NYT critic at large. On comedy column. Books on David Letterman and 1970s horror. Podcast on Martin Amis.
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Love this beautiful essay by my old pal @mishacollins which teaches you how to steal from grocery stores, preaches the gospel of food and also offer a counterpoint to my case for showing kids scary movies. parenting.nytimes.com/feedin…
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After 15 years, Ellen is returning to standup. I profiled her. It was eventful. nytimes.com/2018/12/12/arts/…
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Someone just sent me this Newsweek humor column written by Eddie Murphy at 21. It’s blowing my mind.
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New column fresh off the presses: Jaboukie Young-White. nytimes.com/2019/01/16/arts/…
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Congrats to my old friend finishing 12 years on Supernatural with a bang. He was sure it would get ignored because of the election. But it's trending. Ha!
#Supernatural Tonight, watching Cas talk to Dean, I got lost in the story and forgot for a moment that I'm the one who plays that angel and I thought, "He's how I want to be. He's openhearted and he's selfless and he's true."
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Bad news: "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" on Broadway is cancelled. Good news: If you are cooped up with someone, there's a decent chance a modern version of it is going on in your place right now. So standing ovation!!!
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South Korea, which had over 7K people infected and 50 die, has had three straight days of decline, without any lockdown of cities. What are they doing? Free and easy testing, actual drive-thrus. I don't know anyone tested here. cnn.com/2020/03/09/asia/sout…
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Loved Russian Doll, superb story/style, funny performances, go watch it. Since it’s a puzzle piece drama with magical realistic touches, it invites crazy grand unified theories – and I have one! Spoilers and a loooooong thread ahead. Feel free to mute. 1/
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I wrote about Conan O’Brien’s comedy for comedy sake. nytimes.com/2017/11/05/arts/…
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If you must level critics with righteous hatred, do it over a panned artist, an overlooked indie film, an unfairly treated juggler, ANYTHING but a comic book movie.
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New column: Dave Attell, quintessential club comic. nytimes.com/2019/03/20/arts/…
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Bob Newhart, a comedy all-timer, turns 90 tomorrow, so I paid him a visit. He told me jokes, Carson stories and a theory on the afterlife. nytimes.com/2019/09/04/arts/…
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Kobe Bryant died on January 26. On that day, the NYT published three (very scary) stories about the coronavirus.
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“Why can’t we just Louis go back to writing jokes about how men are the gravest threat to the safety of women? But he doesn’t just write jokes. He walks the walk.” Ted Alexandro, in a killer set on Cosby, CK and even the Cellar audience he’s talking to. piped.video/watch?v=oS3EPJJH…
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Got to hand it to Michael Moore though: His entire show felt like an attempt to bait Trump into that tweet. Bravo, dude.
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Two perhaps opposing thoughts: 1) Great actor, seems like a good fit 2) Maisel, Shiva Baby, now this. Hard to ignore that Jewish women are not getting cast for these roles.
And SCOOP: Kathryn Hahn to Play Comedy Icon Joan Rivers in ‘The Comeback Girl,’ a Limited Series in the Works at Showtime (EXCLUSIVE) variety.com/2021/tv/news/kat…
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I support Jeremy O Harris being snotty about TV. Playwrights used to be like this all the time. It's a glorious tradition.
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On the recent Blanchett episode of WTF, Marc Maron was talking about Lynn Shelton getting sick, taking her to get tested. She was negative. She directed episodes of so many of your favorite things. And in her prime. Horrible.
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I wrote about the legacy of Norm. nytimes.com/2021/09/15/arts/…
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On Comedy: Janeane Garofalo, Gen X and rethinking selling out.
nytimes.com/2022/07/14/movie…
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RIP Robert Orben. Has to be only person to write jokes for Jack Paar, Dick Gregory, Red Skelton, Steve Martin, Joan Rivers, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan.
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Personal News: I've gotten a haircut since the photo was taken. nytco.com/press/jason-zinoma…
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I wrote about Louie Anderson, Bob Saget and the end of an era. nytimes.com/2022/01/21/arts/…
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Being on the receiving end of this sucks, so i sympathize. But he is wrong. And ITS subtext is: All critics want to be artists. They don't. Use your imagination to consider that some people have different goals in life than you.
