Hold, Please: Stage Managing A Pandemic

A Broadway Stage Manager's pandemic memoir!

March 12, 2020

Last night, after weeks of downplaying and ridiculing the virus, we were finally told by our President, that it is, in fact, serious…

And so, it began. Broadway shut down. Instead of sitting in a darkened theatre every night watching Jersey Boys, Richard Hester found himself sitting on his sofa glued to the news. Hold, Please chronicles what came next from the particular point of view of a career Broadway stage manager living in Manhattan. Part journal, part blog, these essays attempted to make sense of the crisis and what it was doing to us.

What follows is a journey through one of the most fascinating periods in both our cultural and our personal histories. Written with humor and compassion, Hold, Please provides a unique perspective on this time and delivers the most important lesson of all - Hope.

“I’ve watched Richard create order out of chaos for years, so it comes as no surprise when he was able to do it again with these beautiful posts. Together they create a powerful reminder of where we’ve been as well as a thoughtful and compassionate guide for moving ahead.” - Bernadette Peters

“I am so grateful that Richard wrote all of this down so that I don’t have to remember it myself.” - Patti LuPone 

“(Hester) describes such experiences in a warm, conversational tone in a book in which his lyrical writing about the natural world adds dimension to humorous stories about working—and not working—from home....Hester interweaves descriptions of living through Covid-19 with stories of his colorful theatrical career…” - Kirkus Reviews