PLAYS FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES
a partnership of Seattle Children’s Theatre and Children’s Theatre Company-Minneapolis
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The Devil and
Daniel Webster
Story by
Stephen Vincent Benet
Adaptation by
Robert Schenkkan
The Devil and Daniel Webster was first presented by Seattle Children’s Theatre for the 20052006 season. All Rights Reserved.
Cast of Characters:
Male
Spark
Daniel Webster
Jabez Stone
Mr. Stevens
Scratch (Devil)
Man #1
Man #2
Man #3
Minister
Speaker
General Benedict Arnold
Edward Teach (Blackbeard)
General Sheridan
General Nathan Bedford Forest
John Wilkes Booth
Al Capone
Judge Hawthorne
Female
Abigail Stevens
Neighbor Woman
Lizzie Borden
Ensemble Includes: crowd, devils
The Devil and Daniel Webster
1
ACT ONE SCENE ONE
At rise: In the darkness, the
haunting SOUND of a VIOLIN which
moves in its location, first behind
the audience, then to either side,
OS, and then... LIGHTS UP on SPARK,
standing in the back of the
auditorium. He's a rather shabby
looking creature in old clothes
which smoke and carry just the
slightest whiff of brimstone. He's
friendly, maybe a tad nervous, like
a schoolboy playing hookey. SPARK
finishes with a bravura show on the
violin and BOWS grandly to the
audience. As he makes his way on
stage.
SPARK
Welcome! Welcome, one and all, to our cautionary tale of Rise and
Fall, of Powers gained and Souls lost! A reminder that every
purchase has its cost. This is "THE...
SPARK looks around nervously before
whispering the word, "Devil."
SPARK (CONT'D)
...devil...AND DANIEL WEBSTER!" Spark's my name and I'll be your
guide to the inside; provide musical bits, and play the odd part,
oddly. To start, Daniel Webster! He...
(looks at audience)
You do know who...? Oh, dear. How queer that everyone knows
the...other fella in the title but not ole Daniel. Ain't that so
like you humans, though? So eager to give the devil his due but
the good you forget. "Daniel Webster." Nary a clue? Well, he's
naught to do with the dictionary, though he was a mighty man with
words.
Onstage, a cemetery with a
prominent headstone. SPARK goes to
the stone and KNOCKS.
SPARK (CONT')
They say if you go to his grave in Marshfield, New Hampshire and
speak out loud and clear so's even the dead can hear: "Dan'l
Webster! Dan'l Webster!"
Storm clouds roll in and thunder
sounds. A BOLT of lightening and
DANIEL WEBSTER appears out of the
ground!
The Devil and Daniel Webster
2
DANIEL WEBSTER
Neighbor, how stands the Union?! Is she rock-bottomed and coppersheathed, one and indivisible!
SPARK
(very obsequious)
She stands as she did in your own day, the noblest promise ever
made...if only partially fulfilled.
DANIEL WEBSTER
Is that why you've disturbed my sleep?!
SPARK nods and gestures to the
audience.
SPARK
Your story they've not heard.
DANIEL WEBSTER
Not heard...?!
SPARK
I know. Absurd! Not heard of poor Jabez Stone and Abigail, the
maid he loved, and the deal he made for the maid he loved, and
the greatest trial to ever stand since Pontius Pilate washed his
hands and...
DANIEL WEBSTER
BLASPHEMER! No more.
SPARK
Sorry. It's just...
(whispering)
They don't know who you are.
DANIEL WEBSTER
Don't know...?
(laughs ruefully)
So, he was right, after all, your master. Well, no matter, tell'm
who I was...once upon a time. And see you tell'm all of it! The
good and the bad.
SPARK
Once upon a time, around 1849, Senator Daniel Webster was the
most important man in this whole star-spangled land. A voice loud
like thunder, or soft as a kitten's purr...
DANIEL WEBSTER
Flatterer. Go ahead, over-rate...
SPARK
Au contraire, I adulate. Some said he was heaven sent.
(like a small knife)
The Devil and Daniel Webster
3
But he was never President.
(grudgingly)
No. Never that.
DANIEL WEBSTER
SPARK
Ran three times but never won.
DANIEL WEBSTER
They get the point!
SPARK
Nose out of joint? You said, "tell all."
DANIEL WEBSTER
Then do and be done with it!
SPARK
So great was his mystique that when Daniel Webster stood to speak
the stars and stripes fell out of the sky. And once, I heard, or
so it was said around, he spoke 'gainst a river and it sank into
the ground. When he went fishing in the lake, the fish would
meekly take their place in the pockets of his jacket. Why make a
fuss or raise a racket? It being understood there was no use
putting up a fight; when Daniel argued a case, he was always
right.
DANIEL WEBSTER
(to the audience)
His kind always exaggerates. A little.
Not a jot or a tittle!
SPARK
DANIEL WEBSTER
Wake me when my turn comes.
DANIEL descends back into his grave.
SPARK
But the biggest case he ever took never got written down in books
'cause he argued it, this is on the level, night and day against
the...well, I'd rather not say his name aloud in front of such an
innocent crowd.
DANIEL WEBSTER
(interrupting)
Get on with it, man. Farmer Stone.
The ground closes over Daniel's
head.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
4
SPARK
Yes, Jabez Stone.
SPARK plays a phrase on his violin
and JABEZ STONE runs on. He's a
young man, 18 years old and
handsome. At his side is his dog,
SCOUT.
SPARK (CONT'D)
With a face that could grace a marquee, he's young and strong and
quite the hottie. Poor as a church mouse, pure as a dove, works
like a dog and desperately...
(great contempt)
"...in looooove."
JABEZ
Abigail? Abigail?!
ABIGAIL STEVENS, sixteen, beautiful
and headstrong, runs on from the
other side and into Jabez's arms.
