Chapter 14

[Disclaimer: This story reads best in LANDSCAPE MODE on a smart phone or any other mobile device.]

LES MISÉRABLES TRYOUTS
SATURDAY - NINE AM
LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM

As I had been expecting, there were very many from both schools. Our combined orchestras were in the pit. Our timpani hadn’t arrived, but we will have room for when they do.

Stu got me a headset microphone, so I didn’t have to yell so much.

From up on the stage, I announced, “Welcome to Auditions for LES MISÉRABLES.”

That, in and of itself, got applause.

“We have as much time as we need today. I hope you brought some munchies. You may not see the rest of your family until morning.”

Most of them chuckled at that.

“Something really important to know, is that if you are here to audition for a particular part, there has been plenty of notice, including the availability of recorded or sheet music. If you intend to come up and sing something not in the show, now is the time to leave.”

Quietly, I scanned the crowd. No one was moving much at all.

“Damn, I was hoping we might lose some of you. Anyhow, everyone trying out for Valjean ... come up on the stage.”

Peter, John, Richard, Jeff, and James plus about fifty more, including some from Lincoln High students I didn’t know. I did see some sixth graders from Jackson Heights coming up.

“Thank you.” I said.

“Here is how it’s going to work today. Singing ability is the single most important criteria to us in the casting committee. Next, is if you look like you could play the part, and lastly, acting. This is mostly singing in place, but the ability to move across the stage if called upon, may be expected of a number of roles.”

“My assistant conductor, Jeremy Nicholls, will be leading the orchestra today. Yes, we all will get to hear you with a complete orchestra today. You actually may get tired of some of the music, and if you do, it’s all right to step out.”

“Each of you, step forward, speak your name clearly, and your height and age, then you will sing. The ability to hit that High B at the end ... is your goal, first?”

Richard Mitchell stepped forward, quicker than his brother or Peter.

“Richard Michael Mitchell! Eleven and 5ft10.”

Jeremy started the music where I noted...

He thought that man was me
Without a second glance!
That stranger he has found
This man could be my chance!

He started a little sharp, but I saw him unbuttoning his long shirtsleeves as he sang. He was clearly feeling the music. His eyes were glimmering as he sang the middle portion of “Who Am I?” I noticed him ramping up...

And so Javert, you see it’s true
That man bears no more guilt than you!
Who am I?

(He exposed his arm, which had numbers written on it.)

2-4-6-0-1

Holy shit, he’s been holding out this whole time, and his applause was quite remarkable. I saw his siblings all sitting together and applauding. His brother Richard, left the stage and sat back down.

Peter was next, although he looked rattled. He must have been a bit over-confident.

“Peter Michael Chapman, seventeen years old, 6ft tall”

I pointed to Jeremy, and Peter was clearly flustered, but got to the end and got it together and sang the high B with plenty of vocal strength behind it.

The other great audition was James.

“James Bailey Allen, fourteen, 5ft11.”

He also did it quite well. The others weren’t nearly as impressive. I asked them all to sit down.

“Now you see how it’s going to work. Next up all of my Javerts, please?

“While they are getting up here; I would like to introduce our casting committee, Principal Summers from Lincoln High School.”

That filled the room to the sounds of partisan applause.

“Principal McGowan from Jackson Heights.”

A bigger sound came from the audience.

“Also, we have Paul Planck and Cece Crabtree, music teachers from Jackson and Jennifer Stapleton, music teacher from Lincoln. Lastly, but first in my heart, is Janice Forrester and Alice Guthrie.” I got out before the crescendo began again.

There were about seventy Javerts in total up on the stage.

“OK, gentlemen, whomever wants to go first?”

A choir member from Jackson Heights stepped forward.

“Geoff Cooper, Fourteen, 5ft11.”

Jeremy began the music from “Stars”...

There ... out in the darkness
A fugitive running
Fallen from God - Fallen from grace
God be my witness I never shall yield
Till we come face to face
Till we come face to face

(With a remarkable stage presence, he had a surprising lower register. It was ending... )

Lord, let me find him
That I may see him
Safe behind bars...
I will never rest
Till then
This I swear
This I swear by the stars...

