The Vaudeville Star (6 page)

“That’s awful,” Ruby sighed.

“But true,” Bessie chimed in.

Another knock came, and Blanka rushed in. She was the eldest Vadas sister and looked the exact opposite of Olga. Blanka was slender with large blue eyes and frizzy brown hair. She was briefly introduced to Ruby before she turned on her sister.

“Olga! Where have you been?” A rush of Hungarian filled the air as the two women went back and forth.

It was an old argument that needed no translation. They had somewhere to be, and Olga was not ready. In a flurry of words in both English and Hungarian, the two women soon left the room together, bidding Ruby and Bessie good-bye.

“You’ll soon meet everyone in the show. Most of them are good people, and many of them have been in the business for a long time. Our comedian, Lou McDoo, has been in vaudeville since the 1880s and even worked with the great Tony Pastor,” Bessie explained.

Ruby raised her eyebrows. Everyone in vaudeville knew of Tony Pastor. He had been a circus ringmaster and then a theater manager who started the vaudeville shows. In 1881, he staged a clean vaudeville show in New York, hoping to draw females and families to his doors. It worked.

“Why did he leave Mr. Pastor?” Ruby asked.

Bessie shrugged as she threaded a needle from her sewing kit to fix a small tear in Ruby’s costume.

“I think they didn’t get along. This is a wonderful business, and the applause is great, and for a while you can be on top of the world. But it’s as Olga said. For women especially. Beauty and youth are prized. But that’s something you don’t need to worry about for quite some time.”

Ruby ignored the compliment and looked out the window at the passersby. “Is it like that for everyone?”

Bessie pondered the question. “Comedians are exempt. I’ve seen fat, slobby men who are middle-aged and older who still command the stage. Some of the singers like Zeta go on for some time because they have fans who adore them.”

Ruby nodded and looked out the window and saw a man staring up at their building.

“I think that’s the key,” Bessie explained. “You must be like Zeta. Once you have star billing, you must cultivate your audience and make people return to see you.”

“Look at Lillian Russell! People come from all over to see her, and you are much younger and prettier than she is,” she told her new friend.

Everyone had heard of Lillian Russell, a popular singer who performed at a local music hall in New York. She had a long career, and Ruby envied her longevity.

“There!” Bessie said as she finished embroidering the small tear and held it up for Ruby to see.

“It’s so gaudy,” Ruby said as she looked at the distasteful garment once more.

“Yes! It is gaudy! Look, I don’t mean to sound harsh, Ruby, but here goes nothing. If you want to dress normally and be respected and revered, then go on the stage as an actress. You can do comedy, drama, Shakespeare, or whatever takes your fancy. But you told me when we first met that you want to be onstage in vaudeville and sing.”

“I do,” Ruby said, nodding.

“Then stop worrying and show a little leg. You aren’t selling your body to men—”

“Bessie!” Ruby said softly.

“Well, you aren’t, but it will get you noticed,” she said the last words with emphasis.

Ruby nodded and picked up the repaired garment. She moved her hand along the silk bodice and resigned herself. Bessie was right. A little leg was nothing, and it would get her noticed.

R
uby briefly met
the performers of the vaudeville show before her first entrance onto the stage as the “Intro Act” card girl. Everyone introduced themselves to her before going off to their dressing rooms. The Vadas sisters greeted her warmly and spoke Hungarian as they ambled off while the comedian, Lou, kissed the back of her hand and then dropped an egg into it.

“Ah!” she cried out, but the egg wasn’t real.

“Welcome, my dear,” he said, smiling and throwing the egg into the air and then catching it.

Lee Chen was a magician from China who no one knew anything about. He wore a long black traditional Chinese gown that Ruby would later find out was called a
changshan
. He seemed very mysterious, and when she introduced herself to him, he only bowed slightly and said nothing.

Besides the dancing siblings, the only other performer she had yet to meet was Zeta Riggi, the Italian singer. But Zeta had top billing and would not deign to meet a lowly card girl. Many theater managers used card girls to keep the audience interested between acts, and they often looked like Ruby: a young, trim girl wearing a revealing gown to keep the audience engaged.

