After knowing John Waters for 35 years, Werner Herzog turned to his wife and said "I have a feeling this man is gay." youtu.be/m9P_sxaaMJE

This request came in today: 1) google me and it’ll take about 5 seconds to find out that I’m in NYC 2) and that I don’t cover movie awards (or very much film in general) 3) wait, you’re writing on Friday for Monday 7am on set? 4) oh, you’re with CBS News? Bwahahaha! Hard pass.

Handing Out Free Tickets, Mamdani Says Theater Should Not Be ‘a Luxury’ www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/t...

BIG: this morning, Mayor Mamdani and Under the Radar announced a new initiative to give out 1,500 free festival tickets! To have someone at City Hall who supports not just theater but non-commercial, often experimental performance blows my mind.

This new Sally Wainwright show is absolutely wonderful. Deliciously written and ace cast. Rosalie Craig played Bobbie in the gender-reversed "Company" in London and here she stampedes all over Hole's "Violet." Plus Joanna Scanlan and Tamsin Greig? Heaven. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/a...

Vaping is bad for you? Don’t worry, cigarettes are back!

I don’t wanna. I don’t think so.

As Under the Radar gets under way, you may want to (re)listen to our conversation with Jay Wegman of NYU Skirball, who talked about the challenges of presenting demanding live performance, especially from abroad, in New York: marksvincentelli.substack.com/p/listen-to-...

Stop whatever you’re doing and watch this! This article reminds me of the good things in this country: the creativity and the resilience, the joy of performance. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/a...

I won't mind if I never hear the word "Westeros" ever again.

"What a year for the ultra wealthy. The world’s 500 richest people added a record $2.2 trillion to their collective fortunes in 2025’s… booming markets, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. And about a quarter of this year’s gains went to just eight billionaires.” — Bloomberg Morning Brief

1. I had a nutty year freelancing for the NY Times, clocking in close to 120 bylines in every section from the Arts pages (except for…art) and my first A1 story. Here are some favorites for various reasons, from nice black-metal dudes to the best American clown to Initials B.B.

I once called William Klein on the phone to interview him about his doc “The French.” He said “Who are you? Go fuck yourself” and hung up.

I don’t think I’ve ever muttered “WTF” to myself as much as I have watching S5 of “Stranger Things.” There wasn’t ever a grand master plan: they just scrambled as they went along.

What I always hear: “We can’t afford to pay our workers more than $15 an hour.” What I never hear: “We can’t afford to pay our CEO millions of dollars a year.” Funny how that works.

Who are these women Evan Dando almost missed Glastonbury 1995 for???

This made me tear up.

My first A1! Old-school thrill for sure.

Good tips for reading and watching in that article. Glad Kim Robinson’s “New York 2140” got a nod. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/a...

Brigitte Bardot: my appreciation for The New York Times www.nytimes.com/2025/12/28/a...

Dean Martin, born Dino Paul Crocetti, son of Italian immigrant Gaetano Crocetti Frank Sinatra, son of Italian immigrants Antonino Sinatra and Natalina Garavanta Merry Christmas to everyone except Stephen Miller and his enablers and handlers

Word! youtu.be/i-KPCVtJWI4

I was sitting next to Gia Kourlas at the performance where a Rockette fell in the line. When it happened, we turned to each other, eyes wide in disbelief. That poor dancer can't have gotten any sleep that night. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/22/a...

That. asteriskmag.com/issues/12-bo...

In our latest episode, @petermarksdrama.bsky.social and I discussed his recent trip to a theater festival in Krakow, Tom Stoppard and some of our favorite shows of the year. marksvincentelli.substack.com/p/with-stopp...

Hard no to this: French publisher Harlequin has told translators that their work will now be done by AI. They can ‘revise’ AI translations at much lower rate. It’s a subsidiary of Harper Collins so treat this as a test for rollout elsewhere

Lorenz Hart is having a moment (“Blue Moon”) so perfect timing for a concert version of “The Boys From Syracuse,” which is among my favorite musicals: not a bad or even average song in there! A director with a flair for comedy could easily do a full staging with last night’s cast.

It's tough finding a way between delivering what one thinks audiences want and what one thinks artists want. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/15/t...

In 2022 I reviewed “Titanique” in a cramped basement venue; next spring it’s opening on Broadway. Can’t say I saw that plot twist coming. www.nytimes.com/2022/06/28/t...

Institutions with a purported mission to spread knowledge are actively attacking their audience’s brains

Ours (couple) are doubling next year.

FYI this is an immediate block. You’re under no obligation to pay for my or anyone else’s work, but you won’t come onto my feed to complain about us earning a living.

I was one of those people in a naturalization ceremony. We all had to work hard for it.

I’m of two minds about this “male loneliness crisis” or whatever. On one hand it’s pretty clear that broken social relations (community, romantic, whatever) is a social problem. On the other hand dawg you can’t sit in the house unwashed gaming with fascists and expect to get any play from women.

Green Symphony is “temporarily closed”? Whyyyyyyy?!?

Still the best stress-buster when skiing isn’t available.

One of the things I love about the “Jinkx and Dela Holiday Show” is that they could do it in a bar pretty much as is.

Just what the doctor ordered.

7th year doing a roundup of holiday movies for the Times, which is my own tradition now: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/m...

I keep getting scam emails from people purporting to be from reading groups that want to discuss my books, but the latest one took the cake: a request from the Silverlake Book Club written in French! Mind you, that club has an alert about scammers on its page: www.meetup.com/silverlake-b...

When did the US become run by an army of Claude Whelans from "Slow Horses"?

A Top 10 that's in the Top 10 of Top 10s. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/m...

Artists remember Tom Stoppard. By Jesse Green and Michael Paulson, with one contribution from me. (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/t...

Right back to the Gilded Age, without the fig leaf of civic creation of libraries. www.aaronrenn.com/p/the-rich-t...

One of the most fun stories I've ever worked on! And it was a privilege to team up with the amazing photographer Ruth Fremson. I'll never forget watching the sun rise over Mineral Basin. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/t...

Nice fall day in NYC, playing this on a loop youtu.be/5DnH1K6Hins

Our health insurance premiums are doubling next year. Thanks to everyone who caved during the shutdown — my thoughts are with you.

I have two entries in this list — go have a look, and a listen!

On our latest podcast, @petermarksdrama.bsky.social and I talked to Zayd Ayers Dohrn about growing up underground, political theater and of course his musical with Tom Morello, “Revolution(s)” marksvincentelli.substack.com/p/zayd-ayers...