Chapter 34 Zero-sum Game

 Dietrich Goodwin — the black inmate in the movie version of "Chicago" and Velma in the Broadway version of the musical — wasn't the first time she'd met Jennifer Jefferson, and she had spoken to Jefferson over lunch a few times before on the set of Universal in Hollywood, but the deeper contact was nothing, and even if Dietrich had a deep friendship, it was objectively not allowed. The atmosphere on the set of "Chicago" is depressing, the director is like an occasional dynamite, which may attack at any time, Dietrich is also electrocuted for the first time, and there is always one person who is busy with the play when the two meet several times, and no one can delay more.

 For Jefferson, the lucky one, it would be false to say that Dietrich is not envious. She's pretty, she's young—most importantly, she's young, Dietrich is 32 years old, she's just got the role of Velma, and she's been offered the big screen on the big screen through a Broadway troupe, and she's been dancing on Broadway for six years to get to where she is today, and Jennifer Jefferson is only 20 this year.

 Of course, when she was in Hollywood, Dietrich didn't have much jealousy of her, and Hollywood has never lacked lucky people, in other words, even if Jennifer has appeared on the big screen and is still playing supporting roles at the age of 20, she is far behind compared to talented child stars like Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. At that time, she just wanted to make more friends, make more good connections, and maybe one day Jennifer would take off and bring her an audition or two.

 - However, at that time, Dietrich didn't know that she would suddenly run to Broadway to sing musicals, and she was aiming at Lockhee, the heroine of "Chicago", judging from James's attitude towards her, Jennifer was not challenging Group B Lockhee, but Group A, that is, if she passed the audition, then in the next few seasons, Dietrich would partner Jennifer, not the hapless old Tina, or Amanda who was looking forward to moving from Group B to Group A.

 Dietrich didn't know exactly how much business consideration there was after this audition, of course she had heard some rumors, but how to run the publicity was ultimately a matter for the theater, and there was only one thing she cared about: the limelight.

 As long as there is a confrontation, there will definitely be a battle for the limelight, especially in a play like "Chicago", where two heroines co-star, as long as it is performed together, there will definitely be a more eye-catching comparison, of course, this is a difficult to quantify struggle, and even the victory or defeat varies from person to person, and each audience may have a different answer. But Dietrich knew that her disadvantage was very obvious in front of Jennifer - she was not as beautiful as Jennifer. Compared with her original partner Tina, Jennifer's advantages are clear at a glance, she is really young and beautiful, she is also very thin, and her figure is out of shape (Tina is somewhat too strong, Amanda also has such a problem), even if she doesn't talk about singing and dancing skills, as long as the two stand there, Jennifer can naturally steal 70% of the attention.

 Another, even more disadvantaged factor is that she can act, the reason why Dietrich did not participate in the troupe tour is because she has to act as a human flesh set for many scenes on the set of "Chicago", she has appeared in several scenes of Kitty, and Jennifer's free-flowing acting skills have made a deep impression on her. In this regard, Dietrich, who previously specialized in musicals, can freely admit that she is ashamed of herself.

 But she is not without advantages, Dietrich did not participate in the singing and dancing training organized by the film producer, and her professionalism makes it impossible for her to practice in a surprise way. The experience of playing with Renee, Catherine and other leading actors several times also made her feel the weakness of movie stars who are not from professional classes on stage. It's one thing to be pretty, it's another thing to dominate the stage, and Dietrich definitely can't compare to Catherine's beauty, but she's confident that on the same stage, she can attract more attention. Now that Jennifer's selection is a certainty, James's choice of singing and dancing is a good opportunity for her, and she believes that she can confirm the power relationship between the two in the first co-performance. - Dietrich didn't want to bully Jennifer, she just wanted her to be honest on stage and not steal her limelight.

 Jennifer has not been systematically rehearsed, only received a few months of short training, from the feedback of several colleagues, in addition to the looks, the singing is also like that, although the dance is good, but Dietrich's dancing is a strong point, she has absolute confidence in this. Dietrich didn't want to ravage her too much or even lose the role, but she needed to overwhelm Jennifer in this song, and let her know who was the boss, who was the one who knew the position and the lines by heart, and to put it bluntly: who was going to follow whom's pace.

 But as soon as Jennifer opened her mouth, she knew she was finished.

