Cementville
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Cementville is a 1991 dark comedy play written by Jane Martin, a Pulitzer-nominated author and premiered at the 1991 Humana Festival of New American Plays. The work has also been republished in several collections of modern American plays.
Set in a dingy arena locker room in a Tennessee rust town, the story follows a collection of run-down female wrestlers and their blow-hard manager as they try to put on a card of matches and everything goes wrong. A wonderfully gritty allegory for the entertainment industry, the story's theme of striving for fame and notoriety at any cost has its working woman cast getting themselves literally beat up night after night for little or no pay, as opposed to other artists who only have do it figuratively.
Though not as critically well-received as Martin's other works, like the award-winning Keely and Du or Criminal Hearts, the story still crackles with her pistol-quick dialog (a la Aaron Sorkin) and brilliantly diverse and unique characters.
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[edit] Plot
In a dismal locker room, Dwayne, an autograph hound, is trolling around when Nola (a local fan and arena gopher girl) and Tiger (a road-weary ex-con) enter. He dives into the broom closet. Tiger looks around the disgusting room, in bemused shock at how horrible it is. Nola tries to pet Tiger’s cat, but it’s actually a Chihuahua.
The loose-moralled Dani parades in and is also amazed at how gross the room is. She rants about their typical treatment and money issues. Netty and Angelessa come in next. Motherly Netty is rattling on about how good their dinner was, while the muscular Angelessa stays quiet. Nola finally gets the courage to talk the women about the wrestling business. Dani runs down the line up for tonight’s card, revealing that all of them will actually be playing several parts ,and the Cavalcade of Stars has only about 6 stars in it.
Tiger sends Nola on a beer run for them while they get settled in. Big Man enters to run down the lineup. His brother Eddie had to be taken to the hospital the night before. The best guess is a hooker assaulted him. Dani complains about the lack of pay. Big Man slaps her, explaining that he needs her attention and she’s not being respectful about Eddie’s injury. He then tells them since Eddie’s out, the cruiserweight title match is off. Angelessa offers to do a mixed match. But despite her being a former Olympian, Big Man shoots it down. “No one’s gonna’ buy a black chick icing the cruiserweight contender.”
He tells them that he’s called in The Knockout Sisters, a formerly banned-from-wrestling-for-life tag-team / borderline porn act, who happen to live not too far away. The women aren’t very happy, knowing that Big Man will be spending part of their ticket money for the extra wrestlers.
As the ladies dress, they ponder over Eddie’s fate. Lessa says some hooker bit his dick off. The ladies are shocked and amused at the same time, but not sure to believe her. Angelessa says she helped patch him up until the ambulance arrived, using a tourniquet of dental floss. Suddenly, there’s a thump from the broom closet. Angelessa opens the door and finds Dwayne hiding. He pleads for autographs but after they, including Nola, have signed his book, he starts preaching at them for being sinful whores. Angelessa grabs him and throws him out, but not before he can grab Tiger by her sore ribs, leaving her in even more pain.
Before bell time, Big Man introduces Mother Crocker and her girls, Dolly and Dottie. It's obvious Mother’s girls know little about actual wrestling; their looks and Mother's mouth and influence have gotten them this far.
Dani and Tiger do the first match (Bloody Mary vs. Tarzana, Queen of the Jungle). It doesn’t go very well and Tiger is in real pain. Dani cut the match short to protect her. Angelessa and Netty are up next (as Black Lightning vs. Pajama Mama). When some guy in the crowd throws something at Lessa. She doesn’t take it lying down, climbing out and going after him. Netty and Lessa return the locker room. Big Man knows they've made a mistake.
Not long after, Bobbie Jack “One-Eye” Deneauve shows up at the locker room. He tells Big Man and Mother that he drove all the way from Kentucky to see some good ol’ fashioned ass-whuppin’ blood, sex and violence and so far the show is a no-show. Mother promises him better matches or he can have one of the girls.
Lessa gets dressed as “Olympia” for her next match with Tiger. Mother steps in saying that she can’t go out there and play the face (good girl) since she’s black and the crowd is full of rednecks. Mother demands Big Man do something even if he has to send some wrestlers out there nude. During the argument, Dolly pulls out a 9mm pistol to break it up. Mother threatens to pull out, but Big Man demands they had an agreement. He grabs the girls’ bag and finds what he knew he would: a bag of powder. Trying to gain the upper hand, he threatens to send the girls to jail. Dolly points the gun on him. A moment later, Big Man is choking after being forced to taste the contents; beach sand, a memento of her late husband.
Mother convinces Dani to do a lingerie match for one hundred dollars. Nola volunteers to wrestle her. Mother quizzes Nola on her wrestling knowledge, and Nola is more than ready with the answers. Dani coaches Nola as they run out.
Willie ‘Kid’ Cayman, a former boxer, introduces himself. He’s retired now; traveling the country on a journey to visit all the places he ever fought. He merely wants to look at the old room. Mother finishes readying her girls for the main event. Angelessa volunteers to go back out, but Mother cuts her off. Mother says that in Tennessee, the trash only want to see who they like in matches. That means who she says. Dottie says that means Lessa is just a ‘nigger’. Outraged, Lessa has to be held back from Dottie.
Dani and Nola return triumphant. The match not only went well, but they got tips from the crowd after the fight. The big tag-team match is finally ready to go. Dani and Nola (as Ninjas) will job a match (take a dive) for the Knockout Sisters.
Angelessa snaps before the tag match even starts. She locks Nola in the broom closet, and puts on Nola’s Ninja costume. Before she can leave, Eddie arrives. He has come back for Lessa, since it was she who injured him the night before. Netty and Tiger try and pull him off as Angelessa but, Kid steps in and stops Eddie with a well-placed knee. Eddie collapses and crushes Tiger’s cat carrier, her little dog still inside. Lessa steps in for Nola and wipes the floor with both of the Knockouts and Mother. The crowd boils into a riot. Dottie flees to the locker room, bleeding. Netty and Tiger tend to her. She says her sister was lost, swept up into the crowd. Angelessa re-enters the locker room, with Mother in a headlock. Despite Mother’s bribe offers for her to stop, Lessa cold cocks her. Then, she sets about trashing the room.
Big Man storms in from the fray, furious at Angelessa for what she’s done. Mother and Dottie make a run for it. Lessa and Big Man brawl, but he eventually beats her down. Willie grabs Dolly’s pistol and shoots Big Man in the leg to stop him. Dani, Nola, Netty and Anglessa run out the back to Willie’s car. He stops to have a smoke with the injured Big Man. The raging crowd is now at the door. Willie calmly moves a locker set aside to reveal an old service tunnel leading out. As he shuffles down the corridor, Willie talks of the old days and how the fight game has changed, “Those were different times, then. Different times.”
Big Man and Eddie start to come to. The mob outside is starting to bash down the old wooden door. Big Man asks his injured brother, “How much you got left?” just as the enraged crowd pours in.
[edit] Stage
The original production opened at the Humana Festival of New American Plays in 1991 at Actor's Theatre of Louisville. Since then, it has been performed in repertory theaters across the country. Directed by Jon Jory, it has been a long standing rumor that Jory himself is actually the reclusive Jane Martin.
[edit] Film
Recently, Impossibility Productions producer John C. Young optioned Cementville for an independent film. To date, the project has attracted director Dan Madigan, the screenwriter for See No Evil and Tobe Hooper's upcoming Tequila Joe.
Also, actors Joanie Laurer (former WWE Intercontinental Champion Chyna), Ron Perlman, David Carradine and Louis Gossett Jr have been approached to play major roles.
