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2 weeks ago | 
thedailybeast.com | Michele Willens
So many know him from his years as Charlie, the straight-arrow personal assistant to President Jed Bartlett, portrayed by Martin Sheen on The West Wing. Now, Dulé Hill is portraying the late great singer Nat King Cole off-Broadway in Lights Out. The show has been extended to the end of June. The playwrights Colman Domingo (yes, that one) and Patricia McGregor here imagine the intense thoughts clashing in Cole’s mind in 1957, on the night of his final NBC broadcast.
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4 weeks ago | 
otdowntown.com | Michele Willens
One of the big stories in the musical world is that Barbra Streisand's third album of duets The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two will hit streaming platforms on June 27, teaming up with other legends, including Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, and Sting.
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1 month ago | 
yahoo.com | Michele Willens
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.Generate Key Takeaways“Thank you for your service.” The words have become a cliché, but Hollywood has tried long and hard to make them matter. The industry has produced countless films about warfare and those who died for their country (whom we remember this week).
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1 month ago | 
yahoo.com | Michele Willens
It’s too easy to say her name fits: that Elizabeth Marvel is exactly that. She may be most readily recognized for her television work: having played Presidents, solicitor generals, detectives and more. “I love her. She’s the best,” says Lesli Linka Glatter, the force behind Homeland, on which the actress eventually ran the White House. In truth, Marvel’s theatrical experience is even more remarkable.
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1 month ago | 
thedailybeast.com | Michele Willens
It’s too easy to say her name fits: that Elizabeth Marvel is exactly that. She may be most readily recognized for her television work: having played Presidents, solicitor generals, detectives and more. “I love her. She’s the best,” says Lesli Linka Glatter, the force behind Homeland, on which the actress eventually ran the White House. In truth, Marvel’s theatrical experience is even more remarkable.
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1 month ago | 
otdowntown.com | Michele Willens
The first time I met Robert Benton, I asked him, "off the record, who's the most difficult actor you worked with?" His response: "This is ON the record: Dustin Hoffman!" But then he went on to acknowledge the actor's important contributions to " Kramer vs. Kramer, " the film that won them both Oscars. Hoffman won for best actor, a then unknown Meryl Streep won for best supporting actress.
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1 month ago | 
otdowntown.com | Michele Willens
People often joke about already knowing the last line of their obituary. Norm Lewis has performed for decades and still one wonders: will he always be described as the first black man to be the Phantom on Broadway? Well, Lewis not only doesn't worry, he just keeps on going. And now he is playing the lead in a revival of the great Lonnie Elder III play, " Ceremonies in Dark Old Men. " The venue is once again Off Broadway at the intimate The Theatre at St. Clements through May 18.
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2 months ago | 
thenation.com | Michele Willens |Lily Corvo
Politics / April 22, 2025 Culture TherapyFilms to remember for pre-Trumpian times and inspiration. Ad Policy Bradley Whittford joins the cast of “The West Wing” in Burbank, California on March 8, 2016.(Amanda Edwards / WireImage via Getty Images) A few months ago, my family was making fun of me, because I couldn’t stop watching The West Wing. I will say that by season eight, even my husband was by my side, trying to remember who won that final presidential election.
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2 months ago | 
thenation.com | Michele Willens
Culture / April 4, 2025 Larissa FastHorse’s Comedy Fake It Until You Make It Highlights the Absurdities of Ambition and Authenticity Larissa FastHorse’s Comedy “Fake It Until You Make It” Highlights the Absurdities of Ambition and AuthenticityIt’s a whirlwind of competition, chaos, and comedic discovery. Ad Policy Fake It Until You Make It, at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.Makela Yepez
She is arguably the busiest writer of the moment—certainly in the theatre world.
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Mar 27, 2025 | 
otdowntown.com | Michele Willens
Patrick Bringley spent ten years as a guard at the Metropolitan Museum. He had just lost his brother to cancer and was seeking a way to appease the grief. The result was a life-changing decade that led to a lovely and wildly popular book called "All the Beauty in the World."After doing many talks about the book, he was eager to continue to tell his stories: and his appreciation of the great art he had gazed at every day on New York's most famous walls.
