Theft: A Play In Four Acts

Theft takes place in Washington, DC. Howard Knox is a well-intentioned Congressman crusading for reform. He is scheduled to make a speech in which he will expose the corrupt activities of an industrial magnate and his congressional stooges. The wealthy capitalist in question, Anthony Starkweather, along with his son-in-law and political puppet, Senator Thomas Chalmers, will do everything in their power to foil Knox's great speech and publicly disgrace him. To complicate matters, Margaret Chalmers, wife of Senator Chalmers and daughter of Starkweather, forms a friendship with Knox and begins to sympathize with his cause. The play opens with Knox in the lion's den, attending a tea party surrounded by his corrupt adversaries. Knox chastises them in a political dialogue that is reminiscent of the debates between Ernest Everhard and the oligarchs in London's novel The Iron Heel, though Knox never mentions the word "socialism". He accuses Starkweather, Chalmers, and others of stealing the fruits of the working class's labor, including the labor of children. The success of Knox's upcoming speech hinges on the possession of a bundle of documents, a "smoking gun" which will provide the American public with proof of his shocking accusations.