City of Girls

With Billy in charge of the production, City of Girls becomes a more ambitious show. He refines the script to bring more nuance to the characters and adds a number of supporting roles. Edna’s husband is a wooden actor, and his part is rewritten as a gold-digging English nobleman. A controversy develops when Billy wants to fire most of the regular cast and increase the number of dancers.

Peg is somewhat amenable to these changes, but Olive objects to the increased expense. Peg, Olive, and Billy get into a number of arguments. Eventually, they reach a compromise which Vivian wryly describes: “In the end, they settled on hiring four additional dancers, with Billy picking up the tab. It was a decision that left nobody happy—which is what my father might have called a successful business negotiation” (173).

Billy’s presence at the Lily encourages everyone to adopt his bad habits and drink to excess. He and Peg start making the rounds of all the nightclubs on a regular basis. Together, they are a sparkling combination of wit and charm that gathers an admiring throng wherever they go. Unfortunately, Peg can’t handle her liquor as well as Billy can. One night, Celia and Vivian return in the wee hours to find Billy and Peg passed out on the couch.