WHITE MAMA

Based on a Robert C.S. Downs novel and 1980 television film that starred Oscar winner Bette Davis and Ernest Harden Jr. The play explores a penniless elderly white widow Estelle Malone becomes a foster mother to an African American juvenille B.T. Williamson. The setting takes place at New York City in the 1980s. Here’s a sample of WHITE MAMA

ACT I SCENE 1

SETTING: Inside of Estelle’s Apartment.

AT RISE: Estelle is inside her apartment arranging the house making sure everything is clean. She is expecting a visit from the foster care agency to drop off her foster child.

MRS. MCINTYRE

(knocking on the apartment door)

Estelle?

ESTELLE

Come in, Mrs. McIntyre. It’s open.

(MRS.MCINTYRE opens the door, she enters.)

MRS. MCINTYRE

Open the door? Estelle, I don’t know about this. One day, they’ll rob you blind or better yet worse.

MRS.MCINTYRE (CONT’D)

What time they say they’ll be here?

ESTELLE

They said ten o’clock.

(She looks at her wristwatch.)

ESTELLE

Ten o’clock sharp.

MRS. MCINTYRE

If you ask me, you have lost your mind. Bringing in some street kid which you know absolutely nothing about.

ESTELLE

They told me all about him on the phone. He has gone through a lot of trouble with the police over stolen cars. He’s currently on probation. But-They told me he needed a good home.

ESTELLE (CONT’D)

Besides, it’s only for a few months.

(MRS. MCINTYRE makes a disapproving face.)

MRS. MCINTYRE

Estelle, I will not tolerate this. You lost your husband for nine months now. And now, you’re bringing some troublesome, no-good hooligan out of nowhere in this household.

MRS. MCINTYRE (CONT’D)

Why can’t you be on welfare like everybody else?

ESTELLE

I told you before, Mrs. McIntyre. I don’t take charity.

MRS. MCINTYRE

Unbelievable.

(She turns away and opens the door.)

MRS. MCINTYRE

You’re going to regret this. You will. Watch.

(She shuts the door and exits. ESTELLE shakes her head and refuses to listen to her. She sees her picture of her husband. She picks up the picture and glares at the picture. She smiles at the picture. A knock on the apartment door. ESTELLE looks at her wristwatch. It was time.)

ESTELLE

(looking at her wristwatch)

Ten o’clock.

ESTELLE (CONT’D)

Come in. Come in. The doors open!

(The door opens, enters the FOSTER CARE AGENT lady dressed in a suit carrying her briefcase and B.T. WILLIAMSON dressed in regular street clothes with a beret on his head, carrying his luggage in with a toothpick in his mouth.)

FOSTER CARE AGENT

Estelle Malone?

ESTELLE

Yes?

FOSTER CARE AGENT

Mr. B.T. Williamson.

(ESTELLE looks at B.T. with a dirty look.)

FOSTER CARE AGENT

I need you to sign these custody papers, please.

(ESTELLE approach to the FOSTER CARE AGENT lady to sign the papers.)

ESTELLE

(quietly)

Where’s the sixteen-year-old?

FOSTER CARE AGENT

That’s him.

(ESTELLE looks at him again.)

ESTELLE

That’s him?

FOSTER CARE AGENT

Yes.

(ESTELLE signs the papers. After she was done signing the papers, the FOSTER CARE AGENT lady quickly gathers all the paperwork and put it in her briefcase, and hands her B.T. paperwork from the Center.)

FOSTER CARE AGENT

I’m certain all will be well. He’s a very nice young man. Good luck, Mrs. Malone.

(She grabs her briefcase and heads to the door.)

FOSTER CARE AGENT

B.T., Behave yourself.

(B.T. walks towards her and spank her buttocks. He smiles but the FOSTER CARE AGENT lady gave him a contemptuous look.)

FOSTER CARE AGENT

Have a good one, Mrs. Malone.

(She grabs the knob of the door and closed the door and she exit. B.T. laughs a little, then he grabs his luggage and put it in the living room. He starts to look around the apartment and then he looks out the window. ESTELLE finally looks at B.T. and she half-smiled.)

ESTELLE

Well.

B.T.

Well?

(B.T. starts to look at the picture of ESTELLE husband. Then, he starts sucking his teeth with his toothpick.)

B.T.

Is that your old man?

ESTELLE

My husband.

B.T.

He lives here, too?

ESTELLE

He passed away.

B.T.

That’s the way it goes.

(He touches the couch to test out the springs on the couch. Then, he looks at the china cabinet. He opens and closes it and did it again.)

B.T.

Hmmm. Nice.

(He puts the toothpick back in his mouth.)

B.T.

You got a dollar or two in that.

ESTELLE

It was a gift.

ESTELLE (CONT’D)

And what does B.T. stand for?

