AVAILABLE NOW!
Hold, Please chronicles the pandemic 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. By the end, everything had changed.
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.
FOR PRESS INQUIRES
Katz PR
Judy Katz / Sean Katz
NEWS
November 13, 2022 - Thank you to The Independent Author Network Book of the Year Awards for selecting HOLD, PLEASE Stage Managing a Pandemic as a finalist in the category of First Non-Fiction book for 2022!
October 23, 2022 - Thank you to The Bookfest Awards for awarding HOLD, PLEASE Stage Managing a Pandemic 2nd Place in the Memoir category for Fall 2022!!
October 20, 2022 - Thank you to Columbia University for the shout-out in the Alumni Magazine Bookshelf!
September 12, 2022 - Thank you to Maincrest Media for selecting HOLD, PLEASE Stage Managing a Pandemic as BEST MEMOIR 2022!
September 2, 2022 - Thank you to Reader’s Favorite for selecting HOLD, PLEASE: Stage Managing a Pandemic as a FINALIST in the 2022 Awards!!
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August 31, 2022 - Thank you to Literary Titan for awarding HOLD: PLEASE: Stage Managing a Pandemic the Silver Medal!
Literary Titan Silver Medalist - 2022
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August 30, 2022 - Thank you to the Pinnacle Awards for Summer 2022 for selecting HOLD, PLEASE: Stage Managing a Pandemic as BEST MEMOIR!
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August 27, 2022 - Thank you to the Hollywood Book Festival for the mention in this year’s awards!
Hollywood Book Festival Awards 2022
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August 1, 2022 - Thank you to Harvey Brownstone for such an enjoyable talk! It was a pleasure being a part of your Interview Series!!
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August 4, 2022 - Thank you to the International Impact Awards for choosing HOLD, PLEASE: Stage Managing a Pandemic as BEST MEMOIR!!!
International Impact Book Awards
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August 2022 - LOVED talking with my friend, the great Tonya Pinkins on her podcast, YOU CAN’T SAY THAT!!
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July 7, 2022 -BROADWAY BARKS 24!!! Baker Machado and I talk about both Broadway Barks 24 AND HOLD, Please: Stage Managing a Pandemic!
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July 2, 2022 - Thank you to the San Francisco Book Festival for the mention in this year’s awards!
San Francisco Book Festival Awards 2022
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June 7, 2022 - Thank you to the Beach Book Festival for the mention in this year’s awards!!!
Beach Book 2022 Awards
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June 6, 2022 - Chatting with my friend Debra Barsha !!!
BARSHA BARSHA BARSHA
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June 6, 2022 - Chatting with the great Lois Robbins!
The Lo Down
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Memoir By Broadway Stage Manager Richard Hester 'Hold, Please' is Available for Pre-Sale
About The Cover
A Brother & Sister Bond
When I started writing and taking photographs at the beginning of the pandemic, my sister Sue Pendleton started painting again. She had painted and drawn all through her school years but once she started having to work and then raise a family, the artistic impulse, by necessity, faded into the background, and she channeled that energy into other things. Suddenly, in the Spring of 2020, with time on her hands, she channeled her energy back to her passion. It was thrilling to watch her experiment and grow without the interruptions of our pre-pandemic lives.
When I knew that I was going to publish the book, I decided that I wanted something that she’d done to be the basis for what was on the cover. My whole project has been supported and nurtured with the help and input of friends and colleagues, many of whom were starting to explore different outlets for their own artistic expressions. It seemed the natural choice for her to do it. I asked her if she’d consider painting one of the photographs that I had taken of New York during the pandemic, and she immediately agreed.
I sent her a folder of choices and, thankfully, she picked none of them. She chose, instead, another picture I had posted online as her inspiration. I now can’t imagine it being anything else.
Here is the photograph that I took along with the full painting that she created. Michael Lomenda, an actor friend from my time at Jersey Boys, who used this time, himself, to explore graphic design, created the cover and incorporated her piece.
That it turned out far better than I could ever have dreamed is an understatement. It does take a village and I am grateful to have such remarkable neighbors living in mine.
What People Are Saying
“Said simply, Richard Hester’s HOLD PLEASE is the reflection of a good man. Hester is the consummate theatre artist, a stalwart friend, trustworthy colleague, and brilliant collaborator. His epic, personal memoir of the historic COVID 19 shutdown and cautious re-opening is proof of that in ways he may not have intended but with which we now have been unexpectedly blessed. Daily personal journaling has been compiled now into an epic history of minute detail, personal insight, shared fears, and wonder. It shines light on our darkest hours in a way that is both formidable, intimate, and deeply generous, personally and professionally.”
— Tom Viola
Executive Director of Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS
“I am so grateful that Richard wrote all of this down so that I don’t have to remember it myself.”
— Patti LuPone
“Thank you for taking my suggestion seriously (Imaa need you to file these and publish a book good sir.) because we are all better for it.”
— Ariana DeBose
“It is no surprise to me that Richard Hester is an exquisite companion as he insightfully guides us on the journey through the strange isolation of that endless pandemic. The Elizabethan theatre was frequently shut down because of the Black Death, and I’ve often tried to imagine how the players of that time managed to cope with the stress. Richard’s book makes it vividly clear.”
— Des McAnuff / Director
Richard Hester is a saint as far as I’m concerned. Anything he writes I would read, however, I haven’t had the time to read his book yet as my first grandchild was just born. As soon as I stop changing diapers, Richard’s book is the first thing I’m reading!
- Mandy Patinkin
I have always been in awe of Richard Hester's gift as a storyteller. He has beautifully crafted a diary that reminds us of the journey we have been on for the past two years, and with this book given us the courage to carry on with hope and faith.
- Sergio Trujillo