June Moon

the four of us? More than ten dollars? Paul Vaguely. No⁠—not unless we go on to some other place. You’ve got more with you, haven’t you? Fred What other place? Paul One of the other clubs. Fred But I don’t-hello.⁠ ⁠… Hello.⁠ ⁠… Eddie?⁠ ⁠… I want to tell you something. Paul I’ll go and wash up. Departs. Fred Well, I’m up there now, but that isn’t⁠—Sure.⁠ ⁠… Yeah, it looks all right.⁠ ⁠… No, I’m still here. There was a piano player here from Goebel’s. He liked my stuff and made up a tune to some of it.⁠ ⁠… Yeah.⁠ ⁠… He said it was all right. But that isn’t⁠ ⁠… what I called up to say was I can’t get around there till late.⁠ ⁠… No, it’ll be later than that. There’s no telling what time it’ll be.⁠ ⁠… We got to study some songs.⁠ ⁠… Paul Sears and his wife.⁠ ⁠… No, no, don’t think that. It’s a business proposition. They’re taking me to a place where we’ll get some ideas.⁠ ⁠… Just the three of us.⁠ ⁠… But you know I’d rather be with you. Eileen comes back, coat over arm. But I can’t.⁠ ⁠… I can’t.⁠ ⁠… They’re taking me. I’ll tell you all about it in the morning.⁠ ⁠… That’s all I can say now.⁠ ⁠… I can’t.⁠ ⁠… In the morning.⁠ ⁠… Good night. Hangs up. Eileen You seem to be having your troubles. Fred No, that wasn’t anything. Just a⁠—friend of mine. Eileen Is she nice? Fred It isn’t anybody. Just a little girl I happened to meet. Eileen I understand. Fred She’s just a⁠—a girl from a little town. Lucille comes back, full of life. Pulling on gloves, etc. Lucille Listen⁠—it’s kind of early for the Orchard anyhow. So why don’t we take in the second show at the Capitol? Paul is on again. Paul Is everybody ready? Eileen Oh, that’s fine! And I know what you’d love! After the Orchard what do you say we go to the Cotton Club? She throws a quick explanation to Fred. That’s Harlem! Lucille Great! Eileen They’ve got a wonderful tap dancer up there! Better than Bill Robinson! Paul But say, the Cotton Club don’t get hot till three! Fred Who has never heard of that hour. What time? Eileen Oh, that’s all right! We can go to the Madrid or Richman’s in between! Lucille Oh, great! Paul But say, Richman’s burned down the other night! Fred Let’s not go there! Lucille I’ll tell you where I haven’t been for a long while! The St. Regis Roof! Eileen Grand! Lucille They’ve a wonderful view! Fred Where? Lucille The St. Regis Roof. Fred I get dizzy if I climb a ladder! The voices of the others pick up in a confused jumble as The Curtain Falls.

Act II

The scene is a room at Goebel’s music publishing house. A piano, a few chairs, some shelves, and you have it. Three or four weeks have gone by since Act I.

Maxie is at the piano just amusing himself when the curtain rises. He is playing “La Boheme” and cutting loose a trifle. There enters, from one of the adjacent offices, a young woman (an employee) known as Goldie. She may have got her name because of the color of her hair or from the fact that she is really a Miss Goldberg. That point is never brought up in this play, but may some day be the subject of a musical comedy. Anyway, she comes on and busies herself looking over songs at the music shelves, on which the hits of these and other days are piled high.

Goldie	Busy with her songs. “There Never Was a Girl Like Mother.”
Maxie	Maybe it’s all for the best.⁠ ⁠… How’s the boss? Did he have a good trip?
Goldie	He says not. He says in the Middle West they’re still wild over “The Rosary.”
Maxie	That looks like a hit.
Goldie	Did Benny find you? He was looking for you.
Maxie	Not yet.
Goldie	He’s got a new song.
Maxie	That’s good. I was afraid he was written out.
Goldie	You’d better hide if you don’t want to hear it.
Maxie	No use⁠—he always gets his man. Besides, I’ve got to stick around and play Paul’s new one, “June Moon.”
Goldie	Is it any good?
Maxie	It’s got a chance. It’s a tune that’s easy to remember, but if you should forget it it wouldn’t make any difference.
	Fred plunges in.
Fred	Ain’t Mr. Hart back yet?
Goldie	Not yet.
Fred	Don’t you even know what time he’s coming?
Goldie	Can’t tell. His first day back in town⁠—he’s probably got a lot of things to do. She goes⁠—and pretty disrespectfully, too.
Fred	It’s half past four. He said he was coming back at two o’clock.
Maxie	You get used to waiting in this game. I’ve been in it twenty-two years and nothing’s happened yet.
Fred	Paul’s coming right in. We want to play the song once before Mr. Hart hears it. I made a change.
Maxie	Whereabouts.
Fred	In the refrain. We had it “Sweet night-bird, hovering above,” now it’s “winging aloft.” You see, “aloft” means the same like “above.”
Maxie	Only higher.
Fred	I wish I’d known Mr. Hart was going to be late. I could have slept some more. I had to get up at twelve.
Maxie	That must be tough after working for the General Electric, where a man’s hours are practically his own.
Fred	No. I had to be on the job at eight, every morning. But I went to bed about ten, except Saturday nights, when I seen a picture or something. I didn’t know what life was, in Schenectady.
Maxie	I bet it’s an open book to you now.
Fred	Imagine⁠—only going out one night a week and then just to a moving picture show! Down here it’s like as if every night was a special night⁠—there’s always new places to go to. Miss Fletcher⁠—she’s always locating new ones! We was in three last night! Wound up at half past seven this morning, in the Bucket of Blood! There’s a lively place! We was the last ones there. Paul and Lucille, they went home at seven, but I and Miss