The Show Must Go On Act II (Part IV)
In the dressing room during the interval, the atmosphere was now completely different from earlier. All the doubt and uncertainty about whether they could do this or not had ebbed away. They had done half of it now, and it hadn't been bad at all; in fact, as they had walked back to the dressing room, they had been applauded and cheered by the backstage crew. There were drinks and snacks waiting for them, to give them the energy to get through the second act, and ample chairs for them to collapse into with gratitude. Phones were quickly checked, and faces lit up around the room as they read the messages of praise they had received from those in the crowd, which in turn lead to much thanks for Ethan for his work in getting them all there.
Sebastian received a message as they all sat and availed themselves of the refreshments. It was from Cooper, informing them that they had the best wishes of himself and the entire cast and crew over at Kinky Boots - and an offer that they could come and take over their show one night next week. He read that last line out to his friends, a smile on his face, and burst out laughing when their response was a unanimous "NO!" from every corner of the room. The mood was jovial, and it got all the more so when the door was opened and a massive stack of copies of the Playbill was delivered. They had paid no heed to them at first, but then Mike, invited in as part of their gang so to speak, had picked one up and spotted the pin. Then he had difficultly missing all the hands that were suddenly grabbing for a copy. The initial delight was made more so when Nick opened his up and gasped as he saw that their photos were inside. It was a mystery for only a moment as to where they had come from, as they all saw the blazer and tie, and knew that Dalton had supplied them, except in the case of Mason, who realised that he owed a big thanks to Roderick for supplying his…
The announcement that the second act was about to begin came all too soon for the young men in the dressing room, but for the vast majority of them this time, it did not mean an immediate return to the stage. They did have to contend with a costume change though for the Mormon's next big group number in some cases, but for others it was to appear as a very different character indeed. The audience settled back into their seats, the lights dimmed once more, and the show began once again.
The first song of the second act was another solo one for Trent, who proceeded to sing Making Things Up Again with all of the sincerity and keenness it deserved. The words that he was singing were funny enough in itself, but then one by one the other Warblers began to appear in supporting roles. Thad, Flint and Beats dressed up in robes to play Elder Cunningham's conscience, wearing really awful wigs, which earned them a laugh; when Skylar and Seth appeared next, in appropriate costume, as a pair of hobbits, there was an even bigger laugh, and virtual hysterics from some sections of the audience. They might have dressed Skylar up in his own Dalton blazer and that, in combination with his school tie and a bad perm wig, made Santana and Puck look at each other, and exclaim "Blaine!" at the same moment, before the two of them burst out laughing.
Ethan had drawn the shorter straw and had ended up in a full Darth Vader costume, but at least no-one in the crowd would know that it was him until later. The highlight for those in the know came right at the very end though, when Yoda appeared. The person under the cloak was Colin, crouching down and saying nothing; the voice that they all heard was unmistakable. There were puzzled looks exchanged amongst their friends in the auditorium, as the voice they heard was definitely Sam's, but they knew he was working at the Spotlight… In the wings, Sebastian grinned, eternally glad that he had known someone that could get that voice so spot on. When it came to vocal mimicry, Sam was the expert, and he had been only too happy to help out when Sebastian had asked by letting him record him saying the words "Making things up again you are" down the phone earlier that day…
Then the focus shifted back to Sebastian, to his big number; the solo performance of I Believe. His facial expressions had the audience in stitches before he had even sung his first note. They had only just got over the delightful mess that was Spooky Mormon Hell Dream, although several of them had not known where to look during that number. Those expressions, combined with his powerful and convincing singing of the lyrics had Julian's eyes moist, and Eloise's heart nearly bursting with maternal pride. Carmen's face was a picture, as once again Sebastian proved to her that the faith she had in him was more than justified. He was, in her opinion, doing the song better than Andrew Rannells had at the Tony Awards…
The next shock for the audience was when David appeared once more as the General. The look that he gave them as Sebastian burst into his camp and sang his heart out was wonderful, but when he uttered the line "What the f*** is this?", all those in the audience that knew him gasped with shock. After all, none of them had heard David swear, ever. The blank look of anger that he kept on his face as Sebastian grabbed his hand and forced him along beside him had them all grinning - and well, when they proceeded to drag Elder Price away at the end of the number, they could all see why he would have done it…
