Book Review: Wind/Pinball

(Borrowed from the Jackson Heights Library): I needed a short fast read and I haven't read a Murakami book in a while. This volume of two related novellas was on the shelf at the library and under 200 pages/ It's an early work and kind of intriguing, but it did not have an impact on me. Two friends hang out at a bar in a small waterfront town in Japan, drink beers, talk about pinball, eat french fries. They have relationships and get sad about life. 

My E-Mail to the Kennedy Center

Here's the contents of the email I sent to the PR dept, of the Kennedy (NOT TRUMP) Center: at publicrelations@kennedy-center.org.

Hi,

I am an American citizen writing to express my displeasure and outrage that the Kennedy Center board illegally voted to change the name of the venue to the Trump-Kennedy Center. (The president's ego is so colossal he wouldn't even take second billing.) The Center was created by Congress in 1964 as a memorial to the late President. My understanding is any name change would have to be enacted and approved by Congress. The board does not have the authority to make such a change. Plus the vote was apparently not unanimous because a board member who wished to voice her objections was muted.

This is obviously a ploy to placate Trump's enormous ego. Plummeting ticket sales and artist boycotts will get even worse over the next three years as no one of artistic integrity will want to associate themselves with the derangements of the Trump administration--tarriffs, deportations, cutting vital services, eliminating cancer research and USAid, weather services, eliminating Obamacare subsidies, lying about the 2020 election, pardoning drug lords and frauds. etc., etc. (Except for those sycophants who want a Kennedy Center Honor, a once sought-after accolade, now as worthless as a FIFA World Peace Prize.) For six decades, the Kennedy Center has stood above politics as a national shrine to the arts. All were welcome. Not anymore. If you disagree with him, you are not welcome. Once he leaves office, everything will revert back to an inclusive state. That is if the Center does not go bankrupt and collapse like everything else Trump touches.

Sincerely,

David Sheward

Jackson Heights, NY

Rob Reiner and Anthony Geary Die on the Same Day

Anthony Geary and Rob Reiner on
All in the Family (1971)

In a horrible coincidence, Rob Reiner and Anthony Geary died on the same day. Reiner, along with his wife, was murdered by his son and Geary passed away at 78 in Amsterdam where he had been living with his husband since he retired from acting in 2015. Reiner and Geary both appeared on a groundbreaking episode of the radical sitcom All in the Family in 1971. Geary, who would later go on to star in the long-running soap opera General Hospital, played Roger, an eccentric effeminate friend of Reiner's Mike and Sally Struthers' Gloria. Of course, Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) can't tolerate what he perceives as Roger's unmasculine and therefore gay behavior. After Roger has left Archie calls him a "strange little birdie," launching into a bigoted rant against gays. Mike and Gloria defend Roger and say he's just unconventional, but still straight. And Mike makes the outrageous-for-1971 claim that even if Roger IS attracted to his own gender and he does act differently, there's nothing wrong with that.   

The twist of the episode comes when it's revealed that Archie's macho, ex-football player buddy Steve is really gay, confounding the expectations of Archie and the audience. The episode pointed out the that the real fear was not of men being romantic with each other, but acting like "sissies." I wonder how Geary who actually was gay felt about portraying a character with stereotypical queer traits. (And then portraying a famously straight character Luke for decades, even marrying Laura in one of the most famous TV weddings ever. I was in college at the time and they even re-enacted the ceremony on campus with a fellow theatre student as the minister.)

I remember watching that All in the Family episode at 12 years old and not really understanding it. I laughed at Archie's excessive homophobia, not taking in it was directed at people like me. 

While Geary's passing seemed to be peaceful, Reiner's was horrific and made even more terrible by Trump's disgusting social media response. (I don't need to reprint it here.) The president is just a vile human being. What's even worse is that we have moved on from our outrage over his lack of empathy and dignity by one distraction after another. The very next day after Trump blamed Reiner for his own death, implying his anti-Trump sentiments drove someone to assassinate the director (incorrect, it was his own alienated son), the damning Vanity Fair article with WH Chief of Staff Susan Wiles appeared, then the libelous and partisan "Presidential Walk of Fame" with Trump's nasty comments on Biden and Obama, followed by the desperate prime-time address and the illegal renaming of the Kennedy Center. (BTW, Trump must have read my post from a few days ago where I said he never addresses the country on TV.)

It's as if Trump is piling on outrage after outrage so we're too overwhelmed to react. But at least this indicates he knows he can't run for a third term and therefore doesn't care what the electorate think of him.

B'way/Off-B'way Review: Marjorie Prime; Meet the Cartozians

Christopher Lowell and June Squibb in
Marjorie Prime.
Credit: Joan Marcus

When Jordan Harrison’s Marjorie Prime premiered Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in 2015, the play was hailed as a complex, compassionate rumination on grief and memory (I concurred.) It also was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Set in the near future, the short, powerful work focuses on the effects of advanced technology on a family facing aging and loss. 

Marjorie is in her 80s. She relies on an android programmed to resemble a younger version of her late husband Walter for company, comfort and to help fortify her fading memory. The presence of the living computer causes rifts in Marjorie’s relations with her prickly, depressed daughter Tess and her understanding son-in-law Jon. Familial tensions and tragedies follow as Marjorie, Tess and Jon all must come to terms with loss. 

