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Jackson McHenry

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Jackson McHenry is a Vulture critic who has been covering theater, film, and television since 2015.

  1. the pluck of the irish
    Anthony Boyle Didn’t Have To Do Much Research For Say Nothing“My mom, one of her earliest memories is the Brits raiding the house and her father getting pulled down the stairs by the British Army.”
  2. theater review
    Grey Henson and Sean Astin in 'Elf.'
    Elf: The Musical, Where They Sing Really Loud for All to HearEveryone’s trying, but the show itself is a cotton-headed ninny-muggins.
  3. emergency discussion
    We Have Urgent Questions About the Unholy Provenance of Netflix’s Hot FrostyWho built this ripped, anatomically graphic snowman? Is there a world of snowmen offscreen waiting to be turned into sex objects for widows?
  4. theater review
    A Wonderful World Is Also a Familiar OneJames Monroe Iglehart does a fine job embodying Louis Armstrong in a show that’s anything but improvisational.
  5. in conversation
    Emily Watson: ‘I’m Blessed With a Readable Face’The double Oscar nominee grew up in a cultlike organization. Acting became her way out of it.
  6. best of 2024
    The Best TV Shows of 2024 (So Far)A punchy comedy, a spy thriller with complex politics, and a beautiful series that feels like a warm hug.
  7. theater review
    Teeth Is Back and Biting HarderAnna K. Jacobs and Michael R. Jackson’s horror musical now has a gory splash zone, and it benefits from the extra layer of kitsch (and plastic).
  8. theater review
    A Big, Agnostic RagtimeCity Center’s revival blows the speakers out but says comparatively little.
  9. theater review
    International Arrivals: We Live in Cairo and Bad KreyòlTwo shows take audiences into the Arab Spring and the Haitian American experience.
  10. theater review
    Left on Tenth Goes Right Down the MiddleJulianna Margulies and Peter Gallagher reenact Delia Ephron’s memoir, long on charm and short on dramatic tension.
  11. profile
    Nicole Scherzinger Never Stopped DreamingThe former Pussycat Doll stages a comeback with Sunset Blvd. on Broadway.
  12. theater review
    Climate Hopefulness Faces the Fire in Deep HistoryDavid Finnigan’s play starts as lecture, then takes a turn.
  13. performance review
    The Evolutions of Emma StoneThe Oscar-winning actor is a master at playing characters who are only halfway out of the cocoon.
  14. theater review
    Marla Mindelle Is Back, Ridiculously, in The Big Gay JamboreeQueen of the world!
  15. theater review
    In a Pair of Musicals, Gabriel Kahane Seeks America and HimselfHe performs ‘Magnificent Bird’ and ‘Book of Travelers’ on alternating nights.
  16. tv review
    The Franchise Isn’t Super Satire, But It Is a Fun HangVeep’s Armando Iannucci sends up superhero fatigue with a workplace comedy that thrives when it’s not succumbing to cynicism.
  17. theater review
    McNeal and Robert Downey Jr. Dance With ChatGPTThe playwright Ayad Akhtar considers the prospects (ominous and otherwise) of AI art-making.
  18. backstories
    IND3_B4D93
    Industry Scatters the PiecesAs the show advances and destroys its major characters, the creators and cast explain how they got to this moment.
  19. theater review
    The Ghost of John McCain Is Inside Out for MSNBC AddictsStuck in Donald Trump’s head, literally but also artistically.
  20. it takes two
    Michelle Pfeiffer Will Finally Play a David E. Kelley TV CharacterNicole Kidman will be there too.
  21. the rehearsal
    Megan Hilty Treats Vocal Warm-ups Like Marathon Prep“I took up running so that I could literally breathe throughout the course of the show.”
  22. powers ranking
    AGATHA ALL ALONG
    Which Witches Are Bringing the Most to Agatha All Along’s Coven?Acting-wise, not magic-wise.
  23. emmys 2024
    The Highs, Lows, and Whoas of the 2024 EmmysHigh: Shōgun dominance! Low: Emmys spon-con? Whoa: Hacks upset???
  24. nikki beach or bust
    Everything on Industry Was Building Toward ThisMarisa Abela, Myha’la, and the showrunners break down Yasmin and Harper’s biggest fight: “We were like, ‘How do we make this as hurtful as possible?’”
