Burn This

Burn This Summary | Act 1 Summary

Burn This opens on a mid-October evening in a converted factory-loft in lower Manhattan. In the loft, Anna, a dancer, sits on the couch alone. The buzzer sounds repeatedly until Anna goes to the door. Burton, a writer, enters having just heard the news that Anna's dance partner and roommate Robbie and his lover Dominic were killed in a boating accident.

Anna has just returned from the wake at the home of Robbie's parents in Houston. She is visibly upset about the family's lack of knowledge about Robbie's homosexuality. Burton has just returned from a trip in Canada.

Anna's other roommate Larry arrives with groceries wondering why he has not been able to reach Anna all day. She has been alone with the phone turned off and has turned to vodka for solace.

Anna tells Burton about Robbie's family. Out of the entire family, no one has seen Robbie dance - his true passion. The company that Robbie danced with is in Sacramento and many of his friends and colleagues were unable to attend the funeral services. The priest who eulogized Robbie had not seen him in six years; Robbie's parents had not seen him in five. Despite Robbie's openness about his sexuality, the family is not aware (or chooses not to believe) and labels Anna his girlfriend.

Burton is a screenwriter who specializes in science fiction. Having just returned from vacation Anna asks him about his travels to Canada. He begins to relay how fickle the weather is - 70 degrees one day; ten degrees with snow the next - and as he talks about the climate and the experience, he starts to talk about an idea he got for a new script, but this time he's steering away from science fiction. The new script is a love story and Burton is not entirely comfortable with it. Anna encourages him, noting his excitement in explaining the story. Yet the further Burton goes into his story, the more he starts to realize that he does not think the idea is viable.

Burton explains that the story is about the wives of sailors and the longing they experience waiting on the widow's walks. Larry returns and chides Burton about whether they will be robots in the story. Burton responds, "No robots. I love the space stuff, but on this one, I'm looking for passions, faith, myths, love, derring-do, for god-sake. Heroes and heroines" (Act 1, pg. 14).

Larry equates this to the legend of The Flying Dutchman, which Burton is unfamiliar with. Larry explains the myth. It is about a cursed sailor who must find a girl who will truly love him, but his tale is complicated by his being able to come on shore only once in seven years. The sailor goes to Norway where he meets Senta. She falls in love with him, but she has a boyfriend. The sailor leaves and Senta throws herself into the sea, essentially freeing the Dutchman of the curse because he found someone who truly loved him.

Burton and Larry carry on about the state of movies. When Larry asks how Burton feels about the treatment Hollywood gives to his scripts, Burton tells him that seeing the money in his bank account softens the blow. Larry reminds Burton that he does not need the money. Even though Burton has family money, he still needs money. Therefore, he continues writing screenplays. Burton describes Hollywood as whores, but Larry rejects this sentiment, stating that his work in advertising makes him ever bit as much a whore as Hollywood does Burton.

Burton finally leaves, going home to type up his ideas for the new script before a dinner meeting. Larry and Anna are left together. Larry chides Anna by asking why she does not just go ahead and marry Burton for the money. Anna is pleased that Burton is making headway on a new idea.

Since she has not been able to exercise in a couple days, Anna is feeling stiff and out of sorts. She will be traveling to teach Charlie's dance to other companies, explaining that she has to leave the next day, but will be back the following. She will be in New York for a week and then she's off to Seattle for six weeks. Anna confesses that she has been working with Charlie's dance so long that she feels like his moves are all her muscles know. She tells Larry that she signed up for a dance class just to purge her body of Charlie's movements.

Anna continues with more details about the wake: eating and drinking and talking with extended family members, all the while she was trying to figure out how to get away. Adding to the experience is Anna's nearly immediate revelation that the family is completely clueless with regard to Robbie's sexuality and that they had never heard of Dominic. She makes up stories to tell the family and learns that the family had never seen Robbie dance.

