Marks & Vincentelli: A Theatre Podcast

Is there a provocative button that our guest Jonathan Spector doesn’t like to push? Mind you, this makes him sound like David Mamet or something, which is very much not his style.
Jonathan’s play “Eureka Day,” which won the Tony Award for best revival last year, was about the debate around vaccines at a Bay Area school in the middle of a mumps outbreak.
Now he’s back with “Birthright,” at MCC Theater through Aug. 23, about six people who met on a birthright trip to Israel (some knew each other before, but the trip was the binding agent for them as a group). The play follows these three women and three men over the course of 18 years, through relationships and jobs, domestic politics and international conflicts — the action ends in 2024 so you can probably guess what figures in the show’s explosive third act.
“Birthright” is very much a play of ideas and there’s something highly satisfying about watching a writer stretch them over a big canvas — Teddy Bergman’s production is three hours and 20 minutes.
We asked Jonathan about the genesis of “Birthright,” tackling a very fraught subject, writing for an ensemble and a lot more.
To wraps things up, Elisabeth brought up the Adult Film company’s “Woyzeck,” which she’d recently seen in Queens (it’s included in this roundup of reviews of Off Off Broadway shows).
Thanks to Christian Huygen for our theme music.


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Once again a Washington, DC, institution is in trouble, but unlike with the Kennedy Center, this time the call came from inside the house. We welcomed Nicole Hertvik, editor-in-chief of DC Theater Arts, for her take on what’s unfolded at the storied Arena Stage, which artistic director Hana Sharif left in what appears to be acrimonious circumstances — the New York Times announced the news on June 26.
Nicole’s own reported piece came out on July 5, and there have been more since (including this one by Rebecca Ritzel in NOTUS on July 6 and this one by Trey Graham in Washingtonian on July 8).
We discussed the events with Nicole on the podcast, but we also used the opportunity to take a bird’s eye view of Arena Stage’s history as a historical leader of regional theater in the U.S. and the challenges of running an institution in the current arts environment.


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In this episode we welcome the playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, whose new Tony Award-nominated comedy, “The Balusters,” is currently on Broadway with a fab cast that includes today’s other guest, Richard Thomas, alongside Marylouise Burke, Anika Noni Rose, Margaret Colin and Michael Esper.
We’d assumed that the play was named after a family but no, the title refers to the kind of small pillar that supports stairs or a porch, and becomes an object of tension in the story. Not that the characters lack opportunities to bicker, because they’re all members of a neighborhood association’s board and the play takes places over several of their meetings.
David’s plays include the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Rabbit Hole” as well as “Good People” and Ripcord.” He’s also written books for musicals including “Kimberly Akimbo” (based on his play of the same name) and “Shrek.” Don’t miss the part of the episode when David immediately identifies the prominent critic Elisabeth overheard making a callous comment during “Good People”!
As for Richard, he’s a stage staple and his avuncular mien is put to particularly pointed use in “The Balusters,” where he plays the board president, Elliot.


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In this episode we talked to the two men who are largely the reason why “The Lost Boys” is the wow-iest wow spectacle of the Broadway season: director Michael Arden and scenic designer Dane Laffrey. They’ve been friends since their days at Interlochen, and “The Lost Boys” — which landed a whopping 12 Tony nominations — is just the latest in a long collaboration that also includes the revivals of “Once on This Island” and “Parade," and last year’s “Maybe Happy Ending.”
Oh, and they did “The Queen of Versailles” this season as well. Yes, we talked about that one, too.
But most of the conversation was about “The Lost Boys,” which is based on the 1987 movie of the same title. And there was a lot to talk about because this show is a lot, from vampires flying up and down several stories’ worth of rafters to characters jumping off a bridge that suddenly appeared on stage.
So sit down, press “play” and listen to Michael and Dane explain how they turned the Palace Theater into a playground for Californian vamps.


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A run at London’s Royal Court Theatre, followed by a transfer to the West End, followed by Broadway: not bad for your first play! That is exactly what happened to Mark Rosenblatt, the author of “Giant” and our guest on this episode. Mark spoke to us from London about his play, which explores Roald Dahl’s antisemitism; the action takes place not long after Dahl came under fire for his review of a 1983 book about Israel’s attack on Beirut the previous year. A commanding John Lithgow, often terrifying as Dahl, makes a meal of the role.
Mark talked to us about his years working in theater (usually as a director); what prompted him to turn to playwriting; the inspiration behind “Giant” and how he navigates the perils of writing about antisemitism these days. It’s a bracing conversation, and often funny — as is the play, which makes you laugh one second and shudder the next.
Thanks to Christian Huygen for our theme music.



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marksvincentelli.substack.com/subscribe