  25. gold rush
    How Did Best Song Become the Year’s Most Exciting Emmys Race?The Pickwick Triplets could bring Pasek and Paul their EGOT — if Mother Maya, Babs, ‘Girls5Eva,’ and ‘True Detective’ don’t get in the way.
  26. tv review
    Shouldn’t We Be Having More Fun in Middle Earth?The Rings of Power returns — big, expensive, and static as ever.
  27. fall preview 2024
    18 Plays and Musicals We Can’t Wait to See This FallThe season of the diva is upon us.
  28. chat room
    Kit Harington Drew Out the ‘Boris Johnson Element’ for His Industry RoleHe’s ready to both charm and repel you as the aristocrat turned tech bro seducing Yasmin.
  29. chat room
    Industry’s Harry Lawtey Sees Robert’s Ambition ‘Through Northern Eyes’“I’ve always thought Rob’s arc has been entirely defined by class.”
  30. voulez vous couche avec elle
    Let Emily Sleep Around in ParisPourquoi so serially monogamous?
  31. trade secrets
    Industry Goes for BrokeWith a new Sunday-night time slot and Kit Harington co-starring, can this buzzy Gen-Z finance drama reach new heights?
  32. theater review
    A Poodle Room on Wall Street: Life and TrustThe immersive follow-up to Sleep No More imagines sex and horror in early-20th-century Fidi.
  33. theater review
    Plot Twists, Slick and Surreal: Job and Six CharactersA tech-thriller unknots itself on Broadway, and a metatheatrical revolution keeps probing.
  34. exit interview
    Leslye Headland Turns Star Wars to Its Dark SideThe Acolyte creator renders a “positive corruption arc” and wrestles with her past in a galaxy far, far away.
  35. gold rush
    The Good, the Bad, and the Weird of the 2024 Emmy NominationsShōgun leads the pack: good! Devery Jacobs snubbed: bad! And, wait, the Pop-Tart movie got a nom?
  36. tv review
    The Morning Show
    The Morning Show’s Third Season Is Crazy Enough to WorkApple TV+’s premiere prestige drama has embraced its true identity as a high-gloss soap.
  37. tv review
    The Crown Keeps Its DistanceWith the tragedy of Diana, Peter Morgan plays it safe to the very end.
  38. profile
    Put Maya Erskine in EverythingPEN15 introduced her as a gonzo comedic talent. Mr. & Mrs. Smith makes a convincing case for her as a rom-com lead.
  39. theater review
    The Speaker and the Upstart Talk It Out: N/AIt’s Pelosi vs. AOC onstage, and Holland Taylor, as Nancy, gets all the zingers.
  40. scene report
    The 77th Annual Tony Awards - Show
    A Tonys Diary: Seeing Outsiders Coming, the Co-Pro Conundrum, and Party-HoppingOur critic reports on making the rounds inside and after Broadway’s biggest night.
  41. profile
    Annie Baker Goes to HollywoodThe renowned playwright switches mediums with her sneakily expansive debut film, Janet Planet, about a possessive mother-daughter relationship.
  42. theater review
    Hell’s Kitchen Is the WE❤NYC of MusicalsAnthemic songs with generalities in between.
  43. tonys 2024
    Our 100 Percent Accurate Tonys PredictionsA very unsettled season means there could be plenty of surprises. We’ve correctly anticipated them all.
  44. theater review
    The Encores! Titanic Gives Its Level BestNo hydraulic tilt lifts on this return voyage.
  45. lesbian space witches!
    The Acolyte Is Not the Star Wars You Were Looking ForAnd that’s a very good thing.
  46. theater review
    There and Back Again, in Home, Breaking the Story, and What Became of UsThree onstage journeys between realms.
  47. theater review
    Isolation, Set to Harmony: Three Houses and The Lonely FewBlue notes from lockdown and from musicians on the road.
  48. theater review
    Yale Drama Meets the Psych Ward: Invasive SpeciesMaia Novi applies humor, and Goop, and also Andrew Lloyd Webber, to her fraught experience as a drama student.
  49. theater review
    An Evictable Menagerie: Paula Vogel’s Mother PlayRevisiting her chaotic upbringing with intermittent insight.
  50. theater review
    Rachel McAdams Fights — and Finds — Reality in Mary JaneMaking an impressive Broadway debut, the actress offers a layered depiction of navigating a parenting nightmare.
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