Eliana Willis

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    in Theater

    Bringing ‘Teeth,’ a Feminist Awakening With a Lethal Bite, to the Stage

    Michael R. Jackson is helping adapt the darkly comic horror film into a musical. But can a show about a teenager with vagina dentata sing?Michael R. Jackson doesn’t have a vagina. He also doesn’t not have one.“While I’m not a teen evangelical with teeth in my vagina,” he said, “spiritually I am.”Jackson’s spectral self-identity was a guiding light as he and the composer Anna K. Jacobs collaborated on “Teeth,” a new musical based on Mitchell Lichtenstein’s 2007 indie scary movie of the same name. It’s about a high school student named Dawn who discovers to her horror that she has vagina dentata — a myth, found across cultures and eras, about a vagina that has a lethal set of chompers. (The film is streaming on Tubi, and the show is in previews Off Broadway at Playwrights Horizons before a March 12 opening.)If you’re going to musicalize a horror movie, “Teeth” is a doozy, and a gamble. Darkly comic and at times stomach-churningly gory, it’s a touchstone of feminist body horror and an exemplar, along with “I Spit on Your Grave” and “Jennifer’s Body,” of a rape-revenge film that indicts misogyny and body shame for the grip they have on women’s sexual autonomy.Jackson, the show’s lyricist, and, with Jacobs, co-writer of the book, said he was drawn to adapt “Teeth” because of how it frames horror and dark comedy around sex and conservative Christianity — two themes that also raged through his 2022 Broadway musical, “A Strange Loop,” a Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner.“I know what it’s like to be afraid of your own body and to feel like somebody’s going to catch you masturbating and what that means, that you’re going to go to hell,” said Jackson, who grew up in the Baptist church. “I immediately glommed onto Dawn because I’ve had that internal experience.”That last line got a laugh from two other members of the “Teeth” creative team who, with Jackson and Jacobs, sat for an interview at Playwrights Horizons in Midtown Manhattan before a recent matinee: the director, Sarah Benson, and the choreographer, Raja Feather Kelly.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    in Television

    Wanted: Writers for Awards Show Jokes. Must Be Skilled at Diplomacy

    Hosts who have to entertain insiders at the ceremony and outsiders watching at home. Presenters who change their minds. No wonder the bits are awkward.In the middle of struggling through the opening monologue of the Golden Globes in January, the comic Jo Koy did something unusual, if not unprecedented, for the host of a major awards show: He blamed the writers.“I wrote some of these — and they’re the ones you’re laughing at,” he said of his jokes, prompting writers across the country to grind their teeth.Koy, who later apologized, endured some light mockery a week after the show, when his ex-girlfriend Chelsea Handler followed up a successful joke in her monologue at the Critics Choice Awards by saying, “Thank you for laughing at that. My writers wrote it.”If something positive came from this episode, it’s that a spotlight was put on a corner of the showbiz work force that tends to remain in the shadows: the joke writers for awards shows like the Oscars on Sunday.“It’s a small fraternity, and they always remained anonymous,” said Bruce Vilanch, the best known of this breed, who said his acclaim for the job, which included starring in the 1999 documentary “Get Bruce!,” had spurred resentment among his predecessors. “They were not personalities in their own way. They never talked about this stuff. I think there was almost a code.”Chelsea Handler made sure to acknowledge her writers when she hosted the Critics Choice Awards.Kevin Winter/Getty Images For Critics ChoiceWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    in Television

    What’s on TV This Week: the Oscars and the State of the Union

    ABC airs the awards show for all things film. President Biden addresses the nation across the major networks.For TV viewers like me who still haven’t cut the cord, here is a selection of cable and network shows, movies and specials broadcasting Monday through Sunday, March 4-10. Details and times are subject to change.MondaySO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE 9 p.m. on Fox. This dance competition show is back for its 18th season, with a twist. This year, it’s not just about performing choreography (like the dance that lives rent-free in my head) but about setting up contestants for careers in dance. In addition to their usual lessons, they will complete challenges that prepare them for dancing in a music video, performing at a football halftime show or starring on Broadway. Jojo Siwa, Allison Holker and Maksim Chmerkovskiy return as judges.TuesdayALERT: MISSING PERSONS UNIT 9 p.m. on Fox. Procedural dramas are like reality shows — there is a seemingly infinite variety of niches, and I can’t get enough. If you’ve already cycled through “Law & Order,” “NCIS,” “Chicago P.D.,” then you can start this new series. Set at the Philadelphia Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit, and presented in the style of “Criminal Minds,” each episode follows the team as it investigates a disappearance through an entire story arc.A work of art featured in the documentary “A Revolution on Canvas.”Courtesy of HBOREVOLUTION ON CANVAS 9 p.m. on HBO. Nikzad Nodjoumi, known as “Nicky,” was exiled from Iran because of his art criticizing the government there. Now his daughter, Sara Nodjoumi, has directed and produced a documentary that investigates the disappearance of hundreds of her father’s paintings that were deemed treasonous and aims to locate them.DECISION 2024: SUPER TUESDAY 10 p.m. on NBC. And just like that, another four years have passed, and it is again Super Tuesday. Sixteen states hold their primaries on this day, as the election process moves one giant step closer to cementing the major parties’ nominees. NBC is hosting a panel of journalists and experts to break down the results live and provide analysis.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    in Television

