West End Story

Chapter Three

Simon sighed as he made his way to the office. This was always his least favourite part about directing: casting the actors. He hated imagining how something would go. He'd rather see everyone as every character and then select their parts, but he knew that was irrational and a huge waste of time. So instead he entered the meeting room, where Paul, Savan, and Nicole were waiting for him to arrive.

As soon as he walked in, the strong smell of coffee hit him, and Paul held up his cup in greeting. "Want some?" Paul asked. Simon nodded gratefully. It was too early on a Saturday morning for him to function properly, and the caffeine from the coffee would definitely help. Savan slid him a cup as Simon dropped his papers in the center of the table and greeted Nicole.

"Shall we get started, then?" Simon said, settling into his chair. "Let's start easy and go with Baby John," Savan said, leaning back in his chair. "Nathan Sykes?" Paul suggested, looking over his list. "Yes, both his vocal and dance auditions were very good," Simon mused, studying his theatre résumé. "I like him. He has the look of a younger kid that I think Baby John requires," Nicole said. Simon nodded and flipped the résumé to the other side, where Nathan's full headshot was printed. "I think his vocal audition was excellent. He has the range to be able to play Tony. He'd be great," Savan pointed out.

Simon shook his head. "No. I have to disagree with you there, Savan. I want Liam to be Tony," Simon said firmly. "Liam Payne? Why?" Savan asked, a little shocked.

"I've worked with him before. He's very good at taking directions and actually doing them, as opposed to a lot of younger actors. He's friendly and easy to work with, too. Besides, he was definitely one of the best males we had audition," Simon explained, gesturing with his hands. "I want Liam. I'm willing to compromise on anything but this, Savan. I'm not willing to let this go."

Savan looked over Liam's résumé for a few moments in silence, but finally nodded his assent. Simon slowly let out his breath.

"Then Nathan as Baby John?" Nicole asked. All nodded, and she typed both names quickly into her laptop.

"Now Maria," she said. Simon checked his notes, where he'd scribbled who he thought the cast list should be. "I have Demi and Cher down to consider," he said, quickly finding their résumés. "Demi has a low range," Savan reminded him. "Maria requires a tall range, especially up there on the scale. I'm not sure Demi could handle that. Cher, on the other hand, could, I think."

Nicole nodded. "Besides, Maria is quite young. Cher's small, but Demi's too big for the part." Paul agreed with her. Simon considered the decision for a moment, before agreeing as well. "However, I think Demi would be an excellent Anita. She's a strong alto, which will come in handy in 'A Boy Like That/I Have A Love'," he added as an afterthought.

"Now that we have an Anita, what about Bernardo?" Nicole offered. "Bernardo is a big dance part. I liked Louis Tomlinson's audition. He was very good."

"Zayn Malik was good as well," Savan pointed out. Nicole scrunched her nose up in distaste. "What, you didn't like him?" Simon asked, shifting his position and trying to get more comfortable in the hard chairs.

Nicole shook her head. "No, he was good, I agree, I just think Louis was better." "Zayn has the looks to be Puerto Rican. Louis has blue eyes that are very noticeable from the audience," Paul spoke up. Simon nodded and added, "He was very animated in his original audition, and he's too funny to play a serious character well. I want him in ensemble as one of the Sharks, and I want Zayn as Bernardo."

Even though the others were here to offer their opinions, Simon was still the director. Whatever he said, happened. Nicole quietly added the names to the list.

After a moment, she said, "While we're on the topic of good male dancers, what about Riff?" "Andy Samuels," Paul said right away. "Woah, calm down there, Paul," Savan joked. Everyone chuckled as Paul grinned. Paul was not known for speaking a lot. When they quieted, Simon leaned forward and wondered curiously, "Why, Paul?"