The men in the family all resemble Robbie with the primary difference being that they have more of a blue-collar look to them. They all start drinking and before she realizes it, it is midnight and the last bus has left two hours earlier. Anna must stay at the house and is put up in one of the nephew's bedrooms. The boy, identified as the little redhead, has spent the afternoon collecting butterflies and has subsequently pinned them to his walls - a pin in each wing. By two a.m., Anna wakes up to a strange fluttering sound. It turns out that the boy had put the butterflies in alcohol; instead of killing them, they had just passed out and were now coming to on the walls.

Anna starts screaming and, wrapped only in a sheet, she runs downstairs. One of the older brothers goes into the room to get her clothes and unpin the butterflies. After she is dressed, a sister takes her and drops her off at the bus station, clearly happy to be rid of her. Larry is horrified by the story and can only imagine Anna's horror at waking up to the butterflies.

Larry asks her what they should do with Robbie's mail and Anna says that they should save it along with his other belongings because someone from the family is coming to get them. Robbie did not have much, as his focus was on work, Anna and Dominic.

Anna decides that it is too early to go to bed. Larry tells her that if she goes to bed now she will be up in the middle of the night. She asks him how work is going and he tells her about coming up with the company Christmas card at Chrysler. There cannot be anything religious on the card, and since only half of the religions in the country recognize Santa Claus, even Santa is out of the question for the design. No reindeer, no evergreens, mistletoe, etc. The company informs him, "The only thing everyone believes in is the family and children. I [Larry] said that was only going to offend homosexuals" (Act 1, pg. 23). The company takes his remark as a joke and considers using an automobile on the card instead.

Larry rambles about the card and starts thinking out loud about ordering in food, and then he pointedly tells Anna that he cannot keep from thinking about what happened to Robbie. Anna admits that she is angry: at Robbie and Dominic for getting killed and at Robbie's family for not knowing him. Larry tells her that she does not have a reason to mad at Robbie's family, but she cannot help it. Ultimately she is angry because, in the midst of all the family chaos, she did not have the opportunity to properly say goodbye to Robbie.

The lights fade and a brief period of darkness marks the passage of time. Finally, loud pounding is heard. Pale hollers for Anna from the hallway. She slips on her Hapi coat and checks through the peephole. She opens the door and Pale barges in. He is described as well-built and sexy in his mid-thirties. He wears a nice suit.

He rants about how anyone can live in the city; racial epithets and curse words fly as he continues about trying to find a parking space. As he pulled in another car honked at him. He threatened the other driver, telling him to back off before he ends up sleeping in his car.

Anna asks if she knows him, admitting that he is the spitting image of Robbie, so she must, but she cannot place him. He separates himself from Robbie by identifying the difference in their noses. Pale says that she knows him because he is the one who saved her from the butterflies.

He says his name is Jimmy and she remembers that he is Robbie's older brother. Pale makes note that he was twelve years older and what difference could that make. He continues ranting about the neighborhood that she lives in, complaining about the potholes and that the city would be better off just burning this part of the city to the ground. He finally asks if she has Robbie's belongings.

Anna is surprised that he has finally come for Robbie's belongings as it has been over a month. She tells him that she tried calling his mother and that she gave her a couple numbers where she could reach him. Pale informs her that he does not want her bothering his family. He does not like messages and every time she leaves one he feels like he heard her the first time; he does not need the barrage of messages. He hates little pieces of paper because they get stuffed in pockets and forgotten and after awhile there are several pieces of paper stuffed in pockets ruining the garment.

His feet suddenly distract him. His shoes are new and his feet have gotten hot. He pulls off his shoes and continues complaining about the neighborhood. Anna tells him that they like the neighborhood. Pale dismisses her and the fact that the neighborhood is considered arty.

Larry appears in the doorway wearing a t-shirt and shorts. Pale looks over and asks whom he is. Looking at Pale, Larry quotes Lust in the Dust as he did earlier in the act: "Where did you come from? What do you want? It's me, isn't it? You've always wanted me. You want to have your filthy way with me in the hot desert sun. Ravage me like I've never been ravaged before" (Act 1, pg. 28). Larry turns to Anna and asks if she is okay. She says she's fine and introduces Pale as Robbie's brother and, in turn, introduces Larry as her other roommate. Pale thinks that Larry is Robbie's replacement, but Larry corrects him by stating that he, Robbie and Anna all got the place together. When Pale says that he did not see Larry at the wake, Larry informs him that he was not invited and exits.

