There was another knock on the door. “What now?” grumbled Carlos.
“Come in,” Gladys yelled since I followed Carlos’ instructions not to move my lips.
Kirk walked in wearing a tux. After returning the tux he’d worn to the opening party, I’d surprised him and bought him one of his own. He hated it when I bought him presents. I convinced him it was as much a present for me because I wanted him to be able to tux up at a moment’s notice.
“How’s the lady of the hour?” Kirk asked. With Carlos’ permission, he came in and gave me a quick peck on the cheek.
“Good,” Carlos said, raising an eyebrow. “You didn’t mess up her makeup this time. You’re learning.”
“I had a skilled teacher. And I’ve been practicing as much as possible at home,” Kirk said to Carlos with a conspiratorial wink.
“Eww… I don’t want to hear about that,” Gladys piped up, “My poor ears. They’re innocent.”
“Whatever, Momma,” Carlos started. “You’re the dirtiest elf in this place.”
“And don’t you forget it.” Carlos and Gladys both cracked up at some inside joke. I shot Kirk a look through the mirror and shrugged.
A few minutes later, Carlos was finished with my hair and makeup. Gladys then helped me into my ink-blue dress embellished with sequins and crystals. It was an off-the-shoulder, floor-length evening dress. I had a maroon pair of Manolo Blahnik six-inch stiletto pumps. I had a small hand clutch with a few essentials that had been hand-dyed to match my pumps.
“Would you like to do the honors?” Gladys asked Kirk, gesturing to the zipper.
“I would love to,” he said, standing behind me. I could feel his breath on the lower part of my neck as he reached down and gently caressed my skin for a second before he grabbed the zipper and lifted it. The dress fit me like a glove, a very tight glove. A glove that would not allow me to eat, drink, or breathe for the next couple of hours. I looked at myself in the mirror, and I looked like every Disney princess fantasy I had growing up.
“You look…stunning,” Kirk said. “I am the luckiest man in New York City.”
“You’re the luckiest man in America,” Gladys said. “Now, go. Have fun. I’ll see you on stage.”
“On stage?” Kirk asked.
“Yep,” I said with a slight exhale. “My category is right after our musical number, so Carlos, Gladys, and a team of dressers will help get me out of my costume and back to looking like this.” I gestured to the complete outfit. “And they’ll do it all in less than sixty seconds.”
“How is that possible?” Kirk asked.
“The power of theater,” I said with a wink.
With that, I moved toward the door, and Kirk followed me. We wormed our way backstage, then down to the first level and out the back to find our limo waiting for us. The driver had the door opened when we exited the building, and we were whisked away to Radio City Music Hall. Then we waited in traffic. And waited a little longer. There was a spot for limos in front of the venue dropping off their cargo before walking the red carpet. When it was finally our turn, I turned to Kirk and said, “You ready for this?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for this, but I’m always ready to be there for you.”
The car stopped, and an usher opened the door and helped Kirk out, who then turned and helped me out of the limo. My dress had an immediate effect on the crowd gathered. The combination of professional and fan cameras turned in our direction and we immediately began hearing people yelling our names. Kirk and I would pose, letting the professional and amateur photographers take our pictures, before we moved down the red carpet a little farther and did it again. I’d coached Kirk on how to walk a red carpet so he wouldn’t be surprised by the many stops and starts as we walked.
We got inside Radio City, and an usher showed us to our seats. I had to sit on the aisle as a nominee and Kirk sat next to me. We stood in the aisle for a few minutes and talked with people in our general area.
“Ten minutes,” a voice over the theater intercom suddenly said, “Please, find your seats.” Immediately, an usher came running down the aisle to get everyone in the right seats.
The overture to the show started as a female announcer said, “Welcome to the Tony Awards. With special appearances by…” I tuned out the list of celebrities that would hand out awards. I squeezed Kirk’s hand and leaned over. “This is all surreal. I’ve always dreamed of making it to the Tony’s ever since I saw my first one on TV.”
“I’m glad I can share this special occasion with you. Just remember, take it in…take it all in. No matter what happens tonight, enjoy every second.”
I smiled as the host of the night came on stage singing and dancing. He performed a medley of songs that parodied previous Tony winners. The lyrics were inventive, but I wasn’t surprised. Eugene Moses and Tyreek MacQueen had been asked to write the opening number, and they have been working on it for six weeks. They’d run a few of the more cerebral lyric ideas past the cast to see if they made sense.
The show flew by. Before I knew it, I was ushered away from Kirk and rushed backstage to change into my costume. The company was performing a medley that ended with my high note in the eleven o’clock number. The Tony medley wouldn’t tell anyone anything about the show, but it would showcase enough of the show to drive up the box office on Monday. We’d been doing well with ticket sales, but not winning a Tony could lead to a summer slump, which could lead to the show closing. Like every show nominated, our performance at the Tony Awards was our one shot at getting butts in seats.
Gladys and Carlos made sure my costume, mic, and wig were put together before grabbing my evening wear and shoes and heading to their position off stage right, where I would meet them once the number was over. Only Gladys and Carlos had known that the dress they’d be putting me into was not the one I was already wearing. Not even Kirk had been told about the second ballgown I would wear afterThe Naughty List‘s performance. Gladys, Carlos, and I had conspired to do something spectacular, in case my name was called. If I stepped back on that stage to accept my Tony Award, we wanted to shock and awe the audience.
“Are my elfin peeps ready for this?” Katherine said as we got to stage left for our entry.
“As I’m ever going to be,” I said. “How bout you, Peeter?”
