“I know you want to show your friends around, Irene,” he said with an understanding twinkle in his eyes. “You have ten minutes.”
“Thank you, Si. I won’t take more than that. This doesn’t compare with Radio City, of course,” Irene apologized, turning to Judy, “but perhaps I can show you something you haven’t already seen.”
“What about the dressing rooms?” Judy thought of Clarissa’s request and explained that they hadn’t seen them on their other tour. “It was interrupted,” she began and then stopped as there was too much to tell in ten minutes.
“How did that happen?” Irene asked.
“We’ll explain it later,” Judy promised. “Is there time to see the dressing rooms?”
“They’re small and crowded tonight, but I guess we can take a quick peek,” Irene agreed. “This way, girls! Be careful and don’t fall over anything.”
The dusty, cluttered space behind the glittering curtain was a disappointment to Clarissa. Judy could tell by the look on her face. Backgrounds were folded one against the other. Props waited to be placed inside make-believe rooms that were nothing but painted canvas stretched on wooden racks. Beyond, a narrow corridor separated two rows of doors.
“Will we see Francine Dow?” Clarissa asked suddenly.
Pauline looked at Flo and said pointedly, “We had a little argument over the color of her hair.”
“You can settle it when you see her,” Irene told them as they entered the crowded dressing room. The girls who were to be good fairies on the program were fluttering about in their filmy dresses. Two of them were seated before a long dressing table putting on make-up that gave their faces a yellowish tinge. A third girl, made up to look like an old woman, was dipping a sponge into a bowl of green stuff and then applying it to her face.