Encore Performance
When she appeared as Laurey Williams in her high school production of Oklahoma!, fourteen-year-old Brenda Cavett was bitten by the acting bug. Before taking on that first role, she had planned on becoming a nurse. However, handing out medications, taking patients' vital signs, changing sheets and cleaning bedpans could hardly hold a candle to the glamour of life on the stage. Her parents, being practical, hard-working, middle-class people, tried to dissuade her.
"Do you know how many women have dreams of stardom and wind up washing dishes or cleaning hotel rooms?" her mother argued.
"I'm sure there are quite a few," Brenda answered.
"The majority of them, I would imagine."
"But I'm not looking to go to Hollywood and become the next Meryl Streep or Julia Roberts. I just want to be a run-of-the-mill stage actor. I don't expect to go to New York and immediately land a lead role on Broadway. I'd be happy to get a small part with a line or two at first."
"And not make enough money to live on."
"There are plenty of waitress and receptionist jobs in the city."
Having grown up in a small town in Pennsylvania, Brenda did not realize just how expensive it was to live in the Big Apple or across the Hudson in New Jersey. Rather than give up her dream of being an actress, though, she set her sights lower.
After graduating from high school, she took a series of office jobs with a temp service and joined a local theater group. Her first role was that of Jean MacLaren in the local playhouse production of Brigadoon. When the show's run came to an end, she took on the role of Baroness Schraeder in The Sound of Music. Her portrayal of the wealthy aristocrat who wanted to snare Captain von Trapp was well-received and led to more substantial roles. In the next two years, she played Roxie Hart in Chicago, accused witch Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible, Kim MacAfee in Bye Bye Birdie, Maria in West Side Story and Guenevere in Camelot.
It was while she was playing the part of King Arthur's queen that Baxter Mundy saw her on stage. Brenda was in the communal dressing room, removing her makeup, when the actor-turned-producer visited backstage.
"I enjoyed your performance," he announced.
"Thank you."
"I enjoyed it so much that I'd like to have you audition for my new production."
Brenda, who did not recognize Mundy, was hesitant to discuss the matter. After all, pretending to be a producer or director to seduce gullible would-be starlets was an age-old practice.
"You're a producer, are you?" she asked skeptically. "On Broadway?"
"No. Not exactly. I acted on Broadway once—well, off-Broadway really. I did mostly dinner theater in and around Philadelphia. But I've got the financial backing to put on a show in a new theater in Pittsburgh, the Duchesne."
"Oh? What's the play?"
"It's one I've written myself," Baxter boasted.
"You're an actor, a producer and now a playwright. What have you got, a Lin-Manuel Miranda complex?" Brenda laughed. "What's your play about?"
"It's a musical adaptation of It's a Wonderful Life. Of course, since the movie was two hours and ten minutes long, I had to shorten some of the scenes to fit in the musical numbers."
"Did you write the songs, too?"
"Yes, but I didn't choreograph the dance routines. I had a former Rockette do that for me."
"And you want me to audition for a part in this production," Brenda reiterated, beginning to take him seriously. "What role did you have in mind for me?"
"The female lead," the producer clarified. "George Bailey's wife, Mary."
"Does Mary have any songs in your play?"
"Two solos—one when she falls in love with George as a high school student and another when she asks the people of Bedford Falls to help her husband in his hour of need."
"How many actresses will be auditioning for this part?"
Baxter's face reddened when he answered, "One. You. I think you're perfect for the role."
Brenda removed the rest of her makeup in silence. After turning off the lights that framed the vanity mirror, she spun her chair around and faced the former actor.
"Camelot closes in two weeks," she informed him. "I'm up for the role of Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls, but I've got some stiff competition. I suppose I can audition for Mary Bailey. If I do get it, I'd need to find a place to live in Pittsburgh."
"No problem. There's a hotel that's going to give me a good deal on renting a block of rooms for the entire cast and crew."
"And I'll want to see the script first before I give you a definitive answer."
"I'll have one delivered to you first thing in the morning."
* * *
Not long after checking into her room at the City of Bridges Motel, Brenda Cavett met Stella Lunceford, the actress who was to play Violet Bick. Since rehearsals would not start until the following morning, the two women decided to go to Moonlit Burgers for a get-acquainted dinner.
"Like you, I decided I wanted to be an actress after appearing in a high school play," Stella declared between sips of her Harvest Moon cocktail. "I was Lucy van Pelt in our production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."
"That must have been fun."
"It was, but I really wanted the role of Snoopy."
"Have you ever played here in Pittsburgh before?" Brenda wondered as she dipped a French fry into a dollop of ketchup.
"Not in this theater. No one has. The Duchesne is brand new. Ours will be the first play performed here."
"I didn't know that."
"Didn't Baxter Mundy mention it to you?"
