“Mr. Ziegfeld would have it no other way,” he said.
The trio wound their way through the people until they found the correct platform. Jada turned and held out a hand to Jonathon. “It was lovely seeing you again, Mr. Franks.”
He shook her hand. “And you.”
She turned to Suzanne. “Break a leg!” she cried. “I’m sorry I’ll miss the opening.”
“You need to be in New York,” Suzanne said. “I’ll have tickets for the opening there.”
Jada’s face lit up. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
The conductor walked down the platform. “All aboard!” he called.
“I’ll see you in a few weeks,” Jada promised before turning to get on the train.
Suzanne stopped her by taking her hand. She pressed a few bills into Jada’s hand. “Promise me you’ll take a cab from the train to Miss Mitzi’s. I don’t want you alone on the streets.”
“I promise,” Jada replied. She boarded the train.
Jonathon and Suzanne stood on the platform and waited for the train to depart. In a matter of moments the crowds parted and people stood in groups of two and three across the platform. The train started to humph and chug as it slowly made its way into motion. Jonathon and Suzanne raised their hands to wave despite not being able to see Jada in any of the windows. They stepped back and the steam blew from the engine.
“Can I take you back to the hotel?” Jonathon asked.
“Please,” Suzanne nodded.
They walked back to the car that was waiting for them, their arms bumping against each other. What a long day, Suzanne thought to herself.
Jonathon cleared his throat. “This may be the wrong time to say this,” he began.
“Yes?” Suzanne replied. She adjusted her glove as they walked.
“Now that this thing with Laura is over, I was wondering if I could take you to dinner one night.”
“We’ve had dinner a few times,” Suzanne replied. “You are always welcome to dine with Ann and me.”
Jonathon fell over his words. “What I mean to say is, would you allow me to escort you to dinner? I think you know that I am rather fond of you and, despite my brazen behavior at that party, I respect you.”
Suzanne looked away and smiled. An image of Elton came to mind and how he first announced his intentions. It was time to let another man into her life. She eyed Jonathon out of the corner of her eye. Mother might even approve of him.
“If you are free, I do need an escort to the opening night party.” She smiled. “If Flo can spare you.”
Jonathon beamed. “I will be sure he can.”
He held the door for her and she walked out into the warm spring night.
CHAPTER 30
LATE JULY 1914
Jada had been through plenty of opening nights with Suzanne, but tonight felt different. The nerves and doubts that used to plague Suzanne were absent. Her dressing room was full of chorus girls, twittering about mistakes for the last week of dress rehearsals, but to Jada it was all a buzz of noise. In thirty minutes she would be a Broadway performer.
For the last time, she picked up the sheet music on her vanity and read through the songs that she and Danny would perform. There were only two in which they were featured, but that was more than she had expected. She was even in the finale number, “Ballin’ the Jack.” It was more of a dancing than a singing number, but she was thrilled to stretch her legs and perform that way as well. It was a new dance that she’d never seen before. Lots of hip swaying and leg kicking to a tune chockful of pep and vigor. Hopefully the audience would find it as fun as she did.
She rubbed on her lip rouge as she hummed the tune of her first number, “I Love a Piano.” It was up-tempo and featured just her and Danny onstage. He accompanied her on the piano while she danced around him declaring her adoration for the instrument. Danny gleamed with pride during that number, and it highlighted her voice perfectly without being too challenging.
One last look at the mirror and she was ready to head up to the stage. Her black skirt and red top were perfect. She fixed one strand of hair so that it fell where she wanted it to and slipped out the door.
“Later, girls,” she said as she left.
“Break a leg, Jada!” one of the dancers shouted back.
It was fifteen minutes until curtain. Danny would be waiting in the wings for her.
She opened the staircase door and stopped. Sitting on the stairs was Suzanne. She wasn’t in her costume for the Follies, nor was she dressed up for an evening off. Jada’s stomached lurched in preparation for bad news.
