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Jackson McHenry

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

  1. 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.
  2. theater review
    Don’t Think Too Hard About The Heart of Rock and RollThe Huey Lewis musical is fine, fun, and as lightweight as a cardboard box.
  3. theater review
    The Wiz Rolls Back Into TownBig high-energy performances, undercut by the folks behind the curtain.
  4. what are you waiting 5
    No One’s Watching the Best Comedy on NetflixThere’s an easy way to fix this.
  5. great moments in journalism
    I Simply Must Know What Dale Does to The Girls on the Bus NextCole Escola as the moral compass of presidential-campaign reporting? Sure, why not!
  6. exit interview
    The 3 Body Problem Creators Just Want to Give You More Spectacle“By the last season or two, we would be giving people an experience they’ve never had before.”
  7. bpe
    Girls5Eva - Season 2
    The Songs of Girls5eva, RankedThey’re gonna be famous 5eva, but which song is No. 1?
  8. stage whisperer
    An Enemy of the People’s Stars Didn’t Mind the InterruptionAt the show’s opening-night party, Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli reflected on their interactions with last week’s climate activists.
  9. highs and lows
    The Highs, Lows, and Whoas of the 2024 OscarsIs this a show for everyone or just the diehards? Is Hollywood back and better than ever, or has it lost its sense of identity?
  10. the truth is out there
    All Your Burning Questions About 3 Body Problem, AnsweredWho are these aliens and what do they want?
  11. baby gesserit
    Decoding Anya Taylor Joy’s Role in Dune: Part Two’s Ominous VisionsA talking fetus, the ocean, and Anya Taylor-Joy — here’s what it all means.
  12. theater review
    Brooklyn Laundry’s Drama Has Been Worn to DeathJohn Patrick Shanley’s play needs a little starch.
  13. tv review
    Elsbeth Knows What to DoThe Kings’ Good Wife and Good Fight spinoff sets Carrie Preston’s character loose on NYC to remind us that procedural drama can still be fizzy fun.
  14. theater review
    Cynthia Nixon Does Anything But Vanish in The Seven Year DisappearShe and Taylor Trensch lead an ambitious, if rangy, survey of mother-son dynamics.
  15. it’s theater season
    Amy Herzog and Sam Gold Are Just a Couple of Ibsen LoversEarly in their relationship, they decided never to work together. But neither could resist adapting Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People for Broadway.
  16. adaptation nation
    Isn’t This Supposed to Be Fun?Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender makes the mistake of treating the original like a sacred text.
  17. theater review
    Encores! Jelly’s Last Jam
    The Jazz Age Re-reborn: At Encores!, Jelly’s Last JamFrom tap to vocals, an astonishing achievement for such a short run.
  18. theater review
    Reviews: Onstage, Trauma Times 3Reviews of Munich Medea, Self Portraits (DELUXE), and you don’t have to do anything.
  19. theater review
    Oh, Mary! The Play Was Hilarious, Mrs. LincolnCole Escola goes berserk as the First Lady.
  20. stage whisperer
    Listen to ‘Teeth’ From the Musical TeethIt’s about … teeth.
  21. theater review
    Editorial Notes on The Connector“Can we get more specific in this section right here?”
  22. theater reviews
    Dramatizing Desire and Addiction in Jonah and The White ChipA twisty, emotional drama and a straight-down-the-line recovery comedy.
  23. tv review
    Feud Sees Capote in Black and WhiteDespite a great cast and compelling premise, this ham-fisted bit of cable excess can’t deliver.
  24. theater review
    The Encores! Once Upon a Mattress Is the Biggest Summer-Camp Show EverSutton Foster and friends play it really big and really broad for this lively short run.
  25. broadway
    Alan Is Cumming to Broadway for a NightThe Emcee returns to Studio 54 to sing about aging.
  26. 2023 emmys in 2024
    The Highs, Lows, and Whoas of the 2023 Emmys Held in 2024The ceremony kept things tight: FX, speech times, Anthony Anderson’s latex.
  27. movie review
    The Ruthless New Mean Girls Knows Better Than to Try and Make Fetch HappenA pretty good remake proves the Plastics will never die.
  28. highs and lows
    The Highs, Lows, and Whoas of the 2024 Golden GlobesAre we having fun yet? Honestly, not really!
  29. theater review
    A Cold-Blooded Night of the IguanaA Tennessee Williams curio whose temperature never rises above a simmer.
  30. casting call
    The Search for the Next Will and KateThe Crown’s casting director on how the show found the right pair to bring an interior life to these tabloided young royals.
  31. theater review
    The Too-Steady Charm of How to Dance in OhioA winning cast of autistic actors elevates a rote concept.
  32. chat room
    May December’s Georgie Would ‘Absolutely Not’ Be a Good Music SupervisorCory Michael Smith is pretty sure that his manic, scene-stealing character “has no idea what that job would be like.”
  33. best of 2023
    The Best Theater of 2023A play that’s not not about Fleetwood Mac, the return of Merrily and Purlie, and the agony of high-school test prep.
  34. best of 2023
    Exhilarating Reactions to a Troubled WorldPlus Sondheim old and (for the final time) new.
  35. theater review
    A Decent Docent: Gavin Creel’s Walk on ThroughA tour from a “museum novice” that’s also an autobiography.
  36. reasons to love new york
    The Three Frank Jrs. in Merrily We Roll Along Will Sign Your PlaybillBackstage with the boys charming sold-out Broadway shows.
  37. theater review
    The Gardens of Anuncia Is a Musical That Thinks SmallBased on Graciela Daniele’s life story, it deliberately leaves her as a secondary character.
  38. emergency discussion
    The Crown Made a Haunting ChoiceWe need to talk about Ghost Diana and Ghost Dodi.
  39. chat room
    Kelley Curran’s Gilded Age Social Climber Is Very Undine SpraggTurner’s grand reveal surprised her, too.
  40. theater review
    The Day the Clowns Cried: HarmonyThe rise of the Nazi regime, recounted in a Cabaret-adjacent musical with songs by Barry Manilow.
  41. explain yourselves
    The Morning Show Was Supposed to Feel UnhingedFor season three, incoming showrunner Charlotte Stoudt wanted to replicate “what it was like to be alive while making that show.”
  42. theater review
    Sabbath’s Theater Can’t Get Out of Its HeadAn adaptation of Philip Roth ends up feeling uncharacteristically tame.
  43. theater
    Money, Love, and Music, All at Odds in I Can Get It for You WholesaleAn underseen musical revived, full of intriguing contradictions.
  44. casting call
    The Gilded Age Summons Broadway to Fifth AvenueCasting directors Bernie Telsey and Adam Caldwell explain how they fill the show with oh so many Tony nominees.
  45. theater review
    Stereophonic Goes Its Own Way, and Finds Its GrooveA very Rumours rock saga immerses you in the act of creation.
  46. tv review
    Good Sex Can’t Save Fellow TravelersThe Showtime limited series spends too little time with its messy, fascinating characters and far too much time on Gay U.S. History 101.
  47. theater
    Still Popular: Chenoweth and Menzel Talk ‘Wicked’For Wicked’s 20th anniversary on Broadway, Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel reunite to talk about high notes, low rumors, and onstage emergencies.
  48. theater review
    A Long Hike in the Woods: The Refuge PlaysNathan Alan Davis’s three-part epic falls short of its big ambitions.
  49. tv review
    All That Effort for This?Frasier is back and meh-er than ever.
  50. some questions
    Some Questions for Only Murders in the Building’s Season-3 FinaleWho’s leaking Maxine’s reviews, and what exactly is the plot of Death Rattle Dazzle?
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