Fame (1982) s01e15 Episode Script
Reunions
The only way this show is going to work is if it is a collaborative effort.
The eyes are still the Benjamin I remember.
You think they-You know what I mean.
You think him and her? Danny, the man is just old.
He ain't dead.
- To reunions.
- To reunions.
You got big dreams.
You want fame.
Well, fame costs and right here is where you start paying in sweat.
Sorry.
I almost had it.
Mr.
Amatullo, you left two people standing.
Would you like to try to pick up a spare? Class, don't forget to fill out these forms and bring them back tomorrow.
I need to know how many parents I can expect for the show.
Leroy, Danny, come over here.
Let me talk to you.
I'd like to see both of you in the office after you've cleaned up.
I have a little job for you.
How much do we get paid? We don't work cheap.
I think we're talking about a couple of hundred dollars changing hands here.
- Couple of hundred bucks? - Couple of hundred dollars.
Hundred for you, a hundred for me.
Props? I don't know anything about getting any props.
What better time to learn then.
If we don't spend the whole $200, do we get to keep the rest of the money? No, Mr.
Amatullo, it doesn't quite work like that.
Besides, I don't think you're gonna get everything we need with the 200 anyway.
Just do the best you can.
Now look, this is the check.
And both of you fill out these forms and sign where I've marked X's.
What is all this stuff? This is a receipt saying that you have the money.
And this is a form authorizing you to have it for the purposes stated.
What's this? Your guarantee that the money will be spent only on items approved.
Trust is such a lovely thing.
- Where do we get this stuff? - That's your problem.
But I suggest you skip Bloomingdale's and go to secondhand stores, thrift shops.
Just get it done cheap.
Cheap.
Speaking of money there's a very intriguing offer from the teachers' credit union.
You all ought to look into it.
They're offering an investment counseling service.
Only if I lived under the approach to LaGuardia.
How are the acting students keeping up in your production number? I'm not too sure.
I've never choreographed a stampede before.
Think cheap.
- Cheap.
- Cheap.
- Cheap.
- Cheap.
I have a suggestion, Mrs.
Berg.
Instead of distributing worthless announcements to everyone you should post one copy, and we could all ignore it more efficiently.
You really should consider this offer, Mr.
Shorofsky.
It's a very good time for small investors.
Teachers don't qualify as small investors.
We are serfs.
Or maybe not.
Serfs have a better medical plan.
I almost forgot.
This call came for you.
A Frieda Grauer? Frieda Grauer? Are you sure? I took the call myself.
She wants you to call her at that number.
What's the matter? You look as if you've just heard from your bill collector.
I guess I have in a way.
Let's try that again, please, from the same place.
A one, two, three.
Isn't that supposed to be a minor chord? Oh, I'm sorry.
I didn't see the key signature.
That's even correct.
Was that so difficult, Mr.
Martelli? - It's okay.
I got it.
- Wonderful.
Haydn survives more than two centuries and now he even survives Martelli.
Question is, will Martelli survive Haydn? Mr.
Haydn is mercifully dead, so he doesn't care.
And I may be stuck with you, but I don't care either.
To you, music isn't melody but megawatts.
Not Wagner but voltage.
Fine.
Go play in your electronic sandbox, or better yet- I'm sorry.
You make a small joke, and I react as if you're attacking something sacred.
I beg your pardon, Mr.
Martelli.
It's okay.
We all have our bad days.
I apologize to you.
I apologize to all of you.
Play! Please! From the top.
One, two, one- - Hey.
- I almost forgot.
Well, congratulations.
All the book reports are in on time.
They say if you live long enough, you see everything.
Maybe you should declare today a holiday.
Wait till I read them.
I wanna make sure none of you is trying to review heavy metal comics again.
All right, all right.
How many of you have ever kept a diary? A diary? No way.
No, it's not smart to write stuff that could be held against you.
But a diary is private.
It's a way of communicating with yourself.
Writing down your thoughts, your dreams.
If I wrote down my dreams, I'd get arrested.
We're talking dreams, not wishful thinking.
Okay.
I want to read you something that was written by a young girl who also had doubts about keeping a journal.
She called her diary Kitty.
Come on, Red.
OneJuly day she wrote "It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out.
Yet, I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.
" Less than a year later, when she was about your age this girl died in Bergen-Belsen, a Nazi concentration camp.
Her name was Anne Frank.
Your assignment is to read her diary and keep one for yourselves for about a month.
Does that mean we have to show our diaries to the class? No, of course not.
Then why do you want us to keep a diary? Because it's just possible, Mr.
MacNeil, you might learn something about yourself.
- It's impossible - For the sun to Miss Sherwood? How much time do we have to read for this assignment? - Couple of weeks.
- I don't think me and Danny can do this.
- Why not? - We're sort of like doing double duty.
We're in the spring festival, and we're in charge of getting all the props.
Yeah, I think we'll be too busy to finish the assignment in two weeks.
- Twelve days.
- You said two weeks.
- Eleven days.
- But we're gonna be busy with- - Ten days? - I get it.
The more we try to get out of it, the less time we have to complete the assignment.
That's the message.
I still don't think it's fair that we have to do all this stuff for the show - and read ancient history too.
- It isn't ancient history.
Hello.
This is Shorofsky.
Don't say anything yet, because I'm not here.
There will be a beep.
A-sharp, I think.
Then you can talk.
Good-bye.
Benjamin, this is Frieda.
I'm in New York to attend a banquet at the end of the week.
I took a chance and looked your name up in the phone book.
I'm staying at the New Salem House.
Please call me there.
We need to talk, you and I.
Please.
Hey, Danny, check it out.
They even got the floor lamp that we need.
All right! Is this an armchair, or is this an armchair? Fantastic.
You know, that should pretty much finish it for the list.
All right, all right, will there be anything else, boys? That should just about do it.
Now add 'em up easy.
It looks like quite a haul.
What are you doing, furnishing a mansion or something? No, a stage for a school show.
Oh.
How'd you find out about my shop anyhow? A guy that comes into the poolroom where I work told us about it.
He said you can beat anybody's prices.
Yeah, well, he's right.
You remember his name? He calls himself Stroke.
That's right, on account of the way he plays pool.
