| All That Jazz |
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| Mike Logan sat at the kitchen table, sipping his second cup of coffee, giving the sketch in front of him a critical eye. He and Ben had gotten up about two hours ago. Given the silence in the house, they assumed Jack had gone in to work, and Lennie was still crashed after the late night. They�d taken a nice leisurely time before getting out of bed, then Ben jumped in the shower while Mike went out for his morning run. By the time he got back, Ben was dressed and on his way out the door, heading in to One Hogan Place to see his old friend Adam Schiff. On the way to the shower, Mike confirmed from the very audible snores that Lennie was still asleep. So once dressed, he headed downstairs with his sketchpad in hand, snagged some of the coffee that Jack had made earlier that morning, and parked it at the table. Shadow was cooperating nicely, stretched out in a puddle of sunlight. She had rolled over a while ago, and Mike had noticed with amusement that she had a spot of gray fur right in the middle of all the white on her belly that was the exact opposite of the white spot in the middle of the gray on her back. It looked like the color had just �fallen through.� She looked at him as if saying �aren�t I cute?� and he had to laugh as he went back to filling in some details on the sketch. �Yeah, you�re cute all right; Max is gonna accuse me of consorting with the enemy when I get home!� A little later he finally heard Lennie coming down the stairs. Still a bit bleary-eyed, he wandered in to the kitchen. �Mornin�, Mike.� �Hey, Lennie. I saved you the last cup of coffee.� �Oh, gee, thanks, that was thoughtful �� Lennie�s voice dripped sarcasm as he poured it into a mug. Mike wasn�t buying. �Hey, I always aim to please,� he said cheerfully. Lennie just raised an eyebrow as he took his first sip. Throughout the day, Lennie was glad his old friend was with him. The day seemed interminably long as it was; even with Mike rattling on about old times and his new life in Maine. Mike made him eat a good lunch, knowing he wouldn't want anything heavy at dinnertime before the performance. At one point Lennie wondered if he was cut out for this performing stuff; if he was this nervous NOW, what was he going to be like back stage tonight? But finally it was time to get ready to go. In the shower, Lennie did some of the vocal warm-ups the voice coach had taught him. Sounded really silly, but it did seem to do some good. By the time he reappeared downstairs with Jack's tux in a garment bag over his shoulder � thank god they were the same size! � Ben had returned from his visit to the DA's office. Mike looked up at him, grinning. "You ready, Lennie?" Lennie took a deep breath. "Ready as I'll ever be, I guess!" They piled into Ben's SUV and headed into Manhattan. Lennie was mostly silent in the back seat, trying to stay calm. They made their way through the mid-day traffic into the theater district, turning onto 49th street to drop him at the entrance to the Ambassador Theater before heading out to join the Cragens for an early pre-show dinner. "OK, Lennie, this is it. Break a leg!" "Thanks, guys!" Lennie called back as he bailed out of the back seat. // Shit, this is really IT! // Lennie thought as the guard passed him through the cast entrance. He found his way back to the dressing rooms. The �real� stars had graciously allowed their counterparts access to their private dressing rooms. Lennie hung the tux on a hook obviously provided for just that purpose and wandered over to the warm-up room. Several of the cast were already there, the dancers doing stretches, others gathered in a small knot, talking softly. Strangely enough, Lennie found himself not wanting company just now, so he held back, running his lines through his head until Anthony arrived. They did some vocal warm-ups as a group, and Anthony ran them through the beginnings of several of the group numbers. The hour and a half rehearsal seemed like it was over in no time. There was definitely a �buzz� in the air; an energy they were all feeding from. Finally, Anthony motioned for them to find seats. �Well, folks, this is it. Showtime. You�ve all worked hard, and I have to say I�m very proud of every one of you. You�re not professionals, hell, many of you haven�t had any formal dramatic training. But you�ve all got that �spark.� This is your big chance, so I want you all to go out there tonight and give it everything you�ve got. It�ll be over before you realize it, so I encourage you to live every moment of it. Enjoy it. Now go relax until showtime.� People wandered off in all directions, some alone, some in groups. Anita came over and put her arm around him. �Are you as nervous as I am?� Lennie laughed. �I don�t know. I�m � nervous, excited, scared shitless, hell, I think my stomach is trying to turn inside out!