This song is called 'Ever After' and it's from the musical 'Bare: A Pop Opera.' It's an excellent musical, so download it if you ever get the chance.
Will's POV
There was only one thing that could be said about our performance that day: we rocked it. I could tell we had it in the bag after Kurt's amazing routine paired with Finn's voice. It was a tender moment when all thirteen of the kids got on the stage, stood in a line (like the original number in the movie) dressed in their normal street clothes, and sang the Rent Finale.
We hadn't changed much from the original harmony, but to me it still sounded spectacular, with the girls singing the 'No day but today' mantra and the boys doing the 'Will I lose my dignity?' one.
When they got to the line "There's only us, there's only this, forget regret, or life is yours to miss…" I had to wipe my eyes.
It'd been a long three year with them, but all in all, with Emma and the New Directions and everything… they'd been three of the best years of my life.
When they'd finished and all filed backstage, it took a lot to keep them all quiet, because Rachel still had to do her ballad. It was 'Tell Him' originally sung by two of the biggest names in vocal music. It suited her voice perfectly.
She walked out onto the stage, still in her street clothes… a generic red t-shirt and jeans. That was the first thing that tipped me off… she was supposed to be in a navy blue dress picked out by Mercedes…
Oh well, I thought. Maybe one of the stage hands ushered her on and she hadn't had time to change. The pianist that was going to be accompanying her stepped onto the stage, not visible to the backstage crew, only to the audience and Rachel.
She walked up to the microphone. She was supposed to start singing right off the bat, but instead she started talking.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Rachel Berry, and I'm a member of the New Directions. I'm going to be singing a ballad for you today, and even though it isn't the one written on your programs, it's a song about something that I've felt. Something I still feel, every day. So, I hope you enjoy."
There was a bit of confused applause before Rach cued the piano and the accompanist started playing.
By this point, I was pretty much saying to anyone who would listen, "What the hell is going on? Did you know about this? What is she doing?"
And then, she started to sing.
"You stand before me,
And I barely know you,
Is it so easy to leave?
Where is the boy
Who said I was his soul mate?
Where is the boy I believed?
We climbed an escape
Grown from seeds that you'd planted.
You slew all my giants,
Ignoring your own
And now that they haunt you,
I'm left with my courage,
Alone."
At that point, I had shut my trap. I was standing behind one of the curtains backstage, with all of the Glee Club gathered around me, shocked. Because if you thought Rachel was an amazing singer before, you should have seen her then. It wasn't so much her voice, though it was beautiful… it was the way she sang. The way she held herself. The way she looked into the audience.
"So much for our ever after,
I thought the good guys would triumph,
I trusted the hero,
I didn't hear his goodbye
I guess it was lost in the talk
Of a straight-acting coward…"
I stood there, frozen, baffled by how in the world she could have managed this. And then I caught a glimpse of the pianist, and I knew how she did it. Gillian.
Rachel stood there, singing 'Ever After' from the musical Bare, and Gillian was there pressing out a melody on the Art Center's baby grand.
"So much for our ever after
You can't be the same boy I followed,
But I'd always follow.
You've hurt me more than you know.
All that I wanted was you,
You were my tomorrow.
So much for our ever after, my love.
So much for our ever after…"
The end of the song was met by complete, utter silence. Have you ever been in an auditorium filled with thousands of people who were silent after a performance? It makes you sweat… it really does. Did they not like it? Did we do something wrong?
I counted… nobody in the audience said a word or moved a muscle for thirteen seconds.
Thirteen freaking seconds!
And then it was like a bomb went off. People were on their feet and screaming and clapping and whistling and yelling and crying. It was a true standing ovation… not one of those ones where the people in the front row got up and then everyone else had to get up because they either felt inadequate or couldn't see. Every single person in that theatre leapt to their feet and applauded. Thousands of them. It was magical.
Unfortunatly, I think this will be the last chapter I have time to post.
I promise, promise, promise (!) that I will try my hardest to update as soon as I can! I'll try to leave you hanging!
But I figured I'd better leave you on a good note, just in case :D
Yes, I realize I've run out of creative ways to say it, but reviews would be just awesome.
