[NOTE: This poem was written in celebration of Broadway theatre producer Sam Crothers’ induction into the Sardi’s caricature Hall of Fame. Mr. Crothers works with Martin Richards at The Producer Circle. The Producer Circle have produced hit Broadway shows like The Will Rogers Follies and the recent revival of Chicago. The original Sardi’s invitation leads the poem as evergreen evidence of the event.]

There’s a man in this business
who knows the show must glisten
and glow
beyond the stage.

That glimmer,
smiling there behind
the last audience row
is The Producer Circle
and a big part of its fire
is the brilliance
and compassion
and excellent aesthetic
of the man we honor today
in the Belasco Room at Sardi’s.

Sam Crothers knows
producing is details
defined by sweat.

Sam Crothers’ business
is creating joy,
mending heartache,
and inspiring rainbows of hope
that stretch
each night
along the star-lighted Great White Way
like a beacon of love
arcing liquid hot
against a burning black sky.

Sam Crothers is the twinkle
in Will Rogers’ eye,
Sam Crothers is the sparkle
in the Chicago skyline.

But above all,
Sam Crothers is the warm spot
that soothes each of us inside
after the footlights have faded.

For that’s the producer’s dream, kid
that’s showbiz, folks:

Creating the immortal afterglow
of human heat
enduring beyond
the moment of us
and into the everlasting eternity of
neverending encores.

Now how about an encore?

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