The Paramus Playhouse was only about a quarter full—there had been so many cancellations because of the snow. But Gracie was excited to see her mom and the other Diva parents all seated in the front row. Justine was there as well, studying the program and the list of understudies Mr. Minnelli had printed out for the evening.
“I wish we had a full house for opening night,” Anya said, peeking through the curtain. “It’s like a ghost town out there.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Scarlett assured her. “We’re performing for anyone who’s watching us—and we have to do the best performance we can.” She looked at Gracie and Olivier, who were gearing up to go onstage.
“We’re right behind you,” she assured them.
“I know,” Gracie said. “I’m not scared. I figure if Clara could fight off all those mean mice, I can be just as brave. Right?”
“Right,” Anya told her, wiggling her tail at Gracie. “Just try not to hit me too hard when you throw your ballet slipper at my head, will ya?”
Gracie giggled. “I’ll try. But my dad says I have a mean pitching arm.”
When the curtain rose, the dancers all filed out onstage, pretending to participate in a wonderful Christmas Eve celebration. They danced in lines, with Gracie and Olivier leading them. There was a magician—Clara’s uncle Drosselmeyer who was played by Presley in a handlebar mustache and an eye patch—who produced a giant box tied with a bow in the center of the stage. Gracie danced around it, trying to pull off the ribbon and find out what was inside. Finally, the box opened, and Scarlett and Bria pirouetted out—as the two wind-up dolls.
“Oh!” Gracie gasped, genuinely surprised to see them in these roles. She giggled as they twirled around her in a doll-like trance, and were finally swept back into the box by Drosselmeyer.
Next up was the battle scene. Miss Toni stood backstage, dressed in a black-and-red military costume with red circles painted on her cheeks.
“You make a very pretty toy soldier,” Marcus whispered to her.
Toni half smiled. “Better not let Justine hear you say that.”
They marched onstage with Hayden and Rochelle, twirling their rifles expertly as if they were cheerleading batons. Bria and Scarlett only had minutes to change into their mouse suits before Anya pushed them out onstage. They tangled with the soldiers and finally declared surrender. Gracie stood on a bench and cheered as Olivier took the Mouse King’s crown and waved it in the air in victory.
A gold coach pulled by carousel horses took Clara and her prince to the amazing Land of Sweets. It was just as magical as Marcus had promised. Gracie couldn’t stop staring at the cotton candy clouds floating overhead and the giant Ferris wheel made out of licorice, gumdrops, and lollipops. As she and Olivier sat in the coach watching the action unfold, Addison as the Sugar Plum Fairy flitted around the stage, welcoming them to her domain.
Since the Sugar Plum Fairy’s cavalier was stuck in the city because of the blizzard, Hayden had volunteered to play the part.
“I can’t watch,” Rochelle replied. “This is worse than the time he had to dance with Liberty!”
Addison leaped and twirled around the stage, stepping on Hayden’s toes and shoving him out of her way.
“I think she thinks it’s a solo not a duet,” Anya said. “Rock, you gotta see this! Poor Hayden!”
He struggled to lift Addison in the air as she squirmed. “Let me go!” she hissed. “You’re wrinkling my costume. You’re ruining everything!”
So Hayden did just that. He dropped Addison and she landed on the stage with a loud thud.
She sat there on her butt, staring out at the audience, as the snowflakes glided down.
“Nice job, Sugar Dumb Fairy,” Liberty whispered as she swirled past her. Addison was too humiliated to answer anything back. She ran off the stage crying and rubbing her rear end.
“She asked for it,” Hayden explained to Marcus. “She said to let her down.”
“Wonderful!” Marcus complained. “Now what? I have no Sugar Plum!”
Rochelle thought fast. “Anya could do it,” she said, pulling her friend over. “She knows the part inside, outside, and upside down.”
“Fine, fine,” Marcus replied. “Go get into the spare costume. You can do the finale.”
The audience oohed and aahed over the “Waltz of the Snowflakes.” Liberty gracefully glided en pointe around the stage, following Bria and Scarlett’s lead. Each of the treats performed a dazzling dance: there were the twisty candy canes, the spicy Red Hots, and the stretchy caramel chews.
When it was time for the gingerbreads to perform, Liberty was first out onstage, leaping through the air and exploding into a breathtaking cartwheel. The rest of the gingerbread dancers waddled in behind her. Their comical routine made the audience roar with laughter—especially when Liberty threw real ginger candies into the audience and pelted Justine in the face with one of them. She ran offstage, panting.
“That was pretty awesome,” Scarlett congratulated her. “You stole the show.”
Liberty beamed. “I guess this cookie role wasn’t so crummy after all.”
Next up was the “Arabian Coffee” duet, a mysterious pas de deux performed by a couple dressed in matching red-and-gold Middle Eastern costumes. Gracie’s eyes widened as she saw Miss Toni and Marcus make their way across the stage as the romantic duo.
“Check it out!” Rochelle pulled Scarlett over to watch from the wings. “Toni and Marcus are killin’ it!”
Scarlett was mesmerized. She had never really seen her dance coach perform onstage before. She marveled at her poise and presence; the way she extended her arms and legs into graceful long lines; and how her face captured every emotion the music was trying to convey. “Wow,” she said breathlessly. “Just wow.”
All the candies came out onstage to perform a grand group number led by the Sugar Plum Fairy. Anya floated onto the stage in a shimmering pink tutu. With a wave of her wand, the Ferris wheel lit up and began to turn. Hayden held her hand as she did a graceful arabesque and then bestowed a kiss on Clara’s and the prince’s foreheads.
In the last scene, Gracie danced around the Christmas tree once again, cradling her nutcracker doll in her arms. Olivier was transformed back into a real boy, and the Land of Sweets faded away with her dreams. She waved good-bye to the Sugar Plum Fairy and the curtain fell.
“I did it! I did it!” she said, as her teammates huddled around her backstage.
“You were an amazing Clara,” Liberty said. “I couldn’t have done it better myself.”
The curtain rose again for bows, and Marcus came out and handed Anya, Olivier, and Gracie bouquets of roses. He had one more bouquet left, which he presented to Miss Toni.
“Thank you—for your wonderful Divas and for saving the day,” he told her.
Toni curtsied and kissed him on the cheek. She waved to the audience and was not at all surprised to see that Justine’s seat in the front row was now empty.
“I hope we didn’t drive her too nuts,” she told her girls, with a wink.