Bessie Page #3

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What you doing

fanning yourself

around here for?

Shut the door good

on your way out.

Where you going

without my sugar,

though?

- Mm.

- Mm-hmm.

What you grinning about,

Blue Goose?

What you know about it?

Same thing you know.

( chuckles )

What's your name,

pretty lady?

Bessie Smith.

Miss Bessie Smith.

( music playing )

- So, like we said--

- How many seats

in the house?

- 200.

- I counted 250.

Ah, I meant 200 plus,

give or take.

And you sure

eager to take.

- She need to be here?

- Ma:
She needs to understand

why TOBA stands

for "Tough On Black Asses."

Actually, it stands for

Theater Owners Booking

Association, T-O-B--

- What's the cover?

- A nickel.

Hmm, newspaper ad

say a dime.

- Well, we don't always--

- $12.50.

- Pardon me?

- That's 10 cents

times 250 seats.

Our contract

is 50-50 per head.

$12.50 in advance

every night.

( laughing )

We have no way of knowing

how many people

are actually gonna show up.

We'll refund

your no-shows.

Bessie will be counting

the empty seats.

$12.50.

( chuckling )

Boy, aren't you getting

a hell of a deal?

Now let's talk about

the bar.

What you standing

way back here for?

Keep on going.

I ain't said stop.

A little bit more.

- Ma.

- That's about right.

Now how that feel?

Like I'm about to fall.

That's how

it should feel

every night.

If you're not

risking nothing,

neither will they.

Now where's that heifer

that stole your man?

- Ain't nobody here.

- Pick somebody.

Right there.

How about her?

Three rows back

on the left.

- Mm-mmm.

- Yeah.

Yeah, that look

like her.

And what you gotta

say to that b*tch?

And right there.

Oh, there's

that pinched-back man

that stole all your money.

Yeah, that's him.

Tell them

about theyselves.

Go on, baby.

- Bess?

We're rehitching.

- Okay.

( men shouting )

That mighty caboose

right there.

( chatter )

- Man:
That was Bertha--

I mean, Miss Bessie Smith.

- ( piano playing )

- ( scattered applause )

- Man:
Aw, come on now,

be nice, be nice.

We got your headliner

coming up.

Gin.

I got that, Clive.

( coins clink )

Gin'll make you crazy.

Why don't you let me

buy you a whiskey

instead?

That "stand and shout" sh*t

might work back home,

but you got to bring

some hoop-de-doo to get

these silly folk attention.

Don't nobody care

what you think.

You don't know nothin'

from nothin'.

Oh, I ain't trying

to fuss with you,

gorgeous.

Just 'cause you got

a little sport in your strut

don't make you

no authority.

I was just giving you

my opinion, that's all.

I'm gonna see you

later tonight.

- Not hardly.

- Yeah, you will.

- ( cheering, applause )

- Hey.

Say, you seen Ma?

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