The Proud and the Prejudiced (10 page)

CHAPTER 10

I was extremely hesitant to read the reviews the
morning after opening night. Actually, because of the cast party the night
before, which lasted until dawn, I didn’t see the morning paper until two in
the afternoon. This was my first review, and, not being one to take criticism
well, I was reluctant to read it. I kept telling myself, even the best get bad
reviews in the preface of their careers.

The article read, Last night I was treated –
and I use the term loosely – to what might be considered a mixture of
vaudeville and war protests. I put the paper down. I picked it up. Curiosity
might have killed the cat, but satisfaction revived him. This version of Gypsy,
as seen through the eyes of producer/director Melvin Patrick, makes one think
Nixon wasn’t that bad after all…The choreography was so bad, even the strippers
were off beat…The lines were delivered with such monotone, it made me wonder if
Rose were Camille. I put the paper down and drown this cat in coffee.

The doorbell rang. Frank Wilson, a farmboy in the
cast who had been asking me out since the night of auditions, though I
persistently declined, rushed in. “Hey! Congratulations!”

“Have you no respect for the dead? How dare you
be so cheerful!”

“Oh, you’re just hung-over. Wait ‘til you’ve
read the reviews.”

“I have. That’s why I’m in mourning.”

“Mourning? You should be celebrating! This
could be the best thing ever to happen in your career.”

“Oh, yeah, bad reviews are like having one foot
in the door.”

“I thought you said you read it.” He took the
paper and opened it to the column.

“I did. We’re worse than Watergate.”

“You obviously didn’t finish the article.” He
read, “‘The lines were delivered with such monotone, it made me wonder if Rose
were Camille.’”

“I’ve already heard it. Why rub salt into open
wounds?”

“‘But,’” he continued, “‘in spite of Rose’s
death, Gypsy was full of life and spirit.’”

I stood up. “What?”

“‘The young actress Alex Hollingsworth made the
entire play worthwhile just to see this new talent. And talented she is. Never
before have I seen an actress who made me believe she was actually portraying
herself. I hope we will see a lot more of Alex in the future, with or without
clothes.’” I just stared in disbelief with my mouth hanging open.

Despite my good reviews, the play closed after the
second performance drew an exceptionally small audience. So on I pursued my
dream of acting, having little experience and one good review. Although I
auditioned for Broadway shows, I would only be offered a part in the chorus,
and I preferred an actual role on a smaller stage.

I auditioned for Hair off Broadway and got the
part of Sheila – taking off even more clothes – receiving reviews similar to
those of Gypsy. This time, however, the play finished its full run.

Next I was cast as Janet in The Rocky Horror
Show. I had not had that much fun with a cast since I was in high school with
Godspell. On closing night, as I sang “Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me,” I
spotted the duke in the audience smiling at me. I winked at him without missing
a note, then ripped off my bra.

After the curtain call, I went to my dressing
room and found it filled with red roses, all from Robert, who was sitting in my
room.

“I told you I would be back for you.”

“Has it been a year already?” I tried to play
Miss Cool – I knew exactly how long it had been – and sat at my dressing table
brushing my hair. Then I saw in the mirror I still only had on a corset, and I
was completely exposed on top. I went behind the screen and took off the corset
and put on a robe.

He walked up to me. “It has been the longest
year of my life.” He took me in his arms and held me close. “And I still love
you.”

I tried to resist at first, but then I gave in
to my feelings and put my arms around him, too. I wasn’t in love with him, but
I loved the fact that he was so in love with me.

“Please come back with me.”

I stepped back out of the embrace. “I can’t.
I’m going to be in Jesus Christ Superstar. Rehearsals begin next week. I have
the role of Mary Magdalene.”

“You cannot mean to send me away again.”

I looked into his eyes and saw such pain, all
the pain I had put there, and remembered seeing that look in Tony’s eyes. “No.
Never. After this play, I will go back with you. It will only be three short
months. I promise.”

He ran his hand down my face and neck to the
opening of my robe and brought his mouth close to mine. “How long must I wait
until I can have you?”

