Congratulations to John Douglas Thompson!

It was a thrill to see that both Charles Isherwood (" . . . his fine work this year will not soon be forgotten by those privileged to see it. There may be no better classical actor working in the New York theater right now.") and Ben Brantley (" . . .in the title role of an African-American railroad porter turned tin-pot island despot, John Douglas Thompson--previously seen off Broadway as a truly majestic Othello-- staked his claim as one of the most compelling classical stage actors of his generation.") singled out the incredibly talented John Douglas Thompson in their articles on the best of NY theatre in the New York Times yesterday. I was bowled over by Mr. Thompson's talent this summer in Othello and The Dreamer Examines His Pillow at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA. and vowed to see anything that had his name attached. Ann trusted me enough to agree to use one of our coveted slots on our last trip to NYC to see him in The Emperor Jones, and we were lucky enough to run into him in the small Irish Rep Theater when we picked up our tickets. He couldn't have been nicer or more gracious with his time--he even invited us to wait for him after the play so he could hear what we thought . . . It was a priviledge to be able to thank him in person for an absolutely amazing performance. Mr. Thompson will be playing Richard III at Shakespeare & Company this summer--we will certainly be there, front and center!