� Anita hugged him. �Oh, good, I�m not the only one!� They chatted together for a while, then departed to their dressing rooms. Lennie looked around, wondering about the guy who really played Billy Flynn. Photos on the wall of him with various celebrities and others with unfamiliar faces. Friends? Lovers? What a life it must be to hold a leading role in a Tony-award winning show. So different from the life he�d led. And yet now, almost 60 years old, he was able to get a taste of it. It still felt like a dream; he was sure he was going to wake up any minute and miss the grand finale. His mind was still chasing in circles when he heard a soft tap at the door. �Yeah?� he called out, wondering who was here. Jack came in, carrying a small grocery bag. �You order dinner?� Lennie groaned. �I don�t think I could eat anything � my stomach is all tied up in knots!� Jack crossed the room to where he was sitting and bent down to kiss him. �I knew you wouldn�t want a lot. Kelly�s chorus teacher told her apples were good to keep your throat moist and give you some quick energy without being too heavy.� He pulled out a plastic zipper bag with sliced apples inside. �I figured you�d be too nervous to cut them up, so I did it for you.� Lennie couldn�t help smiling at Jack�s thoughtfulness. Even if his stomach rejected the very idea of eating ANYTHING right now � �Thanks, Jack. Hey � is she coming tonight?� Jack grinned. �Yeah, Jeanne is bringing her. She wouldn�t miss this. You know that.� Lennie smiled broadly. It seemed everybody he loved was going to be here tonight. His daughters, and Jack�s. Mike and Ben, of course. Donnie Cragen was bringing his wife AND their lover. The entire Curtis family was coming. And a lot of friends. Dave, his boss at the record store. People he used to work with. Of course, since it was a benefit, the tickets weren�t cheap. They were all paying the same they would have paid to see the REAL cast. And they paid it gladly, for the PBA, and to see him in his fabled �15 minutes of fame.� �Oh, god, Jack, what if I blow it? What if I make a fool of myself in front of everybody?� Jack walked around behind him, his hands landing on Lennie's shoulders, kneading the tight muscles. �Whoa, easy there, Lennie. Everything�s going to be fine. You know that. Just relax, ok?� Lennie leaned back into the massage, letting his lover�s soothing voice flow over him. �Take a deep breath, come on, that�s it. Now let it out nice and slow. Good, that�s better.� Jack realized that Lennie was having a bout of last-minute �how long am I gonna have to wait back stage?� jitters. He decided that the best thing to do was take his mind off the waiting. He glanced at his watch; yeah he had time. He let his touch lighten, becoming more of a caress, moving his hands down the front of Lennie�s chest as he leaned over and began kissing his neck. �Jack?� Lennie asked hesitantly. �What are you doing?� Jack chuckled. �Helping you relax.� �Oh.� He didn�t say any more, since Jack came back around to his front and shut him up quite effectively. His lover wasn�t wasting any time, one hand going straight for his crotch while the other arm wrapped around him, holding him close. It wasn�t long before he felt himself responding, his cock growing rapidly to fill the hand that had already opened his fly and slipped inside his shorts. Jack finally broke the kiss and moved to sit on a small stool in front of Lennie. He quickly removed the jeans that were in the way, and Lennie mindlessly kicked them off to the side. With a hungry grin, Jack bent over Lennie�s lap, sucking him in. One hand played with Lennie�s balls while that amazingly talented mouth sucked him, the tongue stroking him lovingly. Lennie slid down further on the chair, bringing his entrance within reach. Jack knew exactly what he wanted and slipped one long finger inside, thrusting in counterpoint to the rhythm of his sucking. Lennie groaned as the pleasure built inside him. Jack kept it up relentlessly until Lennie came, hard and fast, grunting with the power of it. He gently disengaged, got up and found some moistened towelettes in front of the make-up mirror. He wiped his hands with one, then brought another one to Lennie, who half-lay, gasping, on the chair. With a gentle touch, he cleaned Lennie up, then leaned in to kiss his nose playfully. �Feel better?� Lennie took a deep breath. �Yeah. Much. Thanks � I think.� Jack laughed, glancing at his watch. �Well, you�d better pull yourself together and get dressed. It�s about half an hour till showtime, I should go out and find my seat.� Lennie�s earlier nervousness had been replaced by the happy lassitude of the post-orgasmic glow. He really didn�t want to get up just yet, but knew he had to. So he hauled himself up and pulled Jack into a passionate kiss. �Thanks, love. You�ll get yours later, I promise.� Jack grinned. �I�m counting on it.