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    in Theater

    An Oakland Dance Troupe Brings Vertical Choreography to Broadway

    In 1990, Amelia Rudolph was hiking through Tuolumne Meadows, a stunning mountain pass in Yosemite National Park, when she had an epiphany on a shiny granite bluff: “Could you make a performance here?” she wondered. “Could you dance on a cliff?”Rudolph, a dancer in the Bay Area who trained with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, had just written a college thesis on dance and ritual and recently become an avid climber. Those experiences converged in her mountaintop revelation — and inspired her to make a dance while dangling from the climbing wall at the gym where she worked.That dance, though unrefined, was enthusiastically received. “I realized I tapped into some part of our human imagination that loves to fly,” Rudolph, 61, said in a phone interview.From that seed grew Project Bandaloop, now just Bandaloop, a vertical dance company that fuses contemporary dance with climbing technique and technology. Using equipment, like harnesses, ropes and belay devices, Bandaloop can take dance’s soaring, ethereal qualities to extremes and bring them to unlikely perpendicular surfaces like the rock face of El Capitan in California or Tianmen Mountain in China.“The spirit of the company,” Rudolph said, celebrates “the power and vulnerability of natural spaces.”Now Bandaloop’s gravity-defying movement and ecological DNA have come to Broadway in the musical “Redwood,” starring Idina Menzel, which opened on Feb. 13.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

    Lynne Marie Stewart, Miss Yvonne on ‘Pee-wee’s Playhouse,’ Dies at 78

    She was the “most beautiful woman in Puppetland” in the 1980s children’s show starring Paul Reubens, and more recently had a recurring role in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”Lynne Marie Stewart, who played Pee-wee Herman’s perky, bouffant-wigged neighbor, Miss Yvonne, in the 1980s children’s television series “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” and the sweet, timorous mother of one of the main characters in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” died on Friday in Los Angeles. She was 78.The cause of her death, at her sister’s home, was cancer, said her manager, Bette Smith. Her doctors found a tumor shortly after Ms. Stewart finished filming a movie called “The Dink,” a comedy starring Jake Johnson and Ben Stiller, in December, Ms. Smith said.Ms. Stewart played a variety of characters in a career that spanned six decades, and had nearly 150 credits as a screen, stage and voice actress starting in 1971, according to IMDb, the entertainment database.But she was perhaps best known for her role as Miss Yvonne, or “the most beautiful woman in Puppetland,” in “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” which ran for five seasons on Saturday mornings on CBS.She was a fixture on the show as Pee-wee Herman’s extravagant neighbor with creative hairdos and a chipper personality.With its whimsical and slyly subversive sense of humor, the show swiftly attracted an audience beyond its core demographic of preadolescent children, and Ms. Stewart and other members of its cast embraced its anarchic and surreal spirit of make-believe.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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    ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3, Episode 2 Recap: Who Was That Masked Man?

    There are no answers this week — or even hints — to the identity of the dead body in the season premiere, but we do see a robbery.Season 3, Episode 2: ‘Special Treatments’“The White Lotus” has always been a show that centers sensuality, and so far in Season 3, the creator, Mike White, has amplified that dreamy, loopy, intoxicated feeling. In this week’s episode, in a sequence set during the resort’s dinner service, the guests — and we, the viewers — are blitzed with distractions. There are musicians, dancers and acrobats serving as mealtime entertainment, and bursts of flame rising from the table-side food prep. The characters, meanwhile, are still jet-lagged and coping with culture shock — not to mention a little tipsy. (Hey, it’s vacation.)Everything is so overwhelming, surreal that even a sudden outburst of violence feels like a dream.There are no answers this week — or even hints — to the identity of the dead body we saw in the season premiere or the circumstances that will lead to gunshots at this White Lotus. But we do see a robbery. While Chelsea is browsing in the resort’s luxury goods shop, a gun-toting masked marauder executes a smash-and-grab, terrorizing the staff and guests. Who is this criminal? That is another mystery left unsolved for now. It’s just another tease from White that the vibes here in Thailand are off.We do however get more clarity on what’s going with our guests. The Ratliffs mostly spend their first full day at the White Lotus lounging around, getting massages — and, in Saxon’s case, complaining his massage didn’t include a “happy ending.” The only Ratliff who does not pamper himself is the patriarch, Tim. (When their health mentor, Pam, tells him that she didn’t book anything for him, he enthusiastically replies, “You’re killin’ it, Pam!”)After the ominous phone call Tim received from The Wall Street Journal on the night the family arrived in Thailand, he hears in the morning that The Washington Post also wants to talk to him. Whatever shady money laundering scheme he is involved in — which he claims netted him a paltry “10 million” — is about to become international news.The equally troubled Rick takes advantage of one of the spa’s amenities, letting his girlfriend Chelsea talk him into having a “stress-management” session with Dr. Amrita (Shalini Peiris), a meditation specialist. (We first met Amrita last week, in the opening flash-forward with Zion.) Rick shares with Amrita just a little about himself — but nothing about whatever dark mission has led him to Thailand. He tells her his mother was a drug addict and that his father was murdered before Rick was born. He says his stress level typically hovers around an 8 out of 10, unless he has weed. (He does not currently have weed.)It’s hard to know how on-the-level Rick is being with Amrita. He has no reason to lie, but also no reason to be honest. What’s fascinating about the dynamic between these two is that while Amrita is offering what she believes to be some helpful philosophical musings — mainly by suggesting to him that his identity is an “illusion” that “brings you suffering” — he counters by saying that the world is actually very real.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

