Michele Willens

3 weeks 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.

1 month 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.

1 month ago | 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.

1 month ago | otdowntown.com | Michele Willens

David Rothenberg's multilayered life has propelled him into Broadway's brightest lights, prison riots, political campaigns, and more. After reading the script for a play called " Fortune and Men's Eyes," by former prisoner and playwright John Herbert, Rothenberg was so moved that he created the Fortune Society. Fifty-eight years later, it has a staff of 600 people and six residences for formerly incarcerated men and women.

1 month ago | otdowntown.com | Michele Willens

David Rothenberg's multilayered life has propelled him into Broadway's brightest lights, prison riots, political campaigns, and more. After reading the script for a play called Fortune and Men's Eyes, by former prisoner and playwright John Herbert, he was so moved that he created The Fortune Society. Fifty- eight years later, it has a staff of 600 people and six residences for formerly incarcerated men and women.