Nationals and Graduation
Sebastian was awoken on the Sunday morning by a knock on the door of his hotel room. His first thought on hearing that insistent knocking was a terrible one; that it was one of the boys coming to tell him that their roommate was ill, or even missing. He clambered out of bed, the whole scenario getting worse in his still sleep fuddled brain, now morphing into a full blown mass food poisoning, akin to the event that had landed him his big break on Broadway. In this situation though, such an event would mean game over, as he had no replacement choir. That was why the choirs that finished in 11th and 12th place the day before were told to stay in the competition location. They were the default replacements, back up to ensure that they still had ten choirs on the last day.
His hands trembled as he unlocked the door, fumbling with the lock, and when he saw Thad standing there when he opened it, he sighed audibly with relief. The Head Warbler had not been present at the hotel the previous day, allowing Sebastian to take full control, but his offer to help with the rehearsal on the second day had been accepted by the new choir advisor warmly. "You are here far too early," huffed Sebastian once the fog started to lift in his head.
"I beg to differ, my friend," replied Thad, holding up his phone and showing the screen to Sebastian. As the latter's eyes attempted to focus, Thad went on, "I think that you must have slept through your alarm. Peter called me about an hour ago, as the boys had all gone down to breakfast and you had not made an appearance, and nor were you answering when they knocked on the door…"
At that moment, Sebastian's eyes suddenly focused on the time on Thad's phone screen - 09.42 - and he blanched. "Oh my God! We are due at the Center in less than an hour! I should have been awake three hours ago! They haven't rehearsed! Are they all…"
"Okay, calm down. They are all up, have eaten an energy giving yet very sensible breakfast, and have been in the practice room that you reserved for them for the last hour. This is actually the third time that I have been up here to knock, by the way, and Peter had been here twice before me. If you didn't respond this time, I was going for a cleaner with a pass key, just in case something untoward had happened. Right, so you need to wash, shave, dress and join us downstairs. We have a continental breakfast all ready in a bag for you, and lots of coffee…" Sebastian let go of the door, and sprinted for the bathroom, leaving Thad to shake his head and chuckle as the door gently closed in his face…
The fact that Sebastian had seriously overslept was kept between his boys, Thad and himself, and as they entered the Barclay Center for day two, he was his usual calm, well presented and dapper self. Still, he earned himself a few funny looks when on presenting their credentials to the organisers, and being informed that the two choirs that had finished in 11th and 12th place were competing as two other choirs had withdrawn due to food poisoning issues, he had burst into hysterical laughter… He was able to stop himself, and apologise, saying that he had suffered a terrible nightmare the previous night that his boys had been so afflicted, and that it was no laughing matter for those involved…
As the organiser walked off, shaking her head, Thad came over to him and whispered, "It's not terrible for those in the 11th and 12th placed choirs, of course, who now get into the final by default…"
"That all depends on how well prepared they were for such an eventuality. I read somewhere in the show choir annals that when this happened once before back in the late 1960s, the one substitute choir involved was at half strength, as some of them had taken LSD the night before and were high as kites, and two male seniors had left during the night, heading for Canada, to avoid the draft…" replied Sebastian. Thad nodded, recalling that little snippet too; what made matters worse for the teacher in charge was that the school in question was a well respected, strict, Roman Catholic one…
As with the previous day, Sebastian did not rehearse at the venue, just ensured that his boys were kept well hydrated as they awaited the draw that would establish their placing number. When it came, he was reasonably happy to discover that they had been placed last. He decided that today he would keep the boys in their green room, as it was a better one than yesterday, with opening windows which allowed in some cooling air on a showery day. Normally they would have sat in their allocated seats in the audience, but he saw no advantage to that. In his opinion, it did very little to help build up a competitive attitude, just helped increase the fear that they were not good enough compared to others.