“Is something wrong?” Jada asked. “You should be across town dressing for tonight’s Follies.”
Suzanne stood up and kissed Jada’s cheek. “Ava is filling in for me tonight. Her family is in town and she deserves to showcase her talent for them.” She feared she’d misspoken. “That isn’t important, though. I am here for you. I couldn’t miss your opening night.”
“Really? You came to see me?” In all her visions of her opening night, she never expected Suzanne to attend.
“You are such a ninny,” Suzanne said. She pulled a small rosette from her clutch and handed it to Jada. “You have been there for me for as long as I can remember. I couldn’t call myself your friend if I wasn’t here.”
The two walked up the stairs to the stage. It wasn’t as glamorous as the New Amsterdam. The walls were not plated with gold and the stage had scuffs from years of use, but to Jada that just made it better. There was a history here where you could literally see the success and failures of productions past in the imperfections.
Danny sat at the piano onstage stretching his neck and wiggling his fingers over the keys. A dull murmur could be heard from the audience that was filling quickly. Despite every rule she knew, she peaked out through a seam in the curtain and smiled. It was nearly standing room only and there were still ten minutes to curtain.
Suzanne placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back. “I am so proud of you,” she whispered.
Jada grinned back and said, “I’m proud of you too.”
Suzanne walked back into the shadows of the wings and found a chair that was out of the way of the stage manager. Jada swayed back and forth and rotated her arms in a grand warm-up routine that she and Danny had created for her. From the corner of her eye she could see Suzanne sitting and she smiled at her friend. Had she thanked her for coming? Jada couldn’t remember.
She made a move to do so when the orchestra started the overture. Her stomach tightened with nerves. She finally felt what Suzanne went through. All lyrics and moves disappeared from her mind and she was left frozen onstage.
Danny scooted off the piano bench and took her hand. “It will be all right when you hear the music.” He led her to her starting mark and patted her shoulder for good luck.
Jada closed her eyes and leaned her head back as she tried to physically shake the nerves out of her hands. The last few notes of the orchestra played; then there was silence.
The curtain rose and Jada began to sing.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
This novel is a culmination of a lifelong passion for theater. Growing up, I watched every musical from the forties and fifties that I could get my hands on. One day I rented Ziegfeld Follies from Blockbuster and was entranced by the amazing costumes and eclectic range of performances. I had the Ziegfeld Follies paper dolls and loved making different productions out of the various costumes.
Jada and Suzanne came to me as a pair. What would the relationship be like between a white and black performer in pre–WWI New York? I wanted to look at that relationship and how the pressures of being in the Follies would affect each of them.
While the two main characters are fiction, many of the characters in this novel are based on real people. Ann Pennington, Bert Williams, Leon Errol, Julian Mitchell, Billie Burke, and, of course, Florenz Ziegfeld himself. Many of their subplots were based on fact as well. Flo did try to seduce Ann Pennington, and she di
d gift him with an “artistic” photograph of herself. Leon and Julian worked with the 1914 Follies, and Flo was dating Billie Burke, the future Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the 1939 The Wizard of Oz movie. They actually got married during the 1914 Follies.
Of all those people, Bert was the most interesting to me. Before I started researching this book, I had never heard of him before. And yet, he was the man who integrated the Ziegfeld Follies’ stage. And more than that, when the Ziegfeld girls threatened to walk, Flo himself stood up for Bert and informed the girls, “You I can replace, he is unique.” I kept that line in my novel as I felt it was such a strong vote of confidence from this man I have come to really respect.
I should say that the fact that women were allowed onstage with Bert may not be 100 percent accurate. Two different texts I consulted quoted two different years. Regardless of that, in either 1912 or 1914 Bert was at least allowed to speak to women onstage. I chose 1914 as the year to set this story because it was nestled between so many dramatic events.
