Mary Elizabeth Winstead

I've been a fan of Mary Elizabeth Winstead since seeing her in Death Proof, in which she wore a yellow cheerleader uniform (but did not play a cheerleader) and was in that car facing off crazy Kurt Russell.
And earlier this month, I talked to her about doing her first play in New York (Dying City at Second Stage) and a bunch of other stuff. Click here to see if Nikki Swango came up.

The Pink Unicorn

Fans of Alice Ripley may want to check out this show to see her in very close quarters. Others may not be in a rush. My Times review is here.

The Plough and the Stars

I reviewed one third of Irish Rep's O'Casey cycle for the Times — and it was an excellent third. My review is here.

Original Sound

A play about how modern pop music is cooked up? Sign me up! My Times review is here.

Nancy And Beth

I tagged along to Bay Shore with Stephanie Hunt and Megan Mullally's Nancy And Beth. My article in the Times barely scratches the surface of what transpired.

Black Summer

When it comes to the undead, I've always preferred zombies to vampires. And I can watch a lot of that stuff. The Netflix algorithm knows this and recommended Black Summer, which turned out to be amazing. So much so that I wrote about it for the Times. My critic's notebook is here.

Luzia

Cirque du Soleil is back in great, great form with Luzia, which is well worth the trip to Citi Field (the circus is under a big top in the parking lot, a short walk from the 7 subway stop). It was a total pleasure to review the show for the Times.

A listening guide to riot grrrl

What a thrill it was to work on this piece about 25 essential riot grrrl tracks! Wow, that brought me back. As much of a fan of print as I am, the online version moves so right there... Anyway, here's the link. Dig in.

Playing Hot

I reviewed this rambunctious play about jazz musician Buddy Bolden for the Times, and there it is.

Jack & with The Cotillion

Yikes, I'm a bit late posting this one. I reviewed Kaneza Schaal's latest show, at New York Live Arts, for the Times, and it's here.

Marjana and the Forty Thieves

Went down to Sunset Park to catch this Target Margin show for the New York Times — the review is here. Of course I stopped at the Colombian joint ParisCien for a pan de bono on the way.

Katrina Lenk's exit interview

I talked to Katrina Lenk in September 2017, as The Band's Visit was to about to start again on Broadway. It was a pleasure to meet again a few days before the show closed. Click here for the exit interview.

Life Sucks.

Aaron Posner's new one (well, new to us in NYC) is a super-smart adaptation of Uncle Vanya. My review is here.

The Legend of Cocaine Island

I reviewed this colorful documentary for the Times (find my piece here). It's on Netflix, if you want a dose of Florida silliness this weekend.

Smart Blonde

I was really happy to see Andréa Burns in a starring role, even if she's a lot better than her vehicle. My review of Smart Blonde is here.

Southern Promises

A revival of Thomas Bradshaw's Southern Promises, from 2008, comes at time when playwrights look at slavery with renewed urgency (and often with breathtaking artistic inventiveness). My review is here.

Skinnamarink

The Little Lord company harnessed its wild imagination in its most streamlined show yet — which doesn't make it the tamest. It was a lot of fun to review it for the Times.

Imagining Madoff

Deb Margolin uses Bernie Madoff and a scholar who looks a lot like Elie Wiesel to look at faith, conscience and guilt in her new show at 59E59. My review for the Times is here.

Which ski pass is best for you

Epic, IKON and the Mountain Collective have just gone on sale for next season, and I just wrote about them for the Times' travel section. If you're a skier, chances are good you need one of them. Some people I know get two.

Tribute to André Previn

Very excited to be part of the New York Times' collective tribute to André Previn. My contribution is about Valley of the Dolls and you can find it here.