Elisabeth Vincentelli

Elisabeth Vincentelli

@evincentelli.bsky.social

Bylines: The New York Times, The Washington Post and more. Co-host Marks & Vincentelli podcast. Latest book: "The Art and Making of Arcane" elisabeth@evincentelli.com

1.5K followers374 following1K posts

Elisabeth Vincentelli
@evincentelli.bsky.social

Why do the characters in the Benjamin Button musical turn up with carefully applied dirt on their face? Why is that show so miserably ineffectual? Why do all the songs sound like "Come On Eileen" but terrible?

Elisabeth Vincentelli
@evincentelli.bsky.social

Awful news. It’s one of my favorite places in Paris and I had couscous with my brother there just last month. I hope it gets rebuilt.

Le Monde in English@english.lemonde.fr

Oldest covered market in Paris 'completely destroyed' in overnight fire

lemonde.frOldest covered market in Paris 'completely destroyed' in overnight fireThe Marché Couvert des Enfants Rouges had been operating since the 17th century. By morning, the fire was under control, according to authorities.

Elisabeth Vincentelli reposted

Laura Collins-Hughes
@collinshughes.bsky.social

On Joey Arias, Basil Twist and their return to “Arias With a Twist,” the show that Twist thought they would never be able to perform again. The photos, by Dina Litovsky, are magnificent. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/12/t...

nytimes.comJoey Arias and Basil Twist Resurrect Their Trippy ‘Arias With a Twist’ (Gift Article)Joey Arias and Basil Twist have resurrected their trippy 2008 hit, “Arias With a Twist.” Just don’t call it drag.
Elisabeth Vincentelli
@evincentelli.bsky.social

Overall I like Zoe Kazan's adaptation of "East of Eden" but I am not sold on a key piece of the show: Florence Pugh's performance. It has all the outside markers of "brave" and "committed" acting but lacks…something, maybe a feral need that doesn't feel like a calculated choice.

Elisabeth Vincentelli
@evincentelli.bsky.social

Due to the vagaries of scheduling I have three pieces in this Sunday's Arts & Leisure section, and they're all online already. First is this piece about the historic opera houses of Maine, which I researched on a road trip this summer: www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/a...

nytimes.comMaine’s Opera Houses Are the Light on Main Street (Gift Article)With a distinctly American vision of communal life and entertainment, these theaters have survived fires and floods because they were always about more than classical music.
Elisabeth Vincentelli
@evincentelli.bsky.social

Nigella Lawson, whose every other utterance is meme-ready, is the best thing that could have happened to #GBBO #GBBS I love seeing the unbearable Paul Hollywood uneasy as second fiddle, pondering his place on the show now.

Elisabeth Vincentelli reposted

Josh Spiegel
@mousterpiece.bsky.social

It'd be nice if the 90s-era movie stars I knew growing up (Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, etc.) were able to age gracefully onscreen a la the stars of *their* youth, like Paul Newman or Jack Nicholson.

Elisabeth Vincentelli
@evincentelli.bsky.social

"John Proctor Is the Villain" has just emerged as the most produced play in the country so now's a good time for a reminder that Kimberly Belflower was our guest on the podcast last year, when the show was on Broadway. marksvincentelli.substack.com/p/kimberly-b...

marksvincentelli.substack.comDo playwrights ever get to write their own happy endings? Ask Kimberly Belflower, author of the critical Broadway hit, "John Proctor is the Villain."With a cast headed by Sadie Sink, Belflower's seriocomedy at the Booth Theatre has garnered seven Tony nominations. She talks to us about her journey to acclaim.
Elisabeth Vincentelli
@evincentelli.bsky.social

Stationary bike is an unfortunate good metaphor for Ionescu play most of this season: a lot of intensity going nowhere.

Jackie Powell@classicjpow.bsky.social

Before the Dream called that timeout, Sabrina Ionescu was on stationary bike. She's now back on it following the huddle during the timeout.

Elisabeth Vincentelli
@evincentelli.bsky.social

In our new episode, we talked all things "Les Miz" with someone who knows a lot about it: James Powell, director of the Arena Spectacular version. He started in the show as an actor so its nooks and crannies hold no secret for him. marksvincentelli.substack.com/p/everything...

marksvincentelli.substack.comEverything You STILL Wanted to Know about “Les Miz”* (*And We’re Here to Tell You!)James Powell co-directed the recent concert version of “Les Miserables” at Radio City Music Hall. He chats about his long association with the musical, and about why audiences still flock to it.
Elisabeth Vincentelli
@evincentelli.bsky.social

I was otherwise engaged (two words: Céline Dion) so @petermarksdrama.bsky.social piloted our latest episode solo. His guest: the comedian Damien Warren-Smith and his alter ego Garry Starr. marksvincentelli.substack.com/p/the-naked-...

marksvincentelli.substack.comThe naked truth? “Garry Starr Classic Penguins” is a stripped-down hoot. Let clown king Damien Warren-Smith explain.Fresh from an Edinburgh Fringe triumph, Warren-Smith brings his hilarious show to Studio Seaview for a month. Peter talks to him about doing raucous comedy in the buff.

Elisabeth Vincentelli reposted

Lindsay Beyerstein
@beyerstein.bsky.social

These pro-AI whiners can't fathom why everyone's so hostile on Bluesky. This is a knowledge-worker bar. You couldn't go into a steelworker bar and brag about outsourcing their jobs. Why would you expect a warm welcome here? Plus, you're always bragging about ending life on earth.

