Page 22 of Curtain Call
“Jules, what musical?”
“Hello, Riley, how are you?”
“Anxious.”
“Hello, Riley.”
“Hi.”
“OK, so youdoknow what a greeting is.”
“How are you? Glad you’re not dead either.”
“Boston makes you bitchy. I don’t like it. Go eat something.”
“I’m in a coffee shop right now.”
He waves his phone around as the coffee shop spins on his screen.
“Annnnnnnd -”
“And I’m sorry for being bitchy, but really, what’s up?”
“OK, so you know how Tootsie was a hot ticket show but then sales started dropping off and they ended up closing the show?”
“Yea.”
“Well, they are not closing permanently. They are recasting the whole show and moving it to the Helen Hayes Theater. It’s a popular show but it wasn’t selling out like it was in the beginning, so they wanted to relocate it and give it a fresh new cast. It reopens in six months.”
“So, what does this mean?” Riley questions while staring Jules down through his screen.
“They have a short list of four actors for the lead role of Dorothy Michaels.”
“The crossdressing actress? Really?” Riley’s tone was sarcastic and the excitement he felt about the audition plummeted.
“Watch your tone and think of Patrick Swayze and what To Wong Foo did for his career.”
“True.”
“Think about it and let me know. I have to get to a meeting, but I’ll be in touch. You have until Friday to accept the audition, or they are going to move down their list.”
Riley nodded but couldn’t respond before Jules ended the call.
“Thanks,” Riley whispers to a blank screen.
Seriously?
Playing a crossdressing actress was not how Riley planned on getting his name in lights.
Scene 9
Setting: The Review Theater
Rockport, Massachusetts
Colin
Sitting at the piano on the stage of the little theater, Colin glances around thinking that these could be the last moments he has in this space. He remembers the laughter of the audience and the colorful sets throughout the years. Hanging over his head is a hidden screen that comes down to show movies when the theater isn’t rented out for live performances from local dance companies or schools.