� As Jack slipped out the door, Lennie retrieved his underwear and quickly donned the tux. He left the shirt collar open and took a seat in front of the make-up mirror. They told him you needed make-up on stage unless you wanted to look as white as Caspar the friendly ghost. One of the show�s staff had coached him on applying the stuff. It felt heavy, but hey, that�s showbiz. He made sure the stuff covered his neck a bit below the collar line, then wiped his hands and buttoned up, affixing the pre-tied bow tie. Looking at himself in the lighted mirror, dark hair slicked back �20�s style, the lines in his face covered by the stage makeup, he really did look 40 again. And amazingly, he felt it, too. Part of it was the excitement of the theater, part of it was what he and Jack had just been doing. He felt alive in a way he�d never felt before. Even here alone in his dressing room, he was picking up again on that buzz. But now, it was pure excitement. He eyed the bag of apples Jack had left and decided that it wasn�t such a bad idea after all. Careful not to disturb the makeup, he slipped one slice after another into his mouth, and before he knew it they were all gone. // Guess I was hungry after all! // He heard a voice calling �5 minutes to showtime people!� Took one last look at himself and strode confidently out into the hall. People were moving purposefully, excitedly toward the stage. He found Anita standing offstage where she could watch the goings on. �Well, this is it.� She grinned at him with barely suppressed excitement. �Yes, it is. Ready?� He nodded. And then they heard the first strains of the overture. Without noticing it, their hands joined as they watch from backstage. And then Tracy Kibre�s powerful voice rang out: "Come on babe, why don't we paint the town {beat, beat, pause} And All That Jazz!" And everything was right with the world. After leaving Lennie�s dressing room, Jack made his way to the front of the house and presented his ticket, making his way down to the front row where Cathy and Julia were waiting for him. �How�s Dad doing?� Cathy asked. Jack grinned. �A bit nervous, but I think I calmed him down a bit.� Julia just raised an eyebrow � a gesture so like her Dad�s that Jack had to laugh. He glanced around the auditorium and saw many familiar faces. Lots of friends, lots of bigwigs. The PBA benefit had drawn an impressive crowd. Even Adam had come, especially since one of his ADA�s had one of the lead roles. There was the Police Commissioner. And the Mayor. Sheesh! He was glad Lennie was safely backstage where he couldn�t see the caliber of his audience! By curtain time, the place was packed. Jack couldn�t help fidgeting nervously in sympathy for his lover. Cathy caught him at it. �Don�t tell me YOU�RE nervous now?� He grinned sheepishly. �Don�t tell your Dad, ok?� She just smiled and took his hand as the lights dimmed. The curtain opened to the strains of the overture, and then an oddly familiar-but-not voice rang out: "Come on babe, why don't we paint the town {beat, beat, pause} And All That Jazz!" Tracy looked amazing as Velma Kelly, one of the Merry Murderesses of the Cook County Jail. They had modified the current show�s costume palette, staying with the �all black� look, but a bit less � revealing. But the classic �little black dress� worked great with Tracy�s dark curly tresses. She strutted across the stage, making it her own. The story began, with Roxie shooting her lover and getting her hapless husband Amos to tell the cops HE did it, shooting a burgler. Of course, when Amos recognizes the man as the guy who sold them their furniture, he figures out what�s going on and spills the beans. Roxie�s love song turns sour, and she�s taken away to the Cook County Jail. The show�s �announcer� came out and introduced the �Six Merry Murderesses of the Cook County Jail in their rendition of the Cell Block Tango.� Velma and five others tell the stories of why �He had it coming!� Jack laughed out loud at the poor girl who told her entire story in fast-paced Hungarian, with the only English words being �Not Guilty!� Backstage, Anita gave Lennie�s hand a final squeeze as the Tango ended. This was her big entrance: �Ladies and Gentlemen, the keeper of the keys, the Countess of the klink, the Mistress of Murderers Row, Matron �Mama� Morton!� Anita dropped right into the burlesque feel of the song, her voice rich and velvety. The crowd roared at all the innuendo in the song, especially the �tit for tat� line. Lennie could just imagine her husband Don�s reaction to that shake of her shoulders � And then she was done and the show's 'announcer' was introducing the famous lawyer Billy Flynn: �Ladies and Gentlemen. Presenting the silver-tongued prince of the courtroom. The one � the only � Mr. Billy Flynn.