A New Musical

5

 "Please make sure to call me when you land, and let me know when you get picked up, oh and when you get to your parents!" Abby says, while standing with me outside of the airport. 3 weeks of rehearsal goes by too fast. I'm already leaving New York for the show's out-of-town try out in Chicago. She wanted to be here to wish me luck, and give me a proper farewell.

"Okay mom," I say sarcastically.

"Don't take a tone with me, mister. I love you!" Abby gives me a big hug, and I hug her back. "You're gonna do amazing!"

I wave goodbye and make my way through the security check. I put my earbuds in and head over to my gate waiting to board the plane. I can't believe that in just a few short hours I'm gonna be back in Illinois. I know my mom is gonna be at the airport jumping from excitement when she sees me. The creative team has a set hotel for the cast to stay at, so that we're nearby and can easily get to and from the theater. I decided to come a few days sooner, so I could stay with my parents and hang out with them for a little while.

The process of getting the first draft of the show done was pretty quick, so doing this out of town tryout is gonna be the tough part. This is where we spend time having an audience see the show, and get a reaction. So that if something may not be received well by the audience.(Like a song, or a scene is too long, ect.), Then we have time to adjust and fix it before we head to Broadway. Or at least we hope to, you can sometimes do a try out and not head to Broadway. That's what we don't want.

"Asher?" I hear a voice say behind me, who of course, is Mason Pierce. I don't know that right away because of the navy blue baseball cap he was wearing, and black sunglasses. He's also wearing a loose shirt, and sweatpants. This is a way dressed down version of Mason, that I haven't seen before. In a way, I find it quite charming.

"Oh, hi!" I say startled, and pull an earbud out of my ear. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, same thing as you, I suppose. Heading to Chicago." Mason laughs.

"Well yeah, but you didn't need to be there till Thursday. It's Monday."

"Then why are you here?" Mason smirks.

"Fair," I say "I'm going to spend some time with my family before we start the show."

"Ah" he says "That makes sense. I forgot you said you're from there. Then you're staying in..." Mason's words hang as he waits for my answer.

"Orland." I respond. "Only for a few days, then I'll be in Chicago during the run. Probably visit my parents when I can, while we do the show."

Mason nods with a smile "Well that must be nice, you'll be able to spend time together."
"Yes, it'll be great! So why are you actually heading to Chicago so early?" I ask, looking at Mason with what I hope is a face of sincere curiosity and not nosey.

"Uh" Mason takes a pause, then responds. "I just thought it'd be nice to see the city before we start rehearsals and tech."

"Ah" I nod, understanding. "Makes sense, makes sense."

"I mean," Mason looks at me "I bet you still know the area better then me, maybe you could help show me around sometime during the run?"

"I definitely know the city, I'd go every weekend with my friends to try and see a show while it was on tour. We would go and get rush tickets if they were available!" I laugh and Mason smiles.

"Maybe we can find time to see a show then." Mason gives a slight smile.

"Yeah, that could be fun." I say, breaking my eyes from his. Those damn butterflies have come back at full force. "And yeah, I'd be happy to show you around. It can be a good area, as long as you know where the good is!"