Cocoanut Grove 
by Kenneth Lawrence & Deborah Whitaker
In a triangle between love, coincidence and corruption, 
only two make it out alive.

"Titanic-like; Smart & sophisticated; Cleverly stitched." 
-Script Consultant and former Universal Studios Development Executive Craig Kellum 


At wartime, Cocoanut Grove is a sultry Casablanca-style oasis in a chilly port city. Run covertly by the Jewish mob and frequented by Boston’s elite, it’s where the city dirt is swept under an elegant carpet.

The week before the fateful fire, love sparks between handsome Daniel Cohen, the soon to be manager of the club, and the new star singer, tantalizing Dorothy James. Daniel hides his passion for Dorothy from his fiancée Annie, the daughter of the local mob boss and owner of the club. 

Despite the risks, Daniel falls in love and follows his heart. Daniel and Dorothy’s forbidden relationship sizzles, ignites and explodes on the night of the fire.




It’s Saturday, November 28, 1942. Many victory celebrations are canceled when Holy Cross upset top-ranked Boston College football team 55-12. Weeks before, BC printed up posters displaying two of their players; the numbers on their jerseys read 55-12. 

A bus boy points out this coincidence to Daniel as he tends bar downstairs in the Melody Lounge. Only blocks away, firefighters are called to a small car fire. In Cocoanut Grove’s overcrowded basement, a patron unscrews a light bulb to darken the corner where he smooches with his date. 

Another bus boy is instructed to screw the bulb back in. Unable to see, he lights a match. Simultaneously - in the same darkened corner - smoke builds from an air conditioner and Cocoanut Grove is ablaze in coincidence.
Picture
(c )Holy Cross Posters



The sparks ignite the fake palm trees and toxic blue satin hanging from the ceilings. A raging fireball rushes up the narrow staircase and into the main dining room as  hundreds are burned and Cocoanut Grove’s signature revolving door becomes instantly stacked with bodies. 

Daniel and Dorothy fight for their lives among hordes of screaming patrons, interior opening and padlocked doors, blocked windows and secret passageways. Like the nightclub, Daniel and Dorothy’s lives are forever seared by fire and fate. 




"You can fall in love many times, 
but you only fall in love for the first time once."

Photos from the collection of Jack Deady,Celebrate Boston website & bostonfirehistory.org, cocoanutgrovefire.org
Photo of Boston College/Holy Cross 1942 poster thanks to Historical Football Posters