Tick-tock

No doubt you’ve heard more than enough from me about Satchmo at the Waldorf, which is currently in previews at New York’s Westside Theatre and will open there next Tuesday, eight days from now. My excuse, if I need one, is that it’s hard for me to think about anything else. It’s a big deal when a writer’s first play opens off Broadway–for the writer, anyway–and I’m finding it increasingly difficult to keep an even strain as the great day approaches.
Prior to last Friday I couldn’t quite put my finger on the precise nature of the sensations that I’ve been experiencing. Then it hit me: I feel as though a loved one were undergoing surgery while I sit in the waiting room, waiting to find out whether she made it. Yes, John Douglas Thompson and Gordon Edelstein, the star and director of Satchmo at the Waldorf, are the best “doctors” in the world, and I trust them completely–but the fact remains that there’s nothing more for me do. It’s their show now.
I made a couple of minor changes to the text of Satchmo on Wednesday morning. Gordon staged them that same afternoon and John performed them in the evening. The three of us agreed afterward that they should stay in the show…and that’s it for me. The show is now “frozen,” meaning that what you see on stage this week is what you’ll see on opening night. Yes, John continues to refine his performance–he’ll do that throughout the run–but the play itself is now officially finished. All that remains is to read the reviews and see how we do at the box office. I’m still showing up at rehearsals, but only because I can’t bear to be anywhere else.
It helps that I’m not taking time off from my day job. I saw three shows last week and will see two more this week, and I have three pieces to write, two for The Wall Street Journal and one for Commentary, between now and Thursday. Mrs. T returns from Florida on Wednesday, and my brother and sister-in-law are coming to New York this weekend to see a preview. On top of all that, John and I will be taping a Satchmo-related episode of Theater Talk on Friday afternoon.
In short, I’ve got plenty to keep me busy, for which I’m infinitely grateful. But it’s still going to be a long, long week in the waiting room.
* * *
The Clyde Fitch Report, one of New York’s most widely read theater blogs, interviewed me last week as part of its “Critical I” series of conversations with drama critics. The questions were excellent. To find out whether my answers were any good, go here and see for yourself.
Marc Myers of JazzWax asked me five sharp questions about Satchmo at the Waldorf over the weekend. Marc’s questions, and my answers, are here.