Manhattan

In the old days, private business owners were never tipped because they set their own rate. In 2025, most people under 35 aren't aware of that convention and probably wouldn't care. Your tip is an investment in future service. A nice person who is a good tipper gets all kinds of perks for their repeated business. If you enjoyed the experience and plan to return, you should tip generously in hopes of building a great client/provider relationship. If you don't plan to repeat, tip a respectful amount and move on.

A writer/director who is a woman makes a really long, gross movie in which she exploits women's bodies. Women seem to love being horrible to other women and pretending it's about patriarchy. Boring.

For the most part Broadway caters to the tourist crowd, and if you're in NYC on family vacation you can eat at Bubba Gump at 5:00, see Wicked at 7:00, and still have time for the M&M store. I miss the Times Square of the 1980s. I didn't mind high crime rates and abandoned buildings when rent was cheap, gay bars were plentiful, and New York was a city for adults.

Don't forget the return of Will Smith, which should be an embarrassment to the Grammys. I forgot - nothing is too low, too tacky, too gross, or too talentless for the Grammys.

Sadly, Lewis did get support on social media, most notably from Audra MacDonald. It's all in the past now, but I hope the producers scolded Lewis. I hope Atlantic Theatre School where she teaches has also spoken to her. What a terrible example to set for future actors.

While I didn't like her or her views, I respect the fact that she said what she believed and never backed down. It's best to live in a world where people say exactly what they mean, fight for it, and fade away into obscurity if their belief system loses. Gay men said very unpopular things, fought hard, and won. For now. Have a pie ready.

There is nothing political about this movie. Luca Guadagnino seems to like getting straight actors to fool around on camera. That's fine for him because he gets to see the whole thing on set, while we only hear about how much they tamed down the scenes for release. It's not very interesting to me but it must be interesting to someone because there are lots of articles about Craig and Starkey filming gay scenes even though they are straight actors! They also pretend to take Ayahuasca, but I guess that's just acting. A really boring, pretentious, unsatisfying movie.

I'm sure she wanted to do the show. I'm also sure that George C. Wolfe knew she wouldn't be able to sing it without getting sick and/or harming her voice. So he had to make up a "concept" so that no one could question her casting. In a mixed cast, everyone would have questioned the casting of Audra, and rightly so. She is a once in a lifetime talent, but that doesn't mean she can do everything. As for Hamilton, Miranda read a bio of Hamilton during In the Heights amd thought, "How can I turn this into a black/brown musical for a lead who can't sing?" Well, good for him, he hit the jackpot. One of the most effective gimmicks ever. But it was a gimmick. Broadway is not driven by artistry, it's driven by sales. Gimmicks bring press, press brings interest, interest puts butts in the seats. Wolfe's concept paid off through previews, everyone ignored Audra's inability to play Mama Rose, because it was an important show. Mostly great reviews and lots of TV chatter. I think the gimmick will fail in 2025. They got everyone on board, but the star simply can't do it.

While it's certainly not terrible, it's a pretty typical bloated two hour bio/drama. The production team made all the correct signals for a serious film - they cleared the use of vintage furs with PETA! They filmed on the Onassis yacht! Angelina Jolie took months of voice lessons! None of these things have any effect on the movie. Jolie's voice is mixed in for less than five percent of the singing at the end, PETA has nothing to do with the quality of a film, and most people wouldn't recognize Onassis' yacht. Angelina Jolie doesn't give much of a performance but she does wander around looking very regal and she is photographed beautifully.

It's naive to think that George C. Wolfe, Audra McDonald, and their producers weren't trying find a gimmick for this production. They could have cast Audra McDonald in a colorblind production. They could have used the original Jerome Robbins choreography. But they didn't. They knew that to make money, they needed a device to increase interest. So they added other BIPOC actors and a BIPOC choreographer. That's what happens on Broadway, they need to write press releases. Everyone needs to get attention and ticket sales. Gimmicks send a message that you're doing something different. It can be an incredibly effective and successful gimmick like Hamilton or it can be less so, like ART's 1776 , Ivo Von Hove's The Crucible, or God help us, the Elevator Repair Company's The Great Gatsby.

