jackson mchenry Author Archive
Give A Gift
MOST RECENT ARTICLES BY:

Jackson McHenry

Critic
See all their articles from across New York Magazine
@McHenryJD

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

  1. theater review
    Melissa Etheridge Takes the Aw-Shucks Road to BroadwayMy Window is a night of songs and personal biography, loosely hung together.
  2. announcements
    Stage Whisperer, Vulture’s Theater Newsletter, Extends Its RunWeekly theater news, delivered a little louder for the people in the back.
  3. theater review
    Little Shop of Blah-Blah: Theresa Rebeck’s DigA redemption play that betrays its own premise.
  4. theater review
    In Swing State, Bleak Politics in the Tall GrassRebecca Gilman’s story is hemmed in on all sides.
  5. theater review
    Rachel Bloom Sets Avoidance to Song in Death, Let Me Do My ShowA terrible March 2020, exposed but not too exposed.
  6. fall preview 2023
    Leslie Odom Jr. Returns, in a Red-Hot American SatireThe actor is back on Broadway for Purlie Victorious, a show more skeptical than the one that made him famous.
  7. some questions
    How Is And Just Like That … Going to Wrap This Up?And most importantly, what Patricia Field outfit will Kim Cattrall wear?
  8. fall preview 2023
    29 Plays and Musicals We Can’t Wait to See This FallOur two new drama critics share and compare their enthusiasms.
  9. emergency discussion
    The Brain-Breaking Dissonance of Red, White & Royal BlueUma Thurman’s accent. Surprise Truvada sponcon. The tonal equivalent of a Disney Channel original gay porn. Make it all make sense.
  10. theater review
    The Shark Is Broken Goes Chumming for Your AffectionIan Shaw’s play bemoans big action movies’ death grip on the culture — while also venerating the voracious progenitor of them all.
  11. tv review
    High School Musical: The Musical: The Series Gets Away With ItDisney+’s extremely meta sorta-sequel series goes out with its heart on its sleeve.
  12. theater review
    You Made a Musical … Out of a DeLorean?Back to the Future: The Musical is a carefully faithful spectacle.
  13. theater review
    Pregaming With Three Postcollege Brats (Plus a Dog) at Toros“The play keeps reminding you it’s a performance, which is nice in a time when many shows feel like they just want to be adapted into film or TV.”
  14. theater review
    The Epic and Hyperspecific in Half-God of Rainfall and Let’s Call Her PattyThe gods shoot hoops; Rhea Perlman chops onions.
  15. theater review
    The Cottage Needs More Doors to SlamLaura Bell Bundy and Eric McCormack lead a too-tidy farce.
  16. theater review
    Notes on Teamwork: Flex and Orpheus DescendingTwo midsummer trips to the South.
  17. theater review
    Here Lies Love Is an Unsettlingly Good TimeA show that portrays Imelda Marcos as blithe naïf and corrupt co-tyrant—and also enabler of a rousing dance party.
  18. profile
    Kit Connor Wasn’t ReadyThe star of Netflix’s teen rom-com Heartstopper was forced to come out by the show’s fans. He’s not letting them get to him anymore.
  19. awards season
    The Good, the Bad, and the Weird of This Year’s Emmy NominationsGOOD: Scandoval! Bad: No Reservation Dogs AGAIN. WEIRD: James Marsden for … being James Marsden?
  20. theater review
    A Hamlet in the Park That Puzzles the WillKenny Leon’s production gestures at a lot without capturing any one thing.
  21. theater
    Liz Kingsman Is Getting Famous for Being Not FamousHer One Woman Show is a monologue about writing a monologue to chase celebrity. It’s working.
  22. theater review
    Dropping by the Local Nazis: Alex Edelman’s Just for UsPlus: Liz Kingsman’s One Woman Show, and the state of solo comedy meta-theater.
  23. theater review
    Once Upon a One More Time Bungles Britney on BroadwayIt’s not the way I planned it.
  24. tv review
    Humiliating Carrie BradshawAnd Just Like That … stumbles into the future
  25. backstories
    How Here Lies Love Transformed Its Theater Into a DiscoOut with the velvet seats, in with the dance floor.