The action then cut back to Elder Cunningham, who was being asked by Nabalungi if he would baptise her into the church. The subsequent song, Baptize Me, was so chock full of innuendo that none of them quite knew where to look; it wasn't helped by the fact that Trent was going all out to make what was actually quite innocent into something bordering on smut. The performance did earn both him and Jenny a long round of applause afterwards. Shortly thereafter, Sebastian reappeared; that he was up on all fours on a hospital gurney with a pained look on his face made them all start to wonder, but then the fake X-ray was shown behind him, which appeared to show a copy of the Book of Mormon lodged firmly up his… Everyone shrunk in their seats as Santana howled out loud at the thought, barely able to contain herself; at least until Brittany slapped her on the arm, and told her off for being so cruel to the poor birdie. I mean, it was funny, but not all that funny after all…
The Mormon's group number, I am Africa, gave them all the more reason to laugh; it was pretentious and contained some wonderful lines. As on the side of the stage Sebastian drowned his sorrows with forbidden coffee, his friends sang their hearts out. The fact that as they sang about the animals of Africa, Nick pointed across at Sebastian as they sang the word "Meerkat" made them all chuckle; Trent comparing himself to Bono made them all howl again. In the end though, it was Flint that stole the show with his face as he sang the line "A tribal woman that doesn't wear a bra." He made his eyes bulge, his mouth drop open and something akin to a leer appear, which had them all laughing out loud. The applause was loud once more, as they moved towards the climax of the show.
That came in two parts; firstly when the Ugandans put on their show for the senior Mormons, at which a dishevelled Elder Price was in attendance with an increasing horrified brethren as the full extent of Elder Cunningham's story telling came out in the open. The ideas he had expressed had been ridiculous before, but now that they were being expounded once more in full song - well it was just too much. It was the look of total faith in all that they were singing about that made it funnier still. It turned out, of course, that the locals knew that none of it was true; it was all just a set of metaphors that Cunningham had used to convince them to come over to his church. It did mean that the Mormons were condemned by the senior figures, and dismissed from their mission…
Worse yet, the General arrived and threatened to kill them all; this time though, Elder Cunningham stood up to him, and made him flee when he threatened to have him turned into a lesbian… Santana stopped laughing at that line, glowering at Puck as he laughed; she would have to have words with people about that one later. Then, it all came to a satisfying close; Elder Price decided that they were still all Latter Day Saints, despite all their faults - and the fact that he no longer believed in God. He agreed to stay in Africa with Cunningham, as after all, he was his best friend - a line that Sebastian delivered with such pathos and sincerity that there was a chorus of "Awww" from every corner of the theatre.
The rousing finale to the show, Tomorrow is a Latter Day showcased the vocal talents of the entire cast. The former Warblers went for it with vigour and enthusiasm, performing as if this was their number to win Nationals. They mixed with the long term cast as if they had been doing this number together for years, not as if they had been doing it for less than nine hours. Then they came to a vision of the future, a reprise of the initial Hello! but with the Ugandans taking the parts of the missionaries. David once again slew them all with his lines; if "Hello, I am Elder Butt Fucking Naked" had been funny, then his next line "Did you know that the clitoris is a holy, sacred thing?" made them howl, delivered as it was with such sincerity. Santana could only nod in absolute agreement with the sentiments that he expressed…
And then it was all over. The applause was deafening as the cast came out to take their bows, and the noise seemed to grow as they made their way out in small groups. Jeff had them all in stitches when he appeared with Thad on one side, and Nick on the other, but with Moroni's halo shining above his head… By the time that Mason came out, half the audience was on their feet, as the young former New Direction positively glowed with the adulation. Then Sebastian stepped out, with Jenny on one side and Trent on the other, and the noise was deafening. It was a standing ovation, punctuated by whistling which Sebastian knew was coming from none other than the Dean of NYADA, and quite possibly from his Aunt Bette. They knew, as did everyone else, that some new stars had been lit on Broadway that night, and one of them was called Sebastian Smythe. Everyone knew one thing; it was deserved, and they couldn't have been happier for him.