He did not need to be out there either, listening to the competition; he had Thad and the other alumni for that, and his brother and sister-in-law, there to support Peter. Should there be any major issue, or development they felt he needed to know about, they would text. So he went round the room, handing out bottles of waters and books of brain teaser puzzles, and insisted on keeping the room as silent as if it was an examination hall. There was no need for idle chatter, and it helped to keep their voices fresh…
Out in the main arena, Thad was sitting in the heart of the audience, surrounded by all of those alumni who were like him awaiting what to them was the main event. The other choirs were good, of that there could be no mistake; even the two that had only been in reserve were watchable, and the talent and flair that they were showing was credible to them. Those two choirs were not deemed by any of the assembled alumni to be anywhere near close competitors to their own boys though. That honour belonged in their opinion to two other choirs.
There was a group from Utah, tied to a Mormon school, that was so polished in their harmony that it made their eyes moist, although they lacked skill in their choreography, and there had been a few moments when their backing music had drowned out the voices, which would cost them. Then there was a school choir from Maine, whose choreography would have been envied by the producers of many a Broadway show, but there had been a few flat and indeed sharp notes amongst the assembled voices, easily heard, and then one of the soloists missed their cue…
Thus when the announcer gave the name of the tenth and final choir, there was a murmur of saving the best to last amongst the men sitting around Thad. The applause was loud at the calling of the name, some of that due to the fact that the Warblers were the only former champions that had made it to the last ten that year. The crowd fell silent, and the boys began with a spirited rendition of a melody of songs written by The Beatles, segueing effortlessly from one hit to another; they were tunes that had been known to the world for six decades or more, but possessed of a timeless quality that made them still well loved even now.
It was warmly received, as was their second number, which was a similar melody of songs by Simon & Garfunkel, ending with The 59th Street Bridge Song, a song about a landmark of the city they were currently in. The alumni all had to agree that link was very clever, and it did seem to sway the audience even more to their side. Then, just as they were about to start their third number, the lights on the stage failed, and a second later, the whole arena was plunged into similar darkness. There were a lot of uneasy voices at that, but then, quietly, they all heard the sound of a lone voice, not sing but making sound.
Sebastian had decided that he was going to go all out and deliver a spectacular finale. He had heard the song that he had chosen on an album that he had found in the school music library when looking for inspiration; a CD of the Tufts Beezlebubs. He had heard of them, of course; one of the best regarded and well known acappella choirs in the country, and a legend amongst college choirs. He had even placed Tufts as one of his possible colleges when he had been asked to choose them, just so he could possibly become one of the elite in their choir; a handful of Warblers had done so over the years after all. They had done work for television, and had even appeared on a reality TV show, all of which had served to make them even more famous.
Having heard the song, he knew it was perfect, and he had contacted the school and the choir directly, explaining the situation, and requesting permission to use their arrangement at the competition. They had agreed, wishing them all the best. The way that it was being staged now, however, was all Sebastian's doing, using his experience from Broadway; and the first part of that was having the lights seem to fail, to add to the tension and theatricality of the piece.
The song was a mash up, like their previous two, but this one was of just two songs; a well known tune by David Bowie, Space Oddity, the other a related track, Major Tom, composed by a German artist by the name of Peter Schilling. He had divided the boys into two; four on one side would act as 'Ground Control', the rest doing backing noise, singing and beats. The soloist, standing alone on the other side to ground control, was 'Major Tom'. The boys had been asked to vote for the soloist, and it had been unanimously given to Peter; he had been honoured at their choice, and was doing his best to make the most of the opportunity. He stood alone as other voices made the sounds of the equipment in his spacecraft, and even the launch of his capsule. He had made only one suggestion, and that was that every time the word 'home' was sung in the latter song, they should all place their hand on the 'D' on the breast pocket of their blazers…
The lighting effects that accompanied them were as much a part of the song as the music, and Sebastian had brought with him a complete set of accurate lighting directions, which the show's lighting team had been delighted to get, as it made their part so much simpler. About the only thing that they could not achieve was the actual weightlessness of space, but Peter was relieved about that. They sang flawlessly, listening to each other, harmonising, ensuring that everything was delivered crisply and with clarity. Then, as the last notes of the song faded away, the stage once more went black, apart from a few, high, twinkling star like spots, the only sound being of one man breathing….