ABIGAIL
Jabez! Where were ya?! I waited by the spring house as long as I
dared. Pa's been watchin' me like a hawk the whole morning.
JABEZ
I couldn't get away, Abigail. Just as I was startin' to plow, my
darn horse came down lame.
No! He gonna be alright?
ABIGAIL
JABEZ
Doctor says it don't look too good.
ABIGAIL
Oh, Jabez. What'd he say it was?
JABEZ
Spavins. Or Staggers. Somethin' that costs money I don't have. I
swear, if it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all.
(smiling at her)
'Cept for you. You're the best thing ever happened to me. Sorry,
I missed you.
ABIGAIL
I was so worried when you didn't come. I think I'd go clear outta
my mind if I couldn't see ya.
JABEZ
I'm right here, sweetheart.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
5
ABIGAIL
I can only sneak away for a few minutes now; My pa'll be snoopin'
after me before you know it.
JABEZ hugs ABIGAIL again.
JABEZ
I missed you.
ABIGAIL
Oh, me, too.
(to the audience)
I didn't; did you?
SPARK
JABEZ
You talk to your pa again? About us?
ABIGAIL pulls away a little
guiltily.
ABIGAIL
Might just as well save my breath to cool my porridge.
What'd he say?
JABEZ
ABIGAIL
(lying)
Oh, you know...same as always.
JABEZ
It ain't my fault I'm poor! I work hard.
ABIGAIL
Nobody can say you don't. Not even my pa can say that.
JABEZ
I just got the dadblamndest bad luck that ever was! If I plant
corn I get borers and if I plant potatoes I get blight. I'm
mortgaged up to my...well, I'm mortgaged a lot, and with my horse
sick now, if I can't get a crop in this year...I don't know. I
might lose my farm.
ABIGAIL
No!
JABEZ
Ole banker in town got him a heart as cold as your pa's.
ABIGAIL
That's sayin' somethin'.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
6
JABEZ
Mebbe losing this farm wouldn't be such a bad thing. It doesn't
grow anything but rocks. Lord knows, I get a bumper crop of those
ever year.
ABIGAIL
You don't mean that. Do you? You wouldn't go away, would ya?
JABEZ
(smiling at her)
And leave my heart here? No.
ABIGAIL
You'll figure somethin' out, Jabez. I know you will.
ABIGAIL hugs him.
JABEZ
Everything's alright when you hug me like that.
ABIGAIL
Bad luck don't run forever; it's gotta change someday.
JABEZ
(brightening)
That's right. And when it does, you'll see, I'll be rich as some
old Caesar; rich enough to buy and sell your pa two times over!
ABIGAIL
Wouldn't his old eyes bug out then!
JABEZ
We'd live in a house so big you'd need a compass to find the
kitchen. Not that you'd ever need to go to the kitchen.
ABIGAIL
Not with all the servants running all over the house.
JABEZ
Another grape!
ABIGAIL
Peel me another grape!
JABEZ
You'd be all dressed in silk and lace.
ABIGAIL
I'd buy you a blue wool coat with brass buttons as big as church
plates.
JABEZ
We'd drive to town in a coach and four.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
7
ABIGAIL
And wouldn't the swells fall all over themselves to entertain us?
JABEZ
M'lady.
ABIGAIL
M'lord. We'd got to fancy parties!
JABEZ
Poker games!
(off her look)
Small stakes.
Lunch with the ladies.
Dinner with the Governor.
Dinner as the Governor.
ABIGAIL
JABEZ
ABIGAIL
JABEZ
You think?
ABIGAIL
You're right; not grand enough. May I present, New Hampshire's
youngest Senator, Jabez Stone!
(wistful)
Senator Stone.
JABEZ
ABIGAIL
And then home to our mansion on the hill.
Kiss the boys good night.
And our two daughters.
Two?
JABEZ
ABIGAIL
JABEZ
ABIGAIL
Twins.
JABEZ
Then retire upstairs.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
8
ABIGAIL
The fire in the bedroom fireplace already lit.
JABEZ
And the down filled quilts on our four-poster bed as tall as the
White mountains.
ABIGAIL
Asleep in your arms 'till the sun rises.
JABEZ
Asleep in your arms.
A moment.
ABIGAIL
I know that will all come true, someday, but Jabez...it's gotta
be sooner, rather then later.
JABEZ
Why? What's happened? Something's happened, hasn't it!
ABIGAIL
Pa's talkin' about marryin' me off to some wrinkled old moneybags
in Boston!
JABEZ
No!
ABIGAIL
I told him I'd rather be dead and he laughed in my face; said
alive or dead it didn't matter to him.
JABEZ
Run away with me, Abigail!
ABIGAIL
Run away?
JABEZ
Today. Right now. Right this minute!
ABIGAIL
Today? Well, I would, you know, I really would, only...
JABEZ
Only what?
ABIGAIL
Where'd we go, with no money? Living on the road?
We'd have each other.
JABEZ
The Devil and Daniel Webster
9
ABIGAIL
And our kids? What about them? Kids need a lot, Jabez; a roof
over their heads and clothing and food on the table, and all that
takes money.
STEVENS (O.S.)
Daughter!
ABIGAIL
It's my pa. You better go!
JABEZ
This is my property. I'm not running off like some beggar.
ABIGAIL
He'll work some mischief against you!
I'd like to see him try.
JABEZ
SPARK
Enter Abigail's father, oh he's a rich, sour-faced, lemon-sucking
son of a...gun. "Miser" Stevens could squeeze a dollar so that
ole George Washington would stand up and holler.
SPARK plays a riff on his violin
and MISER STEVENS strides on thin, tight-lipped and selfrighteous
STEVENS
Daughter! What are you doing talking to that riffraff!
