A/N: First of all, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Now, thank you everyone for your reviews and your story subscriptions! I LOVE YOU ALL! To be honest, I can't wait for Jesse either. EEP! That's why this chapter is a little longer, I want to at least get to him! Anyone want to guess my casting? Also, a special thanks to google, because I don't know the lyrics very well to some recent songs. Now, on with our story…
"Hey Kurt," Mercedes asked, finishing her gravy and cheese-covered fry. "are you auditioning for Evita?" Mercedes popped the chopped potato into her mouth.
"Yes!" The male soprano's eyes widened while a grin appeared on his face. "Although I would not want to play any of the main characters, an ensemble role would be good for me. Evita's company has to be ridiculously talented. Have you ever heard the cast album."
"No…" Mercedes shamefully admitted. "But I saw the movie. There were at least three different melodies going on at the same time! I'd really like to be one of those Brits who snaps at Eva, since we all know Berry will get the part." She said, rolling her eyes.
"Who knows? Maybe there's someone in this town with more talent than her." Kurt said, brushing his bangs.
"And less annoying." The duo chuckled.
"Hey Tina!" Artie called to her from the opposite side of the hallway, glasses on and suspenders suspended over a white dress shirt and a grey and green sweater-vest.
"Um, hi Artie." She replied, looking down at Artie who had wheeled up beside her. She moved a little farther away from him, she happened to be wearing her shortest black skirt.
"You going to audition for Evita in three days?" The handicapped singer asked.
"Yeah, I thought it would be cool to do a production outside of schools. It'll look good on my resume for when I apply to university." Tina stated, knowing Artie knew of her dream to become a Broadway performer.
"Cool. What part are you trying out for?"
"I was thinking maybe just a chorus part or something. Anything somewhat small to begin with." Tina said shyly. Although her "stutter" disappeared, the element of shyness lingered in her.
"Girl, you gotta go for the gold! I'm sure you'll do well and get the lead!"
"Artie!" She exclaimed. "The lead is basically a blonde Argentine whore." She half-whispered.
"Oh. That won't work. No offence. I mean, not that you wouldn't be good at playing… Your eyes wouldn't… I'm sorry." He blushed.
"It's okay, I've already got my heart set on Kim from Miss Saigon as a dream role." She said.
"Well, are there any other parts in Evita? There can't be just one female character in it."
"There' s the president's Mistress, but I'm not sure if my voice is good enough…" Tina wondered.
"Just go for it. If you don't make it, they'll have to put you in the ensemble anyway. How many theater geeks do you know in Ohio?" He added.
"About twelve. Guess you're right, I've got to get Mike and start practicing, thanks Artie! I'll start working on my audition piece!" Tina cheerfully walked a little faster, blushing. However, Artie was also blushing as he was staring at the gothic Asian's skirt, not caring that she mentioned the other Asian's name.
Another day had passed, and Finn and Rachel were preparing their auditions at Rachel's house, just to ensure they would snatch the roles with no problem. Rachel was going through her audition notes and was reading Finn's for him.
"Now Finn, if we're going to get cast, we need to fully understand the characters. Now, I've been analyzing Eva Peron nee Duarte since I was eleven, so that won't be much of a problem for me. You, however, are new to this work of art. Okay first of all, Juan Peron was an ex-general who then became the president of Argentina. He didn't really want anything other than fame, fortune and power, and therefore eliminated anyone who didn't support him out of the picture with the armed forces. Now I, Eva, meet you after I am moved by your speech after a charity concert, and seduce you into wanting me, making you part of my plan to become an accomplished actress, beat out the middle class and overall get to the very top of the hierarchy pyramid. However, we develop love and choose to govern Argentina while storing away cash from our "charities" in Switzerland and overall being high on life. I keep you where you are politically due to my sex appeal, good looks and good reputation, so I eventually decide to run for vice president. Even though I would have more support that necessary and would without question obtain the position, cancer develops and I die. And that's Evita in a nutshell." Rachel took a deep breath.
"I don't think I understood most of what you said, but I think I got the important things down." Finn blankly admitted.
"That's okay. Now acting isn't the only thing necessary in this role, you must have a voice to match. We need to find a song for you that's not from Evita and will display most of the vocal qualities necessary for a Juan Peron. I'd recommend "Where Is the Life That Late I Led?" from Kiss Me, Kate because both Fred Graham and Juan Peron have a similar voice range and type that the role demands. I say we start practicing, around now." Rachel said, list still in hand.
