[Dixielandjazz] "Satchmo at the Waldorf" reviewed

[Robert Ringwald]

Capturing 'Satchmo,' Both Public, Private
by Sandy MacDonald
Boston Globe, August 28, 2012
We've all seen them: so-called bio-plays that muster the known facts of a subject's
life so superficially, you'd be better off just consulting Wikipedia. "Satchmo at
the Waldorf," Terry Teachout's impassioned portrait of jazz pioneer Louis ("Satchmo")
Armstrong receiving its New England premiere at Shakespeare and Company before heading
to New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre goes deep.
Based on Armstrong's private tape-recorded reminiscences, which in turn enriched
Wall Street Journal theater critic Teachout's well-received 2009 biography, "Pops:
A Life of Louis Armstrong," this is a true play. It's shaped; it has forward motion.
It also has the extraordinary John Douglas Thompson playing multiple roles: Thompson
is not just the fabled hornman at the peak albeit the sunset of his career, but also
Armstrong's Mob-connected manager, Joe Glaser; Miles Davis, an undermining rival
and successor; and for one brief, shining confrontation, Satchmo imitating his outspoken
fourth and final wife, Lucille.
"Tour de force" would be an understatement.
Thompson, a tall and robust 48 years old, bears no physical resemblance to Armstrong,
here portrayed at age 70, in 1971, on the closing night of a prestigious gig at the
Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York. Thompson only occasionally almost offhandedly,
but to brilliant effect opts to re-create Satchmo's signature grin and gravelly voice.
Yet he gets to the essence of the man.
>From the evidence (Teachout has extrapolated from the tapes), the genial "Pops" had
an interior life in marked contrast to the jovial image he presented to an adoring
public. It's the latter persona that prompted unfair accusations, by next-generation
upstarts like Davis, that Armstrong was behind the times, "jumping round like Jim
Crow on a stick"; even Dizzy Gillespie publicly labeled him an Uncle Tom.
The real Armstrong, whom we get to see and hear here, speaks as the product of his
environment: early childhood spent struggling to survive with his prostitute mother
in a rough New Orleans neighborhood called "The Battleground"; reform school at 12
(which actually came as a relief); then decades touring venues where he might be
permitted to play, but not to eat or sleep.
Armstrong speaks as a seasoned roadman might, in vernacular too colorful to quote.
>From his first utterance (unreprintable here, as is much of the script), we see a
man laid low by the humiliations of encroaching age and also by the latest blow,
the deathbed revelation that his manager of 40 years has left behind a will grievously
shortchanging him.
Theirs was a bond both professional and personal. Early on, Glaser (subtle in fact,
needless light shifts signal Thompson switching roles) came to Armstrong's rescue
when the Mob started muscling in on his act. From then on, Armstrong let Glaser run
the show, splitting the profits 50-50 with him and turning a blind eye to whatever
methods his manager happened to employ. All Armstrong cared about was making music
besides which, "Some things you don't wanna know."
Ultimately, we learn more about Glaser than Armstrong ever did, and the revelations
come as a shock, deep into the play's dense and riveting 80-minute running time.
Less shocking, but nonetheless unsettling, is the extent of the racism Armstrong
had to face in his long climb to fame, and the almost inexpressible pain and damage
it caused.
Aided by director Gordon Edelstein and the consummately skilled Thompson as interpreter,
Teachout in his debut as dramatist rather than drama critic has contributed a work
of insight and power. It's enticing to imagine Thompson bringing the real Armstrong
the one so few of us knew to life again and again, over the coming decades.
___________________________________
Thompson Creates Magic as 'Satchmo'
by Michael Eck
Albany Times-Union, August 30, 2012
LENOX, Mass. -- Jazz musician and entertainer Louis Armstrong's nickname "Satchmo"
derives from the phrase "satchel mouth," used to describe the New Orleans trumpeter's
wide grin and impressive embouchure.
In Terry Teachout's new play, "Satchmo at the Waldorf," that smile is a front for
a barrage of profanity.
John Douglas Thompson portrays Armstrong in the New England premiere of the play
now being offered by Shakespeare and Company. Rarely does a beat pass without some
new blue line or creative epithet flying. Thompson also plays Armstrong's mobbed-up
manager, Joe Glaser, whose language is equally colorful.
Teachout based much of the play on private recordings made by Armstrong, and one
effort of the script is to paint a broader portrait of an artist who became best
known as a mugging "clown," at least according to his harshest critics.
The constant stream of profanity is certainly in keeping with the tough aspect of
midcentury showbiz, but the net effect of the cussing is almost numbing. Glaser,
in particular, swears as though he were scat singing the stuff, and the language
itself, rather than its content, too often becomes the focus.
Still, Teachout -- a Wall Street Journal drama critic making his bow as a playwright
-- is passionate about the material and clearly knows his subject.
Thompson, who has played many Shakespearean roles in Lenox, is, not surprisingly,
fantastic. He does not imitate Armstrong, but he does embody him. And his fast changes
from musician to manager are flawless.
Thompson is also asked to briefly portray trumpeter Miles Davis, who felt Armstrong
had lowered himself by seeking popularity. Thompson handles those moments well, but
they drag the play down entirely.
It's not clear why Teachout has Armstrong quote Dizzy Gillespie, but allows Davis
to speak on his own. Director Gordon Edelstein's choice of shrouding the Davis bits
in mystery, with an entirely new equation of lighting and sound, is also far more
distracting than it's worth.
The play takes place in the New York Waldorf's dressing room following Armstrong's
final performance. Like so many historical biographies, it is constructed in direct
address, and both the playwright and the director make good use of that device, drawing
some especially comic moments from the conversation between artist and audience.
Ultimately, however, viewers of this production will walk away with Thompson dwelling
in their minds.
He is often a force of nature on stage, and with no others to interact with he is
set free. It is a remarkable performance by an actor we have come to depend on to
surprise and delight us.
There is a moment in the show, as Armstrong pulls a fast one on Glaser, where Thompson
simply becomes his subject, a lightning flash where the two become one.
And that is a dazzling bit of magic.
"Satchmo" no doubt will be tweaked more on its path to completion. It has the bones
of a great work but, despite Thompson's bravura performance, it's not quite there
yet.


-Bob Ringwald
www.ringwald.com
Amateur (ham) Radio Operator K6YBV
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