December 4th, 2018 [Tuesday]
•20 weeks left•
"Mama, won't you send a sign? I'm running out of hope and time. A plague of mice, a lightning strike, or drop a nuclear bomb. No more playing daddy's game, I'll go insane if things don't change. Whatever it takes to make him say your name. Dead Mom!" I sang, raising my right hand up and sticking my left fist into my side.
Right after my last note, I heard a chorus of claps and cheers from the cast in the audience. I paused a few moments before cracking a smile and bowing proudly. I was quite nervous earlier when I was called to be on stage because I didn't have time to do a proper voice warmup. But I think I still did great.
And I think everyone else thought the same too.
I waved my hand around, before placing it over my heart, repeating, "Thank you, thank you." I couldn't see any faces from the stage because of the bright lights beaming over me, but I knew the particularly loud claps were from Rob and Alex. When it came to applause, they were always very dramatic.
"Yes, Sarah!" A group of people yelled at the same time. I pretended to catch a bouquet of flowers and act astonished.
"Thank you all so much," I fake sniffled, wiping my face - that was actually trickling with sweat - before laughing. Even though I've rehearsed with those lights many times, it still took a good minute to get used to them.
It was finally December - a month later - and I was feeling way more confident with being on stage, especially alone. I had to perform in front of so many people that I didn't get shy or anxious anymore. Alex told me it would happen and I took his word for it.
"Oh stop," I dragged out, before walking towards the steps. I spotted Eddie first with a huge smirk plastered on his lips. He always had that look on his face after I finished performing anything. It was intimidating at first, but I soon realized it was his way of saying, 'I'm speechless' or 'That was great'.
"You're a star, girl. Awesome work," He complimented, giving me a high-five as I walked past him.
"Thank you," I blushed, continuing up the aisle to my seat.
Everything was going swimmingly as the time flew by. We had all been working extremely hard for the past few weeks, and what an experience it had been. All of the numbers had been practiced at least once, and we were making good progress, as Connor would say.
Timbers and the book writers had planned a meeting with the entire cast and crew, the week before, to announce that the full script was finished. We'd been doing a lot of improv with multiple scenes, and the book writers had joined us at rehearsals to watch. They've been commenting and asking us to re-enact scenes with different dialogue until they were satisfied with the end results.
Eddie and Kris had also been collaborating to complete the score, which they finally finished. They had been holding private sessions for each song to be learned and performed with the entire orchestra. Because the musicians didn't come in every day, we had to sing it with a piano and guitar in the background on some days.
Eddie wanted us to perform all of the songs with a full orchestra, and 'Dead Mom' was the first song to be chosen for private sessions. Because of that, I hadn't been to full cast rehearsals in a while.
That day was my first day back with everyone because we were all called in to see the first song be performed with a full orchestra. Kris was in the pit conducting the songs for the whole cast and crew for the first time as well. It was a big day for me and all the musicians.
"Sarah Holland, how are you feeling right now?"
As I walked by Rob, he put an imaginary microphone in my face. It caught me off guard at first, but I played along by clearing my throat and placing my hands across my chest.
"Well, you know, Rob, I'm just feeling a rush of adrenaline and excitement right now. It's incredible," I joked, pretending to be out of breath.
"Really? That's incredible, Ms. Holland. What a icon," Rob's voice rose, sounding like a fangirl. I let out a brief laugh, before straightening my face again.
"Thank you Robert. I am, aren't I?" I sighed in awe, dramatically flipping my hair.
"You're welcome, Ms. Holland. You did great with that performance, by the way," Rob motioned to the stage behind me.
"I know I did," I tilted my head to the side. "Now, out of my sight," I demanded, lifting a brow. Rob nodded rapidly, before backing away.
When I turned to the rest of the cast sitting in the center orchestra, I noticed they were all watching me, laughing at my antics. I also caught Alex with his phone out, recording everything. Blushing instantly in embarrassment, I shielded my face from him and made the executive decision to sit somewhere else.
Then, I heard my name being called from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to find Timbers walking up the aisle. He had sat on the other side of the house with Connor and some of the other crew. They were privately discussing adjustments to the blocking and props needed for the set.
"Eleven out of ten, Sarah," He exclaimed right off the bat. "I loved it."
"Thanks Timbers."
"And Rob just reminded me, I need to talk to you and Alex about some interviews coming up. The word has spread about the musical and emails have been coming in about the stars of the show being interviewed," He explained.
"Seriously?" I gasped, quickly covering my mouth to hold in a squeal.
"Yeah, you got amazing things coming your way, Sarah. I'm proud of you," Timbers beamed at me, patting my shoulder. I rolled my eyes slightly, before pulling him in for a hug.
"Thank you so much for letting me have this opportunity," I whispered in his chest. It took him a second to comprehend what I did, before returning the hug comfortingly.
"You deserved it."
