The Glow of the Spotlight: My Journey with Rebecca

Reluctantly, I admit to Rebecca’s family that I haven’t actually performed on my own before. I’m still taking dance lessons, and I have a solo coming up at my next recital that already has my stomach in knots. Getting over my nerves in front of an audience feels like the only way I’ll ever call myself a real success as a dancer.

Rebecca brightens and insists we have more in common than I realize. Her cousin Max always tells her she has real acting talent, but she’s never had a stage to prove it. She dreams of appearing in a moving picture someday.

Victor snickers and teases Rebecca for dreaming so big, and her confident smile fades. Mr. Rubin declares that Rebecca will make a fine teacher instead, a respectable career for a young lady. Rebecca slumps in her chair. I think that if I ever became a truly skilled tap dancer, at least my own parents would be proud enough to watch me perform.

After supper, Sadie and Sophie ask permission to walk to the candy shop, and they invite Rebecca and me along. Mr. Rubin hesitates before agreeing, admitting that my visit makes tonight feel like a special occasion.

We leave the apartment together, and Sadie and Sophie walk ahead arm in arm while Rebecca and I follow behind. Rebecca calls me her lucky star and laughs, insisting that even though she’s no star herself, having me around might bring her a little luck. We settle onto stools at a charming shop on Delancey Street and order something called a Raz-Lime Rickey. It’s fruity and tart with a fizzy layer of froth that we sip through paper straws.

A windup phonograph behind the counter plays a jazzy ragtime song, tinny like the soundtrack of an old moving picture. When the record ends, the man winds it up again, and an old song from my tap class starts playing. It’s “Give My Regards to Broadway.” Sadie and Sophie begin humming along, and Rebecca joins in singing. I recognize the tune myself and hum along, too, glad for once to be part of the fun instead of just watching it.

On the walk back home, Rebecca stops suddenly and points to a poster in a store window. An audition is happening tomorrow afternoon at the Coronet Theater, and the winner receives five dollars and a spot in a real vaudeville show. She grows breathless with excitement and tells me this could be my big chance. She turns away, deep in thought. But the theater is near Times Square. She has no idea how I’d get there from here.

I mention that I’ve walked to Times Square plenty of times. You can just head straight up Broadway. Rebecca’s face brightens and she claps her hands together, delighted all over again, and tells me my family would be awfully proud if I won. She calls me so lucky, adding that she’d give absolutely anything if her own family let her perform in a show.

My mouth goes dry. I’ve already said too much to take any of it back now. Rebecca is trying to help me, and if I refuse this chance after everything I’ve admitted, she’ll never understand why.