Chapter 3 Finn
FINN
Iworked all day, and Buffy and Jim came in and watched me while I rehearsed by myself.
I knew the dances, so that wasn’t a problem.
I was a quick study, but some of Scrooge’s speeches were inherently difficult.
And the songs were wordy. Memorizing lyrics was a lot harder than dialogue.
But I had listened to this cast recording over and over, so I knew it.
I think.
I mean, I could sing it along with the cast recording without a problem.
But would I know it when it was just me and no backing tracks?
I asked Buffy to call our piano player and see if she could get here earlier so I could go over a couple of the more difficult songs.
Scrooge may have been the lead, but he only really sang four songs in the show.
I could definitely get through the group numbers without a problem.
It was always the eleven o’clock number that would be hard. I mean, it was the show stopper for the whole show, wasn’t it?
I worked hard. Scrooge didn’t have a lot of choreography, and with my injury, that was a good thing. He was an old man, so he danced like one. Well, he barely danced. He moved around a lot. I ran over all the numbers, and as I thought, I had no trouble there. I knew them.
“Looking good. How are you feeling?” Jim clapped from the wings.
“I’m… It’s going to be fine. But I’m going to stay stressed until I take that bow.”
“Buffy said Jack called. His snot has become a high fever, and he’s afraid he’ll be out all weekend.”
“Shit. Well, I guess I’m going to close the show as Scrooge. Will you give the curtain speech, babe?”
“Oh, I… uh… I hate public speaking, but sure. For you, I’d skydive if you asked.”
“I have always wanted to.”
“I would rather not.”
“I’d never ask you to. It’s hilarious to me that someone who climbs as high on a ladder as you do has a fear of heights.”
“I do not have a fear of heights, I have a fear of falling through the sky.”
“I mean, it feels like it’s kind of the same thing. In a way.”
“Let’s focus on you instead of my irrational – yet, I do feel that is a very rational fear to have. What if the chute doesn’t open? It happens.”
“So does getting hit by an asteroid.”
“I have never heard of anyone getting hit by an asteroid.”
“I saw it on TikTok. It can happen.”
It could also be AI,” he snickered.
“This is why I do not watch the news,” I laughed and grabbed my bottle of water.
“Do you need anything?”
“I want Jack to get better so I don’t have to do this,” I groaned.
“Oh, sorry, that is beyond my capabilities. However, your… uh… boyfriend – the man who loves the shit out of you, is very excited to finally watch his boyfriend perform.”
“I perform for you nightly.”
“Doing the splits on my dick is not the same thing as…”
Buffy’s cackle made us both spin around. “That was perfect timing. How do you do that?”
“And I am going back to rehearsing.”
“You are coming with me,” Buffy grinned wickedly. “Jack is going to be out the whole weekend.”
“I heard.”
“We need to refit your costume. I need you to get naked, get in that old man costume, and let me alter it for you. Jack is about forty pounds heavier than you.”
“I didn’t even think about that,” I frowned. “God, his nightgown alone is gonna drag like a train around me.”
“I got you, boo. Come with momma so momma can provide.” She linked her arm through mine and walked me backstage and into the dressing room. “Put on the first costume and let’s see what I can do?”
One after another, I put on the costumes, and Buffy stuck pins in them. A few of them she safety-pinned and said that would be as good as I could get in a few hours, but by the time the cast started arriving, and I rehearsed a couple of songs with the pianist, she had worked her magic.
I was as ready as I could get.
The rest of the cast was excited that I was going to join them on stage. Having a Broadway pedigree went a long way in a place like Foggy Basin.
“Are we ready?” I asked at five minutes until places.
“Are you?” One of the children slapped me on my leg.
“Listen, Tiny Tim, I’ll have you know that I can’t answer that until this show is over,” I sighed heavily. “Alright, hands in, everyone.”
I stuck my hand out, and the rest of the cast did their best to add one of their own on top of mine.
“This wasn’t planned or anything, but I’m very excited to share the stage with you tonight. I think I know everything, but if I’m in the wrong place at any time, please pull me where I need to go. We’re all in this together. Let’s have a great show. Any questions?”
“You sounded great earlier. I snuck into the wings and listened. You have a beautiful voice even when you’re doing Scrooge.”
“Thanks, Marie. Now let’s go and break a leg tonight. On three.”
Everyone chanted loudly. “One. Two. Three!” We all raised our hands and stared at each other with a stupid grin on our faces.
God, I loved theatre!
We all walked through the door and into the backstage area, where we all got into our places before the curtain opened.
“Good evening, everyone.” Jim must have walked out on stage.
There was a splattering of applause. “Thank you, but save it for these hard-working performers. I want to thank you all for being here tonight and to remind you that the Playhouse is a non-profit and we depend on the generosity of this town to keep the lights on. Tonight, we have a surprise for you. Our General Director, Finn, will be performing in the shows this weekend as Ebenezer Scrooge, a part that is definitely not type casting.” The audience laughed.
“Our Scrooge, Jack, has come down with what appears to be a nasty case of the flu. WE wish him a speedy recovery, but we’re also excited to see our Broadway star in action on our stage for the very first time. ”
“Oh, God… overkill.” I groaned.
“Sit back and relax and enjoy Christmas Carol the Musical.”
The audience applauded, and the stage went black. I took a deep breath as the curtain slowly opened.