Theater Review: The Concept of Theater Itself Is Expanded With Mixed Reality at the Shed (“An Ark”) and Through the Choreography of Black Culture Stepping (“Try/Step/Trip”)

An Ark (c) Rachel Louise Brown

Theater: An Ark 
At the Shed 

If you have ever gone up the Vessel (when it was allowed), Hudson Yards, New Jersey in the distance and most of the West Side of Manhattan will look both familiar and yet totally surreal from the top vantage point. The same can be said for An Ark, the new (and supposedly first) mixed-reality play presented next door at The Shed. There are two experiences to be had at The Level 2 Gallery. One is everything you need to do to prepare for the play and second is the play itself. The filmed play is written by Simon Stephens, directed by Sarah Frankcom and boasts Arinzé Kene, Ian McKellen, Golda Rosheuvel and Rosie Sheehy in the cast. The whole concept of the evening is credited to Todd Eckert. 

The Interested Bystander’s Final Oscar Nomination Predictions: January 2026

KPop Demon Hunters (c) Netflix

After a pretty uneventful and unsurprising December and early January, most of the films that were deemed worthy have been confirmed to be the frontrunners with barely a threat from any other whippersnapper film hoping to break through. The top three movies after the summer film festivals have always been One Battle After Another, Sinners and Hamnet and they seem unstoppable. I just hope there is some big surprise in one of the major categories this year. I am still holding on to the very slight chance of Jennifer Lawrence and Zoey Deutch making the acting categories (they are in my runners-up section). The nominations will be announced by Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman on Thursday morning, Jan 23 

Enjoy!

Theater: Catching Up on Theater Filled With Cakes (“Two Strangers”), Insects (“Bug”), a Nun (“Prudence Play”) and a Con Man (“Tartuffe”)

Bug (c) Matthew Murphy

Broadway: Bug 
At the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre 

Things are getting itchy on Broadway for the new year, with one of Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tracy Letts’ earlier work from 1996, Bug, now having its Broadway debut starring Letts’ wife, Carrie Coon, best known to TV audiences for The White Lotus and The Gilded Age. Coon plays Agnes, a waitress in a small midwestern town, who lives full-time in a motel. One night, she meets Peter (Namir Smallwood), a former soldier she feels a connection with, and who also defends her when her violent ex-husband, Jerry (Steve Key), fresh out of prison, returns in hopes of picking up where they left off, which usually means a lot of drinking and drugs. Peter comes with baggage of his own—he starts to see bugs in the room, which he believes are there for nefarious reasons. When the play premiered in New York in 2004, all eyes were on a then-unknown Michael Shannon as Peter, whose shifty, paranoid demeanor was scary and understandable. Not that Smallwood isn’t also formidable in the role, the focus should really be on Agnes, and here in David Cromer’s edgy and anxiety-filled production, Coon is in total command. (When Bug goes totally obsessive and delusional in the second act, its off-Broadway edginess feels incompatible with the usual Broadway audience expectations.) Indeed, the more adventurous theatergoer will totally vibe with how this play’s themes line up with society’s current obsessions with conspiracy theories, but others may feel them at odds with date night vibes. (Add to that, being on edge after a needlessly confusing and chaotic experience in the rain before the show to lock up people’s phones in pouches.) Coon, who hasn’t been on Broadway since her debut in 2012, is the real deal and will keep you on your toes, as will set design Takeshi Kata’s mind-blowing scene change late in the play. 

2025-2026 Dorian Film Award Nominations Include "Marty Supreme" "Twinless" and "One Battle After Another"

Twinless (c) Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions

GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, the second largest entertainment journalists organization in the world, today announced the group’s 2026 Dorian Film Award nominations for the best in mainstream and LGBTQ-themed productions. Leading the pack: Director Paul Thomas Anderson's resonant dystopian thriller One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.) with nine nods, Ryan Coogler's full-bodied vampire mystery Sinners (also W.B.) with eight, and Josh Safdie's brash-American satire Marty Supreme (A24) with five. 

GALECA members continue to celebrate less-hyped cinematic gems across its Dorian film categories (currently 22). For starters, A24's raunchy-sweet romance Pillion starring Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling and writer-director-star Eva Victor’s bittersweet wellness drama Sorry, Baby (also from A24) are among the titles up for LGBTQ Film of the Year. Other 2025 movie releases getting some love from the group: Director Mona Fastvold's feverish historical musical The Testament of Ann Lee, the twisted stalker comedy Twinless, and Viet and Nam, about two male Vietnamese coal miners in love that was banned in its native land.

Winners will be announced on March 6, 2026.

The Interested Bystander's Top Films of 2025 (and 2024!)

Train Dreams (c) Netflix

Two Years in Films: Best of 2024 (definitive) & 2025 (preliminary) 

2025 was full of ups and downs in the political arena that eclipsed my enjoyment of a pretty good year of films. Looking at last year’s list to make my final 2024 ranking, I realized the films were good but not great. I would say my list of 20 films on my 2025 list are more diverse and of a better quality that 2024. 

Like last year, I will only list my favorite twenty films of 2025, in alphabetical order and not actually list them in order of my top ten favorites until the end of 2026, after a year of reflection and catching up on films I may have missed. In fact, at the time of this article, I have not seen Avatar Fire and Ash or The Testament of Ann Lee yet. 

Which means, after a year of reflection, my final Top Ten of films of 2024 is below. I am also pointing out some 2025 performances that haven’t gotten the recognition they deserve from award groups so far. So, enjoy my wrap up of 2025 and, as always, I hope you have a safe and cinematically rich 2026.