Clybourne Park

The play opens in the living room of Russ and Bev, a middle-aged, married white couple on a Saturday afternoon in September 1959. They currently live in Clybourne Park, a middle-class neighborhood northwest of central Chicago. Onstage is the living room, with front door access and a fireplace with an oak mantelpiece. Attached to this room is a dining area with a swinging door leading to the kitchen. There is also a staircase leading to a second floor, and a door down to the basement.

The stage dressing revealsthat Bev and Russ are in the process of moving. Russ sits in the living room in a pajama shirt, chinos, and no shoes, reading a National Geographic and eating ice cream. He listens to soft music on a radio. Bev enters, carrying a cardboard box. Bev asks Russ if he's going to eat the entire carton, to which he replies that it's "going to waste" (7).

Their hired maid, Francine, a black woman in her 30s, also enters. She and Bev discuss packing kitchenware, and Bev offers her a chafing dish, which Francine declines. She exits and Bev and Russ begin a jokey conversation about the origin of the word Neapolitan, as well as correct terminology for other nationalities. Turning back to a serious tone, Bev asks Russ if he's going to bring the trunk down from upstairs. He says that he will after lunch. To lift Russ' resigned mood, Bev starts telling him how funny people think he is, and how they miss him at Rotary. She is interrupted by a phone call from their neighbor, Karl Lindner.

At the same moment, Jim, a young minister, knocks on their door. He sits down with Russ. Neither Bev nor Russ want to be a part of with their respective phone call or visitor. When Bev gets off the phone with Karl, she engages Jim in playful back and forth about the word Neapolitan. She also asks Francine if Francine would help Russ move the trunk. She agrees, but tells Bev that she needs to leave by three-thirty.

Jim begins to ask Russ about their move, and his new office. Russ says he'll have a "carpeted" corner office with an "extravagant amount of space" (17). His commute will be cut down to "six and a half" minutes (17). Jim expresses his concern over Russ's state-of-mind, reminding him that "everyone cares about you" (18). Russ brushes it off, and says that his advice to people going through a hard time is to "get up offa your rear end and do something" (18). Jim then tells Russ that "your son was a good man, no matter what" (19). This mention of his son, Kenneth, makes Russ uncomfortable and he rejects Jim's attempts at condolences. He ends the conversation by telling Jim to "go fuck yourself" (19). To this, Jim responds by making to leave, but he's intercepted by Bev, whom it's clear has invited him to speak to Russ. Jim reminds Russ that he, like Kenneth, is a veteran. Russ asks him how many people he killed and calls him a coward.

The doorbell interrupts their altercation, and Russ heads upstairs to change out of his pajama shirt. Francine's husband, Albert, enters. He's come to pick up Francine from work. Bev offers him iced tea, which he declines, and then pleads with Jim, in a whisper, not to leave. Albert, able to hear their conversation, makes to leave, but Bev cuts him off. Francine enters the living room, carrying two bags ofclothes Bev has given her. As the two of them start to leave, Bev laments that she won't have Francine as an employee anymore. She asks her if they can move the trunk downstairs together on Monday, reiterating how heavy it is and that it requires two people to move it. Albert says he and Francine can bring it down right then, but Francine impatiently insists that she already has her hands full, and that they have somewhere to be. Albert, however, doesn't follow along with her, saying it will only take two minutes.

At this moment, Karl, Bev and Russ's neighbor, arrives. No one seems happy to see him. He reveals that his pregnant wife is waiting in the car. Bev insists that he not "leave her out in a hot car" (23). Karl goes out to get his wife, Francine and Albert go move the trunk, and Russ passes through the living room in a clean shirt. Bev and Jim have a whispered conversation about how she'd hoped the passage of time, the move, and the new job would have helped him process his grief. Russ passes through again andheads to the basement.

Karl reenters with his wife, Betsy, who is eight months pregnant, and deaf. They greet each other in a mixture of sign language and over-enunciation. Jim attempts sign language, but mixes up the letters 'm' and 'k,' accidentally asking Betsy if she's "expecting a storm" (24) rather than a stork. Russ returns, carrying a shovel, and asks Bev if she's seen his work gloves. Bev doesn't answer him, and instead offers Betsy an iced tea. Karl begins talking to Russ, apologizing for intruding on a Saturday afternoon, but thought this would be the only way to speak to him, since he hasn't seen Russ at Rotary, a humanitarian service club to which they both belong. Jim says he'll be leaving, but Karl tells him that "we might actually benefit from your insight" (26). He agrees to stay for a "minute or two" (26). From the kitchen, Bev offers Karl iced tea. He responds that he would like some, but explains that he has a "sensitivity to the cold beverages" (26). Bev moves to get him room temperature tea, with no ice. When she and Betsy come back into the room, Karl fusses over Betsy. He admits his actions are a "tad overwrought" (26), but reminds Russ and Jim that they apparently lost their last child two years ago because its umbilical cord was "wrapped around the…" (27) and indicates his neck. Russ gets impatient and tries to steer the conversation back to Karl's point.

Karl finally gets to "the crux" (26) of what he came to say. He tells Russ that at the recent Community Association meeting, it came to their attention "what sort of people" (27) had bought Russ and Bev's house. Russ has no idea what Karl is talking about. Karl reveals that the family who bought the house are, in his words, "colored" (27). Jim asks how Karl knows this for sure, and Karl says he and Betsy just came from meeting with the family in Hamilton Park, a predominantly black neighborhood. Russ asks Bev to get their realtor, Ted Driscoll, on the phone to confirm Karl's story.