Returning to the dressing room felt like an anti-climax in some ways for all of them. They had only agreed to take part to help out a friend in the need, but the nerves and doubts which had plagued them all to some degree had been wasted away by the tidal wave of acclimation that had rolled forth in a tumult of laughter and applause. The crew had been waiting to high five them all as they walked past, into the backstage areas were the noise from the auditorium carried through. Once back in the dressing room they all sat in silence until Sebastian, the last of them to leave the stage, walked in and shut the door behind him…
Then the room erupted with cheers of their own for the young man who had brought them all to this point; the person that had set them on a dark and unfamiliar path, but had lead them onto the great white way, and then ensured that their names would be recorded in the annals of Broadway for posterity. Sebastian, blushing madly, held up his hand, and they all fell silent. "Well, I think they liked it…" he said in a quiet voice, that made them all burst out laughing.
"Like it?" exclaimed Thad. "They loved each and every minute of it, especially the performances given by you, Mason and Trent! You three are absolute stars. People are going to say that Trent is in the wrong job; that he should be on the stage, not hiding away in politics. At the very least, every musical society in Washington DC is going to want him and Rory for that matter as members." Trent blushed as beside him, Rory nodded in complete agreement. "Mason was wonderful, and I had a hard time keeping a straight face. For someone that had never even danced a tap step before yesterday, he did one heck of a job leading the rest of us amateurs. By the way, I think that song will echo in my head for months to come, and well, I might even try to learn a bit of tap, just for fun," continued Thad. "As for you, Sebastian, you had a dream, a vision and so you took a chance, risky as it was, so that you could achieve your ultimate goal. It was a triumph - and I am putting this on record here and now; I want a front row seat in the first show in these streets of dreams that decides to cast you as the lead, and put your name up on the marquee in lights!"
"Hear, hear!" said David, as around him the others all added their voice to that sentiment.
At that point the door opened to reveal the show's director, with a massive grin on his face. "We ended up giving two refunds - to a couple from Utah who had been under the impression that the show was an dramatisation of the actual Book of Mormon. The audience is heading out tonight smiling; we are trending on Twitter, and riding high on Facebook. What could have been a huge disaster area has turned out to be a massive success. Now, you new guys are all certain that you don't want to come back and do this all over again tomorrow night, because I could just sack all the guys that are off sick and keep you…?"
"Thanks, but no!" said Nick, getting in first. "I mean it was fun, but doing that eight times a week - it would literally kill me!" That got him a big round of laughs, and more than one person nodding in agreement.
"Well, the unions would destroy me if I did that anyway," the director conceded. "Now, there is a small group of people here that are anxious to come in and say hello; they were sitting in one of the boxes. I told them I would come in and check you were all decent first. As you are, I best let them in. Once again, well done, and thank you all!"
He stepped back out, and moments later Eloise and Julian appeared, both of them rushing over to envelop Sebastian in a hug, whilst Dave just stood at the door and laughed at the expression on his husband's face as his mother and brother virtually smothered him. Carmen then entered, and seeing that Sebastian was occupied, walked right over to Mason, who instantly looked nervous. "I think that I will award you an A+ for that performance. You have real stage presence, and given that you had no prior experience of it, a talent for tap that we should exploit next semester. You did yourself and NYADA proud tonight, young man." Mason nodded, and thanked her warmly, relaxing once more. Carmen then proceeded to go round the room and pass judgement on all of them, much to their amusement.
Then she walked in, having stopped off to greet the rest of the cast first. There were a few gasps as Bette Midler walked in to their dressing room. For many of them, it was the first time that they had been so close to someone whose name was known to virtually everyone, at home and abroad; a woman whose star quality was legendary. "Well, boys, what can I say? All of you were absolutely wonderful! If I ever revive my one woman show, then I will expect each and every one of you to star in it. Now, where is my boy?" The others stepped back as Sebastian was finally released by his family, and stepped towards his famous friend. "Darling boy, you and your friends have left me speechless. The whole world will be hearing just how good you were tonight, and not just from me. They will be hearing it from someone I just happened to invite along; the drama critic of the New York Times…"
"The who?" gasped Flint.