Danny Burstein and Cynthia Nixon
in Marjorie Prime.
Credit: Joan Marcus

Now a decade after the original NY production, a Broadway version presented by Second Stage at the Hayes Theater has an even deeper resonance. Artificial intelligence (AI) has arrived and the play is more immediate as the possibilities Harrison raises of duplicate departed loved ones come closer to reality. Memories become distorted when more palatable, idealized versions of the past are fed into the artificial beings’ software. For example, Marjorie and Walter’s proposal story is embellished from taking place after the couple went to the movies to see the silly comedy My Best Friend’s Wedding to the more romantic image of taking in the classic Casablanca at a charming indie theater. These distortions gradually become the accepted version as AI bots multiply and take over the flesh-and-blood characters’ shared narratives. Another theme becomes heartbreakingly clear as each member of the family must accept a death and turn to the AI-generated dopplegangers for consolation rather than facing the loved ones’ permanent absence. Harrison is examining our modern tendency to suppress our true emotions with fuzzy feel-good substitutes.  

Anne Kauffman repeats her directing chores from the 2015 production and delivers a subtly different, moving production, augmented by Daniel Kluger’s evocative original music. Lee Jellinek’s futuristic set perfectly blends the sterile scientific environment with subtle touches of a homey atmosphere. 

B'way Update: Beaches, A New Musical

Jessica Vosk and Kelli Barrett in
the Theater Calgary production of Beaches.
Credit: Trudie Lee

Beaches, A New Musical will begin previews at the Majestic Theater on March 27, 2026 and open on on April 22 for a limited run through Sept. 6 prior to its North American tour. Based on Iris Rainer Dart's novel of two lifelong friends, the show features a book by Dart and Thom Thomas, lyrics by Dart and music by Grammy winner Mike Stoller. Co-Directed by Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Lonny Price (Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, Sunset Boulevard with Glenn Close) and Matt Cowart (Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill – Assoc Dir), the Broadway premiere of the musical will star Jessica Vosk (Hell’s Kitchen, Wicked) and Kelli Barrett (FX TV's “Fosse/Verdon,” Parade), as best friends Cee Cee and Bertie, respectively. Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey starred in the 1988 film version.

B'way Update: Titanique To Sail Into the St. James

Marla Mindelle in
Titanique.
Credit: Chad David Kraus

Titanique, the spoofy Off-Broadway musical satirizing the Oscar-winning film will sail into the St. James Theater this spring, now that the present occupant The Queen of Versailles is closing early. Previews begin March 26, 2026 with an opening set for April 12. Co-creator Marla Mindelle (Sister Act, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, The Big Gay Jamoboree) is set to reprise her iconic, Lortel Award-winning turn as Céline Dion on Broadway – a role she originated Off-Broadway, where the musical played a record-breaking three-year run until June 2025. Co-creator Tye Blue (“RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Rumer Willis’ Over the Love Tour) will direct the Broadway production.

Co-written by Blue, Mindelle and Constantine Rousouli, the Olivier Award-winning musical comedy Titanique fuses a kooky crazy reimagining of the eleven-time Oscar®–winning Titanic from the perspective, and certified-platinum hits, of Céline Dion. The musical made its bow Off-Broadway in summer 2022 at The Asylum Theatre (also lovingly known as “the basement of a Gristedes"). After multiple sold-out extensions, and a move to a bigger boat at the above-ground Daryl Roth Theatre, Titanique became the most decorated Off-Broadway musical of its season – winning seven major awards, including the Lucille Lortel Award and Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Musical, a Las Culturistas Culture Award, and the Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Performer for Marla Mindelle. Concurrent with the Off-Broadway production’s three-year run, international productions opened in London’s West End, Sydney, Toronto, Montréal, Chicago, Paris, and São Paulo — each adding to the show’s global acclaim and momentum. In 2025, Titanique won the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy. Additional casting for the Broadway production will be announced at a later date.

Book Review: Dorothy Parker in Hollywood

(Bought at the Strand for $10):  Gail Crowther's account of the sharp-tongued but ultimately tragic writer Dorothy Parker's sojourn in La La Land is entertaining but doesn't tell us much more than the many other Parker bios. Parker's devastating wit is not on display as much as her messy personal life. She was an alcoholic and couldn't manage her money even though she was one of the highest paid screenwriters in the studio system. Both she and her husband and writing partner Alan Campbell were equally clumsy at living as adults, both chronic alcoholics. She lacked self-confidence despite her sparkling intelligence and way with words. Crowther does capture her struggle to overcome sexism in a male dominated industry and offers some new insights into the chaotic, confusing manner scripts were fashioned in the Dream Factory.

Big Bang/Conners Overlap

Jack McBrayer, Katey Segal, Johnny Galecki,
Kaley Cuoco, and Keith Carradine at Leonard
and Penny's wedding on TBBT.

