The Chelsea Girls(102)
If Maxine were here right now, standing next to her, what would she say?
She’d tell Hazel to stop whining and write another play already. Get on with it, she’d snap, and meet me on the roof at sunset.
Hazel placed her palm on the top page. What a story lived within these words. A rip-roaring plot in three acts: Naples, the McCarthy reign of terror, the tragic aftermath and what could have been.
The last ray of sunlight shone on her typewriter, and she idly tapped the space bar.
What if?
She slid a blank piece of paper into the roller, her hand feeling as if it was being guided by someone else’s. A play in three acts. One that would speak of Maxine’s legacy, both good and bad.
The story of a friendship.
Hazel began typing.
EPILOGUE
The sound of typing draws the ghosts close, watching, nodding. The woman, their newest member, stands apart, weeping. She cries in grief because her absence is so much worse than what she’d escaped. She cries in happiness to see her friend, head bent forward, furiously typing away once again. Her friend would have forgiven her—the ghost understands that now—but it’s too late; they will not embark on this new journey together.
She cries for all the souls of the Chelsea Hotel, who climbed the stairs, opened the door, and found their way home.
As she has now.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
For over a decade, beginning in 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) set out to rid the entertainment industry of suspected communists. The names of individuals accused of being members of the Communist Party were compiled on index cards, a stack that ultimately stretched ten feet high. During those terrible years, careers were derailed, finances drained, and lives destroyed. Although this is a work of fiction, I hewed closely to the stories of several blacklisted artists. For example, much of Hazel’s experience with the HUAC parallels writer/director Lillian Hellman’s, as described in her memoir Scoundrel Time.
The publications Red Channels and Counterattack, as well as the organization American Business Consultants, existed, as did Vince Hartnett and, of course, Roy Cohn. The character of Laurence Butterfield is based on Syracuse grocer Laurence A. Johnson, who threatened to lead boycotts of programs that hired blacklisted artists, demands to which the advertising firms of Madison Avenue readily yielded. The despicable “clearance industry” described in the novel, where artists could pay the people who blacklisted them to get exonerated, is also factual.
Books that proved vital to my research include Inside the Dream Palace by Sherill Tippins; Naming Names by Victor S. Navasky; Unfriendly Witnesses by Milly S. Barranger; Red Spy Queen by Kathryn S. Olmsted; Red Channels: The Bible of Blacklisting by Jason Hill; In the Enemy’s House by Howard Blum; It Happened on Broadway by Myrna Katz Frommer and Harvey Frommer; The Chelsea Affect by Arthur Miller; I Said Yes to Everything: A Memoir by Lee Grant; Just Kids by Patti Smith; and Over Here, Over There by Maxene Andrews and Bill Gilbert.
Despite early threats from the American Legion and the HUAC, New York’s Broadway community proudly welcomed blacklisted artists to continue working in the theater. Many found refuge on the stage as opportunities in film, radio, and television dried up. Still, the impact of the blacklist—the many movies and television programs never made, the careers and lives ruined—is immeasurable, and remains a heartbreaking loss.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Several survivors of the McCarthy era blacklist were kind enough to talk with me about their experiences, and I’m indebted to the late Virginia Robinson, Michael Howard, and Lee Grant for taking the time to recall a turbulent period in their lives. Thanks also to Florie Seery and Jim Joseph from the Manhattan Theatre Club for giving me an insider’s tour of the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (formerly the Biltmore) and offering a peek into its history. I’m indebted to Sherill Tippins, Gerald Busby, Judith Childs, Patricia Lancaster, Andrew Alpern, Martin Davis, Kathleen Carter, Hannah K. Davey, Madeline Rispoli, Brian and Dilys Davis, Molly Steinblatt, Adam Hobbins, Nikki Terry, and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
Huge thanks, as always, to the team at Dutton, including Stephanie Kelly—your creative input is a crucial part of every novel, I’m truly indebted to you—as well as John Parsley, Christine Ball, Amanda Walker, Carrie Swetonic, Alice Dalrymple, Becky Odell, Elina Vaysbeyn, and Christopher Lin. Stefanie Lieberman, I’m so grateful for your wise guidance and generous support. Finally, a shout-out to all the former members of the Willow Cabin Theatre Company for memories and friendships to last a lifetime.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fiona Davis is the nationally bestselling author of The Dollhouse, The Address, and The Masterpiece. She lives in New York City and is a graduate of the College of William & Mary in Virginia and the Columbia Journalism School.