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.

Cecilia Alemani's culture diary

I learned so much! My favorite kind of story is the kind where I explore something new to me. Click here for the latest culture diary (and some great photos).

Lights Out: Nat "King" Cole

Ugh, that show did not go over as well as I wanted it to. My thoughts on this new production at New York Theater Workshop are here.

Bus Stop

 I love William Inge and am happy every time one of his plays gets produced in New York. I do wish this Bus Stop had been a little better…

Charles Strouse in 5 videos

Bye Bye Birdie, Annie, Applause: Charles Strouse had a way with earworms — maybe that's happens when a conservatory-trained composer starts his career writing advertising jingles. I picked five videos to celebrate his golden run in the 1960s and '70s.

Eurovision 2025

Once again I was on deck as part of the New York Times team covering the Eurovision Song Contest. I wrote about how to watch, Celine Dion's victory in 1988 and how to vote. And of course I was part of the liveblogging squad. Phew!

Theater to stream in May

There is still theater to stream out there, and some made it to this new column (I write it every other month). It's also really fun for me to search for obscure or semi-obscure theater-related movies and series that I can include alongside the livestreams. Click here for the links.

Jasmine Amy Rogers

What a Broadway debut! Jasmine Amy Rogers kills it in Boop! The Musical and I for one love it that she's getting acknowledged as someone to watch. Click here for my profile.

Sci-fiction never stops

You want science fiction! I've got science fiction! The latest edition of my monthly column has more goodies to stream at home.

Off and Off Off Broadway roundup

There is still time to catch several of the shows I included in my roundup of Off and Off Off Broadway productions for May! (I know, I know — so derelict.) Click here for the list.

Five Models in Ruins, 1981

Catching up with my backlog of articles! 

I'd see Elizabeth Marvel in pretty much anything — and over the years, I feel like I've seen her in everything and anything — and I really wish this play had given her more challenging stuff to explore. My review for The NY Times is up.

Keeley Hawes

I'd been trying to interview Keeley Hawes for something like seven years and finally, the stars aligned! My feature is up at the NY Times.

Grief Camp

I think the Atlantic would have done this play a favor by putting it on its smaller stage. My review of Grief Camp is up at the NY Times.

Stranger Things The First Shadow

Does the Stranger Things-verse translate to Broadway? My review of The First Shadow is up at the NY Times.

Jeremy Jordan

I've long been a fan of Jeremy Jordan and finally got to talk to him — about Floyd Collins and other things. My feature for the NY Times is here.

Jinkx Monsoon interview

It's hard to think of a more engaging interviewee than Jinkx Monsoon. I hope I did her justice in this interview.

The Shrouds

The first David Cronenberg movie I ever saw was Videodrome, right when it came out. I didn't know what hit me! Here we are, decades later, and I reviewed his latest for the NY Times. Click here for my take on The Shrouds.

A French mother-daughter duo does Gypsy

Natalie Dessay and her daughter, Neïma Naouri, just sang Rose and Louise in Paris! I wish I'd been there. Second best was talking to them about it for the Times. Click here for the story.

Paddling the Delaware

Last year I joined the first three days of the Delaware River Sojourn: about 9-12 miles of kayaking daily and camping at night. That last part is what was making me nervous beforehand as I'd never slept under a tent before that trip. Read on to see what happened — oh, and by the way, by sheer coincidence, the green tent in the foreground in that misty photo is mine!

Five sci-fi movies for April

I've started mulling over the May column and so I probably link to the current one — I'm so behind in those posts, which are pretty much a running tally of what I publish! Here you go: 5 under-the-radar sci-fi movies to stream this month!

Revisiting the college years with the cast of All Nighter

Natalie Margolin has a real playwright's voice and I'm there for it. I talked to the cast members of her new comedy, All Nighter, about what they were up to in the mid-2010s, when the play takes place. Click here for our chat (and their playlist).

The Cherry Orchard

Only one week left to see the Benedict Andrews production of The Cherry Orchard at St. Ann's Warehouse: go, go, go! Here's my enthusiastic review for the NY Times. I cannot recommend this show enough. Chupa Chups forever!

Love Life

The Encores! series revived Kurt Weill and Alan Jay Lerner's obscure musical Love Life, and I had mixed feelings about it: appealingly bizarre narrative and songs, but the staging that overcompensated with sentimentality. My review is here.

Being Maria

There is a bit of a Maria Schneider moment going on, and the new movie Being Maria, which I just wrote about, is part of it. I also highly recommend Vanessa Schneider's book My Cousin Maria (translated by Molly Ringwald!) Here's my NY Times feature about Jessica Palud's film.

Mayhem

I know that this post's subject line will draw some Gaga fans but it's the Norwegian band I'm talking about. Bucket-list interview for me! Thataway for my story on the ur-black metal band. 

The rites of spring skiing

Kooky outfits, wacky races, cold drinks on warm decks: I wrote about the rites of spring skiing for the Washington Post. Click here for a gift link.