Seeing Blithe Spirit on Broadway

March 4, 2009.
The doors to the Shubert Theater finally opened and I made my way to a fabulous seat, the result I think of being a single ticket purchase.

I had the great good fortune to be sitting next to a woman named Sarah Roberts, author of a dynamic and informed blog about the New York theater scene -- and beyond.
http://www.sarahbsadventures.com/

She clued me in to several things I would have missed. First, my astonishment at seeing someone who looked very familiar.

"Is that Barbara Walters?" I asked.

"Yes, it is," Sarah confirmed. "You often see her in the audience."

Barbara's father, Lou Walters, was a famed impressario in New York.

Sarah also pointed out the play's director, Michael Blakemore, sitting just across the aisle and taking notes. The play was still in previews so Mr. Blakemore was making some adjustments and tweaks. I saw him writing furiously in his notebook and could only wonder at what changes were being wrought even as we sat there.

Then, at intermission, I walked around a bit and saw a gentleman who looked familiar. He was leaning ever so elegantly against the chest-high divider that separates the cozy theater bar from the rest of the house. He appeared to be by himself, although I saw him occasionally nod to an acquaintance here and there. He had a sort of Ted Kennedy mien and a sturdy, thickset body to match. Where had I seen him before?

Then, it hit me: William Windom.

At almost that same moment, he looked directly at me, raised an eyebrow and smiled, as if to say: "Yes, you're right."

I remembered him from my childhood as the widowed congressman in TV's "The Farmer's Daughter." And, although I never watched "Murder, She Wrote," I recalled that Windom was one of a few recurring characters on the show. He was no doubt there in support of his former co-star, Ms. Lansbury.