"Rach?"
"Yes Finn?" Rachel turned her head towards her boyfriend.
"I love you." Finn pulled Rachel in for a hug, to which she didn't object. "Can we maybe work on this tomorrow? That way I'll have an entire day to go find the song on YouTube."
"That's a good idea. I have to practice too. You can never practice too much!" She said with a bright smile.
Quinn Fabray entered Sue Sylvester's neatly arranged office, seeing for the hundredth time the awards and trophies all neatly lined up in her glass cabinet. "You called me, Ms. Sylvester?
"Why yes I did Quinnie. Have a seat." The Cheerios coach gestured towards the chair opposite her own across the desk. "I was just recently alerted that Schuester was putting on Evita. Is this true?"
"Not really, Ms. Sylvester. A local theater group decided to put it on. They're just using the auditorium." She replied, keeping her cool.
"Rats. That means there's nothing I can do about it. How many of the glee club members are auditioning?" Sue spat.
"Everyone is except for Brittany and Santana. They don't think that musicals are exactly-"
"Tell them they better audition and get in. Tell them if they don't, they'll have to fifty more pushups each practice, with their arms at 85 degree angles."
"I understand your request Ms. Sylvester," Quinn started. "but why would you want to take down a harmless production of Evita? It's not part of school, and Figgins is only renting out the space to the Moonlight Youth Theater Group."
"Q, I don't want to bring it down, I want an excuse to see it. In 1996 when the movie came out, my eyes opened up to musicals, all thanks to Madonna. She taught me to love the stage, embrace it, and I expect to do that while watching a group of amateurs reproduce Evita, paying tribute to Madonna."
"I'll be sure to give auditions my all, Ms. Sylvester." Quinn stated.
"You better. Otherwise, you're off the Cheerios."
Sunday came hastily, and all the hopeful candidates for the Lloyd-Webber musical lined up at the auditorium like cheerios, even though there were no more than twenty-six. Brad the piano guy came out of the auditorium, causing all the heads to look up.
"Hello everyone, welcome to the auditions for Evita. Today, we'll be doing what I call 'vocal screening', meaning you'll just have to sing for me. Nothing else, and no more than eight bars. Acting will be tested if you happen to get a callback. Kapeesh?" He asked. A few yeses were mumbled here and there, one distinct kapeesh came from the mouth of Rachel Berry. "We'll be taking you in five people at a time, starting with those at the beginning of the line." Brad counted as five students, Quinn, Santana, Brittany, and two other Cheerios entered the room, then followed the girls into the room himself.
"I'll just pass around this sheet inside; write your name, an email address and a phone number I can call you at. Once you're done, pass it to the next person and sing me a song onstage." He handed Quinn the blank paper. She wrote in neat handwriting, then proceeded to the stage and began her song.
"I'm Quinn Fabray, and I'm auditioning for the role of Eva Peron." She announced. "The chorus of 'Crazy for You' by Madonna, E major." She commanded Brad, who was sitting at the piano already.
"I'm crazy for you
Touch me once and you'll know it's true
I never wanted anyone like this
It's all brand new, you'll feel it in my kiss
I'm crazy for you."
Quinn did a decent job of the song, sounding a lot like Madonna, nailing the higher notes and hitting the lower ones quite easily. She expressed some emotion, but there could have been a little more. Brad made a few notes on his sheet. "Thank you, Quinn. Please call the next person in on your way out." He said calmly. Another Cheerio walked in, her uniform matching with Quinn's.
Santana stepped into the spotlight beside the piano. "I'm Santana Lopez, and I just want a part. Don't call me baby, D major."
"Don't call my number,
Don't call me over,
Don't call me baby anymore."
Santana's performance was basically flawless, but her song selection felt short, even for eight measures. Therefore, a slightly baffled Brad took some notes and repeated what he said to the previous auditionee. The last Cheerio walked in, joining the other four.
Brittany stepped up."I'm Brittany S. Pierce, and I'll be singing TiK ToK by Ke$ha. The part that repeats in whatever key Ke$ha sings it in." Britanny said.
"D minor!" Someone yelled from offstage.
"Thank you!" Brad replied.
"Don't stop, make it pop,
DJ turn my speakers up,
Tonight, I'ma fight
'Till we see the sunlight.
