READING ROUND-UP: JULY AND AUGUST

The seventh monthly summary of what I’ve been reading, listening to, and watching in 2026, covering both July and August!

BOOKS

I read 6 books in July: 3 in print, 1 in e-book format, and 2 in audio format. They were:

1.       Heartstopper Volume 6 by Alice Oseman. (PRINT - SOFTCOVER) (Graphic Novel Challenge)

2.       This Much Is True by Miriam Margoyles (AUDIO)

3.       Long Bright River by Liz Moore (PRINT - SOFTCOVER) (Stanza Books Mystery Book Club July pick)

4.       Hammer Horror: The Complete History of Britain's Legendary House of Horror Films by “The Practical Atlas" (E-BOOK)

5.       A City Dreaming (Astra Black #3) by Maurice Broaddus. (PRINT - HARDCOVER)

6.       Carl's Doomsday Scenario (Dungeon Crawler Carl #2) by Matt Dinniman (AUDIO)

I read 8 books in August: 5 in print, 2 in e-book format, and 0 in audio format. They were:

1.       After The Rain by John Bowen (PRINT – SOFTCOVER)

2.       The View From Lake Como by Adriana Trigliani (PRINT – SOFTCOVER) (Sparta Books Book Club August Pick)

3.       The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (PRINT – SOFTCOVER)

4.       Children Shouldn't Play With The Dead by Russell Dickson (E-BOOK)

5.       War of the Worlds: Thunder Child by Matthew Hardy, Rob Jones, and Kevin Castaniero (PRINT – HARDCOVER)

6.       Monsters Unborn: The Lost Universal Monster Remakes by Bruce Kilkowski Jr. (PRINT – SOFTCOVER)

7.       Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton (PRINT – SOFTCOVER)

8.       If I Had Two Wings: Stories by Randall Kenan (E-BOOK)

STORIES

I have a goal of reading 365 short stories (1 per day, essentially, although it doesn’t always work out that way) once again this year. Here’s what I read this month and where you can find them if you’re interested in reading them too. If no source is noted, the story is from the same magazine or book as the story(ies) that precede(s) it.

July:

1.       “You, Me, Us” by Oyedotun Damilola Muess, in Lightspeed Magazine #194, edited by John Joseph Adams

2.       “The Assumption of Maria” by Max Gladstone

3.       “Fetspace” by Rhiannon Rasmussen

4.       “If A Discarded God Can Change, So Can I” by V.M. Ayala

5.       “Waru Waru” by Ruth Joffre

6.       “Hungry Like The” by E. Catherine Tobler

7.       “The Punishing Animal” by B. Pladek

8.       “Concerto For Wartime” by Sean Williams

9.       “No More Amazement” by Seanan McGuire, from the Author’s Patreon

10.   “The Plague Comes from Chinatown” by Claire Jai-Wen, from Nightmare #166, edited by Wendy N. Wagner

11.   “A Nebraskan Choir” by Steve Toase

12.   “Annette Funicello Is My Dream Mouse” by S.L. Coney

13.   “Our Darkness To Take” by Hailey Piper, from Three-Lobed Burning Eye #47, edited by Andrew S. Fuller

14.   “Lady Night's Menagerie” by Rachael K. Jones, from Three-Lobed Burning Eye #48, edited by Andrew S. Fuller

15.   “Olden” by Nisi Shawl

16.   “The Bathhouse for Long Life” by Claire Jia-Wen, from Apex Magazine #153, edited by Lesley Conner

17.   “Glass” by Beth Dawkins

18.   “Immigrant Girl From the End of the World” by Hannah Yang, from Uncanny #70, edited by Michael Damian Thomas

19.   “A Song in Minor Scale” by Gunnar de Winter, From Kaleidotrope Summer 2026, edited by Fred Coppersmith

20.   “Before She Knew About Magic” by Joshua Geller Schwartz, from Otherside #2 edited by V.M. Ayala, M.R. Robinson, Ash Vale

21.   “Two People” by Ben Francisco

22.   “The Life and Times of the Extraterrestrial Potoo” by K.J. Khan, from Clarkesworld #238, edited by Neil Clarke

23.   “Moby Dick, Ecoterrorist” by James Morrow, from The Sunday Morning Transport July 2026, edited by Fran Wilde and Julian Yap

24.   “Dreams in Burnished Silver” by Christine Hanolsy, from Beneath Ceaseless Skies 462, edited by Scott H. Andrews

