Dear Mrs. Jackson:
Thank you for your story “The Lottery.” The andante build-up from an ordinary summer day to the climactic moment of inevitable horror was masterful, hinted at by simple stones and a mysterious, black box, yet belied by the casual administration of the ritual.
I read it several times, pondering, “What if the lottery was fixed?”
As an aspiring playwright, I’ve envisioned a Three Act play with your story as the final act. Would you indulge me by reading the synopsis? If you like what I’ve written, perhaps you would communicate your approval for me to proceed with an adaptation of “The Lottery” for the stage.
ACT I opens in a rustic kitchen on a sheep farm in a small Kansas town. FRANCES FARMER washes dishes, humming, while her small son, TOMMY KIRK, plays quietly in a corner with a small black matchbox. Too quietly. Daughter, NATALIE WOOD runs in, excited to show off the ruby necklace her father JOHN HUSTON gave her. FRANCES FARMER doesn’t notice a thin whiff of smoke rise from TOMMY KIRK’S corner until a white curtain catches flame. JOHN HUSTON throws open the back door, and fire combusts with a “whoosh!” JOHN HUSTON yanks TOMMY KIRK to safety, and the family puts out the fire. When it’s over, JOHN HUSTON upbraids FRANCES FARMER for her failures as a wife and mother. TOMMY KIRK gets a whipping and cries in the corner. Oldest son, ROBERT BLAKE enters, making an observably false excuse for JOHN HUSTON to leave with him. TOMMY KIRK’S wet his pants. FRANCES FARMER and NATALIE WOOD shame him for being a baby and a bed-wetter.
ACT II opens in the schoolhouse classroom. FRANCES FARMER pulls a village woman into the room, as the last of the children leave and the teacher erases the blackboard. NATALIE WOOD AND ROBERT BLAKE can be seen playing in the yard with other children through the window. The lottery box sits on a shelf above. FRANCES FARMER asks the women if they ever heard the rumor that village men vote for who draws the dot. The women poo-poo the rumor. FRANCES FARMER reminds them of suspicious circumstances around previous years’ lotteries. Haven’t a disproportionate number of wives drawn the dot? Don’t they see how JOHN HUSTON has changed toward her, how she’s on notice to behave? The women dismiss her concerns. There are yells in the playground. JOHN HUSTON and ROBERT BLAKE enter with blood-spattered TOMMY KIRK. He’s killed a lamb in cold blood for no reason, grabbed it by the neck and smashed it against the stone wall repeatedly.
ACT III to be played mostly as written. It’s set in the school play yard instead of the square. JOHN HUSTON draws for each member of the family. We see him sleight-of-hand a piece of paper from his pocket before drawing for FRANCES FARMER. He fumbles, eyes large, digs frantically in the box. As he opens a blank slip behind her, FRANCES FARMER yells that it’s a conspiracy, that the lottery is rigged, that the men are trying to kill her. JOHN HUSTON and ROBERT BLAKE exchange looks of confusion and horror. JOHN HUSTON draws his own paper and shows the dot. TOMMY KIRK is first to throw. He laughs when the rock hits JOHN HUSTON and again when FRANCES FARMER screams. NATALIE WOOD slips FRANCES FARMER a stone. TOMMY KIRK goes for a bigger rock. JOHN HUSTON goes under.
Curtain. Applause.
Please advise me at your earliest convenience where to send the play for your approval.
All good wishes,
Ira M. Levin