I ain't riff-raff.
JABEZ
STEVENS
I stand corrected; Riff-raff to be.
Just 'cause I'm poorer'n you?
JABEZ
STEVENS
You make that sound like a small thing, boy.
ABIGAIL
I love him, Pa!
STEVENS
"Love?" There's no profit in love.
ABIGAIL
The Bible teaches us to love.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
10
STEVENS
You want scripture? How about, "Honor thy father!" Get on to
home, Abigail.
JABEZ
Mr. Stevens, I love your daughter and she loves me and we intend
to get married.
STEVENS
You do, do you? You "intend." Come near her and I'll put you in
jail and throw away the key. You can marry my daughter, boy, when
rain falls up and water's no longer wet.
JABEZ
Give me a fair challenge and I'll meet it!
"A fair challenge," you say?
Anything.
STEVENS
JABEZ
ABIGAIL
(warning)
Jabez.
STEVENS
Quiet, daughter! Your young man and I are talking business. You
count her a valuable thing, do ya?
JABEZ
Worth the world. More'n the world.
STEVENS
"More'n the world?" It's obvious you've never seen her early in
the mornin'. Hair like a banshee and breath that would kill a cow
across the yard.
ABIGAIL
He's just makin' sport of ya, Jabez; he won't take you serious.
STEVENS
Won't I? Jabez Stone, If I give you a fair price for my only
child will that make an end of it?
What do you mean?
JABEZ
STEVENS
I mean, you quit sneakin' 'round my back, or tryin' to talk her
into running off with ya. Like an honest man, you either come up
with the goods, or you leave her be entirely.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
11
JABEZ
I have your word - you'd let her go?
STEVENS
And dance at her wedding.
ABIGAIL pulls JABEZ aside.
ABIGAIL
It's a trick, Jabez! He's a man who saves the rind off his
cheese. He'll never give me up.
JABEZ
If he gives me his word, he wouldn't have a choice.
STEVENS
What do you say, neighbor, Stone? Do we have a deal?
A fair price?
JABEZ
STEVENS
What she's worth, by your own reckonin'. And I'll even sweeten
the pot - when I die, all that's mine becomes hers.
Deal.
Deal.
JABEZ
STEVENS
Both men spit in their hands and
then shake.
JABEZ
Her price?
ABIGAIL
You both talk like I'm some milking cow at the county fair.
STEVENS
Not true, daughter; on a good Guernsey I get a fair return on my
investment. I warrant no parent can make that claim about their
child. Food and clothing and a roof over your head for sixteen
years and what do I get in return? Your sharp tongue and
boundless ingratitude.
ABIGAIL
Hah! I was more slave then daughter. A servant, at least, you'd
have to pay.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
12
STEVENS
"How sharper then a serpents tooth it is to have a thankless
child."
(to JABEZ)
You sure you want this shrew as your own?
I won't be sold. Or bought.
ABIGAIL
STEVENS
You hear that, Jabez, how light she holds your manhood? I reckon
she don't have any faith in you.
I know your tricks is all.
ABIGAIL
STEVENS
(very pious)
I'll not force my daughter on any man.
ABIGAIL
Can I have your word on that?
STEVENS
(quickly to JABEZ)
Her price! You said she was worth the world to you...
ABIGAIL
See! I warned you!
STEVENS
The world'd cost a fair penny; how to reckon the price of the
world? It'd take a Solomon to do that.
JABEZ
'Twas just a figure of speech.
STEVENS
You're dropping in value, daughter, you hear?
JABEZ
You said a "fair price!"
STEVENS
I did. And I mean to give you one. As tall as she is, give me
that in gold coin and she's yours.
JABEZ
(blanching)
Gold coin?
The Devil and Daniel Webster
13
STEVENS
I'll make it easy on ya, the gold needn't be milled. I'll accept
raw ore, but not an inch less then her height.
ABIGAIL
(weeping)
I told you. I told you and you wouldn't listen.
JABEZ
You didn't put no time on it!
STEVENS
Indeed I didn't. An oversight to be sure. Well, you're a sly one,
neighbor Stone, taking advantage of an old man. Fair enough, take
your time. Ten years. Twenty years. Forty years. But you can't
see her until you have my gold. Come, daughter!
ABIGAIL
Jabez!
STEVENS grabs ABIGAIL by the hair
and drags her off.
STEVENS
Step foot on my property and I'll let the dogs on ya and the law
can have what's left!
JABEZ watches them go, his heart
aching. JABEZ slumps to the ground,
grief-stricken. His DOG licks his
face.
JABEZ
Oh, Scout, what've I done? I'll never marry Abigail now!
The DOG tugs on JABEZ's sleeve,
indicating the plowing still to be
done. JABEZ rises and makes his way
upstage. JABEZ picks up the plow
harness and considers the DOG - the
DOG pointedly looks away. JABEZ
shrugs wryly and hitches himself to
his old, heavy wooden plow and
begins to work his fields. SPARK
talks through-out.
SPARK
I think you'll agree when all was said and done, Miser Stevens
took Round One, proving the old adage right, that Youth and Might
are no match, as you can plainly see, for Old Age and Treachery.
Of two bad deals Jabez would make that day, that was the first but by no means his worst. Heart sore, Jabez trudged back to his
rocky fields whose parched, thin soil promised meager yields.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
14
Horseless now, he hitched himself to his own plow determined to
triumph, somehow, and win his Abigail back. And so he set to work
- our young, heroic...jerk.
SPARK plays a riff from "The Volga
Boat Men" as JABEZ strains and
struggles to drag his plow across
the field. The plow SNAGS on
something and JABEZ pulls. The plow
refuses to move. Furious, JABEZ
yanks on the plow...and it BREAKS.
No!
