Spotlight (4 page)

“We’re going to see it, right? I mean, how many times are we going to have the opportunity to see Daniel Brighton on stage?”

Colette gave Lily a pointed look. “I don’t know. That’s going to be an expensive trip just to see a play, and we have already seen him on stage.”

Gregory North stepped into Colette’s cubicle to hand her a stack of printouts. “What play is that?”

“
A Streetcar Named Desire
,” Lily responded. “Daniel Brighton is going to be playing Stanley Kowalski in an off-Broadway production.”

“Is that the Renegade Actors’ Group production?”

Surprise colored Lily’s expression. “Wow. Yes, it is! How did you know about it?”

“My friend, Ben Martin, who managed at the Playhouse here, is the assistant stage manager for that production. I got an e-mail from him yesterday telling me about it.”

Lily’s eyes widened as she slowly looked at Colette and then back at Gregory. “Do you think he would mind showing us around if we found a way to make it to the city during the run?”

“I don’t think he’d mind at all,” Gregory responded. “In fact, he’d probably be happy to introduce you to some of the actors.”

It was all Lily needed to hear. She started searching for flights as soon as she got home and printed out a stack of times and prices for Colette to look over the next day.

But by then, Colette had decided it was too far and too expensive. Lily was more than willing to spend a couple of days in the city by herself, but she knew someone else who was bold enough to go along on this spontaneous trip. Later that night, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Maggie’s number.

“How would you feel about going to New York City?” Lily asked when Maggie answered.

“Just for fun, or are we going for a particular reason?”

“Daniel Brighton’s doing a show off Broadway, and my friend Gregory has a friend who is the assistant stage manager, so we might get to go backstage.”

“Oh, no way! That would be so amazing.”

“Yeah?” Lily asked, thrilled.

Maggie didn’t hesitate. “Heck, yeah. I just need to make sure I can afford the trip. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay,” Lily said, smiling when Maggie ended the call abruptly.

Sitting back, Lily looked at the list of flights that dotted her computer screen. Maggie or no Maggie, she knew that this was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up. At the same time, she couldn’t help but wonder if this was literally going too far. Could she justify spending that much money and traveling that many miles just to see Daniel Brighton?

Lily’s mother, Anne, wondered the same thing on the phone the next day.

“So, if Maggie doesn’t go with you, are you still planning on going to New York all by yourself?”

“Yeah, Mom. I am,” Lily replied. “I’m hoping Maggie decides to go, of course, but this is an amazing opportunity.”

“That’s an awfully long way to go just to see this guy in a play,” Anne commented.

Lily agreed. “It is. But Gregory’s friend Ben is going to show us around. How many times am I going to have an in like that? Passing it up would be crazy!”

“Not as crazy as venturing into New York by yourself. Honey, I understand your excitement, but he’s just an actor. Meeting him isn’t going to change anything.”

“That’s not why I’m going, Mom.”

“Well, then why are you going? I thought that was the whole point.”

Lily’s eyebrows raised in surprise at her mother’s directness and her assumption. “Of course I want to meet him, but more than that I want to support him. Going to see this play is my small way of giving back.”

Anne sighed. “Honey, if you want to go, then you should. I hope Maggie can go with you, though. I worry about you taking off to New York by yourself.”

Lily grinned. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll let you know what she decides.”

And with two little words the next day, the plans were set. Lily received a text message from Maggie that simply said, “We’re on!”

For the next two months, Lily counted down each day on her calendar at work. She bought their tickets to the show and booked the hotel room while Maggie purchased the airline tickets. Both girls planned outfits glamorous enough for a city full of fashionistas, and Lily suggested that Maggie stay over the Friday night before so they could carpool to the airport. When the day finally arrived, they were early for their flight to New York City. Their flight, on the other hand, was delayed. Half an hour after their scheduled departure, they lifted off toward the Big Apple.

Lily sighed as the plane started to move. “Finally! I thought we were never going to leave!”

Maggie agreed. “I know! I can’t believe we’re doing this. Just an hour and a half until we’re in the city.”

Lily sat back and smiled.

The city. Daniel Brighton.
A Streetcar Named Desire
.

It was impulsive. It was daring. And she couldn’t help but think it was already worth every penny.

Once they checked in to the hotel, they arranged for a cab and went to their room to get ready for the evening. Lily had picked her outfit out six weeks earlier and was happy the weather was going to cooperate with what she had in mind—something simple, sophisticated, and slimming.

In contrast, Maggie littered their room with the shirts she had tried on, thought better of, and tossed to the side. Then it was on to the jewelry. And the shoes. And which bag to carry.

When she had settled on her ensemble, they headed downstairs for the waiting cab, heels clacking on the tile floors. Lily told the cab where the theater was located.

As they crossed the
Queensboro Bridge to midtown Manhattan, Lily called Ben Martin, who was already getting ready for that night’s performance.

“Hi, Ben, it’s Lily. We just got into the city, so we should be at the theater soon.”

“That’s great,” he responded. “Give me a call when you get here, and I’ll come up and let you in.”

Lily ended the call and moved closer to the window. She wanted to watch the city roll by as the sun dipped below the tall buildings and peeked through side streets.

