Narrator: He has lost control of the House

It's a problem, not a hoax.

"Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power." -Jack Smith

Over the past few months, American Theatre surveyed industry workers, leaders, and observers for the plays and musicals that have shaped theatre in the U.S. in the 21st century. We've compiled the results into 50 remarkable titles. Which titles would you include on your list?

In my furious revulsion at what Trump said about Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, I missed that it was Michele who took the flattering cover photo of Trump for his book, The Art of the Deal. Impossibly, this makes his reaction even worse.

BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT

NEW: Jack Smith will make his case to Congress today while navigating a labyrinth of secrecy rules, laws and restrictions — and a room full of Republican lawmakers eager to trip him up and incriminate him. w/ @Hailey_Fuchs www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

“.. Trump was inheriting an economy that was on a path toward what he might have called a big, beautiful soft landing.” His tariffs “reversed that momentum.” @bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Bingo

It occurs to me that threatening people who do not care about history with, in fact, history- as in how they will be viewed as the literal devil (@scotus GOP etc) doesn’t work because these folks do not posses critical thinking to realize 1. They will eventually pass away 2. People write stuff down

Not for nothing but federal law contains several statutory provisions that restrict, if not outright prohibit, this unilateral action by the senile dementia patient in the Oval. War Powers Act. War Crimes Act. Anti-Piracy Act. Neutrality Act. All still on the books.

This is great

AOC: I want to remind you where the real crime is. It's in the oligarchs taking $170 billion of our money from health care and food assistance and public programs and taking that and funneling it into a secret police program.

Water is wet too…

Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, just admitted his prosecutions were revenge. It’s all bullshit.

WHO AMONG US hasn't sat down 11 times with a journalist and a tape recorder only to be shocked that they'd publish stuff we talked about?

Susie Wiles is one of the most brilliant political operators in the business, having guided DeSantis and then Trump to significant victories, and the idea that she doesn't know how 'on the record' worked is like saying a pilot doesn't know how to land a plane.

🚨BREAKING: The Trump administration escalated its effort to punish a sitting U.S. senator for protected political speech Monday, formally converting the Pentagon’s review of Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) into an official Command Investigation under military law. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

We say goodbye to actor, filmmaker and activist Rob Reiner. A dedicated storyteller with sincerity that imbued his prolific work and the causes he believed in, Reiner’s heartfelt portrayal of the human condition reminds us of the power of film and its abilities to stay with us.

RIP Michele Singer Reiner & Rob Reiner- your memories will always be those of a blessing

If you know folks in LA who are interested in making performances about food insecurity in a fun and low pressure workshop, please send them to me! This is also a great way for creative folks who need to increase their access to food to get a morning jumpstart and some groceries!

We do not have Universal Healthcare- we don’t have the non redacted Epstein Files, we have a half open side of The White House, we have illegally separated families and deported citizens, and we put American farmers out of business….

Less than 48 hours after the deadly attack at Sydney's Bondi Beach that left more than a dozen dead, Australian authorities announced proposals for sweeping new gun laws. n.pr/48UTa7g

After 15 years, Republicans have two weeks to produce a health care plan. They’ve had this entire year to do something, but instead they prioritized tax goodies for billionaires and slashing Medicaid and SNAP.

When Rob Reiner was on his all-time epic run at the start of his career, he had an opportunity to read a script that was looking for a production partner, and he lost his mind for it. He decided Castle Rock had to have it, no matter what.

There was a lot of heat on this project, and Rob was determined to direct it. He wanted Tom Cruise to star. This would have been coming off of A FEW GOOD MEN. They offered the screenwriter the moon, but there was a hitch: the writer wanted to direct his own script.

Castle Rock offered the writer a two-picture blind deal if he'd step aside and let Rob direct, but the writer had purchased the book his script was based on and sat on it for years. He said there was no way. He had to direct it.

Reiner thought about and in the end said, "We have to make this film." They agreed to let the writer direct the film and Rob would just be a producer on it. Which is how Frank Darabont ended up directing THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION.

Rob had to pick another project, even though he had his heart set on SHAWSHANK. He went with an adaptation of a book by his old friend Alan Zweibel. Yes, that's right. He made NORTH instead of SHAWSHANK.

By the time they finished NORTH, everyone in town knew there were problems. I was at the first test screening of the film and it was a disaster. Legendary. A veritable waterfall of walkouts. It was catastrophic for Reiner as a director.

A week later, Darabont had to show Reiner the first cut of SHAWSHANK, and he was terrified. He felt like there was no way it would end well. "All he's going to see is the film he could have made instead and everything I did wrong."

The day of the screening, Rob showed up to watch the film. It was just him in a room by himself, and Frank standing in the back, absolutely sick to his stomach with fear. Rob watched the whole thing without reacting at all. Silent. Frank just watched his back, sure it was a disaster.

The movie ends, Rob stands up, and Frank braces himself for the double-barreled shotgun blast. Rob walks up, tears all over his face, and says, quietly, "It's the best film Castle Rock has ever released. Good work." And then he left. Class. Fucking. Act. Rob Reiner was a capital-M Mensch. #RIP

The cultural impact of Rob Reiner cannot be understated. Legend isn't big enough a word. It goes to 11. You can't handle the truth. As you wish. I'll have what she's having. I'm your number one fan. You guys wanna see a dead body? The very idea of a bucket list. The West Wing. All from his movies.

Rob Reiner: I'm going to make a coming of age drama, a fantasy adventure story, a romantic comedy, a psychological horror and then a courtroom drama. Us: Across your entire career? Reiner: In a 6 year period. Us: That sounds- Reiner: -Each one will be arguably the best movie in that genre.

Nothing complicated or subtle about what's happening here

Q: Is an (ACA)extension with abortion restrictions better than no extension at all #AOC: “An extension with abortion restrictions kills women — I will not accept women & the lives of women as some political cost for them being able to extend these things — Reproductive care is health care — Period”

Horrified by the terrorist attack in Australia targeting Jewish people celebrating the first night of Hanukkah. Antisemitism has no place in this world. As so many light their candles tonight, we’ll come together to pray for a future where the light will triumph over darkness.

12 dead at a mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach.💔 A 43-year-old father of two, Ahmed al Ahmed, snuck up & tackled a gunman to disarm him. Ahmed was shot twice. Both Jewish & Muslim faiths teach that “to save one life is to save all humanity.” Let us hold fast to our humanity.❤️

Two horrific shootings- one in Bondi, one at Brown University- this is a sickness. My thoughts are with the Victims and their Families, the Witnesses who ran for their lives…guns should not be readily available- ever.

Louder for the Hats!

I talk to Lear deBessonet and Maria Goyanes, the first (!) women to run Lincoln Center Theater about the tough business of producing theatre in this economy.

Racism. The answer is racism.

Trump appears 4 times in newly released Epstein photos released by House Democrats. 12/12/2025

😞

Ramirez to Noem: "You lied on the record and you lied to members of this committee. You violated court orders by not turning around deportation flights bound for El Salvador where we know that hundreds of people under your leadership reported they were raped, beaten, and nearly died."

MAGAZINER: How many veterans have you deported? NOEM: We haven't deported veterans MAGAZINER: We are now joined on Zoom by a combat veteran you deported to Korea