There was silence…
Then, like an eruption, the arena was filled with noise. Thunderous applause mixed with cheers and whistles, and shouts of encore! Virtually everyone was on their feet, even the judging panel, and the ovation seemed to be like space itself - infinite and endless. Thad was one of the few not on his feet, but that was because he was stunned and crying, because it had been so magnificent; on one side of him, Gabriel was in a similar state, and on the other, in a seat that seemed empty to the majority, an angelic Head Warbler was also in tears…
Eventually, the applause began to die, and the Warblers, cued by Sebastian, took a bow and headed off stage. The announcer returned, and stated that their would now be an interval whilst the judges headed off to deliberate on their selection. In the knot of alumni, all eyes now turned to Thad, who was coming back to the world. "I had no idea about that song until this morning; I sat in on the rehearsal, but they just did the main lyrics. It sounded good, but I was concerned as it seemed to lack enough bite. It is only now, with the lighting, and the backing vocals, and the special effects, that it really gives you the full hit. It was genius!"
"No arguments on that one; it was a spectacular finale, a great way to close the show," said Trent. Then, with a bullishness that seemed out of character, he continued, "I think that if they fail to be given a perfect ten by all of the judges, then there will be a riot, and we will be leading the charge!"
Nick, looking startled at the normally calm Trent's tone, responded, conscious that Wes was listening, "Nonetheless, we will respect the decision that the judging panel reach, whatever it may be."
"Yes," replied Jeff, "as long as it is the right decision…"
Nick looked at him, then shrugged and nodded, which made everyone laugh.
Behind the scenes, in the green room, Sebastian now found himself surrounded by a group of young men all chatting at once, excited at the prospect of what might be about to happen next. The applause for their final number had been almost deafening after all, there had been a standing ovation, it had gone on for such a long time… they could be forgiven for feeling that they were invincible. Sebastian knew that he had to put the dampeners on that expectation though, even if he was feeling a little bit that way himself.
"Okay, gentlemen, we did get a lot of applause, but that does not mean anything. For all that we know, there may have been equal reactions to some of the other performances, or longer ovations. Other teams might have had that reaction to all three of their numbers…"
"People can also applaud because they are glad that something is over," remarked the current beatboxer, and his words had an immediate impact on the mood of the room.
Sebastian did not know whether to hug the boy in question, or hit him, but before he could speak, the current Head Warbler added, "We were also the last performance of thirty between all the teams. What we heard could have been a collective round of applause for all of the songs and all of the competitors.
Sebastian could now here sniffing, and was worried that things had now swung much too far the other way, and that any moment, there would be sobbing from someone. He held up his hand, and said, "The applause for the first two numbers was definitely all for us though, and it was loud too. Whatever the outcome is today, I can say for certain that you did Dalton, the Warblers, and most importantly of all, yourselves proud."
As smiles reappeared around the room, Sebastian could have sworn he heard a familiar voice say, "You sounded just like me when I was Head Warbler then…" He looked around, but he could see no sign of a certain judging angel anywhere in the room. That did not mean that Wes wasn't there though…
It would take a little over ten minutes for the judging panel to reach their conclusion, but it seemed so much longer for all of them; too long in fact. Those in the arena audience began to get restless, glaring at watches which seemed stalled, wondering why it was taking the panel so long to come to a choice when the result was a foregone conclusion. It was Nick that gave the most convincing and indeed accurate response to that; when his son asked, he responded, "They have to decide who is second and who is third, and that must be tough."
"Could they not just announce the winner, and decide that afterwards?" came his reply, but not from his son. He found himself glaring at Jeff with the kind of withering expression that is usually reserved for parents to give to precocious children, wondering why his husband, and so many of Wes' uncles, had so much less patience than his boy… That discussion would have to be left for later though, as the PA started up, which also drowned out the laughter coming from Trent and Thad at Jeff's statement…
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment is here. Please welcome back to the stage our top three choirs of 2026; The Joseph Smith Singers from Salt Lake City, Utah, The Nor'Easter Chorus from Penobscot Valley, Maine, and…"
The announcer paused for a moment, for dramatic effect, and Nick steeled himself to slap a hand over his husband's mouth if he saw it open to say something on the lines of "Get On With It!"