He held that last note as long as the orchestra had, yet another jewel from our choir. Everyone applauded him, even a few guys up on stage from Lincoln. A few said, “Attaboy, Geoff!”

Next up was Nancy Newman’s oldest brother, Jeff. Nice and tall.

“Jeffrey Matthew Newman, Seventeen, 6ft3.”

The song began again. Jeffrey moved a little, but had the belt when he needed it, and it was done.

The other boys, from both schools sang it as well.

As they cleared the stage, I spoke, “I will be calling out callbacks before we leave today. I will also be emailing the pertinent callbacks for those for that particular part as necessary.”

“Next up, are the girls ... Little Cosette’s and Little Eponines, please come up on stage?”

“You may be wondering why I am having Eponine singing? The song “Castle on A Cloud” will be performed with both young ladies singing.”

There was applause, mostly from the mothers who were there. There were about thirty of each up on stage, mostly younger sisters of students I already knew. I turned to them and said, “I am expecting my Cosette to be blonde with blue eyes. If not blonde, I expect you to color your hair starting the month before performances.”

“Eponine needs to be brown haired, or colored to be that. Eye color is not important. Cutting your hair is expected for both parts.”

Some left the stage, going back to their mothers.

“I am sorry if anyone is surprised about this. It stated very clearly on the back side of the audition notice about these requirements.”

“First, the Cosette’s. Who wants to be first? Remember to sing out loud. This is not the time to be quiet.”

Rose Newman walked forward.

“Rose Elizabeth Newman, eight years old, four foot tall ... exactly.”

Jeremy started the orchestra. I saw Rose take a deep breath and began...

ROSE NEWMAN
There is a castle on a cloud,
I like to go there in my sleep,
Aren’t any floors for me to sweep,
Not in my castle on a cloud

There is a room that’s full of toys,
There are a hundred boys and girls.
Nobody shouts or talks too loud,
Not in my castle on a cloud

There is a lady all in white,
Holds me and sings a lullaby,
She’s nice to see and she’s soft to touch,
She says, “Cosette, I love you very much.”

(She closed her eyes and finished very clearly)

I know a place where no one’s lost,
I know a place where no one cries,
Crying at all is not allowed,
Not in my castle on a cloud

I heard Jeff yell out, “That’s my sister!” as the rest of the people all cheered for her. She walked to the edge of the stage.

Stepping out next was Isabel, how would she handle this?

“Isabel Annabelle Chapman, eleven years old, three feet eleven inches tall.”

Jeremy began again, and she also sang it wonderfully. I saw her brother Peter crying as she and Rose held hands and went back to their seats. Both of their brothers were quite proud.

The rest of the young Cosette’s finished up, and then the young Eponines sang also, with Rebecca Andrews (eight), Sami Burris (eight) and Lydia Bagley (nine) being the strongest of them.

This was going to be my toughest decision!

You may be wondering our methodology for selecting one over the other. Each of our committee had a tablet with a special bit of software on them. It would bring up the name of the person auditioning.

A computer nerd I knew in eighth grade wrote an app that would allow each of the committee to grade the audition on a one to ten scale. It would use just a portion of the score by the person from the same school as the auditioner. It was compiled and stored where only I could access the numbers. I made the final decision regardless.

We continued through Little Eponine, Fantine, Cosette, Eponine, Gavroche, Enjolras, and Marius, and the Bishop, before we took a break.

I checked in with the committee. “How is it going everyone?”

“Marvelous,” Miss Stapleton said.

“I agree,” Paul said.

“Where was this system when I was trying out back in high school?” Cece wondered aloud.

“Who created this?” Principal McGowan asked.

“A fourteen-year-old who may just be the next Eric Schmidt,” I answered. Neither school principal recognized the name of Google’s current CEO, shrugging to my reference. Paul, who had Cece holding his hand, saw my smirk, and gave one back to me. He was between Cece and his ex, occasionally glancing over at the very pretty Miss Stapleton, who looked bemused today.

