Let's Discuss ... The Best Theater of the Year
New York magazine|December 18, 2023
Sara Holdren and Jackson McHenry saw a lot of excellent pandemic-adjacent plays-but also exhilarating productions about a fractious 1970s rock band, a six-foot vagina, and the awfulness of test prep.
Let's Discuss ... The Best Theater of the Year

SARA HOLDREN: I came back to this job in August, moving up from Virginia, and feel a little bit like Thomas Jefferson-"What'd I miss?"

JACKSON MCHENRY: In the spring, because of the Tony season, there were a lot of Broadway musical revivals-Parade, Sweeney Todd, Camelot-with a "We're back from the pandemic, we're going big" bent. With Camelot, I guess we learned that Aaron Sorkin's maybe not the one to revise your musical. I did like Parade and Sweeney a lot. But the show that hit me hardest was the Encores! revival of The Light in the Piazza with Ruthie Ann Miles. It was relatively straightforward, except cast with an Asian American mother and daughter, which adds a new tension to a story about encountering all these European depictions of beauty. But there was a simple clarity to Miles's performance that was heartbreaking.

SARA: I do feel like I've noticed quite a few "modern classics" reappearing, like Brian Friel's Translations at the Irish Rep. It was like you're describing with Piazza: straightforward, beautifully acted, deeply felt but not schmaltzy. Really, it's been a great season for Irish playwrights overall.

JACKSON: You really liked the new Waiting for Godot, too.

SARA: And Druido'Casey! Both felt like exciting opportunities to revisit brilliant plays that aren't ancient and being torn apart or heavily riffed on and that also aren't brand new and attempting to speak exclusively to this moment. Absurdist comedy as a response to violence, to fascism, to fear: It's always confused me that we don't write more of this kind of material in America, given our own horror show.

Denne historien er fra December 18, 2023-utgaven av New York magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra December 18, 2023-utgaven av New York magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA NEW YORK MAGAZINESe alt
Trapped in Time
New York magazine

Trapped in Time

A woman relives the same day in a stunning Danish novel.

time-read
6 mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
Polyphonic City
New York magazine

Polyphonic City

A SOFT, SHIMMERING beauty permeates the images of Mumbai that open Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light. For all the nighttime bustle on display-the heave of people, the constant activity and chaos-Kapadia shoots with a flair for the illusory.

time-read
3 mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
Lear at the Fountain of Youth
New York magazine

Lear at the Fountain of Youth

Kenneth Branagh's production is nipped, tucked, and facile.

time-read
5 mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
A Belfast Lad Goes Home
New York magazine

A Belfast Lad Goes Home

After playing some iconic Americans, Anthony Boyle is a beloved IRA commander in a riveting new series about the Troubles.

time-read
5 mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
The Pluck of the Irish
New York magazine

The Pluck of the Irish

Artists from the Indiana-size island continue to dominate popular culture. Online, they've gained a rep as the \"good Europeans.\"

time-read
8 mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
Houston's on Houston
New York magazine

Houston's on Houston

The Corner Store is like an upscale chain for downtown scene-chasers.

time-read
3 mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
A Brownstone That's Pink Inside
New York magazine

A Brownstone That's Pink Inside

Artist Vivian Reiss's Murray Hill house of whimsy.

time-read
3 mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
These Jeans Made Me Gay
New York magazine

These Jeans Made Me Gay

The Citizens of Humanity Horseshoe pants complete my queer style.

time-read
2 mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
Manic, STONED, Throttle, No Brakes
New York magazine

Manic, STONED, Throttle, No Brakes

Less than six months after her Gagosian sölu show, the artist JAMIAN JULIANO-VILLAND lost her gallery and all her money and was preparing for an exhibition with two the biggest living American artists.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024
WHO EVER THOUGHT THAT BRIGHT PINK MEAT THAT LASTS FOR WEEKS WAS A GOOD IDEA?
New York magazine

WHO EVER THOUGHT THAT BRIGHT PINK MEAT THAT LASTS FOR WEEKS WAS A GOOD IDEA?

Deli Meat Is Rotten

time-read
10+ mins  |
Nov 18-Dec 1, 2024