Zora Neale Hurston: Collected Plays

Forty Yards

Forty Yards cast: Howard Mob Lincoln Mob Howard Band Cheer Leaders Howard Team Lincoln Team Time: Present. Place: Washington, D.C. Scene: The ball park. Setting: The park with grandstands on either side and upstage. Action:At rise,the grandstands are full,the cheer leaders are violently gyrating to whip up the mob. The Lincoln colors fly from the right. The Howard [colors] from the left. Both have cheer leaders. First is heard the Lincoln mob singing “Didn’t He Ramble, Ramble.” Lincoln Mob: And didn’t he ramble, ramble, ramble all around, in and out of town He rambled, he rambled, rambled til Ol’ Lincoln cut him down Howard Mob: There’ll be nothing but sweetmeats for our football team There’ll be nothing but sweetmeats for our football team Baked Hampton, boiled Shaw, fried Union, Lincoln slaw,18 There’ll be nothing but sweetmeats, for our football team. (Enter the Howard band, led by a hot-strutting drum major. They parade the field and the men students pile down and fall in behind the team. They sing and shout the team song.) This is the T-E-A-M team On which the hopes of Howard lean Beat Ol’ Hampton, beat Ol’ Union Sweep Ol’ Lincoln clean. We are the B-E-S-T best Of the R-E-S-T rest 215 080 four (201-220) 4/9/08 11:08 AM Page 215 Come and watch us put Ol’ Howard On top of Lincoln’s chest. We’ll hit the L-I-N-E line For a hundred ninety-nine For we love Ol’ Howard, yes we love her All the T-I-M-E time. (At the conclusion the teams take the field. The ball is put into play and Lincoln kicks off to Howard. As the ball is caught and when the player who is carrying the ball plunges, followed by his team, the Lincoln players fall on their knees and begin to sing“I Couldn’t Hear Nobody Pray.”19 The Howard team charges down shouting “Joshua Fi’t the Battle of Jericho.” Whenever there is a player tackled there is a duet of dancing. Every step is a dance. Finally the grandstand catches fire and the dancing and shouting runs riot up there. When the ball is on Lincoln’s ten-yard line, they hold Howard there by rounding up both teams into a huddle and the bunch shout and sing to a quick curtain.) 216 • fast and furious 080 four (201-220) 4/9/08 11:08 AM Page 216 ...