    Mark Dodson, Voice of ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Gremlins’ Characters, Dies at 64

    He voiced Salacious B. Crumb, the monkey-lizard pet of Jabba the Hutt in “Return of the Jedi,” as well as Mogwai in both “Gremlins” films.Mark Dodson, who voiced strange puppet creatures in “Star Wars,” including Salacious B. Crumb, the cackling monkey-lizard pet of Jabba the Hutt, and “Gremlins” films, died on Saturday. He was 64.His death was confirmed in statements on social media by his agent, Peter DeLorme, and the Evansville Horror Con, the Indiana fan convention where he had been scheduled to appear over the weekend. No cause of death was given.Mr. Dodson’s voice acting career began in 1983 on “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,” when he voiced Salacious B. Crumb, the court jester of Jabba the Hutt that was known for its maniacal laugh, as well as some of the furry forest creatures known as Ewoks.In a 2020 interview with “Screaming Soup!,” Mr. Dodson explained how he had gotten the Crumb role by accident.He was auditioning for Adm. Ackbar, a leader during the Clone Wars, but was so nervous that he asked for a break to compose himself, he said. He was then overheard using a deranged voice that the casting director thought was perfect for Crumb.That led Mr. Dodson to voice several of the Mogwai in “Gremlins,” the 1984 comedy-horror film about a young man who accidentally unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town on Christmas Eve.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    in Television

    ‘Saturday Night Live’ Is Already Looking Toward the Election

    In its opening sketch, “S.N.L.” offered a parody of a CNN political show.A new poll conducted by The New York Times and Siena College indicated that voters have a wide range of concerns about President Biden in the months before the 2024 presidential election. But “Saturday Night Live” gave some of Biden’s advocates — or, at least, the cast members impersonating them — the opportunity to dispel these anxieties and argue that he isn’t too old to continue in the job.In its opening sketch, “S.N.L.,” which was hosted this week by the actress Sydney Sweeney and featured the musical guest Kasey Musgraves, offered a parody of CNN’s “Inside Politics” with Dana Bash.Heidi Gardner, playing Bash, began her program with Michael Longfellow, who was playing Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.“I understand that people care about the president’s age, but what they should care about is his record,” Longfellow said. “Look at what Joe Biden has done for America. He’s created more jobs than any president in history. Inflation is down. The Shamrock Shake is back and Beyoncé has gone country. Thank you, Joe.”When Gardner suggested that Biden might lack youthful vigor, Longfellow countered that he had just come from a meeting with him about the border.“He had charts, tables, PowerPoints,” Longfellow said. “He had an interactive AR display on the Apple Vision Pro that he programmed himself. The software might be in beta, but the man, he’s in alpha.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Sarayu Blue Is Pristine on ‘Expats’ but ‘Such a Little Weirdo’ IRL

    Blue performs alongside Nicole Kidman in the Prime Video series, but when she’s not working, she said, “I genuinely love just sitting somewhere and getting lost in a daydream.”Sarayu Blue describes Hilary Starr, the affluent professional she plays in the Prime Video series “Expats,” as sharp. Very sharp.“Hilary is somebody who presents herself in a very pristine manner,” Blue said of her character, who lives with her lawyer husband in Hong Kong. “She has a very specific and controlled way of handling her life. She likes her makeup put together, and her wardrobe is very neutral and tight and sleek.”“And then what’s really cool about the show is you get to see just how that sharpness starts to fragment and what happens as it falls apart,” she added.Set in 2014 amid pro-democracy protests in the city, “Expats” focuses on three American women, played by Blue, Ji-young Yoo and Nicole Kidman.“Before you get into it, you’re sort of like, ‘Oh my god, I’m about to work with Nicole [expletive] Kidman,’” Blue recalled. But she quickly got a grip, as Hilary would have.“What Nicole really brings to the table is she’s in it with you,” Blue said. “She doesn’t want to create any pomp and circumstance around the actual work.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    in Television

