Peggy Lane Theater Stories No. 2 - Peggy Plays Off-Broadway

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!

 

The entirety of the book deals with Randy's play, Come Closer.  Readers get a taste of not only what the casting process is like, but also the laborious task of building sets, establishing lighting, running lines, developing characters, blocking, rehearsing, and everything else involved in the production of an off-Broadway play. It is always fun for me to read stories like this; having been in the theater myself for a number of years (not Broadway, of course!), I have a level of understanding about all of these activities, and I can appreciate whether the author actually knows what he/she is talking about.  So far, in this series, the authors have had a fairly realistic grasp on all of the activities associated with putting on a play.  The nervousness, the anticipation, those opening night jitters, the worries of having given a bad performance, etc.  Many of the emotions felt by Peggy and her friends throughout the book (as they relate to the play itself) I have felt myself over the years!

 

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! 

Peggy Lane Theater Stories No. 1 - Peggy Finds the Theater

What better way to start a new month than with a new series (well, new to me at least ... well, new for reading purposes ... anyway ...).  With my love of theater, my love of vintage series books, and my love of stories with female protagonists, it should come as no surprise that I have all eight books in the Peggy Lane Theater Stories series.  Published from 1962 to 1965, the series follows the adventures of a nearly twenty-year old Peggy Lane, whose desire to become an actress leads her to forego a college education and head off for New York City to fulfill her dreams.  The author is given as "Virginia Hughes," which is actually a house pseudonym.  According to Jennifer White's website, the only known author is Geraldine Wallis, who wrote the third volume in the series; the other four books were likely written by four different men.  It would be interesting to learn just who those men were that authored the books (although judging from the information provided on Jennifer White's website, John Ott may have been one, based on his own background as an actor and director).

 

Peggy Finds the Theater is the first book in the series, introducing readers to the dark-haired protagonist and her rather large supporting cast.   Peggy Lane and her best friend, Jean Wilson, live in the fictional town of Rockport, Wisconsin (p. 6).  While there is a Rockport Park in the State of Wisconsin, and there is a city called Rock in Wisconsin, there is no actual Rockport.  The book indicates the travel time by plane from Rockport to New York City is approximately three hours (p. 22), which would place the town somewhere along the western portion of the state (since standard flight time from Wisconsin to New York City is only about two-and-a-half hours).  The story opens with Peggy working hard to convince her parents to allow her to step back from Rockport Community College, where she has finished her first year, and move to New York City to pursue her dream of becoming an actress.  In the end, she makes a bargain with them that will allow her a year to pursue her dream, and if she has not achieved any level of acting goals in that time, she will return home and finish college before attempting it again.  

 

This was very reminiscent of the Carol Page theater series written by Helen Dore Boylson, who makes a very similar deal with her parents in order to get permission to pursue an acting career.  The Carol Page series was released a decade prior to this series, so it seems the attitudes of parents towards their daughters who want to pursue theater as a career did not change much over that time.

 

This first book deals very little with the theater itself and more with Peggy making the move to the big city, starting a very prestigious acting school, making new friends, and joining an off-Broadway theater group who are working to put together their first play.  While there is mention of Peggy's previous experience on the stage while she was in high school, we never actually get to see Peggy perform (other than a couple of scenes where she is rehearsing the monologues she plans to use when she auditions to be admitted into the acting school).  The author does reference real plays, however, including the classic Twelfth Night (p. 23), a play by Shakespeare; the satire Skin of Our Teeth (p. 24), a play by Thornton Wilder; and the drama, Winterset (p. 24), a play by Maxwell Anderson.  The author also makes reference to Variety magazine, with which anyone in the acting community is well acquainted.  However, in the book, one of Peggy's new housemates indicates the magazine has casting call pages for the theater (p. 70); yet, some quick research online reveals Variety never really had theater casting calls, but focused more on the entertainment industry, i.e. television and film.  Backstage or Broadway World are the magazines more easily recognized for theater casting call notices.  Perhaps the author just felt readers might more easily recognize the Variety name than the others.