You know, real smooth.
Seeing as how you're friends of Stroke, let me see, this will be $2 45.
Let's make it 2 40 even, okay? We only have $200 to spend.
We're gonna have to work something out here, boys.
I mean, I'm operating on a very thin margin of profit here.
How about if we put a free ad in our program for this place? - Yeah.
- How many people would see it? - About 200.
- Three thousand.
I'll go with your estimate.
All right.
I'll give you 20 off for the free program.
But we're still $20 apart.
Maybe you'd better put something back.
Make up the difference.
How much you charging for this chest of drawers? - Forty dollars.
- Take it.
Done.
Okay, I'll give you your change as soon as I put this thing away, all right? Look, Amatullo, we're not supposed to bring back no change.
- We're supposed to bring back props.
- Don't argue with me, man.
I know what I'm doing.
I'm 1 00% right.
This is gonna be lovely.
If we give back a twenty-buck item then we're one prop short, and we're out of money.
This way we're still one prop short, but we have $20 to work with.
Amatullo, you have a weird mind.
I don't know whether it's good or bad, but for sure it's weird.
Mr.
Shorofsky, hold up a minute.
I wanna talk to you about the music for the show.
There's nothing to talk about.
The orchestra will be ready as promised.
What about the timetable though? I know, you would like to hear the arrangement sooner.
I'd like corned beef in the cafeteria.
We all must shoulder our disappointments.
Excuse me.
Good morning, Mr.
Shorofsky.
I'm sure that somewhere it is.
You had another message.
Frieda Grauer called again.
She seemed disappointed that you hadn't returned her call.
I know it must seem silly, but somehow I get the feeling that Miss Grauer is an old flame.
Or something.
I can't help wondering about her.
I'm only human, after all.
Be better than human.
Be quiet.
I was sort of hoping you could make it.
This is like the last show of the year.
Leroy, it's not up to me.
These people I work for, if they decide to do some entertaining later on in the month, I'd be hard put to get some time off.
And the airplane tickets aren't getting any cheaper either, you know.
But the man at the airline said that you could order your ticket in advance and then fly for nearly half fare.
- Hey, man, we about ready to go? - Yeah.
No luck with your mom, huh? She's trying to make it happen, man.
It's just these people she works for.
They're talking about doing some more entertaining and if they do, they're gonna need her more.
It's a long shot, that's all.
I know it's none of my business, but how come your mom works in Detroit? She didn't up until about four or five months ago.
See, it's the family that she works for here in New York.
The man got transferred to Detroit.
He said it would only be for, like, six months or so.
Offered to take my mama along, and offered to take me and put me in school.
- They have a school like ours in Detroit? - No.
That's the problem.
So, her and me decided that she'd go her way, and I'd stay here and go mine.
Anyway, six months ain't a long time, is it? Man, are you asking me, or are you telling me? I'm tellin' you.
And I'm lyin'.
Come on.
Let's go.
All right, let's try it again.
This time with a little bit of gusto, please.
Okay? Go on.
Go on.
Don't stop.
- Sorry to bother you, Mr.
Shorofsky.
- Then come back after class.
No, there's a Miss Frieda Grauer.
She needs to speak to you.
- Take a number and tell her I'll- - She's not on the telephone.
- She's right outside.
- Why'd you stop playing? You said to play to letter B.
We got to letter B.
Almost all at the same time too.
All right, fine.
Try it again, please.
She's outside? Yeah.
Well, you recognized me.
Yes.
I'm not so sure I would have recognized you.
The beard, that's new.
I had it for 20 years.
The last time I saw you, you were new to shaving.
A beard was out of the question.
But do you know something? I think I would have recognized you anyway.
How? The eyes.
Or the glasses.
The white hair, the beard.
The distinguished manner.
The eyes are still the Benjamin I remember.
Five, six, seven, eight.
And one.
Four.
Seven, eight and one! Four! Seven, eight and shift, shift, shift and cross.
And step and turn.
And shift, shift, shift, cross, step and turn.
And remember, leave these aisles open.
People will be walking through here.
Turn, step, step, step.
Now shimmy.
Boogie forward.
One, two, three, four, back.
Mr.
Amatullo, are you on a different time zone than the rest of the world or are you just better than everybody else? The prop masters have arrived.
It's about time.
Where'd you get that watch? At the thrift shop.
And it's not a prop.
And keep your hands off it.
It's guaranteed up to 450 feet.
Maybe it will help you get to class on time.
It don't come with that kind of guarantee.
We'd have been here sooner, but we had trouble hauling all this stuff up.
- We got almost everything on the list.
- Everything? - Yeah.
- Did you go over budget? Nope.
And we still have $20 to spend.
All right.
Where's everything else? In the lobby.
We're prop masters, not common laborers.
All right, strong backs, weak minds.
Come on, put this stuff down.
Come on, y'all.
Let's go downstairs and help them bring everything up.
That's terrific.
Miss Grant, could I speak to you for a moment? I'm sort of in a hurry right now.
Look, y'all go on without me.
I'll be right there.
What is it, Mrs.
Berg? Do you remember that nice detective who was here a few months ago - Lieutenant Kessler? - Yes.
He's back.
He's in the office now, and he wants to talk to you.
Now? Mrs.
Berg, I have a pile of props that I have to move out of the lobby.
I think that's what he wants to talk to you about.
Why does a police officer wanna talk to me about our props? Well, that's why I want you to talk to him because I didn't quite understand it all.
It just seemed to me like he was paying you a compliment on the quality of the props you obtained.
What exactly did he say? He said, "All your props are hot.
" Wait! Children! - Yeah, man.
- Edmonton.
- The Islanders are gonna kill 'em.
- I hate the Islanders.
- I think I'm gonna be sick.
- Can't say that I blame you.
No, I mean about the show.
- Maybe it's not such a big deal.
- Not such a big deal? We have unfinished music, incomplete choreography and zilch props.
- To me, this is a big deal.
- Doris is right.
We'll be lucky if they don't transfer us to Manual Arts.
At least there they've got a woodshop.
We could make our own props.
Get outta here.
It's not that serious.
- I'm telling you, take the props- - The cops already did.
Lay off me, will ya? Come on, we're in good shape.