Robbie's things are in the basement and if they go down there now they will wake up the whole building. Anna tells Pale that she has called the Salvation Army. He does not understand what the rush is all about, but is distracted by a loud noise from the radiator.

She explains the noise is the heat coming on and he complains that the room is already like an oven. He strips off his tie and pulls out his shirttail. He goes off about how hot it is in the room and finally asks how long Robbie lived in this apartment. She says three years and that he was a lot of fun. Pale compares him to other guys by claiming that most guys are dark, but Robbie was light. Anna offers him coffee, though he clearly would prefer alcohol. Finally, Anna identifies him as Pale. He further explains: V.S.O. Pale (Act 1, pg. 30). She says that Robbie used to mention him. Pale insists that he is quite mentionable. Apparently, Pale was the one family member Robbie actually liked.

Pale surveys the view from the window. He is critical of the view of the bay and the tugboats. Anna asks if he is high; she knows he has been drinking, but wants to know if he is on anything else. He admits that he may have done a few lines of cocaine earlier in the evening.

Larry returns only in his shorts. Pale asks if he is doing a slow striptease; Larry turns around and leaves. Pale continues looking out the window. Anna explains that a building is being constructed that will block a lot of the view, but Pale is more interested in trying to find where he parked his car.

He starts talking about his friend Ray who is a bartender, which Anna is clearly disinterested in. He gives up on the topic and asks Anna about dancing in the apartment, figuring that because of the lack of furniture, they must have used the space to dance.

Pale locates a bottle of brandy and pours a drink. Anna taunts him that the brandy is not "V.S.O.P." He knows this because his area of expertise is food and drink. He asks about her dancing and she tells him that she is taking a break; his response suggests that she could not handle the pressure of it. Anna retorts that it was the prospect of finding a personal life, but in truth, Robbie thought she would make a good choreographer. She admits she likes it.

Finally, she tells Pale that he should come back around 7:30am, and then they can go down to the basement. He says no because he has to work in the morning. She asks what he does and he tells her anything - deliver water, put out fires, whatever. She turns the focus to his hand and asks what happened to it and he explains a situation that came up with Ray at the bar earlier that night. A man at the bar talked non-stop and Pale threatened him. This caused the guy to talk even more and Pale busted the guy's lip open.

Pale redirects by asking more about Anna's choreography and she apologizes, clearly distracted by the sudden change of topic. The apology sets him off as well. Pale goes on about how he hates the social niceties of apologies and the like. He compares apologies to toilet paper and how people should consider the tree that could have one day been something like music paper, but instead becomes toilet paper. Again, he abruptly changes the subject and asks how long Robbie lived in the apartment.

Anna answers three years. She inquires as to whether Pale knows that Robbie was studying dance. Pale responds that he did not really know Robbie because Robbie was seven when Pale moved out of the house. Anna admits that she was thinking that Pale did not know Robbie and this sets Pale off. They argue about knowing Robbie and Anna finally gives in and tells him that she is going to bed because if Pale does not want to talk about Robbie, she certainly does not.

Pale is defensive, thinking she means he does not have any feelings or does not care about his brother. She apologizes, saying she is tired and that, not only does she miss Robbie, but Pale reminds her of him. As she tells him that she needs to get up early for her class he begins to sob faintly, trying to keep it at bay, but then starts sobbing profusely. She tries to comfort him, but he pushes her away and says this is not something he does. He even entertains the possibility that he is having a heart attack. Finally, he tries to pull himself together and imagine his brother in the apartment. She tells him that his room was in the loft. He asks if they cooked and she explains that they did sometimes and that Robbie was working his way through a cookbook that Dominic had given to him for Christmas. Pale says he hates Christmas and Anna asks him if he likes anything. He explains that he likes the ocean and going through a hurricane, getting laid, and taking a hot shower.

