Stars Shine Bright in London's Eye
Chapter 11

A/N - Oh my goodness thank you so much to the lovely Guest reviewers who commented on the last chapter! I wish I could message you individually to share my gratitude but nevertheless here it is! I'm fully aware I've come into the Smash fandom almost 3 years after it ended so I'm just so thankful anyone is reading this at all! I'm going to keep writing so I hope you guys still enjoy reading x


The hall that had been reserved for the casting of the upcoming revival of Chicago was much like any that had been used for similar reasoning in the buildings of New York City. It had been just over a month since the Broadway natives made the move across the pond to begin their new venture, and the time had now come to begin their work. The American members of the creative team sat either side of the British director who was in the centre of the table fiercely asserting his authority as usual.

Derek had been stewing for the past half an hour about one thing or another. He had been stressed about the entire process before but the burning desire to obliterate his brother and his show meant everything had to be perfect.

"Where the hell is Eileen?" he yelled rising to his feet causing everyone to look up at him.

"Derek we still have ten minutes until the auditions start, she'll be here" answered Karen from the end of the table, he had asked both her and Ivy to attend as he wanted to see the interaction between them and the Amos Hart and Billy Flynn hopefuls.

He slammed his fist on the table before storming behind everyone and out of the room.

"Is he ok?" Karen asked looking to Ivy for answers.

She shrugged, she was playing the actress, carefully masking her feelings, "this rivalry with his brother has just got him very stressed, it's got to the point where he wouldn't get out of the car when we dropped Scarlett off at his Mom's this morning in case he was there. I think we're just going to have to hope it passes"

Ivy was reluctant to reveal her true worries about her boyfriend. In the month following his revelation about his family history he had become very distant. That was just an added weight on her shoulders as she dealt with organising their new house whilst having to get used to a new culture and lifestyle. Aside from greeting her American friends as they arrived, and helping them move into their new homes, she had had very little contact with anyone. This just made her even more lonely than she had felt at home. All she could do was put on a smile and hope that things would get better. After all, casting led to rehearsals, and then work would begin to keep her busy, and around people.

Tom and Julia exchanged looks of concern. They had had very little time to work on Gatsby thus far during their time in Britain, between moving into their quaint rural house on the outskirts of the capital city and Julia taking time to visit her husband when he wasn't rehearsing, that had meant not much time was being dedicated to their new show. They had briefly heard of Derek's struggles so agreed to alleviate some of Ivy's stress by sitting in during the day's auditions. Though for the director, this was a further cause for annoyance. He wished to prove to his brother that he was capable of directing Chicago alone and without enlisting the help of half of Broadway.

Within seconds, Derek returned with the great Eileen Rand close at his heels.

"Sorry everyone, I was just showing Nick around the city a little before coming here, we only arrived into town yesterday. All the years he lived in Germany and he never made it over to England" she smiled taking the empty seat beside Tom.

Derek also resumed his seat, "don't worry about it, it's not like we've got a show to cast or anything," every word dripping with sarcasm and irritation.

The producer looked down the table at him with her eyes narrowed, she had no problem voicing what everyone else was thinking, "Derek, we all understand that you've now got this extra pressure because your brother is back in business and set on competing against you but we're all on the same side. We all want to create something great here with you so get out of this state you're in and act professionally, or you might not have a show to revive"

Nobody knew where to look, they were all silently applauding Eileen for having the courage to tell the esteemed director that his behaviour was unnecessary, and not constructive for Chicago or for himself. He grumbled a little to himself before shuffling the papers in front of him.

"Right, well let's call the first Billy, shall we?" he suggested standing up to invite their first candidate into the hall.


Just a few hours had passed and the creative team were mentally exhausted. The casting process was not a new experience for any of them but there were only so many songs that could be sang so wrong.

Derek had been sat with his head in his hands for several minutes since the last audition. There were only two men left to attempt to impress them, and only one who so far had made any sort of impact that he could be considered for the call back list.

"Well that was a bloody disaster" he concluded finally raising his head.

"You never know" Tom began, "one of these last guys could be your perfect Billy"

Derek shot him a look of utter discontent. He could not tolerate the overenthusiastic composer at the best of times so his seemingly obvious statements were doing little to aid his current irritation. "Just send them in" he said running his fingers through his hair.

"Both of them?" Eileen asked standing up.

"Yes it saves time, we'll just get them to sing one after each other." He had little hope that either of their last two candidates would prove to be any different to the others they had heard, and so wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible.

She returned moments later with the last two candidates for Billy Flynn, Derek studied their behaviour carefully as they walked into the centre of the room to stand before them. The taller of the two had striking confidence which could be shown through the way he held himself, his hands were not shaking and his head was held high. His brown hair was even gelled over to one side of his head, whether that was his usual style or had been done purposefully for the audition he did not know. The shorter of the two could have been described as his polar opposite, a little bit awkward although still quite conventionally cute. His wild, curly hair rested above his deep blue eyes which were wide with nerves, there was no radiation of confidence as was found in the man beside him but that seemed to work in his favour. Neither of them seemed to be quite old enough for the character but if they showed any signs of talent, makeup and wardrobe could fix that.

Derek looked at them both intensely and then down at their head shots and résumés in front of him, their extensive lists of work in and out of the West End seemed to qualify them for the part, but he already knew what he wanted as soon as they walked in. He bloody hoped they performed because he was already envisioning his Billy and Amos.

