A Stage In Their Lives - Chapter V
Posted 7/1/1998 12:00:00 AM

STORY INDEX

Thursday June 5, 1997

Chapter V: On the eve of opening night, their nervesare shot. Their voices are cracking. And the trumpet section is under orders:No snickering.

Attention Cast of West Side Story

This is it, guys. The week we've all been waiting for. There's no moretime. Know your lines, know your cues, know the MAMBO. We are on in lessthan five days.

Sign posted on drama club bulletin board.

MONDAY

After school ends, senior Starr Lucas, the drama club president, standsnear the North County High School entrance and talks to Keith Jeffcoat,who plays one of the Jets in West Side Story, the spring musical.

Keith is on crutches. His left ankle is in a brace.

"You've got to be ready," Starr says.

"Mr. Shipley told me that if I'm not walking by Friday he'll break bothmy kneecaps," Keith replies.

Early Sunday, while he was delivering newspapers, Keith plucked a redtulip for his girlfriend. Jumping back into the truck, he tore ligamentsin his ankle.

This is a problem. Keith plays Diesel, the biggest member of the Jetsgang. He and one of the Sharks begin the fistfight that leads to the gangrumble. Wayne Shipley, the show's director, choreographed the scene blow-by-blow.If Keith can't walk, how can he fight?

"I'll be there," he vows.

Maybe they're jinxed. Last week, Jason Morgan, who plays Chino, oneof the Sharks, suffered a collapsed lung. He's still recuperating at home.

"I may have to be Chino," Starr jokes.

"You're a goofball," Keith tells her.

"I didn't mess up my ankle," she counters.

"You're just jealous because that flower wasn't for you," he says.

"Ha!"

Starr heads outdoors, where ballplayers practice on the fields thatsurround the Anne Arundel County high school. She transforms her blue VolkswagenBeetle into a mobile billboard for the show, taping West Side Story posterson the hood. She's going to drive the car in the local Little League paradethis weekend.

"I don't know how I'm going to make it this week," she says. "A lotof people aren't cooperating. They don't understand."

They will tonight.

THE TAPED MUSIC PLAYS. PAT Reynolds and Eli Senter circle each other,knives brandished. Eli plunges forward, Pat counters and --

"You haven't gotten that right once," Mr. Shipley says, interruptingthem. "Listen to the music. You're 12 bars early."

This is the rumble, the final scene in Act I, the dramatic high pointof the entire musical. It's the scene in which the leaders of the Jetsand the Sharks are killed.

Pat and Eli -- the gang leaders -- have rehearsed their fight for weeks,practicing fake kicks, an over-the-shoulder flip and an ankle trip. Theproblem is, they must coordinate their moves precisely so that the fatalblow is delivered at the exact moment the music roars to a crescendo.

"Guys, you should be listening to this music," Mr. Shipley pleads. "Thereis no other agenda. What we're seeing just doesn't work. You don't realizethe seriousness of your situation."

TONIGHT, FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE cast members will sing each of WestSide Story's 11 songs with the orchestra playing. Neil Ewachiw, the 27-year-oldmusic director, has hired two dozen professional musicians; the drama clubfoots the bill.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you're on my clock now," Mr. Ewachiw (pronouncede-WALK-q) announces, tapping his baton on the metal stand.

Up first: Eli Senter, who plays Riff.

Eli snaps his fingers. The music begins. He looks at Mr. Ewachiw, gulpsa deep breath and, as usual, misses the cue by a half-beat.

Ah -- When you're a Jet

you're a Jet all the way...

But Eli trudges onward. By his vocal standards, this isn't horrible.He actually hits a few notes, and he almost nails the ending.

Orchestra members peek at the stage as Eli finishes. Mr. Ewachiw hasreminded them not to laugh. Last year you could hear the trumpet playerssnicker.

Next comes Brian Forte, the senior who plays Tony, the leading man.In past musicals, this is the week when the normally nonchalant Brian getsserious.

