Harlem Duet

In Harlem 1928, the loop from the previous two scenes plays, although the sounds are now distorted. He and She are in their dressing room. He is wiping his face with a towel as She extends the white handkerchief to him. Again, She lets it fall at his feet, but He ignores it. He is too busy reciting lines from Othello: “‘If virtue no delighted beauty lack, Your son-in-law is far more fair than black.’ Far more fair than black. I want…I need to do this…For my soul. I am an actor…” (99). She reminds He that he is a minstrel. He voices his desire to play the classic roles, such as Hamlet or the Scottish king, and how Mona, their director, has cast him in Pericles, Prince of Tyre.

He tells She that Mona has breathed life back into his dream and begins to describe her in language that echoes Othello’s description of Desdemona: “Skin as smooth as monumental alabaster…as warm as snow velvet” (100). She responds in language she believes will please Him, calling him “My onyx prince…My tourmaline king…My raven knight…My umber squire…” (100). Embracing him from behind, she holds the straight-edged razor to his neck.