"…The Dalton Academy Warblers from Westerville, Ohio!"
There were cheers and applause as the three groups headed back out onto the stage to stand in no particular place or order, lead out by their coach. The coach of the first two choirs took a spot at the front, but Sebastian headed for the side, allowing the Head Warbler the front spot, as was traditional. He was, after all, only an advisor; the boys themselves had the ultimate power of yea or nay, and it was their choices that had brought them to this moment. In any case, he felt far too tense. At least when he had been waiting for his name to be read out at the Tonys, he had been sitting down…
"In third place, from Salt Lake City…" came the voice, and the Warblers and their supporters knew they were in the top two. They applauded as the third place trophy was handed over to two young, smiling, happy Mormons. Sebastian was immediately reminded of his first Broadway hit, as they were wearing what amounted to his costume in that role. He tried to shrink down, just in case someone recognised him. He knew that Elder Price et al where not exactly the favourite people of the elders of the church, even if it had given them magnificent publicity.
"And now, the winners of the National Competition of 2026, are…"
There was another pause, a long beat of silence, broken Sebastian would later swear by someone screaming very loudly, "Oh, just get the heck on with it!" in a voice dripping with venom. When he asked later, only Peter of all the boys on stage gad heard those words, and the alumni all denied hearing such a thing; they had all banded together in denial of it happening to save the blushes of a mortified Wes, who had been the one to snap, much to everybody's shock and horror…
"…From West…"
Sebastian would later hope that they had carried on with '…erville, Ohio, the Dalton Academy Warblers', because the cheering and screaming drowned out the PA system entirely. His Warblers had won. In his first year as advisor, he had lead them to victory. He did not move as the Head Warbler and Peter moved forward, as had been arranged, to accept the trophy, which would join all of the others in the school's cabinet. The air was now filled with ticker tape and confetti, the audience were on their feet, all happy to congratulate the worthy winners as the second place choir took their own trophy. Sebastian found himself lost in the moment…
It took him a moment to notice Peter was in front of him, looking concerned as around him the other boys celebrated. "Are you okay, Uncle Bazzy?" asked his nephew.
"I am more than okay," Sebastian replied with a smile, "but this isn't my victory."
"That's nonsense. We could not have got here without your guiding hand. Plus, most importantly, that final song was entirely down to you…"
Sebastian shrugged. "I just chose it as a possible. You selected it, and then you brought it to life."
Peter shook his head, knowing that there was no point pointing out that he had been the one to stage it, organise the lighting and special effects. Instead, he just pulled his uncle into a hug, which rapidly became a group one.
'I've missed this level of euphoria; a cast celebrating their performance,' Sebastian thought. He knew that the hug he was in would be the first of many; the alumni would no doubt do the same. Then it would be back to Ohio, to begin his plans for the defence of their title…
Those plans would have to go on hold for a while however, when Sebastian got home to Westerville that night. He found a message waiting for him that he was to contact the director of the main repertory theater company in Columbus the next morning, to discuss something of mutual interest. Sebastian was curious, but he had to wait until the morning before he could possibly call. When he did so, it was to discover that the theater company was producing a short run series of musicals, and they had a casting problem for the show that was to be the highlight. It was to run for 6 weeks in July and August, but the male lead had been involved in a serious accident which meant he would be unable to take the role. They were wondering if he could possibly consider stepping into the breach.
The role in question was that of Curly McLain in Oklahoma! Sebastian laughed then, as he knew part of the reason why the part was being offered to him. They could state that he had played the part on Broadway, and won a Tony for doing so, and thus inflate their ticket sales nicely…
It had been Dave that had taken the initial call on Sunday afternoon, and he knew what was coming. "We are going to be in New York in June for Mitch's wedding, and maybe we could prevail on Jeff to see if we can make use of the beach house in Port Jefferson the week before, or the week after. That would be more than enough of a summer vacation for me. I think that you need to say yes; you need to get back out in front of an audience, back to the greasepaint and the lights. Yes, you might be a little rusty at first, but you know that role inside and out."