  26. theater review
    Physicians, Preen Thyselves: The DoctorA play about the self-serving sanctimony of the newly canceled.
  27. tony awards 2023
    The Highs, Lows, and Whoas of the 2023 Tony AwardsUnscripted and yet still charming.
  28. awards watch
    What Should Win at the 2023 Tony Awards?A Vulture critic and staff writer unpack the “thin-feeling season.”
  29. alternative viewing
    Why Not Just Watch I Hate Suzie?A question I often ask, but specifically in this case about The Idol.
  30. theater review
    Patterns of Addiction in Days of Wine and Roses and Wet BrainOne decorous, one unleashed.
  31. theater review
    Death Comes to the Reunion in The ComeuppanceHigh-school friends, pregaming with jungle juice and angst.
  32. theater review
    Knock-Knock: Grey House Brings Horror Tropes to BroadwayIf you find Laurie Metcalf in a cabin in the woods, don’t go in.
  33. finale thoughts
    Succession’s Alan Ruck Is Still Unraveling Clues About Connor“Jesse was like, ‘I don’t know … perhaps.’ That’s the whole show, to an extent. He loves that everybody has a different opinion about it.”
  34. chat room
    Mary Catherine Garrison Loves Growing With TriciaThe Somebody Somewhere actor “lit up” at season two’s scripts: “She’s trying so hard to do her best and life just keeps toppling over.”
  35. theater review
    Looking for Connection in Primary Trust and The FearsIsolation is on everyone’s mind.
  36. theater review
    Monsoon Wedding Is a Lively Party But a Watery Musical“The songs tend to idle in neutral, repeating ideas already established in dialogue, never opening up into something more.”
  37. finale thoughts
    Betty Gilpin Is Still Pondering the Mysteries of the Mrs. Davis Finale“It’s not some evil ominous supercomputer, and it’s not a robot Mother Teresa. It’s a reflection of who we are. And that’s almost scarier.”
  38. theater review
    Basketball and Debutante Balls in King James and The CotillionPlays about the codes of masculinity and femininity, LeBron and dance steps.
  39. america decides
    Is Jeryd Mencken Succession’s Fortinbras?Hamlet might provide a glimpse into how Succession unravels.
  40. america decides
    Adam Godley’s Eyes Are Very Much Okay After Succession’s Wasabi-LaCroix Incident“I got a call from my agents, ‘Can you get on a plane in a couple of days to shoot an episode of Succession?’ I was like, ‘Yes, I can do that.’”
  41. tony awards 2023
    The Takeaways From Today’s Tony Awards NominationsA couple of notable snubs, a Bad Cinderella shutout, and a J.C. face-off.
  42. finale thoughts
    Jennifer Ehle Based Her Dead Ringers Investor on Ayn RandAnd thinks Rebecca Parker knows exactly what happened in the finale.
  43. theater review
    Lorraine Hansberry on Hashtag Activism: The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s WindowOscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan star in her play about fashionable commitment to social change.
  44. making it
    How Mimi Lien Designed a Stage Built for BeheadingsThe set designer’s inspiration for Sweeney Todd’s Broadway revival came straight out of Sondheim’s “great black pit” lyric.
  45. theater review
    New York, New York Barely Scratches the Surface of New York, New YorkIt doesn’t make it here.
  46. theater review
    Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht Find Depth in the Small Scale of Summer, 1976David Auburn just lets them talk, and something great happens.
  47. theater review
    The Playing’s the Thing: Sean Hayes Shows Range in Good Night, OscarDelivering quips, piano virtuosity, and a little too much exposition.
  48. theater review
    Jodie Comer Makes a Winning Case for Prima FacieThe Killing Eve star’s performance gives life to a basic script.
  49. theater review
    The Thanksgiving Play’s Satire Runs ShortGood intentions go awry — both in the script and otherwise.
  50. theater review
    Peter Pan Goes Wrong Never Grows Up (But That’s Okay)Backstage farce with a just enough mild head trauma.
More Articles