Satchmo at the Waldorf Satchmo was one of Louis Armstrong’s nicknames, and that it derived from “satchel-mouth” . Waldorf refers to the luxurious hotel in Manhattan called the Waldorf Astoria New York, where Louis Armstrong played and where he also stayed. The whole play takes place at what is supposed to be Louis Armstrong’s room. The printed programme (2018) indicates that the original off-Broadway production’s World Premiere was presented in Lenox, Massachusetts and in New Haven, Connecticut, in the year 2012; the play was previously premiered in Orlando, Florida in 2011. The theatrical work is based on his biography written in 2009, and titled:
What the Rose did to the Cypress and drank. A faqir asked him what he did there. He told him his story and asked the faqir's, repeating when the faqir put him off, until the faqir told him he had been a king, and his seven sons had all tried to win a princess whose hand could only be won by answering the riddle, "What did the rose do to the cypress?" and died for their failure. His grief sent him into the desert. This inspired the son with a love for the same princess. His attendants found him and brought him back, but he grew ill