� The ladies sing � �We want Billy. Where is Billy? B-I-double L-Y. We�re all his. He�s our kind of a guy and ooh what luck cause here he is �� He had been so wrapped up in Anita�s performance he�d forgotten to get nervous. Now, Lennie virtually leaped onto the stage, his best 'show face' firmly in place. "Is everybody here? Is everybody ready? Hit it!" And then the orchestra was playing, and he was singing and dancing and having the time of his life. The lights in his eyes were so bright he really couldn�t see much of the audience, but he almost didn�t have time to think about it. His whole heart seemed to be flowing right out of his mouth with the music. A little soft shoe here, a little �ba-ba-boo� there, and then the girls were surrounding him with the white feather fans for the big finale and suddenly it was over. Oh, yeah, lines. He had a couple of spoken lines to introduce the next number. He grabbed a quick breath. �Now look, in a few minutes we�re gonna have a big press conference here. There�s gonna be a whole bunch of reporters and photographers, and that sob sister from the Evening Star is coming � I don�t think we�ll have ANY trouble with her. She�ll swallow hook, line, and sinker, because it�s what she wants. Her name�s Mary Sunshine �� Lennie slid into the background as �Mary� took the stage. Lennie had been amazed at the guy who had gotten the role, which was traditionally played by a man in drag with a SERIOUS soprano voice. The guy was actually a beat cop. Lennie wasn�t sure he�d want to be him out on the streets tomorrow � But now that he was somewhat out of the spotlight but still on stage, Lennie got a chance to look out at the audience a bit more. Still couldn�t see much, although now he could pick out Jack and his girls in the front row. They were watching with rapt expressions, and he got a kick out of seeing how much they were enjoying the show. And then Mary�s number was done and it was time for the �press conference.� Billy did almost all the talking and singing here, both as himself, and using Roxie like a ventriloquist�s dummy. It was a tough number, because he had to keep switching back and forth between his �normal� voice and the one he was using for �Roxie.� Halfway through, he blew one of the lines, but managed to quickly recover. Near the end he had a nice �duet� on the refrain with �Mary,� and he found the harmony notes without any problem. And then it was over. �We both reached for the � gun!� One long high note, and it was time for him to leave the stage. He was practically quivering with energy as he bounded off stage, nearly crashing into Anita, who was waiting for him. They were just offstage, so they had to remain quiet, so instead of screaming, he grabbed her in a tight hug, swinging her around a full circle before finally putting her down. He felt unbelievably high, his entire body humming with energy. Even thinking back to his boozing days, he couldn�t remember anything that had ever felt this good. It was intermission by the time he had started to come down from that high. He sat in his dressing room, gulping down the bottled water that had been delivered. He couldn�t believe it had gone so fast. It seemed like he�d only been on stage for about 5 minutes. He knew it was longer, but still, it seemed to go by so fast. He looked up at a knock at his door. �Yeah?� Anthony came in. �Lennie. Wow. What can I say. You were awesome!� Lennie grinned, the praise definitely going to his head. �Thanks, Anthony.� The director�s gaze became thoughtful. �Lennie, you�re retired, right?� �Yeah.� Lennie wondered where this was going. �What do you do for a living now?� �Been working in a record store. But not so much for the money; Jack�s a lawyer, so we�re doing ok �� Anthony smiled again. �Have you ever considered studying theater?� �Funny you should say that. Last night my friend Mike made the same suggestion.� �I run the theater program at SUNY, Puchase College. I was hoping maybe you�d consider taking some classes. You�ve got natural talent, but could use some formal training. And I think your life experience could help some of the kids I work with.� �You know, Anthony, I think I just might �� And then intermission was over, and everybody headed back for the stage. Lennie had some lines throughout the second half, but only one big number, toward the end. Once again, he and Anita stood together just off stage when they weren't actually in the scene. The 'bad rehearsal, good show' superstition seemed to be holding true for them as everything fell into place. Even the understudy for 'Amos' who had been promoted at the last minute when the other guy had lost his voice managed to hit his marks on stage. And finally it's time for Roxie's trial. Billy is giving his client some last minute advice: It's all show business! "Give 'em the old Razzle Dazzle � razzle dazzle 'em." Little discs of reflective silver mylar rained down around him as he did a soft-shoe with the walking stick while singing about flummoxing a jury with bullshit. Funny