“You could spray your hair,” Rita told her, “but it’s a mess, and I wouldn’t advise it. I think you’re all right just like that.”
“Except that my skirt is too long,” Peggy noticed as she walked about the dressing room, strutting a bit as “Nancy” did, with a rustle of taffeta. “I’ll trip on it, I’m afraid.”
“Here, maybe I can pin it,” Rita offered.
Finally, dressed in their costumes and make-up, the girls walked out on stage for an inspection under lights.
“What base are you using, Alison?” Chuck called from the aisle. “You’re too yellow under all this amber light. Gus, kill that spot and let me see what happens. Now, will you walk over and sit on the sofa, Alison? And Peggy, let me see you up by the fireplace.”
The girls moved around the stage while Gus worked with the lights, changing filters and spots until Chuck was satisfied. It was a wonderful, eerie set, Peggy thought. Gus had stenciled a wallpaper design on the flats, and with the couch that Mr. Bladen had lent them, and the other Victorian pieces and bric-a-brac, the room had a heavy, mysterious quality. The atmosphere affected Peggy strongly. She felt as if some dire event was going to take place. She walked down to the auditorium to look at the stage.
“Now try the bracket circuit,” Chuck called. “Let me see how they dim. Where’s Mr. Miller? Get him and take that bit in Act Two, Alison, where the lights go down.”
Already nine o’clock, and dress rehearsal hadn’t even started yet. It would go on until the early hours of the morning, Peggy knew. Missing props would be found and put in place, movements changed, and last-minute touches made to the set. Peggy settled down, curling up as comfortably as she could on the hard seat, as she waited for rehearsal to begin.
Chris Hill walked out on stage, his appearance completely transformed with the mustache, small beard, and sideburns that he used for Mr. Manningham. Even his attitude was different, Peggy noticed. He seemed a lot older and his voice was deep and serious as he checked his make-up with Chuck.
Finally, at nine-thirty, they were ready. The curtains were drawn, Alison settled herself in her chair, Chris stretched out on the couch, and Peggy took her place in the wings. Even a dress rehearsal, she thought, as she mentally prepared for her entrance, had a feeling of excitement and pressure. Well, this was their one chance to feel the play as it would be on opening night—to rehearse with continuity.