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was the Empire, rich in tradition, and elegant in crimson and gold and crystal.  Mine was one of the two names in lights over the marquee.  The other was that of my husband, Howard Lindsay.  He had written the play in collaboration with our dear friend, Russel Crouse.  Now, Howard and I were acting in it together——joyously being husband and wife onstage as well as off.  We had been married for 12 years.

On the morning of December 24, I work up with a nasty case of the flu.  The doctor said, "Phone her understudy.  Of course she can't go on tonight."  I knew better.  There had been a few occasions when I had missed a performance because of illness, and the play had gone on unflatteringly well without me.  But this was different.  Howard was baffled at my stubborn insistence on getting up.  He protested vehemently.  It did no good.  I couldn't explain even to myself why it was so important to me to be there on this particular night, but it was.

Backstage was gay with tinsel balls and wreaths on doors, and bright packages piled u in dressing rooms.  And I was there in the lovely white lace costume with its bustle and train, shaky in the knees but radiantly happy in the heart.

"Endearing" is a good word to describe Life With Father.  It was an endearing play about a home and a family.  It was believable and tender and gloriously funny, and a delight to look at with its sumptuous Victorian set and beautiful costumes.  That night there seemed to be a special shine about the place, a special warmth in the audience, a special quality in their laughter and in their silences.

At intermission the company manager, who knew about my flu, came backstage to see how things were going.  We chatted a few minutes.  I asked the usual "How's the house?" and got the hoped-for reply.  "Great!  Sold out!  Standees!"  He turned to leave, then stopped in the dressing-room doorway and said, "Funny thing, we sold a lot of single seats tonight."

The final curtain fell and rose.  The last bows were taken.  I stepped to the footlights and said, "With all my heart I wish a Happy Christmas to every single person here!"

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