Three dancers invited me to join them to go horseback riding in New Jersey on Saturday, since rehearsals started on Monday. While riding Beauty out of the stables, a stallion reared up, and then Beauty did the same.
She threw her head back, which broke my nose. I felt myself passing out as I attempted to dismount.
I went to rehearsals on Monday with two black eyes and a broken nose. Ron, the choreographer, said, “Marlene, I have been meaning to tell you, your nose is so big that it creates a shadow on stage. Now is the opportunity for you to have a nose job.”
Anyone else may have burst into tears with that remark, but I understood him. It was his way of giving good advice.
He handed me the name of a surgeon who operated on me two days later. I wanted to be ready for opening night at Jack Silverman’s on Broadway in New York City.
While on the operating table, I heard the surgeon order his assistant, “Hit her.” I screamed. He said, “Hit her harder!” I felt my nose break as the anesthesia kicked in, and it was lights out for me.
The following day, I returned to rehearsals, being careful not to bend over. Three weeks later, the cast came off my nose, and I could breathe again. On opening night I danced like nothing ever happened.
During rehearsals, I finally became a blonde and looked years younger. I met three dancers and a showgirl who went to the same surgeon that I had gone to.
The other dancers and I all had the same nose. The showgirl had her breasts lifted with grand expectations. She was devastated that one breast was noticeably higher than the other one.
Is there a moral to this story? Perhaps the good physician should stick to the one thing he knows how to do. The same nose for everyone. Do not even think about the boobs.
Life is about change. Embrace and accept it. About my butt – Oh, I choose to embrace and accept it. Ha.