 

The rather expanded cast of characters are introduced in chapter six, which is aptly titled "Cast of Characters."  It is here we learn all about the girls with whom Peggy will be sharing a house while in New York.  First, there is Gaby (Gabrielle), whose father works for the UN, is French and learning English so she can hopefully break into the acting world; then there is Dot, a native of California who is a comedienne and eccentric dancer; next is Greta, who is from Boston and is working as a script editor while waiting for her big break;  following her is Irene (not her real name!), who previously acted in some television shows and is currently supporting herself as a model; also in the house is Maggie, a dancer from Ireland, who has been dancing since she was three years old; and then comes Amy, a small town girl from North Carolina who, like Peggy, has just arrived in New York hoping to find success on the stage.  May Berriman is the house mother, who takes care of the girls.  (This set up is also similar to the Carol Page series, where Carol lives in a boarding house with a number of other actresses.)

 

In addition to their housemates, Peggy (and by default her new best friend, Amy) become involved with a group of students at New York Academy who are putting together a play that they hope to have produced off-Broadway.  These students include Peter Piper (yes, they acknowledge the source of the name in the story), known to his friends as "Pip," and Connie Barnes, another comedienne; also a part of the group is Mallory Seton, the director, and Randy Brewster, the producer.  Rounding out the group are Mona Downs and Thomas Galen, both of whom are older actors (neither of whom are students, but both of whom are seasoned actors who do not mind doing off-Broadway shows [p. 91]).  They have the script, the actors, and the financing - all they need to do is find an available theater, which is next to impossible in New York City.  This is where Peggy comes in!  Peggy volunteers to find a theater.  "I used to help out as a reporter on my father's newspaper, and I'm used to digging up facts," she tells the group (p. 99).  Thus, not only is Peggy an actress, but she is a reporter as well!  Talk about your well-rounded career girl! All she needs to do is add amateur sleuth to that resume ... oh, wait, she does!

 

Yes, Peggy stumbles across a very minor mystery while searching for a theater.  She and Amy find the perfect location in a building that houses a theater on the top floor; but the janitor gives them the brush off, which makes Peggy automatically suspect something criminal is going on at the building (because no one would ever be rude in NYC, right?).  She convinces the theater troupe, and before you know it, they are staking out the back alley to see if anything criminal takes place.  Soon enough, Peggy and Amy witness a truck delivering boxes into the building late at night, with an armed guard.  Convinced there is something criminal about the whole affair, they tell the police, who not only give credence to her story, but manage to catch the crooks in the middle of delivering their next shipment of stolen goods into the building!  Not only does the insurance company provide the girls with a rather substantial reward for recovering thousands of dollars worth of furs and silverware and liquor (as well as $20,000 worth of nylon stockings - as the book says, that "is an awful law of nylon stockings" [p. 172]), but the owner of the building, who lives in Florida (of all places!), is only too happy to rent the troupe not just the top floor for a theater, but the whole building (p. 173)!  So, Peggy's three-chapter mystery ends up solving all of the acting troupe's problems - way to go, Peggy!

 

The title of the book has a double meaning:  Peggy does "find" the theater, inasmuch as she takes off to New York City to pursue her dream of being an actress on the stays; at the same time, she literally "finds" the theater that the other students have been so desperately seeking for their play.  The art for the book is provided by Sergio Leone - and no, that is not the Italian film director of the same name.  I could find no information whatsoever about Mr. Leone, other than the apparently provided art not only for children's books in the 1960s and '70s, but he also apparently provided some painted covers to paperback Gothic novels from that same time period.  The painted cover for this book is rather simple, with a headshot of Peggy, and the lights of New York City in the background.  The internal black-and-white illustrations are not overly exciting scenes, but instead pictures of Peggy and Randy dancing, Peggy with her parents at the airport, Peggy and Amy with their dates eating a late dinner.  About the only illustration that could be said to contain any "suspense" at all is the final image of Peggy and Amy on their stakeout, as a cat jumps out beside them, startling them (p. 163).  Oddly, the frontis piece and the first internal (p. 25) are the only two that are full page with captions; the remaining illustrations are half to three-fourth page with no caption.  The end page are by far my favorite, as it depicts Peggy and her friends in a theater and on the stage, in what appears to be a moment from a rehearsal (this scene, however, appears nowhere in this book).

 

While I would not say this was an exciting story, and the mystery was so limited as to barely be there, I did thoroughly enjoy the story. This series might not appeal to mystery enthusiasts, but for those who enjoy career girl stories, or those who love good theater tales, this book will definitely satisfy those tastes!

 

RATING:   10 servings of pheasant under glass out of 10 for providing readers with a somewhat true-to-life look at what life is like for a theater actor trying to break into the field in New York City!