ICYMI: My new hosting reel is here!

Dear Friends and Family,

     I hope this letter finds you well and handling the world news as best you can. Before I say anything about this past month or the month to come, I want to make mention of the war overseas. What’s happening in Ukraine is scary and tragic. To see President Zelensky talk into a camera about staying in Ukraine to guard the capital and his country… It’s the plot of Madam Secretary come to life. Missiles are dropping in Kyiv; civilians and soldiers are dying; tens of thousands of people are fleeing their homes in the wake of this incursion. It’s heartbreaking and terrifying, and also far away. It’s easier to turn our heads and, quite frankly, with all we’ve been dealt with in recent history, I don’t blame anyone for wanting to or needing to in moments. At the same time, I find myself conflicted (not just about media consumption) but because so much of the world is war-torn. There have been missiles dropping and guns backfiring and refugees evacuating in some country every day for as long as I can remember being “old enough” to hear the stories. Rwanda, Darfur, Haiti, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Colombia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Israel…the list goes on. Certainly, this situation is different. Russia is one sovereign nation waging war in an attempt to overtake and absorb another sovereign nation, dealing new blows to international order and democracy. But the human casualties are deeply familiar. Let us all do what we can to stay informed and stop the violence and suffering in Ukraine and throughout the world.

     In my world... I decided to write something that I really wasn’t sure was a good idea. I heard Gideon Resnick—one of the hosts of the What a Day morning news podcast on Crooked Media—rail against tennis player Novak Djokovic because of his vaccine status and my blood began to rise. This flabberghasted me, too. I can’t stand Novak; my last email was quite literally about my love and adoration for Rafael Nadal (one of his rivals). Yet, it pissed me off to hear someone who knows nothing about tennis go off on Djokovic being unvaccinated in such an uneducated way—uneducated about world tennis and vaccines. (For those of you who have followed this newsletter, you know that I encouraged the readers of this very newsletter to get vaccinated. I stand by that recommendation given with that information at that time. I am still pro-vaccine. But I have also learned new things.) I wanted to write something about the unvaccinated Serbian tennis player, but that seemed like a terrible idea.

     If I’m being honest, I constantly worry about being canceled before I really begin. I worry about being misunderstood. I worry about being labeled. Most of all, I worry about speaking out of turn. “Who is she to write about X?” And yet, I have a wise friend who told me to "write when you feel it." So I wrote a piece with a headline I never thought I’d feel, let alone publish: “This Double-Vaccinated, Boosted, Rafael Nadal-Obsessed Tennis Fan Wants You to Hear Out Novak Djokovic.” I know. I shock myself.

     This was a multipurpose exercise. First, I had to be brave enough to post something that might be misconstrued by people who don’t read the piece in its entirety. (I hope you will not be one of those people.) Second, I decided to risk writing about the most hot-button topic today: COVID vaccines. Third, and least consequential, I publicly defended Novak Djokovic.

     In all seriousness, I needed to write and publish this because I'm distraught over humanity's loss of nuance. Nuance is an endangered species. Without nuance, we’re losing the ability to speak to one another. We’re losing the ability to share ideas and challenge each other, to debate and to grow and to connect. The world is becoming more black and white when it is actually gray. I fully believe that if we continue down this path nuance will become extinct, lost completely and forever. Use it or lose it, as they say. Yet, I believe in the human capacity for it if we use it. I believe readers can understand it if writers employ it. We have to have faith in our audiences and believe they can handle it instead of writing to the lowest common denominator. So I wrote this piece—with as much research, context, open-mindedness, and nuance I could. I hope you will read it.

     Hasan Minhaj put it perfectly in his new stand-up show The King’s Jester, which my brother Joseph and I saw at Radio City just last night. He said he believed his audiences could tell the difference between satire and sincerity. I think we should give all audiences the chance to rise to that expectation.

     In other publication news, last week, the New York Jewish Week published my interview with Tony Award-winning director David Cromer about the new play Prayer for the French Republic. Find the interview link, the link to my podcast mini episode talking about the play, and my official recommendation for Prayer below. That Q&A was also picked up by The Jerusalem Post. International, baby! I wrote another Q&A for Alma. This one homed in on Broadway’s Come From Away as I interviewed the actor that plays a Hasidic rabbi stranded in Gander, Newfoundland, on 9/11 and the real-life Hasidic rabbi who inspired the storyline. That comes out tomorrow, March 1. Find it here.