Brenda shook her head in response, having just taken a large bite out of her hamburger.
"I stopped by the place yesterday as the curtain was going up—literally!" Stella continued. "A crew was hanging the main drape behind the proscenium arch."
"A new theater! How exciting!"
"It's hard to believe there are already rumors that it's haunted."
"Haunted?" Brenda echoed. "How is that possible if it's a new building?"
"I've heard that workmen claim all sorts of spooky things happened during construction. One of the plumber's assistants was injured and has since refused to set foot in the building again. Honestly, if I had a dime for every theater that claimed to be haunted, I could retire."
"Are there that many?"
"Hundreds, I dare say. The Paris Opera House. The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and the Lyceum Theatre, both of which are in London. There are quite a few in this country, too: the Granbury Opera House and the W.E. Scott Theatre in Texas, the Cincinnati Music Hall, the Hollywood Pacific Theatre, the Roseland Theater in Oregon, the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, the Belasco and New Amsterdam Theatres on Broadway and so on and so on. And let's not forget Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., where John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln. We have a supposedly haunted theater right here in Pennsylvania. People claim the State Theatre in Easton is haunted by a ghost named Fred or Freddy."
"All those places can't be haunted! Besides, I don't put much stock in urban legends."
"Don't forget what Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet. 'There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are ....'"
"'...dreamt of in your philosophy,'" Brenda droned, completing the famous quote. "Call me a skeptic, but I don't believe in ghosts."
Stella, on the other hand, was not so quick to dismiss the idea.
* * *
Having overslept, Brenda was the last performer to arrive at the Duchesne Theatre. Thankfully, Norman Cokely, the director, was too busy trying to keep the child actors from climbing over the orchestra seats to notice her late arrival.
"Why are there so many kids here?" Brenda asked Stella, who was clearly enjoying the director's consternation.
"They're part of the cast. Two of the girls play Violet Bick and Mary Hatch as children. The three boys in front are young George and Harry Bailey and young Sam Wainwright. The other four kids are Mary and George's children: Janie, Tommy, Pete and Zuzu."
"That's a lot of youngsters to keep track of. Where are their mothers?"
"Who knows? They probably dropped their kids off at the theater and went shopping. That's what I'd do."
Once the pint-sized actors were corralled, the director's assistant escorted them to the second-floor rehearsal room to learn their lines. Meanwhile, Norman instructed the adult actors to gather around him.
"We're going to do a complete reading from Act 1, Scene 1 through to the end," he announced. "Without the kids. Let's get Clarence and Joseph on stage. As for the prayers for George Bailey, we'll have the actors behind the curtain, unseen by the audience."
Brenda did not make her first appearance in the play until the high school dance scene, so she took a seat in the orchestra section and watched her castmates rehearse. Keith Danoff, who had the starring role as George Bailey, was not handsome by Hollywood leading man standards. He had more of an "everyman" appearance.
As Brenda watched George Bailey explain to his father the reasons he wanted to leave Bedford Falls, she felt a sudden and pronounced chill in the air.
Did someone leave a door open?
She turned around and saw a shadowy figure move across the lobby. Perhaps it was a building inspector or one of the workmen attending to some last-minute detail before the theater opened to the public.
Or maybe it's the ghost, she thought, smiling to herself.
Whatever it was, she soon put it out of her mind. It was the first day of rehearsals, and it was time she ceased to be Brenda Cavett and became Mary Hatch (soon to be Mary Bailey).
It was after six when Cokely called it a day. The child actors had long since gone home, and only the principal performers were still at the theater.
"I'm famished!" Keith exclaimed. "I'm not familiar with Pittsburgh. Can anyone suggest a good place to eat around here?"
"It depends on what you feel like having," replied Rob Kinsale, a Pittsburgh native who played George's younger brother, Harry Bailey. "Pub fare? Seafood? Italian?"
"Doesn't matter. I'm not fussy."
"The Grand Concourse is one of my favorite spots. It was once a railroad station, and now it's an award-winning restaurant. It's also a landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A scene from the movie Dogma was filmed there."
Mention of the Matt Damon-Ben Affleck comedy appealed to the group of actors more than the building's history as a transportation hub.
"I'd like to go, too, if you don't mind," Stella invited herself.
"And me," Brenda added.
Although the more mature thespians (those who played Clarence, Mr. Potter, Uncle Billy, Mr. Martini and Mr. Gower) chose to return to the hotel, the younger performers headed toward the Grand Concourse. As often happens, several of the actors were attracted to their co-stars. Stella Lunceford had an eye for Rob Kinsale. Keith Danoff was clearly interested in Gene Haber, the handsome actor who played Bert the cop. Alyssa Cormac, who portrayed Ruth Dakin-Bailey, flirted with Marshall Urich, who played Sam Wainwright. And Brenda found herself deep in conversation with Curtis Baskin, who co-starred as Ernie the cabdriver.