I stopped watching The Big Bang Theory around season 8. It was getting repetitive after Howard and Bernadette got married and then they jumped the shark by having her get pregnant, oh, and moving Sheldon and Amy in together. But lately I started watching episodes on HBO Max because I loved the characters so much. Interestingly, there was a great deal of actor overlap between TBBT and The Conners, a show I did watch until the very last episode. The most obvious case of double casting was Sara Gilbert and Johnny Galecki who starred as Darlene and David, high school sweethearts later divorced parents on both Roseanne and The Conners. On TBBT, Galecki was the top-billed Leonard Hofstedder and Gilbert guest-starred in a few episodes as snarky fellow scientist Leslie Winkle. Also Laurie Metcalf won several Emmys for playing Roseanne's eccentric sister Jackie and appeared as Sheldon's religious mother Mary. But what I did not know was Katey Segal (Futurama, Married with Children) played both Penny's mother and Darlene's stepmother. So that means she was Johnny Galecki's mother-in-law and ex-step-mother-in-law. To add another degree of connection, Katy also played Kelly Cuoco's mom on Eight Simple Rules (which I've never watched.) Laurie and Katy guest starred on the episode where Leonard and Penny had a second wedding ceremony. 

Aunt Harriet's Lament

Madge Blake as Aunt Harriet

Not long after I first set foot in Stately Wayne Manor, I knew Bruce Wayne, the guardian of my orphaned nephew Dick Grayson, was in reality Batman, the scourge of crime and Dick was indeed his youthful  associate Robin the Boy Wonder. Did they think I was stupid or something? At least once a week, Alfred the butler would pull Bruce aside, often in my presence, and inform him in a stage whisper, "It's the Bat-phone, sir." Did they think I was deaf as well as blind? Then he and Dick would offer some lame excuse about fishing or bird watching and charge off into the study and disappear for days on end. Did they think I wouldn't notice they never took a car on their expeditions? The few times I encountered Batman, I recognized Bruce's voice and his distinctive chin through the cowl.

Of course, I never let on that I knew. It would endanger me and spoil the boys' fun as well as jeopardize the safety of Gotham City and indeed the world. On many occasions, the Caped Crusaders prevented global catastrophe. So I just played along, acting the dithering clueless aunt. 

I entered Bruce and Dick's lives when my niece and her no-good acrobat husband died in a circus accident. Dick is actually my great-nephew. His mother was shunned from the family when she joined the disgusting profession of trapeze artistry. No one in our family has ever been associated with the degrading profession of show biz, let alone the even lower realm of the circus. But Dick is my only living relative and I cared deeply for him. When I heard that Dick had been adopted by millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne I hot footed it over to Wayne Manor to provide a maternal influence and some homecooked meals for the poor dear. (Actually, it was after Alfred had mysteriously died, but he later came back to life and insisted I stay.) Besides, there was something unsavory about a bachelor raising a young boy by himself if you know what I mean. 

Anne Baxter as Zelda the Great. I think that's a
stunt person, not Madge Blake suspended
over the tank of boiling oil.

Living with Batman was dangerous and I did face my share of trouble. There was the time I was kidnapped by this awful magician woman and she suspended me over a tank of boiling oil. Bruce paid the ransom and I was released unharmed but my shoulders were sore for a week. Then Alfred enlisted me in pretending I was Mrs. Batman so the Masked Manhunter could avoid a forced marriage to another conniving female, Marsha Queen of Diamonds. I think the young folks would have called me a beard. I nearly fell for the famous pianist Chandel, but he turned out to be a con man. It was lovely drinking root beer with the dear man, but I sensed there was something not quite right about the set-up, and I'm not just talking about his designs on the Wayne fortune, if you catch my drift.

Everything changed when Dick got his driver's license and Barbara Gordon and Batgirl suddenly showed up at the same time. I think there's a connection there. Dick didn't seem to need me as much. So I went traveling, even visiting Londinium. Eventually Dick went to college and I felt like a useless appendage around Wayne Manor. Batman moved his headquarters into Gotham City and as a result Bruce was at the Manor less and less. I missed the excitement of costumed crooks breaking into the house now and then. The Bookworm gassing me, Clock King threatening to kidnap me, being mistaken for the Black Widow. After a while, Bruce had me placed in the Gotham City Home for Old Ladies. Bruce and Dick would visit me occasionally. I read about the original Robin becoming Nightwing and several new Robins replacing him. I like to think by keeping my mouth shut, I was aiding in Batman's crusade against crime. 

Trump Wants Us Divided

Have you noticed that Trump never (Or almost never) addresses the entire country on TV? (The only time he does apart from the State of the Union is to brag about bombing Iran.) Growing up, I remember whoever was president--LBJ, Nixon, Carter, Reagen, both Bushes, Clinton, etc.--would periodically go on TV and talk to ALL the country about the current crisis. (I didn't always agree with them but at least I felt they were trying to include me in their decisions.) When Trump is down in the polls or there is a crisis, Trump doesn't do that (or rarely). He usually stages a rally in friendly territory and speaks to his MAGA cult like he did in Pennsylvania just now. And just after Charlie Kirk was killed, he was asked by a Fox host, "How do you unite the country?" His reply was "I couldn't care less." This shows he does NOT want us united. He wants us divided. Rather than appeal to the greatest number of citizens by comprising or being moderate, he plays up to his base and the rest of us can go to hell as far as he's concerned. He wants to punish those who dare disagree with him.

