Title: Curtain Call
Summary: Post-Sectionals. Will tries to cheer the club up with a Broadway-themed holiday concert, but the drama only heightens as romances are kindled, new rivalries are born, and old enemies return.
Rating: T - Language, Sexual Content
Pairings: You'll have to wait and find out!
A/N: Because Glee needs MOAR SHOWTUNES. You should also definitely download the songs if you want to see what sort of things they're all singing.
Reminders: Please turn off all cell phones and pagers (or at least set them to silent), and no flash photography, as it may blind the actors onstage…we don't want Artie rolling himself into the orchestra pit again, do we?
"The musicals had a good, happy feeling, saying that the world is a better place. They say it's not reality, but who cares? There's too much reality these days."
- Shirley Jones
Chapter One
The words written across the whiteboard in Will Shuester's untidy scrawl were nearly incomprehensible to all the members of New Directions: Sondheim, Webber, Loesser, Schwartz, Gilbert, Sullivan, and a half-dozen other names were proudly displayed on the white surface in green ink, giving a clue to the kids as to what the day's discussion would be about.
"Who can tell me what these names are, or who they belong to?" Will asked once the bell had rung.
Rachel's hand shot up instantaneously, her face already bearing an insufferably giddy grin. "Somebody besides Rachel?"
Rachel, her expression now slightly crestfallen, nodded and returned her hand to her lap. Will glanced over the rest of the class: Finn was staring at the board, his eyes half-closed and red, and Puck was attempting to subtly text on his phone. Mercedes and Tina, neither of whom were theatrically inclined, had taken sitting back with crossed arms, while Kurt was too busy trying to fix a cowlick to pay attention (which was a shame, as Will expected him to know it).
Brittany finally raised her hand uncertainly, having been encouraged by an amused-looking Santana. "It's a sickness, right?" Santana burst out into giggles, stifling them with her fist. Brittany turned to her friend, her expression unchanged, and told her in as harsh a tone as she could muster: "My grandfather had Lou Gilbert's disease." Santana's mouth dropped open and she covered it again before people could see her smiling.
Will's expression in response was a mixture of sorrow and amusement. "Well…no. But I'm very sorry to hear about your grandfather, Brittany."
"It's okay," Brittany replied with her usual empty smile. "He's better now."
Will nodded slowly and made a mental note to talk to Principal Figgins about transferring Brittany to a special ed. class. He inwardly groaned as he looked back at the kids; Rachel's hand was back in the air.
This time she didn't even wait for him to call on her. He was sighing heavily, preparing to call her name, when she burst out haughtily, "They're composers. Incredibly famous ones."
Will smiled slightly, even though he knew Rachel would answer correctly. "That's right. Now, with regionals now on the horizon I've decided that it's time we work on expanding our repertoire a bit. You guys remember what I said when we worked on Defying Gravity?" Kurt's face fell and Rachel grinned more proudly. "The judges enjoy the classics, like famous Broadway songs. We can see that that's true, since Rachel blew them all away with her ballad." Rachel smiled proudly, and the other members couldn't help but smile, too—even Mercedes.
"So," he continued with a clap of his hands, "starting today, I'm going to be assigning you all different showtunes that we'll all be singing for a special Christmas…"—he stopped, remembering that Rachel and Puck were Jewish—"sorry, holiday concert."
Rachel raised her hand. Again. "Mr. Schue, as ecstatic and fulfilled as I am to be performing a Broadway revue, having a holiday concert without seasonal music just seems odd. Besides, I already ordered an eight-part arrangement of 'Hava Narima' two months ago so that we would have something festive under our belts."
"Well, Rachel," Will replied, "the chorus is already performing holiday music, so I figured we should do something to contrast that. Besides, showtunes are fun!" he finished enthusiastically. No one seemed to be sharing his enthusiasm. Even Rachel had sunk back into her chair slightly.
"The arrangement was spectacular," she muttered in a hurt tone to Finn, who jolted awake, wiping the drool off his chin with his sweater sleeve. "And I've already learned all the female parts for it," she continued, oblivious to the fact that she had just woken her friend from his slumber.
Finn, who clearly had no idea what was going on, simply nodded and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Yeah, me too." Rachel's eyes darted over to him momentarily. She felt herself smiling softly. His cluelessness was attractive, even if it had forced the burden of telling the truth about Quinn onto her argyle-clad shoulders. But still, now was not the time to be thinking about relationships. Regionals would soon be upon them, and Rachel knew that expanding the club's range of songs (certainly not her own, as she already had thirty-odd ballads and up-tempos comfortably tucked away in her mind) would be a great asset to their preparation. And Mr. Schue was right…showtunes were fun.