Ruby was nervous as she waited backstage for her first card entrance. She watched as “Vaudeville Vern” welcomed the audience and talked a little about the acts to follow. He was wearing the black-and-white evening clothes of a gentleman, and she was surprised to see the audience’s response to him. The moment he stepped onstage, the house fell silent.

Ruby liked being backstage. She liked to watch the bustle of movement as the stagehands moved along the fly to change scenery or drapery, and the small orchestra pit in front of the stage filled with musicians who played for each act.

She tried to stay out of everyone’s way, and when Vern announced the first act, Lou McDoo strolled onstage wearing an outrageous costume of humungous pants, a shirt and vest, and a tiny hat on his head. He garnered a large laugh from his costume alone.

“What are you doing here? I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” Bessie whispered to her.

“I wanted to watch the show from the wings.” Ruby turned to her friend, who wore a glittering gown of light blue. “You look like a fairy princess, Bessie. So pretty.”

Bessie looked down at the gown. “I do? That’s funny. I’m so used to it.”

“I think it’s so fitting that you’ll be the first act I introduce. Since I owe this all to you,” Ruby told her friend.

“Nonsense! When you are like Zeta with top billing, then thank me.”

More laughter came from the audience as Lou managed to ride a tiny little bicycle across the stage. When the final applause ended and Lou exited the stage, Ruby picked up the large card that read, “The Dancing Duo” and walked out onto the empty stage.

Ruby held the card at waist height so the people could see her lovely face, the card, and her legs. She was supposed to walk the length of the stage and stop, then walk the length again to where she had started and exit. It was quite simple and she was to smile the entire time.

But as she reached the end of the first length, a huge catcall came from the audience. It was shrill and high and followed by several others. Ruby’s smile faltered, but she continued quickly across the stage, and when she reached the end, she made a jaunty little curtsy before exiting.

“Come back!” yelled one audience member as Ruby stumbled into Archie backstage.

“Are you all right?” he asked, steadying her.

Ruby dropped the card at his feet. “Yes. It—it was just a bit much.”

Archie smiled. He was tall and slender, and his red hair looked dark in the dim light. “They liked you though.”

“They like my legs is all. Anyone can do that,” she returned tartly.

“Really? I don’t think anyone in this building would want to see Vern’s legs.”

Ruby laughed as Bessie joined them. “Come on, brother of mine. Let’s make magic!”

Ruby watched the siblings move effortlessly across the stage, and she smiled at them. They were good people. Kind people. She was so grateful to have met them both.

She picked up the next card, which bore the name “The Mysterious Chinaman.” She saw him backstage wearing his long black gown. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to be in a trance with his arms dangling at his side. No one bothered him as the stagehands moved about, and several minutes passed before the Moore siblings exited the stage.

“Lively audience tonight!” Bessie said breathlessly.

“They are! Nothing worse than a cold crowd,” Archie agreed.

Ruby took a deep breath and entered the stage with her new sign. Everyone clapped, and Ruby smiled brightly as she crossed the stage. When she moved back across, someone shouted, “Don’t go!”

Ruby performed her little curtsy and winked at the audience, who roared their approval.

“Well, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,” she told the old stagehand backstage.

He winked back at her and grinned.

* * *

F
ord read the telegram
, which was brief and to the point. Ruby was working at one of the theaters in New York and had found a room at a nearby boardinghouse. Ford placed the telegram aside and smiled to himself. He wasn’t exactly surprised, but Ruby was a woman who did the unexpected. He had almost laughed at her when she told him of her desire to travel to New York.

Women of her breeding didn’t do such a thing. They married young and had children. But she was a firebrand, and it was something he had always admired. Their night together had changed everything for him. He knew he cared for her, but she had been dead set on leaving. He had discreetly asked one of his fellow detectives to follow her from Connecticut, and so he had.

He was a nondescript fellow with sandy blond hair, and Ford knew no one would look twice at him. He had followed Ruby since she had left school, and finally Ford had received the update via telegram. It was time he was getting back to New York himself. He had enjoyed his time in Mississippi, but his work required him to be in New York. He would telegram the agency, find out his next assignment, and take the next train back.

* * *

R
uby watched
from the wings as the Vadas sisters performed onstage. Their song was the popular “Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay" that had been made famous by Lottie Collins almost ten years earlier.