Battle and Lotus Dominate GG Noms

One Battle After Another and HBO's The White Lotus earned the most Golden Globe nominations in film and TV categories respectively. Battle, which already been named Best Picture by the NY Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Assoc. and the National Board of Review garnered 9 noms while Lotus picked up 6. The awards will be presented on Jan. 11 on CBS in a ceremony hosted by Nikki Glaser, repeating her stint from last year. In addition to the competitive categories, Helen Mirren will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement in film and Sarah Jessica Parker will be honored with the Carol Burnett Award for Lifetime Achievement in TV. These will be presented in a prime time special on Jan. 8 also on CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus. The GGs are voted on by about 300 international journalists. It used to be a much smaller number and the awards were administered by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. In 2023, the HFPA was disbanded after numerous controversies and the assets were acquired by Dick Clark Productions and Eldridge Industries. Former HFPA members were allowed to resume their voting duties as salaried employees of the production companies. But in Feb. 2025, the practice of paying the previous HFPA members ended. (according to Wikipedia, they were being paid $75,000 a year!)

This year, the new category of Best Podcast has been added. (The only one I'm listening to now is Newcomers with Nicole Byer (Nailed It!) and Lauren Lapkus.)

Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal in Hamnet.
Lead or Supporting?

The GGs often act as a forecaster for the Oscars and Battle's strong showing indicates it as an Oscar front runner. However, Hamnet, Chloe Zhou's film based on the novel by Maggie O'Farrell about young William Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway, look likes its nearest competitor. Also, Hamnet is lot more emotional and involving while Battle is technically brilliant, but violent and cold IMHO. The GGs divide the major categories into Drama and Comedy or Musical, so Battle (Comedy) and Hamnet (Drama) could both be winners. And another thing, why is Paul Mescal who plays Shakespeare in the Supporting Actor category? Probably the Hamnet producers think he stands a better chance of winning there and yes, he has a few minutes less screen time than Jessie Buckley who plays Anne (or Agnes) Hathaway who is the focus of the story. But he's definitely the leading male of the film.

A complete list of GG nominees follow:

Battle Wins Again at the LAFCA

Teyana Taylor in One Battle After Another.
Credit: Warner Brothers

One Battle After Another continues to dominate the pre-Oscar film Award season, winning three awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association including Best Picture, Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson and Best Supporting Performance for Teyana Taylor as Perfidia Beverly Hills, a violent revolutionary. Battle has already won the top award from the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Board of Review. The LA critics met on Dec. 7 to vote for their 51st awards. 

The gender-neutral Leading Performance Awards went to Ethan Hawke of Blue Moon and Rose Byrne of If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You, who also won Best Actress from the New York Film Critics and the NBR. The LAFCA began gender-neutral acting categories four years ago with the top two vote-getters declared winners regardless of their sex. (The Drama Desk does that too.) In the Supporting Acting category, the winning pair were Taylor and Stellan Skarsgård of Sentimental Value. 

Battle's dominance with the critics' groups is not a guarantee of an Oscar win. LA Confidential and The Social Network similarly took the top three critics' prizes as well as the Best Picture slot from the National Society of Film Critics, but ultimately lost the top Oscar. Schindler's List is the only film to win all four critics' awards and the Oscar.

A complete list of winners follows:

Battle Dominates Early Film Awards

Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle After Another,
Best Picture winner for the NYFCC, NBR
and Gotham Awards.

Film award season is upon us and One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson's action epic of a former radical (Leonardo DiCaprio) rescuing his daughter from a right-wing nut job (Sean Penn), is dominating the field, winning Best Picture and several other awards from the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Board of Review and the Gotham Awards. Benicio Del Toro who plays a martial arts instructor and underground activist who aides DiCaprio's character, was named Best Supporting Actor by both the NYFCC and NBR. Rose Byrne won Best Actress from both of those groups for If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (which is also my choice for Best Title of the Decade.) 

The Gotham Awards were announced Mon., the NYFCC on Tues. and the the NBR on Wed. I have not been as excited about the movie awards this year as in past seasons. I used to obsessively keep track of all the eligible films I'd seen and where I'd seen them. Maybe I'll do that this year, but it's looking like Battle is the top film and I wasn't crazy about it. The direction was excellent, Anderson keeps the suspense tight and the action sequences were skillfully edited and shot, but the theme left me cold. Anderson appears to be condemning political extremism of all kinds. DiCaprio plays a former resistance fighter whose daughter is kidnapped by racist Army officer Sean Penn. DiCaprio's character appears to be an innocent caught between two extremes. The left-wing radical underground army he was allied with resorts to extreme violence to achieve its ends. His lover, played by Teyana Taylor, is a horrible person, abandoning their daughter and the cause when she is caught. Penn's forces are equally heinous, representing not only the current cruel immigration policies of the Trump administration, but also a cultish, deep-state powerful network of bigots called the Christmas Adventurers. 

I didn't sympathize with any of the characters except Del Toro's activist who is the only one who doesn't resort to violence to help his community. Having said that, I didn't find his performance exciting enough to warrant all these Supporting Actor prizes. I didn't really get the point of the film, except to film people getting shot and chasing each other across the desert.