Hold it, everybody.
Now I wanna hear this.
This one has gotta be good.
Go ahead, Danny.
Tell us how much good shape we're in.
First of all, the $20 we got, we wouldn't have had if I hadn't outfoxed the guy from the thrift shop.
Don't call him "the guy.
" Sounds so normal.
Call him "the thief," which is what he is.
Wait a minute.
Quiet down, Doris.
Danny's gonna tell us how we can get Twenty dollars is not all we got.
It's all I know about, unless you been holding out or something.
The other thing we got, it's me.
We kill you for the insurance.
I like it.
No, maybe he wants to sell his body to science.
I do.
Okay, that makes 22.
50.
What do we do for the rest of the money? Okay, fine, forget it.
Enter the character of Danny Amatullo whose audience eagerly awaits the recital of his brilliant plan.
He steps to the apron of the stage, turns and says? The past three years in the South Bronx, definitely major-league territory I haven't lost one game of nine-ball.
Man, and you work in a pool hall.
No one even knows who I am.
- We have a twenty-buck stake.
- You talking a money game here? If that's what you're talking, that's what we'll get.
- What kind of odds could you get? - I don't know.
He puts on that Miami Dolphins T-shirt, that white-bread smile of his.
I don't know, I could get something real good probably.
Maybe 1 0-to-1.
Yeah.
Shouldn't be too hard to raise 20 or so bucks more to go with what we got.
That'd give us $400.
What do we need the extra 200 for? Get Leroy's mama to town to see the show.
Wait a minute, man.
How good are you? I mean, don't jive me or nothing.
Are you really good? - I'm really good.
- You better be.
Two pounds of beef.
What else? Frieda, this is ridiculous.
Let me take you someplace nice for dinner.
I'm not doing this for you.
I'm doing this for me.
Don't flatter yourself, Benjamin.
But half of my time is spent traveling and eating at restaurants when I go to my pupils' concerts, so I would like to have a home-cooked meal - even if I have to cook myself.
- A compromise then.
We'll eat dinner at my place, but you won't be doing the cooking.
- You are going to cook? - We'd stop and pick up something to go.
Pick up something to go? Benjamin, have you truly become so American? Like I said, you cook.
Mr.
Shorofsky, do you have a minute? I need- Oh, sorry.
Am I interrupting something? This is Frieda Grauer, an old friend of mine.
Miss Sherwood.
- How do you do? - How do you do? You two go right ahead.
Never mind me, I'm just making up a shopping list.
- Yes, what is so pressing? - Well, I need your help.
In what? In your music classes, how do you make things real to the kids? Things that happened before they were born.
I don't always.
Witness Mr.
Martelli.
What are we talking about specifically? We're doing a project.
It's The Diary of Anne Frank.
Two of the kids don't wanna read the book because they saw the movie.
They said it was slow.
I mean, that reality just doesn't exist for them.
They react to it as if it were a story.
Instead of imagining how Anne felt, they're wondering how they would play her.
That's part of what we teach here.
We train people to be performers.
I'm trying to train the person inside the performer.
That's a separate specialty.
I think we have a school for it in the Bronx.
Come on.
- Mr.
Shorofsky- - Benjamin if I'm going to get all the things I need for the cooking and do the cooking too, I think you should leave now.
We are on our way.
You and I will talk tomorrow, okay? I'd appreciate it.
So glad to have met you.
Same here.
I'm sorry to have shortened your conversation with Benjamin.
That's all right.
We'll talk tomorrow.
Good.
How you doing? Wally Zawicky.
You wanna get started? - Let's go.
- Good.
- You wanna practice? - No.
- Lag for break? - No.
We'll shoot straight pool, okay? First guy to get 50 balls wins.
- Fine with me.
- What are the stakes? - Fifty, at 8-to-1.
- Minimum wages.
I'll have to hustle up some more stuff after I take care of fuzz-cheeks there.
Your man keeps score for me.
My man keeps score for you.
Okay? - Sounds fair to me.
- Good.
Spot him 49 points.
You break first.
Remember, you need one to win.
Combination 1 5 ball in the corner pocket.
Hey, man, it's okay.
We only need one.
But it's the hard one.
Ten, corner pocket.
Five in the side.
Frieda, I poured your wine.
In a minute.
Here.
Taste.
Excellent.
Reminds me of home.
Isn't it odd? Home isn't there anymore, but I still think of it as home.
Well, you took good memories with you when you left, Benjamin.
You know, I think I'll have to steal this picture.
It reminds me of how old I've become.
You think it needs more salt? It's fine.
And you can never grow old in my eyes.
- Come, enjoy your wine.
- I think I'll add some salt first.
- Toast.
- Le'chaim.
- Le'chaim.
- Toast.
- To reunions.
- To reunions.
Seven in the corner.
Eight, other corner.
- Thirty-five.
- Three in the corner.
Eleven in the side.
If he gets these four, we're done.
So what, man, you get one, and he's done.
- One's all we need.
- One ball, corner.
Amatullo, go do it.
What happened, Wally? So I scratched.
Eight ball, corner pocket.
Hey! Eleven in the corner.
Fifteen, cross-corner twice.
Twelve in the corner and two in the other corner for 50 bucks.
Nice game, boys.
Pay me.
We should have had this reunion years ago.
We nearly did.
What do you mean? I tried to find you for years after the war.
And then one summer, after I had given you up for dead I was in Rome and saw your name advertised for a concert.
That was 20 years ago.
Twenty-two.
I never got your message.
I never sent one.
Why? I was afraid and ashamed.
I know what you must have gone through with the war.
No, Benjamin, no, you don't, because you weren't there.
Do you blame me for that? I think not as much as you blame yourself.
I had a box seat in hell and I thanked God that you were not there to share it with me.
It was a kind of hell being helpless when I heard you were being sent to the camps.
I think we have different ideas about hell, Benjamin.
This afternoon, when you were talking to that nice Miss Sherwood you made a joke about some specialty school in the Bronx, remember? - Yes.
- Well, you see to me there can be no jokes in conversations relating to anything that happened in the camps.
You don't think I made light of- No, no.
I think you were afraid that the topic would affect my mood - and you tried to prevent it.
