A lump of fur pressed in next to me. I giggled. “Well, I guess someone else finally got up in this apartment.” Bootsy purred in response. When Bootsy was a kitten, he had a bad habit of jumping on my back while was I in the middle of a pose. I was constantly shooing him away from the yoga mat. Over time, he learned that when momma was on the yoga mat, Bootsy needed to stay away from momma. I may have accidentally kicked him once or twice when transitioning into a one-legged downward-facing dog or when I was raising my leg for a bow pose. He’s an intelligent cat. He figured out that I couldn’t see where he was a good deal of the time when I was doing yoga, so he’d learn that he could approach me when I was in a handful of poses.
He trilled next to me. “Okay, okay. I get it. It’s breakfast time.” I put my feet beneath my body and rolled up to a standing position one last time. Then stretched toward the sky before swooping my arms into a prayer pose. “Namaste.” I got off the mat and walked into the kitchen. I grabbed my water bottle and took a swig as I pulled out Bootsy’s food, opened it, and spooned it out for him. I placed it on the ground, and he practically pounced on it like a tiger attacking a wild animal.
I sprayed off my yoga mat and rolled it up, then tucked it away under the couch where I kept all my home exercise equipment. “Okay,” I said to the empty apartment. “Time to get to work.”
Something inside me said, “check your email,” so I picked my phone off the end table charger where I’d put it when I got back from running. I scrolled through. I could spend the entire day deleting emails about Black Friday deals. Thankfully, I was not in need of any big sales. I’d already done the bulk of my Christmas shopping throughout the year, so I needed to buy some wrapping paper, then ship everything to my family in Iowa. My parents may come to New York for my opening. “That reminds me, I need to but a bug in their butts about that. We’ll need to get reservations made, and tickets reserved fast if they’re coming.” I tend to talk to myself when I’m in my apartment alone. I needed a few more cats, and I could be a full-on cat lady in the future.
Meeting Today – Nine AM!I read the subject line of the email from Asier_Zlota_SanNicolás, so I kind of guessed who it was from.On behalf of the producer and myself, we are having a company meeting at 9:00 a.m. before our regularly scheduled rehearsal at 9:30. We hope you will all make it. – San Nicolás.
“Son of a Scrooge, there goes that extra thirty minutes,” I said. I looked over at the clock, which read 8:15.
I was in and out of the shower in record time. I breezed by Bootsy on my way out of the apartment with a quick “I love you” before dashing to the theater. With thirty seconds to spare, I walked into the theater. The escalators were working, so I traveled up the flight to the main theater entrance and found a few people standing outside the entrance.
I walked over to Peeter and asked, “Any idea what this is about?”
“Probably the bad publicity we’re getting,” Peeter said. “Seems like we have a mole in the company who’s been spreading our dirty laundry.”
“Whoa,” I said. We all know that casts and crews are like sieves. The information seems to flow out of them. But airing the dirty laundry in the press is a bit of a no-no.
Aarya poked their head out of the theater. “They’re about to get started. Please come in.” They said it politely, but we all knew it meant ‘get your butts inside,’ so we did as our favorite intern commanded.
I walked down front and sat on the aisle, taking my coat off and setting it in the seat next to me with my purse on top. I’d take them back to my dressing room when I got a moment.
“Thank you for getting here so early even after we tried to give you a later start time today,” San Nicolás said. “I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving and are now ready to buckle down and finish the work.” Standing next to San Nicolás, Rebekka Eldridge cleared her throat. “Oh yes, our producer has called this meeting, so I will turn it over to her.” He made a grand sweeping gesture toward the producer as he said, “Mrs. Eldridge.”
“First, I appreciate what the group pulled off yesterday at the parade. Our ticket sales started at 8:00 a.m., and they are pouring in. It appears we pulled off a Christmas miracle. We’ve already opened seat blocks into mid-March. At this rate, we’ll be opening seat blocks into early summer when we start our Cyber Monday sale.” There was a round of applause at that good news. “Now for the less-than-pleasant part of why I’m here. It has come to my attention that someone here has been speaking to,” she glanced down at her notes before saying, “TheBroadway411.”
I heard a series of groans from around the room. TheBroadway411 was the Broadway equivalent of Page Six, TMZ, and Perez Hilton all rolled into one nasty little website. It thrived on all things Broadway gossip. After Asher and I broke up, I’d been something of a smash for about a month as every piece of my life had been dissected on that website. It’s a truly trashy experience.
“Salacious rumors and gossip about the inner workings of this production should not be made public. You all signed nondisclosure clauses. It’s one thing when you’re talking to your family or friends, but talking to the media is strictly prohibited. This is a terminal offense.”
Uncomfortable murmurs around the room started immediately.Great, now everyone’s going to be wondering who the mole is. Terrific way to build company unity, I thought sarcastically.
“There are lines of communication within this company. You can talk to either Asier or Serafina if you have a problem with production. If you have HR questions, you can call my office. If you have union questions or concerns, you can talk to your Equity Deputy or reach out to Equity directly.”
Who is our Equity Deputy now?I wondered.We haven’t voted on a new one since McKenna’s accident.
“That’s enough of this unpleasantness,” Eldridge continued. “I was waiting until Monday, but everyone needs a pick-me-up after this conversation. Today is going to be a busy. The logo merchandise has arrived, and everyone is getting a gift bag. It will have two different T-shirts, ball caps, pins, and other souvenirs we’ll be selling in the lobby.” Just then, some of Eldridge’s minions rolled in a big cart with bags overflowing with stuff. As the cart rolled past, I read the cast names on each bag, which meant they had already put the right sizes in the bags. “Everyone will receive an embroidered polo and coat to wear for public appearances. Also, the final costumes will be here by noon today for everyone. So, we’ll have costumed rehearsals starting this afternoon. All the dressers have been called and know to be here today.” She looked around the room before asking, “Any questions?”
No one spoke, so she dismissed the group. San Nicolás told us to be in places by 9:30, so I had enough time to grab my swag bag, put all my stuff in my dressing room and make it back to the stage with a couple of minutes to spare. I found Katherine and Peeter whispering when I got there.
“What are you whispering about?” I asked as I approached.
“We’re playing detective,” Katherine said with a half-smile.
“I think it’s one of the stagehands,” Peeter said flatly. “They’re ever-present in the background without making waves. They hear and see a lot. It would be elementary for one to learn things and spread it around.” As if to prove his point, a stagehand climbed down the ladder right behind us, which caused my stomach to lurch into my throat as he dropped the last couple of feet to the ground with a thud.
“Excuse me,” the guy said as he brushed past us and walked across the stage.
“See what I mean?” Peeter said. “They’re like those creepy elf dolls that people keep in their houses that allegedly spy on children for Santa.”
“Yeah,” Katherine started, “those are just creepy as fu—“
“Places,” Serafina’s voice chimed over the intercom.
“We’ll talk more later. I wish whoever went to the press understands how this adds to the pressure,” I admitted. “I’m sure it’s someone new who doesn’t know the unwritten rules about airing one’s laundry in public. It’s amazing how quickly that can demoralize a company.”
The sound of the orchestra starting the overture in the pit snapped me back to attention. It was time for my A game.
