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Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City

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Archives for March 27, 2014

The latest on Satchmo

March 27, 2014 by Terry Teachout

satch200new.jpg• Playbill‘s Karu F. Daniels has profiled John Douglas Thompson, the star of Satchmo at the Waldorf:

Wall Street Journal drama critic and newly-minted playwright Terry Teachout’s evocative debut Satchmo at the Waldorf opened at New York City’s Westside Theater March 4 and the 90-minute play–a revelatory tour-de-force chock full of historical data to make even the savviest of jazz purists blush–features the masterful talents of John Douglas Thompson portraying jazz icon Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong during his later years. Not only does Thompson, known for his acclaimed roles in Shakespearean works, hit a home run as the man who immortalized jazz standards such as “Hello Dolly” and “What A Wonderful World,” the Bath, England-born thespian also showcases his versatility by taking on other pivotal characters such as Armstrong’s shady kingmaker Joe Glaser and his younger rival Miles Davis, respectively….

To read the piece, go here.
• Satchmo is one of this week’s New York Times Critics’ Picks. Read all about it here.
• A reminder: John and I are the guests on this week’s edition of Theater Talk, hosted by Susan Haskins and Michael Riedel. Our episode will be telecast in the New York area on Channel 13 on Friday at one a.m. (i.e., early Saturday morning). Replays will follow on CUNY-TV on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
For a full list of air dates and times, go here.

So you want to see a show?

March 27, 2014 by Terry Teachout

Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly so) in The Wall Street Journal when they opened. For more information, click on the title.


BROADWAY:

• A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder (musical, PG-13, reviewed here)

• Matilda (musical, G, all performances sold out last week, reviewed here)

• Once (musical, G/PG-13, reviewed here)

• Rocky (musical, G/PG-13, reviewed here)

OFF BROADWAY:

• Avenue Q (musical, R, adult subject matter and one show-stopping scene of puppet-on-puppet sex, reviewed here)

• The Fantasticks (musical, G, suitable for children capable of enjoying a love story, reviewed here)

• London Wall (serious comedy, PG-13, extended through Apr. 20, reviewed here)

CLOSING SATURDAY OFF BROADWAY:

• Middle of the Night (drama, PG-13, reviewed here)

CLOSING SUNDAY ON BROADWAY:

• No Man’s Land/Waiting for Godot (drama, PG-13, playing in rotating repertory, some performances sold out last week, reviewed here)

Almanac: Hazlitt on greatness

March 27, 2014 by Terry Teachout

“He who comes up to his own idea of greatness, must always have had a very low standard of it in his mind.”
William Hazlitt, Table Talk

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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