In a Broadway fall season dominated by musicals, it was nice to see two new straight plays sneak in before the end of the year. Both come from playwrights new to Broadway; both are relatively modest productions without big-name stars (though with several familiar stage vets, including Mare Winningham, Bill Irwin, and Jessica Hecht); and … Continue reading Can Two Modest Straight Plays Succeed on Broadway? One Should
Critic unbound
10 Reasons Not to Despair About Trump’s Second Term
There wasn’t much talk of politics at my Thanksgiving dinner. Almost everyone there (like-minded Trump haters all) was simply too bummed out by the election to want to dwell on it. That left me to try to look at the (relatively) bright side. Yes, another four years of Trump madness is going to be awful … Continue reading 10 Reasons Not to Despair About Trump’s Second Term
Election Nerves: Could Kamala Have Done Better?
Like a lot of Democrats, I’m getting nervous, as the polls show the Presidential race tightening to a virtual dead heat, just a week away from the election. What’s so dismaying is that Donald Trump is narrowing the gap even as his rhetoric grows more bizarre, delusional, and dangerous by the day — from Haitian immigrants … Continue reading Election Nerves: Could Kamala Have Done Better?
Back to the ’70s, Sweet and Sour
Last week I finished up my most concentrated siege of moviegoing of the year: the Hamptons International Film Festival, an 11-day showcase for international festival winners, Hollywood Oscar hopefuls, and a potpourri of indie features and documentaries, both foreign and domestic. I should probably rave here about my favorite film of the festival: Emilia Perez, a … Continue reading Back to the ’70s, Sweet and Sour
The ‘Hills of California’ Challenge
A sheepish confession: I often have a tough time understanding heavy British accents onstage. The polished, generically English “BBC accent” — no problem. But rapid-fire dialogue in the working-class regional accents of Yorkshire, the Midlands, Scotland — I am surely not the only American theatergoer with decent hearing who has trouble deciphering it from my mid-orchestra … Continue reading The ‘Hills of California’ Challenge
The Real Victim of Trump’s Cemetery Visit
The controversy over Donald Trump’s visit to Arlington National Cemetery last week has had more staying power than I could have imagined. But amid the ruckus over the former President’s attempt to use the graves of fallen soldiers as the backdrop for a campaign video, one ugly aspect of the incident has been lost in … Continue reading The Real Victim of Trump’s Cemetery Visit
Four Days of Democrats
Watching the Democratic National Convention this week was both an inspiring and frustrating experience. On the one hand, impressively, the party really got its messaging act together, the key themes driven home by speaker after speaker: Democrats are the party of “freedom” (instead of democracy); of the future, not the past; of patriotism; and, yes, … Continue reading Four Days of Democrats
Bob Newhart, Before the Sitcoms
Bob Newhart, who died this week at 94, had a long enough career that nearly every generation could conjure up fond memories of him. He was the star of two long-running TV sitcoms, one in the '70s and another in the '80s; a ubiquitous presence on TV talk and variety shows for decades; a revered … Continue reading Bob Newhart, Before the Sitcoms
Is Vegas Still a Great Entertainment Town?
Las Vegas has been on a roll lately. The gambling-and-entertainment capital is suddenly the hottest sports town in America: home to the former Oakland Raiders in football, soon the Oakland A’s in baseball, site of this year's Super Bowl, as well as the Las Vegas Grand Prix, a much hyped Formula 1 race along the … Continue reading Is Vegas Still a Great Entertainment Town?
The Campaign Ad That Could Defeat Trump
Donald Trump’s conviction in the New York “hush money” trial has prompted a big debate among Democrats. Should the Biden campaign lean into the conviction, hammering in the point that, for the first time, Americans may be about to elect a convicted felon as President? Or should they soft-pedal Trump’s legal woes (as they did … Continue reading The Campaign Ad That Could Defeat Trump
Richard Zoglin 