     That interview reminded me how much I truly love my job. The interviews you expect to be “fluff pieces” often turn out to be the most meaningful. I love hearing people’s stories; I love wielding the microphone. So I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the place I cut my editorial teeth, Parents magazine, folded its print edition. You may or may not have heard the news, but DotDash (previously Meredith Corporation) folded six of its print titles to go digital-only. This includes Parents (my first editorial job ever), Entertainment Weekly (my bible), People en Español, Eating Well, Health, and InStyle. If there’s one more thing I can ask of you, it’s to support thorough, ethical, paid journalism. We actually spoke about this in my podcast episode tied to Broadway's The Lifespan of a Fact. Please subscribe to the newspaper or magazine you read every day—if you can manage it financially. Buy the print edition of your digital subscription if you can afford it. Read and watch local news. We need journalism. With that, I send my love and all that jazz, Ruthie

Recommendations: 

*If these recommendations inspire you to check out something new, I’d love to know! Tag your post about it with #ruthierecommends.

1. Prayer for the French Republic. People say theatre heals. I’ve always agreed because I thought the joy of theatre heals or the music or escape heals. I never quite understood the phrase in the way that, for example, many Black audiences say The Color Purple heals. Then I saw Prayer for the French Republic, this new Off-Broadway play by Joshua Harmon (Bad Jews, Significant Other, Admissions, Skintight). The play begins with the French-Jewish Benhamou family in 2015, and toggles back and forth between this near-present and previous generations of Benhamous who lived in Paris from 1945-1946. When kippah-wearing son Daniel comes home from work badly beaten, fear and worry shake the present-day Benhamous. They start to wonder if they’re safe in France. When is it time to leave? How many signs are enough? Would our ancestors have left at this point? Where do we go? To be honest, I ask myself “When is it time to leave and where would I go?” multiple times a week (down from the recent daily tally). This play validated my fears and articulated the intricacies of my emotions. I felt “It’s not just me! I’m not crazy!” Actor Francis Benhamou who plays daughter Elodie is a name to remember, especially. My reaction to her monologue at the top of Act 2 went something like “Exactly. She gets it…Finally, someone saying how I think…HOW DARE YOU KNOW ME SO WELL WHY ARE YOU IN MY HEAD?!” Extended twice at Manhattan Theatre Club Off-Broadway, I urge everyone, Jewish and not, to see this show. Separate its resonance with my identity, this play is my favorite new play I’ve seen since theatre returned. Josh is one of the best playwrights we have. His writing is sharp and strong and he challenges the status quo in every play he writes. Tony-winning director David Cromer (The Band’s Visit) expertly molds and guides this story and the actors are all excellent. Must close March 27. Get tickets here.

2. Just for Us. I saw this solo show within ten days of Prayer for the French Republic. The two could be companion pieces, Prayer the drama and Just for Us the comedy. Jewish comedian Alex Edelman (who, by the way, wrote the Saturday Night Seder of 2020 that everyone was talking about) shares the true story account of what happened when he went to a white supremacist meeting in Queens. The story is wild—not unconcerning—and hilarious. Alex is gifted. And don’t just take my word for it. Sarah Jessica Parker called it “Special. Special. Special. A surprise, a revelation and a gift to everyone in your audience.” Jerry Seinfeld, Billy Crystal, and Hasan Minhaj have all been in the audience. Produced by Mike Birbiglia, the show is a swift 75 minutes of clap-out-loud too-true fun. Buy tickets here for its encore Off-Broadway run (March 14–April 23). There are seats going for only $37!

3. English. I loved this new play by Sanaz Toossi, directed by Knud Adams—so much so I began to wonder “am I one of those people who just loves everything?” (Spoiler alert: I am not. I saw two more things four days later that reminded me of this.) Inside an Iranian classroom, four adult students prepare for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). Each one craves to learn English for a different reason, but a reason they think will make them whole. But how much of your personality do you forfeit in a language that is not your own? Beautiful and touching, I highly recommend the new work, which plays Atlantic Theatre Company Off-Broadway through March 20. Tickets and info here.

