The scene is a bar in Deadwood, Dakota Territory,
in 1876, where Wild Bill Hickok, now ageing and growing blind, holds court.
Despite his failing powers, Bill is respected
and feared by the colourful habitués of the Number Ten saloon, and
even the suggestion that he was a ruthless, cowardly killer who shot his
victims in the back cannot dispel the aura of invincibility which surrounds
him. But his confidence is shaken by the arrival of Jack McCall, a fiery
tempered young desperado who vows to kill him and who claims to be Bill's
illegitimate son.
Taunted by Calamity Jane, McCall pours out
the bitterness he feels at Bill's abandonment and humiliation of himself
and his mother and, as the tension mounts, it is dear that, this time,
Bill will not resist the inevitable. His death is, in a sense, an expiation,
and for his killer, a desperate attempt at communication with the man he
both loves and hates and cannot reach in any other way.
Awards:
1978-1979
25th Drama Desk Awards
Outstanding Actor - Play
Richard Chamberlain - Fathers and Sons
