Authors: Dianne Yetman
“Yes
, and
d
ungeon is the word for those lock up cells. I
t’ll take a week to get rid of the smell of the place.
The
night court
judge
sprung
me bail at
12:15am.
My lawyer tells me I’m a free man until
I’m charged and
believe me, I won’t be charged.”
An enthusiast at
the back of the huddled group
shouted
hear, hear!
“I’d like to thank
Andrew
for stepping into the Director’s shoes
and
Eleanor for wearing many hats
in my absence.
”
A smattering of applause
followed his remark.
“I would also like to thank
each and every one of
you
for
your support. You kept the faith,
you didn’t run away.”
A louder and more sustained applause followed this remark.
“I’m hoping I can count on that continued support
.”
He looked at them with an expectant, hopeful face. No one spoke
, none applauded
.
“I will tell you once, what I told the police over and over again, I didn’t
murder Jeffrey or anyone else.
For those of yo
u who know me well
know I’m speaking the truth.
For those of you who don’t, I hope you will take
me
on trust. I can’t give you any details about why they think I did these atrocious murders; my lawyer has put me on a gag order. For my own good, he says. So, be patient folks, some day both you and I will know the truth behind the tragic loss of
these
lives.”
“Shit”, Charlotte said. “The man’s crying.”
His response was greeted by a few smiles, a few frowns, and a lot of shuffling feet.
“I can assure you I have the support and sympathy of the Board of Directors otherwise I wouldn’t be standing here
now
.
Also, I’d like to announce that
our very own talented Stage Manager,
Andrew
,
has been promoted by the Board to Assistant Director. Long overdue of course, Andrew, I look forward to working with you.
”
A huge round of applause.
Andrew waved his thanks to the supporting cast and crew and smiled at Henry.
He had gotten the call earlier in the morning from the Chair of the Board but he didn’t realize
Henry would be released. He thought the Board was hedging their bets.
“If anyone is unable to accept me at the helm, say so now.”
No one uttered a word.
“Okay, good then
, n
ow,
as they say in this business,
on with the show. We have time to do a few walk throughs, then a long, leisurely lunch, last minute adjustments to costumes that need it this afternoon, then you’re free to nap or rehearse or whatever way you choose to relax before the opening performance this evening at 8:00pm.”
Andrew went on stage, script on hand, invited the actors to get out their scripts, grab some chairs, and begin rehearsals. Henry and Eleanor took their usual seats in the third row back.
Sitting side by side,
Henry couldn’t believe his eyes. Iron Lady, Thatcher’s twin, was all atremble
, a
cheek muscle twitching in sync.
Chapter 20
At 7:30pm,
Susan and Alexis entered the theatre lobby after waiting patiently in the long line of people to hand in their tickets for the opening night of
Death of a Salesman
.
“You know, Alexis, a
mere thank you
for these fabulous seats
won’t cut it. We’ll have to take Eleanor to o
ne of her favourite restaurants
”, Susan said.
“
Absolutely.”
“
I prefer something
lighter
of heart
but I make exceptions when it comes to Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams.
You know who one of my all time favourite comedic playwright is, Alexis?”
“Let me guess – Neil Simon?”
“
No, he’s good but the one I adore is
Oscar Wilde
.
The Importance of Being
Earnest
is
such a cleverly written conceit and
funny! No matter how many times I see the play, it cracks me up.
We’ll have to take it in the next time its showing.
”
“
Yes
, a good idea
, in the meantime, I think we should appreciate tonight’s showing
. You know they say
Death of a Salesman
explored the ramifications of a fatally wrong way of life – a way of life distinctively American in its commitment to a naive idea of success. They were wrong of course
,
and I objected to it in one of my University essays on the play. After all, the desire to succeed by being “well liked,” to be respected by one’s friends, to be loved and admired by one’s family, to contribute to the success of one’s children, to pay one’s bills on time, and to own one’s home, is not confined within the boundaries of America. It’s universal middle-class value which crosses all borders.”
“You are such a brain child Alexis. Are you able to sit back and just take in a play or do
you think about themes?”
“A bit of both I suppose.”
Susan waved at the closed curtain of the stage.
“What are you doing?”
“I just saw Eleanor peeking her head around the corner of the curtain and I waved. I don’t think she saw me though.”