Tick tock, on the clock
But the party don't stop no.
Oh, oh, oh oh!
Brad was even more baffled by Brittany's. He had never heard her sing before with the exception of Rocky Horror rehearsals, and by god she was good! But the huge question in his mind wasn't how did she get so good? It was how did she memorize all those lyrics? Either way, her performance was spectacular compared to what he expected. "Thank you Brittany. Were you auditioning for any part in particular?" Brad asked.
"No. I'll take whatever part you give me. As long as it's not part of an apple pie. Ms. Sylvester has the Cheerios on a diet." She replied.
"Okay, thank you Brittany. You can go now." Brittany left through the door.
Rachel's ears picked up from outside that in the auditorium, four Cheerios were attempting to harmonize Katy Perry's "California Gurls". Not only could they not keep a tune (as her ears with perfect pitch picked up almost immediately), but some of the lyrics were somewhat incomprehensible; and the ones that were articulated were probably the wrong ones. Rachel didn't remember anything about mutant rubber ducks or chainsaw guns, or if those even existed.
"Finn, I'm really nervous." She told her boyfriend, who was on her right side, away from the door of the auditorium.
"Why? Those girls sound horrible, and that's coming from me." He attempted to comfort her.
"You're not a horrible singer; your vocal style is just different. You'll make a great Juan Peron!" She encouraged.
"I hope so. I don't even want to know what would go on that stage if I weren't there." Finn lauged, remembering her explanation of the rock opera.
The four Cheerios walked out of the auditorium. "Go in. Hope you make it, Berry. Remember to move to New York if you get attention from it, or anywhere else away from here." A brunette snapped.
Rachel went into the auditorium, and autographed the paper with her signature and contact info which was on one of the front-row seats, then passed it to Finn, who was almost on her heels, then marched up to the stage.
"Hello, I'm Rachel Berry and I'll be auditioning for the role of the First Lady of Argentina, Eva Peron. I'll be singing 'I Dreamed a Dream' from Les Miserables, in E flat. Starting from 'I had a dream my life would be'." She looked at the people in the audience, Finn, Tina, Mike, and… Puck? That was a little strange. Either way, she waited with a little bit of fear inside for the piano to start.
"I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living,
So different now, from what it seems,
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed."
She belted out the first three lines strongly, and modified two notes so they would be higher than they originally would be, showing off her amazing range. She kept her voice strong until the last two notes, which were softer and showed that she could still keep a tune while practically breathing the notes.
"Thank you Rachel, would you care to call the next person in as you leave?" Brad asked.
"No problem, Brad." She replied and headed for the door. She opened it, and called Sam in. She went over to the other side of the room, and she was able to see the entire line-up of people including "Jesse?" She walked over to the ex-Vocal Adrenaline lead.
"We meet again, Berry." He smirked. "I'm guessing you and your fellow glee clubbers decided to take over this production of Evita, am I not right? I'm also guessing you auditioned for Eva. I don't think you have the right voice for her, but that's just my opinion." He said. Rachel's face turned a light shade of scarlet as she looked at the floor. After a moment, she looked up at him.
"Aren't you supposed to be at UCLA? What happened to your wonderful scholarship?" Rachel mocked.
"The new director of Vocal Adrenaline also happened to be my English teacher, so he failed me last year after running my final exam through a scantron thirty times, changing my answers and paying fourteen experts to forge my handwriting and re-write my in-class essay. After we got that Sunshine girl in, though, he agreed to let me go with my original unbelievably high mark, but I have to wait until the end of the year to graduate. So basically, I have a year to go before getting into UCLA, and I lost half my scholarship." He explained.
"It sucks to be you." Rachel said, looking down again and shaking her head.
"It sucks to be me. It sucks to be broke and unemployed and turning thirty-three. It sucks to be me." Jesse chuckled after he sang.
"Don't bring Avenue Q into this, St. James." She warned.
"Why? I'm going in for my audition after Sunshine and Jacob go in, so I may as well get into musical mode. What was that kid's last name, Israel?"
"Ben Israel, to be exact." Rachel corrected. Any time now, Finn, she thought.
God seemed to have answered her prayers as Finn came out the auditorium door, looking disappointed.
A/N: DUN DUN DUUUUN. Mini cliffhanger! Review?And THANK YOU to everyone who did for chapter one, I wouldn't have the courage to go on without you guys!