 For the audience, the recitation, singing and background music of the musical have little to do with it, especially the singing section of "Chicago" is jazz style, the rhythm is relatively monotonous, and it sounds like it can be matched anywhere at the beginning. But for actors, the time of speaking and the rhythm of reading are exquisite, and there is still the problem of the speed of speech driving each other when the two read the same paragraph. What Dietrich wants to fight for is to be the foreman, and she wants James to know that even though the focus of the next season may be Jennifer, Velma is still the one who leads the singer on stage.

 But she couldn't, Jennifer knew she couldn't as soon as she opened her mouth, she couldn't see her expression and dancing, she could only hear her humming "Nowadays" in a smug, smug and soft voice, every line was in tune, every line was on the drum, and even every line was in the mood. Her match with the background music is so seamless, not even a beat is bad - it's like singing a KTV, Jennifer's every line is a replay of the original sound, and Dietrich can't improvise at all, or follow her voice to the flat and up, just like all people who sing K on the original sound, the only thing she can do is to keep up with her rhythm, blend into her performance, and adjust the distance between the two according to her position.

 In other words, although she also tried her best to adjust the cover-up, the person who was flustered and kept having small flaws was the old bird Dietrich, not the rookie Jennifer. It's been half a year since Dietrich starred in Velma, and this final show was the worst she felt she had performed, perhaps because of a lot of distractions, and by the end she didn't even know what to do with the lack of props - God knows how many times they used cardboard instead of machine guns in rehearsals, and how many times they simulated it directly with their hands when they didn't have cardboard. This time, she didn't suddenly wake up until the corner of her eye saw Jennifer blowing her fingers, and quickly made a similar pose to cooperate with Jennifer.

 Is her singing voice good? Is it out of tune? Is it loud? Is her breath stable? Dietrich didn't even notice that Jennifer's performance gave her the impression of an incomprehensible whole, she was Lockhee, and now she is singing and dancing Lockshee Hart, how do you judge her singing skills and acting skills? It's like you can't say that a baby's smile is not natural enough, maybe his smile is not so beautiful, but it is absolutely original and unpretentious.

 In the final analysis, Jennifer not only fully entered the play herself, but also brought the audience into the play, making them lose their high-minded judging attitude, that is, completely conquered by her charm.

 James didn't get too excited after the show, but Dietrich was already familiar with him, and she easily spotted his excitement through his small movements (pursed lips, sparkling eyes, and fingers tapping on the table). Jaime was just contrived, Dietrich was sure he was so excited that he could almost take to the skies, he had been waiting for an opportunity to bring the Schubert Theater back to life, and now who could say that Jennifer Jefferson was not his ideal savior?

 As for the crowd standing behind the audition table, Agata Lepnina and Rob Marshall, these big names didn't skimp on their smiles and nods, they kept talking about Dietrich, the Jennifer Jefferson next to her. Their eyes slid over Dietrich, but they ignored her, as if she were just a set, a dead thing, and once it fell on Jefferson, it was as if they had encountered a black hole, and they could never leave.

 Dietrich was in a bad mood, not only because she had just failed the act, but also because she was aware of her fate, Hell, of course, she knew it, and if it were them, she would have made the exact same choice. If she is not an actor on the same stage, but just an audience, she will not turn her attention to the pathetic, completely overshadowed, dull supporting role, she will only appreciate this glamorous and talented future star.

 If she's not on the same stage...

 She bit her cheek and reminded herself with a slight pain that now was not the time to think about it.

 Then he turned to smile and congratulated Jennifer Jefferson.

 As she noticed, as soon as the scene came, Jefferson's dominance, domineering, or eye-catching temperament were all gone, and of course she was still beautiful, but she was no longer so conspicuous and arrogant, and she wiped her sweat while showing a kind smile to Dietrich. It's as if she's been coordinating with her for the whole show, instead of showing herself for five minutes.

 Of course, Dietrich also admitted that she didn't plan to communicate while jumping at the beginning, but because she originally planned to do so, she was preempted by Jefferson, and now the unhappiness is even more deep-rooted.

 She stepped forward and shook Jefferson's hand, then turned back into the crowd, choosing not to respond to the false smile from her colleagues, she knew what was going on in their hearts, Broadway competition would not be much more peaceful than Hollywood, she was Velma, and the character represented intrigue and intrigue in the Chicago theater company.

