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About Last Night

Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City

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Archives for March 2, 2020

The latest news about Mrs. T

March 2, 2020 by Terry Teachout

Mrs. T survived her double-lung transplant surgery and was moved to the cardio-thoracic intensive-care unit of New York-Presbyterian Hospital at noon today. She was on the operating table for roughly twenty hours, somewhat longer than expected.

Her doctors tell me that the surgery proper was fairly uneventful. As of this hour, their main concern is that her blood is not yet clotting properly. Hence she is receiving transfusions more or less around the clock while they wait for her body to recover from the “insult” of major surgery—and it doesn’t get any more major than a double-lung transplant—and reset itself.

We should have a clearer idea of what to expect by this time tomorrow. For now, the doctors are describing her condition as “stable but guarded,” which sounds about right to me.

I saw Mrs. T briefly a few minutes ago. She looks about like you’d expect her to look (pretty scary, in other words). She is heavily sedated and will likely be kept unconscious for the next few days. My plan is to divide my time between the ICU waiting room and our apartment, which is only a mile from the front door of the hospital. I have quite a bit of writing to do, and I’m glad for the distraction. I might try to catch a show later this week if she remains stable, but I’m not making any promises.

Once again, no cards, flowers, or calls, please: I need to keep my line clear in case the doctors need to get in touch with me while I’m away from the hospital.

As always—but never more so than now—I am profoundly grateful for your support.

UPDATE: I just spoke on the phone to the thoracic surgeon who performed Mrs. T’s transplant. He is very cautiously pleased with her post-operative progress. As he put it, “We’re not out of the woods yet, but we’re moving in the right direction.” That’s good enough for me to get some sleep tonight!

Just because: Victor Borge performs at the White House

March 2, 2020 by Terry Teachout

Victor Borge performs at the Truman White House. This kinescope is an excerpt from an episode of The Colgate Comedy Hour, originally telecast by NBC on January 11, 1953:

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

Almanac: William Faulkner on winter in New England

March 2, 2020 by Terry Teachout

“‘Now I want you to tell me just one thing more. Why do you hate the South?’

“‘I don’t hate it,’ Quentin said, quickly, at once, immediately; ‘I don’t hate it,’ he said. ‘I dont hate it he thought, panting in the cold air, the iron New England dark; I dont. I dont! I dont hate it! I dont hate it!’”

William Faulkner, Absalom! Absalom!

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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