B.T.

My mama never gave me no real name. B.T. stand for Boy Ten.

(He continues to look around.)

B.T.

You got a radio?

ESTELLE

Over there, by the table.

(B.T. walks to the table and saw the radio. He looks at the radio then starts looping through the radio stations.)

ESTELLE

I don’t use the radio that much. So-

(Music starts to play. B.T. jams to the music and puts the volume up. ESTELLE not a fan of the music, quickly turns off the radio and B.T stops dancing.)

B.T.

I guess you’re no fun either, huh?

(ESTELLE stood there quietly.)

B.T.

So, how much is it?

ESTELLE

The fee is a hundred dollars a week. For your room and board.

B.T.

You need the money?

ESTELLE

It’s for your expenses.

B.T.

Most places I’ve been the people didn’t need the money. They took me in because they wanted to do good for me.

(B.T. pauses and looks directly at ESTELLE.)

B.T.

Now ain’t that something.

ESTELLE

What?

B.T.

You need the money badly, do you?

(B.T. makes a skeptical face while folding his arms.)

ESTELLE

Well, I, ummm.

B.T.

Here’s a hint: Why don’t you go on welfare?

ESTELLE

I don’t take charity.

B.T.

Hmm.

(B.T. continues to look around the apartment.)

B.T.

Where do I sleep?

ESTELLE

You can sleep anywhere. You can either sleep on the couch in the living room or in the other room.

(B.T. sits on the couch.)

B.T.

Who lived here before me?

ESTELLE

My daughter.

B.T.

You got a daughter?

ESTELLE

Yes, the other room is her room.

(B.T. looks at the door next to the living room.)

B.T.

Where is she now?

ESTELLE

Japan. She's married a soldier and went to live in Japan. I haven't seen her since I buried my husband.

B.T.

That's a damn shame.

B.T. (CONT'D)

You know, I don't mind sleeping on the couch. Last place I slept on the couch.

ESTELLE

It's also a pullout.

(B.T. removes his toothpick from his mouth and put it on the table. He took his beret off from his head, threw it on the statue of Virgin Mary. ESTELLE saw his beret on the statue and removed it.)

ESTELLE

If you don't want it in here say so. But don't go trying to break things.

(ESTELLE threw his beret on the couch where B.T. is sitting. B.T. gazed at the statue.)

B.T.

It's all right where it is.

B.T. (CONT'D)

You religious?

ESTELLE

I don't wear it on my sleeve.

B.T.

Last woman I stayed with was crazy for Jesus. Great big mama all the time singing to the Lord and wanting me to go to church.

B.T. (CONT'D)

I got to go to church with you?

ESTELLE

No.

B.T.

Good. Because I wouldn't go.

ESTELLE

I'd like it if you did.

B.T.

You Catholic?

ESTELLE

Yes.

B.T.

It's all the same to me.

(B.T. bounces on the couch a couple of times.)

B.T.

This is a fine couch.

(B.T. kicks his feet up on the coffee table and starts to relax. ESTELLE puts her hands on her hips looking at B.T. with disgust. B.T. later looks at ESTELLE.)

B.T.

Oh, my bad.

(B.T. puts his feet off the coffee table. He takes off his shoes then put his feet back on the coffee table. ESTELLE looks B.T. socks with one hole showing his toe then at B.T. again.)

ESTELLE

(disgusted)

Please, put your feet on the floor. Young man, this is my house.

(B.T. slowly put his feet on the ground.)

ESTELLE

Thank you.

B.T.

What you got here to eat? I'm hungry.

ESTELLE

If you're hungry I can make you something.

B.T.

Good cus' one woman I stayed with she never feed me. She used all the money to gamble. You know, betting on ponies.

ESTELLE

That's a darn shame.

ESTELLE (CONT’D)

Would you like some spam or eggs?

B.T.

I’ll have some eggs.

(ESTELLE heads to the kitchen. BLACKOUT. END OF SCENE ONE.)

ACT 1 SCENE 2

SETTING: Inside Estelle’s Apartment, Kitchen, and Dining Room.

AT RISE: Estelle is in the kitchen cooking eggs and toast for B.T. while he is in the dining room sitting at the dining table playing with the salt and pepper shakers. Estelle finally finished cooking B.T.’s meal and set it on the table.

ESTELLE

Here you are.

B.T.

You got any sauce?

ESTELLE

Ketchup?

B.T.

The hot sauce?

(ESTELLE goes to her cabinet to look for it. She finds the hot sauce and shows it to B.T.)

ESTELLE

Tabasco sauce?

B.T.

That’s the one.

ESTELLE

That’s a seasoning. For chili, things like that.

(B.T. opens the cap of the tabasco sauce and sprinkled it all over the eggs. Then, he eats. ESTELLE goes to the kitchen to get her teakettle from the stove and poured her some tea. She later sits down with B.T. and watches him eat. B.T. sprinkled the hot sauce again.)

