The Mysterious Hat/ Act I Scene III

ACT I
SCENE III

The Mysterious Hat

(Workers are outside of the bunkhouse. Set with apple trees in the
background, fire pit in the foreground, and lighting is dim, to simulate

evening, with most of the lighting coming from the fire pit. Jonah and

Rueben are finishing their supper. Eli sits a little less than an arm's length

from Jonah at the fire pit, fixing a percussion instrument. They are having

a few beers.)


JONAH

You know Rueben! At first I didn't recognize you wid out dat ugly ol' hat o'yours!

So dis goin' ta be your new look fer de next 5 years or more?

RUEBEN

You tryin’ ta start sum trouble, pickin' on mi new hat, mon?

JONAH

( Chuckles)

Naw, just tryin’ ta make light of anudder season of workin’. It's a good hat, mon.

It look like it was made fer ya.


RUEBEN

Funny, dat what de hatmaker say! He gave me dis hat, straight op for

free!




JONAH

For free, mon? Free is good, unless dere sometin up wid it?

RUEBEN

You know, dat jus what I ask him. I dunno, he say he jus made it.

So, mon, how ya fambly? Who’s watchin’ yer children dis year?

JONAH

Oh, my daughter Essie watchin’ dem, she such a big help. So strong, jus like her

mama was.

(Jonah looks down at the ground and kicks a stone).

RUEBEN

She old enuf now to be carin’ for de children? How old she now, antyway?

JONAH

She sixteen now, and she gettin lot o’ help from her auntie, so she can stay

in school.

RUEBEN

Oh, dat’s right, you did say Sarah’s sista helpin’ you out last year.

Hmmm…seems like auntie be around to help out a lot!

(says suggestively)

Is dere anyting goin on wid you two??


JONAH

Naw, dere ain’t nuttin’ goin’ on. She just carin’ about de children, dat all. Essie

still do a lot by herself.


RUEBEN

Essie handle dose twins wid de other children, too?

JONAH

Oh, ya…Jacob and Paul are doin’ tings on dere own, now. Jacob, he gonna be

twelve soon. Paul is right behind him…gonna be ten dis July. De twin,

(beat)

dey will be ok and Sarah, she is watchin’ over dem from above. …

(beat, sighs and says sadly)

Mon, I miss her. I still tink bout her everyday.

RUEBEN

Yeah, de Lawd chooses dese tings. He give and he take away.

JONAH

Ya, and we taken away every year from our fambly jus so we can survive. It na'

right.

ELI

Yeah I wasn’t planning on coming back here this year

(chuckles)

JONAH

Yeah what happen? I tought you were staying back dis year to start up your own

business in Mobay? Start up your own band and all, what happen wid dat?







ELI

All mi music equipment got stolen a month after we got started. We got set up

and over de night it all got taken away. I tink I know who did it,

too, but I don't have no proof. And di police, dey jus' no help.

So, I'm back. If I save up my money dis year, maybe I’ll be able ta start up agin

next year.

JONAH

As long as ya can keep your tings, from getting stolen. So, who do ya tink it was?

ELI

I don’t know who it was fer sure, but I have some idea. My bass player

girlfriend, she ask mi ta lend her sum money ta get her brudda out of sum

trouble, just before my equipment disappeared. But I got no proof.

RUEBEN

Ahhh! Dat’s too bad, mon, after all dat hard work.

ELI

(Shakes his head low and depressed, then looks up and grins)

Well, maybe Farmer Fred find it in his heart to give us a big raise dis year?


JONAH

Farmer Fred?

(They all laugh.)

Don’t be holdin’ yer breath fer dat raise Eli!

RUEBEN

Well he did just put in some money for the new appliances in our bunkhouse.

ELI

Yeah and how do you like our new luxurious fire pit mon!

(They all laugh)



JONAH

At least Fred trying to make tings betta here, in his own way. What was he talking

about at the bunkhouse? I didn’t understand about the GMO ting and de

connection to dis Doherty guy.


RUEBEN

(Looks down and scratches his chin.)

I ain’t heard nuttin’ about no GMO stuff. But I don't tink I likes dis Doherty guy

at all.

ELI
Yeah it sounds like if he gets into office tings are gonna get a lot worse

for all of us.

RUEBEN

I hope what Farmer Fred sayin’ isn’t true. I wanta know what I’m eatin’, and I

need dis job, mon! Politics always messin tings up.

ELI

Ahhh, de presidents, dey steals from da poor and give ta da

rich, just like all dose political guys. It’s all about money and greed, ain’t nut-tin

new goin’ on under de sun dere!






RUEBEN

(Fiddling with his hat.)

Ya know, some season when I come here and I tink, dis year, I can

change tings. For my fambly. I feel good, I feel strong. I feel young. Like de

world will open up before me, if I jus' do de tings a man ought to, jus' work hard

and love my family. Sometime I jus' feel blessed. But sometin' I feel, well,

different about dis season. I don't feel so young tiday. I guess I'm jus...worried

about tings...

(He drops his hat in front of him, pulls a bandana out of his back pocket

and wipes his brow)

ELI

Farmer Fred doesn’t help, he get’s all worked up over tings, and jus get us all

worked up too.



RUEBEN

Dere sometin' on his mind...he nah be dat upset unless it havta do wid’ money.

Maybe he struggling, too,

(Beat)

like us.





ELI

You always lookin’ inside o’ people, carin’ about how dey feel. I don’t care how

Fred feel, he jus’ make me mad. He don't have de right ta treat us like dogs!