"The drama critic of the Times," repeated Bette. "I might have told him that one of the hottest new prospects on Broadway was making an appearance here tonight. His face was a picture as he walked out of here tonight - and in a good way, so don't worry…"
She stopped as she saw that Flint had grabbed the brown paper bag from earlier and was breathing into it, as Beats stood behind him with a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I am afraid that Flint does have a reason to worry, ma'am. If his mom finds out that he has appeared on a Broadway stage playing a Mormon, then she will need the services of a rabbi at once," said Beats.
Thad walked over and said, "Call your dad, let him know. He can intercept the paper and even put a block on it online if necessary." As Flint dived for his phone and pressed the right button on speed dial, they all chortled, at the same time praying that it wasn't his mom that answered the call…
"So, gentlemen, there is just one thing that you need to do now to cement your place in Broadway history," said Bette. "You need to head to the stage door, to autograph a few Playbills and meet and greet the public. It is the way to start if you want to be a success. By the way, the first Playbill to autograph is mine…"
"She's right, Sebastian; you do need to go out and greet people at the stage door," confirmed Carmen. "You'll need to sign a few Playbills too; it might actually be an idea to pre-sign a few copies just now, and then swap them over, as it will save time. Ms Midler, if I rustle up the spare copies of the playbill, could you possibly go and check out the stage door whilst I get the boys signing?"
Bette agreed to do so happily; if nothing else, then she could keep the fans entertained whilst they were waiting for the boys to arrive. By the time that Carmen returned with the spare playbills, carried for her by some of the crew, Isabelle had organised a signing line like those that she had seen countless times before at the big fashion shows, and had sent Julian to fetch Jenny to join them, realising that her signature would be just as coveted. The first playbill was handed over, and the process began, each of them signing just below their printed name, passing it along until it was placed in a new pile that was being held in place by Julian. In the end they signed about fifty that way, just in case; then they had to decide which of them would actually go to the door. It was impractical for them all to go after all. Sebastian had to, and he insisted that Mason, Jenny and Trent had to be with him, the latter agreeing to do so with the greatest reluctance. For moral support, Nick, Jeff, Rory and Dave followed them, carrying the signed playbills. As for the others, they sat back and relaxed, waiting until the crowd had dispersed so that they could leave, doing so in the company of their older visitors.
As they were heading out of the door, Mason's phone suddenly buzzed with a message. He opened it, seeing that it was from Madison, and saw that she was asking where he was. He did not have time to reply himself, so instead he passed his phone to Thad, with the words "It's my sister; can you reply that I am at the stage door, and that she should come and meet me there?" Thad nodded as Mason hurried out, and then he happily sent the text for the young man. He might not be a Warbler, but he was quite fond of the younger man, and he had done them all proud that night.
Meanwhile at the stage door, Bette was holding court, telling them all about Sebastian and his friends; she had started with how they had literally bumped into each other, and was now telling them how she was certain that the moment that he graduated from NYADA, he would be offered a full time lead somewhere on Broadway - and if he wasn't, she'd get a show set up for him. Those words had sent a ripple of disbelief through the crowd; his performance had been so assured that most had assumed that he was a lot older than he actually was. Bette smiled at that, then in the corner of her eye she saw that people were heading down the corridor towards her. "So, enough of me, time for a new set of Broadway stars. We have the wonderful Nabalungi, Elders Price, Cunningham and McKinley, and I believe that three of their fellow Elders have come to join them…"
The moment that the small group set foot outside the door, Dave standing back in the shadows, they were overwhelmed by loud cheers, and almost blinded by the light of old fashioned flashbulbs as photographs were taken. They set things up as they had been told; as Jenny, Sebastian, Mason and Trent did the meet and greet, Nick, Jeff and Rory handed out the pre-signed Playbills. They all found themselves having to pose for pictures, including several selfies. They also found that they had to sign a few Playbill covers, one after the other. Mason suddenly caught sight of Alistair, Spencer and Roderick at the back of the crowd, all three of them giving him a thumbs up as they realised he had seen them. Next to them, Jane was also beaming with pride at her boyfriend; beside her, Madison was also smiling, but she also had eyes that shimmered with happy tears. His mom was there too, and she was full on crying, his dad's arm wrapped around her. His dad caught his eye now, and the smile that he got from his father was filled with pride. After all, Mason had just proven to them all that he was capable of performing on Broadway.
