Act One
The street and house front of a tenement building. The front is skeletal entirely. The main acting area is the living room–din ing room of Eddie’s apartment. It is a worker’s flat, clean, sparse, homely. There is a rocker down front; a round dining table at center, with chairs; and a portable phonograph.

At back are a bedroom door and an opening to the kitchen; none of these interiors are seen. At the right, forestage, a desk. This is Mr Alfieri’s law office. There is also a telephone booth. This is not used until the last scenes, so it may be covered or left in view.
A stairway leads up to the apartment, and then farther up to the next story, which is not seen.

Ramps, representing the street, run upstage and off to right and left. As the curtain rises, Louis and Mike, longshoremen, are pitching coins against the building at left. A distant foghorn blows.
Enter Alfieri, a lawyer in his fifties turning gray; he is portly, good-humoured, and thoughtful. He crosses the stage to his desk, removes his hat, runs his fingers through his hair, and grinning speaks to the audience.

ALFIERI: You wouldn't have known it, but something amusing has just happened. You see how uneasily they nod at me? That's because I am a lawyer. In this neighbourhood, to meet a lawyer or a priest on the street is unlucky. We're only thought of in connection with disasters and they'd rather not get too close.