The Determined Dilettante

Sci-fi in December

2025-12-19T18:09:00.003-05:00

'Tis the time to do like the characters do in Troll 2: put on fleece and sweaters! Norwegians know what to do when it's cold, or when mythological giants lay waste to their cities. This movie and four others are in my last sci-fi column of the year.

Tartuffe

2025-12-19T18:07:00.004-05:00

Thus ends the Molière year in NYC — not an official commemoration, mind you, it's just that there were lots of shows by the French playwright for some reason. Despite cringing every time I heard it pronounced "Tartoof," I kinda liked this production.

Best genre movies of 2025

2025-12-19T18:05:00.003-05:00

As one of the four genre columnists at the Times, I was happy to contribute to this piece about our favorites of the year. I picked three sci-fi movies and they're thematically linked.

Theater moments of 2025

2025-12-19T18:03:00.004-05:00

Happy to be part of this group effort about some of our favorite moments of the theatrical year.

Marjorie Prime

2025-12-19T18:02:00.003-05:00

I wasn't a huge fan of Marjorie Prime when I saw it at Playwrights Horizons a decade ago, but this revival on Broadway really worked for me. Here's my review for the Times.

Christine Baranski's Christmas Carol

2025-12-19T18:01:00.002-05:00

Few women have performed A Christmas Carol, and frankly it's stunning it took so long for Christine Baranski to do it. So good! We met up at the Morgan Library and gawked at the manuscript. Read all about it here.

2025 holiday movies

2025-12-19T17:59:00.003-05:00

It was a dark and stormy night in 2019 and I thought, Gosh, Netflix has a lot of Christmas movies this year — what if I reviewed them all? This proved so popular that it's become my own December tradition, though we've expanded it to the major streamers, not just Netflix. Ready for a new batch? Here it is.

Some Tom Stoppard movies

2025-12-19T17:57:00.001-05:00

Another Times assignment I enjoy, even though it's always preceded by bad news, ie we lost someone. In this case it was Tom Stoppard, so I put together a list of movies he wrote or cowrote. Start here and prepare to stream.

My Ten with Jason Schwartzman

2025-12-19T17:54:00.004-05:00

Jason Schwartzman's Top 10 list had to be brought down from 23 items — and one of them was Top 10 lists! I've interviewed a lot of people over the course of my career but it's rare that we end up shooting the breeze the way I did with Schwartzman. Pure delight. Click here for what we ended up with.

The secret life of a ski resort

2025-12-19T17:52:00.002-05:00

OMG this one was so much fun to report! I got to watch the sun rise over Mineral Basin and I got to work with the awesome Ruth Fremson: pure heaven. Click here to discover what happens behind the scenes at Snowbird, in Utah.

James Bundy's culture diary

2025-12-19T17:50:00.002-05:00

I love doing those Culture Diaries for the Times and I suspect it's because I want those people's lives! My latest is with James Bundy from Yale: thataway for the lowdown on one of his recent weeks.

Initiative

2025-12-19T17:48:00.004-05:00

You'd think a five-hour play with extended Dungeons & Dragons scenes would be right up my alley, and you'd be right — in the abstract. As you can tell by my review, Initiative doesn't actually make a good use of its length.

Science fiction for November

2025-12-19T17:29:00.000-05:00

Every time I wonder where I'm going to find five new streaming science-fiction movies for the new installment of my monthly column, it turns out I worried for nothing because they keep coming! Click here for the November 2025 selection.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

2025-12-19T17:25:00.002-05:00

This gem of a musical is getting a fab revival at New World Stages. And by revival I mean that the staging hasn't changed much at all, which is OK because the show is all about the casting and this production more than delivers on that front. If you have family visiting for the holidays, make this one a group outing. Click here for my review.

Chess

2025-12-19T17:17:00.001-05:00

Seeing Chess on Broadway: at long last! I didn't catch the American premiere way back when and my only live exposure to this show was a concert version eons ago — I mention it in my review of the new revival. Obviously my Abba fandom was satiated, but what about everything else? Read on.

Theater from home in November

2025-12-19T16:59:00.001-05:00

Of course I'm really happy the Times has brought back its coverage of theater that people can enjoy from home, either from streaming productions or movies, or listening to audio versions: After all, I started covering this stuff in the Covid era. My selection for November had some great stuff, and I think most are still available.

The Baker's Wife

2025-12-19T16:57:00.001-05:00

Or La Femme du boulanger, as the movie that inspired this musical is known in France (the show, naturally, is completely unknown over there). Classic Stage gave it a revival that didn't send me to the nearest bakery, but it had its moments. Here's my review.

Jump into the Predator universe

2025-12-19T16:55:00.001-05:00

Here's another dump of links to the 647 articles I wrote for the New York Times these past couple of months. OK, maybe not that many but it felt that way. To celebrate the release of Predator: Badlands, I wrote an explainer to that franchise — not the hippest, but one of my favorites.

Purple Rain

2025-12-07T12:59:00.000-05:00

I went to Minneapolis to check out the stage version of Purple Rain. There were many issues but the one that sticks in my craw a month after seeing the show is that Wendy and Lisa quit the Revolution and join Apollonia 6, which becomes just the Six. Here's my review.

Three plays about Jewish identity

2025-12-07T12:56:00.002-05:00

Some shows have themes that interestingly dovetailed last month, and I covered them in a critic's notebook: Hannah Senesh, Playing Shylock and Jewish Plot.

Messy White Gays

2025-12-07T12:54:00.003-05:00

I'm a Drew Droege fan but his new one didn't quite work for me. Thataway for my review.

Romy and Michele The Musical

2025-12-07T12:53:00.002-05:00

The curse of Stage 42, formerly known as Little Shubert, forever known as That Barn on the Corner of W. 42nd St and Dyer Ave, has struck again: This show is already gone — but my review is still up, of course.

Off and Off Off Broadway roundup

2025-12-07T12:50:00.004-05:00

So. Much. To. See! Here was my list for November, with many still playing.

Bat Boy The Musical

2025-12-07T12:49:00.002-05:00

What a treat this Encores! revival was! Could Kerry Butler be any more of a national treasure? Click here for my review.

Liberation

2025-12-07T12:48:00.001-05:00

I loved Bess Wohl's Liberation when it opened Off Broadway earlier this year, and I loved it just as much when it transferred. Its grosses aren't great right now but the upside is that you can probably score affordable tickets to this terrific production. Here's my review.