Karl says that they live in a "progressive community" (28). He offers the Jewish-owned grocery store, Gelman's, as an example of how their neighborhood allows for all kinds of people to "fit in" (29). Bev adds that Murray Gelman "hired the Wheeler boy" (29), who has a mental disability. "Change is inevitable," (29) Karl says, however, he implies that a black family moving into Clybourne Park would compromise the integrity of the neighborhood. To back this up, he tells the room that there were "unsavory characters" (28) in Hamilton Park.

Bev wonders why something can't benefit both the white families who currently live in the neighborhood and the families of color who might move into it. Karl insists that nothing can. At this point, Albert calls from the foot of the stairs, trying to get Bev's attention. They all ignore him and the trunk slides down the stairs on its own, almost taking him down. Albert and Francine both claim responsibility, and Russ starts huffing about how he'd told Bev he would do it himself. Fed up with Karl's conversation and the situation with the trunk, he sulks down to the basement and slams the door.

Albert helps Francine down the stairs and Jim decides to bring her into their conversation about the neighborhood. Karl resists, telling Jim to ask a white neighbor, those who "stand to lose" (31). Jim presents Francine with a hypothetical situation in which she, Albert, and their three kids can move into Clybourne Park—money would not be an issue in this hypothetical. He asks her whether this would be the kind of neighborhood in which she'd like to live. Francine hesitates and Albert cuts to the heart of the matter, explaining that Jim's asking if she'd like to "live next to white folks" (31). Bev tries to defuse the tense situation by bringing up what she considers to be her closeness with Francine.

Karl, however, continues the conversation by asking Francine if she agrees that "there exist certain differences" (32) between people. Francine tentatively agrees. Karl goes on to cite cultural differences, like the lutefisk his wife's Swedish family eats. He then asks Francine if she were to visit Gelman's grocery store, would she "find the particular foods" (32) that her family enjoys? Albert, understanding Karl's line of racist thinking, answers in a facetious way by asking if they carry "collards and pig feet" (32). Francine tells Karl that she likes spaghetti and meatballs.

Jim points out the differences in "modes of worship" (33) between his parish, for example, and the First Presbyterian Church in Hamilton Park. The main difference he cites is in the instruments that accompany the worship music. Russ returns from the basement. Karl, still trying to demonstrate the differences between white and black American culture, asks Francine whether she's ever been skiing. When she says that she hasn't, Karl explains that on all his ski trips, he's never seen a family of color on the slopes. He attributes this to skiing having a lack of appeal to black Americans.

Russ steps in and tells Karl that the house is sold and the "ink is dry" (34). Karl accepts that, but isn't quite ready to let go of the matter. He tells Russ that he made a counter-offer on behalf of the Community Association, and is insistent that it's not too late for Russ and Bev to undo the house's sale. He expresses paranoia about white flight and how he thinks that will affect the neighborhood. Outside, a church bell rings, and Jim asks if it's four o'clock. Russ and Bev both try repeatedly to get Karl to stop speaking. Eventually, Russ opens the front door and tells him to leave. He and Betsy exit, and Francine and Jim make to do the same.

Karl doesn't get two steps out of the door before coming back to ask whether the buyers knew about why they got such a good price on the house. He threatens to tell them, and Russ says go ahead, he doesn't "give a rat's ass about the goddamn" community (37). Russ asks Karl what kind of community would treat he and Bev like "the grim reaper" (37) or people with "the goddamn plague" (37) because of what happened to their son, Kenneth. He goes on to complain how Murray Gelman hired "a goddamn retarded kid" (38) over Kenneth. Jim says that people were frightened of Kenneth. Bev says that "he did not do the things they claimed he did" (38), but Russ disagrees. He alludes, finally, to the fact that, during his service in Korea, Kenneth killed a lot of people, likely civilians. He then goes to the trunk and takes out Kenneth's suicide note. He begins to read the letter. Bev starts yelling to Jim, "You see what this is like?" (39), before locking herself in the bathroom. Russ continues to read. Jim tries to get him to stop, and Russ tells him, once again, to go fuck himself. Karl says he won't tolerate that language in front of his wife, to which Russ responds, "She's deaf, Karl!" (39).

He then describes Kenneth's suicide and reveals that Francine was the one who found him. He tells Karl to go ahead and tell the buyers "what kind of house they're moving into" (39), he no longer cares and is "through with all of you…motherfucking sons of bitches" (39). After a moment of silence, Jim says maybe they should all bow their heads in prayer. Russ counters with, "maybe I should punch you in the face" (39) and makes a move towards Jim, who falls over a box and into a lamp.

Against Francine's wishes, Albert steps in and puts his hand on Russ' shoulder. This enrages Russ, and Francine pulls Albert away, asking him if he thinks he's going to be the "big peacemaker, come to save the day" (40). Jim, Karl, and Betsy have all left. Russ drags the foot locker into the kitchen. Francine leaves the house as Bev comes out of the bathroom, blowing her nose. Albert picks up the lamp Jim knocked over. Bev offers him money for moving the trunk, but he refuses it. She tries again to give away the chafing dish Francine had turned down earlier. Albert tries to refuse, and raises his voice, saying, "We don't want your things. Please. We got our own things" (41). Interpreting this as arrogance, Bev insists that she would be "honored" (41) to have Albert and Francine as neighbors. Albert leaves.

Russ reenters, carrying his work gloves. He moves towards the shovel he retrieved from the basement earlier. Bev asks if he's going to dig a hole, and he says that he is, under the crape myrtle in their yard. He apologizes for losing his temper, and sits back in the chair in which he sat at the play's beginning. He tells her about how short his new work commute will be. Bev asks him what she'll do while he's at work. Caught off guard, Russ stammers what basically amounts to the vague answer: "Projects…to keep ya occupied" (42). Russ turns on the radio, then sweeps his arm out and says, "Ulan Bator!" (42), the capital of Mongolia, and a nod to their conversation at the beginning of the act. Bev smiles and the lights fade out.