The Role of Her Lifetime Read online

  “Up on the Hudson, almost into Yonkers.”

  “Isn’t that an expensive neighborhood?”

  “It sure is. The house looks like a castle. There are seven bedrooms. There used to be eight, but the seventh has been turned into a dressing room for the master bedroom. There’s also an office and a music room with a small grand piano. There’s an entertainment room, too, with a brick patio. Beyond the dining room and the kitchen, there are two small bedrooms with a parlor for the staff. Upstairs, there’s a terrace outside the main bedroom that’s really an outdoor living room with a table where you can eat. The cook brings their meals up there if they’re too lazy to go down to the dining room. She grilled steaks right there on the terrace for our dinner Saturday night.”

  “They have a cook?”

  Marie nodded. “And a housekeeper, a chauffeur, and a gardener.”

  “Wow. And Chris bought that all with her cello playing?”

  Marie laughed. “Nah. Her lover is a stockbroker. I guess she made it really big when she worked on Wall Street. Now she has her own brokerage house.”

  “Some people have it all.”

  Marie nodded.

  “And they have a chauffeur?”

  “Car hates to drive in Manhattan, and parking near Wall Street is so expensive.” Marie chucked. “I think she goes to the stock market two or three times a week. She gets dropped off right there in front of the market, and then calls her driver when she’s ready to leave.”

  “Yes, the rich have it so easy. Her name’s Car?”

  “Short for Caroline. She said it was easier for her little brother to say.”

  Jackie laughed. “Ah…the things we put up with for our siblings.”

  “I’m an only-child.”

  “I have a twin brother. His name is John, and he plays bass. He went to Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. He said he’ll come for the opening. You’ll get to meet him.”

  “I’d love to.” Then Marie had a thought. “Were your parents Democrats? Jacqueline and John?”

  Jackie laughed. “Of course. They adored the Kennedys. If we had had another sibling, he or she would probably have been named Caroline or Teddy. Are your folks coming, too?”

  “I doubt it. Maybe if it runs longer. Dad hates to travel. He hates to fly, and Seattle to here is a long drive. Mom won’t leave him alone since he had a small stroke a few years ago.”

  “Is Seattle where you’re from?”

  Marie nodded.

  “I’d love to go there sometime. I hear it’s beautiful.”

  “Yes, it is. It’s a great place to grow up. Now, if I could get my folks out of there to come see me…”

  “Maybe they’ll make a video of it, and you can send it to them.”

  “That would be great.”

  “Say, would you like to catch a bite tonight after rehearsal?” Jackie’s hopeful smile glowed.

  “Love to. It’s a date.”

  Then they were called for the rehearsal.

  The rest of the week went slow. The only blocking she had in the second act was the three short times she reprieved the vows from Act One. They were all done as still-shots from different places on the stage. She had to be in place, the spotlight would come on her, she’d sing, and it would go out. She would not be in the end of the finale.

  During the free times, she met with Walter to rehearse her solos.

  * * * *

  Finally, Friday as they broke for lunch, Kent sat the entire cast down to talk to them.

  “Next week, we move into the theatre. You’ll probably be a little confused at first because the stage is a lot bigger than here. Just be prepared to open up. We have one week to make sure everything works and smooth out the rough spots. The week after will all be in costume and with the orchestra. We open to previews that Friday.”

  The entire cast was aghast with the schedule.

  “Will we be ready?” one of the chorus asked.

  “You’d better be. We have to open before that new musical the Shuberts are producing does. Any other questions or problems?”

  No one had anything to say.

  “All right,” Kent said. “This afternoon is for costume preparation. The chorus will be meeting with Eunice and her crew from now to two-thirty. You can leave when you’re finished. They’ll pick up the other chorus members who have been working with Walter in the evenings tonight after seven. The principles start with costumes at three. Other than that, I’ll see you all Monday afternoon at three. Come in the back way through the alley. That will be the way you come into the theater for the run of the show.”