All in all, it was a pleasant evening, albeit a long one. The eight actors did not return to their hotel until well after midnight.
* * *
After three weeks of rehearsals, both the cast and director looked forward to the opening of the production.
"We'll do a final run-through tomorrow, in full costume, and then you can all take the next day off," Norman proclaimed. "I want you all well-rested for the premiere on Saturday night."
"A day off!" Keith joked. "It seems like months since I've had one of those."
"There's an Andy Warhol Museum on Sandusky Street. Feel like going there with me?" Gene inquired.
"I'd love to."
Stella and Rob expressed the desire to visit the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, whereas Alyssa and Marshall wanted to see the Cathedral of Learning and the Heinz History Center.
"What about you?" Curtis addressed Brenda. "Do you have any plans?"
"Not really."
"I was thinking of taking a ride on one of the inclines and then maybe doing the Three Rivers sightseeing cruise. Would that interest you?"
"As long as we get back to the hotel before nine. I want to go to bed early and get plenty of sleep."
"No problem," Curtis agreed and joined Rob at the coffee vending machine.
When Brenda entered the dressing room shared by the female cast members, she sniffed the air and grimaced.
"I smell smoke. Is anyone having a cigarette?"
Although smoking was prohibited in the building, occasionally, someone would light up on their way out the exit.
"I didn't see anybody with one," Stella responded.
Brenda sniffed the air again, but the scent was gone.
"I must be imagining things."
"That happens quite a bit," Stella teased.
"What do you mean?"
"Remember that shadow you sometimes see in the lobby?"
"I didn't imagine that."
"No one was in the lobby the times you said you saw it."
Brenda did not want to argue the point, so she tried to change the subject.
"Do you want to get hoagies for dinner?"
"And what about when you claim to have heard crying coming from the orchestra pit?" Stella reminded her. "And don't forget the time you insisted the exit doors were locked when they weren't." "I don't want to talk about this again."
"You know what I think? I think you were spooked by the stories that the theater is haunted, and now your mind is playing tricks on you."
* * *
On Saturday morning, Brenda woke early, got dressed and walked to Starbucks for a cup of coffee. She was surprised to see Alyssa Cormac sitting at a table, sipping a large black coffee.
"I thought I was an early riser," Brenda laughed as she sat on the chair beside her co-star. "You got me beat."
"I couldn't sleep."
"Me either. Tonight's the big night!"
"It wasn't the play that kept me up."
"Oh? No trouble between you and Marshall, I hope."
"He's not the problem either."
"What is it then?"
"Have you heard the rumors that the Duchesne is haunted?"
"Yeah. Stella told me the first day I got here. It's all nonsense! Even if I did believe in ghosts, it's a new building. Who would haunt it and why?"
Despite the strange sights, sounds and smells she had experienced, Brenda refused to attribute them to paranormal causes.
"I felt the same way at first. Now, I'm not so sure," Alyssa confessed. "I learned something disturbing at the Heinz History Center yesterday."
"What?"
"The Duchesne isn't the first theater built on this spot. The first one, the Monongahela, opened in November 1903. It was considered an architectural masterpiece. It was also touted as being absolutely fireproof. As such, not only were there no sprinklers, alarms, telephones or water connections, but there were also few fire exits."
A sudden chill caused Brenda to shiver. She looked down at her coffee, wishing she could close her ears to what Alyssa was about to say.
"A little more than a month after the Monongahela opened, during a matinee of Mr. Blue Beard on December 30, a fire broke out. It was later determined that sparks from an arc light ignited a muslin curtain. Panicked, the audience ran to the emergency exits, but they were either locked or hidden from view. No one was able to alert the fire department or call for help because there were no alarms or telephones. It's estimated there were 1,700 people in attendance that day, of whom 602 died and 250 were injured. Up until the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center went down on 9/11, it was considered the greatest single-building disaster in American history."
"But that was more than a century ago," Brenda pointed out. "Surely, something must have been built on the site before the Duchesne Theatre went up. I doubt the property was left vacant for a hundred years."
"There was a factory that, in 1938, was converted to a furniture store. Then in 1962, the store went out of business, and the building became a warehouse. It was torn down in 2021. That's when plans were made to build the new theater."
"Are you suggesting that the Duchesne is haunted by the ghost of someone who died during the Monongahela Theatre fire?"
"No," Alyssa answered, but her voice lacked conviction. "But several people have heard or seen strange things since rehearsals began. The little girl who plays Violet Bick as a child claims she saw a woman sitting on the mezzanine on Tuesday."
"Have you seen anything out of the ordinary?"
"No, but I thought I heard voices a few times."
"I think Stella is right," Brenda firmly declared, after finishing the last of her coffee.
"That the Duchesne is haunted?"
