Page 1 of Close Match
Prologue
Prologue - Evangeline
“And the winnerof the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical is Evangeline Brogan for Thea inThe Dream Sequence!”
Stunned, shaking, I push myself to my feet. Hugs and kisses are being laid on me by my cast members, my mother, but I don’t even know if I’m smiling.
Dreams should be harder to attain than just wishing for them in my heart late at night.
Numbly, I make my way up the stage. It seems to take forever, but the reality is it’s only a few seconds. Hardy Martin, last year’s winner for Best Leading Actor, comes down the few steps to take my hand. Carefully, I lift the edge of my siren red dress so I don’t trip on the fluted edge. My hand is tucked protectively in the crook of Hardy’s arm as I climb up the four short steps. “Smile, Evangeline. Be proud of what you’ve done.”
And that’s when it hits me. I won the Tony. My knees almost buckle at the exact moment the presenter hands me the squatty little statue. I grip it tightly as I turn to face the audience, who are sitting cheek and jowl to the rafters at Radio City Music Hall.
“I left my purse with something resembling a speech back at my seat,” I blurt out. A reassuring titter floats through the room. My eyes seek out and find my mother’s in the crowd. She’s never let me down. Not once.
And I know at the most crucial moment of my life she’s not about to start.
“I guess this is why they recommended an improv class during my senior year at NYU,” I joke. “So, first, thank you to my alma mater, the Tisch School of Performing Arts at New York University.” A smatter of cheers from other NYU grads as well as generous applause. Taking a deep breath, I go on. “The Dream Sequencewould not have been possible without our amazing director, Pasquale Beecher—.” Raucous cheering from the cast ofThe Dream Sequenceensues. I let it die down before I lean back in toward the mic. “—and the brilliant cast, crew, and orchestra, who are simply flawless every single night.” My eyes fill with tears as I see my theater family give me an impromptu standing ovation in the middle of my acceptance speech. “But above all, I have to thank my actual family. Dad, I…” My voice chokes up. I hold the statue aloft. “I wish you were here sitting next to Mom and Bris to see this. I hope you’re proud. Mom, Bris, you are my anchors in this crazy storm called life. I don’t know what I would do without you. This is for you. Thank you for supporting my dreams, for making sure that while I chased them, I’m still grounded, and for loving me through it all. And to the theater community as a whole, you have my heartfelt gratitude. Again, thank you.”
I step back and hear the combined pounding of seats slapping against their chairs as people rise to clap.
It’s humbling.
It’s enormous.
It’s only the beginning.
Act 1 - Are you sure?
One
Evangeline
May
The Fallen Curtain - All About Evangeline Brogan
Evangeline Katherine Brogan is more than just a star on Broadway; she’s the sun it orbits around.
Although she’s been singing and dancing since a very young age, she’s been quoted as saying it wasn’t until she was first in a production ofThe Wizard of Ozplaying the role of Auntie Em that she felt her calling. Early in her career, she acted in small roles Off Broadway under an alias until she graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama.
Her first breakthrough role happened at twenty-four when she auditioned for the role of Lisa Rhodes inBest Thingat the City Theater Workshop. The show was so popular, the entire cast was moved to Broadway. That year she was nominated for the Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Musical against her mother, Brielle Brogan, making them the second mother/daughter in history behind Jennifer Ehle and Rosemary Harris to earn that distinction. Including Lynne Redgrave and Natasha Richardson as well as Richard Rodgers and his daughter Mary Rodgers (for composing), they were one of only four families in history with the distinction of competing against one of their relatives for the same category.
Following her success ofBest Thing, Evangeline’s been seen in revivals ofAnything Goes, where she said, “It’s a production near and dear to my heart as Mom named me for the character she portrayed while she was pregnant with me.” She’s been cast inChicago, where she gave new meaning to sultry in her revival of Velma Kelly’s character. She even did a short stint with the New York City Ballet saying, “I can’t let my skills get rusty,” when questioned why she’d join the corps versus going for another Broadway spotlight appearance.
Brogan jumped at the chance to sing on the cast album ofBest Thing. Her solo of “Anywhere, Anything” garnered her a Grammy nomination and win. Her humbling speech thanked her fellow castmates and her family was much like the woman herself: emotional and authentic.
Although she was going to take some time off to travel, it’s reported the director ofThe Dream Sequencebegged her to read for the part of Thea. Rumor has it she jumped onto the stage partway through, stealing the role from the actress who became her understudy. It was the right move as her performance won her the 2014 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.
Taking a break to watch her younger sister graduate with honors from Wharton Business School, Brogan decided to spread her wings across the pond, accepting the part of Laurey to Simon Houde’s portrayal of Curly. The two’s revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic brought down the house night after night in the Royal Albert Hall production ofOklahoma!. Their chemistry onstage was outrageous, and Broadway was fortunate when it returned with them to the US when they both came back to star inShewhere Evangeline lost out on the Tony to her mother, who won for her role inPowerhousethat same year.
Finally, Broadway—and the musical brilliance of four-time Tony Award composer John Thomas Michaels—put these two brilliant actresses together. In 2018, Evangeline and Brielle took the stage together in the sold-outMiss Me, with Evangeline in the starring role as Kate Hynes. This all-star cast also includes Simon Houde as her love interest, Michael Kirby.
This musical—about a falling-out between a mother and her daughter—is expected to sweep the 2019 Tony Awards. Nominations will be announced on April 30 with the live broadcast from Radio City Music Hall on CBS June 7.
“Did you see this?” Bristol slides her iPad across the table to me.
“You know I don’t read that stuff, Bris.” I shove it back at her. “Why are you showing it to me?”