Next up were the roles of Thenardier and his better half. After talking to Jeremy, telling him how good he was doing, I went back to the stage, motioning Stu to turn on the microphone.

“Only two major roles to go, everyone. Can I get all of my Mr. and Mrs. Thenardiers up here?”

Quite a few came up; with a number of people I didn’t recognize at all. Before I could call the first person to come forward, John Mitchell stepped up and a girl I had never seen before, but seemed familiar...

“I am John Michael Mitchell, 5ft6 and twelve-years-old.”

The woman said, “I am Joan Suzanne Prefontayne, 5ft9 and fourteen years old. We are trying out together, if that’s all right with you, Michael.”

“Is that ... you inside there, Joanie?” I said.

“You told me what she should look like, so I took it to heart. Am I ugly enough for ya?” she said in a character voice.

Mom, Alice, and the entire committee were in stitches waiting for this as much as I was.

“Jeremy, please?”

I pulled myself together to listen to this...

JOHN MITCHELL
Enter M’sieur
Lay down your load
Unlace your boots
And rest from the road
(He was brilliant!)
This weighs a ton
Travel’s a curse
But here we strive
To lighten your purse
Here the goose is cooked
Here the fat is fried
And nothing’s overlooked
Till I am satisfied

Food beyond compare
Food beyond belief
Mix it in a mincer
And pretend its beef
Kidney of a horse
Liver of a cat
Filling up the sausages
With this and that

Residents are more than welcome
Bridal suite is occupied
Reasonable charges
Plus, some little extras on the side!

Charge ‘em for the lice
Extra for the mice
Two percent for looking
in the mirror twice
Here a little slice
There a little cut
Three percent for sleeping
with the window shut
When it comes
to fixing prices
There are a lot of
tricks he knows
How it all increases
All those bits and pieces
Jesus! It’s amazing
how it grows!

(He motioned for all to sing with him)

Master of the house
Quick to catch yer eye
Never wants a passerby
To pass him by
Servant to the poor
Butler to the great
Comforter, philosopher,
And lifelong mate!
Everybody’s
boon companion
Gives ‘em
everything he’s got

Dirty bunch of geezers
Jesus! What a sorry little lot!

(I was on the edge of my seat!)

JOAN PREFONTAYNE
I used to dream
That I would meet a prince
But God Almighty,
Have you seen what’s happened since?

Master of the house?
Isn’t worth me spit!
Comforter, philosopher
and lifelong ... shit!

Cunning little brain
Regular Voltaire
Thinks he’s quite a lover
But there’s not much there
What a cruel trick of nature
Landed me with such a louse
God knows how I have lasted
Living with this bastard
in the house!

JOHN
Master of the house

JOAN
Master and a half!

JOHN
Comforter, philosopher

JOAN
{Don’t make me laugh!

JOHN
Servant to the poor.
Butler to the great

JOAN
Hypocrite and toady
and inebriate!

JOHN
Everybody bless the landlord!
Everybody bless his spouse!

Everybody raise a glass

JOAN
Raise it up the master’s ass!

BOTH
Everybody raise a glass
to the master of the house!

After the two measures of the orchestra that completed this audition, everyone stood up and applauded the two. They even had a shtick about bowing, trying to knock each other down. It was marvelous. Half of the group that came up left the stage knowing they had little chance, but a dozen or so, had the temerity to audition, but nobody else did it together, like John and Joanie just did. Talk about first impressions!

“Let’s take a break, and then we will listen to everyone else,” I said dropping to find my Jennifer, who handed me a bottle of water.

Principal Summers walked over to me and asked to speak alone.

“Are you bringing Peter Chapman back for callbacks?”

“If you want me to ... I will, Sir.”

“No, only if he is good enough, I would like you to consider him. He is the best of Lincoln High, and you know that.”

“Don’t worry sir; I want the same thing that you want. That is the best our two schools have to offer. That is what you want, isn’t it?”

