Two Plays by Edward Albee: The Sandbox and The Death of Bessie Smith

The Sandbox and The Death of Bessie Smith

The Sandbox:
A man in a spotlight, clad in swimming trunks, is doing his exercises silently. A couple appears to remark, dryly, “Well, here we are; this is the beach.” The woman orders a clarinetist out onto the stage and commands him to play. The couple exits, then returns carrying the woman’s eighty-six-year-old mother and dumps her in a sandbox. Grandma begins to weave her history between the cool, indifferent patter of the people and the equally cool, but somehow more sympathetic, sounds from the clarinet. As Grandma covers herself with sand, it begins to dawn that the mysterious, cryptic athlete is much more than local color, and his conversation with Grandma is, in fact, prelude to his purpose.

The Death of Bessie Smith:
Memphis, Tennessee, 1937, a time when the South’s aristocracy is crumbling amidst the deeply racist views of its citizens. At a white hospital a Nurse belittles a black Orderly, a polite young man eager to improve himself, and is severely condescending to an Intern, a white man, who is seemingly in love with her. When the Intern finally turns on her she vows to retaliate by ruining his career.