Tonight, though, something is wrong. Brian's voice cracks, he forgetslyrics, the high notes are impossible. He seems -- this is a first -- nervous.

"I don't know how to sing this part, Mr. Ewachiw," he says after onesong.

"Don't yell at me for doing it wrong when you were doing it right."

"Mr. Ewach -- "

"You were doing it right!"

When he slumps off stage, Brian no longer exudes the panache of theleading man. He's no longer the happy-go-lucky teen.

"I'm just feeling miserable," he says. "I'm feeling really horribleabout the musical aspect of this musical. The mikes, the orchestra, themood, myself not excluded. Everything is just very malingering."

Mr. Shipley corners him.

"What I saw was a little scary," he says.

MR. SHIPLEY SITS BY HIMSELF IN THE theater, jotting notes on a yellowlegal pad.

After 30 years of teaching, this will be his last musical. At 53, he'sretiring at the end of the school year.

"You know," he says, smiling wanly as the students struggle, "I thinkthe thing I dislike most about musicals is the music."

Friends arrive to help. In addition to Mr. Ewachiw, a former North Countyteacher who returns each spring to work on the musical, Mr. Shipley relieson other adults. There's David Richardson -- the kids call him Dave thePiano Guy -- who plays at rehearsals. There's David Garman -- Dave theLight Guy -- a former student who helps with the theater lighting. Andthere's Mike Strehlen, who handles all the guns, knives and cigarettesused as props, enough weaponry to intimidate the boys from calling himMike the Gun Guy.

"I couldn't do it without them," Mr. Shipley says.

Next on stage are Anna Schoenfelder and Angela Brown, whose characters-- Anita and Maria -- sing the last songs in the musical: "A Boy Like That"and "I Have a Love."

Shortly after they begin, a scream punctures their sweet duet:

"NOOOOOOOO!"

 Something has irritated Garman as he works on the lights. Hisvoice is so loud and surprising that Mr. Ewachiw stops the orchestra andturns around angrily.

"Please don't do that," he snaps. "This is my rehearsal."

"It's my rehearsal, too," Garman says.

"I'm on the orchestra's time clock," Mr. Ewachiw says. "You're wastingmy time."

The students watch, mesmerized. This is better than the rumble. Maybethe adults will duke it out.

Calm prevails. Typical last-week jitters, Mr. Shipley says later.

Flustered, Mr. Ewachiw tries to remember where the song was interrupted.

"Let's just do it over," he finally says.

It's worth hearing again. This is the best song in the show. The harmonies-- Anna's alto and Angela's soprano -- mesh perfectly.

As the two girls finish, Mr. Ewachiw calls Brian Forte to the conductor'sstand.

"Look," he says, pointing to his arm.

Goose bumps.

TUESDAY

SOME CAST MEMBERS ARE SPENDING so much time at school that their parentsbring supper to them.

When Phyllis Lucas arrives, Starr unloads.

"Mom, I'm sick," she says. "I'm running a fever. Shipley's yelling atme because people aren't here. The senior adviser is mad at me. I triedto take a nap on that mat over there, but I was interrupted seven times."

Her face is flush, her forehead hot to the touch.

"I'm not responsible for people not being here," she says.

"I know," her mother says.

This is what Starr needs; somebody to listen. Here, at school, Starris the mommy, even for the teachers. There's a problem in the costume room.Talk to Starr. I need more tickets. Talk to Starr. I need to add somethingto the program. Talk to Starr.

Starr can handle it.

But not always.

Every night, she goes home and anxiously checks the mail. She's waitingto learn if she will get enough financial help to go to Shenandoah University,a Virginia college where she can major in theater. The school is perfect:Because Starr has cerebral palsy, she needs a small campus to avoid weakeningher legs. If she can't afford to attend the college, she's not sure whatshe will do.

"I have my moments," she says, "but I keep them to myself."

The other students don't realize how difficult this show has been forher. For the first time, she's directing instead of acting.

"She would love to be on that stage, dressed up and in makeup," hermother says.