"I was kind of waiting for suggestions," Mr. Schue finally said with a meaningful glance in Rachel's direction, "but I guess for now I'll have to assign all of you guys pieces to work on. Until the concert, three weeks from Thursday, you guys will all be working on solos and duets on your own, and then during rehearsal we will focus on two or three group numbers. Okay?"
Most of the kids gave a grunt or a weak "Okay" to show that they understood. Rachel was on the edge of her seat, waiting to see what Mr. Schuester would say next. If he didn't finally give her a chance to perform "Defying Gravity," she would be incredibly displeased.
"Alright, let's start with Finn and Puck." The two football stars glanced up and reached out as Will handed them identical copies of sheet music. "You two will be working on 'Agony' from Into the Woods."
Neither of the two boys showed any reaction. Puck shot Finn a glance and nodded; Finn didn't even look up from his music. Although Will knew that they were still hostile towards each other after what had happened with Quinn and the baby, he hoped that maybe the they would be able to work out their problems after spending time together working on a song. Not to mention the song was about women, so it might release some of their pent-up frustration. Will knew that he sure needed some of that.
"Rachel and Quinn…" Will paused for a moment as he shuffled through his stack of sheet music, before finding what he wanted and handing it to the girls. "You guys are singing 'For Good' from Wicked."
Rachel looked thrilled at first (because Elphaba's part in the song was beyond fantastic), but her face slowly fell as she realized the implications behind his choice. "Mr. Schue," she asked, looking up at her teacher expectantly, "Does this mean that I won't get a chance to perform 'Defying Gravity?'"
"Actually," Will replied, "I was just getting to that." He handed her a second piece of music. "I took the liberty of rearranging the song slightly; you and Kurt will both be performing the song together."
Rachel took the paper, unsure of whether to be happy or not. After all, she was finally getting the chance to perform two of the most well-known songs in modern theater, but she had to share it with Kurt? The boy who had tried to ruin her relationship with Finn so he could pursue him in some sort of deranged sexual fantasy? The one who had immediately blamed her when the truth about Quinn's baby came out? Somehow Rachel didn't think this would be a good experience at all.
Kurt, on the other hand, was overjoyed to be given another chance to sing the song. Now his dad's efforts wouldn't go to waste and he could finally get some time in the spotlight!
His heart fell, however, as he saw his part highlighted in the music. He was singing a harmony with Rachel's melody, and only got a few lines to himself…he frantically flipped through the pages of the music, eying each note expectantly.
There was no high F.
He sighed dejectedly and flipped his hair dramatically, turning to Mercedes. "At this rate," he muttered in a low tone, "there's no way Mr. Schue will ever let me show off my range."
"Dude," Mercedes replied consolingly, "don't sweat it. I'm sure even in this bunch of tip-tap-cracker Broadway songs we'll be able to find something that you can bust a move to. We'll work on that tonight, okay?"
Kurt nodded, thankful he had a friend who appreciated his talent and wanted to let it shine as much as he did himself. Feeling a bit more optimistic, he glanced down at his part and began to hum it to himself softly. He mentally sung each note in a clear falsetto, and found that the harmony was actually quite pretty. He had to admit it…as pissed as he was that he wouldn't get his precious high notes, the song would sound gorgeous once he and Rachel worked on it.
"We've got some group numbers now…" Will mumbled as he pulled out a stack of sheet music, most of which the students assumed would be the same. "We've got two right now, though they're solo-heavy, so we'll be spending the next few rehearsals working on these numbers together. We might even have more since we have such a long time to rehearse.
"First is one that you five might remember," he said, nodding to Artie, Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, and Rachel in turn. "A little 'Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat' from Guys and Dolls?"
The five original members looked a little aghast at first, but then laughed as the song brought back memories of a time before the Glee Club had been so successful; a time when Rachel stormed out of every rehearsal and they wore hideous disco costumes because there wasn't enough in the budget for new ones; a time when Artie had to carry the male part by himself since Kurt insisted on singing first soprano. They shared a small look and took the music happily, forgotten harmonies already coming back.
"Now that we have more members," Will explained, "this song is going to be so much better. Artie is still doing the solo"—Artie gave a sheepish smile and his face flushed as he remembered the first time they performed it ("Mr. Schuester, do you have any idea how ridiculous it is to give the lead solo in 'Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat' to a boy in a wheelchair?!")—"and he's gonna rock it like he always has."
The kids cheered softly for their friend; since the wheelchair incident, they'd all become far more supportive of their disabled friend, making Artie even more thankful he'd been brave enough to sign up for the club with Tina. "Our big showstopper is going to be 'You Can't Stop the Beat.' You all probably know that one…from Hairspray?"