    6 Takeaways From Alec and Hilaria Baldwin’s TLC Reality Show

    The series begins just before he was scheduled to stand trial in the fatal shooting on the set of “Rust.” The reviews have been somewhat uneasy.Reality television producers had been circling Alec and Hilaria Baldwin for years. His Hollywood fame and history of public combustibility, her social media following and their many children and pets were all classic ingredients for a slice-of-life series.Last year, the couple decided to let the cameras in.They did so at perhaps the most precarious time of Alec Baldwin’s life: the month before he was scheduled to stand trial in New Mexico on an involuntary manslaughter charge, in connection with the fatal shooting of a cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, on the set of the movie “Rust” in 2021. The result is a fly-on-the-wall series called “The Baldwins,” which premieres Sunday on TLC, a network whose marquee titles include “90 Day Fiancé” and “Sister Wives.”The first episode of the show has landed a bit uneasily with critics, who view the show as something of a crisis communications project. Here are six takeaways from the episode.The premiere begins just ahead of Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter trial.Alec and Hilaria Baldwin in court during in the “Rust” accidental shooting case. Alec Baldwin faced a charge of involuntary manslaughter.Pool photo by Ross D Franklin/EPA, via ShutterstockThe filming started in June last year, just before Baldwin was scheduled to stand trial in New Mexico. In the first episode, the couple drives their seven children (and six of their eight dogs and cats) from their home in New York City to their home in the Hamptons, where they often spend the summer.The decision to start filming was a risk. In the event that he had been convicted, Baldwin, who was handling a revolver on set when it discharged a live bullet, would have faced a potential maximum prison sentence of 18 months.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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    Review: ‘Suits LA’ Is Flat and Joyless

    This NBC attempt to capitalize on the surprising Netflix success of “Suits” has almost none of the charming traits that distinguished the original.“Suits LA” is a spinoff of “Suits” — a sequel, sort of, but it feels like a seance. Gather, viewers, as we attempt to contact the spirit of “Suits.” Can you feel it in the room with us? Its fraternal jockeying? Its fascination with sleeveless tops as office wear for women? Maybe looking at a photograph of one of its characters will help maintain the delusion. Maybe hearing the theme song. Ooooohh. “Suits” says hi. “Suits” misses you.And like a seance, “Suits LA,” premiering Sunday on NBC, is an attempt to turn an unanswerable question into a little money. A question not about the nature of mortality but rather the nature of hits: Why does a show become popular? Why did a series that was a decent USA show from 2011-2019 become a Netflix sensation in the summer of 2023?The truth is, no one knows. If they did, they would make hits every time, and no show would be canceled prematurely, and we would have candy for dinner every day before the bliss orgy. But we live in the same world as the characters on “Suits LA” — the one where nothing nice can be simply enjoyed; it must be capitalized upon. Maybe plenty of “Suits” fans will be perfectly satisfied with this conjuring.Not all of us, though, because “Suits LA” is flat and joyless. The original “Suits” distinguished itself with its quick dialogue, pert sense of humor and thrilling, wall-to-wall horniness, none of which are present here. Instead of a brilliant little scammer who stumbles into a law career under the tutelage of an alluring alpha, we have a generic mad hunk who snarls within the first five seconds of the show, “My father left when I was very young, and I never respected him.” Fun! When does Meghan Markle get here? (She does not.)Our big dog here is Ted, played by Stephen Amell, whose voice and cadence resemble that of Gabriel Macht, who played the cocky boss in the original, thus adding a bit of “Suits”-iness. Years ago, Ted was a federal prosecutor taking down mob guys in New York. We see this story unfold in tedious flashbacks that include scenes with his slimy dad and warm memories of his tender relationship with his brother, who has Down syndrome.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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    ‘Running Point,’ Plus 5 Things to Watch on TV This Week