But she won't even get a curtain call.

AN HOUR LATER, HER FACE STILL red, Starr addresses the cast in a classroom.

"Tonight what we're doing is running the show from beginning to end,without the music," she says.

"We will run this at speed," Mr. Shipley adds. "If there are any trainwrecks, figure out how to get out of them."

There are no prompters in a Wayne Shipley production. If cues are missed,the students are expected to improvise their way around them. There isno curtain on his stage; he believes it detracts from the audience's willingnessto suspend its disbelief. If the script calls for a nightstick, then hewants a real nightstick, a wooden one, with a real leather handle, notsome cheap-looking piece of plastic.

"All right, guys," Starr says. "Let's go. We're doing this in two minutes."

AFTERWARD, BACK IN THE CLASS-room, Mr. Shipley is upbeat.

"We were almost good," he says. "But Riff got killed 12 bars beforehe was supposed to. I want the Jets and the Sharks here tomorrow at 5:30to go over that fight scene."

He looks around. The students are tired and apprehensive. Their expressionssay, This is going on in three nights?

"We have a show," Mr. Shipley reassures them. "But we have a lot thatneeds to be done."

Starr climbs into her car and heads home. The West Side Story posterson the hood flap in the spring breeze.

She needs sleep.

They all do.

WEDNESDAY

TIME IS RUNNING OUT. DURING A free period in school, Mr. Shipley grabsBrian Forte and Angela Brown to work on their love scenes.

Maria's balcony is finished. It is covered with spray-painted Styrofoam,but it looks like a brick facade. Mr. Shipley waited to finish the setuntil now; he knows it will send an excited buzz through the cast.

With Brian and Angela perched in the balcony, Mr. Shipley directs Brian.Wrap your arms around her as you sing. Sway with the music. Look happy,for crying out loud, you're in love.

Tonight, tonight,

The world is wild and bright,

Going mad, shooting sparks into space.

Mr. Shipley likes the way it looks. It will present a nice picture forthe audience.

Brian, though, has a secret.

"When I'm singing to Maria, I'm thinking about Anna," he says. "WhenI'm cradling and kissing her, it's Anna."

Just last week, Brian and Anna Schoenfelder, who plays Anita, realizedthey liked each other as more than friends.

"The stuff that I tell Anna sounds like song lyrics," Brian says. "Iknow it's hokey, but that's how I feel."

DURING A CLASS, A FRIEND NOTICES Anna's face. She is pale.

Anna has hardly eaten since lunch the day before; she says there wasn'tenough time.

"Are you OK?" the friend asks.

"I feel like I'm going to fall over," she says.

The friend escorts her to the health room. They find an orange and somesoup.

AFTER SCHOOL, SEVERAL CAST MEMbers head to their refuge, the Honey BeeDiner in Glen Burnie.

"Hey, look," Brian Forte says.

He turns his eyelids inside out.

Angie Guido groans, then laughs.

She has mostly recovered from her disappointment over not getting therole of Maria. She has a key part in two songs -- "America" and "I FeelPretty." She sings them well, but without much joy. Like everyone else,the drudgery of rehearsing is wearing her out.

"I'm ready to graduate."

TONIGHT IS DRESS REHEARSAL WITH the orchestra, the last scheduled practicebefore opening night on Friday. Mr. Shipley wants to give the cast Thursdayoff.

Jason Morgan is back. A collapsed lung kept him out of school nearlya week. He says he should get through the show, even if it happens again.

"I'll ignore it," he says. "I won't die from it right away."

In a classroom, Mr. Shipley addresses his troops.

"Listen, guys, there is no -- "

"Other agenda!" a half-dozen students shout in unison.

"Let's do it," he tells them.

Mr. Ewachiw pulls Brian Forte aside.

"High notes can smell fear," he says. "Don't be afraid of them. It doesn'thave to be loud, just comfortable."

THE OPENING ACT IS RUGGED.

