The Ketchum, Idaho, library is one of my new favorite places in the world. #library

Flying Southwest for the first time since the change to assigned seats and they’re acting like we’re all new to that system: “your group number is on your boarding pass,” “look for the seat number that’s on your pass.” Guys, we know how it works!

Aside from every other issue this appalling account raises, it makes me wonder — as I have for months — how worried the NYC theater ecosystem in particular is about the international audience and artists from abroad choosing not to risk the trip and staying home. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Between the sabotaging of the Kennedy Center and the sabotaging of arts coverage at WaPo, the Washington, DC, theater scene is in turmoil. We talked to the good folks at DC Theater Arts to get an idea of what's going on. marksvincentelli.substack.com/p/dc-theater...

Excellent Rachel Donadio article about Malaparte in @nybooks.com

Oh, “Ponies,” you take place early 1977 — why do you have a character put on Blondie’s “Hanging on the Telephone,” which came out in 1978?

Tonight: Heartbeat Opera's take on Massenet's "Manon," with a book adapted by Jacob Ashworth and Rory Pelsue, and new arrangements by Dan Schlosberg — who is so busy, I have no idea when he sleeps. www.heartbeatopera.org/manon

The pants that Emporio Armani designed for the Italian team are the single ugliest garment at the 2026 Olympics: baggy, pleated cargo horrors beamed from the darkest recesses of the 1990s. Not a single athlete looks good in them.

If you’re casually going to describe some people as “trailer trash” in a fancy magazine, maybe don’t. Besides, the real trash these days has many mansions and yachts.

Raúl Esparza is returning to Broadway next season in "Galileo" — with a score cowritten by Zoe Sarnak, whom I profiled a few months ago: www.nytimes.com/2024/08/27/t...

As an avid follower of alpine ski racing all season long, I welcome all the people who tune in once every four years! AMA and I’ll do my best to explain. Like, Super G and GS? Whaaa?

Where are my #biathlon peeps here? Come on, our time is now!

One thing about the Lindsey Vonn saga: it’s brought out people (most of them, it must be said, men) who know nothing about ski racing yet feel they can pontificate about it at will.

NBC’s Snoop-Olympics connection is way past its expiration date. That dude starting a “USA! USA!” chant during the opening ceremony — read the room!

Thrilled to join the NY Times team covering the Olympics' opening ceremony! I'll have one eye on the broadcast and the other on my laptop. How can anything go wrong? www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/w...

In short: the cheap, convenient option disappears. What else is new? www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/b...

I just rewatched William Wyler's Detective Story--it's based on a 1949 Sidney Kingsley play that ran for 15 months on Broadway with, insanely, a cast of 34. NY really needs an Encores series devoted to unrevivable plays, which this is, even though it basically invented the police-precinct TV drama.

Just because there were a lot of cooks does not mean that there were too many! 10 composers, 2 directors, 1 librettist, 4 singers, 1 Justin Vivian Bond: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/a...

Overheard from counter neighbors at the diner, as one leaves: - have a good day - you know I won’t.

Nigella Lawson is replacing Prue Leith on Great British Baking Show. My first thought: can’t wait for her to take Paul Hollywood down a few notches. This entirely unremarkable guy’s ego has ballooned the past few seasons.

I contributed an early jam to this fab team effort. But really, don’t you want to see what Mandy Patinkin and Michael R. Jackson picked? www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/a...

The high-brow version of those crazy mashups that used to attract interest at the Fringe: a hybrid of "Electra" and "Persona" starring Cate Blanchett, Nina Hoss and Ella Lily Hyland. "Electrona"? "Perectra"? Date TBA at the National Theater, so we may be able to able to eventually stream it.

75 mns is the new 90 mns at the theater.

Susannah Flood is our guest on the podcast, talking about "Liberation" (go see it if you haven't yet!), growing up with acting teachers as parents, and playing the main character's mom in Kristen Stewart's directorial debut, "The Chronology of Water." marksvincentelli.substack.com/p/liberation...

“What to Wear” at BAM was all that: 70 minutes of pure giddy joy. The show to beat for the rest of the year. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/a...

Many of the commenters deride tennis as a sport for the rich but reality is different. In NYC an adult permit for the city courts is $100/season for unlimited play and the gear is relatively cheap. There are other barriers, as with most sports, but it's not exclusive. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/w...

Gwar takes on "Pink Pony Club" and it feels 100% right because they do it completely straightforwardly, albeit Gwarified. youtu.be/I5XR48KLE8I

I cannot wait to see this show! Side note: as a speaker of English as a second language, I'm happy with the pun I got in there. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/a...

Incredible to think America is now a place where horrific bullshit like this can be spoken out loud and broadcast nationwide rather than locked away in some shameful, private corner of the brain.

Keeping up with the Shakespeare Industrial Complex: Before Maggie O'Farrell published "Hamnet" in 2020, there was a 2017 show called "Hamnet" from the Dead Centre company, and now there's a stage adaptation of the "Hamnet" book from Lolita Chakrabarti about to hit major houses around the US.

Deborah Warner as the new artistic director of the Park Avenue Armory? YES!!!!!

Tessa Thompson and Adrien Brody making their Broadway debut together in March, in a new play directed by David Cromer? Color me intrigued!

We talked experimental with Under the Radar founder Mark Russell. Obvs we brought up Mamdani. Make sure you stay for the bit where I mention the only show that ever made me feel like I had to run for my life, even though rationally I knew I was safe. marksvincentelli.substack.com/p/who-says-t...

If you grandstand about canceling your NYT subscription only to ask for gift links, you still want to read the publication you boast about boycotting. At least be consistent. Not to mention that us freelancers need to be paid somehow.

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???