TT: Footnote to a triumph

John Douglas Thompson is appearing alongside Nathan Lane and Brian Dennehy in the Goodman Theatre’s revival of Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh. Needless to say, I couldn’t mention his performance in my Wall Street Journal review of the show because he will also be starring in Shakespeare & Company’s production of Satchmo at the Waldorf, my first play, later this summer.
For this reason, I thought I’d let you know what Charles Isherwood had to say about John in today’s New York Times:
“The great actor John Douglas Thompson, known in New York for his Othello and Macbeth as well as his stunning performance in O’Neill’s ‘Emperor Jones,’ creates yet another indelible portrait in Joe Mott, the former owner of a gambling house whose gentle good humor masks a volcanic rage at a life warped by racism. Pacing like a caged animal in response to Hickey’s needling presence, Joe erupts into near violence with a force that scalds….”