4. The Music Man. An absolute delight of a night at the theatre. Let me be clear, this is still The Music Man—an old-fashioned musical that first bowed in 1957 when the book of a musical was like fishing wire and duct tape holding the songs together. The story isn’t much and I’m not a fan of the score (Shipoopi be damned). And yet, I beamed through this show. Hugh Jackman shines like the sun itself. There is no one more charming on G-d’s green earth. But it’s really Sutton Foster from whom I couldn’t steal my eyes. I did not realize how much I missed her on a Broadway stage in this type of all-out singing-and-dancing role until she stepped out with her signature deadpan sarcasm and her singular goofiness. There is absolutely no one like her. The production is similar to the recent Hello, Dolly! revival in that producers spared no expense in building River City on the stage of the Winter Garden. (The two shows also have director Jerry Zaks, choreographer Warren Carlyle, and scenic and costumer designer Santo Loquasto). It’s grandiose, even for a small Iowa city. The dancing is exceptional and while some may say it’s over-choreographed, I think it’s the movement that makes the score more palatable, not to mention the extraordinary technique of these dancers! Wow. If you want a carefree night of musical joy, sign up. Tickets (including info about $49 rush seats) here.

5. Only Murders in the Building. In the realm of television, this murder mystery comedy had me cackling on my couch. Two names: Steve Martin and Martin Short. The show co-stars Selena Gomez, cameos Sting and Tina Fey, and boasts a lot of Broadway names (Nathan Lane, Jayne Houdyshell, Jackie Hoffman, Ali Stroker, Zainab Jah). It gives me big Clue/Knives Out vibes after a murder takes place in the building where Short, Martin, and Gomez’s characters (Oliver, Charles, and Mabel) live: the Arconia. All three are true crime podcast junkies and decide they too can solve a murder and make a viral podcast about it. The thing is, the murder in question was deemed a suicide and Oliver and Charles don’t even know how to text. I am typically a no-murders media kind of girl. Can’t watch Law & Order, can’t watch Games of Thrones. Yet, the tone of the show and the genius of Martin and Short make it perfect for anyone looking for an edgy comedy fix with low tolerance for violence. Watch Season 1 on Hulu.

6. Dollface. This show filled the Sex and the City-size hole in my heart that And Just Like That… did not. When Jules (Kat Dennings) gets dumped by her boyfriend of five years, she must reconnect with her best girlfriends from college (and make some new friends) or face life alone. There’s a surrealist vibe to this—an old cat lady (an actual lady with a CGI cat head for a head) guides Jules through many of her obstacles back to the land of female friendships and away from her fate as a cat lady spinster. But it works for me. It’s super fun to watch this group of almost-30-year old women (played by Brenda Song, Shay Mitchel, and Esther Povitsky) and their shenanigans while also dealing with becoming “adults” and leaning on each other to get there. Watch Seasons 1 & 2 on Hulu.

7. Peter Attia’s The Drive #189 and #192. These two podcast episodes lowered my anxiety level about COVID-19 by about 90 percent. They also educated me in a deep way about COVID, what natural immunity is for real, the raw data on COVID-19 death risk in a woman my age, how you can be pro-vaccine but against vaccine mandates, as well as best guidance for mask-wearing. Episode 189 “COVID-19: Current state of affairs, Omicron, and a search for the end game” was released January 3, 2022. Episode 192 “COVID Part 2: Masks, long COVID, boosters, mandates, treatments, and more” was released January 24, 2022. Host Dr. Peter Attia makes it abundantly clear that the data and subsequent discussion are true as of the date they recorded those episodes. Things are constantly changing and Dr. Attia makes recommendations at the end of Part 1 of many physicians to follow on Twitter to stay up to date. That said, these two discussions (the first between Dr. Attia and Drs. Zubin Damania and Marty Makaray; the second between this trio and Dr. Monica Gandhi) helped me understand: advocacy vs science and why many policies are incongruent; my risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 (note: it is LOW); as well as key words to look for in data and data analysis that I read from this day forward. They are lengthy, but well worth it in my opinion. Listen to #189 here and #192 here.

As always, if you need show recommendations or if you have theatre questions, please get in touch! I LOVE to answer. Keep tabs on RuthieFierberg.com. 

Thank you for your enduring support.