I could feel the blood rushing to my face, and
I looked away.

He pulled my robe together and pulled me to
him. “Are you still my sweet, innocent Virginia girl?” I nodded. I could
understand why he might not believe it, considering how he had seen me on
stage. “Then I will wait for you.” He kissed me. As aggressive as he acted, I
expected him to kiss me hard, but he didn’t. Instead the kiss was full of love
and longing.

As promised, after the run of the play, I went
with Robert to England. I hadn’t told Mother of my plans because I was afraid
she would try to keep me from going. Perhaps down deep, I still had some hope
she would hear from Tony, and if so, I didn’t want him thinking I was leaving
him to be with another man. If he had come back, I would have broken my promise
to Robert in a heartbeat and run back into Tony’s arms.

The day we got to London, I called Mother to
let her know where I was.

“My children certainly are full of surprises.”

“What do you mean?”

“Tony has crawled out of the woodwork. I just
found out he is running for state senate.”

I fainted. It was that simple. I was standing
at the payphone at Heathrow Airport, and when she made this announcement, I
passed out in Robert’s arms.

The doctor at the hospital said it was jetlag,
but I knew the truth, though I couldn’t tell anyone. After all this time
waiting for any word from him, two years after he disappeared, I leave the
country to start a new chapter in my life, and he resurfaces running for public
office.

*****

“How are you?” Eileen squealed like a ninth-grader
when she opened her hotel door and found Alice on the other side.

“I’m HOT! How do you think I am? I went from the
air conditioned airport to the air conditioned cab to the air conditioned
hotel, and I am still drenched. I feel like I am swimming here – and look at my
hair!”

Alice’s hair had curled in the humidity, and
Eileen pulled down one ringlet and laughed as it bounced back. “I know women
who would kill for those curls. So you’ve been to your room?”

“Yeah, it’s on the next floor up. I like we’re so
close to Bourbon Street! I hope you have time to hit the bars and don’t need me
to be running lines with you all the time.”

“Hardly! I have several scenes but not many lines.
They’ve changed the role now from ‘old hag’ to ‘voodoo woman.’” They laughed
together, but then the smile fell from Eileen’s face. “Alice, I need to talk to
you about something.”

Uh-oh. How many words was that?
“That
doesn’t sound good.” They sat down on the bed.

“It’s about Peter. He’s here.”

“What.” Definitely a statement of disbelief and
not a question.

“He told me not to say anything, but he’s the one
who helped me get this role.”

“What!” Alice jumped off the bed and gaped at
Eileen.

“I had been telling him how I wanted to be a
character actor, and he got me the audition. I couldn’t tell you it was on his
film without you figuring it out. I had no idea he was suing the network, and I
didn’t think he would be here the same time as you. Do you hate me?”

“Hate you?
Au contraire
. This is perfect!
I’m going to kill him!”

Eileen stood and took her friend’s arm. “No, no.
Please don’t. At least not until after production. I don’t want to lose this
part. There’s no reason for you even to see each other. He never goes out with
us, and he and I only have a few scenes together.”

Alice rubbed her eye and temple. “Oh, don’t worry.
I would never do anything to jeopardize your career. But if I’m still here when
the film wraps, you better believe he’s going to get it.”

Alice’s stay in New Orleans fell into an easy
routine of eating too much rich food, partying all night with the cast and
crew, drinking far too many cocktails, and being too hot and miserable during
the day to move any faster than a slug. It was perfection. Plus, all of
Eileen’s scenes had been filmed in the French Quarter while Peter filmed at a
plantation house up river, so she had not even seen him.

She heard about him, though. Eileen had become
fast friends with Evan, the flamboyant costume designer on the film, and he
loved gossip. His latest scoop was the torrid love affair between Peter and
Cleo Crandell, the young lead actress in the film.

“There is no doubt,” he told them as he held
various dresses up to Eileen with Alice sitting near, watching. “They are
definitely doing the nasty. That’s why they never come out of that hotel.”

“Maybe they’re just trying to stay cool,” Alice
said.

