Hollywood: The Greatest Showman

Chapter 9: Firefighter

"What's going on? At least you can update me on the situation first!"

But Neil's steps continued without any pause, striding Renly to the side of the stage and casually stuffing the guitar leaning against the wall into Renly's arms. "Emergency rescue!"

Renly widened his eyes. "Again?" Although his expression showed surprise, his hands didn't pause, immediately slinging the guitar onto his shoulder.

Neil spread his hands helplessly. "Traffic jam. Jason is still stuck on 23rd Street, caught in traffic. This is 7th Street, which is a considerable distance. It's unlikely he'll make it in a short time. Now, we can only rely on you to save the situation. Stanley said the reward remains the same."

New York, this city always unexpectedly reminds everyone living here that it's the world's first metropolis and also the busiest. The terrible traffic congestion is always a headache. Tonight, Jason became another "experiencer."

This wasn't the first time.

Because Pioneer Village always insists on live performances and insists that each day's performers must be carefully selected, rather than having a fixed lineup throughout the year, various unexpected situations are inevitable. So, there's always an occasional need for impromptu firefighters. Before this, comedians were the preferred choice because they could go on stage for solo performances, liven up the atmosphere, and interact closely with the audience, buying time effectively.

However, last month there was an unexpected situation where no comedian could be found to save the scene. Fortunately, Renly volunteered and took the stage, avoiding a crisis of no performance that night.

For noble families like the Halls—even if they're declining nobility—they must learn an artistic skill from a young age, whether it's painting, piano, violin, poetry, or wine tasting. The emphasis is not on mastery but on cultivating temperament and refining manners. Especially in formal social occasions in high society, one's appearance, speech, behavior, and demeanor determine their status and image within the circle. This is also the fundamental reason why nouveau riche and later noble families have never truly integrated into the upper-class circles—inheritance and heritage.

Renly studied piano, but later experimented with various instruments at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in England, mainly to understand the changes and progress in popular culture, which are important for understanding culture, history, and performance. Besides, it was also to make up for regrets from the past life; trying different new things always broadens horizons. The guitar was one of them.

What was supposed to be a one-time cameo to save the scene unexpectedly received many praises. Over the past period of time, Renly had been on stage five times.

Neil pushed Renly to the front of the stage and then raised his hands to indicate his innocence, showing a relieved smile. "It's up to you now!"

Watching Neil, who was about to play the absentee, Renly quickly grabbed him. "How much time? How long do I need to stall?"

"Fifteen minutes," Neil said grandly. "We'll signal you from the sidelines when Jason arrives." With that said, he didn't linger anymore and dashed back to the bar, leaving Renly with the hot potato.

Watching Neil's disappearing figure, Renly didn't panic too much. He looked up at the clock, starting to calculate, deducting the time for conversation, rest time for changing performers, it was about ten minutes or so of blank time. He just needed to perform three songs. The task wasn't too burdensome.

At this moment, Stanley Charleson, standing on the stage, caught sight of Renly, who was already ready. He couldn't continue making things up anymore. As the owner of the bar, he only appeared on stage for a short time, and two minutes of small talk was already his limit. So, even before Renly could catch his breath, he directly raised his right hand high. "Ladies and gentlemen, Renly Hall!"

"Wow, Renly! Renly!" Clapping and cheering sounded from the direction of the bar. It was undoubtedly Neil, accompanying the clapping were cheers and whistles from many spectators, making the atmosphere lively.

Steven wiped off the last bit of soup from his plate with bread and put it in his mouth—the food tonight was indeed delicious. Hearing Stanley's introduction from the speakers, he almost choked, and his first reaction was to look at Tom with questioning eyes, "What's going on?" But Tom also spread his hands, looking bewildered, not understanding what was happening.

Turning to look at the stage, Renly, with the guitar on his back, appeared in front of everyone with a smile on his face. The cheers from the audience became even more lively, and Steven couldn't help but look around, noticing that the customers who were cheering had words in their mouths, apparently very familiar with Renly, the camaraderie and banter among friends were evident.