Hamnet is the only other film getting major award buzz and it's not even been mentioned by these early accolade dispensers. (Still haven't seen it, but I plan to.) I did catch Wicked: For Good yesterday in 3-D and 4-DX at the Union Square theater. The seats moved while Cynthia Erivo was flying her broom, so that was fun and we were sprinkled with water during the cyclone scenes. It will probably garner a few Golden Globe nods. 

A breakdown of the winners follows:

B'way Update: Death of a Salesman

Nathan Lane, Laurie Metcalf and 
Christopher Abbott with star in
Death of a Salesman next spring.

Willy Loman is returning to Broadway. The seventh Main Stem production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman will begin previews at the Winter Garden Theater on March 6, 2026 prior to an April 9 opening. Tony winner Joe Mantello (Wicked, Little Bear Ridge Road) will direct Tony winners Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf, Christopher Abbott (James White, House of Blue Leaves) and Ben Ahlers (Jack the footman/now rich clock maker from The Gilded Age). Scott Rudin and Barry Diller will produce. The production was originally planned in 2020, but the COVID pandemic delayed it. Earlier this year, it was announced for 2026-27. Salesman opened on Broadway in 1949, starring Lee J. Cobb, Mildred Dunnock, Arthur Kennedy and Cameron Mitchell. winning the Tony, NY Drama Critics Circle Award and Pulitzer Prize. Broadway revivals have starred George C. Scott (1975), Dustin Hoffman (1984), Brian Dennehy (1999), Philip Seymour Hoffman (2012), and Wendell Pierce (2022).

In a statement, Kate Miller, Trustee of the Arthur Miller Literary and Dramatic Property Trust said, “This production promises to channel Salesman's dynamic power in a completely new way. Part of what's so exciting about Joe Mantello’s approach is that he has been immersing himself in our extensive archives and interacting with Arthur's earliest drafts of Salesman—sounding out a deeper understanding of the play's inner workings. It's been wonderful to work with someone who is successfully finding new ways into a play that's been thoroughly studied, taught, and performed by the greatest artists in the world for nearly 80 years. Mantello’s approach will bring Salesman’s impactful and ever relevant commentary on the American dream to modern audiences, and we're so eager to see it come to life."

Mantello added, "It’s been incredibly rewarding to work closely with the Arthur Miller Estate, who’ve so generously opened the archive and encouraged real exploration. Looking through Miller’s early drafts revealed insights into the play’s first impulses—including some surprising theatrical ideas that feel both deeply familiar and unexpectedly modern."

Lane revealed, “In 1995 while rehearsing a Terrence McNally play with Joe, he turned to me one afternoon out of the blue and quietly said, ‘Someday you and I are going to do Death of a Salesman.’ And true to his word, 30 years later, that day has come. I couldn’t be more thrilled and honored to follow in the footsteps of so many great actors in tackling the role of Willy Loman, especially with the brilliant Laurie Metcalf by my side and the remarkable cast Joe is assembling. It’s a privilege to do what is arguably the greatest drama of the twentieth century, and like all great plays it always seems to speak to us anew each time we see it.”

Metcalf said, “Collaboration is everything in the theatre. I am lucky to be going from one exciting project to another with Joe Mantello—and in the very same season. Joe and Nathan are longtime collaborators, and my shared history with—and deep respect for—them makes what might otherwise feel daunting feel familiar, and absolutely thrilling.”

Off-B'way Review: The Seat of Our Pants

Shuler Hensley and Micaela Diamond in
The Seat of Our Pants.
Credit: Joan Marcus

At this year’s Thanksgiving dinner, a young relative expressed her fears the world might be doomed because of AI and a certain lawless occupant of the White House. Us old folks had to reassure her that America and humankind in general has faced worst crises and we’ve come through, if only by the skin of our teeth or the seat of our pants. In similar conversations, friends have expressed the overwhelming fear that freedom and democracy are kaput in this country, that we are headed for becoming another Gilead (the fictional right-wing dystopia of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale), and where can they safely emigrate to? 

These encounters brought home the realization that this is the perfect historic moment for Ethan Lipton’s The Seat of Our Pants (at the Public), a musical adaptation of The Skin of Our Teeth, Thornton Wilder’s crazy comedy of civilization triumphing over countless disasters. Debuting on Broadway in 1942, as America had just entered the Second World War, Wilder’s Pulitzer-Prize winning existential extravaganza imagines a typical modern suburban family, the Antrobuses standing in for all of humanity as they face glaciers, floods, and devastating wars. Characters speak directly to the audience, the fourth wall is broken numerous times, dinosaurs and mammoths romp through living rooms, and Noah’s Ark, the Ice Age and World War III are recreated. It’s insane but it works. As does Lipton’s adaptation which cleverly balances Wilder’s original, slightly dated script with modern sensibility and appropriately off-kilter, satiric songs. (John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Joseph Stein attempted their own musical version of Skin which went through regional productions, readings, and workshops, but never made it to New York.)