“Uh-uh. Two nights in a row, they have holed up in
his suite and had romantic dinners brought in.”

“Ha! Poor Winnie.”

“I do feel sorry for Winnie,” Eileen said. “You
know this is going to hit the tabloids. I wonder why she didn’t come down with
him.”

“I think
COD
is back in production. I don’t
feel sorry for her. She’s getting a taste of her own medicine after splitting
up Peter’s marriage. My mother always said, ‘Once a cheater, always a
cheater.’”

“You know that’s right,” Evan said.

“Well, we have our first scene together tomorrow,”
Eileen said. “What’re you going to do? Would you rather he not know you’re
here?”

“Who? Peter?” asked Evan. “He already knows Alice
is here.”

“What?” Eileen and Alice asked together.

“Mmm-hmm. The others were talking about how you
have been going out every night, and he asked if they were talking about Alice
McGillicutty.”

Alice rolled her eyes. “Great. I can only imagine
what he had to say about me.”

“Actually, the only thing I heard him say was that
he hoped you were being careful. Waaait…Did you two…?”

“What? No. Oh no. Ours was a professional relationship
that did not end well.”

“Well, he doesn’t seem to have held a grudge.”

“He has no reason to! He is the offending party
here.”

“So what about it?” Eileen asked. “Are you coming
on the set with me tomorrow or not?”

“I have no reason to avoid him. If he feels
uncomfortable having me there with this lawsuit hanging over our heads, it
serves him right.”

Alice stood back at a discrete distance as the
actors rehearsed the scene. She couldn’t help but laugh to herself at the
travesty of a production. The leading lady’s inability to act did nothing to
aid the preposterous dialog.
And he had the audacity to ridicule our
scripts!
From Peter’s weary face and defeated posture, she suspected he
held the same opinion.
Or maybe he’s just hot.

Peter, Cleo, and the director were discussing the
blocking when Peter said, “What if, right after that, she turns around with her
back to me so we are both on camera. Then my reaction to her lines will be more
ominous as I come up behind her.”

Alice burst out laughing and, even covering her
mouth with her hands, could not control herself. Peter straightened and faced
her, his intense gaze squelching her laughter. He said something to the
director, prompting the latter to call for lunch, and then strode directly
toward her as her eyes widened at his approach.

“You find something amusing, Miss McGillicutty?”

“That’s soap opera blocking!” she said with an
incredulous grin.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“What you just suggested to the director – you got
that from us!”

He didn’t refute it. “How…how have you been?”

The memory of their last meeting rushed through
her, and her face heated with the awareness of that encounter.

“I heard you were here,” he said when she didn’t
answer.

“I thought you were filming in Toronto.”

“We did for a month, then production moved here.”

“If I had known you were here…”

He finished her thought. “You wouldn’t have come.”

His eyes held her in place with the force of
gravity, and a curious lump formed in her throat. For a moment, one brief
moment, she forgot why she hated him – his arrogance, his vanity, his
concupiscence – but then Cleo’s voice rang out calling his name and popped the
bubble that had surrounded them.

“Just a minute,” Peter called out.

Alice shook her head to clear the dizziness. “Peter,
this movie.”

“I know.”

“The dialog.”

“I know.”

“And vampires in Louisiana? How original.”

“I signed on when, well, things were different.
More as a favor for a friend.”

A vaguely familiar actor whom Alice had seen in
several scenes but didn’t know by name walked up to them. “Hey, Pete, who’s
your friend.”

Peter cringed and sighed. “Alice, this is Dirk –
Dirk Schoenstein – he plays Portia’s nephew. Dirk, Alice is the head writer for
All My Tomorrows.
”

“You’re kidding!” Dirk said as he shook her hand.
“I was on that soap for two years.”

Peter scowled at this information. “You never
mentioned that.”

“Oh, yeah! Sienna’s first lover. She gave up the
Church for me.”

Alice laughed. “Oh, so you’re the one! That was
before my time.”

Dirk’s eyes were smiling and friendly. “I’m sorry
I missed you. Or maybe I just don’t remember because of my amnesia.” He and
Alice laughed.