Symphony Space speaks about Stephen Colbert’s no-show at Bloomsday 2008
By
We received a letter today from Symphony Space’s Associate Director of Marketing, Brian J. Heck, explaining what happened a few weeks ago when Stephen Colbert was not at his scheduled appearance at the Bloomsday 2008 performance:
Hi DB … I’m so sorry I haven’t contacted you sooner, but I’ve been out on vacation for the past couple of weeks. I just saw all the posts about Bloomsday, and I feel terrible that the “Nation” listened in vain (though I was pleased to see that many still enjoyed it!). I just wanted to pass along the official word … Stephen called and said he wasn’t feeling well once the performance was already under way, so he was replaced with another actor already at the theatre. While we typically would make an announcement about such a replacement, an event with almost 100 participants is likely to have many cast changes, and announcing each of them would severely distract from the proceedings.
Stephen does still serve on our advisory board, had many great things to say in our 30th anniversary video, and is quoted on the cover of our new membership brochure coming out this fall. We look forward to having him back on our stage next season (and, personally, I was ecstatic to see him at number 2 on Entertainment Weekly’s list of 25 funniest people!).
Thank you for letting us know, Brian, it is greatly appreciated. And yes, quite a few of us enjoyed hearing Bloomsday this year, even without our favorite late night TV host. Here’s the video that Brian mentions in his letter. Let’s hope that Stephen gets lots of healing rest (and stays relatively injury-free) during his two-week hiatus.
Related posts
7 Comments
July 1st, 2008 at 2:25 pm
thanks for posting, it’s good to know what happened =P
and love the vid :)
Reply
July 1st, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Geez, I bet this 2 week break will really do him some good. Thanks for the info about what happened. Happy 30th Anniversary, Symphony Space! I love to hear that they’re reaching out to schools to try and keep some form of music in the curriculum, considering how quickly school boards are eliminating the arts altogether.
Reply
July 1st, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Thanks for letting us know what happened.
Symphony Space sounds like an amazing place. I’m so envious of New Yorkers. I love resurrection stories…even when they’re about buildings. :)
And may Colbert’s fresh injuries during his time off be kept to a bare minimum…a stubbed toe, perhaps, or a barked shin… ;D
Reply
July 1st, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Brian, thank you for letting us know what happened. I very much appreciate the fact that Symphony Space provided the streaming audio of this event online. It was a special treat for those of us who couldn’t be at the theatre that night.
I hope this two week hiatus will be a healthy, safe one for Stephen.
Reply
July 1st, 2008 at 11:46 pm
oh, it’s very good to know what happened! I was not worried, but I’m glad to know that basically, all is well with Symphony Space, Bloomsday on Broadway, and Stephen. :)
I’m also glad that Mr Heck recognized that we still had a good time listening, though. the listening experience was enjoyable, and I will watch my calender for June 16th next year to see what Bloomsday stuff I can partake in!
Reply
July 2nd, 2008 at 3:15 am
Mr. Heck,
How thoughtful of you to get back to NFZ with updates regarding Stephen! Thank you for the information. I loved the video and I’m interested in Symphony Space more than ever now. I’m also thrilled that Stephen had the last word in the video:)
Reply
July 4th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Happy 30th Anniversary Symphony Space! I just now watched the retrospective. What an amazing and joyous place. I agree with what Colbert said at the end. I hope Symphony Space continues forever.
Reply