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    ‘Why Am I So Single?’ Review: After ‘Six,’ a Scrappy, Sappy Dating Musical

    The duo behind the Broadway hit follow it up with a meta reflection on finding love online that is relatable and fun but lacking narrative drive.In London’s West End, two lonely singles are feeling sorry for themselves. Nancy (Leesa Tulley) and her gay, nonbinary best friend, Oliver (Jo Foster), conduct a two-hour inquest into their romantic failures while quaffing cheap bubbly on a peach-colored couch. At the same time, they bat around an idea for a musical based on these travails, which — you guessed it — turns out to be the musical we’re watching.“Why Am I So Single?” is written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, the duo behind “Six,” the breakout hit feminist musical about Henry VIII’s wives. Running at the Garrick Theater through Feb. 13, 2025, this unabashedly crowd-pleasing — though ultimately somewhat vacuous — show goes all in on relatability and schmaltz, carrying a peppy message about friendship and self-care.The songs unpack the modern dating experience in a mélange of familiar rock and pop styles. “C U Never” is a catchy tap number about the importance of not getting too hung up on people who ghost you. During “Meet Market,” several members of the supporting cast are wheeled around in pink shopping carts to symbolize the transactional nature of online dating. “Disco Ball” is about being the life of the party while feeling lonely inside, and “Men R Trash” is self-explanatory.In “I Got Off the Plane’” Nancy and Oliver lament their love-hate relationship with the sitcom “Friends,” which they blame for popularizing an unrealistic and heteronormative view of romance — whereupon members of the supporting cast take to the stage in Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer wigs and urge the pair to get over themselves.The show, directed by Moss, has the chaotic, playful energy of a student revue, with lots of amusingly forced rhymes, tenuous puns and self-aware jokes about the metafictional conceit (“Twist my arm and call me expositional”; “before we rebuild the fourth wall …”). There is a heavy reliance on bathos that borders on the formulaic: Whenever characters pour their hearts out in song, another will immediately say something dismissive. After Nancy sings a tender ballad about her dead father — the only genuinely moving song in the show — Oliver quips, “So what you’re saying is, it was the daddy issues after all?”Leesa Tulley, center, as Nancy.Matt CrockettWe 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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    ‘The Smoking Room’ Is a Brilliant British Office Comedy

    And yet, compared with the British “Office,” it is a model of restraint.Robert Webb, left, and Jeremy Swift in a scene from the short-lived comedy “The Smoking Room.”Roku ChannelThe two-season comedy “The Smoking Room” (on the Roku Channel) premiered in Britain in 2004, and in some ways it can feel even older: A designated indoor cigarette-smoking lounge at an office? Nary a phone in sight, and only glancing mentions of the internet? Next you’re going to tell me they’re rendering tallow and writing out the Bible by hand.But “Smoking,” written and created by Brian Dooley, has a fascinating timelessness in its format. The show is set in a dingy break room and almost never leaves it — think “oops, all bottle episodes.” It’s a single-camera comedy, but it isn’t a mockumentary; this alone makes its rhythms more like a stage play’s than a sitcom’s. That’s heightened by the fact that there is no score, and many episodes unfold essentially in real time.Its true TV self comes through with the show’s episodic sensibilities, in which the same things always happen. The coffee machine is always on the fritz; Annie (Debbie Chazen) always bums a smoke but never brings one; Heidi (Emma Kennedy) always mentions her drippy husband. Barry (Jeremy Swift) is always doing a shabby job with the crossword puzzle, and Robin (Robert Webb) always knows both the answer to the clue and some other shred of wisdom. Episodes don’t feel repetitive, though; instead, the quirks land as a clever ritual. Every smoke break is different, but every smoke break is the same.There is no major plot to speak of, and almost nothing happens-happens, so “The Smoking Room” relies mostly on dialogue and character. In some ways it is a show carved in relief or composed only of scraps — it has the patter and inconsequence of a cold open but for a half-hour, until the shape of what has not been said is as stark as what has. Some characters never appear at all, their arcs instead fleshed out fully through everyone else’s gossip. Entire love stories play out this way.The obvious comparison here is the British “Office,” but that show feels cacophonous, almost explosive in comparison — a parade versus a snow globe. Plenty of British comedies can be described as being about restraint, but “The Smoking Room” takes this to a funny, brilliant extreme. More