JABEZ
Frantically, JABEZ tries to fit the
pieces back together but it's no
good.
JABEZ (CONT'D)
No! No! No! Noooooooooo!
JABEZ jumps up and down on the
plow, beats it against the ground,
and finally THROWS it offstage!
JABEZ (CONT'D)
(in a frenzy of desperation)
It ain't fair! It ain't...By God Almighty, it's enough to make a
man sell his soul to the Devil, and I would, too, for two darn
cents!
SPARK
Whoops.
There is an ominous RUMBLE of
thunder in the distance, the sky
grows DARK, and the ground TREMBLES
underfoot. JABEZ looks about him in
terror.
JABEZ
(to himself)
I didn't mean that.
The RUMBLING sound builds.
SPARK
(nervously)
I'm so sorry, but it seems I forgot an urgent appointment; have
to trot. Got to run, toodle-oo, see you later, maybe Act II!
The Devil and Daniel Webster
15
SPARK snaps his fingers and
DISAPPEARS in a cloud of smoke.
Meanwhile, the Stage gets darker
and the rumbling gets louder until
JABEZ falls to his knees in terror
and covers his ears. The SOUND
builds to an unbelievable crescendo
and then STOPS. Silence. LIGHT
begins to filter back in. JABEZ
cautiously raises his head. Nothing
seems different. He rises slowly
and looks around. He LAUGHS in
relief.
SCRATCH (O.S.)
What's the joke, neighbor?
JABEZ whips around. SCRATCH steps
out of the shadows at the back of
the stage; soft-spoken, dark
dressed in an elegant suit with
hand-tooled leather boots on his
feet.
Who...who are you?
JABEZ
SCRATCH
Why ask what you already know?
JABEZ's DOG runs howling off the
stage.
SCRATCH (CONT'D)
Dogs don't like me much. Pity. I'm fond of animals myself.
JABEZ
What do you want?
SCRATCH
I think the question is, what do you want? More'n two cents, I
bet.
JABEZ
You really think I'd sell my soul?!
SCRATCH
Plenty have. I've done business with some of the grandest men in
the Republic. Captains of industry. Church leaders. Even
Politicians - hard to believe as that is.
I won't do it!
JABEZ
The Devil and Daniel Webster
16
SCRATCH
Good for you; a man of character. And good luck with your
harvest. Shame about that plow.
SCRATCH starts to walk off.
JABEZ
Does it...does it hurt much?
SCRATCH
Hmmm? Oh, that. A pin prick. A scratch. Most of my customers say
they never notice its absence at all.
JABEZ
You could be lying.
SCRATCH
I have that reputation, "Father of Lies" and all. Perfect
nonsense. But the question of Pain is relative, don't you think?
Having a child is all worry and care but most parents count it
worthwhile at the end of the day. All great accomplishments
require some cost.
(JABEZ says nothing)
Good day, neighbor.
SCRATCH starts to walk off again.
JABEZ
I'm in love!
SCRATCH
Ah, "Amore." Congratulations! The experience is foreign to me but
comes highly recommended. Many of my best customers started that
way.
JABEZ
It'd be 'cause of her...if I...was to...
SCRATCH
Self-sacrifice. Hardly a sin. Indeed...
(glancing heavenward)
...highly thought of in some circles.
JABEZ
I don't know.
SCRATCH
No business decision should be entered into lightly. I believe
that is the lesson of this morning.
JABEZ
You saw what Miser Stevens did to me?!
The Devil and Daniel Webster
17
SCRATCH
Shocking.
JABEZ
It wasn't fair!
SCRATCH
Think what he'd say if you came back tomorrow and laid all that
gold down on the table.
JABEZ
I bet his eyes would bug out!
SCRATCH
I'd like to see that!
The two men laugh. SCRATCH pulls a
document out of the air and offers
it to JABEZ.
SCRATCH
Maybe you'd like to read it over
either way. It's boring, really;
you want, and after seven years,
return.
(CONT'D)
- just in case? No commitment
mostly boilerplate. You get what
I get a little something in
JABEZ
Most folks don't...don't miss it?
SCRATCH
Tell me, Jabez, where is your soul? What does it look like? Have
you ever seen it? Ever seen anyone's? How do you know it even
exists?
JABEZ
(skeptically)
If it don't, how come it's so important to you?
SCRATCH
Good point! Jumpin' Jehosephat, I like your style, neighbor
Stone. You're a shrewd man, aren't ya? I bet not much gets by
you! Your young lady's right, you'd do well in the Senate,
alongside that other fella...
As though he can't remember the
name.
...Daniel Webster?
That's the one. You know'em?
JABEZ
SCRATCH
The Devil and Daniel Webster
18
JABEZ
Everybody around here knows Daniel Webster. He just lives down
the road a bit and...
(a sudden thought)
He didn't sell...?
SCRATCH
...Good heavens, no!
(almost to himself)
But a man can dream, can't he?
(back to business)
To answer your question, the "soul", per se, is actually not that
important to me but I didn't make the rules. Like you, I have to
play the hand I'm dealt. As for why it's so important
to...others, I suppose it's just a way of keeping track. One
could use toes. Or fingers. Or heads. But that would be awkward
for all the obvious reasons.
JABEZ
(quietly)
How much would I get?
SCRATCH
Oh, feel free to fill in your own number. And don't stint
yourself on the zero's!
JABEZ
Do I...sign in blood?
SCRATCH
What, slash open an artery?
(laughing)
Please! It's the Nineteenth Century for goodness sakes, the Age
of Enlightenment: The cotton gin; the repeating rifle; The
Missouri Compromise. Here, have a pen.
SCRATCH pulls a pen out of the air
and offers it. JABEZ examines the
contract and starts to fill it in.
I want power, too!
Yes!
And standin' in society!
