Meghan: A Hollywood Princess(16)
Perreau remembers Meghan as a skinny kid who developed and blossomed into a beautiful and confident young woman during her time at Immaculate Heart. She recalled: “We never had a moment’s problem with her, she was spot on, learned her lines when she had to, very dedicated, very focused. She was a wonderful student, a lovely girl even then, and very hardworking. She was very dedicated. I knew she would be something special.”
In drama class they often discussed topics of the day, and Perreau remembers Meghan as an inquisitive youngster who loved hearing tales of Perreau’s time in France and other European countries. She was keen to explore the world beyond the nearby Hollywood sign.
When she was rehearsing for a play, her father was always around. As an Emmy winner who had been nominated almost every year while working on General Hospital, he was soon roped into becoming the technical director for every school production Meghan was involved in. The majority of students were not aware that he was Meghan’s dad. He was known simply as “that guy in the overalls.” Those in the drama group were rather more respectful, calling him Mr. Markle. “He liked to be thought of as gruff,” recalls Perreau, “but he was always very generous with the girls. If we had a late rehearsal he would go out and buy a boxful of McDonald’s to feed them. Modest, too. He never asked to be credited for any work he did.” He was single and shy, and Perreau admits to having a “bit of a crush” on the burly guy in overalls who was clearly trying to bring up his teenage daughter on his own. She asked him out, and they went to see a play together at the Doolittle Theatre, just south of Hollywood and Vine. Though they had a good time, nothing ever developed.
Tom’s focus was on Meghan. A keen photographer, he took endless photographs of Meghan onstage, teaching her how to pose and coaching her on angles. He was proudly watching from the wings when she made her first solo singing performance, playing the secretary in the school’s production of the musical Annie. Perreau recalls: “I remember her being very excited and nervous about her song,” describing her performance as “delightful.” Meghan went on to play an aspiring actor in the 1937 comedy Stage Door and was featured in Back Country Crimes, a black comedy by American playwright Lanie Robertson. In the March 1997 program notes for Immaculate Heart’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Into the Woods, in which she played Little Red Riding Hood, Meghan announced her ambition to the world. In between thanking her friends and her “adorable” boyfriend, she revealed that she wished to attend Northwestern College, a prestigious university near Chicago. This, she predicted, would be her next stop on her way to Broadway. Meghan was clearly not a girl wanting in confidence.
For her junior year she appeared yet again in a school production, Stepping Out, but for her senior year she decided to test her ability beyond the confines of Immaculate High. It was a new challenge and offered the chance of branching out on her own without her father looking down on her from the lighting gantry. There was also the small matter of spending time alone with her then boyfriend. Thus she found herself in a room with forty other girls waiting to audition for Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex staged in the fall of 1998 by the all-boys St. Francis High School in La Ca?ada Flintridge.
As it was drama director Emmanuel (Manny) Eulalia’s first big production at St. Francis, he wanted to make an impact, carefully choosing the girl who would play the lead role of Jocasta. It was no contest. “Meghan was a standout,” he recalls. “She had that something of the ‘it’ about her. As a director it is what you are always looking for. She had charisma, no doubt.”
After signing a formal document pledging to arrive on time, dress appropriately, and refrain from sexual and racial innuendoes—a code of behavior somewhat ahead of its time—Meghan and the rest of the cast got down to a grueling two-month schedule of rehearsals. Early on she impressed the show’s director with her timekeeping, preparation, and command of the stage. In the show’s musical numbers her voice packed a punch even if she quavered somewhat on the higher notes.
While she was the only girl from Immaculate Heart to audition, she already had star status at the all-boys school. She had already dated several pupils from St. Francis, including her first long-term boyfriend, Luis Segura. In time-honored fashion, it was his sister, Maria, who set them up on their first date. Describing her as “sweet and fun,” doubtless Luis, now a successful Realtor in downtown Pasadena, encouraged her to enter that year’s contest for homecoming queen.
This pinnacle of high school social standing came with serious competition from dozens of other girls. Hopefuls had to write an essay listing their accomplishments—Megan’s regular work in the Hippie Kitchen made her an instant standout—before facing a grilling from members of the student body and faculty. The names of the finalists were read out at the fifty-yard line on a hastily erected stage during halftime at a St. Francis football game. Amid whistling and cheering, Meghan was proclaimed that year’s queen and was duly crowned by the previous incumbent. The entire court then left the field in a procession of classic convertibles so that the game could continue. It was an indication of her popularity and appeal that a girl who was neither a cheerleader nor hailed from one of the closer all-girls Catholic schools was chosen.
At the dance Meghan, wearing a strapless pale blue gown and tiara, was accompanied by her date for the night, Danny Segura, her boyfriend’s brother who had played Creon in the Greek tragedy. He credited Meghan, who was a familiar figure in the Segura household, with inspiring him to take to the stage, successfully auditioning for a role in the high school musical before taking on the somewhat meatier role in Oedipus Rex.