25.   “We Are All Strange Ones Here” by Sally Sultzman

26.   “Gas Leak at St. Gentian” by Sara Orner, from The Dark #134, edited by Sean Wallace

27.   “The House Mother” by Krisiti DeMeester

28.   “The Spider at the Heart of It” by Josh Pearce, from Interzone #305, edited by Gareth Jelley

August:

1.       “Legs” by A.M. Maris, in Lightspeed Magazine #195, edited by John Joseph Adams

2.       “The Age of Cancer” by Vajra Chandrasekera

3.       “What Do You Mean the Nanobots Formed a Union??” by Joel W.D. Buxton

4.       “Ladd's Robot Repair” by David Anaxagoras

5.       “Infinite Wishes” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

6.       “Fragments of the Whole” by Brooke Bolander

7.       “Of All Who Devour” by Adelehin Ijasin

8.       “The Goddess of Not Enough” by Susan Palwick

9.       “Your Piteous Heart” by Seanan McGuire, from the Author’s Patreon

10.   “Focus” by Carlos Hernandez, from Clarkesworld #238, edited by Neil Clarke

11.   “The Cinema of Babel” by Sam J. Miller, from Uncanny #71, edited by Michael Damian Thomas

12.   “When We All Get to Heaven” by Randall Kenan, from If I Had Two Wings: Stories (single author collection), editor: unknown

13.   “I Thought I Heard the Shuffle of Angels' Feet” by Randall Kenan

14.   “The Eternal Glory That Is Ham Hocks” by Randall Kenan

15.   “Ain't No Sunshine” by Randall Kenan

16.   “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel” by Randall Kenan

17.   “Mamiwata” by Randall Kenan

18.   “Resurrection Hardware or, Lard & Promises” by Randall Kenan

19.   “The Acts of Velmajean Swearington Hoyt and the New City of God” by Randall Kenan

20.   “Now Why Come That Is?” by Randall Kenan

21.   “God's Gonna Trouble the Water or, Where Is Marisol?” by Randall Kenan

So that’s 28 short stories in July and 21 in August. Way less than “1 per day” (August 31st was the 243rd day of 2026.)

COMIC BOOKS

I’ve begun tracking the individual monthly comic book issues I read and thought it would be fun to include that list in this monthly round-up as well. I’m striving for a comic book per day. I’ve also started doing a “Random Back Issue Comic Books Read/Reread” daily post on my Facebook and Instagram accounts. I’ve italicized those issues. Here’s the comics I read in July and August:

July:

1.       Dracula #6 (Dell)

2.       House of Mystery #170 (Eclipso and Prince Ra-Man) (DC)

3.       Superboy #203 (DC)

4.       Superboy #228 (DC)

5.       All-Star Squadron Annual #1 (DC)

6.       All-Star Squadron #16 (DC)

7.       All-Star Squadron #17 (DC)

8.       All-Star Squadron #18 (DC)

9.       JSA (2024) #21 (DC)

10.   Batman/Superman: World's Finest #52 (DC)

11.   Green Lantern (2023) (DC)

12.   Green Lantern Corps (2025) (DC)

13.   Avengers Armageddon #1 (Marvel)

14.   Adventure Comics #389 (Supergirl) (DC)

15.   Justice League Unlimited #20 (DC)

16.   The Other/Half #3 (Ignition Press)

17.   Zatanna (2026) #02 (DC)

18.   Adventures of Superman: Book of El #9 (DC)

19.   The Fury of Firestorm (2026) #3 (DC)

20.   Superman Unlimited #14 (DC)

21.   Imperial Guardians #4 (Marvel)

22.   Barbara Gordon: Breakout #2 (DC)

23.   1776 #1 (Charlton)

