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October 6, 2006
TT: R.I.P.
Gene Janson died on Wednesday, twenty minutes into a matinée performance of Remy Bumppo Theatre Company's wonderful revival of Gore Vidal's The Best Man. (The Chicago Sun-Times story is here.) I saw the show, in which Janson played a terminally ill ex-president, during my recent visit to Chicago, and praised it extravagantly in last week's Journal.Such deaths are far from unknown. I was sitting on the aisle at the Metropolitan Opera ten years ago when Richard Versalle collapsed and died during the opening night of a new production of Janacek's Makropulos Case. Still, they're rare--Versalle's onstage death was the only one I've seen--and I have a feeling that their extreme rarity has something to do with the show-must-go-on ethic that infuses the theatrical profession. Nothing short of the physical equivalent of a bolt of lightning will stop most actors from finishing a performance once the house lights go down and the curtain goes up. This iron determination is a sign of their passionate belief in the enduring importance of theater. To the civilian it must seem a bit crazy, but it is out of such craziness that beauty is born.
Our Girl in Chicago and I offer our condolences to Janson's family, friends, and colleagues. We hope they find consolation in the knowledge that he died in the line of duty.
Posted October 6, 2006 12:00 PM