There were excited murmurs amongst the members of the club—even those who didn't like musicals couldn't deny that Hairspray was incredibly catchy and fun to listen to. "This'll be our big number, so I'm hoping you guys give it your all and work really hard in these rehearsals, okay? Moving on…"
"Wait, Mr. Schue?" Rachel interrupted. "Who's getting those solos in 'You Can't Stop the Beat?' It's got a lot of solos, after all, and…we were all just wondering how you were going to be splitting it up."
Everyone groaned softly; no one really cared who got the solos except for Rachel, but she had to bring the whole club in it to make herself sound less selfish, of course.
"Well, Rachel," Will replied, "I can't say I've thought about that yet. I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
Rachel nodded slowly and sat back down; everyone could see the cogs spinning furiously in her mind to think up ways to ensure she got yet another solo in the biggest number. But it was Rachel, and none of them expected anything different.
"Santana and Tina…" the group all did a double-take, looking at the Latina cheerleader and the quiet Oriental girl, both of whom shot each other hesitant glances. Will clearly sensed the confusion in his group, for he said, "Yes, you heard me right. I figured now would be as good a time as ever to give our less-featured kids some time to shine…if that's okay, of course?" He knew from experience that not all students were like Rachel and Mercedes and wanted to be in the spotlight; some were perfectly content to stand behind the leads and sing backup. Fortunately, Santana and Tina both jerked their heads up and down after checking with each other. Will grinned and handed them their music.
"'America' from West Side Story. Santana, you're Anita, and Tina, you'll be singing Rosalia's part. This is going to be our women's piece, and it's got some pretty tough choreography, so we'll have to work a lot on it. Which is why we're not having a male song to go with it…sorry, guys."
"No, Mr. Schue," Finn said, sounding as though he had made up his mind. "It's fine." He wasn't in the mood at all to learn any more music; the only reason he'd gotten and learned the Rolling Stones music so quickly for Sectionals was because he knew the song already and he had known the other members were counting on him. Right now, though, regionals was the last thing on his mind; he just needed some time to sort out his thoughts.
Will nodded sagely at Finn, but didn't say anything; they were both going through tough times and Will understood exactly how Finn felt. "Now," he said, changing the mood with an excited tone of voice, "for our final number…Emma told me about how you all were planning on having Mercedes sing 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going' for the Sectionals ballad, but she never got a chance to because of all the cheating. So, since the song is from a musical…Mercedes, you're going to have the opportunity to perform solo at the concert!"
Everyone clapped and cheered as Mercedes grinned joyously, ecstatic to finally have a number all to herself and be given a chance to be in the spotlight. People were clapping her on the back and congratulating her—even Rachel, who applauded politely for the girl with a somewhat proud smile on her face.
"Thanks, Mr. Schue," Mercedes said, her cheeks flushing slightly (even though she honestly felt that she was long overdue for her time in the spotlight).
"Well, from what I heard," Will replied kindly, "you deserve it. Please remember," he continued, now addressing everyone, "that this list is by no means final. Figgins told me that, due to the club's success at sectionals, we can have up to an hour of performances, so if any of you have requests for duets, or even solos, please let me know about them as soon as possible."
The bell rang, signaling the end of morning break and the start of the next class. "Alright guys, have a great day, and I'll see you all this afternoon for rehearsal. We'll be working on 'Sit Down,' so, Artie, would you mind showing up a bit early to make sure you remember the solo?"
Artie grinned as he wheeled himself out of the door. "Sure thing, Mr. Schue." As he followed Mercedes out the door, Tina popped up beside him and nudged him playfully on the shoulder.
"Congrats, Artie!" she said with a smile, hoping that she could strike up a conversation with him. She and Artie hadn't really spoken since their 'date' when he had stormed out after she told him about her stutter, and ever since then, she'd been trying to get back on friendly terms with him.
"You too, Tina," Artie replied stiffly, maneuvering to the side to avoid a burly hockey player. "But…you and Santana seems like a pretty random pair."
Tina shrugged, simply glad that Artie was still continuing the conversation. "Well, like Mr. Schue said, he wants to give everyone a chance to shine…right?"
"Yeah," Artie replied, still not looking at her. "Plus, you and Santana are basically the closest thing to ethnic we have, right?" he chuckled softly, but Tina frowned, her eyebrows knitted. Normally she would have laughed too, but the way Artie had said it had been a bit too harsh and cruel for him.
Tina laughed uncomfortably. "Yeah…right." They stopped at a left-right hallway junction. "Well…guess I'd better go to math. Bye, Artie!"
She tried to wave, but Artie was already wheeling down the hallway in the opposite direction without a look back.
A/N: Yeah, I know, not too exciting...but every story needs a setup, right? This is unbeta'd, so any and all suggestions for improvement are highly appreciated!