how that really did remind him of certain Defense attorneys! And finally, when it really counted, he made it through the number without tripping on that damned cane! He made it offstage as Anita and Tracy came on for their final song, a duet about the lack of "Class" in the world today. As Lennie watched, he realized it was all but over. Now there was just the curtain call. Again it struck him how fast this evening had gone. The duet was over, and Roxie and Velma had their big finale in which the acquitted murderesses both get their dream � headlining a Vaudeville act. As they take their bows in the 'show within a show' they throw roses from their bouquets into the audience. Lennie grinned as he saw Cathy catch one. And then it was time for the 'real' curtain call. The announcer called out each player, from smallest parts up to the 'stars.' Of course, since half the audience was families and friends, each one got a huge roar of applause. Anita squeezed his hand before running out when her name was called, taking her bows and stepping off to one side. "Playing the role of Billy Flynn, retired NYPD Homicide Detective Lennie Briscoe!" Lennie bounded out onto the stage one last time, grinning from ear to ear as he took his bow. The applause gave him a rush like nothing he'd ever felt before. He could hear a serious catcall-type whistle that he recognized as Mike's. And then he was moving aside to make room for Tracy Kibre, and then finally the girl who had played Roxie. While the crowd was cheering Roxie, Lennie snatched one of the roses from Tracy's bouquet and as they came together for the final bow, he tossed it right to an unsuspecting Jack, blowing a kiss. Jack just stood there, stunned, as Cathy and Julia squealed at him. And then it was over. The house lights came up and many of the cast simply jumped down from the stage to join their families in the crowd, rather than go backstage just yet. Lennie was sure his feet werern't touching the ground as he jumped down right into Jack's waiting arms. The girls were hugging them both and laughing with delight. Lennie felt light-headed and giddy as all his friends and family made their way to the aisle where he was effectively 'holding court.' Even the Commissioner and the Mayor came over to offer congratulations. And then finally the crowd thinned out and Lennie dragged Jack back to his dressing room. The girls took off, as did Mike and Ben, knowing the lovers would want some time alone. Jack helped Lennie out of the tux and hung it up as Lennie scrubbed the makeup from his face. When he was clean, Lennie turned to Jack and pulled him into a powerful kiss. He was still floating from the rush. As he let go, he looked around the dressing room, kind of sad that it was all over. But at the moment that seemed unimportant. What mattered was this wonderful, euphoric feeling from an absolutely perfect evening. Jack picked up the garment bag, slung it over his shoulder, and grinned at Lennie. "You ready to head home? As I recall, you owe me something from earlier �" Lennie looked at him with an evil grin. "You'll get yours � eventually." As they exited to the street he was amazed how many people were still milling about, wandering leisurely down Broadway toward Times Square after the evening's performances. There was that wonderful energy still in the air, people buzzing about the shows they had just seen. It was New York at its finest, a comfortably warm summer evening, and everything was just perfect. On impulse, he wrapped his arm around Jack and began singing in his powerful baritone: "Come on babe, why don't we paint the town �.and all that Jazz! I'm gonna rouge my knees and roll my stockings down � and all that Jazz! Start the car I know a whoopee spot Where the gin is cold But the piano's hot It's just a noisy hall Where there's a nightly brawl And all that jazz!" Jack realized that people were staring at them, but suddenly he didn't care. They were together, it was a beautiful night, and he was having the time of his life. Everything was absolutely perfect, and it was about the most romantic feeling he'd ever had. He still clutched the rose Lennie had tossed him from stage. As they stood at a corner waiting for the 'walk' sign to light up, he turned to his partner. "I love you, Lennie." Lennie's irrepressible grin softened as he looked into Jack's eyes. "Love you too, sweetheart." And then the light turned and they were swept along in the tide of revelers making their way down Broadway � The end. send me some feedback Back to the main Story Index Disclaimer: These characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC; I'm just borrowing them for fun, not profit. |
| Chapter 6 - Showtime! |
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| from the cover of "Off Broadway" |
| Billy Flynn and Roxie Hart (Jerry Orbach and Gwen Verdon) from the 1975 Original Cast Recording |