  The cast broke up, and there was talk all around the room.

  Kent walked up to Jackie and Marie. “You two are doing phenomenal work. When they first told me there would be two princes, I almost turned the show down. I didn’t think it would work. I’m glad I was wrong.”

  “Thanks,” Marie said.

  “Yes, thanks, Kent,” Jackie said with a smile. “I didn’t know how, either, but it’s working out really well.”

  “You two look good together. There’s a real chemistry between you. It isn’t quite as tight with Bill.”

  “It doesn’t have to be. After all, he has been cheating,” Jackie noted. “Most of his scenes are with the other women and with the stepsisters.”

  The three laughed.

  “Oh, by the way did you remember you have press interviews tomorrow?”

  They both nodded.

  “Good. See you there.”

  Marie looked at Jackie. “Let’s get some lunch.”

  “Great,” Jackie led the way out of the theater.

  * * * *

  “I can’t believe three weeks have gone by so quickly,” Jackie said as they sat down at the little restaurant and opened the menus.

  Marie agreed. “It seems like only yesterday we were talking at those auditions.”

  “It sure does. I’m glad we talked then.”

  Marie nodded. She focused on the menu so she wouldn’t have to look into Jackie’s eyes.

  “I hope this show flies,” Jackie said as she read her menu.

  “I think it will. Everyone’s gonna love the stepsisters. I wouldn’t be surprised if the producers make their nuts back in the first month.”

  Jackie put her menu down. ‘“I never understood where that term came from.”

  “It’s from back in the Middle Ages,” explained Marie. “A troop of actors would roll into town, and the town police would take the nuts off their wagon wheels. When they performed and all the bills were paid, they’d get the nuts back. They couldn’t leave before everything was paid for, and without getting the nuts back, the wheels would fall off.”

  “Really? I had a completely different idea. I thought it had something to do with their genitals.”

  The two of them laughed hysterically.

  “How did they lose them to begin with?” Marie was aghast

  “I never figured that out, nor how they put them back.”

  A waiter came to their table, and they ordered.

  “This show had better be a hit,” Marie continued. “I’m getting used to eating in restaurants. I haven’t cooked a real meal since we started rehearsals. It’s wonderful to have a menu in your hands and not printed on the wall with numbers.”

  “I know,” Jackie agreed. “Luis is a little upset because I’ve been eating out so often. I think he has his refrigerator crammed with leftovers.”

  “Oh! There they are!”

  They turned as Rod and Andy hurried through the restaurant and slipped into the chairs at their table.

  “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m getting scared,” Andy began.

  “It doesn’t feel right that we start previews in two weeks,” Rod said.

  “We were just talking about that,” Jackie said. “I’ve never learned a whole show in this short a time. And with a lead, there’s even more to learn.”

  Marie agreed. “You two guys have the easiest parts. You can ju
st camp it up, and the audience is going to love you.”

  “Yes, it’s a lot of fun. You had fun in the first scene, too.”

  “Yes. That is my easy part.”

  “I thought the kiss at the end of Act One was your easy part. Have you been rehearsing it?”

  Marie’s eyes widened as Jackie burst into laughter.

  “We’ve planned some different poses, but we didn’t rehearse the kiss,” Jackie said.

  “Oh, that’s right. You two are such experts at kissing, you don’t need to rehearse.” Rod burst out laughing and gave Andy a shove to note their private joke.

  Jackie chuckled as she started to get up. “I need to visit the little girls’ room before we start to eat. I’ll be right back.”

  “We won’t hold our breaths.” Andy almost giggled.

  When Jackie left, Rod turned to Marie. “Well, how is she? Is she a good kisser?”

  “How would I know?” She frowned.

  Both men sat back in amazement.

  “You haven’t kissed her?” Rod asked.

  “Just in rehearsals,” Marie admitted. “You know, the chaste theatrical kiss. Oh, and the one at the photo shoot with the camera aimed up our noses.”

