December 21, 2007

 

A Surprising Phone Call

by Vanessa Mathewson

 

Last May I wrote and directed a revised

version of the musical Oliver. I decided to do

this because Shani Wallis who played Nancy in

the 1968 film version of Oliver had inspired me.

I decided to write to Shani Wallis to see whether

she was alive or dead. I wanted to tell her that I

was doing Oliver at my school. So I sent the

letter. A couple of days later the phone rang.

My mom picked it up and a man said,

“Hello, may I please speak to Vanessa

Mathewson?”

My mom replied, “Who is this?”

The voice on the phone answered, “I am

sorry I’m not allowed to tell you. This is a surprise

call for Miss Vanessa Mathewson.”

“Well, if I don’t know who you are then

you may not talk to my daughter,” said my Mom

and then she hung up.

About a minute or so later the phone

rang again and my Mom answered it again and a

very English voice said, “Hello, this is Shani

Wallis. Is this Vanessa’s Mother?”

My Mom was very embarrassed and she

said, “Shani Wallis, you are a good woman!”

At that moment I walked into the kitchen

about to tell my mom something (I don’t remember

what) and she said, “Oh, Vanessa, the

phone is for you.”

“Who is it?” I asked. And my mother

replied, “I am not going to tell you.”

So I picked up the phone with some

anxiety and said, “Hello?”

A strangely accented voice said, “Hello,

is this Vanessa Mathewson?”

I was very confused and began to get

suspicious. I had no idea who I was talking to,

but I replied, “Yes, it is!” I was not prepared for

what happened next. I was still trying to figure

out who it was when the voice said, “Oh, hello,

Vanessa, this is Shani Wallis.”

I was so shocked that I almost dropped

the phone. I couldn’t believe it. My hero, whom

I had thought was dead, had gotten my letter

and was calling me!! Thankfully, I recovered

from my shock and talked to her for about five

or ten minutes. We talked about the play and

how my script was different. We also talked a

little about her experiences in the movie. She

told me that she was sorry that she could not

come to see my production of the play but that

she wanted me to write to her and tell her all

about it. When I hung up the phone I thought

that I had been dreaming. I no longer could

remember what I had been about to say to my

Mom when I had first walked into the kitchen!

This was an amazing experience and I

will never forget it because I still can’t believe

that it actually happened. She called me on

May 11th, 2007 at about 5:30 pm.

Shani Wallis was born in Tottenham,

London on April 14th, 1933. She is now 74

years old and lives in the United States.

P.S. We think that perhaps the man who

first called was either her husband or her agent.

 

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