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Jean Smart transcends a middling Broadway play

A review of Call Me Izzy by Patrick Ryan | June 12, 2025

After a mawkish beginning, the play somewhat redeems itself through earned emotions and an ambiguous ending that begs discussion. It’s never wise to bet against Smart, who ultimately deserves a far better vehicle for her Main Stem comeback. But even if these powder-room reveries aren’t a royal flush, “Call Me Izzy” still has a lot in its tank.

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Pope/Bettany Elevate ‘The Collaboration’ Into Art Worth Contemplating

Ran Xia | December 20, 2022

One of them paved a path of his own ascending to artistic godhood by glorifying the mundane; the other painted SAMO (meaning the Same Old Sh*t) criticizing the very idea of repetition. One of them broke down the wall between art and business; for the other, walls didn’t mean a thing. One saw beauty, immortality, […]

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Complex Men and Caricatures of Women Are Caught ‘Between Riverside and Crazy’

Bedatri D.Choudhury | December 19, 2022

Walter “Pops” Washington, as he self-describes in Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Pulitzer-winning play Between Riverside and Crazy, is “a flesh and blood, pee standing up, registered Republican.” He is also a litigious former cop caught within the crossroads of bureaucracy, racism, life as a widower, and a fast-gentrifying Riverside Drive. He also happens to be Black. […]

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