    Real Housewife, Leah McSweeney, Files Lawsuit Against Andy Cohen and Bravo

    A New York City housewife speaks about a new lawsuit against Andy Cohen and Bravo in which she alleges all of these things (and more) created a “rotted workplace culture.”“I thought it was going to be fun,” Leah McSweeney, a former star of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New York City,” said about joining the show’s cast in 2019.She was speaking on a video call on Wednesday, for which her lawyer and her publicist were present. The day before, Ms. McSweeney had filed a lawsuit against parties including the Bravo cable channel; its parent company, NBCUniversal; and Andy Cohen, the executive producer of the “Real Housewives” franchise, alleging the creation of a “rotted workplace culture” that “discriminated against, tormented, demoralized, demeaned, harassed and retaliated against Ms. McSweeney because she is a woman with disabilities, such as alcohol use disorder and various mental health disorders, all in the name of selling drama.”According to the complaint, which was reviewed by The New York Times, Ms. McSweeney, 41, joined the “Housewives of New York City” cast around the time she had relapsed after nine years of sobriety.She became sober just before she started filming the show and has alleged that producers developed “artificially close relationships” with her through which they “cultivated a treasure trove of Ms. McSweeney’s dark secrets with intent to place her in situations known to exacerbate her alcohol use disorder and mental health disabilities because they thought that intentionally making these conditions worse would create good television.”The complaint goes on to allege that producers frequently undermined Ms. McSweeney’s sobriety not only by encouraging her outright to drink but by “engaging in guerrilla-type psychological warfare intended to pressurize Ms. McSweeney into a psychological break and cause Ms. McSweeney to relapse.”It also claims that Mr. Cohen frequently uses cocaine with other “Housewives” stars and that he rewards those cast members with “favorable treatment.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    in Television

    The Best Movies and TV Shows Coming to Netflix in March

    An Adam Sandler drama and a new series from the creators of “Game of Thrones” highlight the new offerings this month.Every month, Netflix adds movies and TV shows to its library. Here are our picks for some of March’s most promising new titles. (Note: Streaming services occasionally change schedules without giving notice. For more recommendations on what to stream, sign up for our Watching newsletter here.)‘Spaceman’Starts streaming: March 1The comedian Adam Sandler tends to pick good material whenever plays dramatic roles; and that is certainly the case with this cerebral science-fiction film. Sandler plays a Czech astronaut named Jakub, whose vital deep-space exploratory mission is suffering because of his crushing loneliness and the possible disintegration of his marriage to his pregnant wife, Lenka (Carey Mulligan). Paul Dano provides the voice of a kindly spider-like alien creature named Hanuš, who provides Jakub with some much-needed company and advice. “Spaceman” was adapted from a Jaroslav Kalfař novel by the screenwriter Colby Day; and it wad directed by Johan Renck, an Emmy-winner for the mini-series “Chernobyl.” The film is cosmically trippy yet also sensitive to the human need for connection.‘The Gentlemen’ Season 1Starts streaming: March 7Guy Ritchie’s 2019 film “The Gentlemen” was a rollicking throwback to the kind of violent, foul-mouthed, blackly comic crime stories that established the British writer-director’s bona fides in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Ritchie’s TV series “The Gentleman” re-enters the world of the movie from a different angle. Theo James plays Eddie, a fading aristocrat’s estranged son, who unexpectedly inherits his dad’s estate along with its crushing debts and obligations. When he discovers that some of his land has been secretly leased to a marijuana kingpin, Eddie decides to lean into criminality to save the family fortune. As with the original, this new version approaches the outlaw life from the perspective of the filthy rich bosses, trying to manage a business staffed by unreliable hoodlums.‘Damsel’Starts streaming: March 8Millie Bobby Brown stars in this fantasy adventure film, playing Princess Elodie, a smart and independent young woman, representing a kingdom that has fallen on hard times. Persuaded by her father (Ray Winstone) and stepmother (Angela Bassett) to marry a wealthy prince (Nick Robinson), Elodie arrives at her new home only to discover that her in-laws aren’t very nice and that their land has been plagued for generations by a ravenous dragon (voiced by Shohreh Aghdashloo). The director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and the screenwriter Dan Mazeau aim to subvert fairy-tale stereotypes with “Damsel,” making a movie that eschews the romantic swoon of “once upon a time” in favor of the raw action of royalty versus beast.‘Girls5eva’ Seasons 1-3Starts streaming: March 14After failing to find the audience it deserved on Peacock, the funny and tuneful sitcom “Girls5eva” brings its first two seasons and an all-new third to Netflix. A sharp-eyed satire of the modern music business, the series follows four middle-aged singers — formerly a chart-topping girl-group — as they attempt a comeback in an era where almost nobody remembers their five minutes of MTV fame. In Season 3, the ladies embark on a low-budget concert tour and learn more about what it takes to make a living in 2020s pop. The creator Meredith Scardino and her writing staff fill each episode with rapid-fire jokes, catchy songs and savvy pop culture references, while always honoring the dignity and the dreams of these four friends, played by the talented and funny Sara Bareilles, Busy Philipps, Paula Pell and Renée Elise Goldsberry.‘3 Body Problem’ Season 1Starts streaming: March 21The “Game of Thrones” showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss return to television with an adaptation of Liu Cixin’s award-winning science-fiction novel “The Three-Body Problem,” created with Alexander Woo. An ensemble piece set across multiple eras, the show is partly about a woman (Zine Tseng) making some difficult choices to survive China’s Cultural Revolution, partly about an eclectic group of young scientists in England dubbed “the Oxford Five,” and partly about a government agent (Benedict Wong) investigating a string of mysterious deaths in the academic community. The story touches on global politics, virtual reality and extraterrestrial contact, while exploring those moments in time when one phase of human existence seems poised to give way to another.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More