next morning . ( Behrman exists ) 

[ The next morning when Sue awakes from an hour's sleep she finds Johnsy with dull wide -  open eyes staring at the closed window and the certain on it .]

Sue : Good morning ! You look better today ain't  you ? 

Johnsy : Remove the curtain and open the window . I want to see .

Sue : ( wearily obeying and fearfully looking out ) Lo ! after the beating rain and fierce gusts of wind throughout the night the last leaf still hangs victorious . See Johnsy,  the dark green near its stem but with its serrated edges tinted with the yellow of dissolution and decay .

Johnsy : It is the last one . I thought it would surely fall during the night . Oh Sudie ,  I am hungry . Give me something to eat .

Sue : ( elated ) Sure , I am going to give it to you . ( Aside ) Oh God she is returning .

Johnsy : I have been a bad girl , Sudie . Something has made that last leaf stay there to show how wicked I was . It is a sin to went to die . Bring me a hand mirror first and then pack some pillows about me , and I will sit up and talk to you . 

[ Food and milk given , Johnsy sits and talks feebly with Sue . Just then Doctor enters . The Doctor is evidently happy at the sight .] 

Doctor : How nice it looks . How do you feel , my child ? 

Johnsy : Better .

Doctor : ( Examining ) You are better today really . Take care of yourself . Don't allow meaningless thoughts to overpower you . 

[ The doctor goes out and Sue follows him ] 

Sue : What about my present ? Do you think she will recover soon ? 

Doctor : Sure . Now what she needs is nutrition and your good nursing . Call me in case of any emergency . I am going now . I will have to see another patient downstairs - Behrman  they call him - a kind of artist . He is an old , weak man , and the attack is acute . There is no hope for him . 

[ The doctor exists. ] 

Sue :  Johny ,  my dear , you please stay on your bed , you are weak . I am going to meet dear old Behrman . I will come back just now . Please don't move .

Johnsy : Tell dear Behrman I cannot meet him right now . Tomorrow I will try to go to him . Don't know if I will be able or not .

[ Sue exists and Johnsy lies down with her eyes closed . After half an hour Sue comes back and finds Johnsy lying on the bed contentedly . ] 

Sue : ( Aside ) She is normal now . So I can tell her what I have just now discovered . A horrible discovery indeed ! 

Johnsy : ( Finding her thoughtful ) Hi , what on earth are you thinking , Sudie ? 

Sue : ( gravely and in a tone of fear and apprehension ) I have something to tell you , dear. Mr. Behrman has died of pneumonia . He was seriously ill . The caretaker found him this morning in his room . His shoes and clothing where wet through and icy cold . They could not imagine where he had been on a such a dreadful night . And they found a lantern still lighted , a ladder , some scattered brushes and palette with green and yellow colours mixed on it , under the ivy plant and - look out through the window , dear , at the last ivy leaf on the wall . Did not you wonder why it never fluttered or moved when the wind blew ? Ah , darling , it is Behrman's masterpiece . He painted it throughout the night braving the rough whether as soon as he had seen it fall . ( Voice choked and she could say nothing . ) 

Jonsy : ( With tears in eyes and in a choked voice ) Really it is a masterpiece of art . Probably no artist has ever painted something to save a life ! It was my fault , my foolishness , that the fatherly man gave away his life . 

[ The curtain falls. ] 


Theatre Script on The Last Leaf :-  


English Project : The Last Leaf 
O. Henry 


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