Michael Lepore, Micaela Dimaond, 
Ruthie Ann Miles, Geena Quintos, and 
David Ryan Smith in The Seat of Our Pants.
Credit: Joan Marcus

Lipton follows Wilder’s original fairly closely with a few well-placed detours into 2025 territory and his songs strike just the right note of whimsical earnestness. The Antrobus family and their maid Sabina are first seen in their New Jersey home struggling to stay warm as a sheet of ice threatens to obliterate mankind. As they gather around a diminishing fire with homeless refugees representing philosophical, religious and artistic figures, they sing “We were born out of the darkness/And should the darkness call us back/Let us pray we smell a brisket/As we slip into the black.” It’s that specific absurd image of a brisket that brings us into the Wilder mindset of bizarre comedy amidst terror. Director Leigh Silverman stages the goofy goings-on with a serious edge, allowing the comedy to subtly come through and the seriousness to slowly surface.

B'way/Off-B'way Review: Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York); Gruesome Playground Injuries

Sam Tutty and Christiani Pitts in
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).
Credit: Matthew Murphy

A pair of two-character shows with differing depictions of amorous connections have recently opened on and Off-Broadway. One is a charming rom-com musical replete with cliches and plot-holes you could drive a truck through. Despite these flaws, Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) is an engaging and lighthearted romp, perfect for holiday fun. Strangers arrives on Broadway after runs in London and the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass. The other Off-Broadway offering, Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries, has no songs, is much darker, complex and more honest in its portrayal of the dysfunctional relationship of two accident-prone outsiders who come in and out of each others’ lives from elementary school to young adulthood.

The elaborately titled Two Strangers takes the basic romcom trope of two previously unacquainted, dissimilar characters meeting in a tense situation, running into conflict and then into each others’ arms. There’s shopping, sightseeing, sex, heartbreak, and an ambiguous resolution. Luckily, Jim Barne and Kit Buchan’s songs and dialogue are snappy and cute enough to overcome the overly familiar story arcs. Tim Jackson’s slick and smooth direction and choreography works perfectly on Sutra Gilmour’s versatile revolving set, employing set pieces in the shape of luggage of varying sizes to suggest multiple scenes in Gotham. 

Sam Tutty and Christiani Pitts in
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).
Credit: Matthew Murphy

Sam Tutty and Christiani Pitts are bubbly, bright, and multifaceted as the mismatched pair. Tutt exudes boyish enthusiasm and gleeful hopefulness as Dougal, a lonely British bachelor in New York for the first time to attend the wedding of his estranged dad. Pitts is the somewhat depressed Robin, the sister of the bride (much younger than the groom), who has been tasked with shepherding Dougal and performing a million ceremony-related chores including transport of the titular gateau from Flatbush, Brooklyn to Manhattan. Of course, Dougal’s puppyish eagerness and excitement for the Big Apple at first grates against Robin’s cynical veneer, but they eventually wind up canoodling. Several secrets involving ruptured family relationships for the two are gradually revealed, but too many loose threads are left dangling by the end of their brief time together. 

Book Review: Crampton Hodnet

(Downloaded on my Kindle for $6): A few years ago, I read almost all of Barbara Pym's novels and they were like a long cozy tea-time. Crampton Hodnet was written in 1940 and published in 1985 after Pym's death when her work was back in favor and edited by her literary executor. A charming comedy of missed connections and frustrated loves set in the university of North Oxford. There are two main plot threads. Miss Morrow, paid companion to the elderly, domineering Miss Doggett, becomes involved in a strange relationship with curate Mr. Latimer who is boarding with the ladies. Meanwhile, Miss Doggett's nephew, Frances Cleveland, a middle-aged don, has developed an infatuation with his young student Barbara Bird. Romantic illusions give way to practicality as both Mr. Latimer and Mr. Cleveland discover amorous fantasies do not always lead to happy endings. One of my favorite lines is when Miss Morrow observes she enjoys dramatic scenes in novels and films, but they can be embarrassing and awkward in real life. There are two gay characters, a pair of mincing undergraduates who perform impromptu ballet steps in the middle of shops, who are there mainly for comic relief. Miss Doggett was a funny, bossy character given to extravagant hats and snobbish opinions. I felt badly for Miss Morrow whom everyone treats as a sexless appendage to her employer. 

B'way/Off-B'way Review: Chess; Practice

Aaron Tveit (c.) and cast in Chess.
Credit: Matthew Murphy

The big question is does the first Broadway revival of Chess solve the cult musical’s previously impossible problem of the messy book dragging down the magnificent, memorable score? The short answer is no, but it does provide powerhouse singer-actors (Aaron Tveit, Lea Michele, Nicholas Christopher, Hannah Cruz) the opportunity to display their impressive vocal chops and limning skills. Is it worth sitting through the Cuckoo-for-Coco-Puffs script to get to those compelling, stirring songs by Tim Rice and the Abba team of Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus? That’s a matter of taste. It was rough going for me for the show’s nearly three-hour running time, but when the stars opened the mouths to vocalize, I forgot the melodramatic excesses and lame jokes in Danny Strong’s new book.

Chess is one of those shows that just won’t die. It began life as a 1984 concept album like Rice’s collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita. A fully-staged 1986 adaptation played London’s West End for three years, but a highly revised Broadway version closed after only two months in 1988. Ever since, the property has re-emerged in regional revivals, concerts, and recordings. The reason for Chess’s long game is the brilliant score. The sexy, catchy “One Night in Bangkok” was a Top 40 earworm. The sweet ache and passionate regret of “You and I” has always brought me to tears. “I Know Him So Well” is a tender duet expressing reflection over a failed love affair with gorgeous intertwining vocal lines. “Someone Else’s Story” is another beautiful ballad, heartbreaking in its simplicity.

