Joy

I've seen some grousing online about the very existence of a musical about the inventor of the Miracle Mop. As long as there are movies about Beanie Babies and Cheetos, I think we can cope. It's always a pleasure to watch Betsy Wolfe on stage, but I wish I'd liked Joy more. My review is here.

Taye Diggs's essentials

Taye Diggs talked about 10 of his favorite things for the Times. Thataway for the list.

Chris and Paul Weitz talk about Murderbot

I love writing for the recurring series Ask a Showrunner because you get to ask all the super-nerdy questions and you don't have to worry too much about spoilers — if the article comes out pegged to a season finale, of course. Such was the case with the Weitz brothers, who discussed Murderbot. And it's been renewed! Click here for our conversation.

Heathers The Musical

Heathers: The Musical is back where it started — well, where it started its Off Broadway career — and I was there for it. My feature on the story of the musical is full of fun details, which is appropriate for such a fun show.

Off Broadway and streaming theater this month

Two-for-one post as I link to my roundup of Off and Off Off Broadway shows — do not sleep on Out of Order — and picked some streaming theater and theater-related movies you can watch from anywhere.

Science-fiction movies for those hot summer nights

The July installment of my sci-fi column dropped and as usual, it's all over the map — well, the sci-fi map, of course. Thataway.

Some queer shows hit New York

Earlier this month, I caught some queer shows and wrote about them for the New York Times: Beau the Musical, My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?) and The Pansy Craze: The Queerest Night on Broadway. Click here for my deeply ambivalent critic's notebook.

Lowcountry

It's ok for a first date to go through twists and turns, but they have to make sense. The ones in Lowcountry don't. My review of this new play at the Atlantic Theater is here.

Passengers

I was watching a rehearsal of the circus show Passengers when things took an unexpected turn. I wrote about it and how the company pivoted in this piece for the NY Times.

Molière is back in town

Molière is having a moment in New York and I'm there for it! I wrote about two shows inspired by the French master, though one of them only bears a very loose connection. Click here for my critic's notebook.

What to Know About 28 Years Later

Danny Boyle and Alex Garland have returned to the franchise they launched with 28 Days Later, and the new movie is a banger! I wrote an explainer about the 28 franchise, with some choice quotes from Garland.

2025 Tonys

I get a kick out of liveblogging events for the NY Times: Eurovision, the opening and closing ceremonies at the Olympics, and of course the Tonys. As usual I contributed a mix of quick takes during the ceremonies, entries in best/worst, and slightly longer pieces, like this one about the four Seymours and one Audrey in competition.

June and sci-fi movies are back

Another batch of five sci-fi movies streaming for your alt-world pleasure — thataway.

Summer theater around the country

I joined forces with the esteemed Laura Collins-Hughes for a roundup of cool theater to see around the country this summer. Get ready for some road trippin'! Click here for the list.

My Heart Will Go On in the Library of Congress

"My Heart Will Go On" was inducted to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry this year, and it was a great honor to write an essay about the song for the occasion. I started borrowing at the local book van when I was a kid, my work-study job in grad school was at the library, and I currently have cards for the New York, Brooklyn and Queens public libraries, so being a part of LoC is a particular thrill.

Click here for the free link.

The Counterfeit Opera

Off we go: a belated series of links to what I've been up to this past month! I'm basically using this blog as an archive of my work.

Let's start with a preview of The Counterfeit Opera, a very loose adaptation of The Beggar's Opera that recently played Little Island. Story is here.