Trucks and equipment are already rolling in for CBS-TV's "The Late Show With David Letterman" and its scheduled broadcast from the stage of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre, Friday, Nov. 15. This is the third of the show's four stops around the country.
The trip began Friday, Nov. 1, at Boston's Tsai Performing Arts Center, followed by Washington DC's Warner Theatre Nov. 8. After Steppenwolf, the "tour" ends Nov. 22 at Miami's Coconut Grove Playhouse.
"We're pleased that the `Late Show' chose Steppenwolf as a venue for its `Friday Night On The Road' series," the theatre's managing director Michael Gennaro noted. "We are happy to be affiliated with the show and look forward to having David Letterman and his offbeat style of humor here at the theatre."
Steppenwolf spokesperson Stephanie Howard noted that the theatre's parking lot was already full with staffers and trucks loading equipment into the theatre. Guests for the night will be Natalie Cole, singing with a thirty piece orchestra, and ER's Anthony Edwards. No theatre-oriented guests were planned, though Steppenwolf artistic director/actor Gary Sinise appeared recently to promote his role in the film, Ransom.
Asked how the Letterman lorries have affected Steppenwolf's activities, Howard replied that early in the process, the theatre had been considering extending their adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five for two weeks, but only extended for one. She didn't blame this on the Letterman onslaught, though: "It's very, very rare that we use both weeks of our extension. Usually, as in this case, it's just one." Viewers interested in tickets for "Late Show With David Letterman" back in New York can request up to 2 passes by sending a postcard to: Late Show Tickets, The Ed Sullivan Theatre, 1697 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.
Postcards are drawn by lottery; recipients are informed two weeks prior to the specified show.
In related news, reports that Larry `Bud' Melman has taken a dual role as both the innocent doctor and evil mayor in Raven Theatre's current staging of An Enemy Of The People are specious at best.
-- By David Lefkowitz