Elisabeth Vincentelli
@evincentelli.bsky.social

Our latest podcast is about travel: @petermarksdrama.bsky.social was at the Edinburgh Fringe, I went to the Broadway Festival in Kingston. Why don't we have more European-style summer fests in the US? (This is NOT a plea to bring back the NYC Fringe!) marksvincentelli.substack.com/p/broadway-i...

marksvincentelli.substack.comBroadway in the wild? Edinburgh on the Fringe? Elisabeth and Peter go on festival adventures.When things slow down in some corners of Theaterland, they rev up in others. Elisabeth discusses The Festival, a new Broadwaycentric event upstate; Peter roams the venerable Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Elisabeth Vincentelli
@evincentelli.bsky.social

Note that the piece does not actually ask the second question.

Vanity Fair@vanityfair.com

Is Jordan Roth an emerging artist taking on new mediums, or is he a decadent inevitability of our late-stage attention economy? Is he both?

vanityfair.comThe Business of Being Jordan Roth: How the Producer Became the ProductionThe real estate scion turned Tony-winning Broadway impresario has become a haute couture customer, Instagram exhibitionist, performance artist, and now, with Ryan Murphy’s blessing, bona fide Hollywoo...

Elisabeth Vincentelli reposted

Laura Collins-Hughes
@collinshughes.bsky.social

At the end of the last interview I did with Tim Curry, in November, I told him, “Take care,” and he said: “I do. I very much do. I have to. You, too, please.” On Tim Curry. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/t...

nytimes.comAs a Storyteller, Tim Curry Had the Gift (Gift Article)He was a blast to watch, whether playing a mad scientist in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” a butler in “Clue” or a singing King Arthur in “Spamalot.”

Elisabeth Vincentelli reposted

Sam Adams
@samadams.bsky.social

Big Tech’s capture of the US government is more or less complete, but it seems pretty obvious these should not be legal

Maggie Harrison Dupré@mharrisondupre.bsky.social

NEW: Teen boys are using smart glasses — mainly Meta's AI Glasses — to film themselves harassing classmates at school, following girls around and "rizzing" them or "ragebaiting" them w/ insults. In several videos we reviewed, girls plead w/ the poster to stop filming. futurism.com/artificial-i...

futurism.comTeen Boys Are Using Meta Glasses to Harass and Bully Girls at High Schools and Middle SchoolsTeen boys are using Meta's AI glasses to harass and bully victims -- overwhelmingly girls -- at middle schools and high schools.
Elisabeth Vincentelli
@evincentelli.bsky.social

It's an even year, which means NecronomiCon Providence is back! How I wish I could go — my trip there in 2022 was a total blast. There's even an Agalloch show on Thursday, the perfect nightcap after many panels. www.nytimes.com/2022/08/28/b...

nytimes.comA Festival That Conjures the Magic of H.P. Lovecraft and Beyond (Published 2022)At the Rhode Island event, revelers danced to murder ballads and celebrated all things weird. They even found time to reckon with the writer’s racism.
Elisabeth Vincentelli
@evincentelli.bsky.social

What’s depressing is that AI will win because people use it for the same reason they get everything delivered: ease and convenience without regard for the consequences (waste of resources, huge amounts of waste, increased traffic, decrease of socialization). Hard to fight “But I want it now!”

Elisabeth Vincentelli
@evincentelli.bsky.social

Loved the show, loved this review. Among my fave things about Cat Cohen are how she both skewers and revels in the attention industry, and how she uses raunchy material to build a public persona. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/t...

nytimes.comIn ‘Cat Cohen: Broad Strokes,’ a Comic Faces Death (and Being Basic)After recovering from a life-threatening stroke, a fame-hungry musical comedian contends with a worse fate: She might just be average.

Elisabeth Vincentelli reposted

Chip Pate
@wspate.bsky.social

“Because of the way algorithms have taken over everything, we all kind of live in a reality of one that is distinct from everybody else.” — Jonathan Spector, playwright for “Birthright,” on Marks & Vincentelli podcast. (Brilliant.) @petermarksdrama.bsky.social @evincentelli.bsky.social

marksvincentelli.substack.com"Birthright" is the summer's hottest play. Also the most controversial.Playwright Jonathan Spector joins us for a discussion of his three-act comedy-drama, now at Off Broadway's MCC Theater, about American Jews who bonded in and over Israel.
Elisabeth Vincentelli
@evincentelli.bsky.social

Our guest on the podcast this week is Jonathan Spector, whose new play, "Birthright," is at MCC (you may know him from "Eureka Day," which won a Tony last year and often appears on regional stages). marksvincentelli.substack.com/p/birthright...

marksvincentelli.substack.com"Birthright" is the summer's hottest play. Also the most controversial.Playwright Jonathan Spector joins us for a discussion of his three-act comedy-drama, now at Off Broadway's MCC Theater, about American Jews who bonded in and over Israel.
Elisabeth Vincentelli
@evincentelli.bsky.social

Warning: The Apple TV movie “The Dink” is brazen pickleball propaganda. These people will stop at nothing, down to enrolling Mary Steenburgen (only one of the most likable actresses ever) to surreptitiously advocate for their nefarious dreams of kudzu-like spread.

Elisabeth Vincentelli
@evincentelli.bsky.social

In addition to the pleasures of the show itself, I love that 1) the most popular musical in the world, ie “Les Miz,” is French and 2) I just saw Radio City audience give a rousing ovation to people waving the red flag of revolution.