CHAPTER 13

 There’s a place for us . . .

 A time and place for us . . .

Somehow, someday, somewhere . . .

              West Side Story

West Side Story

May 24, 1957, Saturday - Mom had me doing some errands for her today in preparation for the church’s Memorial Day picnic next weekend, the last Sunday in May. Reluctantly I choose to help her out. I had other things on my mind and running errands wasn’t one of them.

              A posting at the Tower movie theater caught my attention. It read of auditions for a new play circulating the country called West Side Story. It was a short pre-Broadway play. Today was the last day of the auditions so no one was auditioning but me.

              Hey, I have a gang. I can pass for a Puerto Rican gang leader into fighting. Flippantly, I entered the theater with my cocky attitude. This is going to be easy I thought.

              I was wearing my jack boots and jeans already. I had on a t-shirt with my Blades leather jacket. I check my reflection in the window and made sure my Falcon hung dramatically low over my eyes in quiet desperation. The James Dean attitude I had, check. My hair was beginning to get long in back, over my collar long.

               “Can I help you?” a voice interrupted me as I admired my reflection while lifting my collar up on my leather jacket.

              In a sarcastic gang-like tone I replied, “I’m here to try out for the play.” In reality, I wasn’t. I was just pranking them.

              “Which part are you interested in perusing?”

              “Hell if I know,” I said as I took out my switchblade and started cleaning the finger nail of my left index finger. “You tell me what part I’d fit.”

              “Come this way and I’ll have you read a few lines,” the lady said as I put my blade away and followed her. I was instructed to stand on the mark center stage. A spotlight came on and blinded me as I put my hands up to block the glare of the intense beam.

              “Start reading the line of Bernardo on page three,” a voice said from the darkness beyond the spotlight. I began and another voice answered reading the lines opposite Bernardo. I was myself, tough and arrogant. I was just pulling their strings and screwing with them.

              “That was good,” another voice said. I was wondering how many people were watching me since I couldn’t see anything beyond the third row.

              “Can you sing?

              “Yeah, some. I said before I gave them my cocky answer. “Actually, I’m pretty good if I were to say so myself.” I was still playing the tough, sarcastic gang leader.

              “We’ll be the judge of that,” yet another voice said. “Sing something for us.”

              “Like what?” I asked sounding like a smart-ass gang leader. I pulled out my comb and combed the sides of my hair.

              “Anything,” the voice replied.

              Turning to the man at the piano I asked, “Do you know Amazing Grace?”

              Silence permeated the theater. Here, this tough guy I was portraying is now going to sing Amazing Grace. How ironic! How oxymoron! How stupid the choice I was to find out.

              “Just start whenever you are ready,” the pianist said as he struck a chord.

              I began and the pianist followed suit. Amazing Grace had always been a favorite of mine, go figure. I had always put my heart and soul into that song and today was no different. The events of the past few years emerged within the song. This hardcore character I was trying to bring across became softer in character as I heard an occasional sniffle from the darkness. I even produced a few tears that trickled down my cheeks.

              When I finished there was total silence. You could hear a pin drop in that massive theater. Then I heard a clap. Then another joined in, then another. The house lights came up and there standing before me were ten people applauding my performance.

              All ten people gathered in a huddle ignoring me while I stood alone center stage.

              “What is your name?” I was asked

              “Michael, Michael DeMarco.”

              “Michael,” a gentleman began, “We would like to offer you the part of Tony. Will you accept?”

              Little did I know that the part of Tony had been cast. The crew were short gang members. I guess I did better than the original guy who was cast as Tony.

              Not knowing who Tony was, I accepted. I must have been out of my mind. Here I was accepting a part in a play that I never heard about and I didn’t even know what kind of character Tony was.

              “Rehearsals begin in two weeks. Pick up a script from Miss Levine on your way out,” one of the men said as Miss Levine raise her hand. I was to memorize my lines.

              Still being in somewhat of a dumbfounded state of mind I picked up the script and left the theater. I was an hour late as I checked the clock on the city hall bell tower. Mom is going to wonder where I was and what I was doing goofing off.

              But yet, the curiosity of being in a “gang” play intrigued me as I hid the script under the seat of the pickup. Nobody was going to know about this. Nobody is going to laugh at me I thought as the pickup came to a stop in the side yard.

Yeah, mom asked what I was doing to have taken so long. As usual I made up another white lie to avoid the truth.

June 6, 1957 – Saturday               I reported as told to from my audition two weeks ago. School had finished for the summer yesterday. I was to find out how my prank of becoming a gang leader had backfired.

              I had memorized my lines only. I had dressed as a gang leader with my Blades jacket and a white wife-beater, a pejorative (yeah big word – look it up).

              Okay, pejorative means derogatory. A wife beater is a derogatory term for an athletic tank top or sleeveless undershirt.

              This was my first play. I had no idea what the storyline was. I just knew my lines and where I needed to come in. Never once did I read anybody else’s lines. What a mistake that was. Yeah, my cockiness can and does get me into some hot water.

              And on top of that I got into a rumble with the guy who was originally chosen for the part of Tony. Of course, with my fighting talent I took him down fast without hurting him.

              Again, I put my foot in my mouth so to speak. The opening scene was a small fight scene, so the crew had me teach the gang members some take down moves that they choreographed into the opening dance fight.

****

              Michael got the role of Tony. A white boy of Polish immigrants who had left the gang of the Jets. Riff, the Jets gang leader, was Toney’s best friend. Tony had fallen in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Puerto Rican gang.

              Michael sang the wrong audition song, Amazing Grace. That song showed his tender side, the side, the countenance of Tony. Plus, Michael could sing and Tony was the lead male role.

              So here is Michael playing a white boy, who is not in a gang and had to kiss a girl. Strike three Michael. I had to laugh.

              Plus, the opening dance moves I recognized as a variation of martial art moves. Just how much of Michael’s input into the chorography of the fight dance actually ended up on the Broadway stage and the movie later on? We’ll never know.

****

              Oh hell no was my first thought. But to have top billing, hell yes! It wasn’t a total loss. Opening night was Friday, July 10^th and will run through Sunday, August 9^th.