10 ISBN: 0-87129-244-0 13 ISBN: 978-0-87129-244-5 9 7 80 8 7 1 2 9 2 44 5 0 1 9 8 2 www.dramaticpublishing.com
COT TON PATCH GOS PEL Book TOM KEY RUSSELL TREYZ Mu sic and Lyr ics HARRY CHAPIN Originally conceived and performed as a one-man play by Tom Key Based on the book The Cot ton Patch Ver sion of Matthew and John by Clar ence Jor dan Dra matic Pub lish ing Woodstock, Il li nois Aus tra lia New Zea land South Af rica
*** NO TICE *** The am a teur and stock act ing rights to this work are con trolled ex clu - sively by THE DRA MATIC PUB LISH ING COM PANY with out whose per mis sion in writ ing no per for mance of it may be given. Roy alty must be paid ev ery time a play is per formed whether or not it is pre sented for profit and whether or not ad mis sion is charged. A play is per formed any time it is acted be fore an au di ence. Cur rent roy alty rates, ap pli ca tions and re stric tions may be found at our website: www.dramaticpublishing.com, or we may be con tacted by mail at: DRA MATIC PUB LISH ING COM - PANY, 311 Wash ing ton St., Woodstock IL 60098. COPY RIGHT LAW GIVES THE AU THOR OR THE AU THOR S AGENT THE EX CLU SIVE RIGHT TO MAKE COP IES. This law pro - vides au thors with a fair re turn for their cre ative ef forts. Au thors earn their liv ing from the roy al ties they re ceive from book sales and from the performance of their work. Conscientious observance of copyright law is not only eth i cal, it en cour ages au thors to con tinue their cre ative work. This work is fully pro tected by copy right. No al ter ations, de le tions or sub sti tu tions may be made in the work with out the prior writ ten con sent of the pub lisher. No part of this work may be re pro duced or trans mit ted in any form or by any means, elec tronic or me chan i cal, in clud ing pho to - copy, recording, videotape, film, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. It may not be performed either by professionals or amateurs without payment of royalty. All rights, in clud ing, but not lim ited to, the pro fes sional, mo tion pic - ture, ra dio, tele vi sion, vid eo tape, for eign lan guage, tab loid, rec i ta tion, lec tur ing, pub li ca tion and read ing, are re served. Book MCMLXXXII by TOM KEY, RUS SELL TREYZ and THE COT TON PATCH COM PANY Lyrics MCMLXXXII by HARRY CHAPIN Printed in the United States of Amer ica All Rights Re served (COTTON PATCH GOSPEL) ISBN: 978-0-87129-244-5
IM POR TANT BILL ING AND CREDIT RE QUIRE MENTS All pro duc ers of the mu si cal must give credit to the au thors and composer of the musical in all pro grams distributed in connection with per for mances of the musical and in all in stances in which the ti tle of the mu si cal ap pears for pur poses of ad ver tis ing, pub li ciz ing or oth er wise ex - ploit ing the mu si cal and/or a pro duc tion. The names of the au thors and composer must also ap pear on a sep a rate line, on which no other name appears, immediately following the title, and must ap pear in size of type not less than fifty per cent (50%) the size of the ti tle type. Bio graph i cal in for ma tion on the au thors and composer, if in cluded in the playbook, may be used in all pro grams. In all pro grams this no tice must ap pear: Pro duced by spe cial ar range ment with THE DRA MATIC PUB LISH ING COM PANY of Woodstock, Il li nois * * * * CHAR AC TERS (Orig i nal) Mat thew (Also plays: Mes sen ger, Joe, Cat tle Farmer, Herod, Pol i ti cian, Je sus, John the Bap tizer, Sa tan I, Sa tan II, Sa tan III, Rock, Tour ist, Rev er end Boyd Bissel, Busi ness man, Pres - i dent, Sen a tor, Tele vi sion Preacher, Jud, Pilate, Angel.) Band/Dis ci ples (Also play: Heav enly Host, Herod s Men, Neigh bors, Wed ding Re cep tion Guests, John s Choir, God, Heav enly Choir, Gos pel Quar tet.) Jim (Also plays: Neigh bor I, Joe in You Are Still My Boy, Gos sip II.) Jack (Also plays: Woman in Mama Is Here, Sen a tor s Daugh - ter, Timmy, Mary, Gos sip IV.) Andy (Also plays: Gos sip I.) Tom (Also plays: Tanya, Gos sip III.) 3
