Sing for Their Supper - 44

 

 

Tuck looked at the assembled cast, smiling to himself. Their desire to do more than they had been so far was almost palpable. "Who feels like we should forego the speaking parts for now and start working on the songs?"

 

The cheers from the younger contingent let him know they all agreed that it was time. Roma, Andy, and Fran were a bit more restrained, nodding instead.

 

"Vin, if you would."

 

Vin gave him a thumbs-up and began playing "Food, Glorious Food".

 

By the end of the morning, with several stops and starts when Tuck had them go over a chorus song more than once to get a better blending of their voices, he felt they were on the right track.

 

"Break time. Get lunch. We'll do Act Two when you get back."

 

Everyone took off except Fran and Andy, who came over to tell Tuck they were going to go a restaurant a couple of miles away to eat. "We can bring something back for you," Fran said.

 

"That would be great. Peg should be here any minute now to show me her preliminary designs for the costumes."

 

"Name your poison," Andy said, so Tuck told him any kind of sandwich would be fine. "Will do," Andy replied before saying, "To be honest, the kids are much better than I expected. When we first agreed to do this, I was picturing an amateurish show whose only purpose was to get them off the streets for a while. Now I think you have the makings of a real theater company here."

 

"We do, if I can keep them focused. We've barely scratched the surface of what has to be done, which they may or may not realize."

 

"We'll do our best to keep their interest up if it starts to flag," Fran promised.

 

"Thank you!" Tuck replied.

 

Almost as soon as they had left, Peg showed up holding a thick portfolio. She and Tuck went down to the costume shop, where she laid out her drawings on the cutting table.

 

"The double-casting was the only hard part, as far as figuring out how to accomplish the changes," she told him. "I think this will work."

 

She had Jolie, Evie, and Dena in simple short trousers and shirts for the workhouse scene, and the same thing for Oliver. "You could throw Ricky into the scene too," she suggested. "Right now it seems pretty sparse, as far as kids go."

 

"Yeah, I figured that out this morning. I'm going to talk to him about it."

 

"Okay. I'll plan on it, then. There isn't much time between that scene and the next one for the girls, so they'll just put their dresses on over what they're wearing. It would be a fast change for Ricky, too, going from that scene to being Noah Claypole, but I'll make it work. After that, he's only Dodger, with just one costume."

 

"All right." He looked at what she'd come up with for Andy. "The traditional blue greatcoat, I see."

 

"Yes. It will cover this." She tapped the costume for Mr. Sowerberry. "He'll have time after that to make the full change into what Brownlow wears. Do you want him to have different tailcoats to show the time changes?"

 

"If you would, please. Are you planning on renting them?"

 

"I hope not. Andy's a normal size. I think I can get the theater department at school to let me borrow a couple from their costume stock—and top hats."

 

"That would be great."

 

"Nancy and Bet wear the same thing throughout the show. The same with Fagin. Thankfully, the scenes with Sikes and Dr Grimwig are far enough apart that Mace will have plenty of time to make his changes."

 

"You're going to make all of Oliver's costumes?"

 

"Yes. I have two undergraduates lined up to be my assistants. And my girlfriend offered to help if I need her." Peg grinned. "She's not the greatest when it comes to using a sewing machine, but she's a whiz at buttons. By the way, you bought good machines. Thank you. I was sort of afraid you'd only be able to afford cheap ones."

 

"We're planning for the future."

 

"Great! Then I'll be employed forever."

 

"If you want to stay on after the show goes up, that would be wonderful. If" —Tuck made a show of crossing his fingers— "it's successful enough that we can keep going."

 

"Given what you've invested in this so far—the building, the cabins, everything Norm and I need—it had better work."

 

"Tell me about it." He smiled. "I'm sure it will. The kids are very enthusiastic, and they want it to. Maybe for the next show we can add more of them—and homeless adults too, like Roma and Vin."

 

"I can see it now. You'll have to find a larger building, or double the size of this one."

 

"I can live with that."