I'm a musician back home! I got dreams, goals, tings I want ta do wit' mi life. He

not see mi as a person! Someday, I gonna be de man I wanta be.

(Looks up at the stars.)

I gonna be far away from dis place.


JONAH

Ya, mon, dis year I feel like I jus’ tryin' to tread watah. Like I'm tryin ta hold

tings ta-gedder when dey already comin’ apart.

(Sighs)

De stars demselves naa bring me closah ta de place dat I wan’ta be, away from all

dis hard work.

RUEBEN

Ya know, I tinkin dat sumady, maybe,

(Beat)

maybe wi hav our dreams come true. But de Lawd, He put us here for a reason.

(Beat)

I dunno why, but I put dese tings in his hands. He know dese tings better den

we do.

ELI

Well, I hope some dreams start happenin’ before next year!

(starts playing his drum quietly)

RUEBEN

We must nah lose our faith, or we never get any-ting done.

ELI

It hav’ta be deep in mi heart ta be a dream worth workin’ so hard fer!



JONAH

Dat is de same fer every-one Eli, everybody hav’ta hava dream…

(Jonah reaches down to pick up his hat, and accidentally picks up

Reuben's hat and places it on his head. All lights go out except the one on

Jonah, after he puts the hat on his head. Hat music plays. Two other lights

come on after a minute or so, highlighting Rueben and Eli.)

RUEBEN

Jonah, you alright, mon? You have my hat. Jonah?

JONAH

Huh? What’chu say?


RUEBEN

I’m tellin’ ya, you hav my hat...but ya not hearin' mi mon…

JONAH

(pauses, disoriented)

Oh mon, what hav I been shown?

(Hat music stops.)



RUEBEN

(gently jokes to mask his concern.)

Hey mon, ya have mi new hat! Come on mon, give me my hat!

JONAH

(looks at Rueben, alarmed)

Is your wife havin’ a baby?


RUEBEN

Ee-eee!

(Beat, looks shocked)

how ya know dat? I nah want ta tell ya and have ya tink’ ‘bout your

baby mudda.

(drops his head).

Dat’s why I nah tell ya.

JONAH

It like dreamin'.jus' now...dreamin', but bein' awake.

(shakes his head

Like sum way, I see a part a’ ya

(beat)

. inside, ya know? I see in a place dat's deep inside a man, where he keep his fear,

‘is love, ‘is pain, ‘is pride It like I suddenly knew your heart; your soul,

(beat)

an' all along, here ya tryin’ ta be so strong for mi! Oh, mi bredda, we hav’ta be

strong for one an’odda. Don’t worry, mon. Charise and de baby are gon’ta be jus

fine!



RUEBEN

(Stares at Jonah and juts his head forward and his mouth drops open)

Lord above! You been given de power to see de tings unspoken.

JONAH

Ah nuh mi! De Lord wouldn't use someone as wore out as me. I no mighty

prophet, I jus an old man who couldn't even be dere to comfort his own wife when

she dyin'. Why would HE use someone like mi?

(Eli starts playing his drum, to shift the mood. Rueben grabs a

rattle and joins Eli and hands Jonah percussion sticks.)








THE STARS ARE NOT ENOUGH

(Jonah 1st)

SOMETIME I FEEL ANCIENT

SO TIRED AND WORN OUT

POWAH-LESS N' EMPTY

LIKE DAT'S ALL MY LIFE'S ABOUT

I TRY TO BE SO MIGHTY

BUT I ALWAYS FEEL SO SMALL

LIKE DERE'S NO HOPE LEFT INSIDE O'MI

DERE'S NUTT'IN DERE AT ALL


MAY DE STARS IN DE HEAVEN

SHINE DOWN ON MI BELOW

TA LIFT DE BURDEN FROM MY HEART

TA FINALLY LET HER GO


(CHORUS)

OH LORD, HEAR MY PRAYER

OH LORD KEEP MI STRONG

OH LORD WALK BESIDE MI

AND HELP ME TO GO ON.






(RUEBEN 2nd)

I KNOW MY WIFE AND FAMILY

DEY NEEDIN MI AT HOME

BUT I AM WORKIN' ON DIS FARM

FEELIN' ALL ALONE

SO FAR AWAY FROM MY OWN HEART

AN WHERE I WANNA BE

DIS LONGIN' IN MY HEART FER HOME

AN MY OWN FAMILY.

(CHORUS)

OH, LORD, HEAR MY PRAYER

OH LORD KEEP MI STRONG

OH LORD WALK BESIDE MI

AND HELP MI TO GO ON

(ELI 3RD)

MY HEART IS IN JAMAICA

PLAYIN' MUSIC WID MY BAND

I’D RADDA BE AT HOME

TA BE DE MAN I AM.

WHERE I'M SEEN FOR WHAT'S INSIDE

LET MY INNA LIGHT SHINE TR'OUGH.

NOT PICKIN' APPLE FROM A TREE


I GOT BETTA TINGS TA DO.

(ALL)

MAY DE STARS IN DE HEAVEN

SHINE ON US HERE BELOW

TO LIFT DIS BURDEN FROM OUR HEART

TA FINALLY LET IT GO


(CHORUS)

OH LORD HEAR MY PRAYER

OH LORD KEEP MI STRONG

OH LORD, WALK BESIDE OF MI

AND HELP MI TO GO ON.



(Lights dim, music continues and gets quieter and subsides until just the

sound of the fire crackling and the crickets chirping are heard, scene ends.

Prop drummers play “The Stars Are Not Enough” percussion or Reggae

pre-recorded instrumental during scene change)