POSSIBLE CHARACTERS (For a multi-ac tor ver sion: See au thors notes on page 7.) Jim* Heav enly Host (m)* Jack* Herod* Andy* Pol i ti cian (Brother Lamar)* Tom* Mabry Mat thew* Herod s Men (m)* Joe* Woman ( Mama Is Here )* Mary* Si mon (Joe s son) Mes sen ger Jody Cat tle Farmer June Reporter Baby Lambry Busi ness man Dr. Troy Pres i dent (South ern de nom i na tion) Je sus (as boy) Gos pel Quar tet (m)* Neighbors (m) Crippled Woman Wed ding Reception Guests (m) Her Friend Mr. Tedum Sen a tor John the Bap tizer Security Men (m) John s Choir (m)* Dig ni tar ies (m) God (m)* Senator s Daughter Sa tan One Timmy* Heav enly Choir (m)* Tanya* Sa tan Two Tele vi sion Preacher Orville Crowd at First Church (m)* Satan Three Board Mem bers (m)* Rock* Dr. Caiphas* Jim Zebedee* Dor o thy Phil* Peo ple in Rock Gar den (m) Bart* Pilate Tad* Guards (m) 4
Si mon the Re bel* Gos sip One* Jud* Gos sip Two* Tourist* Gossip Three* Reverend Boyd Bissel Gossip Four* Crowd on Stone Moun tain (m)* An gel Fol low ers (m)* * - sing ing role (m) - mul ti ple role SONGS Act I Somethin s Brewin in Gainesville Baby Born to God* I Did It Mama Is Here/I Did It (Re prise) It Is n t Easy Sho Nuff From That Day On* Turn It Around When I Look Up Ain t No Busy Sig nals Spitball* Mir a cle on Stone Moun tain Love the Lord Your God* Blind Date Goin to At lanta Act II Are We Ready? You Are Still My Boy We Gotta Get Or ga nized We re Gonna Love It While It Lasts Ju bi la tion 5
Dangerous Man* Jud* Hey, What s Goin On?* Jud (Re prise)* Thank God for Gov er nor Pi late One More To mor row Well I Won der (with Ju bi la tion Reprise) Gainesville (Re prise) *Not listed in New York pro gram. * * * * Cot ton Patch Gos pel was orig i nally pro duced at the Lamb s The ater, New York City, Oc to ber 21, 1981, by Philip M. Get ter, with the fol low ing: Mat thew...tom Key Tom...Scott Ains lie fid dle, banjo, dobro, man do lin Andy...Pete Corum bass fid dle Jim...Jim Laud er dale banjo, gui tar Jack...Mi chael Mark gui tar, man do lin Di rec tor...rus sell Treyz Mu si cal Di rec tor...tom Chapin Sets and Cos tumes...john Falabella Light ing...roger Mor gan Pro duc tion Stage Man ager...mark Rubinsky TIME and PLACE: Here and Now. 6
AUTHORS NOTES The orig i nal pro duc tion of Cot ton Patch Gos pel was done with five ac tors. One ac tor played the speak ing roles, and the other four were the mem bers of the band. How ever, it is our in ten tion that the script can be per formed with as many or as few ac tors as de sired. There are around thirty speak ing roles, and many more ac tors can be added in the en sem ble scenes and for the large mu si cal num bers. The orig i nal cast were also all white males. How ever, there is no rea son that the roles have to be played by males and/or whites. Since we ei ther changed the sex or the char - ac ter to male or frankly had a male play ing a fe male role when nec es sary, there is no rea son that the op po site tack can not be taken. Of ten all that is needed is a fe male trans - la tion of the names. In the case of Jo seph and Mary, Mary could play the two ma jor Jo seph scenes. In fact, it is more ac cu rate bib li cally to have Mary in the wa ter into wine" se quence. By cut ting the duet sec tions of Mama Is Here / I Did It and Goin to At lanta, it is also pos si ble for the en tire script to be per formed by one per son with a gui tar. The ac - tor would have to be very tal ented, very busy, and very tired by the end of the per for mance. An other pos si ble in ter pre ta tion could have a group of four to eight ac tors, with or with out in stru ments, who could divide the roles according to their particular types. 7