Aaron Tveit and Lea Michele in Chess.
Credit: Matthew Murphy

The crazy story arc which contains these wonderful songs involves chess masters, affairs, the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary, the CIA, and the KGB. Plus this new version by Strong asks us to believe the fate of the entire world hangs on the chess matches—there are two of them, one for each act—with US and Soviet commanders poised to press the nuclear button depending on who emerges victorious. 

Strong has streamlined the crowded storyline (but not enough) and treats the material with a satiric, almost campy tone, with the Arbiter character transformed into a devilish narrator who constantly reminds us we’re watching “ a Cold War musical” and laying out the subtext in case we don’t get it. This narrator device removes us from the romantic-triangle aspects of the story and inserts contemporary groanworthy quips about RFK Jr. and his brainworm, Joseph Biden running for a second term, and just the mention of our current president (Tveit’s character name is Trumper, get it?). It doesn’t help that Bryce Pinkham, who has been a delight in previous musicals such as A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and Holiday Inn, delivers every line like a WWF ring announcer. He’s at full volume and intensity from his first entrance and has nowhere to go but over the top. Michael Mayer’s direction does flow smoothly with David Rockwell’s sleek, ultramodern set and Kevin Adams’ flashy lighting providing for swift, cinematic transitions. Mayer and choreographer Lorin Latarro also effectively employ a top-notch chorus to move the story along and provide background.

Book Review: It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time: The Worst TV Shows in History and Other Things I Wrote

(Read on the Libby App on my phone): Bruce Vilanch's Riotously funny account of the craziest projects he's ever worked does not just cover disastrous TV specials but also movies and Broadway shows. I needed something light and hilarious after plowing through almost 600 pages of Victorian romanticism with A.S. Byatt's Possession. Vilanch was involved with some of the most disastrous turkeys to hit the airwaves--the Star Wars Holiday special, Paul Lynde's Halloween bash, the Brady Bunch Variety series, the Snow White-Rob Lowe Oscars. I cringe because I remember watching all of them like train wrecks you could not turn from. He also includes such floperoos as The Ice Pirates movie, The Village People's legendary bomb Can't Stop the Music, and the Broadway shows Platinum and Comedy Tonight. I laughed out loud many times. (I was annoyed by the numerous footnotes explaining famous show-biz figures I was familiar with such as Jack Benny, Carmen Miranda, Martha Raye, but I guess Vilanch felt they were necessary for the younguns who never heard of them.)

B'way/Off-B'way Review: Oedipus; Archduke

Mark Strong and Lesley Manville in Oedipus.
Credit: Julieta Cervantes

The countdown clock in Hildegard Bechtler’s sterile set for Robert Icke’s explosively dramatic adaptation of Sophocles’ Oedipus was ticking down to the final minutes and I was having trouble breathing. Even though the shattering conclusion of incest and destruction is well known to the civilized world, Icke’s modern version of the classic Greek tragedy is so perfectly paced and infused with such suspense, the tension was palpable. The prideful Oedipus (a dynamic Mark Strong) is about to find out his true identity. The revelation will destroy his burgeoning political career, his family, his very essence, and erase his hubristic pride. The next few moments are a stunning coup de theater in the Broadway season’s most stunning dramatic presentation.

Now at Studio 54, produced in association with Roundabout Theater Company after an Olivier Award-winning run in London, Oedipus is everything theater should be—thought-provoking, emotionally stirring and empathy-evoking. Icke’s adaptation is smart, relevant and eloquently addresses issues afflicting our contemporary body politic. His direction is flawless, skillfully and slowly building the anxiety till the inexorable finale. The placement of that large clock marking the minutes and seconds to the end, and Tom Gibbons’ eerie sound design add to the stress. Strong and Lesley Manville, painstakingly documenting the gradual crumbling of the colossal egos of Oedipus and his wife Jocasta, lead a magnificent cast, each clearly delineating their part in the hero’s downfall and their reactions.  

Mark Strong and Samuel Brewer in Oedipus.
Credit: Julieta Cervantes

Icke whose previous transatlantic triumphs have included a masterful Hamlet and Oresteia as well as an updated version of an obscure Arthur Schnitzler play called The Doctor, has transformed Oedipus from an ancient Greek king into a 2025 progressive political candidate on the cusp of winning an decisive elective victory. We open with a giant video screen (Tal Yarden designed the CNN-style videos) depicting Oedipus’ campaign vows to reform a corrupt government, sounding much like NYC mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, and promising to release his birth certificate, recalling Barack Obama.  

The screen raises and we are in campaign headquarters as the election results are pouring in. Oedipus’ mother Merope (stern and mysterious Anne Reid) urgently requests private time with her son. (We all know where that’s headed.) Meanwhile, Oedipus receives ominous warnings from the blind seer Teiresias (intense Samuel Brewer) that he will murder his father and sleep with his mother. As the protagonist attempts to ferret out the meaning of this riddle, we learn this contemporary Oedipus wants to reform the future. Strong makes Oedipus a complex figure. He revels in the hero’s robust ambitions, but also exposes his tender side. Oedipus compassionately accepts a gay son, promises better living conditions for his constituents, and loves his family. But Icke stresses Sophocles’ theme that the past can determine destiny. 