Renly took the microphone from Stanley's hand with a smile, saying, "Good evening, I'm Jason Mraz." The blatant lie made everyone in the bar burst into laughter. "Sorry, Jason is temporarily stuck fourteen blocks away due to Michael Bloomberg's terrible management." Michael, the current mayor of New York.

This quip won everyone's hearts, and the sound of clapping on tabletops erupted again in the audience, mixed with excited whistles.

"Before Jason arrives, you'll have to put up with this impostor for a while," Renly said jokingly, successfully livening up the atmosphere again with just two simple sentences, not only without complaining about Jason's lateness but making it even more lively.

Renly casually pulled out a wooden chair and took a seat generously. After securing the microphone, the stage lights dimmed. All the lights in the bar except those on the stage dimmed, leaving only a milky yellow beam of light falling on Renly, the dust floating in the air fluttered up and down, lightly falling on his shoulders. The halo penetrated his messy yet unrestrained chestnut curls, sparsely falling on his face, and the dense eyelashes cast a shadow, covering the expression in his eyes, giving an indescribable tranquility that slowly spread.

Time seemed to suddenly stop.

"While Jason hasn't appeared yet," Renly's voice came from the speakers, spreading like velvet in the milky yellow world, blooming proudly in the beauty of the night, "I've decided to sing one of his masterpieces, so when he shows up, maybe you can feel the huge contrast." The self-deprecating jest made every listener smile involuntarily, even Steven was no exception.

With long and straight fingers, distinct joints, Renly lightly strummed the strings, making a ding sound in the spotlight. The song "I'm Yours" effortlessly immersed everyone in the bar, swaying with the rhythm. In this leisurely moment, there was music, wine, and friends, and the fragments of life began to become clear.

Steven stared at Renly in the beam of light, different from his confident and bold performance on stage this afternoon. At this moment, Renly appeared elegant and clear, perhaps because the contrast between the spotlight and the surrounding darkness was too strong, there was only one lonely figure on the vast stage. Renly was like a troubadour, singing softly and expressing himself directly, relaxed, free-spirited, and enviable.

Seeminglywithout any skillful singing techniques, he easily captivated the ears, even the mind was intoxicated by the lazy and hoarse voice. A faint coffee fragrance mingled in the sunlight under the nostrils.

When the song ended, Steven realized the relaxed smile on his lips, quickly restraining it, and glanced at Tom. Fortunately, Tom was raising his hands high at this moment, applauding Renly, not noticing his anomaly. Not only Tom, but other spectators were the same, no one would notice others' peculiarities, everyone just enjoyed the performance.

Even if Steven didn't want to, he had to admit that, aside from professional perspectives, Renly's performance indeed felt very comfortable, with an inexplicable infectiousness. Generally, only those seasoned singers who have experienced vicissitudes and storms possess this power, but Renly was only twenty years old this year, which was truly incredible.

This made Steven couldn't help but think of the audition this afternoon. Actors are the same; young actors rely on talent and instincts due to their lack of experience and experience; mature actors gradually lose their spirituality and rely more on skills and experience to control their performances. But on Renly, there was a blend of vicissitudes and spirituality, which made him stand out. That was also the reason why Tom stepped forward.

"Renly, perform 'Charlie-Boy,'" "David Bowie's 'Heroes'..." Under the stage, many spectators began to request songs, and the scene became lively.

Steven's thoughts were interrupted, but he became more contemplative. Although this was only his first visit to Pioneer Village, it was certain that if it weren't for Renly's talents, the audience wouldn't have been so enthusiastic just because they were familiar with him.

Tom couldn't help it anymore and turned around, saying aloud, "Looks like this kid is quite popular!"

Steven, however, remained stubborn, "As an amateur singer?" Actors always have an inexplicable condescending feeling towards singers. Steven's words were undoubtedly expressing disdain. Tom rolled his eyes.

On the stage, Renly's gaze fell on Table Fourteen, a playful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, causing both Tom and Steven to glance sideways. "This afternoon, I just experienced an unsuccessful audition, but it gave me some inspiration. I'm willing to share it with you all here tonight."