It is not necessary to have the musicians onstage. It is possible to do a straightforward musical production of Cot - ton Patch with the band and/or pi ano in an or ches tra pit and the sing ers on stage. In order to help clarify the possibilities, we are including two sets of stage di rec tions. The di rec tions listed in the left-hand col umn are for the orig i nal pro duc tion. The ones listed in the right-hand col umn are for a large-cast ver sion. Additional lines for a multi-actor production are also in - cluded in the right-hand col umn. Di rec tors can use which - ever set of di rec tions suits their pur pose or an amal gam of both. Char ac ters that are fol lowed in pa ren the ses by an other char ac ter s name were played in the orig i nal by the band mem ber play ing the char ac ter in pa ren the ses. All other char ac ters were played by the ac tor por tray ing Mat thew. 8
ACT ONE Mat thew and some of Je sus fol low ers have come to what - ever au di to rium Cot ton Patch Gos pel is play ing in and have set up their stage. It should be a sim ple ar range ment of plat forms and fur ni ture. There may be some sim ple struc tural el e ment or flats and a cyclorama in the back - ground. It is a set they have de signed or had de signed to help them pres ent their play about Je sus who lived not very long ago. The feel ing should be sim ple, hon est and func tional. It is a place to tell the story. It should not be shoddy, for they are proud of their leader. It should not have a com mer cial pol - ish, for they be lieve in what they have ex pe ri enced. The fur ni ture may con sist of a sim ple, sturdy, small ta ble, a straight chair, two move able stools, and perches or benches at the sides of the stage, both up and downstage. The lev els of the set can give the band mem bers places to sit and to store their in stru ments. En trances and ex its should be easy to fa cil i tate get ting in stru ments on and off stage. NOTE: No at tempt has been made to de ter mine how the band mem bers switch their in stru ments since it is prac ti - 9
10 COT TON PATCH GOSPEL Act I cally im pos si ble to find mu si cians and sing ers who match the orig i nal cast in vo cal ranges and knowl edge of mu si cal in stru ments. It is suf fi cient to say that there should be var i - ous safe ar eas for in stru ments to be stored both on and off stage. The changes can be cho reo graphed into the ac tion of the play. Since there is no con ven tion of hav ing the band on stage at all times, it is quite pos si ble for some one to walk off stage to get a new in stru ment and re turn when they have ob tained it. JIM, JACK, ANDY and TOM (the band) get into place as the houselights dim. JIM. ( SOMETHIN S BREWIN IN GAINESVILLE ) SOMEBODY SAID, NOTHIN EVER HAPPENS DOWN HOME ROUND HERE. SOMEBODY SAID, NOTHIN EVER MATTERED THAT EVER HAPPENED HERE. ANDY. SOMEBODY SAID, IT S GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO SEE? THEN A GOOD OL BOY SAID, GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME. JACK. NOW SOMEBODY SAID, IT S THE SECOND COMING. SOMEONE SAID, IT S THE FIRST.
Act I COT TON PATCH GOS PEL 11 SOMEBODY SAID, IT S THE BEST THAT COULD HAPPEN, SOMEONE SAID, IT S THE WORST. TOM. AND SOMEBODY SAID, THE ROT GUT GOTCHA, MOONSHINE S STEWED YOUR BRAIN. THEN THE GOOD OL BOY SAID, THE COTTON PATCH GOSPEL STARTED DOWN IN ALL. GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA. SOMETHIN S BREWIN IN GAINESVILLE, WONDER WHAT IT COULD BE. SOMETHIN S DOIN IN GAINESVILLE, COME ON DOWN AND SEE. IT S GAINESVILLE WHERE THE WISE MEN WENT, TURNED A SINNER S STABLE TO A REVIVAL TENT, IT S A HELL OF A PLACE TO BE HEAVEN SENT, IT S GAINESVILLE BOUND FOR ME. JIM. WELL, IT ALL STARTED IN GAINESVILLE, ON THE MAP IT S JUST A DOT. ANDY. WELL, THE MYSTERY OF HISTORY IS WHAT GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA S, GOT. JACK. NOW, YOU MIGHT FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE IN A WORLD THAT S GONE TO POT,