"Well, I must admit that it is very tempting, and it fits in with the summer vacation at Dalton as well," his husband replied. "You really wouldn't mind if I did it?"
"No. I want to see my Sebby back in his greasepaint, with the spotlight firmly focused on him. Of course, the production won't be nearly as star-studded and glamorous as the Broadway one was, and there is the fact that you will have to share a dressing room…"
"I will live," chuckled Sebastian. "Of course, I do still have my contacts on Broadway. Maybe if I ask nicely, I might be able to secure them a few props and such like that are stored away from my last production of the role…"
The news that Sebastian was to tread the boards once again slowly filtered out as soon as he said yes. He knew how too. He had mentioned it in confidence to Thad, Principal Lefevre and Mrs Carmichael. The latter had slipped up and told Skylar in all innocence… By the time that the Warbler alumni descended on Dalton for the graduation ceremony, it was common knowledge. He had to take all of their congratulations and best wishes himself; he was deflecting all of them about the win that the Warblers had achieved onto the boys that had sung, but he could not shrug away all of the remarks about his small stage comeback.
He tried to anyway, as his sole focus that day was graduation, and one person that was taking part. It had also brought his brother and sister-in-law to the school, the latter wearing dark glasses and a wig to ensure that she was as anonymous as possible, and thus did not distract attention from the true stars of the day. The fact was that Peter would be amongst the graduates that morning, and the sight of him sitting with the seniors in the traditional cap and gown made the alumni feel old. They could all remember the little boy that they had met for the first time in the Rainbow Room when his Uncle Sebastian had renewed his wedding vows.
For David Thompson, his most vivid memory was of the small boy that he and others had pulled from the rubble of his childhood home, and that he had then taken responsibility for as he guided him through the ruins of L.A. and back, via Denver, into the arms of his father. That said boy was now a legal adult was frightening stuff, but then he himself was now the father of three children, and last week, he had found his first grey hair. It seemed that Nick was no longer the only one that had reached that stage in life…
When a Warbler came up to receive their diploma, the alumni all cheered a little louder as was normal, but when Principal Lefevre intoned, "Smythe, Peter," the yells were a lot louder and lasted longer. Her speech afterwards would touch on the success that the Warblers had just achieved, and she made a point of saying that all of those that had sung agreed on one thing; they would not have made it to victory without the services of one, very modest, man… A moment later, a red faced Sebastian found himself on his feet, taking a bow to loud applause. Then, unable to resist the temptation, the Principal added, "Mr Karofsky-Smythe informs me that he will be spending six weeks in Oklahoma! this summer, and you are all invited to go and see him doing so…"
With the ceremonial over, the alumni went on another visit to the site of the hospice, and for the majority of them, who did not live nearby, it was a pleasant surprise to see just how far on with the building work the contractors were. Externally the building was now finished, clad in the same stone and render as their alma mater. It looked historic, but inside it was strikingly modern in terms of design, environmental credentials, and the gadgetry that was installed. Inside, the main décor was finished too; corridors were now floored with a hard wearing, antiseptic wood laminate, but the main corridors had a short length carpet runner in the centre too, allowing wheelchairs to move, but looking more like a hotel than a hospital.
On every wall surface there was art, and the centrepiece at the entrance was the mural that their blond artist had designed for the entrance lobby. It took them all a little longer to realise that some of the framed prints on the walls had also been created by Jeff. There was still much minor work to be completed, and only a few rooms were furnished at this point, mainly to be used in the promotional media that was now being sent out to promote the facility to the medical professionals that they hoped would refer patients to them in time. In the opinion of all of them, the correct balance between medical facility and home had been achieved. Skylar had not only delivered on his brief, he had exceeded it. When they got a moment away from him, the alumni all agreed that he need some sort of recognition for all that he had done…