BERNARD
The Fall of the House of Madoff
BERNARD
The Fall of the House of Madoff
CHARACTERS:
Bernard Madoff: 60’s
Ruth Madoff: 60’s
Andrew Madoff: 25-35
Ira Sorkin: 50’s
Mark Madoff: 40’s
Stephanie Madoff: 25-35
Annette Bongiorno: 30’s
Joann Crupi: 30’s
Genevievette Lightfoot: 25-35
Businessman #1: 40’s
Businessman #2: 40’s
These parts can be combined:
The Janitor (any age)
Eli Wiesel: 80’s
The Judge (any age/sex)
Head Caterer (any age/sex)
ACT I
Scene 1: A Long Awaited Party
A reception is held in the lobby of an office building. The Madoff family and guests await the arrival of Eli Wiesel who announces he is adding all of his money to Madoff’s investment firm.
ACT II
Scene 1: A View From the Heights
Tipsy and excited from the party, Bernard goes up to his office with his sons and some staff. Mark Madoff questions his father about the state of the business. Ira does his best to smooth things down but Bernard becomes irritated. Bernard and Ruth reminisce about their early days.
Scene 2: When Lightfoot Comes
Bernard is agitated mood as an investor pulls out of the fund. An auditordigs through the books, questioning the staff on several errors. Bernard places a call to old friends at the SEC and has the investigation quashed.
Scene 3: The River Runs Red
The stock market has crashed and all of Bernard’s investors are clamoring to withdraw. Bernard faces ruin and is forced to tell his family about the true nature of his fraud.
ACT III
Scene 1: The Show Must Go On
Bernard is forced to walk the gauntlet of reporters and angry investors on his way to the courthouse.
Scene 2: Here Comes The Judge
Things take a surreal turn as Bernard enters the courtroom. Bernard is confronted with his crimes.
Scene 3: In the Jailhouse Now
Bernard is visited by Ira prison. Ruth enters wearing funeral garb. They have come tell Bernard that Mark is dead, in a suicide. Bernard is left alone in his cell, lamenting the loss of his son and struggling to understand why he alone is punished when so many others are part of his crime.
SETTING:
The inside an enormous corporate lobby. The floors are polished marble and immense pillars reach up and out of sight. There are a few visitor benches and palm trees scattered around. Upstage is a bank of elevators. Characters enter and exit from stage right.
The play begins in darkness. The sound of an industrial floor-polishing machine comes up and whines loudly for a few moments. The lights come up to reveal the JANITOR, an elderly Latino man, running the polisher back and forth over the floor. Eventually he switches off the machine and addresses the audience.
ACT I
Scene 1
JANITOR
Titans treadwithin these towering halls,
Arrayed in suits of silk, of finest cut,
The fortunes of the empire all converge,
Among these few, who drink deep fromthat glut,
The rules of mortals here do not pertain,
Desires’ scope is stretched beyond the pale,
They sit secure in destiny’s embrace, these lucky
Chosen few,too big to fail.
Lions, Kings, and Gods, bow to these men,
And cheer those fools, as up and on they climb,
Financial structures built on empty lies,
Pursuing wealth, but chased in turn, by time,
For neatly sit the jackals on their tails,
When raging bulls proceed the mighty herd,
But slip and fall, and none shall rush to aid,
In death, the vultures hold the final word.
And thus I stand here, smoothing down these stones,
An errant-fool, for time would do this task,
Impatient greed demands returns today,
It’s best to do, and better not, to ask.
A warning for you gentle folk I give,
That life is cruel and swift, unkind and hard,
A tale of woe these players now unveil,
That of Madoff, once known here as, Bernard.
(The Janitor wheels his cleaner off stage. Immediately, the elevator doors open upstage, center and RUTH MADOFF enters, talking on a cellphone.)
RUTH
Excuses I’ll have none,
For on this day was promised wine and song
And all the necessary marks of rank
And station as befit a maker of
This market. Expensive, yes, your service
Is, and best is boasted by the lofty font
Upon your website, but mark you well this:
Should service fail to appear on the name’d
Hour, fate most dread shall close about your neck.
‘Tis true, in this modern age, the scourge, the
Whip,the gibblet box, no longer keep their
Place among the rightful tools of commerce.
But for that loss, no less swift and certain
Shall be your demise. For I am Madoff.
That name which directs the ebb and flow of
Fortune, as the moon directs the helpless
Tides. A whispered word from me, will all but
Guarantee youfame and patronage, far
Beyond that which you think to feebly grasp.
Or, by points turning, to pronounce your doom,
So complete and lasting that you should find
Yourself wishing for an honest death rather
Than suffer such blackening of your name.
(Enter ANDREW MADOFF)
Fly! Make ready! The champagne of the eve
Mightmake the tears of the dawn but none
May weep with an empty cup!Fail me not!
Your neck is on the block.