12 COT TON PATCH GOSPEL Act I TOM. BUT WE GOT THE STORY OF THE CROWNIN GLORY, BELIEVE IT OR NOT. ALL. SOMETHIN S BREWIN IN GAINESVILLE, WONDER WHAT IT COULD BE. SOMETHIN S DOIN IN GAINESVILLE, COME ON DOWN AND SEE. IT S GAINESVILLE WHERE THE WISE MEN WENT, TURNED A SINNER S STABLE TO A REVIVAL TENT, IT S A HELL OF A PLACE TO BE HEAVEN SENT, IT S GAINESVILLE BOUND FOR ME. (INSTRUMENTAL BREAK) ALL. SOMETHIN S BREWIN IN GAINESVILLE, WONDER WHAT IT COULD BE. SOMETHIN S DOIN IN GAINESVILLE, COME ON DOWN AND SEE. IT S GAINESVILLE WHERE THE WISE MEN WENT, TURNED A SINNER S STABLE TO A REVIVAL TENT, IT S A HELL OF A PLACE TO BE HEAVEN SENT, IT S GAINESVILLE BOUND FOR ME. SOMETHIN S BREWIN IN GAINESVILLE, WONDER WHAT IT COULD BE. SOMETHIN S DOIN IN GAINESVILLE, COME ON DOWN AND SEE. IT S GAINESVILLE WHERE THE WISE MEN WENT,
Act I COT TON PATCH GOS PEL 13 TURNED A SINNER S STABLE TO A REVIVAL TENT, IT S A HELL OF A PLACE TO BE HEAVEN SENT, IT S GAINESVILLE BOUND FOR ME. ANDY, JACK, TOM, JIM. COME ON DOWN THAT S WHERE I M BOUND THERE I LL BE FOUND GATHER ROUND, MAKE A JOYFUL SOUND IT S GAINESVILLE BOUND FOR ME. NOTE: Stage di rec tions for orig i nal pro duc tion are in this col umn. NOTE: Ad di tional lines and stage di rec tions for ver sion with more than one ac tor play ing speak ing roles are in this col umn. SMALL CAST (BAND breaks and sits on both sides of the stage. MATTHEW enters, exchanges greet ings with the BAND, then addresses the audience.) MAT THEW. The per son who started all this com mo tion in Gainesville was ac tu ally a girl from the town of Clay ton. Mary Hagler. While Mary was en gaged to Joe Davidson, and be fore they had sex ual re la tions, she be came preg - nant. Now Joe was up set by this be cause he thought Mary was a nice girl from a nice Southern fam ily. He was won der ing how he would get his foot ball jacket
14 COT TON PATCH GOSPEL Act I back from her when he fell into a deep sleep. While he was dream ing, he saw an an gel. ( DREAM CUES ) SMALL CAST (MAT THEW sits on the ta ble.) LARGE CAST (MES SEN GER ap pears.) MES SEN GER. Joe Davidson. Do not be ashamed to marry Mary be cause she was made preg nant by the (BAND hums un der.) Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a boy, who you will call BAND. JESUS MES SEN GER.be cause he will de liver his na tion from their er rors. That s it. Get movin. (MAT THEW stands.) (MES SEN GER ex its.) MAT THEW. Joe did ex actly as the an gel in structed, he mar ried his girl, and he de cided to name the child Je sus. Of course, ev ery aunt, cousin and great-grand mother ob - jected be cause no one had ever heard the name Je sus be - fore. Af ter the wedding, and when Mary was early in her ninth month, she and Joe had to take a trip to At lanta be cause of an in come tax au dit. (MAT THEW sits on chair be hind ta ble.)
Act I COT TON PATCH GOS PEL 15 On the way, about two miles out side of Gainesville, Mary let out a sound like Joe had never heard in his life. He screeched into the Dixie-Delite Mo tor Lodge and asked, JOE. Where s the hos pi tal? LARGE CAST (JOE runs in.) (JOE runs off.) MAT THEW. Then Mary had an other se ries of con trac tions. So just af ter sun set, be cause the lodge was full, Joe and the mo tel man ager broke open the door of an aban doned trailer out back, SMALL CAST (MAT THEW moves the chair to one side. JACK moves the ta ble off the plat form L.) shooed away the dirt dob bers, ran an ex ten sion cord out for a small space heater, and de liv ered the lit tle baby, Je sus, into the world. He was wrapped in a com forter and laid in an ap ple crate. (JACK hands MAT THEW a stool. MAT THEW places the stool on its side for the apple crate.) (FARMER and RE PORTER en ter.)
