‘Ah, la vie e bella,’ Elizabeth Rogers thought dreamily as a road sign stating Broadway flashed by, eerily reflected in the opposite window of the yellow taxi cab. She was here. After laboring for eleven years, she had finally made it. Perhaps it was not her dream role, but something was better than nothing was! She watched as the theatres zoomed by. Her heart jumped when her green eyes spotted the Majestic Theatre. There it was….and there it went. That was not her stop, not now. Another grand theatre came into view. She breathed a sigh of relief, her breath fogging up the window for a brief second before dissipating in on itself.
“Here we are,” the driver announced monotonically. “Would you like me to get your stuff?”
“No, that won’t be necessary,” Elizabeth assured him politely. Taking a firm grasp of her suitcases by their handles, she pulled them out of the cab. She was about to walk away when the driver yelled.
“Hey! You plan on paying me?” Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she jogged back to the cab. “Here,” she said quickly, handing him some bills.
“Thanks,” the man replied gruffly, and drove away. Elizabeth looked back to the theatre, feeling dwarfed by the huge building. Here it was, the Winter Garden Theatre. CATS!
Elizabeth’s first impression was of a noisy, crowded room. She stood out a bit, being the only one not in warm-up clothes and with a suitcase in each hand. A tall, confident girl with blond hair up into a ponytail walked up to her.
“Hi!” she greeted her bubbly, her smile displaying a row of perfect white teeth. “My name’s Alex. It’s really Alexandria, but that’s so long and, oh I don’t know, formal, I guess.” Elizabeth was taken aback.
“Oh, well, my name’s Elizabeth Rogers. I’m-“
“New? Don’t worry, there’s a couple new people here. I’m rather new myself. Came in about four months ago, and I’m still not used to all of this!” She indicated the room with a large, all-encompassing gesture. “Do you have a place to say?”
“I don’t think so,” she said. “I just kind of came.” She grinned bashfully. Alex smiled widely.
“Great! I’ll introduce you around…if I remember correctly, Meghan needs a roommate. She plays Rumpleteazer. Come on!” Alex grabbed Elizabeth firmly by the hand and started dragging her through the room. They approached a rather petite woman with auburn hair and tanned skin talking with an equally short man with brown hair. “Meghan! Alex!” Alex shouted. She turned and grinned at Elizabeth. “Don’t worry, we tend to confuse everyone.” The red-haired woman and brown-haired man turned to look at them in near-unison. “You guys, I’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth. She’s new here.”
“I’m Meghan Williams,” the woman said, shaking her hand. “Nice ta meet ya.”
“And I’m Alex Guerrier,” the man said, introducing himself with a funny little bow coupled with a funny little grin that made Elizabeth giggle. “I play Mistoffelees.”
“I play Rumpleteazer,” Meghan quickly added.
“Meghan, do you still need a roommate?” the female Alex asked. “’Cause Liza here doesn’t have a place to crash and-“
“Yes, yes,” Meghan said wearily.
“Liza?” Elizabeth said with a confused look on her face.
“Yes, Liza! Elizabeth is too long and Liz doesn’t fit you. I haven’t heard you sing ‘Cabaret’ yet, but Liza should work just fine!” Alex beamed proudly. The other Alex shrugged.
“Yes, she’s always like this,” he said in reply to her unasked question.
“But anyways,” Alex said, glaring at Alex (Elizabeth, or rather Liza, was already confused), “Liza needs a place to crash, and I figured, ‘Why not Meghan?’”
“Sure,” Meghan said, brightening up a little, “you can stay. But be mindful, you have to help pay the rent.” Liza smiled.
“No problem.” There was a loud crash onstage, and Liza nearly jumped a foot.
“What was that?” Meghan sighed.
“Prob’ly a stagehand. Or,” she said, giggling, “perhaps it was Mark.”
“Mark?” Liza repeated, confused.
“He’s our Rum Tum Tugger, and can be clumsy at times. Don’t worry, he’s a gentle soul at heart, but when he’s in RTT mode, watch out!” Alex laughed merrily.
“Is that all you have?” asked Meghan, pointing to her two suitcases. Liza nodded. “Well, it’ll make things easier. After practice today, I’ll show you around.”
“Who do you play, anyway?” the male Alex asked. Liza grinned bashfully.
“I’m a chorus cat at the moment,” she replied.
“Be proud!” Alex joked, flashing her a smile. Liza blushed, she being the type of person who was embarrassed quite easily. “Don’t worry, if you’re good you’ll get moved up quickly.”
“I hope so,” Liza said, her eyes lighting up. “There are so many parts I would love to play. I don’t suppose you guys have understudies around here?”
“As a matter of fact…” he began with a twinkle in his eye, “we’re going to be redoing the understudies tryouts next week due to the influx of new people.” Liza’s face brightened immeasurably.
“That’s wonderful!” she exclaimed. Meghan rolled her eyes, and nudged Alex, who was watching the two with a playful grin.
“He’s at it again,” she murmured. Alex nodded.
“Suppose we should warn her?”
“Later, when he’s gone,” Meghan replied. Liza frowned, and wished she had better hearing.
“Attention!” yelled a voice from the head of the room. “Will all the newly-arrived cast members please go into the warm-up room? Everyone else, onstage!” People began to surge forward around them.
“I guess this is where I get off,” Liza joked.
“Just meet me in here when this is all over,” Meghan instructed, walking towards the door.
“But where should I put-” It was too late. Everyone had already cleared the room. “Shi-bang-bang!” Liza exclaimed, and ran into the warm-up room.