(She hangs up)
ANDREW
A killing mood so early in the day?
RUTH
Fools and bootlicks can be had by the dozen
But reliable service without threat? I know it not.
Great is this day for your father
And nothing shall I leave to chance.
ANDREW
None who know you, Mother would blink twice,
At the cross’d tees and dotted eyes
That are the signature mark of your passage.
RUTH
Hide your grin and smirk if you will, but there
Is more and better business done behind
A potted palm than before a gilded desk.
You, child, may while away the merry hours
Blackberry in hand, Bluetooth in yourear,
Imagining that world shall call direct
To receive your bidding, but the empire
Upon which this house is founded does not
Request the personal touch, it demands it.
You father does not wax rich by faster
Trades or endless suits in the court of law,
But by finding and binding like-minded
Men to join their wealth in the capital
Markets and by such unions, profit.
ANDREW
I, too would like to find union in personal touch…
RUTH
Wretched boy,your fool’s antics ever pain me.
Can you not, take some instruction from your
Brother? Present among your peers at least
The seeming of respectability,
Even if in private you must act wild.
I know full well that your mid-town cavorting
Brings you endless opportunity to
Letch amid the clubs and parties of the
City’s better set, but you have become
A clown, skirt-addled and a target for
Every bitch who wishes to pan for gold
Nuggets in the stream of this family.
Though it breaks my heart, I had rather see
You among the escorts of the evening,
Paid for and done, thanI,to be called “mother”
By one more mockingbird whose hands cannot
Seem to chose between your pants and your wallet.
ANDREW
Mother! Such talk from a lady!
I do not deny that I am a popular man, with many
Friends about the town, some who may, from time to time,
Display natural affection that, to someone of
Your older generation,might appear excessive,
But be assured, I am no fool.I am
Simply loved to excess. Should not a man
Of my advantageembrace the whole world?
RUTH
Embracing is not my great concern.
ANDREW
Then worry not so! My love for you and
Father is the first among my concerns,
I well know how my bread is buttered.
RUTH
It is not how, but who does the buttering,
Andrew.The baker who does not heed the rising
Of his bread is at risk of falling flat.
ANDREW
It is not bread that I seek, Mother, but
Rather pastries, delicate to the touch
And sweet to the eye and to the mouth.
RUTH
Tarts, I would rather call them. A puff of
Sugared dough concealing sour fruit within.
ANDREW
Be not angry, Mother. I do not wish
For this trifling matter to upset the day.
RUTH
Never long can I keep the heat of my
Anger with you, Andrew, it is my love
For my most precious babe that scolds and
Chafes when a kindly word is what you wish.
ANDREW
Do not sigh, for I am far from chastened.
And I mayyet push my luck this evening.
A young lady of my close acquaintance,
Shall perch with me inside this gilded cage.
RUTH
And the nature of this captured bird?
ANDREW
A nightingale, a lark!
RUTH
Then mind you this:
While pretty is the plumage thrust out high
Upon the breast, the purpose of that bright
Display is to feather out the nest.
ANDREW
Mother…
RUTH
Well enough. But mind you, this parakeet
Is to keep her place And “Mother” call me not.
ANDREW
(bows)
As “she who must be obeyed” commands,
So I do yield. Look, Mark comes and with him
Sorkin, that most redoubtable lawyer
That Father keeps in his employ. A word...
(Enter Mark Madoff and Ira Sorkin)
MARK
And the audit never came? What of
The SEC and their threat of
Lightning raids?
IRA
All thunder and no strike. A headline, so
That the Roth-fund set might keep to their calm.
A true investigation would be a
Most mighty bone to gnaw and break for the
Promised marrow.More than one DA
Has ground his teeth down to nubs on that task.
MARK
The accounts are liquid, the law less so?
IRA
More your father’s son each day you grow.
RUTH
Ira, most welcomed friend, I trust
A pleasant day before the bench?
IRA
Behind the desk, Ruth. The court-room drama
Of the T.V. set with the black-robed Judge
And the flash young blade who yells “Object!”
Are to real law, as Hammerstein is to
Alley-cats. The plain letter, the polite nod,
The quiet agreement, these are the true
Craft of the attorney. But come! It is
A day for celebration.
Where is the great man?
RUTH
He is above.
IRA
A few small matters must I broach with him,
Ere the triumphs of the evening overtake.
ANDREW
A moment, counselor, if I may…
IRA
Walk with me, young Andrew, I think I know
What issue runs to the front of your mind.
Ruth, a pleasure always, we shall return anon.
(They walk upstage to the elevators in private conversation. The elevator arrives, they enter and ascend.)
MARK
Mother. I trust the day finds you well enough.
RUTH
Well enough for you to ask, it seems.
Though it is a wonder that my legs do not
Collapse, my jaw does not fall slack, and
The heavens do not open up, upon the occasion
Of my oldest son inquiring of his only mother.