- Precisely.
But the topic does not affect the mood.
Moods change.
But the parts of me that were formed in the camps, they're always there.
They never change.
They're always there.
When I go to concerts, when I go shopping alone at night in bed, always there.
It's funny.
Here we are a few feet apart, and yet a million miles away because of what life has handed us.
It's not my fault that you were safe when so many of us weren't.
- It's not your fault either.
- Frieda- No, Benjamin, no.
It's been too long, too many years.
I think I should go now.
Then perhaps you should.
Yes.
About dinner tomorrow night.
Let's forget it.
I'll have one of my students escort me.
Very well.
Don't forget to turn the flame down under the stew.
I'll remember.
Mrs.
Berg, we are not going to cancel the show.
Now let's not waste any more time talking about that.
But I don't think the audience will understand.
Audiences are a lot smarter than people think.
They wanna be entertained, but they wanna learn something too.
Now this is a great opportunity for us to do both.
But not using any props? Leaving everything to the imagination? Mrs.
Berg, haven't you ever wanted to do something different? To defy convention? Do something on your own? Explore new territory? Well, when I was in finishing school I was the first one in my class to incorporate a dip into my fox-trot.
With that kind of impetuous nature I am sure you're going to help me reschedule another rehearsal so I can restage these children in this show without props.
It is exciting, isn't it? Yes, it is.
It's just me.
Don't get scared or anything.
Figured I better tell you I was out here.
You might faint if I made a noise.
I appreciate it.
What are you doing here so early? It's quiet in here.
It's a good place to come and think things out.
I agree.
- Would you like part of my English muffin? - No.
Would you like some of my corn chips? Maybe later.
Last-minute homework? No.
Well, sort of.
It's a diary.
Miss Sherwood said we all oughta keep one.
I used to keep a diary.
How are you coming? Well, okay, I guess.
I'm not sure whether I'm doing this right or wrong.
There's no right way or wrong way.
It's just what you feel.
I feel I should be saying this to the person I'm writing about instead of putting it down on a piece of paper.
That's the way I felt.
Martelli told me your mother might be coming to the show.
- Is that correct? - No.
Amatullo scratched the cue ball.
This means your plans fell through? Yeah.
An old friend of mine was planning to come.
Our plans fell through too.
I guess it's kind of hard being away from the people you really care about, huh? Sometimes it's just as hard to be close to them.
Yeah, it used to be like that with my mama.
I mean, me and her used to always argue when she was home.
But when she went to Detroit, we really missed each other.
I guess that's kind of dumb, huh? It's not smart or dumb, it's just human.
Who can say why? We each have our own lives to lead, our own destinies to follow.
Which one though? I don't understand.
I mean, you said something about leading a life and follow a destiny.
That's like two different things.
I mean, real different, lead and follow.
We can't always be in total control, Mr.
Johnson.
Maybe, but I once had an uncle who told me that life ain't nothin' but a mean old bear.
And either you eat the bear, or the bear is gonna eat you.
And you intend to eat the bear.
Well, Mr.
Shorofsky, I'm sure gonna try.
Mr.
Johnson could I trouble you for a handful of corn chips? Yeah, sure.
- Room 437, please.
- Good morning, Benjamin.
Good morning.
How did you know it would be me? I'm glad to see you.
I packed my bags four times and couldn't bring myself to leave.
Not yet.
You always did need a lot of rehearsal.
I came by to ask a question, Benjamin.
Why didn't you call me when you were in Rome, really? I guess I was afraid of being rejected again.
Benjamin, when did I ever reject you? When I wrote and asked you to join me here and marry me.
I couldn't get a visa.
I explained that in the last letter I sent.
I never got a letter saying that.
The last letter I got from you said you were expecting visas any day.
Oh, my God.
Forty-two years over a letter that never arrived.
You were calling me when I came in.
Why? Because somebody told me, "You eat the bear, or the bear eats you.
" - And the stew was too salty.
- Yes.
I was gonna give you a second chance.
Benjamin, I think our time for second chances is gone.
Then why did you stop by to see me? To ask you the question I did.
And to see if I could help that nice Miss Sherwood.
And it's not unthinkable it could happen again.
The problem is it's not pleasant to think about those matters.
And it's difficult to comprehend that millions of peoples- men, women, children- could systematically be put to death.
But we must think about it, because it's happening now.
Happening now? I mean, I realize that anti-Semitism is a very real thing- We're not just talking about theJews.
We're talking about oppression.
About injustice.
And these two things are not limited to any race, creed, color or country.
And it's young people like you, especially you who must be aware of it.
Why us? Because you are special.
You have a special gift that can make people see how glorious human beings can be.
You can create magic which affirms the values of life.
You are the bearers of a gift of joy.
And because you carry the light you must never forget the power of darkness.
Miss Sherwood? Yes, Montgomery? Could we have another shot at this Diary of Anne Frank book? I think that can be arranged.
Man, I hate dress rehearsals, worse than anything.
Except tech rehearsals.
Why do we gotta go through this anyway? Because you blew it in the pool game.
Aw, come on.
Get off his case.
He only lost by one ball, Besides, the man is only human.
Leroy, I've never seen this number put together.
Could you tell me where you are most? Upstage, left, right, center stage.
What are you doing follow spot or something? No.
Mr.
Shorofsky wanted me to make sure that your mother got a good seat.
- Leroy! - Mama! - What are you doing here? - Waiting to see you dance, sweetheart.
- But, Ma- - I got this telegraph money order from somebody named Shorofsky.
And the messenger said he had a debt to pay to you.
She's like Leroy.
Mr.
Shorofsky, this is my mama.
Mama, this is Mr.
Shorofsky, the man that sent you the money.
- I am pleased to meet you.
- My pleasure.
Okay, Mama, I gotta go do the show.
Take care.
- All right.
- Mr.
Shorofsky.
I'm gonna give you your money's worth.
Are you one of my son's teachers? No, he's one of mine.
All right! All right! Yes! Yes! - You leave tomorrow? - Yes.
There was a time when you said you couldn't bring yourself to leave.
That was when much was unfinished between us.
That's no longer true.
Our particular chord is resolved.
I believe so.
And so do I.
I'm glad you've been in my life, Mr.