The sisters moved about the stage in a sensuous manner and flung their skirts over their backs to expose their ruffle-clad bottoms. Ruby had never seen anything like it, and she was mesmerized, her eyes wide and staring at the sisters as they pranced about the stage. And how the male audience members loved the sisters! They whistled and yelled as the chorus began and then quieted down when each sister sang a verse.

A sweet tuxedo girl you see, A queen of swell society, Fond of fun as fond can be, When it's on the strict Q.T.

I'm not too young, I'm not too old, Not too timid, not too bold, Just the kind you'd like to hold

Just the kind for sport I'm told.

The lyrics were extremely suggestive, and the men whistled and clapped and seemed to love every second of it. When the sisters flew offstage, breathless and laughing, after their song, the cat-calls continued for them to return.

When Ruby came onstage with her card, it bore only two words, “Zeta Riggi.” As the audience saw the name, they clapped and clamored for the star of the show.

Vernon and Max had groveled enough to have Zeta return, and as always, she had agreed. She waited until the applause died down before she entered. The applause came again, and Zeta put a hand out to wave to them. She also acknowledged the conductor of the orchestra, who in turn nodded to her.

Ruby watched as Zeta completely commanded the stage and everyone was silenced by her. She wore a gown of emerald satin and long black ostrich feathers in her hair. A string of pearls dangled to her waist, and she looked stylish and elegant.

“The Boy I Love Is Up in the Gallery” was her signature song and had been for almost ten years. It had been made famous by Marie Lloyd, who was a contemporary of Zeta’s. Even though the song was about a young girl and her love, Zeta refused to give it up. She even began to make small changes to the song that made the audience laugh.

I was a young girl, having just come over, Over from the country where they do things big, And amongst the boys I've got a lover, And since I've got a lover, why I don't care a fig.

The boy I love is up in the gallery, The boy I love is looking now at me, There he is, can't you see, waving his handkerchief, As merry as a robin that sings on a tree.

Her voice was not as high and clear as it had once been, but she was well loved in New York, and the audience flocked to see her. As she sang the line about the boy in the gallery, she waved her hand up to it, and several people waved back.

When she had finished her song, she exited the stage with wild applause following her, not even casting a glance at Ruby. Ruby sighed. She wanted to be exactly like Zeta. Center stage and adored.

* * *

T
hat night after the performance
, she lay on her back going over everything she had seen from each act. They all had something that drew the audience in. The magician was mysterious while the comedian made everyone laugh, and the sisters were sexy and fun. The dancing duo danced as most people never could while Zeta commanded the stage.

She had memorized several songs while at school, but none of them were special. She needed a song to learn and practice so that when the time was right she could perform it onstage. She would ask for Bessie’s help. She would know what to do.

The next morning after breakfast, Ruby and Bessie ventured to a side street off of Broadway to a well-known music store frequented by many of the vaudeville troupers. The store sold a wide range of instruments as well as sheet music, and as they entered the shop, a bell over the door sounded their arrival.

“Hello,” Bessie called out.

A slender man with black hair parted down the middle emerged. As soon as he saw Bessie, he smiled. “Miss Moore. A pleasure.”

“Please, Ezra. I’ve told you to call me Bessie.”

“Bessie. How may I help you and your friend?” he asked politely.

“This is Ruby. Ruby, Ezra. He owns the finest music shop in Manhattan.”

Ezra grinned at the compliment. “Well, if Miss Bessie says it, then it must be so.”

“I’m looking for some sheet music. Perhaps something that is not overly used. Something special,” Ruby told him.

Ezra nodded and moved to the back of his shop. He brought forth an unopened box and set it before the ladies on his counter.

“You ladies look well this morning,” he said shyly, though his eyes were entirely focused on Bessie, who smiled back at him.

He opened the box, and a dozen or so sheets of music spilled forth. Together, the three of them began to look through the songs.

“No, that won’t do,” Bessie said, tossing aside a minstrel song.

They discarded one after the other until Ezra stopped.

“How about this one?” he asked, holding up the sheet music to a song called “Mighty Lak' a Rose,” which was very new.