 And Dietrich can't accept the trend of development, she is 32 years old this year, and there is not much room for failure. The audition evoked fear of losing her job, Chicago was a two-star musical, Velma couldn't be overpowered by Lockhee, and if she couldn't stand up to Jefferson, Dietrich knew what awaited her.

 This isn't the first time she's dealt with the dark side of this industry, and those who know it well know that no one is going to clear your obstacles, or you're strong enough to cross it, or you're going to bend down and get rid of it.

 With a polite smile, she carefully observed Jefferson in the crowd.

 Look very closely.

 #

 Jenny didn't particularly feel Dietrich's malice, not because she was not sensitive, in fact, it was entirely because there were so many people looking at her with jealousy, jealousy, surprise, etc., that basically half of the room was so wary and frightened, and it was not an exaggeration to say that even disgusted looked at her, and it became impossible to find out the source of these glances one by one. Besides, she has a more important task, which is to go up and greet Agata and Rob officially.

 Although it is said that after she finishes acting, James Schuber will be able to go out after a few comments, but now the rhythm of the entire audition has been interrupted, a small meeting is being held at the audition table, and there is a lot of discussion in the room, and it has completely become a vegetable market, so Jenny didn't care about it, and went up to hug Agata first, Agata patted her on the shoulder hard, and without saying anything, he pushed her to Rob.

 "Are you really coming back to New York to see me?" shouted Jenny as she threw herself up and gave Rob a hug and a kiss on the face, and though they didn't see each other much, it was natural for him to do so because of Rob's help to her, and the slightly frantic atmosphere in the room right now.

 Rob hugged her back, just like he was smiling like crazy, baring two rows of teeth, "I'd love to say yes, but the truth is that the set had an early holiday for Christmas-"

 He might have wanted to comment on her performance, but by this time Schubert had already turned around, so Rob just hurriedly said to Jenny, "Listen, I've got a party for Christmas, you have to come, and if you can, eat together tonight." "

 Then he pushed her back to Schubert.

 Schubert pushed away his chair, stood up and shook her hand, his attitude was more formal than before, and he cleared his throat before speaking, "Very well, Miss Jefferson, we are pleased with your performance." "

 Beside him, an auditionist shook his head and laughed, "How satisfied? Jennifer, you're completely rocking." (Rock the fuck out of the whole place) We can't wait to see your official performance. "

 Schubert smiled helplessly at him, but barely managed to maintain a professional attitude towards Jenny, "Anyway, we'll let you know the results in two days." "

 "Okay, no problem. Jenny also wanted to hold back a laugh, but she was really excited and happy now, she didn't know what to say, but the song and dance just now seemed to really make her fight back against the kind of eye harassment that Schubert had given her an hour before, so she couldn't help but laugh out of her white teeth after all, "I will- I'll be very nervous to wait for your call." "

 The high-level officials at the audition table all laughed, and they all stretched out their hands to Jenny, and Jenny shook them one by one, and suddenly had the illusion that she was a political leader, but she really couldn't suppress this fluttering feeling, and she couldn't stop laughing until she walked to the door.

 However, when she pushed the door open and all the candidates looked at her, this inexplicable sense of success melted very quickly, and Jenny suddenly realized that she had only successfully completed a rehearsal performance, and that she was by no means the king of the world, and that there was a large group of people around her who were probably planning to step her down at any moment in order to expand her chances of success.

 She immediately restrained her smile and made her way through the crowd as seriously as she could, but even so, Jenny still felt many malicious glances converge on her, and if the eyes could materialize, she believed that her face must have been cut bloodied.

 Although she is not a fierce character, and she tries to keep a low profile, Jenny knows that these candidates will not hate her a little less because of her low profile, they don't like her, and even hate her, and the reason for hating her is very simple: Jenny is in their way, and she takes the opportunity they all covet.

 So she's Bitch.

 This is not a political and economic game, there is a win-win solution, this is the showbiz.

 There can only be one winner in showbiz.

 The author has something to say: Note: 1 Groups A and B mentioned by Dietrich are common practices in theater troupes that perform all year round, because it is impossible for actors to be present all year round, so they will be divided into two groups and take turns to appear in a play. But the Chicago Theater Company's A group has a higher status, which is my fiction.

 2 Dietrich is a real person, and she is indeed the Velma of Chicago on Broadway in 2002. But everything else is fiction... You know, don't take it seriously!