Shorofsky.
I'm richer for having known you.
The eyes are still the Benjamin I remember.
You think they-You know what I mean.
You think him and her? Danny, the man is just old.
He ain't dead.
- To reunions.
- To reunions.
You got big dreams.
You want fame.
Well, fame costs and right here is where you start paying in sweat.
Sorry.
I almost had it.
Mr.
Amatullo, you left two people standing.
Would you like to try to pick up a spare? Class, don't forget to fill out these forms and bring them back tomorrow.
I need to know how many parents I can expect for the show.
Leroy, Danny, come over here.
Let me talk to you.
I'd like to see both of you in the office after you've cleaned up.
I have a little job for you.
How much do we get paid? We don't work cheap.
I think we're talking about a couple of hundred dollars changing hands here.
- Couple of hundred bucks? - Couple of hundred dollars.
Hundred for you, a hundred for me.
Props? I don't know anything about getting any props.
What better time to learn then.
If we don't spend the whole $200, do we get to keep the rest of the money? No, Mr.
Amatullo, it doesn't quite work like that.
Besides, I don't think you're gonna get everything we need with the 200 anyway.
Just do the best you can.
Now look, this is the check.
And both of you fill out these forms and sign where I've marked X's.
What is all this stuff? This is a receipt saying that you have the money.
And this is a form authorizing you to have it for the purposes stated.
What's this? Your guarantee that the money will be spent only on items approved.
Trust is such a lovely thing.
- Where do we get this stuff? - That's your problem.
But I suggest you skip Bloomingdale's and go to secondhand stores, thrift shops.
Just get it done cheap.
Cheap.
Speaking of money there's a very intriguing offer from the teachers' credit union.
You all ought to look into it.
They're offering an investment counseling service.
Only if I lived under the approach to LaGuardia.
How are the acting students keeping up in your production number? I'm not too sure.
I've never choreographed a stampede before.
Think cheap.
- Cheap.
- Cheap.
- Cheap.
- Cheap.
I have a suggestion, Mrs.
Berg.
Instead of distributing worthless announcements to everyone you should post one copy, and we could all ignore it more efficiently.
You really should consider this offer, Mr.
Shorofsky.
It's a very good time for small investors.
Teachers don't qualify as small investors.
We are serfs.
Or maybe not.
Serfs have a better medical plan.
I almost forgot.
This call came for you.
A Frieda Grauer? Frieda Grauer? Are you sure? I took the call myself.
She wants you to call her at that number.
What's the matter? You look as if you've just heard from your bill collector.
I guess I have in a way.
Let's try that again, please, from the same place.
A one, two, three.
Isn't that supposed to be a minor chord? Oh, I'm sorry.
I didn't see the key signature.
That's even correct.
Was that so difficult, Mr.
Martelli? - It's okay.
I got it.
- Wonderful.
Haydn survives more than two centuries and now he even survives Martelli.
Question is, will Martelli survive Haydn? Mr.
Haydn is mercifully dead, so he doesn't care.
And I may be stuck with you, but I don't care either.
To you, music isn't melody but megawatts.
Not Wagner but voltage.
Fine.
Go play in your electronic sandbox, or better yet- I'm sorry.
You make a small joke, and I react as if you're attacking something sacred.
I beg your pardon, Mr.
Martelli.
It's okay.
We all have our bad days.
I apologize to you.
I apologize to all of you.
Play! Please! From the top.
One, two, one- - Hey.
- I almost forgot.
Well, congratulations.
All the book reports are in on time.
They say if you live long enough, you see everything.
Maybe you should declare today a holiday.
Wait till I read them.
I wanna make sure none of you is trying to review heavy metal comics again.
All right, all right.
How many of you have ever kept a diary? A diary? No way.
No, it's not smart to write stuff that could be held against you.
But a diary is private.
It's a way of communicating with yourself.
Writing down your thoughts, your dreams.
If I wrote down my dreams, I'd get arrested.
We're talking dreams, not wishful thinking.
Okay.
I want to read you something that was written by a young girl who also had doubts about keeping a journal.
She called her diary Kitty.
Come on, Red.
OneJuly day she wrote "It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out.
Yet, I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.
" Less than a year later, when she was about your age this girl died in Bergen-Belsen, a Nazi concentration camp.
Her name was Anne Frank.
Your assignment is to read her diary and keep one for yourselves for about a month.
Does that mean we have to show our diaries to the class? No, of course not.
Then why do you want us to keep a diary? Because it's just possible, Mr.
MacNeil, you might learn something about yourself.
- It's impossible - For the sun to Miss Sherwood? How much time do we have to read for this assignment? - Couple of weeks.
- I don't think me and Danny can do this.
- Why not? - We're sort of like doing double duty.
We're in the spring festival, and we're in charge of getting all the props.
Yeah, I think we'll be too busy to finish the assignment in two weeks.
- Twelve days.
- You said two weeks.
- Eleven days.
- But we're gonna be busy with- - Ten days? - I get it.
The more we try to get out of it, the less time we have to complete the assignment.
That's the message.
I still don't think it's fair that we have to do all this stuff for the show - and read ancient history too.
- It isn't ancient history.
Hello.
This is Shorofsky.
Don't say anything yet, because I'm not here.
There will be a beep.
A-sharp, I think.
Then you can talk.
Good-bye.
Benjamin, this is Frieda.
I'm in New York to attend a banquet at the end of the week.
I took a chance and looked your name up in the phone book.
I'm staying at the New Salem House.
Please call me there.
We need to talk, you and I.
Please.
Hey, Danny, check it out.
They even got the floor lamp that we need.
All right! Is this an armchair, or is this an armchair? Fantastic.
You know, that should pretty much finish it for the list.
All right, all right, will there be anything else, boys? That should just about do it.
Now add 'em up easy.
It looks like quite a haul.
What are you doing, furnishing a mansion or something? No, a stage for a school show.
Oh.
How'd you find out about my shop anyhow? A guy that comes into the poolroom where I work told us about it.
He said you can beat anybody's prices.
Yeah, well, he's right.
You remember his name? He calls himself Stroke.
That's right, on account of the way he plays pool.
You know, real smooth.