“Well ... yes, of course it is. Thank you, Michael,” he said going back to sit by our principal. Harold shook my hand and said, “The bit of bad language was OK for me! Weren’t they great?

Alice brought me those who made the cut, so I went back on stage and said, “We have our callback list ... one hundred and eleven of you (RK: Not all will be mentioned). If you hear your name, be here tomorrow at nine am sharp. Here it is, alphabetically, by last name.”

“Abrams, Andrew ... Adamson, Herbert ... Aldridge, Kevin ... Alexander, Charles and Cheryl”

With every name I announced, there was a big “Whoop” or something near it.

“Allen, Amy and James ... Alling, Abraham ... Ambrose, Dorothy ... Anderson, Nancy” [skipping down a little, ] “Carville, Mary ... Chapman, Isabel and Peter,” I stopped and looked over at Principal Summers who looked satisfied, “Choate, Nancy and Sam ... Clarke, Emily... [skipping again] Fisher, Dani ... Guthrie, Jennifer ... Hall, Ken ... Hammonds, Jon... [skipping again] Mitchell, Larry, Richard, John, and Mary ... Newman, Rose, Lily, Nancy, and Jeff ... my goodness we have a lot of big families around here.”

That got a great response.

“Prefontayne, Anna and Geena ... Isn’t there another one of them here somewhere?”

“Joan,” came from somewhere, probably her.

“Here it is, Prefontayne ... Joan,” and I finished up the list to cries of both elation and heartache.

“If your name has been mentioned, and you have no other siblings here, you are welcome to leave. Many people have been standing who would prefer to sit down. You may still be considered for minor parts and chorus and notified of the first sing-through of the show. Thank you and drive safely.”

Again, not many left.

We had gone through about half of the people who had come to try out. The rest of them wanted to be in the show, but had no delusions of grandeur; I suppose.

“Of those left, about forty of you come on up please?”

I saw kids from both schools still here, so this would be daunting, but fair. I selected twelve of them, getting their audition sheets and handing them to Alice.

I asked Jeremy to be prepared with Music #13 as I asked the first twelve to be ready. “Please sing the song ... if I touch you, please leave the stage, but don’t leave the theatre! Go ahead, Mr. Nicholls.”

They all started singing “Do You Hear the People Sing,” as I walked between them listening closely to their pitch. I quietly excused nine of them getting some to replace them. After a while, they understood and replaced people as I excused one after another. I now had eleven great singers, and brought eleven more to the fore.

The difference from the first to now was getting slight. Mom and Alice ushered three-dozen more kids on-stage as I spaced them in three rows increasing the block of students to four-dozen, three rows of sixteen. The sound was incrementally getting better as group after group came up, sang, either staying up or being excused. Those from the first bunch had now sung the song five times up to this point.

For a solid hour, I kept doing this, occasionally expanding the group. Another hour went by and the stalwart ones were getting their second wind and I had four rows of fifteen now. Rather balanced in boys and girls. That mix was important to me. I let loose the first twenty saying, “You’re in the chorus,” but no one wanted to leave the stage. I wanted from sixty to seventy, so we kept going.

Jeremy was having a blast as the committee was singing along.

Finally, my sixty-four best started singing one last time. I picked up my microphone. “Here ... is our core chorus for LES MISÉRABLES. The rest of you will be considered for solo roles. Everybody sing with them one last time, why don’t you?”

CORE 64 CHOIR
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing the songs of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again
When the beating of your heart,
Echoes the beating of the drums
there is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!

I excused everyone!

Jeremy and the orchestra were likely tired, but this was their notice about how this show’s music could possibly wear them down during the show itself.

Each of the final core sixty-four were told to let the committee know who they were. Alice and Mom were sorting through all the papers I had collected during the marathon sing. Both school principals were suitably impressed. I talked to them while everything else was going on.

“Did you just wing that whole thing?” Principal Summers asked.