Most women have had relationships that were both beneficial and detrimental. Jada and Suzanne are like sisters, and as such they are not willing to give up on each other. They give each other strength but also hold each other back. Their story is one of love and acceptance. I hope you enjoyed their story and are inspired to learn more about Broadway at the turn of the twentieth century.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book, nor any of my work, could not be possible without the love and support of so many people. I appreciate the work my agent, Steven Chudney, and editor, Martin Biro, did to bring Suzanne and Jada to the page. Thanks to my writing group who endured many years of reading variations of this story. Jenny, Jenn, Jenifer, Natalie, Laura, Kym, Cherie, and Lisa, as well as many more—I am so grateful for your input. Especially Jenifer for reading the final draft when I was sure it was garbage. Huge thanks to my mom and dad for instilling in me a love for old movies and history, as well as watching my girls so I can write. A special thank-you to my husband, whose support and love make it possible for me to write. Last, but not least, to my girls—thank you for continuing to nap and play so Mommy could get in her daily word count!
A READING GROUP GUIDE
ZIEGFELD GIRLS
Sarah Barthel
About This Guide
The suggested questions are included to enhance your group’s reading of Sarah Barthel’s Ziegfeld Girls.
Discussion Questions
1. Much of the conflict between Jada and Suzanne is centered on the ideas of entitlement and guilt. It never occurs to Suzanne to think of Jada’s dreams, just as it never occurs to Jada that Suzanne might have benefited from leaving Richmond. Have you ever experienced such conflict with a friend of yours? Do you think, given the time period, these misunderstandings could have been avoided?
2. Per Mr. Haskins’s orders, Jada was given many privileges. She attended Suzanne’s tutoring sessions, as well as all her piano, voice, and dance lessons. Do you believe there was another reason that Mr. Haskins provided Jada with such a valuable education?
3. Suzanne chose to run away with Jada. Had she not chosen to do so, how do you think both of their lives would be different?
4. Do you think Jada had any option other than to run away once she found her parents lynched?
5. Suzanne and Jada’s relationship is affected by their race. In what ways do you think their relationship would be different today? In what ways the same?
6. Laura struggles in her role as a Ziegfeld girl because of her middle-class status and because of her fear of black men. How do you think race and class impact your life and prejudices? What do you think about how far or little your community has come in race relations since 1914?
7. Jada stays involved in current affairs, while Suzanne is not politically minded. As WWI and the suffragette movement take hold, what do you think both girls’ roles will be?
8. Every time Jada was offered a chance to work with Bert Williams, she ran away. Has there ever been something that you ran from, and how did you face that fear in the end?
If you enjoyed Ziegfeld Girls,
be sure not to miss Sarah Barthel’s debut novel,
HOUSE OF SILENCE
Oak Park, Illinois, 1875. Isabelle Larkin’s future—like that of every young woman—hinges upon her choice of husband. She delights her mother by becoming engaged to Gregory Gallagher, who is charismatic, politically ambitious, and publicly devoted. But Isabelle’s visions of a happy, profitable match come to a halt when she witnesses her fiancé commit a horrific crime—and no one believes her.
Gregory denies all, and Isabelle’s mother insists she marry as planned rather than drag them into scandal. Fearing for her life, Isabelle can think of only one escape: She feigns a mental breakdown that renders her mute, and she is brought to Bellevue Sanitarium. There she finds a friend in fellow patient Mary Todd Lincoln, who was committed after her husband’s assassination.
In this unlikely refuge, the women become allies, even as Isabelle maintains a veneer of madness for her own protection. But sooner or later, she must reclaim her voice. And if she uses it to expose the truth, Isabelle risks far more than she could ever imagine.
Weaving together a thread of finely tuned suspense with a fascinating setting and real-life figures, Sarah Barthel’s debut is historical fiction at its most evocative and compelling.
Keep reading for a special look!
A Kensington trade paperback and e-book on sale now.