  “Are you getting slow in your old age?” Andy asked. “I’ve seen you put the moves on women you’ve known for a whole lot less time.” Andy had also gone to Julliard but graduated a year earlier than Marie and Chris.

  Marie shook her head. “This is business.”

  “Business? Monkey business?”

  “No, we have to be friends until the show folds.”

  “And then you’ll jump her?”

  “Andy!”

  “Well, I can tell you want to.”

  “Who wouldn’t? But we have to be professional,” Marie said.

  “Rubbish. Walk her home. Maybe she’ll invite you in.”

  “We’ve done that.”

  “And?”

  “And nothing.”

  “You mean the great Marie Jacolby struck out?”

  “I didn’t even try.”

  “Then are you back with Ashley?”

  Marie shook her head. “We’ve been out to eat, but we’ve decided to keep it platonic. At least until the show is running well.”

  “Marie Jacolby!” Andy exclaimed. “What are you waiting for? Two fine women want you, and I know you want them. I’ve seen it in your eyes.”

  “No, Ashley is off limits at least for a while, and Jackie? I’m not even sure she’s a lesbian. There are pictures of her all over her apartment with a guy, and they look like they’re real close.”

  “This does not compute,” Andy said as if he were a robot. “This does not compute.”

  “We have to work together for the foreseeable future. We can’t muck this up.”

  “Does she agree?” Andy asked.

  “I don’t know. We haven’t discussed it.”

  “What are you waiting for?”

  “Now you sound like Chris Anthony. Give it time.”

  The guys laughed.

  “Speaking of Chris, she’s doing quite well, isn’t she?”

  “More than you’d imagine. She just moved in with her millionaire lover.”

  “Really? Good for her. Tell us more.”

  Marie was glad they had changed the subject as Jackie came back from the ladies’ room.

  “What have I missed?”

  “Marie was just going to tell us about Chris Antony’s millionaire lover.”

  “I want to hear, too,” Jackie said as she smiled at Marie.

  Their food arrived, and the boys ordered as Marie started to gossip. She told them what she knew about Car and Chris and the house up-river. All the time, she observed how Jackie reacted to it. At least she didn’t look or sound adverse to the lesbian lifestyle, so maybe…

  * * * *

  That afternoon, all of the principles in the cast gathered with the costumer and her crew. They were each given a rack of clothes and told to try them on. Marie’s clothes were easy to wear.

  Jackie’s ranged from drab to spectacular. Her clothes for the ball and wedding were tight but easy to step into. The closings were all Velcro.

  “Try these boots on,” Eunice told Marie. “You might have to practice walking in them.”

  Marie stepped into the black leather boots, which had platform soles to give her added height. The soles added almost three inches: two inches under the ball of her foot and an additional inch from the heel. They were stable but would have to be worn a lot so her step would seem natural.

  “Take them home with you and break them in. You’ll need them for the ball and wedding,” Eunice said. “These soft brown boots will be for the rest of the time.”

  “Won’t these make me much taller than Jackie?”

  “No. She’ll have high heels on for those scenes. You’ll both be pretty much the same as you are naturally.”

  Marie looked through her clothes. In the early scenes, she’d wear very casual clothes: a billowing cotton shirt, a brown leather vest, and trousers. The costume for the Ball almost looked like a military uniform, but in a medium purple silk. A cape, epaulets, and gold chain trimming decorated another jacket several shades darker for the wedding.

  As she turned around, Andy and Rod’s costumes caught her eye, and she laughed loudly. Both men wore long, frilly dresses with low slippers. The dresses were even more outrageous than what they’d worn for the pictures. The hips were exaggerated with ruffles, tassels, and bows. Rod’s were rose, and Andy’s were pink. They had on high curly wigs.

  “Does this dress make my ass look big?” Rod asked, tongue-in-cheek. There were extra frills over their hips.

  “Yes, of course. These are darling!” Andy exclaimed as he twirled around like a young maiden and curtsied.