"No. That the rumors of the haunting have been playing tricks on our minds."
* * *
Usually, when Brenda stepped out on stage, she avoided looking at the people in the audience. A consummate professional, she did not want spectators to distract her from delivering a good performance. However, on the opening night of It's a Wonderful Life in the Duchesne Theatre, she could not ignore the pale complexions and emotionless countenances of the theatergoers who gazed with blank expressions at the play's actors.
A chill overtook her body and made her shiver. She faltered for only a moment; then she quickly stifled her uneasiness and turned her full attention to Keith Danoff. As Mary Hatch did the Charleston with George Bailey, she kept her eyes on the floor, afraid to see the disturbing visages peering back at her. When the scene came to an end and the lights dimmed, she hurried off the stage.
Once in the wings, Brenda saw that Keith was as distressed as she was.
"Did you see the people in the orchestra section?" he cried. "They looked like the cast of Night of the Living Dead!"
Stella, who had yet to appear on stage, peeked through an opening in the curtains.
"My God! Those people look as though they were all ...."
"... dead," Brenda dolefully uttered, completing her co-star's unfinished sentence.
"Rumors are that the theater is haunted, but I didn't believe them," Keith declared.
"One ghost, maybe," Stella said, "but an entire audience?"
"Maybe this is some kind of a joke," Curtis suggested. "Maybe Baxter Mundy had someone make these people up to look like that just to mess with our heads."
"And sabotage his own production?" Keith argued.
Curtis shrugged in response.
"This is no joke," Brenda asserted.
"You don't honestly think we've got an audience full of ghosts, do you?" Keith countered.
Brenda turned to Alyssa. Neither woman had told their castmates about the deadly fire that struck the Monongahela Theatre back in 1903.
"If ever a theater had cause to be haunted, it's this one," Alyssa said softly.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Curtis laughed uneasily. "It's a new theater. Why would it be haunted?"
Alyssa told her fellow actors about what she had learned at the Heinz History Center.
"But that was more than a hundred years ago!" Keith reasoned. "Why would the ghosts suddenly appear after all this time?"
"Maybe they don't realize this is a new theater," Brenda theorized. "Maybe they think they're at the Monongahela, watching the unfinished performance that was put on there in 1903."
"Wouldn't they realize it's a different play? After all, they couldn't have performed It's a Wonderful Life back then."
"No. It was a musical entitled Mr. Blue Beard," Alyssa explained. "But they may not be aware of what's going on around them. They probably don't even know they're dead, much less realize what play is being put on."
"And what happens when the performance is over?" Curtis asked. "Will they return to wherever their souls have been for the past century?"
"I guess we’ll learn the answer to that question once the curtain falls tonight."
* * *
Rob Kinsale, portraying war hero Harry Bailey, proposed a toast to his brother George, calling him "the richest man in town." Then, as the entire cast began to sing "Auld Lang Syne," the sound of a bell was heard above the voices. That was the cue for the child actor playing Little Zuzu to tell her father, "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings."
"That-a-boy, Clarence!" George Bailey called to the unseen angel, and the curtain came down.
The red velvet drape rose again, and the entire cast stood facing the spectral audience. Although frightened, each actor was poised to take a bow. As though in slow motion, the 602 zombie-like ghosts applauded and gave the performers a standing ovation. After a few minutes, the sound of clapping diminished and then faded away when the members of the audience vanished.
"They're gone!" Brenda exclaimed.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting the hell out of here," Keith cried.
His co-stars followed him to the exit, only to discover that the doors were locked.
"Why don't we try the emergency exits?" Curtis nervously recommended.
They soon discovered there was no way out.
Alyssa took her cell phone out of her pocket, but for some inexplicable reason, the battery was drained.
"Let me try mine," Stella said, but her Android was as dead as Alyssa’s iPhone.
Not only were all the cell phones out of commission, but the landlines were down as well.
"How are we going to get out of here?" a terrified Marshall whined.
"We're not," Brenda gloomily prophesied when she saw the ghosts materialize and make their way from the lobby, down the aisles to their seats.
"Why have they come back?" Curtis asked.
"Perhaps they want an encore performance."
With no means of escape, the actors wearily trudged back to the stage.
Unbeknownst to the world outside the Duchesne Theatre, Baxter Mundy's musical adaptation of It's a Wonderful Life was about to become the longest-running play in theatrical history. Through no fault of their own, the captive cast was doomed to perpetually perform the musical before an audience of ghosts throughout eternity.
Although both the Monongahela and Duchesne Theatres are fictional, the story is inspired by the actual fire at the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago.
As to the different spellings of theater/theatre, the accepted spelling in America is theater; the British spelling is theatre. However, many theaters in America use the British spelling.
According to Zuzu's teacher, every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings. But Salem is no angel, so he'll have to rely on my broomstick to fly.