Book Review: Possession

(Bought at the Strand for $10) A.S. Byatt's dense 550-page novel was heavy going at times. I had reread several passages, especially the thick Victorian poetry. But the story was involving and complex. Two modern scholars find the heretofore unknown letters of a pair of Victorian poets and fall in love themselves. A mystery and a romance. Yet another of the 100 books I'm supposed to read before I die according to the BBC.

Off-B'way Update: Sean Hayes; New Group

Sean Hayes 
will star in The Unknown
at Studio Seaview.

Tony, Emmy and SAG winner Sean Hayes (Will and Grace, Good Night, Oscar) will return to the New York stage in The Unknown, a solo play by Obie winner David Cale (Lillian, Deep in a Dream of You), at Studio Seaview with previews beginning Jan. 31, 2026, opening on Feb. 12 for a limited run through April 12. Tony nominee Leigh Silverman (Suffs, Violet) directs. Hayes plays a blocked writer retreating to an isolated cabin only to discover he may not be alone.

Director Leigh Silverman said, “David Cale is a masterful storyteller and I am thrilled to be embarking on our third collaboration with The Unknown. We are joined by the charismatic, dynamic Sean Hayes, an imaginative design team and visionary producers and I can’t wait to share this enthralling show with audiences.”

Playwright David Cale said, "I'm thrilled by the inspired pairing of the brilliant Sean Hayes with my solo thriller, and to be collaborating again with the great Leigh Silverman."

New Group Season: In other Off-Broadway news, The Group has announced in 2026 season and its new permanent home. The company which has been presenting its work in various venues including the Signature Theater Pershing Center, will now take up residence at the theater at St. Clement's, having signed a 30-year lease with the church. The company will present Preston Cowder's Bocking (summer 2026), Adam Rapp's Jackals (fall 2026) and Elmer Rice's The Adding Machine (winter 2026).

Milo O'Shea and Billie Whitelaw in 
the film version of The Adding Machine (1969)

Bocking is a sex farce about two parents called to the principal's office for their bedroom behavior. Jackals  is set in a pandemic-blighted Middle American city in the not-so-distant future. Single mother Orla must choose between a better life for herself or her 14 year old, whose ticket out may be the only commodity left: his immune system. The Adding Machine, a satirical fantasy, premiered in 1923 and concerns Mr. Zero who is replaced at his accounting job by a machine and acts out violently. Milo O'Shea, Billie Whitelaw, and Phyllis Diller starred in the 1969 movie version. A musical version opened Off-Broadway in 2008.

B'way/Off-B'way Review: The Queen of Versailles; The Baker's Wife

Kristin Chenoweth in The Queen of Versailles.
Credit: Julieta Cervantes

Stephen Schwartz has the distinction of having three shows running simultaneously on New York stages. In addition to the long-running Wicked, Schwartz’s songs are on display in The Queen of Versailles, a new musical based on the documentary film about socialite Jackie Siegel’s quest to build the largest private home in America, and The Baker’s Wife, based on Marcel Pagnol’s film, which closed during out-of-town try-outs before reaching Broadway in 1976. Both scores serve their respective shows well. But the former is a mixed bag of confused storytelling choices and Broadway excess while the latter is an intimate, delightful Off-Broadway charmer.

There are many satisfying elements in Queen of Versailles, not the least of which is Kristin Chenoweth’s magnetic star performance as well as Michael Arden’s fluid, fast-paced direction and Dane Laffrey’s elaborate scenery and clever video design, combining elements of campy bad taste and European chic. The same can be said for Christian Cowan’s century-tripping costumes. But it’s unclear how Schwartz and book-writer Lindsey Ferrentino want us to feel about Chenoweth’s character, the vapid but tenacious Siegel. We learn plenty about her driven struggle to rise above the middle-class status of her hard-working parents (solid Broadway vets Stephen DeRosa and Isabel Keating). She works several jobs in high school, gets an engineering degree and survives an abusive first marriage. But her goals and means of achieving them are questionable at best. 

Kristin Chenoweth and F. Murray Abraham
in The Queen of Versailles.
Credit: Julieta Cervantes

After marrying the decades-older, fabulously wealthy Time Share King David Siegel (F. Murray Abraham, doing his best with a thankless role) and going on a honeymoon in France, Jackie decides to replicate the extravagant Palace at Versailles in her hometown of Orlando, Florida. Why? “Because We Can” she and the company sing in a number celebrating unrestrained consumption. Louis XIV (Pablo David Laucerica) and Marie Antoinette (Cassondra James)—both exhibit lovely voices, BTW—pop up in parallel-time scenes, meant to demonstrate what? That Jackie and David are just as bad as the French aristocracy who ended up guillotined by starving revolutionaries? (Jackie buys an actual guillotine without irony.) But then are we also supposed to admire Jackie’s pluck and determination while simultaneously disdaining her boundless avarice and materialism?