“Are you going to do a lot of that?” Vaughn lowered his voice. He didn’t want to draw attention to their disagreement.
“I’m just clarifying a few things.” Benita waved a dismissive hand. “You’re too modest.”
Vaughn turned back to their audience scattered across the large auditorium. During the day, the sun shone through the stained glass windows carved just beneath the ceiling, making the images sparkle like jewels. But tonight, the darkness looked like velvet behind paintings. In the front of the auditorium, Vaughn and Benita stood in a concert pit that stretched between the rows of chairs and the mahogany stage.
“Let me tell you a little about the musical.” Vaughn paused to c
ollect his thoughts. “It’s a romance based on the Caribbean folklore of water nymphs and water fairies. The hero is a farmer. The heroine is a water fairy. The villain is the water spirit, Mama D’Leau. She’s part woman, part serpent. The five other characters are the farmer’s friend, three other water fairies, and Mama D’Leau’s accomplice.”
“So you’re looking for eight people all together?” Simon Knight called from a seat near the middle of the center section. Simon was the father of Vaughn’s childhood friend Darius Knight.
“Eight main characters and a few additional people for the chorus and crowd scenes.” Vaughn spotted Simon’s estranged wife, Ethel Knight, a few rows behind Simon.
Oh, boy. What bad fortune has brought these two people together for my audition? He still had bad reactions to the memory of their frequent bickering during last year’s fund-raising committee meetings.
“Do all the characters have to be able to sing?” Novella Dishy, a stylist with Skin Deep Beauty Salon, sat in the back of the auditorium with other salon stylists.
“Only the eight main characters,” Vaughn responded. “The additional actors don’t have songs.”
“Do they have lines?” Novella sounded suspicious.
“No, they don’t.” Vaughn shook his head.
“Well, then, I’m done.” Novella stood. The older woman squeezed past Belinda Curby, the salon’s owner, and Glenn Narcus, another stylist, then left the auditorium without a backward glance.
“What was she thinking?” Simon’s bark of laughter broke the awkward silence. “Of course everyone would have to be able to sing. It’s a musical.”
It wasn’t a good idea to agree with Simon out loud. Instead Vaughn changed the subject. “Are there other questions?”
Glenn raised his hand. “When are the performances?” “We’re doing one performance on June thirteenth,” Vaughn answered.
“June thirteenth?” Belinda’s voice squeaked with surprise. “Are you crazy?”
“That’s only seven weeks away.” Ethel added her voice to the chorus of surprise circling the room.
“It’s not as bad as it sounds.” Vaughn’s assurance didn’t make a dent in the rising cacophony. “Wait a minute. Everybody just wait.”
“Listen. Up.” Benita’s voice cut through the noise like a machete. “Today is Wednesday, April twenty-second. The musical is scheduled for Saturday, June thirteenth.”
She rose to pace the auditorium. Her voice was stern. Her body language was determined. This was Benita Hawkins in her element, taking charge.
“Yes, the schedule is tight. But it’s doable.” Benita paused in front of the center section. Her hands were planted on her hips. She glared at the aspiring actors. “If you can’t handle the schedule, leave now with our thanks for coming. But if you want a once-in-a-lifetime chance to star in a professionally written stage performance while serving your community, we’d love for you to stay.”
Vaughn waited with increasing tension for the crowd’s reaction. Had Benita been too stern? Would they all get up and leave? He never would have given his neighbors an ultimatum. He needed their help if he was to realize his dream of producing this musical. But Benita didn’t have anything to lose, so she’d played the heavy, a role that fit her well.
The crowd settled down. Vaughn exhaled as he realized no one else was leaving. He gave Benita a grateful smile. She winked at him in response.
Vaughn turned back to their audience. “If there aren’t other questions, we’ll get started with the auditions.”
More than four hours later, Vaughn and Benita said good night to the final auditioner, Virginia Carp.
Benita watched Vaughn as Ginny disappeared through the auditorium door. She didn’t like his rapt expression. “I’ve heard Ginny’s nuts.”
“Who would’ve thought a voice that big could come from someone so petite?” The admiration in Vaughn’s voice set Benita’s teeth on edge.
“She may have a beautiful singing voice but her behavior’s erratic.” Benita angled her body toward Vaughn.
They sat side-by-side on the uncomfortable crimson-padded folding chairs in the auditorium’s audience. It was late but she wasn’t tired. Maybe she was running on the adrenaline of managing the night’s audition. Or maybe this restless energy came from Vaughn’s company. They were the only two people left in the cavernous room. Maybe the only two people left in the almost one-hundred-and-fifty-year-old building. The sense of intimacy was as thick as a mattress.