Christopher McQuarrie on meeting the critic who wrote the worst review of his career: “All angry, bitter, nasty criticisms have the same subtext: ‘You squandered an opportunity that should have been mine.’ I can’t say criticism never bothered me again." bit.ly/2lWTgEq
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"I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask where they're going and hook up with them later" Mitch Hedberg
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This is shocking and terribly sad. A great critic and irreplaceable champion of the theater, the rare national critic who regularly covered regional houses all over the US. Also, just far kinder and more generous online than anyone else. RIP Terry Teachout wsj.com/articles/terry-teach…
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Grim news. We're watching the slow death of large branches of art criticism. The worst part is the hardest hit (local, live arts) are the ones that spotlight work that need press the most. washingtonpost.com/media/202…
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Big theater news: Goodman Theater/Showtime is going to stream its 1999 production of Death of a Salesman with Brian Dennehy. This is the greatest version I've seen. A surprise gift to revisit it. Oct 21.
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In April, Patton Oswalt’s wife died. Coping with grief, he returns to stand-up. My story. nytimes.com/2016/10/30/arts/…
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When you tell your grandchildren about this day, remember to explain to them that John Mulaney was first.
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Asked production person in front of trailers by my kid's school what was filming. She said Girls5eva. I turned to my daughter and said "Good show." Walking away, I realized the production person was, pretty sure, Sara Bareilles. 1/
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I wrote a bit about Jerry Stiller. nytimes.com/2020/05/11/arts/…
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I profiled Leslie Jones, post SNL. nytimes.com/2020/01/16/arts/…
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Really recommend watching Chris Rock on Arsenio Hall Show for view of his great pre-SNL standup. And then when he sits down for the interview, has a host ever cut to commercial faster after freaking out over something a guest said? piped.video/watch?v=y8fDpagp…
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Either there are a ton of young comics doing Kate Berlant impressions now or Kate Berlant was just the first comic I saw doing Kate Berlant-like moves so it seems like I see imitators every time i go to a BK show when in fact Kate Berlant has been here since the dawn of time.
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Wind of Change podcast is the best thing in pop culture right now. The way it ping-pongs between old hair metal and topical CIA spy stuff, between making you believe in conspiracies and loathe them, is incredible. It captures and disrupts your trust like great film noir.
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The truth is that Toni Collette gave the most Oscar-winningy performance of the year and she won’t even get nominated because it was in a horror film.
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I truly enjoyed writing this piece on Bobcat Goldthwait, a fascinating guy whose 80s standup is much better than you remember it. nytimes.com/2018/07/10/arts/…
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RIP Olympia Dukakis. NYT obit. nytimes.com/2021/05/01/movie…
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People love to shit on THE MEDIA. But what if the media covered it early, often and responsibly and we just didn't read it or pay enough attention. Is there an ombudsman for that?
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Should Elayne Boosler be in the comedy canon? My new column. nytimes.com/2018/09/30/arts/…
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The Creek & the Cave in Queens will not reopen. That's the first NY comedy club to become a casualty of the pandemic. It punched above its weight for years. RIP.
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The three Letterman children write a detailed, beautiful obituary for their mother. indystar.com/story/entertain…
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My 7 year old was disappointed by "The Bad News Bears" because she thought it was going to be about bear journalists who only deliver bad news.
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I wrote about the comedy of Bob Dylan, who turns 80 today. nytimes.com/2021/05/24/arts/…
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Last night, I saw Company the best possible way -- across the aisle from Lea DeLaria cackling at every Patti LuPone joke, giving a round of applause BEFORE Ladies who Lunch.
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Comedy Column: Will Grace Helbig become the only female talk show host on TV? If so, Is that a step down? "nytimes.com/2014/11/16/arts/…
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What's the first live stand-up show you ever saw? Steven Wright at Wolf Trap in VA is mine.
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Dear headline writers: Broadway isn’t NY theater. It’s one part of NY theater that generally avoids new plays. Like most young playwrights, Harris is not blowing up Broadway, because he’s never been produced there. There’s no shame in putting Off Broadway in your headlines.
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It's closer than anyone wants to admit, but politics writers on culture are worse than culture writers on politics.
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I gave The Greatest Showman a very bad review, pissing off a lot of people. But gotta say: Last night, at my daughter's chorus recital, seeing 40 5th graders belt out "A Million Dreams" with all their hearts, tears welled in my eyes as I thought: I was right about that one.
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What a time to release a special called End Times Fun. I wrote about the new Marc Maron. nytimes.com/2020/03/18/arts/…
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Get Out is NOT a comedy. My insufferable horror fan’s lament. #dontgetnorespect nytimes.com/2018/01/18/movie…
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Hot tip: If you're being interviewed as a talking head and want to get prominent placement in the doc or series or whatever, just say "And that...changed everything" or "And that...changed the world."
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I really miss seeing a bad play with a friend and then getting into a long discussion afterword about what it what it was trying to do, which leads me to make the case that it was better than it was.
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Netflix's most incredible achievement is getting me regularly watching foreign TV shows with subtitles.