  “You’ll never live those down,” Marie kidded them. “Now who was typecast?”

  Both men pranced around.

  “Oh, Sweetheart,” Rod threw back at her, “you look so dashing in that uniform. I’d marry you any day.” He and Andy giggled at each other.

  “No,” Marie countered. “I don’t go for tall women. I’m partial to a diminutive lass.”

  “Like me?” Jackie came out of the dressing room in a brilliant silk ball gown of a soft cerulean blue.

  “Whoa!”

  Marie and the boys were stunned.

  “Like it?” Jackie asked. The blue perfectly complemented Marie’s lighter purple.

  “If you weren’t my stepsister, I’d make a play for you myself,” Rod told her.

  “I didn’t know you were lesbians,” Marie said with a snicker.

  “I’ve always wanted to be a lesbian. They have so much fun! And they always get the good women.”

  Rod and Andy high-fived each other.

  Everyone else laughed.

  “Look what you did to me!” Ashley roared as she emerged from the dressing room. She was in a light blue silk gown but had on a body suit to make her look at least eight months pregnant.

  “It wasn’t me. I wasn’t even there,” Marie called back to her.

  “Yes, everyone knows you can do these things in your sleep. You’re never really there.”

  “Oh, oh, the cut! Right to the bone!” Marie crowed with a laugh. “After I’ve given you the best minutes of your life!”

  “Minutes? More like seconds.”

  Everyone chuckled, and there were many comments.

  Ashley laughed, too. “I’m sorry we don’t have a longer scene together,” she told Marie. “I think we would have set it on fire.”

  “Are you admitting Marie’s your old flame?” Rod asked.

  Everyone groaned, and Andy gave him a shove.

  Then Bill came out of the dressing room, dressed the same as Marie had been in the first half of Act One. Everyone looked from him to Marie and back.

  “We look pretty good, don’t we?” he said, looking at Marie.

  They both reached up to scratch the back of their necks, then shrugge
d. The cast groaned and chuckled.

  “We have such a good cast,” Mike said. “I’ve been in casts that would never even crack a smile unless it was in the script.”

  “This is a fun show, and the more fun we have with it, the more fun the audience will have,” Joy, the mother, said with a big smile on her face.

  “All right,” Eunice called from the dressing room door. “Are there any problems or questions?”

  “No,” Andy answered for everyone. “These costumes are the best I’ve ever seen!”

  They all agreed with him. The applause was loud.

  “Thank you,” Eunice answered. “Make sure they’re hung up right on your own rod when you take them off. My girls shouldn’t have to go around, sorting things out again.” She turned back into the dressing room.

  As everyone got ready to leave, Marie saw Jackie rush to put all her things together. Then she hurried to a tall young man who stood by the door out to the hallway. They hugged tightly. He took her parcels, and then they walked out together.

  “Who was that?” Andy asked, coming up behind Marie.

  “I have no idea.” She wasn’t positive, but he looked like the guy who had dropped Jackie off that one morning.

  “They looked kind of close,” Andy said softly.

  Marie nodded. He gave her shoulders a squeeze as he walked away.

  Chapter 14

  The phone rang just as Marie stepped out of the shower. She wrapped a towel around her and picked the phone up. The call was from Chris.

  “What’s so important you have to get me out of the shower?” Marie growled.

  “I’m sorry,” Chris replied. “I never know when you’re going to take your yearly shower. Isn’t this too early in the year?”

  “Nope. Right around Labor Day.”

  Chris laughed. “How’s it going?”

  “We open in two weeks.”

  “I know. Car already bought tickets for the first preview.”

  “Don’t tell me that! Now I’ll be nervous.”

  “No, you won’t, and you know it. So, what’s up in your love life?”

  “Absolutely nothing.”

  “You haven’t said anything yet?”

  Marie hesitated. “There hasn’t been time.”

  “You’re saying you put it off?”

  “Shut up, Christine.”

  “What are you doing this weekend?”