Eliana Willis

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    Two Theater-Making Couples Reflect on Mortality and Renewal

    A meditation on mortality and renewal, “The Following Evening” presents mirror images of two married pairs of theater makers.Outside the big, tall windows of Ellen Maddow and Paul Zimet’s Manhattan loft, in a former garment factory on Mercer Street in SoHo, is a slice of the New York skyline: up close, rooftops of old brick buildings, solid as can be; farther off, glass towers — taller, sleeker, colder, newer.In a city forever in flux, Maddow, 75, and Zimet, 81, have stayed put for half a century, creating experimental theater in the skylighted boho oasis that cost $7,000 to buy in 1973, and where they raised their family.Having arrived in the neighborhood when it was scary-scruffy, long before it went way upscale, they have remained stubbornly devoted to each other, and to their venerably niche downtown company, Talking Band, which turns 50 this year.That kind of history can sound utopian from the outside. But misunderstanding is a risk they’re taking, cautiously, with “The Following Evening,” a new play in which they portray slightly fictionalized versions of themselves, in slightly fictionalized versions of their lives.Scenes from a performance: A rehearsal of the work, which is a collaboration between two theater-making couples a generation apart.Photographs by Jeanette Spicer for The New York Times“Does this all sound romantic?” Zimet asks rhetorically in the show’s prologue, where he reminisces about the past. “I really hope it doesn’t.”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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    Susie Essman Says Goodbye to ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’

    The comedian Susie Essman spots them regularly, out in the urban wild: fashion doppelgängers.We had barely begun our lunch at Cafe Luxembourg on the Upper West Side when she leaned in and gestured conspiratorially. “That’s a total Susie Greene outfit,” she said, spying a woman entering the restaurant in a hooded, salmon-orange jumpsuit crosshatched with mint green slashes. “And she’s got a leopard-print purse, look at that!” She sat back, delighted.Power clashing is the life force of Susie Greene, the singular character that Essman has inhabited on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” since the HBO series, created by Larry David, began in 2000. There is no one in the entertainment universe who dares to dress like her — not just a clash but a dogfight of pattern, color and texture, with a dollop of feather — and few who communicate as she does, in an ornery gush of inspired expletives.As Greene, the much put-upon wife of David’s manager, played by Jeff Garlin, Essman is more than just a fan favorite. She is an instigator — “a scene-driver,” as she put it — whose costumes and insults get even wilder on the 12th and final season of “Curb,” which starts Feb. 4. She is also the person who, her castmates said, makes David crack up most regularly.Essman, 68, and David, 76, the “Seinfeld” co-creator who stars as a heightened, less scrupulous version of himself, have known each other since their stand-up days in the ’80s. He cast her, in what was then a small part, after seeing her withering set at a roast of Jerry Stiller in 1999. “She was filthy, profane and hilarious — exactly what I wanted,” David wrote in an email.Essman in the 12th and final season of the show. John Johnson/HBOHe didn’t give her much to go on — no character description or deep back story, just telling her that the show would be improvised and that he and the on-screen Susie would have, he said, “a contentious relationship.” The rest was on Essman.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?  More

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    Review: The Fractious Family Ties in ‘The Animal Kingdom’