MARK
It begins.
RUTH
It began some three and forty years ago
When from my wombyou did spring. And now
Must I call your secretary to book
Occasion when I might inquire of
My only grandchild? How fares the princeling?
MARK
You know full well, Mother, my door is your
Door, my house your house and my wife welcomes
You to dine with us and spread your fawning
Love over Nicholas at any time
You wish! What is this talk of secretaries?
RUTH
A warmer welcome from the rag-shakes of
Times Square do I routinely get, than that
From Stephanie, your wife.
MARK
Imagined faults!
I know not what drives you to such ill-views
Of Stephanie, but I assure you that
The slight exists within your own fevered
Mind. She is your daughter in word and bond.
Come! Come home to supper and see this truth.
RUTH
I would rather drink from the poisoned cup
Of an honest enemy than sit at her table
And sip fromthe sweetened lies there presented.
“Oh Mother Ruth, how we do enjoy these
visits.” she quacks. “Marcus and I do
wish you’d come more often.” Marcus? Marcus?
Did I birth a Marcus? Have we become Romans?
Mark were you blessed by the Rabbi at the Temple
And no amount of fifth-avenue chic
Will improve that name.
MARK
A harmless pet name!
You do seek find fault where there is none.
RUTH
I’ve done my best for both my boys and this
Is how I find my twilight years, ignored
Despite decades of kind advice and love.
Now the one joy left to me, beloved
Nicholas, is locked away and guarded
By a circling harpy.
MARK
Mother. You…
RUTH
No. I can tell where I am not wanted.
No matter, I shall bear up under this
Burden as I have all the burdens
Of my life.
MARK
Mother, say you will come and dine with us
This evening, without fail. Your grandson
Will delight in your affections.
RUTH
I won’t.
You speak from pity, not from love and I
Will not have that burden upon my soul.
MARK
It is a son’s love that asks you, Mother.
Nothing more.
RUTH
As you insist, I come. But only that
Nicholas might remember my voice
Once I am ash and scattered to the wind.
MARK
That day is far off yet.
(The caterers arrive, through the next scene they wheel in catering boxes, set up tables, lay out food platters, set up Champaign.)
HEAD CATERER
Pardone, Senior pardone, this is
The reception d’Madoff?
RUTH
And late you come.
HEAD CATERER
Ah, pardone, Seniora, pardone
The traffic in the tunnel is the worst
At this hour. We do our best for you. Too
Soon, the shrimp gets warm, too late the mushrooms
Cold. For you, the best was firmly instructed
By my boss who did lay stripes across my
Ass. Fail not! He yelled, as though my neck hung
In the balance. To become frothed, over
Cheese and wine when such greater problems
Fill the world! What a laugh! Is it not? Yes?
(Ruth and Mark stare at the Head Caterer coldly.)
HEAD CATERER
Of course, to some,the quality of wine
Does make the occasion. We work! My card.
HEAD CATERER
(to his workers who jump into action.)
Andiamo! Andiamo!Lasciate ogne
speranza, voi ch'entrate!
RUTH
One cannot do everything alone
And yet the cure is often worse than the
Symptom. Mark, I wish to ask you in all
Serious tone, what progress has Ira made?
The whispers that I hear are most upsetting.
MARK
Mother, always does wealth bring contention.
This probe into our business is routine.
The SEC must justify its role
By shaking the wild rattle of accusal.
Some weeks or months of paperwork ensue,
Till the regulators weary of their
Task, and report to the Journal and the
Times that “all is right as rain with Bernie
Madoff”, and another tea-cup tempest
Empties out. You are not really troubled?
Father, as you know, is unbothered by this business,
“the price of playing” as he likes to say.
RUTH
I find smallcomfort in your words. Ever
Have those jealous of your Father’s
Success let slip unkind and sharpened barbs
Against his name, but this probe? Does not
This family squeeze and pump the very
Life’s blood of the market? Our share we take, it’s
True, but some small recompense for the work
That allows the very exchanges to
Continue in their task, is only just.
MARK
Your night’s sleep, do not lose. I assure you.
Routine, and nothing more. A dusting of
The record-books, “more show than tell”, says Ira.
RUTH
And yet…
MARK
Mother, billions pass through each day!
A few wayward pennies shall not stop the
Sun. The only unknown factor is this
Lightfoot, An investigator sent by
The SEC to dig in person through
The trash cans and pencil shavings of
Father’s office.
RUTH
When does this creature come?
MARK
Ira knows, the rest I’ll learn anon.
(A pair of businessmen enter)
RUTH
Good day to you, gentlemen, are you come
For the celebration?
BUSINESSMAN #1
Word was given
That the prince of Wall Street is to be crowned.
We have come to see, and pay our respects,
Many men in our profession do grow
In wealth, but it seems Madoff grows in
Nobility as well. We are here to
Raise a glass in his honor.
BUSINESMAN #2