I can't argue with anyone's taste. I agree that it's an almost perfect piece. Performers should trust it and not try to make improvements with their acting. My only requirement is that Mama Rose be vocally strong enough to sing the closed vowel of "FOR MEEEE!" instead of "FOR MAYYY!

Yes, I saw the current production. I've seen her in a few things - Ragtime, Carousel, 110 in the Shade and Master Class. I liked her in all of them except Master Class. I think she's best when she plays a kind of noble, warm, capable, but underestimated woman. In my opinion Rose needs to be humorless and entirely unsympathetic. She can't be warm (Audra, Tyne) , or appealing (Bernadette), or funny (Bette), or insane (Betty Buckley). Linda Lavin came closest for me. I don't like her as an actor and she doesn't sing well, but she was small, grasping, and selfish - suitable for the Depression. It was written for Merman and she had an amazingly uncomplicated lack of self awareness combined with a powerful presence and voice.

Ms. McDonald has incredible talent and skill, but she has very little personality on stage. Gypsy depends on a leading lady who is a force of nature, otherwise the show can't really get off the ground. Ms. McDonald is one of the least challenging and least offensive actors of our time. I think George C. Wolfe used the gimmick (you gotta get one) of an all black cast to mask and protect a miscast Mama Rose.

It's not a bad little film. The kind of trying very hard indie you used to see at the Angelika. Let's be clear, Eisenberg and Caulkin are not good actors, but they don't have to be in this movie. They both play at being a stereotypical pair of relations in a group of stereotypical tourists led by a stereotypical guide. The expected happens, sometimes amusingly. It's a very lean year for movies. When A Real Pain and Anora are contenders for BEST picture, instead of honorable mentions at the Big Apple Film Festival, you know the quest for outstanding achievement has been abandoned.

I'll wrap this up. Although the subject came up in this thread, this incident did not happen at 27 Men Spa. It happened at 28 Men Spa. I don't know what the masseur's name was. I've had many massages and never faced this particular situation before or since. Could I have called the cops? I guess. Could I have paid for the full hour? Sure. I didn't do either. I took the action I thought most reasonable. I paid for more than I got and only left because the masseur was not providing the service I requested - a massage. I share the story as a reminder that everyone involved in this activity is vulnerable. I've always had good experiences until this time and it reminded me that things could really go wrong. Always take good care of the masseurs and don't forget to take good care of yourself.

I said no thanks to each offer, but he wouldn't stop asking and talking about it.

I was pretty shocked but didn't really feel scared and calling the cops is opening another can of worms. There was no manager, it was late and we were the only people at the spa. The owners wouldn't care anyway.

If I book a 60 minute massage and the upselling starts as soon as the masseur enters the room and continues despite my saying "no thanks", I think it's reasonable to leave early and pay for the time I've used. He didn't work for anywhere close to 30 minutes and I definitely did not get a massage. My expectations are pretty low, but this was not an acceptable experience. This was at 28 Men's.

I was at a spa getting a one hour massage. The upselling was relentless, so I got up and dressed and left after 30 minutes. I gave the masseur the price of a half hour massage. He blocked the door and said I wasn't leaving until I paid for the full hour plus tip. I ignored him and walked past him. That's extortion.

Great list jeezifonly! i forgot how much I liked The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.

I wish I'd seen Turner and Irwin. At the time I wasn't convinced she would be effective on stage and I didn't want to spend the money and time to find out. It's a long play.

I'm responding to my own thread just so I don't have to keep seeing Ariana Grande lead the topic. Death of a Salesman with Brian Dennehy would be one of my tops picks and A View from the Bridge with Anthony LaPaglia would be another. I don't think of myself loving Arthur Miller, but both were great evenings of theater.

I imagine many divorced sports writers appreciate actresses who get naked in movies. Apparently it's enough to convince Keith Law that Mikey Madison gave a good performance. He's allowed to have a dumb opinion.

Great dancing, but you can't call it swing if you're not dancing to swing music. Ballroom/social dances evolved to accompany live music of many styles. You hear the music - you know which dance to do. I'm not sure what these two are doing.

I love it when WE talk about THEM. As far as I can tell, the day laborers we see outside of home depot are people. Maybe even people who can make decisions about what they are willing to do to earn money. Most of us go to spas where undocumented men get paid to give massages. Do you feel conflicted about asking for extras?