JABEZ
SCRATCH
JABEZ
SCRATCH
Excellent!
The Devil and Daniel Webster
19
JABEZ
I'm tired of people lookin' down on me all the time!
SCRATCH
Well, money will take care of that...
(glancing over Jabez's shoulder)
...and I'm pleased to see you've not been modest there! But write
it all in, if you've any doubts. Power. Prestige. And anything
else you want.
(genuinely surprised)
There's more?
JABEZ
SCRATCH
You'd be amazed at the mundane demands to which I'm subjected.
Land. Jewelry. A woman. Helen of Troy still does an incredible
amount of business and Salome remains popular for reasons I won't
try to understand but lucky you, you've found your true love
already, and right. Next. Door. A lovely woman, that Abigail.
Many congratulations.
JABEZ hands the contract back.
That's it?
JABEZ
SCRATCH
Tradition demands a drop of blood. Spark!
Spark appears with a silver tray on
which lies a small gold POCKET
KNIFE. SCRATCH opens the knife.
SCRATCH (CONT'D)
I know, it's barbaric, and I've been complaining to Management
for years that we need to modernize but you know how He is; in
one ear and out the other. It's almost painless, I assure you,
and quite sanitary.
Reluctantly, JABEZ offers his hand
and SCRATCH quickly and deftly
pricks his thumb...
JABEZ
Ow!
SCRATCH
Oh, don't tell me that hurt.
SCRATCH quickly presses JABEZ'
thumb against the contract; then
releases it.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
20
SCRATCH (CONT'D)
A pleasure doing business with you, neighbor Stone. I'll see you
again in seven years.
JABEZ
Wait a minute! Where's my riches? Where's my gold?!
You're standing on it.
SCRATCH
SCRATCH exits. JABEZ looks down at
the ground. Doesn't look any
different. He KICKS at the ground
and something gleams. Excited, he
bends down and begins to dig.
Everywhere he digs, he finds gold.
GOLD NUGGETS. Gold coins. Gold
bars! SPARK plays a lively reel on
his violin and JABEZ starts
laughing and dancing for joy.
SPARK
Jabez' second deal brought all for which he yearned, proving the
wisdom of leaving no Stone un-turned. And if "Failure" has no
friends, then "Success" breeds them without end. As news spread
of his sudden riches, his star ascended without hitches.
Congratulations fell like Noah's flood; everyone, it seems, would
be his bud, including some unlikely folk who used to treat him
raw.
MISER STEVENS runs on-stage, arms
open wide.
MISER STEVENS
Give me a hug, SON IN LAW!
JABEZ resists the hug but shakes
STEVEN'S hand. SPARK plays a quick
wedding march and ABIGAIL enters
wearing a white bridal veil. She
and JABEZ embrace warmly. The stage
is flooded with WELL-WISHERS.
SPARK
Miser Stevens kept his vow, setting new records here-to-for
unheard, for the public consumption of one's own word.
MISER STEVENS
I always knew that boy had it in him! From the very start!
The CROWD cheers.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
21
JABEZ
Abigail and I are so glad you all could be here with us today but
we have a very special guest. To folks around here, he's just a
neighbor and a friend, but to the world he's our Senator, the
Conscience of the Congress, and the next President of the United
States, Daniel Webster!
DANIEL WEBSTER enters and the crowd cheers lustily. DANIEL raises
his hands for silence.
DANIEL WEBSTER
Thank you, friends, thank you!
Speech! Speech!
CROWD
DANIEL WEBSTER
Now, now, I'm not here to run for office! Just home for a quick
visit to take care of things, fix my fences, clean my stables. A
senator in Washington needs to be a fair hand cleaning out the
muck, or he's like to drown in it!
The CROWD laughs and applauds.
WOMAN#1
Daniel Webster for President!
CROWD
President Webster! President Webster!
DANIEL WEBSTER
You flatter me. But decisions like that, as we all know, rest in
the hands of a Higher Power - the people of the United States!
Today, I'm just here like yourselves to honor these two fine
young people in our community. Jabez Stone, congratulations on
your good fortune and I'm not talking about gold. There's a
greater treasure clings to your arm right now that will outlast
all precious metals. Treat her with respect and love, knowing
that a good marriage is as close to heaven as a man can get to in
this life.
SPARK
And a bad one?
DANIEL WEBSTER
As close to hell as you can come!
(to ABIGAIL)
Abigail Stevens. Dear girl, if God had seen fit to bless me with
a daughter, instead of the two fine sons I have, I would wish her
like you. Love your young man with all your soul and keep him on
a straight road. A woman's heart is the hearth of the home,
around which every living thing takes warmth. Bank your fire.
Tend it close. I wish you both, Long Life...!
The Devil and Daniel Webster
22
CROWD
Long life!
DANIEL WEBSTER
Enduring love!
CROWD
Enduring love!
DANIEL WEBSTER
And the great gift of children!
Children!
CROWD
SPARK
(to the audience)
Did I tell you straight, the man casts spells; he could talk
oysters out of their shells.
SPARK begins to play the wedding
march and the crowd quickly divides
into two groups. A MINISTER, his
face hidden, stands at the end of
the aisle. DANIEL WEBSTER as Best
Man, walks JABEZ down the aisle,
shakes his hand, and leaves him at
the altar. MISER STEVENS walks
ABIGAIL down to JABEZ. MISER
STEVENS kisses his daughter but
remains standing at the altar.
DANIEL WEBSTER
Farmer Stevens. It's time to let go, sir!
The CROWD laughs and STEVENS
retreats, blushing. JABEZ and
ABIGAIL link arms and turn to the
MINISTER. It is SCRATCH. JABEZ
starts violently and steps back.
JABEZ
What are you doin' here?!
The CROWD rises in confusion and
concern, temporarily blocking our
view of the MINISTER.
