Remembering Terry Teachout

About twelve years ago, I received an e-mail from Terry asking if he could stop by to talk with me about my experiences managing Thornton Wilder’s intellectual properties. We had never met. We spent about two lively hours in my basement—the site of key filing cabinets—talking about Thornton and the biz” of managing his works. And then he was off to review a show. This encounter is the first and only time a major critic has asked me hard questions about how one deals with plays and novels after their creator’s death.

I see Terry as a brave and restless figure. I honor his memory as drama critic (with thoughtful words about Thornton Wilder, thank you, Terry), playwright, musician and biographer. Most of all I salute his Seven League Boots, his restless pursuit of great art as practiced on stages throughout the country.

Terry Teachout on paper was never predictable or boring. Whenever I read him I came away feeling that I had learned something. I hope and pray that somewhere a show like this is going on.

Tappan Wilder