Calendar - New York Openings and Re-Openings

BROADWAY

Plaza Suite (Previews begin February 25; Opens March 28)

Directed by John Benjamin Hickey (The Normal Heart), starring Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker

Take Me Out (Previews begin March 10; Opens April 4)

Second Stage Theater

Starring Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family, ...Spelling Bee), Jesse Williams (Grey's Anatomy), Patrick J. Adams (Suits), Brandon J. Dirden (Skeleton Crew), Julian Cihi (Only Murders in the Building)

Paradise Square (Previews begin March 15; Opens April 3)

Starring Joaquina Kalukango (Slave Play) and Chilina Kennedy (Beautiful: the Carole King Musical)

Directed by Moisés Kaufman (The Laramie Project); Written by Christina Anderson, Marcus Gardley, Craig Lucas, Larry Kirwan; Music by Jason Howland; Lyrics by Nathan Tysen, Masi Asare

Birthday Candles (Previews begin March 18; Opens April 10; Closes May 29)

Roundabout Theatre Company

Starring Debra Messing (Will & Grace)

Funny Girl (Previews begin March 26; Opens April 24)

Directed by Michael Mayer with a revised book by Harvey Fierstein

Starring Beanie Feldstein (Hello, Dolly!), Ramin Karimloo (Les Misérables), Jared Grimes (Manifest), Jane Lynch (Glee)

The Little Prince (Previews begin March 29; Opens April 11; Closes August 14)

Adapted by Chris Mouron

How I Learned to Drive (Previews begin March 29; Opens April 19; Closes May 29)

Manhattan Theatre Club

Starring Mary Louise Parker and David Morse (who originated the roles back in 1997 Off-Broadway)

Mr. Saturday Night (Previews begin March 29; Opens April 27)
Starring Billy Crystal, Shoshana Bean (Wicked, Encores! Songs for a New World)

Written by Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel; Music by Jason Robert Brown; Lyrics Amanda Green

Macbeth (Previews begin March 29; Opens April 28; Closes July 10)

Starring Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga

OFF-BROADWAY

English (Now playing; Closes March 13)

Atlantic Theater Company

By Sanaz Toosi and directed by Knud Adams

On Sugarland (Now playing; Closes March 13)

New York Theatre Workshop

By Aleasha Harris (What to Send Up When It Goes Down), directed by Whitney White

The Chinese Lady (Now playing; Closes March 27)

The Public Theater, co-production with Barrington Stage and Ma-Yi Theater Company

By Lloyd Suh

Confederates (Begins performances March 8; Closes April 10)

Signature Theatre Center

By Dominique Morisseau (Pipeline, Skeleton Crew)

SUFFS (Begins performances March 10; Closes April 24)

The Public Theater

Starring Jenn Colella (Come From Away), Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon), Grace McLean (The Great Comet) Phillipa Soo (Hamilton) 

Book, music, lyrics by Shaina Taub; Directed by Leigh Silverman (The Lifespan of a Fact); Music direction and supervision by Andrea Grody (my friend, West Hartford native & MD of The Band's Visit)

Help (Begins performances March 15; Closes April 10)

The Shed

Starring April Matthis (Toni Stone)

By Claudia Rankine; Directed by Taibi Magar

Heartland (Begins performances March 18; Closes April 10)

59E59

By Gabriel Jason Deane; Directed by Pirrone Yousefzadeh

Encores! The Life (Only March 16-20)

New York City Center

Starring Jelani Alladin (Frozen), Mykal Kilgore (Encores! Songs for a New World), Ledisi (Grammy winner)

Adapted and directed by Billy Porter

7 Minutes (Performances begin March 17; Closes April 10)

HERE

By Stefano Massini (The Lehman Trilogy); Directed by Mei Ann Teo

Tickets on a sliding scale price beginning at $10

Chasing Andy Warhol (Performances begin March 25; Closes June 12)

Immersive theatrical walking tour

Created and directed by Mara Lieberman

My Philosophy

I believe in art's power to create change. Art—particularly theatre—can help us reflect, determine, and, sometimes, change our beliefs. I hope that you all continue to engage with the storytelling and art around you—wherever you are and whatever level—and that you entertain different points of view. Advocate for your principles while always leaving room to hear others and evolve. Let's stay engaged, thoughtful, and active.