Seeing as how you're friends of Stroke, let me see, this will be $2 45.
Let's make it 2 40 even, okay? We only have $200 to spend.
We're gonna have to work something out here, boys.
I mean, I'm operating on a very thin margin of profit here.
How about if we put a free ad in our program for this place? - Yeah.
- How many people would see it? - About 200.
- Three thousand.
I'll go with your estimate.
All right.
I'll give you 20 off for the free program.
But we're still $20 apart.
Maybe you'd better put something back.
Make up the difference.
How much you charging for this chest of drawers? - Forty dollars.
- Take it.
Done.
Okay, I'll give you your change as soon as I put this thing away, all right? Look, Amatullo, we're not supposed to bring back no change.
- We're supposed to bring back props.
- Don't argue with me, man.
I know what I'm doing.
I'm 1 00% right.
This is gonna be lovely.
If we give back a twenty-buck item then we're one prop short, and we're out of money.
This way we're still one prop short, but we have $20 to work with.
Amatullo, you have a weird mind.
I don't know whether it's good or bad, but for sure it's weird.
Mr.
Shorofsky, hold up a minute.
I wanna talk to you about the music for the show.
There's nothing to talk about.
The orchestra will be ready as promised.
What about the timetable though? I know, you would like to hear the arrangement sooner.
I'd like corned beef in the cafeteria.
We all must shoulder our disappointments.
Excuse me.
Good morning, Mr.
Shorofsky.
I'm sure that somewhere it is.
You had another message.
Frieda Grauer called again.
She seemed disappointed that you hadn't returned her call.
I know it must seem silly, but somehow I get the feeling that Miss Grauer is an old flame.
Or something.
I can't help wondering about her.
I'm only human, after all.
Be better than human.
Be quiet.
I was sort of hoping you could make it.
This is like the last show of the year.
Leroy, it's not up to me.
These people I work for, if they decide to do some entertaining later on in the month, I'd be hard put to get some time off.
And the airplane tickets aren't getting any cheaper either, you know.
But the man at the airline said that you could order your ticket in advance and then fly for nearly half fare.
- Hey, man, we about ready to go? - Yeah.
No luck with your mom, huh? She's trying to make it happen, man.
It's just these people she works for.
They're talking about doing some more entertaining and if they do, they're gonna need her more.
It's a long shot, that's all.
I know it's none of my business, but how come your mom works in Detroit? She didn't up until about four or five months ago.
See, it's the family that she works for here in New York.
The man got transferred to Detroit.
He said it would only be for, like, six months or so.
Offered to take my mama along, and offered to take me and put me in school.
- They have a school like ours in Detroit? - No.
That's the problem.
So, her and me decided that she'd go her way, and I'd stay here and go mine.
Anyway, six months ain't a long time, is it? Man, are you asking me, or are you telling me? I'm tellin' you.
And I'm lyin'.
Come on.
Let's go.
All right, let's try it again.
This time with a little bit of gusto, please.
Okay? Go on.
Go on.
Don't stop.
- Sorry to bother you, Mr.
Shorofsky.
- Then come back after class.
No, there's a Miss Frieda Grauer.
She needs to speak to you.
- Take a number and tell her I'll- - She's not on the telephone.
- She's right outside.
- Why'd you stop playing? You said to play to letter B.
We got to letter B.
Almost all at the same time too.
All right, fine.
Try it again, please.
She's outside? Yeah.
Well, you recognized me.
Yes.
I'm not so sure I would have recognized you.
The beard, that's new.
I had it for 20 years.
The last time I saw you, you were new to shaving.
A beard was out of the question.
But do you know something? I think I would have recognized you anyway.
How? The eyes.
Or the glasses.
The white hair, the beard.
The distinguished manner.
The eyes are still the Benjamin I remember.
Five, six, seven, eight.
And one.
Four.
Seven, eight and one! Four! Seven, eight and shift, shift, shift and cross.
And step and turn.
And shift, shift, shift, cross, step and turn.
And remember, leave these aisles open.
People will be walking through here.
Turn, step, step, step.
Now shimmy.
Boogie forward.
One, two, three, four, back.
Mr.
Amatullo, are you on a different time zone than the rest of the world or are you just better than everybody else? The prop masters have arrived.
It's about time.
Where'd you get that watch? At the thrift shop.
And it's not a prop.
And keep your hands off it.
It's guaranteed up to 450 feet.
Maybe it will help you get to class on time.
It don't come with that kind of guarantee.
We'd have been here sooner, but we had trouble hauling all this stuff up.
- We got almost everything on the list.
- Everything? - Yeah.
- Did you go over budget? Nope.
And we still have $20 to spend.
All right.
Where's everything else? In the lobby.
We're prop masters, not common laborers.
All right, strong backs, weak minds.
Come on, put this stuff down.
Come on, y'all.
Let's go downstairs and help them bring everything up.
That's terrific.
Miss Grant, could I speak to you for a moment? I'm sort of in a hurry right now.
Look, y'all go on without me.
I'll be right there.
What is it, Mrs.
Berg? Do you remember that nice detective who was here a few months ago - Lieutenant Kessler? - Yes.
He's back.
He's in the office now, and he wants to talk to you.
Now? Mrs.
Berg, I have a pile of props that I have to move out of the lobby.
I think that's what he wants to talk to you about.
Why does a police officer wanna talk to me about our props? Well, that's why I want you to talk to him because I didn't quite understand it all.
It just seemed to me like he was paying you a compliment on the quality of the props you obtained.
What exactly did he say? He said, "All your props are hot.
" Wait! Children! - Yeah, man.
- Edmonton.
- The Islanders are gonna kill 'em.
- I hate the Islanders.
- I think I'm gonna be sick.
- Can't say that I blame you.
No, I mean about the show.
- Maybe it's not such a big deal.
- Not such a big deal? We have unfinished music, incomplete choreography and zilch props.
- To me, this is a big deal.
- Doris is right.
We'll be lucky if they don't transfer us to Manual Arts.
At least there they've got a woodshop.
We could make our own props.
Get outta here.
It's not that serious.
- I'm telling you, take the props- - The cops already did.
Lay off me, will ya? Come on, we're in good shape.
Hold it, everybody.
Now I wanna hear this.