He starts rambling about the music his father played in the house when he was young - classical mostly. He claims to compose "tone poems" (Act 1, pg. 39) and she asks if he reads music. He claims that no one reads music anymore. He looks at her and asks what she is wearing. She explains that it is a Hapi coat from Japan. He responds by stating that Japanese people are shorter and the coat would probably cover them better than it does her.

Pale asks again about the living arrangements. He criticizes Anna for how she handled the family at the wake because she let on like she was Robbie's girlfriend. She explains that it was not her place to tell them that Robbie was gay, and Pale assures that they knew; they just did not want to admit it. He starts criticizing Robbie's sexuality and his relationship with Dominic. He asks if Dominic also lived with them. Anna says he spent a lot of time at the apartment and that they were trying to get him to move in with them. He continues rambling about what it must have been like seeing Robbie and Dominic together and he starts sobbing again, but suddenly he's worried about wrinkling his pants because he has to wear the suit the next day. He takes off his pants and presses them out on the table. He crawls onto the couch, pulls a blanket over his head and cries heavily.

Anna tries to console him, but her grief is strong. She finishes her coffee and then finishes his brandy as well. She confesses that she thinks she sees him ten times a day, or someone who dresses like him, and then, when she remembers that he is dead, it is almost like she has lost him all over again.

He peeks out from under the blanket, wondering where his drink is. Anna tells him that she drank it and she goes to get them both new drinks. She continues to call him Jimmy, whom he likes; he says no one calls him Jimmy. Their conversation stalls, both emotionally exhausted. She confesses that she feels blue; Pale notes that she has no tits. She starts to dismiss him, but he continues on, telling her that breasts are deceiving and provocative. He starts to sing and then begins rambling about how screwed up he is, his body aching, his grief, and the fact that he is aroused by Anna. He tells her he is going to cry on her hair and he does. She tells him to stop.

Anna starts talking about how angry she was at the funeral because she had not gotten a proper good-bye. A couple days later, she and Larry went to the cemetery and cried the entire day. She kisses Pale and he asks her about going back to the cemetery. He kisses her, talking about how he feels like he is falling out of an airplane, and then he comments on how she smells; she dismisses the scent as shampoo. He tells her his shampoo does not make him smell like that. Lights fade to black.

Lights rise on morning and Larry enters from outside having just loaded Robbie's belongings into Pale's car; he is not pleased about having done manual labor. Anna tells Larry that he got tied up on the phone and that he is in taking a shower now. Larry taunts her about having had sex the night before. He looks at Pale's jacket and pants on the couch, and he finds a pistol. Anna tells him not to touch it, she knows about it. He tells her that when he was putting Robbie's stuff in Pale's car he found Robbie's address book and tells Anna's Pale's address. She offers to make him an omelet.

Pale enters with a fresh shirt and tie; he puts on his pants and shoes, dialing the phone. He talks with Joe and tells him that he is leaving in fifteen minutes; exasperated he says he is more trouble than his old lady. Larry is caught off guard and Pale explains that he is married with two kids and shows Anna his wallet - a boy and girl. Anna asks what his wife will think about his spending the night. He says she trusts him and that he has not cheated on her. Anna returns the wallet and tells him that the children are beautiful. She offers to make him breakfast, but he declines, grabs his keys, and leaves.

Larry calls the number listed in Robbie's address book and asks for Pale. Of course, Pale isn't there, but he learns that Pale is the manager of a restaurant called Da Signate Ristorante. Larry claims to have eaten there and that it's full of celebrities. He also figures that Pale hurried out because he had to get to the fish market early. He still questions the gun, but Anna suggests that he may have it if he deposits the money at night.

The phone rings and Larry answers; it is Burton. Larry makes a few innuendos about Anna's late-night activities, suggesting that she might not being feeling well because she looks exhausted. Anna takes the phone from him and assures Burton that she is feeling fine. She arranges to meet Burton at 7 o'clock that evening while Larry sings the same song Pale was singing the night before. She hangs up and Larry calls her a slut. Burton wants to go out that evening and Anna says yes, mostly out of guilt.

She starts for the bathroom to take a shower and Larry offers to make her a waffle; she declines and disappears into the bathroom singing.