The story of aspiring actress Peggy Lane continues in this second book of the Peggy Lane Theater Stories. The specific identity of the author, who wrote this book under the name "Virginia Hughes," is unknown, but there are some subtle differences in the style of writing between the first and second books, leading one to believe that they were written by different authors. However, the characterization remains fairly the same, and the story actually remains in continuity and continues from the first book, which I find refreshing for the series books of this era (which mostly told individual stories with very little continuity among the books in the series). Like the Judy Bolton series by Margaret Sutton, this Peggy Lane series appears to be one where the time line moves forward as the series progresses, and the characters grow in age, experience, and maturity, with story elements from previous books giving rise to situations in later books. This gives the series a more sense of the real world than a fictional one!
Peggy Plays Off-Broadway picks up some months after the first book ended. Where the first book took place during Peggy's first semester at the New York Dramatic Academy, this second book jumps ahead in time - Christmas and New Year's have past, and it's now coming to the end of the winter months, as Peggy and her friends prepare for casting of the play written by Peggy's friend, Randy Brewster, and directed by her other friend, Mallory Seton. The book opens with Peggy anxiously awaiting the opportunity to read for a part in the play, and her best friend, Amy Preston, giving her moral support. Readers are introduced to newcomer, Paula Andrews, who Peggy is certain will land the lead role in the play, as her appearance and demeanor give Peggy the impression that Randy had written the part specifically for her - even though he has never met her before in his life!
A number of elements from the first book come into play (no pun intended) in this second book. The building that Peggy and Amy found in the last book has been fully renovated now by Mal and Randy, so that it not only has a theater and rehearsal space, but also has living quarters for the boys, as well as extra rooms for other actors who need a place to live (allowing them to rent those rooms out to cover the expenses associated with the upkeep of the building). Peggy is still taking a full course load at the Dramatic Academy, and she still faces that one-year deadline that she set with her parents to find a paying acting gig that will allow her to remain in New York and pursue her dreams. With the introduction of Paula Andrews, though, we get new blood into the story, as well as a slight mystery. It seems that while Paula is a superb actress, she is hiding a number of secrets. When the cast is called upon to perform one scene from the play for a potential new benefactor, Paula storms out unexpectedly, crying that she cannot do it for Sir Brian Alwyne, a special British representative for the United Nations (p. 47). This, of course, piques Peggy's curiosity, and she's determined to learn exactly what Paula is hiding, before it destroys the play's chances of getting off the ground.
Peggy actually does some things that I consider to be outside the scope of normal sleuthing - not only does she contrive a surprise party for Paula to convince the superintendent of her building to let her and Amy into Paula's apartment, but she snoops through literally every drawer, closet, and bookshelf in the apartment until she finds something that will give her a clue as to Paula's past. From there, she reaches out to one of her housemates who just so happens to be on a tour out in California (at exactly the time Peggy needs someone out there - how convenient!) to visit a house she believes to belong to Paula's parents and find out more information about Paula. She then shares everything she learns with her housemates and house mother before she ever actually approaches Paula with what she knows! Yes, Peggy does admit to everything she's done after-the-fact, but it still seems pretty underhanded, particularly when she claims throughout the story how much she wants to be Paula's friend. A true friend does not dig in so deeply into someone's personal life without their permission! But, as can be expected, Paula forgives her, the mystery reaches a successful resolution, and the play's opening night turns out to be such a success that pretty much everyone involved gets offers in their various fields (with Peggy actually getting an agent - the N.A.R. [National Artists' Representatives], which is a fictional agency, likely taken from the NATR, the National Association of Talent Representatives) (p. 170).
The art is once again provided by Sergio Leone. The cover, while not exactly exciting, does at least offer a bit more than the first book. In this scene, we have Peggy studying her script, with Randy (?) standing over her. There is only one full page internal illustration, which is the frontis piece. The remaining illustrations throughout the book are 1/2-page, 1/3-page, 3/4-page and such. As with the first book, the characters in the illustrations all appear much older than what they actually are in the story - in fact, the only illustration that depicts the characters in the age group in which they should be are the end pages. In that rehearsal scene, all of the characters appear in their late teens and early twenties.
An enjoyable read, for sure, and now that Peggy has an agent, I'm curious to see where the series will go with the next book!
RATING: 9 flat, leather boxes of highly polished calfskin out of 10 for detailing the life of an aspiring actress and the joys (and pains!) of putting together a play for opening night!
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