24.   Captain America #255 (Marvel)

25.   Iceman #2 (Marvel)

26.   Magnus Robot Fighter #6 (Gold Key)

27.   Zatanna (2026) #2 (DC)

28.   The Flash (2023) #34 (DC)

29.   Green Lantern (2023) #36 (DC)

30.   The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #5 (DC/Vertigo)

31.   Superman (2023) #39 (DC)

32.   Adventures of Superman: Book of El #10 (DC)

33.   Brothers of the Spear #6 (Gold Key)

34.   Star Trek Celebrations #1 (IDW)

35.   Fireborn #3 (Image)

36.   Supergirl: Survive #1 (DC)

37.   Emperor Aquaman #18 (DC)

38.   Excommunicated #2 (Vault)

39.   Universal Monsters: Phantom of the Opera #4 (Image/Skybound)

40.   Super Creepshow #4 (Image)

41.   The Thing on the Doorstep #5 (Image)

42.   All-Star Squadron #19 (DC)

43.   All-Star Squadron #20 (DC)

44.   Tarzan Beyond #1 (Alien Books)

45.   Land of Never #1 (Mad Cave)

46.   Walt Disney's The Sword in the Stone #1 (Gold Key)

47.   Rawhide Kid #1 (Marvel Max)

48.   Justice League of America #198 (DC)

49.   Man From Atlantis #2 (Marvel)

50.   Wordsmith #2 (Renegade Press)

51.   The Nice House By The Sea #10 (DC/Vertigo)

52.   Marvel Two-In-One #99 (The Thing and ROM) (Marvel)

53.   All-Star Squadron #21 (DC)

54.   All-Star Squadron #22 (DC)

55.   All-Star Squadron #23 (DC)

56.   All-Star Squadron #24 (DC)

57.   All-Star Squadron #25 (DC)

58.   All-Star Squadron #26 (DC)

59.   All-Star Squadron Annual #2 (DC)

60.   DC Comics Presents Annual #1 (Earth-1 and Earth-2 Supermen) (DC)

61.   Superheroes #1 (Dell)

62.   Morlock 2001 #1 (Atlas)

63.   Superheroes #3 (Dell)

64.   Hawkman #5 (1960s) (DC)

65.   Micronauts: the New Voyages #11 (Marvel)

66.   All-Star Squadron #27 (DC)

67.   All-Star Squadron #28 (DC)

68.   Shogun Warriors #5 (Marvel)

69.   The Shadow #5 (Archie)

70.   Tarzan #258 (DC)

71.   Justice Inc. #1 (DC)

72.   The Image of the Beast #1 (Last Gasp)

73.   John Carter, Warlord of Mars #1 (Marvel)

August:

1.       Doc Savage (magazine) #1 (Marvel/Curtis)

2.       All-Star Squadron #29 (DC)

3.       All-Star Squadron #30 (DC)

4.       Gay Comics #22 (Gay Comix)

5.       The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #6 (DC/Vertigo)

6.       The Scorpion #1 (Atlas)

7.       The Scorpion #2 (Atlas)

8.       The Scorpion #3 (Atlas)

9.       The Shadow #1 (DC)

10.   Batman/Superman: World's Finest #53 (DC)

11.   Batman/Superman: World's Finest Annual 2026 (DC)

12.   Justice League Unlimited #21 (DC)

13.   Justice League: Knight Vision Special #1 (DC)

14.   Green Lantern #104 (1970s) (DC)

15.   Imperial Guardians #5 (Marvel)

16.   Avengers Armageddon #2 (Marvel)

17.   Captain America (2025) #12 (Marvel)

18.   Captain America (2025) #13 (Marvel)

19.   Supergirl (2025) #15 (DC)

20.   Superman (2023) #40 (DC)

21.   Superman Unlimited #15 (DC)

22.   Action Comics #1100 (DC)

23.   Superman Year One Thousand #1 (DC)

24.   Worlds Unknown #8 (Golden Voyage of Sinbad) (Marvel)

25.   All-Star Squadron #31 (DC)

26.   All-Star Squadron #32 (DC)

27.   All-Star Squadron #33 (DC)

28.   All-Star Squadron #34 (DC)

29.   All-Star Squadron #35 (DC)

30.   Supergirl: Survive #2 (DC)

31.   Summer of Supergirl Special #1 (DC)

32.   DC's Hawk-Girl Summer #1 (DC)

33.   Marvel Team-Up #28 (Spider-Man and Hercules) (Marvel)

34.   Sorcerer Supreme #8 (Marvel)

35.   Swamp Thing '89 #3 (DC/Vertigo)

36.   Swamp Thing '89 #4 (DC/Vertigo)

37.   The Fury of Firestorm (2026) #4 (DC)

38.   Barbara Gordon: Breakout #3 (DC)

39.   Emperor Aquaman #19 (DC)

40.   Batwoman (2026) #5 (DC)

41.   The Flash (2023) #35 ((DC)

42.   Green Lantern (2023) #37 (DC)

43.   Green Lantern Corps (2025) #18 (DC)

44.   The Man From U.N.C.L.E. #13 (Gold Key)

45.   Justice League of America #209 (DC)

46.   Classics Illustrated #108 (Knights of the Round Table) (Gilberton)

47.   Turok Son of Stone #73 (Gold Key)

48.   Marvel Premiere #57 (Doctor Who) (Marvel)

49.   Marvel Premiere #58 (Doctor Who) (Marvel)

50.   Marvel Premiere #60 (Doctor Who) (Marvel)

51.   All-Star Squadron Annual #3 (DC)

52.   Kona #16 (Dell)

53.   Showcase #28 (Sea Devils) (DC)

54.   Frankenstein #8 (Marvel)

55.   Strange Suspense Stories #75 (Captain Atom) (Charlton)

56.   All-Star Squadron #36 (DC)

57.   All-Star Squadron #37 (DC)

58.   Americomics #2 The Shade, The Messenger, Tara of the Jungle) (AC Comics)

59.   Rima the Jungle Girl # 1 (DC)

60.   Marvel Spotlight #33 (Deathlok) (Marvel)

61.   The Grim Ghost #1 (Atlas)

62.   Marvel Classics Comics #3 (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) (Marvel)

63.   All-Star Squadron #38 (DC)

64.   All-Star Squadron #39 (DC)

65.   All-Star Squadron #40 (DC)

66.   Secret Six #2 (DC)

67.   Walt Disney's Wart and the Wizard #1 (Gold Key)

So that’s 140 comics across the two months, way ahead of the “one per day” goal, but once again fewer new comics and more back issues, especially in August.

MOVIES

I watched ONE movie in July and ZERO in August. This is getting to be a habit I need to break.

1.       Heartstopper Forever, directed by Wash Westmoreland (STREAMING, NETFLIX)

TELEVISION

July:

·       Doctor Who Classic S09 Eps 1 – 26 (Pertwee Season 3) (26 Episodes)

·       Doctor Who Classic S10 Eps 1 – 26 (Pertwee Season 4) (26 Episodes)

·       Doctor Who Classic S18 Eps 9 – 12 (Tom Baker Season 7) (4 Episodes)

·       Man From Atlantis S01 Eps 1 - 3 (3 episodes)

·       Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S04 Ep 1 (1 episode)

August:

·       Doctor Who Classic S18 Eps 13 – 28 (Tom Baker Season 7) (16 Episodes)

·       Man From Atlantis S01 Eps 4 – 7 (4 Episodes)

·       Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S4 Eps 2 – 6 (5 Episodes)

·       Lanterns S01 Ep 1 (1 Episode)

LIVE THEATER

I saw no live theatre in July or August, which makes me sad.

PODCASTS

I’m a fairly recent convert to listening to podcasts, so I thought it would also be fun to list those here in the monthly roundups:

July:

1         The Doctor's Beard Episode 71 (Day of the Daleks)

2         World on Fire: An All-Star Squadron Podcast Episode 10 (All-Star Squadron Annual 1)

3         The Doctor's Beard Episode 72 (The Curse of Peladon)

4         The Doctor's Beard Episode 73 (The Sea Devils)

5         World on Fire: An All-Star Squadron Podcast Episode 11 (All-Star Squadron 14-15/JLA 207-209)

6         World on Fire: An All-Star Squadron Podcast Episode 12 (All-Star Squadron 16-17)

7         World on Fire: An All-Star Squadron Podcast Episode 13 (All-Star Squadron 18)

8         World on Fire: An All-Star Squadron Podcast Episode 14 (All-Star Squadron 19-20)

9         The Doctor's Beard Episode 74 (The Mutants)

August:

1.       The Doctor’s Beard Episode 75 (The Time Monster)

2.       The Doctor's Beard Episode 76 (Patreon Exclusive #61 (Season 8 Retrospective))

3.       The Doctor’s Beard Episode 77 (The Three Doctors)

4.       The Doctor’s Beard Episode 78 (Carnival of Monsters)

5.       The Doctor’s Beard Episode 79 (Frontier in Space)

6.       The Doctor’s Beard Episode 80 (Planet of the Daleks)

7.       The Doctor’s Beard Episode 81 (The Green Death)

8.       The Doctor’s Beard Episode 139 (The Full Circle)

9.       The Doctor’s Beard Episode 140 (State of Decay)

10.   The Doctor’s Beard Episode 141 (Warriors’ Gate)

11.   The Doctor’s Beard Episode 142 (The Keeper of Traken)

Summary of Challenges:

Books Challenge: This month(s): 14 read; YTD: 58 of 120 read.

