Definition of cooperative play

Are you ready, theatergoers? Photo: Joan Marcus “When are you going to learn, SpongeBob? The world is a horrible place filled with fear, suffering, and despair … also, dashed hopes, shattered dreams, broken promises, and abject misery.” So sighs Squidward Q. Tentacles, a morose fussbudget of a cephalopod with a minor mommy fixation and not-so-secret dreams of theatrical glory, who’s now squelching his way across the stage of the Palace Theatre along with a splashy assortment of fellow sea creatures, in that most improbable and most delightful of musical adaptations: SpongeBob SquarePants. Skeptics better tie themselves to the mast if they want to survive this tempest of effervescent candy-for-the-spirit. Even if you venture into the Palace feeling Squidward-ish, it’s a truly gloomy soul who’ll be able to leave without mirroring the dopey grin with which the show’s absorbent yellow hero responds to his buddy’s existential angst: … [Read more...] about Adaptable, Yellow, and Porous Is He!

Photo: Joan Marcus, Matthew Murphy On Sunday June 9, those who care about theater and aren’t busy with the season premiere of Big Little Lies will be watching host James Corden and the best of Broadway congratulate each other at the Tony Awards. At the end of a booming Broadway season that included a surprising number of plays, as well as a gaggle of splashy musicals and imports from the downtown scene, we’ve got a slate of nominees with an interesting variety of industry stalwarts and newcomers. As all the different shows try to court the whims of the 800-plus industry professionals that vote on the awards, I’m here to break down what theater fans and EGOT speculators want to know: Who is going to win? Enjoy the best guesses on the winners all the major Tony categories, and then come back and make fun of them for being wrong later. BEST PLAYChoir BoyThe FerrymanGary: A Sequel to Titus AndronicusInkWhat the Constitution Means to Me The biggest surprise in this … [Read more...] about Who Will Win at the 2019 Tony Awards?

Photo: MGM This May marks the 30th anniversary of Road House, director Rowdy Herrington’s poetic evocation of masculinity, faith, and the mythos of the American dream. LOL, just kidding, Patrick Swayze rips a dude’s throat out and does tai chi. This was post-Red Dawn, post-Dirty Dancing, when Swayze was already well on his way to becoming an icon of American cinema. Attractive and endlessly charismatic, Swayze nevertheless got shown up in his own damn movie by Road House’s real paragon of sex appeal: Sam Elliott. After five decades in the business, Elliott finally got a well-deserved Oscar nomination for playing Bradley Cooper’s put-upon older brother in A Star Is Born. To which I say, fine: But did you see that bit where he met his protege’s girlfriend and flashed his pubic hair at her within five minutes? Did you see that scene in A Star Is Born? No. It would have been a very different film if you had. Road House’s Wade Garrett is, to be honest, … [Read more...] about Sam Elliott is

More than 800 Taiwan residents have passed vocational qualification tests of the mainland, said a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office. With the implementation of "31 measures", which was issued last year, aiming to provide Taiwan residents living on the mainland the same treatment as local residents, more and more Taiwan compatriots are benefiting from the preferential policies. The spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said around 1,600 Taiwan teachers have taken their positions in 200 universities of the mainland and 72 Taiwan-born experts are listed among a top-level national talents project. Last year, the mainland introduced 17 TV plays from Taiwan and 800 Taiwan residents were invited to participate in various TV programs in the mainland. The "31 measures" and "26 measures" issued in November would definitely provide more opportunities for Taiwan cultural and show business personalities to display their talent and bring more … [Read more...] about Over 800 Taiwan residents pass vocational tests

Heidi Morris, 46, (left) unbuckled her seat belt on the Lauda flight and stood up to protest on behalf of her daughter Grace (right), whose peanut allergy could be fatal The mother of a 19-year-old with a severe peanut allergy tried to prevent a plane from taking off when staff refused to make an announcement about consuming peanuts on board. Heidi Morris, 46, unbuckled her seat belt and stood up to protest on behalf of her daughter Grace, whose allergic reactions could be fatal. Mrs Morris, a teacher, asked cabin crew on the Lauda flight to Liverpool to stop selling the snack and make an announcement asking passengers to avoid eating peanuts on board. She said she told cabin crew that she was concerned about peanut dust circulating around the cabin prior to the air conditioning being switched on. Mrs Morris, from The Wirral, told The Liverpool Echo: 'To my horror, the calm reply was simply: "No, we don't make announcements like that, we can't". 'I began to plead with … [Read more...] about Furious mother, 46, tries to stop plane from taking off after staff ‘refused to stop selling peanuts’ despite her warning them of her 19-year-old daughter’s severe allergies