Historical Script

The years of Prohibition in the United States are a fascinating piece of history from which many writers, artists, and musicians have drawn from . Behind the scenes, speakeasies reigned supreme and organized crime blossomed. The scene is familiar, but we wanted to take a different angle and show what might have happened as those glory days came to an end.

Although our main characters aren’t exactly role models to BYU students striving to live the Honor Code, their struggles to adapt are relatable. Additionally, they are similar to the experiences told by Satrapi in The Veil. Just like Satrapi had to change her way of life to adhere to stricter guidelines, our characters found their lives changed by adjustments made to the laws of the land. When eluding the clutches of the 18th Amendment, they find themselves free to party as hard as they wish. Already breaking the law they disregard all restrictions. However, once the 21st Amendment is passed, they find the new additions to their crowd less than enthusiastic.

This is reflected in a modern example observed among non-LDS peers. It’s one thing to party with friends after high school graduation, but it’s a different feeling to legally sip a beer with your parents when you’re twenty-one years old. There’s something about the forbidden that encourages further reckless behavior and results in a very different mood.
Lacking personal knowledge of the twenties speakeasy underground, we turned to several outside influences to inform our portrayal of a saloon atmosphere. The Great Gatsby was a major source in understanding how gratuitous the partying may have been back in the day. In that film, modern music is used to compare our day with the twenties, which we might make the mistake of assuming could never be as sinful as our day.

 Another source of influence was the self-titled album, Tumbledown House. This music has been described as “gritty saloon jazz” and “modern speakeasy music.” The first track is titled “Midnight at the Openly Lewd” and is simply a snippet of what a speakeasy might sound like in the throes of a party. Laughter, cash registers, and clattering is heard with a jazz piano playing over the din. It gives the feel of heavy smoke and questionable behavior. Fraught with gambling, murder, prostitution, and booze their songs describe the life of unrepentant sinners. Heavily coloring our depiction of a speakeasy party, this also informed our creation of Dixie’s character. The decision to make her unrepentant and confident in her life choices came from various ideas and characters portrayed in the songs “Brothers McGhee” and “Jug O’Rossi.” Besides these three tracks, the entirety of the album speaks to a romanticized version of what sort of characters you would find in this situation. This fit our script well as we wanted to romanticize the prohibition parties to reflect how they were viewed by those who had to adjust their lifestyle after the ban on alcohol was repealed.

Other characters helped represent reactions to the new laws. The gangsters Rudy and Vincent represent how the bootleggers themselves may have reacted to the loss of business. Helen provides a contrast to the mischievous and spirited saloon characters, serving to ‘rain on their parade’. The Mistress, although commanding, is quieter than the other characters in order to be a surrogate for the audience and observe the action. While these characters all possessed attributes that informed the theme, it was their interaction that presented the contrast between an underworld upset and a stiff class mixing with a new, unsavory crowd.