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About Last Night

Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City

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Archives for November 7, 2012

TT: It’s official

November 7, 2012 by Terry Teachout

I’m en route to Manhattan for the first time since just before Hurricane Sandy came calling–and snow was falling on Connecticut mere minutes after my train pulled out of Hartford. Once I reached New Haven, I learned that my connecting train was an hour late. By the time I finally get to my apartment, I’ll have about enough time to open my accumulated snail mail before turning around and heading down to Times Square to see the last press preview of Annie.
Road_Trips_Terry_Teachout_John_Douglas_Thompson.jpgThat’s the bad news. The good news was more than adequately summed up in the press release that I found in my e-mailbox a few minutes ago:

NEW HAVEN–Long Wharf Theatre’s production of Satchmo at the Waldorf has become the biggest hit in the history of the theatre’s Stage II.
The show, written by Terry Teachout, directed by Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein, and starring John Douglas Thompson, has become the highest grossing play since Stage II opened during the 1977-78 season. The play has brought in more single ticket sales than the 2008-09 season production of Hughie, starring Brian Dennehy. Ranking third on the list is Dennehy again, appearing in Krapp’s Last Tape during the 2011-12 season.
Final performances run through November 11. Tickets are still available at www.longwharf.org and by calling 203-787-4282.
“We are extremely grateful to the audience for their support of this production,” said Managing Director Josh Borenstein. “Every night, we hear words of praise from our patrons, which is an extraordinarily gratifying feeling.”
“John Douglas Thompson’s portrayal of beloved jazz great Louis Armstrong is one of the indelible performances in the 48-year history of Long Wharf Theatre. His exhilarating tour de force that navigates between the aging trumpeter and his predatory white Jewish manager Joe Glaser has been a marvel to behold. What a joy to have been associated with this project,” said Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein.

As for me, I’m proud, but also humbled. I never expected Satchmo to do remotely this well, and I don’t need to be told that it wouldn’t have done so without John, Gordon, and my other colleagues at Long Wharf and Shakespeare & Company. Theater is a collaborative art. I’ve been blessed with the best collaborators imaginable. Thank you, dear friends.
Now, on to Philadelphia!

TT: Snapshot

November 7, 2012 by Terry Teachout

Kenneth Tynan interviews Richard Burton in 1967:

(This is the latest in a series of arts-related videos that appear in this space each Monday and Wednesday.)

TT: Almanac

November 7, 2012 by Terry Teachout

“I do not see why I should lock myself inside a purely personal idiom. It is largely a matter of when one was born. If I had been born in 1813 instead of 1913 I should have been a romantic, primarly concerned to express my personality in music. Whereas now I am contented to write in the manner best suited to the words, theme, or dramatic situation I happen to be handling.”
Benjamin Britten, “Freeman of Lowestoft”

Terry Teachout

Terry Teachout, who writes this blog, is the drama critic of The Wall Street Journal and the critic-at-large of Commentary. In addition to his Wall Street Journal drama column and his monthly essays … [Read More...]

About

About “About Last Night”

This is a blog about the arts in New York City and the rest of America, written by Terry Teachout. Terry is a critic, biographer, playwright, director, librettist, recovering musician, and inveterate blogger. In addition to theater, he writes here and elsewhere about all of the other arts--books, … [Read More...]

About My Plays and Opera Libretti

Billy and Me, my second play, received its world premiere on December 8, 2017, at Palm Beach Dramaworks in West Palm Beach, Fla. Satchmo at the Waldorf, my first play, closed off Broadway at the Westside Theatre on June 29, 2014, after 18 previews and 136 performances. That production was directed … [Read More...]

About My Podcast

Peter Marks, Elisabeth Vincentelli, and I are the panelists on “Three on the Aisle,” a bimonthly podcast from New York about theater in America. … [Read More...]

About My Books

My latest book is Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington, published in 2013 by Gotham Books in the U.S. and the Robson Press in England and now available in paperback. I have also written biographies of Louis Armstrong, George Balanchine, and H.L. Mencken, as well as a volume of my collected essays called A … [Read More...]

The Long Goodbye

To read all three installments of "The Long Goodbye," a multi-part posting about the experience of watching a parent die, go here. … [Read More...]

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