By Christine Ebersole

"I was waiting tables at the Lion's Rock on 77th, between 1st and 2nd. The year was 1976. It was a cold January night/ after my shift, when I got a call from my agent. When I answered the phone, she said, "Darling, you're on Broadway!"

The previous September, I auditioned for Shepherd Traube for a revival he was producing of ANGEL STREET. (The movie is called GASLIGHT.) Christine Andreas had already been cast to play the part of 'Nancy", the Cockney maid, but he was looking for people for possible future replacements.

The night I got the call, Christine had given her notice, because she was going on to play Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, opposite Rex Harrison. It hadn't even been a year since I graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and I had no professional theatrical experience. The producer, Shepherd Traube, graciously bought my Equity card for me, because my only prior theatrical experience was waiting tables.

All in all, it was a humbling experience, because the show closed in three weeks, and I was back at the Lion's Rock, begging for reinstatement."