    Kate Hudson stars as a basketball team executive in a new comedy on Netflix, and the Oscars air on Sunday night.Between streaming and cable, there is a seemingly endless variety of things to watch. Here is a selection of TV shows and specials that air or stream this week, Feb. 24-March 2. Details and times are subject to change.Home is where the good food is.If you watch “Queer Eye” you know that the show’s food expert Antoni Porowski loves nothing more than nosing around in people’s fridges and sampling even the most questionable looking item. On his new show, “No Taste Like Home With Antoni Porowski,” he’s digging even deeper by learning the family history of celebrity guests and taking them on a culinary journey related to their ancestors. Whether it’s Britain with Florence Pugh, Germany with James Marsden or Korea with Awkwafina, you can be sure Poroswki will be luxuriating in new foods. Streaming Monday on Hulu and Disney Plus.Let’s get down to business.Though medical dramas never went out of style, they’re back in full force this season — including the new series “Berlin ER,” a German-language show that follows Dr. Parker (Haley Louise Jones) as she starts working in an extremely chaotic and understaffed emergency room in, you guessed it from the title, Berlin. Her task is to unite her team to work the best they can in a broken system. The series has an eight-episode arc with a new one coming out every week. Streaming on Wednesday on AppleTV+.There seems to be no rest for Mindy Kaling, who is back at it just a month after the third season finale of her “The Sex Lives of College Girls.” This time she is a co-creator, alongside Elaine Ko and Ike Barinholtz, of “Running Point,” a comedy that follows Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson), a former party girl who has to take on the role of managing the L.A. Waves, a fictional professional basketball team owned by her family. The cast also features Brenda Song, Justin Theroux and Max Greenfield. Streaming on Netflix on Thursday.Surviving in Fiji.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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    5 Comedy Specials to Watch: Josh Johnson, Rosebud Baker and More

    Stand-up shows from Josh Johnson, Rosebud Baker, Craig Ferguson and others investigate Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show, motherhood and the politics of dumplings.Ian Karmel, ‘Comfort Beyond God’s Foresight’(Stream it on YouTube)In his debut special, Ian Karmel, a veteran comic and writer for late night and award shows, turns his worst joke into one of his best by continually refusing to tell it. It’s a neat trick, characteristic of his unpredictably funny style. Explaining his hesitance, he makes a meal out of the idea that it once killed an audience member who died laughing. It’s one of many distinctive riffs.There’s a long act-out of a guy putting a bumper sticker on a car that is somehow very funny. He makes a CPAP machine hilarious. Part of his gift resides in the subtext. He can get a laugh from just saying “I like books” because it’s clear that he doesn’t mean it. There’s a finesse to his delivery. He speaks deliberately, never straining. He veers in unexpected directions, even on a sentence level. “I was on tour with my podcast,” he said, pivoting, “which is a sentence I sometimes think about saying to someone who fought in World War II.”Karmel is committed to skirting free of cliché, but not in an indulgent, hipster way. There’s nothing ironic about his mustache. His interests (sex, politics, figures of speech) are basic. It’s the way he handles them that stands out. For instance, his take on how worried we should be about our current political moment begins with an observation that many of the countries (Poland, Italy) that make the tastiest dumplings have at one point succumbed to fascism. “So, the question we need to ask ourselves as Americans is,” he says, pausing for a dramatic beat. “Does Hot Pockets count?Rosebud Baker, ‘The Mother Lode’(Stream it on Netflix)Many, if not most, stand-up specials are shot over multiple performances, then edited together to make it seem like one integrated whole. Rosebud Baker’s breakout new hour finds meaning in this benign deception, weaving together a performance from when she’s eight months pregnant and another one after she had the baby. Wearing the same color clothes, she cuts between the two even in the middle of a joke. This mixing is never addressed or commented on, but supports a question hovering over the special: Does having a child change you? Baker says it does, but her shots make a different argument.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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    Celebrating Jonathan Larson, Creator of ‘Rent,’ in a New Show Off Broadway

    “The Jonathan Larson Project,” a years-in-the-making musical collage of Larson’s life, features songs he wrote before he died. Now it’s onstage at the Orpheum.In his Tony-winning musical, “Rent,” Jonathan Larson asked: “How do you measure a year in the life?”The question took on an even heavier weight, with striking resonance, after Larson died unexpectedly at the age of 35 in 1996, hours before the show’s first preview.In the years after, dozens of his unheard songs were discovered, revealing the inner workings of a prolific artist looking for his big break. Now, a new musical, “The Jonathan Larson Project,” celebrates those songs and raises a new question: How do you thread together snippets of Jonathan Larson’s creative output into a musical?“The Jonathan Larson Project,” currently in previews, opens on March 10 at the Orpheum Theater in the East Village.Sara Krulwich/The New York Times“It was like an expedition,” the show’s creator, Jennifer Ashley Tepper, said of what it was like to pore over the archive of Larson’s work at the Library of Congress. “Like a musical theater historian expedition, because you would go and you would find one lyric that sort of matched up with one demo that sort of matched up with an idea of another notebook.”The show is a collage of Larson’s life as told through his unproduced music, some of it written when he was as young as 22, including compositions for downtown revues and cabarets, music from Larson’s futuristic dystopian musical “Superbia” and songs cut from “Rent” and “Tick, Tick … Boom!”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