Oh, hasn’t it? We’ll just let 2020 go on down the drain hole.

The last play I saw, last year, before the big big? “Seize the King” at the Alliance. It was good, very good, if uneven. Maybe I just have problems with most ‘let’s update Shakespeare because that seems like a good idea’ productions. Maybe if I’d known then that it would be the last show I’d see for over a year, I’d have appreciated it more. Maybe.

I saw the show on March 7. A Saturday matinee, and as I remember, a full house. I have a vivid memory of looking around and wondering, is anybody in here sick already? Did I just make a big mistake – did I just put my life on the line for a play?

I survived. Thankfully – and I cannot express my profound gratitude enough – I haven’t gotten sick. And as I write this, now in 2021, I’ve got the first shot under my belt. It feels like maybe, just maybe, we’ve turned a corner.

But we have lost so much. Family and friends. Businesses and livelihoods. Homes. One of things I hope we’ve lost is our sense of complacency – yeah, that can go.

Oh, and there is this: One of my own plays, ‘Rules for Active Shooters’ – it was in rehearsals last March. Was going to be produced and presented by Detroit Repertory Theatre. The World Premiere. This time last year I was talking to the director every day, saying, ‘Are you sure you’re going forward? Really?’ She kept on saying yes, the show was going great and IT WOULD OPEN on March 26, as planned.

It didn’t. They shut it down during tech week with promises that the play, MY PLAY, would be the first show on their dance card when they opened up again. But it’s been a year and I haven’t heard a word.

So, a loss. Nothing like a parent or a child or an uncle or an aunt, even though my plays are like my children and I’m proud of every one. I wonder if it will ever see the light of day. I wonder how many theatres have closed their doors for good. I wonder how many actors and directors and designers are just hanging on.

Well. We’ll go on.