236
J
U L ESF ElF FER
JOAN:
Dear God! He's dead!
(crosses herself,
COHN
retreats.) Your
friend is dead.
COHN:
He's not dead.
JOAN:
He is dead.
COHl'(:
He's
dead. But Abe's not dead.
JOAN:
But this is Abe.
COHN:
He's not Abe. Abe is alive.
JOAN :
You poor man. Your mind has cracked in grief. This is Abe.
COHN:
Abe is shorter.
JOAN:
This man is short.
COHN:
Abe doesn't have a beard.
JOAN:
This man is clean-shaven.
COHN:
Abe is swarthy.
JOAN:
In life this man was swarthy.
COHN:
(crosses over to the trunk, fed up)
For once and for all–
(looks in trunk) Abe! (falls into the trunk in a dead faint)
BLACKOUT
ACT I
Scene 2
The room as before, but empty except for
ABE'S
body in
the trunk. The rug is pulled back to expose
ABE'S
legs
sticking out of the side.
COHN
and
JOAN
are in
COHN'S
bedroom, the curtain drawn.
JOAN:
Drink this - not too fast. You're spilling it all over yourself.
That's better. There. There.
COHN:
(coughs)
Go away. Leave me alone.
JOAN:
I know what's in your mind.
COHN:
Go. The Emperor's waiting.
JOAN:
You plan to do away with yourself.
COHN:
What I do is my business.
JOAN:
Instead of going along making things awful, why not make
them better? Instead of joining Abe, why not have Abe join
us!
Why not bring Abe back to life?!
COHN:
It's a deal. How?
JOAN:
You have one more wish.