“Sir, I needed the most cohesive sounding chorus I could get. Hearing them each would have taken until next Tuesday. This was my diabolical way to determine who could hold up for three hours. The actual show will be about two and one-half hours, causing some music to be cut or trimmed. Thank you for your involvement. The final cast list will be posted by Tuesday first thing. I plan on having rehearsals during the summer break.”

“Michael,” Principal McGowan, “Before I forget, the costumes you requested ... do you want them at your school, or here?”

“Just a minute please,” I asked, going to talk to Janice and Alice. I came back to him and said, “Could you get it all delivered to my house? Here is our address,” I said presumptively, handing him a piece of paper.

“Harold, this young man is quite remarkable, isn’t he?”

“I told you that at our first concert, Richard. ANNIE will be just as remarkable; I garan-damn-tee it.” he said as they shook hands.

After I thanked everyone else, our gang of four left for home.

On the trip to the house, Alice turned and said, “That was astonishing, what you did with the chorus. Every time you replaced someone, it was like a sixty-four-string instrument being tuned ever so carefully.”

“Thank you, that was how I envisioned it. When I heard too much boy, I replaced one with a girl. The final group really sound marvelous, didn’t they?” I asked.

“Yes, they did ... so, you are getting the Chain gang, Beggars, and Prostitutes from these students?” Alice asked.

“No Ally ... these are my core. The ones I excused, we are picking from after tomorrow’s callbacks.”

“Michael, we don’t have that many robes planned for,” Janice said from the front seat.

“We’re using the school choir’s green robes for everyone else. Didn’t I tell you that?”

“I am too tired to argue with you Michael. Remember, I am an old woman.”

I smiled and said, “If you are old, I am a musical conductor ... wait for it! I am ... aren’t I?”

“We’re home, I am going to bed. Wake me in three hours,” Janice said.

“Would you like me to call you ... or nudge you awake, mom?”

I got a slap from Jennifer, but it was only half-hearted. She was yawning as well.

We all went to sleep for a recharge. Of course, my girl crawled in behind me. Today took only five hours, but the results justified my means. Her left arm, which was on my left hip, always feels warm and loving. Three hours of rest seems like it might not be enough, but at this point my eyes closed.

I woke up and was still in the arms of my future wife. She is so very soft. She smells good.

We got downstairs dressed and ready for the rest of the afternoon ... or was it evening? As we sat down, I said, “After dinner tonight, I want to discuss the auditions earlier today. I want all of your input, before we make our pre-decisions going into tomorrow.”

“Good idea,” Alice said. “We should establish the top two or three for each role.

“I am trying to remember if I told the orchestra to be back in the morning when I let them go earlier,” I said to my three ladies.

“All I heard you say to them was to go home,” Janice said.

“Well, I guess we will find out in the morning, honey,” Ally said to me.

We were all sitting now with the glorious scent of my mother’s meat loaf wafting straight into my sense of smell.

After giving my girl a serving, I dug in and got myself some. This is another meal I have been having all my life. I put the largest potato on my plate and a big slab of butter on top of it.

Jennifer looked at my plate and said, “You really should eat healthier, Michael.”

With the first bite already in my mouth and another on my fork, all I could do was chew. When able, I took a quick drink of milk, and then I was ready to respond.

“I am thirteen years old, Jennifer. Everything I eat is bad for me. You are good for me. Let me enjoy meatloaf with baked potatoes for a few more years. When we are living with each other and going to Jacobs together, you can fix anything you want for me, and I will eat it. Until then, let me eat this. It’s been a while and I love it almost as much as I love you.”

“Oh Michael,” my mother said. “Eat and enjoy. You guys have years to work things like that out between you. Maybe you will invite us over for dinner from time to time. We can bring you spaghetti, meatloaf, or even noodles with chicken. It’s only an hour away. You could always drive home for a meal if you wanted.”

“Everybody,” I said. “Let me enjoy my youth before it’s taken from me. I love you all, but dinner is getting cold,” so I started eating again. They all started chuckling over my rant. After a couple of big bites, I cleansed my mouth and said, “I took over 200 kids and made a damn good chorus today, I think I deserve more credit around here.”