366 Short Stories Challenge: This month(s): 49 read; YTD: 254 of 366 read.

Graphic Novels Challenge: This month(s): 2 read; YTD: 10 of 52 read.

Movie Challenge: This month(s): 1 watched; YTD: 7 of 52 watched.

TV Shows Challenge: This month(s): 86 episodes watched; YTD: 254 of 365 watched.

Live Theater Challenge: This month(s): 0 shows attended; YTD: 10 of 12 attended.

Comic Books Challenge: This month(s): 140; YTD: 538 of 365 read.

Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0 read/watched; YTD: 0 read/watched.

Theatre Thursday: The Balusters

I was fortunate enough thanks to my friend Deb Flood, to catch The Balusters at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre the day before it closed. I wish I had seen it sooner and been able to sing its praises while it was still running. But in life, just as in comedy, timing is everything and good timing is something I usually don’t have. But hey, I still made it thanks to a well-timed phone call and unexpectedly free afternoon.

The Balusters is a comedy about a homeowner’s association in a neighborhood that has been declared a historic landmark area – which means changes, however small or needed for the safety of residents, face an uphill battle to approval. And as soon as one of the characters starts complaining about increased traffic and speeding cars at the intersection outside her front door, you know what battle is about to be fought and what the likely stakes will be. Hint: it’s not actually a fight over balusters (the short vertical spindles that support handrails on stairs, balconies, and decks).

The ensemble cast was led by Anika Noni Rose as new neighbor Kyra Marshall, a wife and mother coerced into joining the homeowner’s association by her friend Melissa (Jeena Yi) and in who’s living room all the action takes place, and by Richard Thomas as board president Elliot Emerson, Kyra’s opposite number in so many ways, who is also the realtor who sold the Marshalls the house (along with almost every other younger person on the board) and who happens to be the former employer of the Marshalls’ housekeeper Luz (Maria-Christina Oliveras). The board is diverse. Sure there are five white people – three older (Elliot; Penny Buell (played by understudy Sophie Hayden at our performance); and Ruth Ackerman (Margaret Colin) and two younger (Willow Gibbons (Kayli Carter) and Alan Kirby (Michael Esper), but there’s also a Latino man (Isaac Rosario, played by Ricardo Chavira), two black people 9 (Kyra, and Brooks Duncan, played by Carl Clemons-Hopkins; Brooks also happens to be gay), and one lesbian Asian woman (the aforementioned Melissa). Over the course of the play, the differences in age, cultural background, economic status, upbringing, and beliefs result in clashes that are comical, revealing, and topical.

Both the titular balusters and the dangerous intersection begin a conversation about historical accuracy versus necessary modernization that veers into arguments about who benefits from such changes, who is adversely affected, and who is doing the gatekeeping. By the end of the play, every character’s secrets have come out – and, remarkably, every character comes across as both sympathetic and unlikeable in equal measure.

Let me stress – this is a social commentary comedy. It is pointed and biting and thought-provoking. I spent a fair amount of time during the week after the show thinking about the points it was making and especially why the moments that made me uncomfortable made me uncomfortable. But I also laughed through most of the 90-ish minutes (the show is performed without an intermission), even when it was uncomfortable (or maybe because it was uncomfortable?). This is a tribute to David Lindsay-Abaire’s script and Kenny Leon’s direction. The pacing, the way secrets are revealed, the shifting alliances, the mad rushes and the quiet moments – perfect synergy of writer and director, in my opinion.

Credit also to Derek McLane’s scenic design (the set includes the living room, dining room, foyer, a staircase, and through windows and front door, the house’s porch is partially visible) which never feels cramped but also doesn’t feel unrealistically spacious; to Allen Lee Hughes’ lighting and Dan Moses Schreier’s sound designs, which work flawlessly together (the thunderstorm scene is a highlight, but I also impressed with the lights and sounds for the scene changes, as the action takes place over the course of several months), and Thomas Schall’s fight direction (when you have people of disparate ages and physical abilities flailing at each other, expressing each character’s physicality is key to the realism of it all). Emilio Sosa’s costumes and J. Jared Janas’ hair and makeup also do heavy lifting in expressing each character’s personality.

While Rose and Thomas are the clear centers of the story (they share a final bow), the show is truly an ensemble and there were no weak performances. I overheard some people in the audience before the show expressing disappointment that they were not seeing Marylouise Burke as Penny, but Sophie Hayden was brilliant in the role – in fact we’re pretty sure that in the second half of the show, her line delivery made everyone on stage almost corpse. The laughter in that moment was a bit more real, I thought.