16 COT TON PATCH GOSPEL Act I First-string re port ers flew in from all over the coun try to in ter view lo cals who had wit nessed the event. The New York Times talked to a cat tle farmer. (MAT THEW moves DC.) CAT TLE FARMER. Yes, ma am. I had just got ten the cows back in for the night, when I hear this mu sic. Ladi-da-di-da. I felt like I was go ing to pass out. Then I heard some one call my name. Lymen Lovejoy. With a y. So I look up. What I saw looked like about a hun - dred suns. LARGE CAST (RE PORTER starts to put away pad and pen cil.) They were sing ing a mes sage to me, the gist of which was: ( BABY BORN TO GOD ) (FARMER and RE PORTER look up.) HEAV ENLY HOST (BAND). IF YOU WANT TO SEE A BABY BORN TO GOD AND A GEORGIA GIRL, YOU BETTER GET YOUR TAIL ON OVER TO GAINESVILLE. CAT TLE FARMER. Right.
Act I COT TON PATCH GOS PEL 17 LARGE CAST (RE PORTER, writ ing fu ri ously, fol lows FARMER off.) MAT THEW. When Je sus was born, it was dur ing the time that Herod was gov er nor of Geor gia. Some schol ars from the Ori ent came all the way to the state cap i tal in At lanta and asked Gov er nor Herod where they could find the baby who was born to take his place. Herod pre - tended not to be shaken by such a ques tion and sent the men on their way in hopes that they would ob tain more in for ma tion for him. The three trav el ing schol ars had no trou ble find ing Je sus, be cause a star they had seen in the Ori ent led them di rectly to the trailer. SMALL CAST (MAT THEW kneels by the apple crate. ) They bowed down and opened up the pres ents they brought for him: a gold Amer i can Ex press card, some can dles that put off a smell like fresh peaches, and a large, ex pen sive-look ing bot tle of Jade East. In the midst of the fes tiv i ties, Joe had an other visit from the Lord s mes sen ger. (MAT THEW jumps up on a stool.) (MES SEN GER en ters.) MES SEN GER. Pssst! Hey, Joe! Take your wife and the baby Je sus and high ball it to
18 COT TON PATCH GOSPEL Act I BAND. MEXICO. be cause Herod s go ing to try to kill that baby. Get movin! LARGE CAST (MES SEN GER ex its.) MAT THEW. When the schol ars did not re turn to Herod, he de cided to call a meet ing of his clos est ad vi sors. (HEROD and his MEN gather for a meet ing.) HEROD. Lis ten! Have any of you seen a Na tional En - quirer ar ti cle about a vir gin birth? I un der stand that this vir gin baby is sup posed to be the fu ture gov er nor. If that s so, I d like to shake his hand I d like to shake it real good. Any of you know his where abouts? SMALL CAST (MAT THEW sits on ta ble at L to be come ) POL I TI CIAN. Gainesville, Gainesville, Geor gia. HEROD. Gainesville? Gainesville? What makes you so sure? POL I TI CIAN. It s all proph e sied in the Bi ble, Brother Herod: And you, Gainesville, in the state of Geor gia, are by no means least in the Geor gia del e ga tion. From
Act I COT TON PATCH GOS PEL 19 you will come forth a gov er nor, who will wisely guide my cho sen peo ple. HEROD. Thank you, Brother Lamar. I think we should celebrate this mi rac u lous birth here in our home state, so I have a lot of plans to make. If you will all ex cuse me, thank you. SMALL CAST (BAND crosses up stage and forms a line fac ing up stage. HEROD places a chair C and stands be hind it.) LARGE CAST (ALL ex cept MABRY and HEROD go into a static pose.) Mabry, please stay be hind a mo ment. Thank you all. Mabry, I can t compete with religious fanaticism. I think you and your boys owe me one or two fa vors down in Gainesville. You help me nip this baby in the bud. (HEROD crosses up stage (HEROD and MABRY above BAND as they turn con fer apart from the downstage and sing.) oth ers.) ( I DID IT ) HEROD S MEN (BAND). ALL THROUGH THE AGES THE WISE MEN AND SAGES HAVE SAID THERE ARE DIRTY DEEDS THAT SIMPLY MUST BE DONE. TO KEEP SOCIETY GOIN AND THE BENEFITS FLOWIN THERE S THE SIMPLE NECESSITY OF HURTIN SOMEONE.