    Conflicting ideas of guilt, identity and genetics do battle in this quietly galvanizing play by Ruby Thomas.An unexamined life may not be worth living, but an examined one can be ruinously expensive. As calculated by Sam, one of the characters undergoing therapy in “The Animal Kingdom,” the quietly galvanizing play by Ruby Thomas, “Dad has literally spent, what, hundreds of thousands just for me to exist.” That this young man has ended up in a clinic despite a cushy life of private tutors, private education and music lessons shows, he wryly notes, that his father made a “really bad investment.”“The Animal Kingdom” begins with Daniel (Calvin Leon Smith), a soft-spoken psychotherapist, patiently coaxing Sam (Uly Schlesinger) into more-than-monosyllabic conversation. Both are seated in posture-wrecking office chairs in a windowless space no larger than an escape room. Sam, a zoology major who is on hiatus from college, is a bright and observant young man, with a mind for a menagerie of animal facts. He compares his mother and sister to bonobos, whose female alphas “can be pretty aggressive”; his father, on the other hand, is a hippopotamus whose submerged heart beats once every five minutes. Taken together, they form the fractious animal kingdom that gives the play its title.As part of the treatment program, Daniel summons Sam’s business-minded father (David Cromer), spiritual-doula mother (Tasha Lawrence), and younger sister Sofia (Lily McInerny), to participate in six therapy sessions with the patient. Jack Serio’s direction puts us in thrilling proximity to the actors. Thrilling, but also cortisol-spiking; the sense of being trapped like animals in a zoo is intensified by an obsidian two-way mirror on Wilson Chin’s spartan set.For much of the play’s 80 minutes, Sam, his therapist and his family sit in a pentagram of chairs and, to Sofia’s growing dismay, pass the time talking about their childhoods, school bullies, their father’s affair, the migration pattern of certain birds — seemingly every topic except the one that precipitated their therapy sessions.Sam, it turns out, has a history of self-harm; his shoes don’t have laces, staff members have taken his razor and, when his compression sleeves come off, his arms are laddered with pink cuts. McInerny gives an especially strong performance as Sam’s dependable sister — a wallflower who delivers the most incendiary line of the play.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?  More

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    Maya Erskine, of ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith,’ Thinks She Would Make a Good Spy

    The actor and writer will star alongside Donald Glover in a series reboot of the 2005 action comedy in which newlyweds turn out to be enemy agents.“What would happen if James Bond had a blister?” Maya Erskine wondered recently.Erskine, 36, an actor and writer, has been thinking of hypotheticals like these ever since Donald Glover (“Atlanta,” “Swarm”) approached her about starring in “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” the reboot of the 2005 action comedy.That film, which starred Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, was a stylized, sexed-up spy story, in which newlyweds discover that each is an operative assigned to assassinate the other. This eight-episode series, created by Glover and the writer Francesca Sloane, arrives on Amazon Prime Video on Feb. 2. It trades some of that sex for a more faithful approach to marriage and espionage.The new John and Jane Smith, played by Glover and Erskine, are spies hired by a shadowy organization to pose as a married couple. (Phoebe Waller-Bridge was initially announced as Glover’s co-star, but she left in 2021, citing creative differences.) While completing high-risk missions and racking up casualties, John and Jane are also achieving various relationship milestones — first date, first kiss, first vacation. Blisters and other minor injuries abound, as well as conversations about annoying eating habits and gas.Erskine, best known as a creator of the Hulu comedy “PEN15,” in which she starred as a heightened version her seventh-grade self, was grateful or this less glamorous version. “It’s easier for me to not have to try to be attractive, because then I don’t fail,” she said. Then again, having spent three seasons in a bowl cut, almost any role would have felt chic by comparison. She also said that she thought that she and Glover were only average-looking, which was sweet.During a video call from her sunlit Los Angeles home, Erskine, snacking on saltines, discussed acting, espionage and how the show, which begins and ends with multiple homicides, is essentially marriage propaganda. (The couple that slays together stays together?)A still from the “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” series, starring Donald Glover and Erskine.David Lee/Prime VideoWe 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?  More

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    ‘El Otro Oz’ Review: There’s No Place Like (Your Ancestral) Home

