old, but of course with Willy's by-line. It's a success. Twenty thousand copies! A second printing! A third! Willy parades Colette and an actress, Polaire, around Paris as the Claudine twins, causing a sensation, and Willy becomes the toast of the town. In an interview, he recounts the history of the Claudine phenomenon, the public demand for sequels, and concludes the interview joining Colette and the girls in the finale of the number, "The Claudines." As she comments directly to the audience, Colette observes the success and longs to share some of the glory. She'd like to be acknowledged as the author of the tales. Out of the question counters Willy. They argue bitterly. She wants recognition for her work. In response to her demands, he offers her the exit. She contemplates her future singing "Why Can't I Walk Through That Door?" Jacques, the secretary, reappears announcing he's found a job moonlighting in a vaudeville show. She begs him to take her along. "The Music Hall" number features Jacques and members of the ensemble. Backstage, in costume and applying make-up, Colette reassures herself that she's a good performer but Jacques is reluctant to agree, fearing she'll acquire a swelled head. Other acts are announced with placards on easels at the sides of the stage. Then Colette and Jacques come on in animal costumes to do their "Dog and Cat Duet" - she's "aristo-cat-ic" and he's "a bit dog-matic." Backstage at the dressing table Colette reads a letter from home, from Sido. We see the cottage and the gardens at Saint-Sauveur again and Sido sings "I Miss You." She remains in the scene as Colette is visited backstage by an admirer, the Marquise de Belboeuf (nicknamed Missy), a notorious lesbian who comes on strong, and Colette is obviously entranced. Both dressed as dapper young men in vests, trousers and spats, they sing "La Vagabonde." At the end of the number Willy walks in and pleads for her to return to continue the Claudine stories, offering 50% of the profits and co-authorship. Reluctantly she agrees and signs the contract. Embraced by Sido when they are together at the funeral of Colette's father, she seeks comfort from her mother who advises her to break free of Willy. The scene shifts to Willy and Colette confronting each other. He reminds her she's no longer a youngster. She's now 30 and starting a new career on stage. She, in response, turns the tables on him showing him himself as old and pathetic and impotent. She ends part one with a reprise of "Now I Must Walk Through That Door" unbowed, determined, invigorated, frightened. Now she can be, not Madame Willy; now she can be Colette. Just Colette. PART TWO - "Maurice." It's 1925. Colette has published some twenty books. We are at her villa in the south of France. Her desk, again, is heaped with manuscripts. An ensemble sings "Autumn Afternoon" and sets the mood for Colette to ruminate upon her young and handsome fantasy lover, Chéri, the subject of many of her stories. The song continues and Colette joins in. The fantasy memory explodes before our eyes in a barrage of flashbulbs as photographers and reporters invade her villa. She poses and plays the game of celebrity with bons mots and naughty comments about love and writing. One young man stands out among the crowd and she is drawn to him. Maurice. However, Maurice is not a reporter but simply a merchant. Colette makes an announcement to the press that she is opening a beauty salon featuring a line of cosmetics particularly targeted at women of that "certain age." "Decorate The Human Face" follows, sung by Colette to "You ladies who are verging on your prime/And also those who've been there quite some time," offering ointments, creams, sprays, and emollients - a kind of singing commercial for her beauty products. In the interview we discover Colette has a young daughter in school. After the interview, Sido appears in the shadows and we hear a reprise of "I Miss You" in a kind of memory apparition. Her 13-year-old daughter comes in ending the reverie. They promise next time to do all the things they meant to do this time. With a kiss and a wry smile the youngster is gone. The scene shifts to the visit of Maurice. They drink a toast to one another and he offers to take her to dinner at a waterfront café, but she declines because of the pile of work she has at her desk. Her secretary, Jacques, lets her know he moonlights, singing at the very bistro Maurice had suggested, and the scene shifts to the waterfront dive where Jacques is entertaining the small crowd with "Riviera Nights" on a tiny bandbox stage. He ends the song reaching out to Colette as they dance while the scene melts into a starlit background
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