This one has gotta be good.
Go ahead, Danny.
Tell us how much good shape we're in.
First of all, the $20 we got, we wouldn't have had if I hadn't outfoxed the guy from the thrift shop.
Don't call him "the guy.
" Sounds so normal.
Call him "the thief," which is what he is.
Wait a minute.
Quiet down, Doris.
Danny's gonna tell us how we can get Twenty dollars is not all we got.
It's all I know about, unless you been holding out or something.
The other thing we got, it's me.
We kill you for the insurance.
I like it.
No, maybe he wants to sell his body to science.
I do.
Okay, that makes 22.
50.
What do we do for the rest of the money? Okay, fine, forget it.
Enter the character of Danny Amatullo whose audience eagerly awaits the recital of his brilliant plan.
He steps to the apron of the stage, turns and says? The past three years in the South Bronx, definitely major-league territory I haven't lost one game of nine-ball.
Man, and you work in a pool hall.
No one even knows who I am.
- We have a twenty-buck stake.
- You talking a money game here? If that's what you're talking, that's what we'll get.
- What kind of odds could you get? - I don't know.
He puts on that Miami Dolphins T-shirt, that white-bread smile of his.
I don't know, I could get something real good probably.
Maybe 1 0-to-1.
Yeah.
Shouldn't be too hard to raise 20 or so bucks more to go with what we got.
That'd give us $400.
What do we need the extra 200 for? Get Leroy's mama to town to see the show.
Wait a minute, man.
How good are you? I mean, don't jive me or nothing.
Are you really good? - I'm really good.
- You better be.
Two pounds of beef.
What else? Frieda, this is ridiculous.
Let me take you someplace nice for dinner.
I'm not doing this for you.
I'm doing this for me.
Don't flatter yourself, Benjamin.
But half of my time is spent traveling and eating at restaurants when I go to my pupils' concerts, so I would like to have a home-cooked meal - even if I have to cook myself.
- A compromise then.
We'll eat dinner at my place, but you won't be doing the cooking.
- You are going to cook? - We'd stop and pick up something to go.
Pick up something to go? Benjamin, have you truly become so American? Like I said, you cook.
Mr.
Shorofsky, do you have a minute? I need- Oh, sorry.
Am I interrupting something? This is Frieda Grauer, an old friend of mine.
Miss Sherwood.
- How do you do? - How do you do? You two go right ahead.
Never mind me, I'm just making up a shopping list.
- Yes, what is so pressing? - Well, I need your help.
In what? In your music classes, how do you make things real to the kids? Things that happened before they were born.
I don't always.
Witness Mr.
Martelli.
What are we talking about specifically? We're doing a project.
It's The Diary of Anne Frank.
Two of the kids don't wanna read the book because they saw the movie.
They said it was slow.
I mean, that reality just doesn't exist for them.
They react to it as if it were a story.
Instead of imagining how Anne felt, they're wondering how they would play her.
That's part of what we teach here.
We train people to be performers.
I'm trying to train the person inside the performer.
That's a separate specialty.
I think we have a school for it in the Bronx.
Come on.
- Mr.
Shorofsky- - Benjamin if I'm going to get all the things I need for the cooking and do the cooking too, I think you should leave now.
We are on our way.
You and I will talk tomorrow, okay? I'd appreciate it.
So glad to have met you.
Same here.
I'm sorry to have shortened your conversation with Benjamin.
That's all right.
We'll talk tomorrow.
Good.
How you doing? Wally Zawicky.
You wanna get started? - Let's go.
- Good.
- You wanna practice? - No.
- Lag for break? - No.
We'll shoot straight pool, okay? First guy to get 50 balls wins.
- Fine with me.
- What are the stakes? - Fifty, at 8-to-1.
- Minimum wages.
I'll have to hustle up some more stuff after I take care of fuzz-cheeks there.
Your man keeps score for me.
My man keeps score for you.
Okay? - Sounds fair to me.
- Good.
Spot him 49 points.
You break first.
Remember, you need one to win.
Combination 1 5 ball in the corner pocket.
Hey, man, it's okay.
We only need one.
But it's the hard one.
Ten, corner pocket.
Five in the side.
Frieda, I poured your wine.
In a minute.
Here.
Taste.
Excellent.
Reminds me of home.
Isn't it odd? Home isn't there anymore, but I still think of it as home.
Well, you took good memories with you when you left, Benjamin.
You know, I think I'll have to steal this picture.
It reminds me of how old I've become.
You think it needs more salt? It's fine.
And you can never grow old in my eyes.
- Come, enjoy your wine.
- I think I'll add some salt first.
- Toast.
- Le'chaim.
- Le'chaim.
- Toast.
- To reunions.
- To reunions.
Seven in the corner.
Eight, other corner.
- Thirty-five.
- Three in the corner.
Eleven in the side.
If he gets these four, we're done.
So what, man, you get one, and he's done.
- One's all we need.
- One ball, corner.
Amatullo, go do it.
What happened, Wally? So I scratched.
Eight ball, corner pocket.
Hey! Eleven in the corner.
Fifteen, cross-corner twice.
Twelve in the corner and two in the other corner for 50 bucks.
Nice game, boys.
Pay me.
We should have had this reunion years ago.
We nearly did.
What do you mean? I tried to find you for years after the war.
And then one summer, after I had given you up for dead I was in Rome and saw your name advertised for a concert.
That was 20 years ago.
Twenty-two.
I never got your message.
I never sent one.
Why? I was afraid and ashamed.
I know what you must have gone through with the war.
No, Benjamin, no, you don't, because you weren't there.
Do you blame me for that? I think not as much as you blame yourself.
I had a box seat in hell and I thanked God that you were not there to share it with me.
It was a kind of hell being helpless when I heard you were being sent to the camps.
I think we have different ideas about hell, Benjamin.
This afternoon, when you were talking to that nice Miss Sherwood you made a joke about some specialty school in the Bronx, remember? - Yes.
- Well, you see to me there can be no jokes in conversations relating to anything that happened in the camps.
You don't think I made light of- No, no.
I think you were afraid that the topic would affect my mood - and you tried to prevent it.
- Precisely.
But the topic does not affect the mood.
Moods change.
