James Stevenson: Lost and Found in New York: The Lyceum

James Stevenson contributes another in his continuing Lost and Found series for the New York Times. I enjoy these stories he tells about the history of New York City and it's my fond wish that they be collected sometime soon.

This time he writes about William Saroyan and his play "The Beautiful People," which opened in The Lyceum on 45th Street in 1945. Saroyan gave away tickets for the previews -- James, being only 11 years old, could not stand in the 1000+ person line down 45th Street to get one. But James' friend and neighbor and fellow 11 year old, David, optimistically composed and mailed Mr. Saroyan a letter asking for two of free seats. One for him and one for his friend, Jim Stevenson. Did Mr. Saroyan respond to David? Did Jimmy and David get to see their first Broadway play? Read it all here.