ESTELLE

Be careful, you’ll ruin it.

B.T.

White people don’t know what good is. Their tongues are made of something not exactly tongue, you know.

(B.T. finishes eating his eggs then starts eating his toast. ESTELLE goes back in the kitchen, go in the fridge to get orange juice, then to the cabinet to get a glass. She shows B.T. a gallon of juice.)

ESTELLE

Orange juice?

B.T.

Huh?

ESTELLE

Juice?

B.T.

Oh, yea.

(ESTELLE pours the orange juice on B.T.’s glass. B.T. drinks the juice. ESTELLE sits back on her seat.)

B.T.

So, what you got lined up for today?

ESTELLE

Well, I made a one o’clock appointment.

B.T.

For what?

ESTELLE

School.

(B.T. pause for a moment.)

B.T.

School? I wasn’t counting on school.

ESTELLE

Well, you do go to school?

B.T.

I ain’t been to a regular.

(ESTELLE sips her tea.)

ESTELLE

When my daughter was sixteen, she loved plane geometry.

B.T.

What’s that?

ESTELLE

You’ll come to it in time.

B.T.

Once I did woodshop pretty good. I could be a carpenter anytime I wanted.

ESTELLE

Where have you been to school?

B.T.

All over.

ESTELLE

As long as you’re here you’ll go to the same one.

(B.T. starts to feel unsure about going to school.)

B.T.

I really got to go to school?

ESTELLE

Oh, yes.

B.T.

You seemed like a nice lady. How come you going to make me go to school?

ESTELLE

Don’t be silly.

B.T.

Well, if it makes you happy, I’ll give it a shot.

(B.T. finishes eating his toast.)

B.T.

They didn’t tell you about me.

ESTELLE

Well, they didn’t tell me you were-

(ESTELLE pause at that moment trying to not mention his race to offend him.)

B.T.

That I was what?

ESTELLE

Never mind.

ESTELLE (CONT’D)

But they did mention you stole a car.

B.T.

Shoot, I stole nine. They only know about one. I ain’t talking about that. This here is the last place they give me. I blow this one. Bye, Bye, freedom. Juvenile detention. Plain and simple.

B.T. (CONT’D)

You know what they do there?

ESTELLE

No.

B.T.

Better you don’t know.

B.T. (CONT’D)

Six months in that place and your head is on backward for good.

(B.T. sits back down at the dining table.)

ESTELLE

You know, B.T. I think we’ll get along well.

B.T.

Which means I do what you say.

ESTELLE

We’ll go by the rules. The ones from the Center.

B.T.

Lemme guess home by ten o’clock?

ESTELLE

You’ll have homework.

B.T.

They probably give a lot of that.

ESTELLE

Do you do any sports?

B.T.

I box some.

ESTELLE

Boxing?

B.T.

Yea. Like Champ.

ESTELLE

Who?

B.T.

You don’t know about Champ? Muhammad Ali?

(B.T. gets up from the table and stands in a boxing stance.)

B.T.

FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY, STING LIKE A BEE.

ESTELLE

You shouldn’t do that.

B.T.

What?

ESTELLE

Boxing. It’s dangerous.

ESTELLE (CONT’D)

Did you really steal all those cars?

B.T.

Sure.

ESTELLE

Why?

B.T.

To strip them. Sell off what I could.

ESTELLE

Are you sorry for it?

B.T.

I’m sorry I got caught.

ESTELLE

But you know it was wrong.

B.T.

Definitely. I never steal no cars again; I tell you that.

ESTELLE

Well, good for you.

(ESTELLE smiles.)

B.T.

I hustle anything before cars.

B.T. (CONT’D)

You know, last place I got out of fast. I got almost nothing. The woman chased me halfway down the block.

ESTELLE

What happened?

B.T.

I didn’t do nothing.

ESTELLE

Why’d she chased you?

B.T.

No big deal.

ESTELLE

What did you do?

B.T.

I stole all her furniture.

ESTELLE

(shocked)

All of it?

B.T.

Every last stick.

ESTELLE

But did you return the furniture back?

B.T.

Of course, I did. It was either that or jail.

(ESTELLE looks at her wristwatch.)

ESTELLE

Oh, we better get going.

(She gets up from the table.)

ESTELLE

It’s almost one o’clock.

B.T.

We really got to do this school thing?

(ESTELLE puts on her sweater, grabs her purse from the hook rack, and B.T.’s paperwork.)

ESTELLE

Yes, come on. Let’s go.

(ESTELLE opens the door. B.T. gets up from the table and walks out the door and exits. ESTELLE turns off the lights, closes the door, and exits. BLACKOUT. END OF SCENE 2.)

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