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    ‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2, Episode 5 Recap: Royal Pains

    This week’s focus was largely on the deepening political drama in Numenor and Khazad-dum, where things have gotten predictably messy.Season 2, Episode 5: ‘Halls of Stone’After last week’s delightful panoply of ents, barrow-wights and stoors (and Tom Bombadil!), this week’s episode of “Rings of Power” shifted away from fantastical action and got back to the slow, hard grind of politics. Because this is a prequel series, it has a fixed endpoint to reach, involving a lot of dangerous jewelry getting distributed to folks who will not end up seeing eye-to-eye on how use it. But before we get there, all of these humans, dwarves and elves still have a lot of talking to do — whether we enjoy hearing it or not.Episodes like this week’s are necessary in a story like this, even if they aren’t as much fun as the ones with angry trees and killer skeletons. The whole point of “Rings of Power” is to flesh out the sketchier summaries of events in J.R.R. Tolkien’s books — all of the deep “this king was succeeded by this other king after this battle” lore — and, in doing so, to give us a fuller sense of all the ancestors to “The Lord of the Rings” heroes and villains. Rather than hearing that long ago there was social unrest in Numenor or Khazad-dum, we get to see firsthand how the conflicts played out, and why.Myself, I like these characters and this world enough to find the predicaments interesting. That said, I do recognize that all of the high-volume speechifying that holds this kind of storytelling together can be a drag sit through. This week, I did find myself occasionally entreating the Valar to tell everyone involved to get on with it already.With that in mind, here are four takeaways and observations from Episode 5:Holy wars in NumenorThe most volatile and complex political drama happening in “Rings of Power” right now is taking place in Numenor, which — as I mentioned in a recap of Episode 3 — hasn’t really gotten enough screen time in this series to make the stakes as clear and urgent as they should be. This episode offers a corrective of sorts, showing just how deep and dangerous the divisions on this island have become.We last left Numenor at a tense moment, when the queen regent Miriel’s coronation was disrupted repeatedly: first by hecklers, then by Earien, who revealed the royal family’s overreliance on a future-telling elfin orb called a palantir. Then it was disrupted again by the portentous arrival of a giant eagle, which the shady opportunist Pharazon co-opted into a divine endorsement for his claim to the throne. The aftermath of all this proves predictably messy.Miriel, who seems to have lost whatever lust for power she may have had before her traumatic adventures in Middle-earth, seems willing to let Pharazon win this one, despite the objections of her trusted adviser (and potential romantic partner) Elendil. She urges him to remain “the calm at the storm’s eye” and asks him to carry on the fight from the inside, saying that “not every battle must be fought to be won.” She says that the palantir has shown them a path for once that doesn’t end in Numenor’s downfall. He is meant to be a leader on that path, inspiring the faithful with his nobility.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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    Shaw Festival Presents ‘The Orphan of Chao’ and ‘Snow in Midsummer’

    By presenting “The Orphan of Chao” and “Snow in Midsummer,” the Shaw Festival is helping “the past to smash its way into the modern world.”For 35 years, the Shaw Festival had one central criterion for its programming: Any and all plays had to have been written during George Bernard Shaw’s lifetime.This is not as confining as it sounds. Shaw, after all, was born in 1856 — when Abraham Lincoln was still an Illinois lawyer — and died a few months after Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” hit the comics pages in 1950.Nonetheless, two of the festival’s nine productions this season fall well before that time period. “The Orphan of Chao” and “Snow in Midsummer” are adaptations of perhaps the two best-known plays from the Yuan period of classical Chinese drama, which stretched from 1279 to 1368.“To twin ‘Orphan’ with ‘Snow’ gives our audience the chance to see two very different approaches to legendary material,” said Tim Carroll, the Shaw Festival’s artistic director. “Both pieces, in very different ways, allow the past to smash its way into the modern world.”At the center of this confluence is Nina Lee Aquino, one of the most significant figures in Canadian theater. The festival not only enlisted Aquino to direct “Snow” (her debut there), but also cast her husband, Richard Lee, an actor and fight director, and their 17-year-old actress daughter, Eponine Lee, in both plays.The director Nina Lee Aquino, center, with her husband, Richard Lee, and their daughter, Eponine.Katie GalvinWe 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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    ‘Real Women Have Curves’ Musical Plans Broadway Bow Next Year

