Everybody's Acting

Doris Poole is a child of the wings, a girl born into the greasepaint and footlights of the American theater. When tragedy leaves her an orphan, she isn't sent to a cold institution but is instead 'adopted' by a collective of four veteran actors who raise her as their own within the chaotic warmth of a San Francisco stock company. As an adult, Doris has blossomed into a leading lady, but her heart is captured by Ted, a man she believes is a struggling taxi driver. In reality, Ted is the scion of a wealthy socialite widow who views the theatrical world with visceral disdain. When the mother uncovers a dark secret—that Doris's biological father murdered her mother in a fit of jealous rage—she attempts to weaponize this past to sever the romance. What follows is a high-stakes game of social maneuvering where the four foster fathers must use their greatest acting skills to outwit the aristocracy and secure Doris's happiness on a ship bound for the Orient.