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Prepare yourself: There are going to be more articles about virtual seders than actual virtual seders.
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I'll never forget that at Misha's wedding, minutes before he got married, he took me aside and said with great feeling: "You got a shirt I could borrow?" More such poetry here.
It is with deep sadness and regret that I am publicly announcing that you can now order my book of poetry. bit.ly/SomeThingsIStillCantT…
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For the A & L cover, I went long on Jewish humor, antisemitism, getting fired from my first job, Family Ties, Shylock, more. nytimes.com/2022/02/17/arts/…
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New column is a roundup of Fall specials —> Jenny Slate, Nikki Glaser, Bill Burr, Jaboukie Young-White. nytimes.com/2019/10/22/movie…
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What debt if any does comedy owe to the facts? I try to think through the Minhaj story. nytimes.com/2023/09/20/arts/…
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Ran outside to run an errand, realized I forgot my mask, cursed loudly, a man on the st heard me, nodded, reached into his bag and handed me a stack of N-95s. While thanking him, I noticed: He wasn't wearing a mask.
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On Comedy: Went long on Kate Berlant (profile I've wanted to do for many years) nytimes.com/2022/08/23/theat…
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If you want to hear an eloquent, sweeping and pretty shocking take on how Jewish women are overlooked for Jewish roles in today's Hollywood, give Sarah Silverman a listen here. Start at 31:45. piped.video/watch?v=ADEciLhc…
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I lost track of the number of times I’ve watched this debate about Frozen the musical between John Simon and 3 2nd graders. piped.video/watch?v=Cv5fUK_a…
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The Wall St Journal op-ed page has a remarkable piece on Jim Gaffigan today that is "shut up and dribble" for comedians. wsj.com/articles/jim-gaffiga…
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What the Constitution Means to Me recouped on Broadway. That’s big. Maybe bigger than any Tony.
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As a child of an artistic director who visited a ton of backstages on opening nights, I am a firm believer in the nobility of lying. Only praise. Every time.
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The origin story of the Monorail. Great work by @AlanSiegelLA theringer.com/tv/2023/1/17/2…
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I spent two days in New Orleans with Amy Schumer in her third trimester. We were mugged. Vomiting ensued. And when i left, she ran naked through a park. nytimes.com/2019/03/13/arts/…
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Pretty soon I'm going to hear the Cheers theme song when I walk into my local Covid testing spot.
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I wrote about the three decade long history of Trump on Letterman. nytimes.com/2017/08/15/arts/…
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NYT Editorial on health care. Please read the description of what is in this bill.. nytimes.com/2017/05/04/opini…
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Dina Hashem, the latest comic to be twitter mobbed, is an extremely funny young standup. I hope Comedy Central’s show features her soon. Meanwhile, here is her Conan. She also had a good roast battle set i can’t find. piped.video/watch?v=M8KotRvc…
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I wrote about Aziz’s new show, and the question facing him and Louis CK going back onstage; Should they talk about it? nytimes.com/2018/12/19/arts/…
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At BAM yesterday, I saw my favorite actor perform in Medea, Orson Hong, the kid who sang "Plain Plate of Noodles and a Little Bit of Butter" in John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch. His character didn't fare as well in this one.
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The Odessa on Avenue A is closing. Next to Katz's closing, I can't think of one of these death of NY spots that would hurt more. gothamist.com/food/odessa-re…
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I saw a small standup show yesterday in which instead of laughing, a person yelled: "That's a funny line." It was unsettling.
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Julie Klausner makes a joke about 1-877 Kars for Kids in her new podcast that sparks joy. She also ends John Kasich’s career, has many smart/funny things to say about musical theater and asks a good q: Why is Jay Leno thanked at the end of Mary Poppins?
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Steven Wright was the first comic I ever saw live. I am far from the only one who can say that. His debut novel is out. My profile. nytimes.com/2023/05/16/arts/…
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Even if you don't see dance or know much about dance, you don't want to live in a world where there is no one knowledgable and paid writing about it. We are almost there. Next up: Theater. It will keep going until it's just people having the same Scorsese vs Marvel movies fights
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The comeback you’ve been waiting for. My A&L cover on the return of Eddie Murphy. nytimes.com/2019/09/26/movie…
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May be hard to believe this is real but it is.
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It’s ok to wait to have a take.
///BREAKING/// Prosecutors in Chicago dropping charges against 'Empire' actor #JussieSmollett in allegedly staged attack. Details to come. follow @crepeau and @Mabuckley88
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Last night at a party, I heard the most ominous sentence I know: "You once reviewed my husband's play."
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Genuine question about dealing with this horrible year: Was there ever a moment when comedy helped?
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