As well as going to see Max at basketball practice and play his real basketball games, Lisa also went to see him rehearse for the school drama production of the musical Anything Goes. Max was very grateful to Lisa for coming to watch him rehearse. Just like with his basketball practice and real basketball games, Max felt better for Lisa watching him rehearse for the show because it gave him more confidence and he was also glad that she actually enjoyed watching him rehearse. He always felt very good about himself every time she told him how very talented he was, whether it was acting, singing, dancing, playing basketball or doing other sports, whether it was snow sports or skateboarding among them.
Max's best friends were in cast in the show as well. PJ was playing the role of Elisha J. Whitney, Bobby was playing the role of Moonface Martin and Stacey was playing the role of Hope Harcourt.
Then one day, during a rehearsal three weeks before the show was meant to be released to the public, there was some bad news. The actor who was originally meant to play the protagonist Reno Sweeney was very ill. She had measles and she wouldn't be able to do the show in time and there was no understudy for the role and all the other students were busy enough with their own roles.
The drama teacher, Mrs. Backstage, was very worried and panicking over this problem. "What to do?" she cried, as she paced throughout the stage. "What are we going to do?"
As everyone tried to work out what to do, Max remembered that Lisa was sitting in the auditorium and then he remembered that she had been watching him rehearse for this show ever since they became friends. That gave him an idea.
"Mrs. Backstage, may I be excused for a couple of minutes?" Max asked. "I think I found a solution to this problem."
"Okay, Max," Mrs. Backstage said. "But be quick as you can about it."
"Thanks." Then Max jumped off the stage and headed to Lisa. "Hey, Lisa. You've been watching these show rehearsals for the last three weeks. The actress playing Reno Sweeney is very ill and can't play the part and we desperately need someone to replace her. Do you fancy trying to audition for the role?"
"Me, Max?" Lisa looked unsure. "Gee, I really don't know. I mean, I am glad that you believe in me and everything, but I've never acted before. I have tried to audition for a few shows, but every time I get rejected. I've never even been good enough to be an extra."
"Well, now's your chance to try again and see if this could be your lucky break," Max said. "You can sit there and continue to just wonder what it's like to be on a stage or you can come with me now and try to audition and see if this could be your special moment. What do you say?" He held out his hand.
Lisa thought about it for a few seconds and then she decided to be brave and take Max's hand and followed him to the stage.
"Mrs. Backstage, Lisa here would like to audition for the role of Reno Sweeney," Max said.
"Have you done any singing or acting before, Miss Lisa?" Mrs. Backstage asked.
"The honest truth, Mrs. Backstage, is no," Lisa replied. "I did audition for a few shows, but I never made any of them."
"But she has been sitting on the auditorium and watched rehearsals for this show for the last three weeks," Max said. "She knows every song and line."
"Okay," Mrs. Backstage said. "Miss Lisa, sing the song I Get A Kick Out Of You."
Max gave Lisa a piece of paper with the lyrics for I Get A Kick Out Of You. "You got this, Lisa." Then he gave her a good luck kiss on her cheek. "Break a leg."
Lisa was still very nervous as Mrs. Backstage, Max and the rest of the cast looked at her, but she cleared her throat and she sang the song I Get A Kick Out Of You as she read the lyrics. When she finished, she was greeted by tremendous applause from Max, the rest of the cast, Mrs. Backstage and even the production crew, who had stopped working to watch her incredible audition. Lisa was very glad that her first successful audition went very well.
"Very good, Miss Lisa," Mrs. Backstage said. "Now, I want you and Max to sing the song You're The Top."
So Max gave Lisa another piece of paper which contained the lyrics for the duet song You're The Top and then they sang it. When they finished, everyone applauded them. The more progress Lisa made with her audition, the happier and more confident she became.
"Impressive," Mrs. Backstage said. "Miss Lisa, our show opens in three weeks. If I give you the role of Reno Sweeney, will you promise to take it seriously and rehearse as much as you can with us and at home?"
Lisa nodded. "Yes, Mrs. Backstage. I promise. You won't regret it."
"Very well, then. The role is yours." Then Mrs. Backstage turned to the cast. "All right, everyone. Now, that problem's been solved, let's get back to rehearsing."
"That was an awesome rehearsal, Lisa," Max said to her as they walked back home after the rehearsal finished. "And you made a very great first impression. Not many people who can impress Mrs. Backstage that easily."
"Thanks, Max," Lisa said. "But I wouldn't have even been cast in this show if you didn't motivate me to try to audition, so thank you for that as well. I really enjoyed doing it. Everything about it was fun, but the most fun part of it was doing it with you. Watching you rehearse was great entertainment enough, but now that I'm going to actually rehearse and do the actual show with you, it's only going to get so much better. I'm looking forward to it."
"And I look forward to doing this show with you, too, Lisa," Max said.
Then they reached Max's house. Then they kissed each other on the lips and then they waved to each other as Lisa walked away and Max went into his house.
Lisa kept her promise. She took her role of Reno Sweeney very seriously and rehearsed, sometimes on her own at her house, sometimes with Max at his house and sometimes with the rest of the cast, continuing to impress everyone, especially Max and Mrs. Backstage.
As if that wasn't impressive enough, when the show opened to the public in late February, Lisa really blew the audience away with her amazing performance of Reno Sweeney. Everyone in the cast was very good in their own way, but Lisa managed to stand out among them and amaze the audience with her acting, singing and dancing. And she managed to keep her incredible performance up along with the rest of the amazing cast every night for two successful weeks.
On the last night of the show, there were critics in the audience and they awarded Max the Best Leading Actor in a High School Drama Production and Lisa the Best Leading Actress in a High School Drama Production. Other awards for the show included Best High School Drama Production of 1996 and Best Director for a High School Drama Production.
Everyone was very proud of Lisa, especially Max and Mrs. Backstage and the rest of the cast. And Mrs. Backstage congratulated Max for finding Lisa and motivating her to audition for Reno Sweeney and star in the show and help to make it the great show that it was. Nothing could have gone any better.
Even Pete and Peg, the divorced parents of PJ, who never met her before and came to see their son PJ in the show along with his best friend Max, who had been like a son to Peg ever since they met each other, were very impressed with her acting as much as they were PJ's acting and Max' acting. And Goofy was very impressed with Lisa as much as he was with Max's acting. The only ones who didn't seem to be impressed with her acting were her own parents for some unknown reasons. They weren't even impressed with the acting award that she won and all the praise she earned from the whole school for her performance.
As much as she still wished that her parents would still be proud of her, Lisa was very grateful for the acting award that she earned and she was grateful for all the praises she received from everyone and most of all she was still very grateful to Max for motivating her for auditioning in the first place. Then she realized that this was something she would never have thought of giving a try if she was still in her relationship with Chad. Then Lisa realized that ever since she met Max, she was doing a lot more things with him that she never did with Chad and she felt that she became a much better and happier person since then. The same went for her parents. She felt that she was getting a lot more out of Max than all the times she spent with Chad and her parents put together.