    The show, adapted from the play and movie, was first staged last winter at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass.A musical adaptation of “Real Women Have Curves,” Josefina López’s exploration of immigrant experiences through the story of a group of Latina women working at a Los Angeles garment factory, will run on Broadway next year, the show’s producers said Thursday.The story began its life as a play, which had an initial production in San Francisco in 1990, and has been staged many times since. In 2002, a film adaptation was released, starring America Ferrera.Directed and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo, the musical was first staged last December and January at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass. It features music and lyrics by Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez and a book by Lisa Loomer, with additional material by Nell Benjamin.The musical is set in 1987 in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, and focuses on an 18-year-old woman who is torn between staying home to work at the family factory and relocating to New York to enroll at Columbia. In addition to its immigration theme, the show also deals with body image issues.The critic Don Aucoin, writing in The Boston Globe, called the show “outstanding,” but Laura Collins-Hughes, in The New York Times, was less impressed, deeming it “ungainly.”The Broadway run is being produced by Barry and Fran Weissler, the lead producers of the long-running Broadway “Chicago” revival, along with the actor Jack Noseworthy, who is married to Trujillo. In a news release, the producers said the play would open on Broadway in 2025; they did not specify whether it would be during the current Tony Awards eligibility season, which ends in April, or the following season, and a spokeswoman said no further information was available.The musical is being capitalized for $16.5 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. More

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    Hollywood Is Heading for Broadway (and Off). Here’s a Cheat Sheet.

    New York’s stages have long drawn talent from Hollywood, but this is shaping up to be an exceptionally starry season. Why? Producers have determined that limited-run plays with celebrities are more likely than new musicals to make money. And some musicals are also hoping big names will help at the box office. Here’s a sampling of stars onstage this season.This Fall★ ON BROADWAY ★Mia Farrowin ‘The Roommate’Farrow, who made her stage debut when she was 18 and had a breakout role in the 1968 film “Rosemary’s Baby,” thought she was happily retired until she read the script for this Jen Silverman comedy about two women with not much in common other than their living quarters. Now, at 79, she’s returning to the stage, opposite the three-time Tony winner Patti LuPone, for what she says may be the last time. Now running at the Booth.★ ON BROADWAY ★Robert Downey Jr.in ‘McNeal’One of Hollywood’s most successful stars, Downey has a bevy of superhero movies under his belt (he played Iron Man) and an Oscar for “Oppenheimer” (he was the antagonist, Lewis Strauss). He’s making his Broadway debut in a new Ayad Akhtar play, portraying a famous novelist with a potentially problematic interest in A.I. Now running at the Vivian Beaumont.Clockwise from top left: Nicole Scherzinger, Katie Holmes, Jim Parsons, Adam Driver and Mia Farrow (center).Photographs via Associated Press; Getty Images; Reuters★ ON BROADWAY ★Daniel Dae Kimin ‘Yellow Face’Talk about meta! This is David Henry Hwang’s play about a play about a musical, sort of. Kim, known for “Lost” and the rebooted “Hawaii Five-0,” portrays a playwright named DHH (get it?) who mistakenly casts a white actor as an Asian character in a Broadway flop inspired by his own protests against the casting of a white actor as a Eurasian character in “Miss Saigon.” Previews begin Sept. 13 at the Todd Haimes.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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    Jimmy Kimmel Chides Trump for His Debate Performance