But the parts of me that were formed in the camps, they're always there.
They never change.
They're always there.
When I go to concerts, when I go shopping alone at night in bed, always there.
It's funny.
Here we are a few feet apart, and yet a million miles away because of what life has handed us.
It's not my fault that you were safe when so many of us weren't.
- It's not your fault either.
- Frieda- No, Benjamin, no.
It's been too long, too many years.
I think I should go now.
Then perhaps you should.
Yes.
About dinner tomorrow night.
Let's forget it.
I'll have one of my students escort me.
Very well.
Don't forget to turn the flame down under the stew.
I'll remember.
Mrs.
Berg, we are not going to cancel the show.
Now let's not waste any more time talking about that.
But I don't think the audience will understand.
Audiences are a lot smarter than people think.
They wanna be entertained, but they wanna learn something too.
Now this is a great opportunity for us to do both.
But not using any props? Leaving everything to the imagination? Mrs.
Berg, haven't you ever wanted to do something different? To defy convention? Do something on your own? Explore new territory? Well, when I was in finishing school I was the first one in my class to incorporate a dip into my fox-trot.
With that kind of impetuous nature I am sure you're going to help me reschedule another rehearsal so I can restage these children in this show without props.
It is exciting, isn't it? Yes, it is.
It's just me.
Don't get scared or anything.
Figured I better tell you I was out here.
You might faint if I made a noise.
I appreciate it.
What are you doing here so early? It's quiet in here.
It's a good place to come and think things out.
I agree.
- Would you like part of my English muffin? - No.
Would you like some of my corn chips? Maybe later.
Last-minute homework? No.
Well, sort of.
It's a diary.
Miss Sherwood said we all oughta keep one.
I used to keep a diary.
How are you coming? Well, okay, I guess.
I'm not sure whether I'm doing this right or wrong.
There's no right way or wrong way.
It's just what you feel.
I feel I should be saying this to the person I'm writing about instead of putting it down on a piece of paper.
That's the way I felt.
Martelli told me your mother might be coming to the show.
- Is that correct? - No.
Amatullo scratched the cue ball.
This means your plans fell through? Yeah.
An old friend of mine was planning to come.
Our plans fell through too.
I guess it's kind of hard being away from the people you really care about, huh? Sometimes it's just as hard to be close to them.
Yeah, it used to be like that with my mama.
I mean, me and her used to always argue when she was home.
But when she went to Detroit, we really missed each other.
I guess that's kind of dumb, huh? It's not smart or dumb, it's just human.
Who can say why? We each have our own lives to lead, our own destinies to follow.
Which one though? I don't understand.
I mean, you said something about leading a life and follow a destiny.
That's like two different things.
I mean, real different, lead and follow.
We can't always be in total control, Mr.
Johnson.
Maybe, but I once had an uncle who told me that life ain't nothin' but a mean old bear.
And either you eat the bear, or the bear is gonna eat you.
And you intend to eat the bear.
Well, Mr.
Shorofsky, I'm sure gonna try.
Mr.
Johnson could I trouble you for a handful of corn chips? Yeah, sure.
- Room 437, please.
- Good morning, Benjamin.
Good morning.
How did you know it would be me? I'm glad to see you.
I packed my bags four times and couldn't bring myself to leave.
Not yet.
You always did need a lot of rehearsal.
I came by to ask a question, Benjamin.
Why didn't you call me when you were in Rome, really? I guess I was afraid of being rejected again.
Benjamin, when did I ever reject you? When I wrote and asked you to join me here and marry me.
I couldn't get a visa.
I explained that in the last letter I sent.
I never got a letter saying that.
The last letter I got from you said you were expecting visas any day.
Oh, my God.
Forty-two years over a letter that never arrived.
You were calling me when I came in.
Why? Because somebody told me, "You eat the bear, or the bear eats you.
" - And the stew was too salty.
- Yes.
I was gonna give you a second chance.
Benjamin, I think our time for second chances is gone.
Then why did you stop by to see me? To ask you the question I did.
And to see if I could help that nice Miss Sherwood.
And it's not unthinkable it could happen again.
The problem is it's not pleasant to think about those matters.
And it's difficult to comprehend that millions of peoples- men, women, children- could systematically be put to death.
But we must think about it, because it's happening now.
Happening now? I mean, I realize that anti-Semitism is a very real thing- We're not just talking about theJews.
We're talking about oppression.
About injustice.
And these two things are not limited to any race, creed, color or country.
And it's young people like you, especially you who must be aware of it.
Why us? Because you are special.
You have a special gift that can make people see how glorious human beings can be.
You can create magic which affirms the values of life.
You are the bearers of a gift of joy.
And because you carry the light you must never forget the power of darkness.
Miss Sherwood? Yes, Montgomery? Could we have another shot at this Diary of Anne Frank book? I think that can be arranged.
Man, I hate dress rehearsals, worse than anything.
Except tech rehearsals.
Why do we gotta go through this anyway? Because you blew it in the pool game.
Aw, come on.
Get off his case.
He only lost by one ball, Besides, the man is only human.
Leroy, I've never seen this number put together.
Could you tell me where you are most? Upstage, left, right, center stage.
What are you doing follow spot or something? No.
Mr.
Shorofsky wanted me to make sure that your mother got a good seat.
- Leroy! - Mama! - What are you doing here? - Waiting to see you dance, sweetheart.
- But, Ma- - I got this telegraph money order from somebody named Shorofsky.
And the messenger said he had a debt to pay to you.
She's like Leroy.
Mr.
Shorofsky, this is my mama.
Mama, this is Mr.
Shorofsky, the man that sent you the money.
- I am pleased to meet you.
- My pleasure.
Okay, Mama, I gotta go do the show.
Take care.
- All right.
- Mr.
Shorofsky.
I'm gonna give you your money's worth.
Are you one of my son's teachers? No, he's one of mine.
All right! All right! Yes! Yes! - You leave tomorrow? - Yes.
There was a time when you said you couldn't bring yourself to leave.
That was when much was unfinished between us.
That's no longer true.
Our particular chord is resolved.
I believe so.
And so do I.
I'm glad you've been in my life, Mr.
Shorofsky.
I'm richer for having known you.