~It's Showtime~
"You do realize those are my fries, right?" Alex sighed as he watched me stuff another fry in my mouth. His palm held his chin up with his elbow leaning on the table.
I looked up at him, offendedly. "Yeah, but that fry was calling my name," I argued. He raised an eyebrow at me, unimpressed. "What?"
"Sar—"
"I'm not kidding!" I defended myself, trying to maintain my serious composure. "Alex, you've got to believe me. You have to," I pleaded as I held his free hand across the table.
"You're quite the actor, huh?" He smirked and rubbed my hand with his thumb.
"I know, right? I'm a professional," I let out a dramatic squeal. "I think I should go to Broadway." Alex and I both laughed at my remark, which drew a few pairs of eyes our way. I shielded my face from them with my free hand.
After rehearsals, Alex and I headed to McDonalds for some lunch. We were going to invite some of the other cast members, but Alex wanted to have some alone time. He claimed with our hectic schedules and not being able to see me as much, he missed 'Alex and Sarah' time. I understood because I did too.
"So are you ready for the interviews coming up?" He asked, eating a fry from our now shared tray. I nodded frantically, my legs bouncing under the table.
"Yeah, I'm going to have my first real interview ever," I bit my lip, trying not to freak out. I've interviewed other Broadway actors who went to NYU in the past, but I've never been interviewed myself.
"Well, I'm honored to be joining you," Alex exclaimed with a smirk.
"Is there a certain way I should dress? I mean to promote Beetlejuice and whatnot," I asked. "Maybe a black dress to represent Lydia? Or do I dress more like myself? I don't even know honestly. Like do Broadway actors have a dress code?" I looked up in thought. I felt like these were things I should've known now that I was a Broadway actress.
"Sarah, calm down," Alex laughed.
"No seriously, do you have to wear something that resembles your character? Oh my god, why am I so underprepared? I don't think I can even do the interview anymore! What if they make us do a photoshoot? I don't even know how to pose," I panicked. I never thought so much about an interview, but I had to make a good first impression.
Alex went quiet, amusingly watching me rant with a small smile. He mindlessly tapped his fingers against the table, waiting patiently.
"I mean I'm Lydia, so maybe I should do more serious pictures. Or I could also pose more like myself. Full smile? Or just do a half smile," I bit my nail, glancing away.
"Well—"
"Wait wait, I got it! A smirk. Like my eyes are more of a dark Lydia style, but my smile is me. Half and half. Like this," I gasped, before striking a smirk with my arms crossed across my chest. Alex's eyebrows furrowed, staring at me genuinely confused. "Did you pick up anything I said?"
"I tried," He snorted, shaking his head. "Why are you freaking out so much?"
"Again, did you pick up anything I said?" I snapped, throwing my hands up. Alex leaned back in his seat, running his free hand through his hair.
"Sarah, it's an interview. All you have to do is answer questions about the show. You dress how you feel you should dress, not how you think others would," He started, ignoring my attitude. "You give them your beautiful Sarah Holland smile and you'll be fine. I'll be right next to you. What did I tell you not to forget?"
"We are in this together. Always," I mumbled, looking down at my tray.
Alex sighed, moving his elbows to rest on the table and lean closer. "Hey, look at me," He demanded, reaching out for my little hands. I slid them into his as he squeezed them gently. "Say it again."
"We are in this together. Always," I repeated, more clearly. A smile appeared immediately on my face along with a quiet giggle.
"Good. Now stop freaking out and be yourself. Simple as it could be."
"Okay, thank you," I nodded, letting out a long breath.
"Anything for you, shortcake," He beamed. "Ready to go?"
I stacked our finished food on the tray, before quickly running over to throw it in the trash. When I got back to our table, I stood next to Alex's seat instead and looked down at him.
"Now that I think about it, I think I'd like some frozen yogurt," I wiggled my brows as I bent down to his eye level. Alex fixed his gaze on me intensely, so I struck a sweet smile. "Anything for you, shortcake," I mimicked his previous statement, attempting to sound like him.
"I'm not sure if I'm more insulted by the fact that you used my own words against me or by the fact that you think my voice sounds like that," he joked. I pushed myself up and grabbed his arm, yanking him from his chair.
"I think I did a fairly good impression," I shrugged as I linked our arms and led us out of McDonalds to Katie and I's favorite yogurt shop.
Alex motioned 'so-so' with his hand slanted side to side. "How about an A for effect?" he patted my head with a snort.
I thought about it for a moment, before exclaiming, "I'll take it. We both laughed. "Also—" I began, jumping in front of him to prevent him from walking further.
"What?" He cocked a perplexed brow.
"Do you think my smile is actually beautiful?" I asked shyly, making an effort to maintain eye contact.
Alex laughed under his breath, surprised that I remembered his previous words. He nodded once, answering, "A smile to kill for, honestly." I awed at him, poking out my bottom lip.
"You're the best," I smiled, throwing my body into his chest and suffocating him in a hug.
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