Jennifer ran her fingers through my hair and said, “Is my poor Michael feeling underappreciated? That’s not what you said when we were kissing after we woke up from our nap.”

Not wanting her to give out any more details, that could be misinterpreted I pulled her to me and gave her a moist kiss. “Jenn, they don’t want to know what we do or don’t do in the bedroom, please refrain from giving out any of the lurid details?”

“Sorry,” she said to me. “Isn’t he cute when he gets all defensive like this?”

“Adorable,” Ally said. Mom just stayed neutral; I saw her smiling to herself.

Afterward, we all sat down to discuss the auditions from earlier in the day.

“Was anyone as surprised as I was when John and Joan got up to audition together?” I asked.

“I didn’t recognize her,” Jennifer said.

“I thought she had fantastic comedic timing while singing,” my mother said.

“I would have done the same thing,” Alice said.

“So, are we saying the part is hers, or what?” I said.

“We have got seven other girls coming back tomorrow, and maybe one or more of them will attempt the same thing,” mom said.

“I think Joan should get the part,” Jennifer said. “She asked Michael at school what she needed to do ... and she did it. That’s following directions, isn’t it?”

“Did she really ask you, Michael?” Ally asked.

“Yes, at school. I was just throwing out ideas, and she took them and put herself out there today. It’s my final decision, so unless one of the other girls tomorrow really surprises me, it’s Joan’s to lose,” I declared.

“What about Peter Chapman?” Janice said. “Despite his nervousness, he certainly has a marvelous voice.”

“I agree,” Alice said, “but he still froze for a moment. How do we know that won’t happen during a performance?”

“Valid point,” Jennifer said. “Rich Mitchell really surprised me with how he sang today. We all knew he could do a number like he did at the first concert, but he really pulled that High B out of his butt, didn’t he?”

“Yes, he did,” Janice said. “I knew he could do that, but he wasn’t sure. I guess he has become more confident nowadays.”

“I agree,” Alice said, “He’s the Valjean of choice to me.”

“Next, is Javert,” I said. “I said that no Jackson student could do the part justice, but James and Geoff really showed me something. They’re both moving on to Lincoln High next year. Anybody else have anything to say about either of them?”

“I think James is dreamy,” Jennifer said. “If we hadn’t met, I could have probably ended up with him.”

The moms both giggled at her moment of honesty. I was OK with how she made her case for James. She kissed my nose, and then grinned.

We talked about both Cosettes and Eponines, and who would be best as Jennifer’s understudy. The Lincoln High boys dominated the Marius and Enjolras discussions. We came to a conclusion on each of the major roles, and understudies. We would discuss everyone else after callbacks tomorrow.

DAY TWO CALLBACKS
NINE AM - LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL

We arrived to find the orchestra waiting to be let in. I felt bad, but I am glad they were there. Jeremy followed behind me.

“After you let them go yesterday; they asked if they were supposed to come back today. I told them to. You did want them here today, didn’t you, Sir?”

“I sure did, I may want something today they haven’t played before.”

“I expected as much, so I told them to look over the other Valjean and Javert numbers Sir.”

“Very proactive of you Jeremy ... get them assembled, please?”

The committee today was just us. I have been taking too much of Paul and Cece’s time. They are engaged, and I was aware they enjoyed each other’s time just like Jenn, and I do.

Today I would wing it, trying to get something out of the people who fell behind.

Everyone arrived, and on time. I love it when things happen on time. Jeremy warmed up the orchestra using techniques I had given him.

I got up and spoke to those who were here today.

“Hey everybody, glad to see you, again. This is how it goes today. We might only be here a couple of hours instead of the marathon we had yesterday. The final cast of LES MISÉRABLES is in this auditorium right now. We are going to have everyone sing again, but probably a different number. Don’t worry if you hadn’t learned it. I have copies of the words. This is to find out how well you listen while singing with other people. The final complete cast list will be posted on Tuesday morning first thing.”