Are you alright, Jabez?
ABIGAIL
JABEZ
What's he doin' here? What's he...
The Devil and Daniel Webster
23
But when he turns back to the
MINISTER he's just an ordinary man.
DANIEL WEBSTER puts a reassuring
arm around JABEZ and turns to the
crowd.
DANIEL WEBSTER
Just a little case of nerves, that's all! What soldier as the
trumpet calls, or bridegroom as he seals his vows, hasn't felt a
little jittery.
MAN#3
(hoisting a jug)
Need a little Dutch courage, there, Jabez?!
DANIEL WEBSTER
I think we can make it through the ceremony without liberal
application of home brewed libations. But see me directly after
the service! What do you say, Jabez? Shall we go on?
JABEZ
I'm fine.
DANIEL WEBSTER
Minister, if you please.
MINISTER
Do you, Jabez Stone, take this woman, Abigail Stevens, as your
lawful wife...
JABEZ
(interrupting)
I do!
The MINISTER smiles and the CROWD
laughs as JABEZ realizes he's
jumped the gun in his eagerness.
MINISTER
To have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer,
in sickness and in health, so long as you both shall live?
JABEZ
I do.
MINISTER
And you, Abigail Stevens, do you take this man, Jabez Stone, as
your lawful husband to have and to hold, for better for worse,
for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, so long as you
both shall live?
ABIGAIL
I do.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
24
MINISTER
Then by the power vested in me by the great state of New
Hampshire, I now declare you man and wife!
SPARK begins a lively reel and the
COMPANY begins dancing. The dancing
and the music builds and builds and
then EVERYONE freezes except JABEZ.
He looks around in confusion.
SCRATCH stands SR in a tight
spotlight. SCRATCH smiles at JABEZ.
Seven years.
SCRATCH
SCRATCH waves his hand and the
scene changes. The wedding guests
exit. SCRATCH smiles at the
audience and disappears. SPARK
plays a little music on his violin.
As SPARK talks, the set changes
behind him. Giant CORN STALKS
spring up. JABEZ's house re-appears
but bigger and grander. Fat SHEEP
and PIGS wander on and off.
SPARK
Six years flew past like swallows on the wind and Jabez Stone's
good fortune seems to have no end. His barns are big, likewise
his pigs, his cows give the sweetest milk. His corn's so high it
blocks the sky and his sheep's wool feels like silk.
ABIGAIL and JABEZ, expensively
dressed, come out of the house with
a load of wash which THEY proceed
to hang up.
SPARK (CONT'D)
His wealth increases, more and more, and Abigail bears him
children...
ABIGAIL and JABEZ hang up four
pairs of increasingly small
underwear: two pairs of long johns
and two petticoats.
...One. Two. Three. Four! Two girls! Two boys! What bliss. What
joy.
ABIGAIL kisses JABEZ and goes back
inside. A line of BEGGARS approach
JABEZ shyly but he helps them all
with a free and a generous heart a hug, a handful of coins, etc.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
25
THEY all thank him with a quiet
"God Bless you."
Men
he.
man
The
SPARK (CONT'D)
now sought his counsel and he gave it freely; a Solomon was
And with his wisdom so also grew his generosity. No hungry
was ever denied a meal at his door. The sick was doctored.
widow consoled. And money given to the poor.
The BEGGARS move away.
SPARK (CONT'D)
You'd think he'd be a contented man, upon his lips a song. You'd
think he'd be a happy man, but you'd be wrong.
JABEZ looks at his thumb where the
devil marked him and scratches at
the scar frowning. One last BEGGAR
approaches, limping, his hat pulled
down low over his head.
BEGGAR
Alms, sir? Alms for the poor.
JABEZ
Whatever you need, friend, you will find it here.
BEGGAR
Anything?
The BEGGAR drops his hat and stands
upright to reveal SCRATCH!
Evenin', Mr. Stone.
SCRATCH (O.S.)
Startled, JABEZ steps back.
JABEZ
What are you doing here?!
SCRATCH smiles. He magically takes
a cigar out of the air and trims
the end with a sharp knife.
SCRATCH
Just a little visit...from an old friend.
JABEZ
"Friend?" I wouldn't go that far.
SCRATCH
How far would you go, Jabez?
The Devil and Daniel Webster
26
(JABEZ says nothing)
You've become a mighty generous man, I see. I wouldn't have
guessed that of you, way back when.
JABEZ
I like to help folks when I can.
I know the feeling well.
SCRATCH
JABEZ
It's not the same!
SCRATCH
No?
JABEZ is silent. SCRATCH glances
around appreciatively.
SCRATCH (CONT'D)
Well, Mr. Stone, I have to say, you're a hummer. It's a very
pretty property you've got.
JABEZ
Some might favor it; others might not.
Spoken like a a true
decry your industry.
all according to our
one year from today,
SCRATCH
New Hampshire man.
After all, we know
contract. So, when
you shouldn't have
But there's no need to
what's been done and it's
the mortgage falls due
any regrets.
JABEZ
Speaking of that...mortgage, I'm beginning to have one or two
doubts about it.
SCRATCH magically lights his cigar.
SCRATCH
Doubts?
JABEZ
This being the United States and me always havin' been a
religious man...
(SCRATCH laughs)
...I'm beginning to have considerable doubts as to that mortgage
holding up in court.
SCRATCH
As to your religious fervor, I can't say I noticed it when first
we met, although its not uncommon for men to see the light just
before night falls. As to legal matters, we can have a look at
the original document, just to put your mind at ease.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
27
SCRATCH gestures and SPARK appears
dressed as a satanic file clerk
SCRATCH (CONT'D)
"Jabez Stone."
SPARK
"Jabez Stone." Yes, sir, right away, sir!