    A tender reimagining of “The Wizard of Oz” follows Dora, an angsty American teenager who initially rejects her family’s Mexican heritage.Every dramatization of “The Wizard of Oz” seems to offer a pilgrimage to the Emerald City. But “El Otro Oz,” the inspired and imaginative interpretation now playing at Atlantic Stage 2, introduces additional journeys that are ultimately more poignant and profound.When I first saw this Latin-flavored retelling of L. Frank Baum’s tale two years ago, I was most impressed by its comic inventiveness. (TheaterWorksUSA presented it then as a revised, more bilingual version of its own 2011 show “The Yellow Brick Road.”) That 2022 production, retitled “El Otro Oz” (Spanish for “The Other Oz”), included a pet Chihuahua named Toquito, a wizard who’s a disco diva and, in place of the withered Wicked Witch of the West, the sultry, flamenco-costumed Bruja del Oeste, whose magical castanets evoke a predatory rattlesnake.None of these creative flourishes have changed, but whether it’s because of world events or the nuances of Melissa Crespo’s direction, I found this new production by Atlantic for Kids (the young people’s division of Atlantic Theater Company) as tender and moving as it is ebullient and funny.With a book by Mando Alvarado and Tommy Newman, and music and lyrics by Newman and Jaime Lozano, the show focuses on Dora (Nya Noemi, passionate and clear-voiced), an angsty adolescent in contemporary Chicago. More an admirer of Beyoncé than of merengue, the American-born Dora deeply resents her Mexican immigrant mother’s plans for a quinceañera, the traditional celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday. After she reluctantly dons a voluminous pastel dress for the occasion, Dora wails, “I look like cotton candy!” (Stephanie Echevarria designed the vivid costumes.)Before long, a mysterious healer appears, telling Dora she is only “half of the whole.” (Christian Adriana Johannsen juggles this role expertly with that of the seductive bruja.) Then the teenager is swept into El Otro Oz, where, according to one of its residents, her family’s picnic table has crushed the witch’s sister “flat as a Dorito.”Once Dora acquires the enchanted ruby slippers, she must, of course, reach the wizard. But she’s also beginning to understand that she has embraced only part of who she is. As she explores El Otro Oz with new friends — the Scarecrow (Adriel Jovian); the Iron Chef (Eli Gonzalez), who travels with a food cart instead of an oil can; and the meek Mountain Lion (Danny Lemache) — she comes to appreciate the heritage that she has often cruelly rejected. The score, which blends mariachi-style melodies with emotive show tunes, offers ample opportunities for Dora to practice traditional dance, and young audiences may find that Alessandra Valea’s joyful choreography makes it hard to sit still.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?  More

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    Late Night Weighs In On the Trump-Swift Thing

    As the ex-president takes on the pop megastar, Jimmy Kimmel predicts this might be the offense that finally brings down Donald Trump.Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.‘I’m the Problem, It’s Me’Former President Donald Trump picked a fight with Taylor Swift and her fans this week when he reportedly said that he is more popular than the pop star, insisting his fans “are more committed than hers.”“This fight he’s about to pick with Taylor Swift, this might be what does it,” Jimmy Kimmel said on Wednesday. “It won’t be Jan. 6, it won’t be the election fraud or the sexual assault or dancing with Jeffrey Epstein, or even fathering Don Jr. What’s finally going to bring down Donald Trump will be an army of pissed-off Swifties.”[Imitating Trump] “I’m way better than Taylor. Don’t they know it’s me? Hi, I’m the problem, it’s me.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“This is how much the Republican Party has changed. There was a time when a famous singer dating a football player and spending quality time with his family would have been their dream. They used to elect politicians who were football players or ones who looked like footballs. And may I remind you, her last boyfriend was British. We almost lost one of our greatest national treasures to the Brits!” — SETH MEYERS“And unlike your rallies, her tickets aren’t free. People paid hundreds and even thousands of dollars to see her — and that’s just here in America. How’s your popularity in Tokyo? And Singapore? How’s your popularity in Gelsenkirchen, Germany? Because she’s doing three nights at a soccer stadium there that holds over 62,000 people even though no one has ever heard of Gelsenkirchen, Germany. It might not even exist.” — JIMMY KIMMELThe Punchiest Punchlines (Committed Edition)“I’m not sure Trump has more committed fans, but he definitely has more fans who have been committed.” — JIMMY FALLON“If Taylor Swift told her fans to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, they would have succeeded. They would be running the country right now.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Taylor Swift is so popular, people want to watch her watching a football game.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“If Donald Trump had a rally at SoFi Stadium here in L.A., they would still have enough empty seats to also hold a Taylor Swift concert that night.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“This country dumped Donald Trump and we are never ever getting back together.” — STEPHEN COLBERTThe Bits Worth WatchingKathryn Newton, the star of “Lisa Frankenstein,” told Jimmy Fallon why she wanted to be a part of the new “zom-com” on Wednesday’s “Tonight Show.”What We’re Excited About on Thursday NightLarry David will tease the final season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” on Thursday “Late Night.”Also, Check This OutTom Hollander, center, as Truman Capote in “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans,” which premieres on Wednesday.FXRyan Murphy’s new FX series “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans” has a star-studded cast including Tom Hollander, Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny, Calista Flockhart and Demi Moore. More

