Face the Stage

A Plus Size BBW Romance

By: Tani Hanes

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Penny can't stand her new co-star, but the stage has a way of melting even the hardest hearts.

Penelope Patrick is a talented stage actress with a masters degree from Yale drama. She wanted to be in films, but was told she didn't have the face or body for it. Now she's set to star in a new dramatic play starring opposite her boyfriend, acclaimed Tony winning actor Frederick Berenson, who's reputation is even more acclaimed than hers. When she finds at the last minute that the role of the leading man has been offered instead to Cameron Aldobrandeschi, a playboy prince turned model with no acting experience, she’s livid. She's a serious actress, and this was supposed to be a serious play, dammit. When they meet, she's even more put off by his lean, European good looks and dry humor, while he's offended by her obvious dismissiveness and supercilious superiority. The fact that Cameron comes with a gorgeous model girlfriend in the form of Claire Weatherfield doesn't do anything to endear him to the super serious Penelope. The fact that the doesn’t walk off the play in protest infuriates her boyfriend Frederick, and he simultaneously breaks up with her and tosses her out of their apartment as well. With nowhere else to go, she’s forced to ask her new co-star Cam if she can stay with him for a few days. He reluctantly agrees. Just as Penny and Cam get to be friends and realize that their worlds could somehow merge and they could coexist and be more than happy, tragedy strikes, and everything is turned upside down. They have to grow up in a hurry and find out if they really believe what they thought they did, or if they can change and become different people, better people, in a better world. They’re both forced to reexamine what they believed about looks and what they mean, and how important they are in a world where beauty is everything, no matter what anyone says.

Meet the Characters

Penny THE SERIOUS ACTRESS Penny is a trained actress whose lack of beauty never mattered to her. She’s poised to become Broadway's Next Big Thing, a big girl with a big future ahead of her. She’d never be mistaken for a model, and that’s just fine with her. Cameron THE PLAYBOY PRINCE Cam is a prince in name only; his family never had money, and he became a model to pay the bills after his parents died. He loves theatre, and is looking forward to being taken seriously as an actor. He’s more than a pretty face, and can’t wait for everyone to know it. Frederick THE EXALTED THESPIAN Frederick (never Fred) is Broadway royalty, an icon of the Great White Way, revered by all who know him. He won’t stand for being replaced by a model nobody from across the pond, a pretty face with no experience. And when he finds out that his ex and this upstart are actually becoming friends, well, it really hits the fan. Yoko THE BEST FRIEND YoYo never liked Frederick, and never liked Frederick and Penny together. She’s relieved that they’re no longer together, but worried about what he might do, now that his life is falling apart. Turns out she was right to worry.