PROLOGUE
MAY 1875
BELLEVUE SANITARIUM, BATAVIA, ILLINOIS
The shadows from my flickering candle shifted against the rose wallpaper so rhythmically that I began to question if I actually belonged in this sanitarium. No matter how grand they became, I resolutely ignored the reflections. To acknowledge them would cost me more than I was prepared to pay.
As I did every evening, I sat on my bed with a copy of Jane Eyre. In vain I hoped to find answers through Jane’s and Bertha’s unfortunate fates, but no revelations came. They were the product of unfortunate circumstances . . . perhaps I was no better.
A slight shift in the room’s color made me look up. My breath caught in my throat.
My neighbor stood in the doorway. Her silence added to the stillness until it felt as if I’d implode. Her loose, dark gray hair was stark against her pale pink nightgown. Without her hoop and mounds of skirts, she looked slight, like half a woman. Yet, her presence grasped for my attention as if she were the president himself.
Her eyes met mine and they pierced me with sympathy. I shifted my gaze to the hallway. Surely at any moment, Nurse Penny would appear to return this intruder to her room.
But no one came.
Her nightgown shifted in the slight breeze. Every few moments she twisted her head and regarded me from a different angle. The silence grated on me as much as her presence frightened me.
Perhaps I should have demonstrated my insanity by screaming and pulling on my hair, but I was so tired of pretending. Besides, something about this woman told me that my act wouldn’t fool her.
After what felt like ages, she stepped over the threshold and into my room. Her stride was careful and deliberate. Her movements showed her age more than the gray in her hair did. She was old beyond her years.
“Speak to me, child,” she commanded.
I clutched the book to my chest as if it could shield me from my troubles. Even though she’d already attacked me once, I wanted her to like me.
“We all have our reasons for silence. Yours will end.” Her words made my heart race.
She didn’t know why I was here or why I remained mute, but she showed more empathy than Dr. Patterson had. Despite this, her kindness chilled me. I couldn’t allow myself to trust anyone. Trusting Gregory was how I got into this predicament. I refused to make the same mistake twice.
“If you need anything, you come see me. Dr. Patterson told me to watch out for you, and I intend to do my best. Understand?”
Unable to respond any other way, I nodded.
She tilted her head and read the title of my book. A smile pulled at her mouth. “Jane Eyre. There ought to be more heroines like her. She shaped her own destiny and let no man decide for her.” She smoothed a wrinkle out of my bedspread.
My mouth dropped open at her declaration. So many friends didn’t understand my attraction to Jane’s character. This woman, older than my mother, was a true kindred spirit. A bit of my determination crumbled.
She must have noticed my warming to her for she demanded, “Make room,” and sat beside me. I pulled my legs to my chest.
She took the book from my hand and flipped back to the beginning and read aloud, “ ‘There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. We had been wandering, indeed....’ ”
Thus my friendship with Mary Lincoln began.
CHAPTER 1
MARCH 1875
OAK PARK, ILLINOIS
It wasn’t fair that before my engagement party began, I was faced with choosing between my fiancé and my best friend. As I stood looking down at the crowd forming in the Town Hall’s entryway, my stomach rolled uneasily. At that very moment, Lucy, my best friend, was secretly marrying her love. Her logic made sense: With everyone celebrating at my party, she and Patrick would have no trouble sneaking a few towns over and pledging their lives to one another. Patrick was leaving for Montana in a few days, and they needed to be sure Lucy couldn’t be married off by her parents while he was gone. Which was wise, as Lucy’s mother was busy mingling with a variety of eligible gentlemen. The moment Patrick was out of the picture, she was prepared to pounce.
We were both being wise to secure the lives we wanted. My Gregory was the man I had always imagined marrying: charismatic, smart, and handsome. We would create a wonderful life together. I had put a lot of thought into my decision. Lucy had too, only her thoughts were more of love than practicalities. For example, how would her secret wedding impact our friendship? Gregory wanted to pursue politics, which was the main reason I accepted his proposal, but having close friends who eloped could ruin his chances for a nomination, let alone victory.
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