During the song "Cool," sung by the Jets, two members of the Sharksgang mistakenly strut on the set while Eli is singing. They look around,then walk out.

In the back of the theater, Mr. Shipley nearly tosses his legal pad.

"If I ever do another high school play, I hope somebody castrates meand dumps the body in the Atlantic Ocean."

INTERMISSION. IT'S ALREADY PAST 9 p.m., the time they usually stop.

"We're not going anywhere yet," Starr tells them. "Call home if youhave to. We're having an early night tomorrow so I don't want to hear anycomplaints."

The students are exhausted, their faces drawn, their bodies slumped.

Mr. Shipley reviews his Act I notes.

"The Jets song, frankly, sucks raw eggs," he says. "We're going to workon it tomorrow so it's credible. Plan to be here until we nail it."

He turns to the Jets' girlfriends.

"I'm not getting any characters from you," he says. "Eli has this greatline -- got a rocket in my pocket -- and you just sit there. Ladies, whatwould you do if you heard that?"

"I'd laugh if Eli said it," one girl says, and the room erupts.

Mr. Shipley holds a hand in the air.

"Guys, this show has a real chance of being fantastic, it really does,but it's going to take every ounce of concentration that you have."

He wants to go over the opening number again tomorrow. And the fightscene. And a couple other things.

So much for having Thursday off.

THURSDAY

THE NORMAL AFTER-SCHOOL ENERGY is sapped.

"I'm just so rushed," says Rob Mackin, a sophomore who plays one ofthe Jets. "I have school to worry about. I don't see my parents enough.I have track practice. I've gotten four hours of sleep every night forthe past three weeks."

Anna Schoenfelder still looks tired.

"I came to school late today," she says. "My Dad told me I had to stayhome and sleep."

FIRST JASON'S LUNG COLLAPSED.

Then Keith hurt his ankle.

Then Anna nearly passed out.

Now this.

"I'm in pain today," says Angela Brown, who plays Maria. "My throathurts."

MR. SHIPLEY WORKS ON THE OPENING scene. He has put in several sightgags -- the Jets play keep-away with an apple; one of the Sharks swingson a rope from the balcony; there are some tumbles -- and he wants to makesure they click.

He stalks the stage, urging the students to stay in character. He'sgetting less sleep than anyone but looks the most energized.

"It's crunch time," he says. "That's half the fun."

They finish the scene.

"That's good enough," one boy says.

Mr. Shipley corrects him.

"It's never good enough."

IN THE MUSIC ROOM. MR. EWACHIW works with Brian and Angela one finaltime on their wedding duet, "One Hand, One Heart."

Don't sing so loud, he tells Brian. Just be soft and gentle. Think aboutthe words.

"You're doing a very good job for us as far as the technical stuff isconcerned," Mr. Ewachiw says. "You're not singing it the way I want tohear it, or the way I would sing it. You know why? I don't think you'veever been in love like this before.

"The first time I heard this song after I got engaged, I nearly wept.I think that's what's missing. That absolute conviction. It's just a matterof feeling what you're saying."

This is a setup. Mr. Ewachiw knows about the romance between Brian andAnna. Without saying it specifically, Mr. Ewachiw is asking Brian to singto Anna.

Brian nods.

Then Mr. Ewachiw turns to Angela. She wears a shirt with Mickey Mouseon it. He has heard about her sore throat.

"Rest your voice tonight," he says. "Don't talk, whisper. Wear a patchthat says: I'm on voice rest. You've got a big job tomorrow."

Angela nods. Her throat still hurts.

ELI SENTER IS THE LAST TO LEAVE.

"You look fabulous up there," Mr. Ewachiw tells him.

"Why?" Eli says, disbelieving.

Mr. Shipley answers. "You're just" -- he pauses -- "Riff."

Another pause.

"Even without a rocket in your pocket. Go get some sleep, ace."

Eli falls asleep reading his West Side Story script. It's the firstthing he sees when he awakens on Friday morning. And with it comes theheart-pounding and frightening and magnificent realization:

This is opening night.