Dramatisation on : The Last Leaf
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. ]
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