When they arrived at the theater, the sight that greeted them was a poster for the production, with Daniel prominently featured. Lily grinned and reached for her camera. She snapped shots of the poster, the theater, and Times Square in the building’s background. She was anxious to see what it looked like inside.

“Hi. It’s Lily again,” she said to Ben on her cell phone. “We’re outside at the 46th Street entrance.”

“I’ll be up in a minute to let you in. How about a quick tour before the show?”

“Seriously? That would be amazing! See you soon.”

While they waited, Maggie continued to take photos. She snapped one of Lily pointing at Daniel’s name on the poster. And another looking down the street from the theater. Then she grabbed Lily’s camera, set it to the self-portrait mode, and held out her arm for a picture of the two of them in front of the theater.

Lily noticed a guy walking toward them wearing a BROOKLYN T-shirt and wire-rimmed glasses.

“You must be Lily,” he said. “I’m Ben. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You, too!” Lily extended her hand. “This is my friend, Maggie.”

Ben took Maggie’s hand and said hello.

“Thank you so much for doing this,” Maggie replied.

“Oh, it’s my pleasure. It’s nice to see someone from home up here. Come on, let’s go in, and I’ll show you around before the show starts.”

They walked through the heavy glass doors and descended several flights of stairs.

“The theater is actually four stories below ground,” Ben said.

In Manhattan, where space is at a premium, people build wherever they can.

They went down the last escalator and stopped in front of a row of double doors.

“I’m not supposed to let anyone in before the show.” Ben cracked open one of the doors. “We’re still in previews, so we don’t want all the secrets out before it officially opens. No one is allowed to take pictures, especially of the set.”

Lily glanced in front of Ben and stopped in her tracks. New Orleans’ Garden District bloomed before her in the heart of New York City. Vines dripped from wrought-iron balconies. A fountain sat in the center of the courtyard created on stage. Lily was sure that if she closed her eyes, she could smell the jasmine wafting lazily in the air and hear the streetcars cascading down the center of St. Charles Avenue.

“This is truly breathtaking,” she said.

Maggie agreed. “It really is. I can’t wait to see the show!”

“I’m sure you’ll love it. We’ve been working hard to get it right.”

“How long have you been in rehearsals?” Lily asked.

“We rehearsed for several weeks and have been in previews for the last two. We officially open next week.”

“Have the performances gone well so far?” Maggie asked.

Ben nodded. “They have.”

Lily smiled. “Well, we’d love to see what goes on backstage if you have time.”

“How about after the show?” Ben pointed to a door to the left of the stage. “When the show ends, go to that door and tell them you’re here to see me. They’ll page me, and I’ll come meet you. Right now, I need to go get ready.”

“That sounds great, Ben,” Lily said. “Thanks again for showing us around.”

“No problem. And thank you for being patient and waiting until after the show.”

Maggie waved a hand. “Oh, of course. You have stuff you need to do. And we don’t want to be a burden.”

“Exactly,” Lily agreed. “We’ll go grab something to eat before the show. Are there any good restaurants around here?”

“Well, there’s a tapas bar and a good Italian restaurant just up the street. I hope that helps.”

Lily nodded. “Absolutely!”

“Both sound great,” Maggie said. “Thanks for the suggestions. We’ll see you after the performance.”

Ben waved. “See you then. Have fun!”

Lily and Maggie made their way back up the escalators and onto the streets of New York. Times Square was one of Lily’s favorite spots in the city. She could easily lose herself in the frantic pace, and every time she stood below Times Tower and its gleaming lights, it was like being in the eye of a hurricane. Beauty surrounded by chaos.

The savory aromas just outside the Italian restaurant Ben suggested were more than enough to coax Lily and Maggie inside. A handsome waiter with a thick accent served them pasta and red wine. After an indulgent dessert of tiramisu, they made their way back to the theater.

When the curtain rose and Daniel took the stage, it was easy to forget that it had been more than fifty years since Marlon Brando donned a white T-shirt and screamed “Stella!” from the street. All of Brando’s seriousness and passion were present in Daniel’s performance. The two shared a common aloofness that somehow captivated their respective audiences.

In many ways, this role was much better suited for him than the Lysander role. He easily captured Stanley’s depth. It was not easy to make people like—or even feel empathy for—such a brutish character. But Daniel gave his character a soul. As the play continued, Lily understood why he would take on such a well-known role. For those hours, he became Stanley. He lost himself in both the emotion and physicality of the character. And in turn, he made Lily forget about Daniel Brighton. All she saw was Stanley.

When Daniel took the stage for his bow, he looked stunned for a moment—like he was surprised to see people watching him—but reality quickly set in. Once again, cheers for him rang louder than those for the rest of the cast, but he tried to deflect the attention by taking a step back and holding his arm out to acknowledge his costars.

Lily and Maggie waited for the crowd to thin before heading toward the door Ben pointed out earlier. A few people were already lined up, speaking to a woman dressed head to toe in black. Even the earpiece perched on her right ear was black.

When they got to the head of the line, she was looking at them expectantly with her pen perched above the papers on her clipboard.

“Hi. We’re here to see Ben Martin. I’m Lily Richards, and this is Maggie Hudson.”

The woman scanned through the pages. “Ah, here you are.” She checked off their names and opened the door. “Have a seat right over there. Ben will be up in a minute.” She called Ben on her two-way radio as she returned to her post.