    “More than 67 million Americans watched the debate on television last night, and of that 67 million, the only one who seems to think Trump did a good job is Donald Trump,” Kimmel said.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.67 Million to 1Despite public sentiment suggesting otherwise, Donald Trump said he came out on top after Tuesday’s debate, while also asserting it was rigged against him.On Wednesday, Jimmy Kimmel said that more than 67 million Americans watched the debate on television last night — “and of that 67 million, the only one who seems to think Trump did a good job is Donald Trump.”“I had a liberal elite day today. I woke up, I ate a big cat for breakfast, then I had a baby, then I had an abortion right after that, and then I went to pick up my kids from their mandatory transgender surgery operations after school. And now, I’m back here spreading Marxist propaganda on TV. That’s how we do it.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“This morning, Trump said the debate was rigged and that ABC should be shut down for fact-checking him, but that he still thought he did great. Then ABC fact-checked him again and said, ‘You did not.’” — JIMMY FALLON“Yeah, everyone thought Harris seemed really prepared while Trump was like, ‘My homework was eaten by a dog that was eaten by people in Ohio.’” — JIMMY FALLON“This pet-eating brain worm got into Trump’s skull through JD Vance, who’s been spreading a racist rumor that Haitian immigrants are abducting people’s pets and eating them in Ohio. This is a good time to remind you: please remember to spay or neuter your JD Vance. We don’t want more of that.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“It looks like Operation ‘I’m Not Weird’ isn’t going well.” — JIMMY FALLONThe Punchiest Punchlines (Childless Cat Lady Edition)“Last night, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump took to the debate stage to make their cases to Taylor Alison Swift and whoever else happened to be watching.” — JORDAN KLEPPER“Trump was like, ‘See? She’s eating her cat.’” — JIMMY FALLON“Trump this morning responded to the Taylor Swift endorsement and said, ‘Not a fan.’ But I have some bad news: his granddaughter, Arabella, Ivanka’s daughter, two months ago had a Taylor Swift cake for her birthday. So eat that, Grandpa.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Really, Donald? You prefer Brittany Mahomes? What’s your top five Brittany Mahomes songs? Is this really his angle? ‘Well, I don’t care, Taylor, because I like your boyfriend’s co-worker’s wife better.” — JORDAN KLEPPERThe Bits Worth WatchingThe “Late Night” writers Amber Ruffin and Jenny Hagel returned for another “Jokes Seth Can’t Tell” segment on Wednesday.What We’re Excited About on Thursday NightThe “Agatha All Along” star Sasheer Zamata will appear on Thursday’s “Daily Show.”Also, Check This OutThe documentary “Brandy Hellville & The Cult of Fast Fashion,” streaming on Max, turns a sharp eye to the Gen Z fashion brand Brandy Melville.Courtesy of HBOTrue crime stories about brands like Brandy Melville and Lululemon explore the dark side of trendy clothing. More

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    In the Presidential Debate, Kamala Harris Produced the Show She Wanted

    In Tuesday’s debate, the vice president made herself the studio audience for a cringe comedy starring her opponent.At the ABC presidential debate, Kamala Harris had a programming challenge. Working against an experienced reality-TV professional, a savant of live broadcasts, she had to pull off a successful reboot of Democrats’ least-favorite TV show of the 2024 season: the June debate that saw the self-immolation of President Biden.There were some hurdles. The same rules in place on CNN in June still held. There was no studio audience, and each candidate’s microphone would be turned off when the other was speaking. When Mr. Biden was still running, these guardrails were meant to avoid the dumpster fire of cross-talk and shouting that marked the first 2020 debate. But that would frustrate Ms. Harris’s campaign goal, which was to encourage Mr. Trump to be his own worst enemy.So she, and whoever prepared her for Tuesday’s showdown, did what prime-time producers have done since TV’s early days: They worked within the constraints of the medium to produce the show they wanted.If Mr. Trump could not bluster and shout over her, she would need to get him to melt down on his own time. If he could not stalk her onstage, as he did with Hillary Clinton in 2016, she would have to use the staging and the split-screen to create a dominance contest on her own terms.It began before the first question was asked. Ms. Harris crossed the stage toward Mr. Trump and offered her hand. The handshake was a small exercise of control, designed to be seen by a prime-time audience: She was the active party, initiating the encounter, and he the reactive one, accepting. She introduced herself — “Kamala Harris” — as if to anticipate his habit of mispronouncing her first name. Visually, she made herself the focus of attention, the protagonist of the drama.Then she set about making Mr. Trump into the antagonist she wanted, needling and baiting him, pulling his levers and pushing his buttons.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