Mason then caught sight of another face that he recognised, and gave a discrete nudge to Trent. He looked up and saw his parents standing there, their faces glowing with pride at their son, with Séamus and Becca beside them; they had recognised Madison, and on realising where she was heading, had decided that they should follow her just in case…
Eventually, the crowd at the stage door melted away; they could now all leave the theatre without worrying about how they would escape the audience. They all headed in one direction, to that familiar gathering spot for them all in the city - The Spotlight. Sebastian had insisted that his Aunt Bette had to join them, and she had not said no when he promised her singing and dancing. They had of course rung ahead to ensure that the place could cope with such a large influx of visitors so late in the evening. The majority of them had an inkling that between Ethan and Sam, this decision would have been anticipated. To that end, they had ensured that the last people to enter the diner that evening where the four main stars…
As they walked through the door it was to see that the place was full to the rafters; all those that had been at the show were there, cheering all of the boys as they walked in, then applauding loudly as the last four entered. Jenny laughed out loud, whilst Sebastian blushed hard at the noise all over again. Trent and Mason looked at each other, then pushed Sebastian forward. He found himself grabbed and dragged to the stage by Kitty and Santana. Once there, he found himself stepping up into the company of Rachel and Cooper, fresh from their own shows, both of them greeting warmly the young man that was being dubbed already across the city as the 'Show Saving Sebastian Smythe'. He turned to his audience, and bowed to them, earning him fresh cheers. He looked up and saw Mason being manhandled up onto the stage to join him; he had not been able to melt into the crowd like Trent and Jenny, the former very keen to get back out of the limelight. They both bowed together this time, knowing that as far as everyone in the room was concerned, this was the night that they had officially made it - and those people included Carmen Tibideaux, and the legend that is Bette Midler.
The remainder of the night turned into a blur; a party to celebrate the fact that two of their number, who were in the business of show, had made it in a small way by appearing in a hit Broadway show. It was also, as Sebastian stated when he was pressed into making a speech, a night on which they could all celebrate those bonds of friendship that had started out in rival show choirs at two schools in Ohio, had grown through the love that two young men had for each other, and had then stayed with them all as they navigated the tumultuous seas of life.
"Tonight was an amazing night; a big opportunity for myself and Mason to make our mark, and to stake our claim for a place among the glitter of the Great White Way. But we could not have done any of it had it not been for my amazing friend Jenny, who also killed it tonight in the vitally important female lead role, and of course, without the aid of my fellow Warblers, who stepped up to the plate, leaving their comfort zone behind to fill in all of the gaps that had been left behind by an unfortunate outbreak of food poisoning. I consider myself very lucky that the hosts of the party in question had taken such a dislike to me that they decided not to invite me to attend, not that I would have anyway. I guess we should also thank them for the fact that their prejudice meant that they left a significant half of the cast without an invite too… So tonight, let us all raise a glass to friendship, and marvel at the fact that we also finally got to hear David Thompson swear, even if he was doing so in character…" Sebastian raised his glass, and around the room others were similarly raised.
In a quiet corner that he had found, partially hidden away, Trent turned to Rory at that point, and said "Is it wrong that I found tonight so enjoyable? I mean, I would never want to make a career out of this, but the acclaim felt so good…"
"It's not wrong at all, my love," Rory replied. "You were doing something that you love, in support of one of your best friends, and doing it in the company of your closest buddies. You never were front and centre in any performance with the Warblers, but tonight you showed the world just what Trent Nixon can do. I'm so proud to say right now that you are my husband." Rory leant over and kissed his blushing spouse, then carried on. "I also couldn't help but think how much that final song sums up our little group of friends - 'We're there for each other every step of the way' just sums up the ethos of our relationship to perfection. Long may that continue!"
"You know, it really does when you think about it," agreed Trent. He said no more as Santana was looming over them, demanding that they head to the stage; an encore was called for. They agreed, and found themselves singing the song they had just been talking about…