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    Why We Keep Rewatching ‘Gilmore Girls’

    The show, which ended in 2007, was still one of the 10 most-watched shows across major streaming platforms last year, according to the research firm Nielsen.Some things have inexplicable staying power. The Hermès Birkin bag. Cheetos. Crocs.And for nostalgic millennials, there is “Gilmore Girls.” The show ended its seven-year run on the WB and CW networks in 2007, yet viewers keep returning to the familiar comfort of the fictional town of Stars Hollow, Conn., where the series was set.Netflix recorded 500 million viewing hours for the show from January to June of last year, surpassing hits like “Seinfeld” and “Stranger Things,” and data released on Monday by the research firm Nielsen showed that “Gilmore Girls” was among the Top 10 most-watched shows across the major streaming platforms in 2023.The show, which concluded the month before the iPhone was introduced, is even finding a younger audience on TikTok, where users post scenes they love and argue about their favorite romantic partners for every character.Yanic Truesdale, who played the grumpy inn concierge Michel, lovingly called it “the show that will never die.”“I’ve had hundreds, if not thousands, over the years, of people saying, ‘I got a surgery, and your show kept me going,’” he said. “Or, ‘I lost my dad,’ or ‘I lost this person, and I would watch the show and I would feel better.’”He added that he still meets fans who offer testaments to its popularity: “I’m always amazed that 10-year-olds, 15-year-olds — kids — are watching it as if it just came out.”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?  More

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    Chita Rivera Tributes Pour in From Rita Moreno, the Cast of ‘Chicago’ and More

    Onstage and off, she was celebrated as a pathbreaking triple-threat who left a huge legacy in musical theater and dance.Chita Rivera created several memorable Broadway characters that are now considered part of the canon, including the role of Velma Kelly in the original production of “Chicago.” So when the cast of the long-running Broadway revival took to the stage of the Ambassador Theater in New York on Tuesday night just a few hours after her death was announced, it was only natural that they would pay tribute to her.After the performance the cast assembled onstage as Amra-Faye Wright, who plays Kelly now, recalled Rivera as a “Broadway giant,” who championed other dancers.“I feel still an impostor in the role because it belonged to Chita Rivera,” Wright said, as cast members dabbed their eyes. “She created it. She starred in the original production of ‘Chicago’ and she lives on constantly in our hearts, on this stage, in every performance. We love you, Chita.”Rivera’s death on Tuesday at the age of 91 inspired an outpouring of testimonials from fans and colleagues, elected officials and stars of stage and screen, who recalled her as a pathbreaking triple-threat who left a huge legacy in musical theater and dance.The audience at “Chicago” listened as Rivera was recalled as a “Broadway giant.”Jeenah Moon for The New York TimesOn Instagram, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the composer, writer and actor, described Rivera as “The trailblazer for 🇵🇷 on Broadway,” using an emoji of the Puerto Rican flag, and called her “an absolute original.”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?  More