SPARK reaches offstage and pulls on
a huge file cabinet drawer. He
begins to rifle through the
considerable number of files.
SPARK (CONT'D)
Sherwin. Slater. Stevens. Stevens, Adams. Stevens, Andrew.
Stevens, Arthur.
JABEZ
(nervous)
Are all those...clients of yours?
SCRATCH
You're in good company, I assure you.
SPARK
Found it!
SPARK retrieves a still smoking
document and hands it to SCRATCH,
who takes a case out of his coat
pocket and puts on a pair of
reading glasses.
SCRATCH
(reading)
"I, Jabez Stone, for a term of seven years...wealth...sell my
soul...etc" No, it all seems to be in order.
JABEZ
Let me see that!
SCRATCH
Of course.
SCRATCH hands the paper to JABEZ
and starts to put his glasses away.
Suddenly, a small WHITE WINGED
CREATURE springs out of the glasses
case and flutters frantically about
the stage, crying out in MISER
STEVEN'S voice.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
28
WINGED CREATURE
Jabez! Help me! Dear son in law, for God's sake help me!
SCRATCH
Oh, my. Spark!
SPARK whips out a megaphone.
SPARK
Code Red! Repeat, Code Red. We've got a runaway!
Several grotesque DEVILS appear and
begin CHASING the WINGED CREATURE
around the stage.
WINGED CREATURE
Help me, Jabez! Pleeeease, don't let him take me! Jabez! If you
ever loved my daughter, help me now! No! No! NO! Help me, Jabez!
Help me, please! Heeeeeelllllpppp Meeeeee!
Cackling with glee, the DEVILS
catch the WINGED CREATURE and bring
it to SCRATCH.
Get me the box!
SCRATCH
SPARK runs over with a large BOX
and opens it. Pinned inside are
several other WINGED CREATURES of
various colors, all struggling
feebly. SCRATCH pulls a sharp PIN
out of the air and STABS the WINGED
CREATURE, fixing it to the box. The
WINGED CREATURE shrieks in pain.
The DEVILS exit.
SCRATCH (CONT'D)
Sorry for the interruption. As I was saying...
JABEZ
That was Miser Steven's voice! And you've got him in that...that
thing!
SCRATCH
(embarrassed)
Yes, I really should have transferred him to the collecting box
right away but there were some rather unusual specimens there and
I didn't want them crowded. Well, these little accidents will
happen.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
29
JABEZ
That was Miser Stevens and he ain't dead! You can't tell me he
is! He was just as spry and mean as a woodchuck yesterday!
He was, he was. He was.
SCRATCH
Somewhere a church bell starts
TOLLING.
SCRATCH (CONT'D)
"In the midst of life, we are in the midst of death" as the poet
says. These long-standing accounts. One really hates to close
them but business is business.
JABEZ
You and...Miser Stevens had a deal?
SCRATCH
(smiling)
He wasn't always rich...
(re: the box)
...were you, you little dickens!
JABEZ
(horrified)
Are they all...as small as that?
SCRATCH
"Small?" Oh, they vary.
(studying Jabez)
Don't worry, Jabez, you'll go a very good grade; I wouldn't trust
you outside the collecting box. But now a man like...like...
Daniel Webster?
SPARK
SCRATCH
Daniel Webster. Hmmmm. I imagine the wing spread would astonish
you. (practically salivating)
We'd have to build a special container for him, and even at
that...
SPARK clears his throat discreetly.
SCRATCH recovers.
SCRATCH (CONT'D)
...but, in your case, as I was saying...
...Put it away!
JABEZ
The Devil and Daniel Webster
30
SCRATCH
One more year, Jabez. Three hundred and sixty-five days.
JABEZ
Ain't there anything I can do?
SCRATCH
I'm always open for business.
(Examining the children's clothing on the line)
What have you got for sale?
JABEZ
NOTHING! Get out! Get out of here!
SCRATCH
Tend to your wife, Jabez. She needs you.
GET OUT!
JABEZ
A very shaken ABIGAIL comes out of
the house, helped by a NEIGHBOR
WOMAN.
Jabez!
ABIGAIL
JABEZ
What is it, Abby? Are the kids alright?
It's my father - he's dead.
ABIGAIL
LIGHTS SHIFT. SPOT up on SPARK
while in the background a FUNERAL
PROCESSION forms ending in the
burial of MISER STEVENS.
SPARK
One more year. Time is such a relative thing; it can make you
weep, it can make you sing. A minute embracing your love goes
fast while that same minute seems to last forever when the
object in your hands is a blistering, red-hot brand. And so, for
poor Jabez Stone, his last few days flew past and his heart
groaned under the weight of a doom forecast - damnation for all
eternity - with no way out that he could see. But the devil was
as good as his word, and increasingly Jabez's name was heard
bandied about for positions great, including Governor of the
State!
Banners fall from the rafters
proclaiming, "Jabez Stone for
Governor!" CITIZENS surge onstage
The Devil and Daniel Webster
31
CHEERING and throwing confetti. A
SPEAKER mounts a crate and
harangues the crowd.
SPEAKER
Citizens of New Hampshire! We're gathered here to nominate a
candidate for Governor. You all know our neighbor, Jabez Stone.
Now, I admit, he doesn't have a lot of political experience but
if you think about it, it's the politicians who got us into this
mess in the first place! I think we need to send an honest man to
the Statehouse. A man of integrity! A man of honor! I give you,
the next Governor of the State of New Hampshire, Jabez Stone!
The CROWD cheers loudly as JABEZ
and ABIGAIL mount the platform.
JABEZ
Neighbors! Friends! You're too generous! Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you!
(CROWD quiets)
"Governor?" I don't know.
MAN#1
We do!
The CROWD laughs.