Eleanor stepped away from the curtain not wanting to risk anyone else seeing her peek out like a nervous little child. It’s a packed audience on the first night, couldn’t see any empty spaces, even the nose bleed section is full. No seats empty except the two she and Henry would occupy to the far right of the stage
.
She swallowed hard, bile rising in her throat at having to sit next to him in such confined quarters.
She knew he was part of the reason the house was
full
.
The newspaper articles and Henry’s new found n
otoriety
. P
eople love to gaze on, stand next to, and talk
to
who may be a charged with murder.”
“Eleanor, can you do me a favour?”
She turned to the
Acting S
tage
M
anager. “What’s up,
Brenda
?”
“
I need to get the
props for the second act
ready and
Charlotte is raising ole bloody hell in her dressing room
. She
needs, positively, needs to speak to Henry
,
who I can’t find anywhere.
Andrew is with Philip trying to calm him down; you know what he’s like on opening night.
Would you try to calm her down,
she’s
giving the cast a case of nerves, as if opening night isn’t bad enough.”
“Ok, I’ll see what I can do.”
Eleanor
made her way down the back corridor, paused for a moment before knocking on the door, and thought of the best approach. She
wasn’t going to
give in to the hysterics of a woman who behaved like a child. She pounded on the door.
The door flew open. “Henry..., where’s Henry, Eleanor, I need to see him.”
She looked at the tear stained face and tried to tamp down her contempt.
“You can’t see him right now. He’s not here. So, pull yourself together, act like a professional
.
”
“
Andrew, he can help. Can you page him, Eleanor?”
“
No I can’t,
Charlotte. Someone your age and as long in the tooth as you ”, she could see the shock on her face at that one, “should tread carefully. Reputations are fragile things and once they are ruined, there’s no going back. You should know that.”
Charlotte sniffed, blew her nose,
but
said nothing.
“Understudies are always itching to go on. Wouldn’t want to see that happen to you,
dear heart,
but as the expression goes,
there’s always someone waiting in the wings.
So, if you can’t get it together, say so now,
your understudy
needs time to dress.”
“A case of nerves, that’s all, Eleanor. Really, darling, it was most kind of you to take the time to come see me. I best go finish putting on that drab old house dress.”
As Eleanor made her way back to front stage, she looked down at the piece of torn carpet. Damn,
no one’s fixed it yet.
I almost broke
my neck on it. What does it take to get things done around here?
Brenda
had the props ready on time,
Charlotte behaved well,
Philip was brilliant,
and James
did his best acting ever. The
roar
from the crowd, the thunderous clapping and repeated encores said it all.
The play was a success.
As people came
backstage to offer their kudos to the cast and crew,
Eleanor
was the only one who had to paste
a smile on h
er face
.
An
hour later, the theatre was in darkness.
***
“With all the traffic, Susan, we should walk downtown. It’ll be quicker than hailing a cab.”
“
Good idea.
A brisk walk in the cold is therapeutic. It’s too bad we couldn’t catch Eleanor. How could someone disappear so fast?”
“Tonight
wasn’t the night to
celebrate with her. I’m sure she’s exhausted and has gone home.”
“
Most likely
.”
The two women walked as fast as the
ir dress shoes would allow.
They stuffed their hands in their coat pockets and bent their heads
into
the west wind. Soon however, they saw the lights of the restaurant.
“Look across the street, Alexis. Isn’t that Roger and Hazel standing in front of the shelter?”
“Yes, I believe it is.”
“Let’s go over and say hello.”
“I don’t think it
’
s a good idea, Susan,
its
cold and obviously Hazel is getting ready to bunk down for the night.”
The sudden movement of a dark figure to Roger’s right caught their attention
.
Hazel and Roger both turned around and walked beside the dark clad figure to the car. Roger
opened the front passenger door and helped Hazel get seated. He reached in his pocket and
passed something to the stranger. The tall figure
opened the back door and sat
directly behind Hazel.
Roger got in the driver’s seat, the left
signal light went on and the car pulled out into the lane congested with traffic. The street light shone in the car for five seconds.
“Oh my God, Alexis. Did you see that? The person is holding a gun to the back of Hazel’s head. We’ve got to get help.”