"Right, so here we have Jack Harrison" he nodded at the smaller man, "and we have Andrew Tyme. I'm the director Derek Wills, from the left we have the Producer Eileen Rand, creative advisors Julia Houston and Tom Levitt and our Roxie and Velma, Karen Cartwright and Ivy Lynn"

He paused and looked down at his notes again, this style of audition was most unconventional. The actors were probably confused and, if they had any knowledge of global theatre, should be star struck by the big names on the audition panel. "Ok, so Andrew if you could start with your music piece"

Ivy rested her chin on the back of her hands, being on the other side of the casting couch was an entirely new experience for her but one she was finding most fascinating. She lived for the theatre, so learning more about the intricate workings of the process which creates a show was an interesting learning curve which would no doubt benefit her in future auditions. She was glad that she didn't have to be in Andrew Tyme's position at that moment, although her confidence in performing had begun to grow since the night her and Karen sang together, she was still hesitant. She didn't believe if she'd auditioned for Chicago that she would have gotten any part in the show, let alone a starring role. At least she didn't need to worry about Derek sleeping with either of the candidates stood before them.

Their pianist began to play the notes softly as Andrew began to sing, the confidence he had already displayed had evidently increased upon beginning to perform. He walked around the hall, in Derek's opinion, exactly the way he envisioned the self-centred, egotistical, money motivated publicist of Billy Flynn to act. He oozed charm but underneath there was a seedy lifestyle that was not shown to the public. This man definitely had the character and by the impressed looks on his colleagues' faces for the first time that day, he also had the talent. He noted that his competitor Jack was watching nervously from the side lines, he could obviously see that he was suited for the part and so was assessing his audition strategy which would provide the least amount of humiliation following Andrew's performance.

Once he had finished they all smiled encouragingly at him, he seemed humbled by that fact for the first time since entering the room. "That was good" Derek said nodding at him, he didn't want to seem too overenthusiastic, "and now you Jack," he invited his other candidate to the floor. There was an exchange of looks between the two actors which was reminiscent of the rivalry between Ivy and Karen some years earlier.

Jack stood anxiously in the middle of the floor and gave the team a small smile before rubbing his sweaty palms against his jeans. Again, the pianist played the notes, but his chosen song was slower, simpler. Less show business, more late night jazz club. The deep, smooth voice which came out of his mouth shocked everyone at the table. This was what auditions were about, finding hidden gems within the not so stage school actors. No he was not their Billy Flynn, but there was no doubt that he was their Amos. They needed this man and his voice in their show.

Once he had finished they all beamed back at him causing his face to flush a little. Derek looked up, "good" he said folding his arms across the table, "now, before you read your script exerts just stand there a minute. Ivy you stand next to Andrew, and Karen next to Jack.

It was fairly obvious the reasoning behind the director's request. Tom, Julia, and Eileen knew it. On demand, the women left their seats and stood beside the actors who looked a little bewildered.

Ivy smiled at Andrew as she took his side. His confidence seemed to have returned and he began to stare a little too long at her, his eyes resting on her cleavage for a brief moment. She realised straight away. Mostly she was irritated, she was long past the days when the way a stranger looked at her was all that mattered; but still there was a part of her flattered that in her early thirties, and after having a child, she could still give men that hungry look.

No matter how much she enjoyed the attention, she needed to stop this man before Derek realised and that hindered his chances of getting the part, she took her forefinger and beckoned him closer, "I'm with him" she whispered into his ear before glancing back at her boyfriend.

Andrew looked between Ivy and Derek before giving a small shrug, "can't blame a guy for trying" he smiled raising his eyebrows letting his hand brush against her arm causing her to take an automatic step backwards in response.

Unfortunately for him, the director looked up at that moment and his brow furrowed into a deep frown, "I just said stand!" he snapped. Karen and Jack looked up at him surprised, they had been engaged in quiet small talk. Ivy folded her arms across her chest hoping the bold actor had gotten the message.

"Ok, that's it we're done, we'll be in touch. Thank you very much" Derek concluded not looking up from the notes he was busy scribbling after the men had completed their audition. They had both spoke as well as they had sang, and so there was a collective sense of relief, as they left the room. They had finally found their two male leads.

Ivy leant over to her boyfriend while he was still writing ferociously, "do I sense jealousy?" she asked quietly, trying to hide the smile dancing at her lips.

"No" he grumbled. Derek did not look up but he placed his hand protectively over hers.

She raised her eyebrows at him, "uh huh…" she smirked. For long enough it was her who had the constant pain of jealously as he lusted after other women, she was glad he was experiencing it for once.

"So" Derek began several minutes after the hall was empty once again, "opinions?"

"We all know what you're thinking Derek" Eileen replied glancing down the table at him, "and I for one agree"

Tom raised his hand slightly, "just to clarify you mean having Andrew as Billy and Jack as Amos?"

Derek rolled his eyes and questioned why he had allowed Tom Levitt into his auditions for not the first time that day. He nodded pointedly to express the sarcasm in his response.

"Then yes I also concur that is a good casting decision!" he answered.

"Karen? Ivy?"

Ivy looked up, "yeah their voices were great. Both very different but definitely suited to the contrasting characters" she replied as Karen nodded in agreement beside her.

"Alright then" Derek said making further notes on his page before checking his watch, "let's move on with these auditions"

They all looked to the door as he called the first of the Mama Morton hopeful actresses who entered clutching her résumé with a false sense of confidence.

It was going to be a long day.