JABEZ
I'm honored, of course. Humbled, really. Just that you might
think me worthy is enough to fulfill any dream...
SCRATCH appears in the CROWD and
JABEZ stops cold. No one else ever
sees SCRATCH.
SCRATCH
You were saying, "Any dream?"
JABEZ
Any...dream...I might have...
ABIGAIL
Jabez?
Go on, Jabez!
MAN#2
JABEZ
Just that you might think me worthy is enough to fulfill any
dream I might have had as a young boy. Now, I'm not going to...to
stand up here and make a lot of empty promises.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
32
SCRATCH
Keep your promises, do you? You've got my vote then.
JABEZ
I don't want your vote!
The CROWD looks at him in
confusion.
MAN#3
What'd he say?
He doesn't want our vote.
Why not?
MAN#2
MAN#1
JABEZ
I don't want your vote...unless...I'm worthy of it. You know me.
I'm just a simple farmer, like you.
SCRATCH
So modest!
You SHUT UP back there!
JABEZ
The CROWD can't figure out who
JABEZ is talking to.
Who are you talking to?
ABIGAIL
JABEZ
I'm talking to him! Can't you see him?! He's right there, big as
life, staring at me with those awful eyes! Make him go AWAY!
SCRATCH
See you tonight, Jabez. Midnight. Sweet dreams.
SCRATCH vanishes.
ABIGAIL
Ladies and gentlemen! My husband isn't...feeling well this
afternoon. If you'll forgive us, we're gonna go on to home now
and get a little rest. We thank you for your support and I urge
you to help yourself to the picnic that's spread out by the
river. And be sure and try the cider! Thank you.
The CROWD disperses leaving ABIGAIL
and JABEZ alone. A moment.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
33
ABIGAIL (CONT'D)
Are you ill, Jabez.
JABEZ
To my soul.
ABIGAIL
Shall I go get the doctor?
JABEZ
No mortal man can cure what I got.
ABIGAIL
Then we'll ask God's help. Kneel down and pray with me.
ABIGAIL kneels down. JABEZ kneels
beside her and bows his head. They
begin to pray silently. Suddenly
JABEZ rises, more panicked then
before...
JABEZ
I can't! I can't say the words.
Why not?
ABIGAIL
JABEZ
I've done a terrible thing, Abby. The most terrible thing a man
can do.
ABIGAIL
What did you do?
I'm so ashamed.
You can tell me, Jabez.
JABEZ
ABIGAIL
JABEZ
I'm afraid you'll hate me forever!
ABIGAIL
Hush now, I could never do that.
JABEZ
You don't know!
ABIGAIL
Have you...met somebody else?
The Devil and Daniel Webster
34
JABEZ
No! I could never love nobody but you.
ABIGAIL
Something to do with the kids?
JABEZ
No.
ABIGAIL
Whatever it is, Jabez, if we face it together we'll get through
it.
JABEZ
You don't know.
ABIGAIL
(exasperated)
I don't know because you haven't told me, so JUST TELL ME!
JABEZ leans over and WHISPERS into
her ear. HER eyes grow wide and she
GASPS.
Lord have mercy.
ABIGAIL (CONT'D)
JABEZ
I can't say, "Amen." Why is that? Because I'm damned to hell,
that's why!
ABIGAIL
Don't you say that!
Nobody can help me.
There's one person who might.
JABEZ
ABIGAIL
LIGHTS SHIFT and DANIEL WEBSTER
enters, wrestling his prize ram,
GOLIATH.
DANIEL WEBSTER
Well...You've certainly...given yourself the Devil's own row to
hoe, Neighbor Stone.
JABEZ
I have, sir.
DANIEL WEBSTER
Come on, Goliath; is that all you've got?!
The Devil and Daniel Webster
35
The RAM charges DANIEL but he
gracefully sidesteps the animal and
FLIPS him over and PINS him.
Give up?
DANIEL WEBSTER (CONT'D)
The RAM taps the ground, "yes."
DANIEL WEBSTER (CONT'D)
Two out of three?
The RAM ruefully shakes his head.
DANIEL WEBSTER (CONT'D)
You sure?
The RAM nods very emphatically.
Well, get on then.
DANIEL WEBSTER (CONT'D)
GOLIATH limps offstage. DANIEL
turns to JABEZ/ABIGAIL
DANIEL WEBSTER (CONT'D)
As much time as I spend in Washington these days I find the
livestock tends to get a little lazy in my absence. As to your
situation, Jabez, I have to say I don't argue many cases anymore,
'cept in front of the Supreme Court, of course.
(depressed) Of course.
JABEZ
DANIEL WEBSTER
And I haven't plead a mortgage case in donkey's years.
JABEZ
(despairing) No, sir.
DANIEL WEBSTER
On the other hand...
ABIGAIL
(interrupting)
...What is it about New Hampshire men takes'm so long to get to
the blasted point?
DANIEL WEBSTER
(smiling)
I don't know but we can always count on New Hampshire women to
straighten us out.
The Devil and Daniel Webster
36
ABIGAIL
Will you take our case?
DANIEL WEBSTER
I will.
JABEZ
You will?!
ABIGAIL
Thank you, Mr. Webster!
ABIGAIL hugs him fiercely and
begins to cry. DANIEL is moved;
embarrassed.
DANIEL WEBSTER
There, there now. It'll be alright. I've got about seventy-five
other things to do, especially beating back these darn
Secessionists, but if three New Hampshire citizens aren't a match
for the Devil, then we might as well give this country back to
the bears and the bobcats! When is this...foreclosure due?
Midnight, tonight.
Midnight it is.
JABEZ
DANIEL WEBSTER
SPARK plays a quick phrase on his
violin and with a simple hand
gesture, brings the stage lights
OUT!
END OF ACT ONE
The Devil and Daniel Webster
37