I have no idea if The Balusters will be touring or if there will be a barrage of regional theater productions, but I can wholeheartedly recommend it if a production does turn up near you. Just don’t ask the theater to replace the staircase balusters with something more historically accurate.

Also: I rarely stagedoor these days, but meeting both Richard Thomas and Anika Noni Rose was a true treat. (Yes, I had a crush on John Boy back in the day.)

I’ve always loved live theater, and in the past couple of years I’ve been making a stronger effort to see more of it. Theater Thursday is an occasional series where I talk about live theater, both shows I’ve seen recently and shows I’ve loved in the past.

Book Review: RIVERWORLD ODYSSEY

TITLE: Riverworld Odyssey

EDITOR: Michael Croteau

600 pages, Meteor House Press

MY RATING: Highly Recommended

REVIEW: With Riverworld Odyssey, Meteor House Press continues its excellent series of books focused on the developmental history and cultural impact of Philip Jose Farmer’s work. As the title implies, this latest volume traces the path of the Riverworld series from concept to final installment. That path meanders, bends, and doubles back as much as the Great River of the world on which the books take place.

For those who may be unfamiliar with Riverworld: the basic concept is that every person who ever lived on Earth, from pre-history through 1983, finds themselves resurrected on the banks of an 18-million-mile-long River. They are all in perfect health and twenty-five years old regardless of how old they were when they died on Earth (except if they died at a younger age; then they’re resurrected at the age they were when they died). There is a mysterious technology (eventually called “grails”) that provide food and drink to each individual multiple times per day. Otherwise, technology is limited to pre-Industrial Revolution levels due to the Riverworld’s lack of metal and ores. Also, death simply results in another resurrection elsewhere on Riverworld. Farmer mixes real historical figures (Sir Richard Francis Burton, Alice Hargreaves, Mark Twain, Herman Goering) with fictionalized versions of himself and his family members (his stand-in is Paul Jarius Frigate; his great-great-grandfather Andrew Paxton Davis appears in several short stories) to a few completely made-up characters (the most consistently appearing of which is “Joe the Caveman,” a human from pre-history).

It is not the intent of this review to rehash the backstory of how Farmer came to write the original, unpublished (and as far as we know, lost) short novel Owe For the Flesh, which eventually after many iterations and over many hurdles became the beloved Riverworld series. “Hinterland,” Paul Spiteri’s wonderful introduction to the volume, covers that ground far more capably and in greater detail than I could here. Suffice to say, the behind-the-scenes publishing machinations are fascinating. Spiteri’s introduction is further enhanced throughout the book by letters from Farmer and his various editors and publishers with intended outlines (and even an indication of who Farmer wanted to complete the Riverworld series if he passed away before he did so). The intent of this review is to tell you whether Riverworld Odyssey, as a stand-alone book, is worth the price of admission.

Short answer: YES. Unequivocally yes.

Firstly, it is amazing to be able to track the genesis and development of the concept in so much detail and in essentially “real time” with various drafts and Farmer’s letters and essays. While that original short novel is likely lost completely (although there’s always a spark of hope that some Farmer fan will trip across it in a long-lost lockbox somewhere), this collection does start with “River of Eternity,” the second draft of the story. All of the core ideas of the series, and most of the series’ eventual main characters, appear in “River,” including Sir Richard Francis Burton, about whom Farmer wrote a biography (A Rough Knight For the Queen, also available from Meteor House), and Mark Twain, although both appear under other names (a choice which Farmer explains in one of his essays). The entire tale is told in roughly 137,000 words, by the end of which the entire mystery of Riverworld has been solved. This alone would be worth the cover price (copies of the Phantasia Press hardcover release from 1983 are going for almost as much as this volume costs, and this volume has an additional 400-ish pages!).

Fiction-wise, we also get the version of the novella “Day of the Great Shout” that appeared in Worlds of Tomorrow magazine and eventually became, with some changes, the first half of the first Riverworld novel, To Your Scattered Bodies Go, as well as the novelette “Riverworld” which first appeared in the same magazine, and what I believe are the first reprintings of the short stories Farmer wrote for the paperback anthologies Tales of Riverworld and Quest to Riverworld, and a large section of text that was cut from the novel The Dark Design (here entitled “Riverworld War,” featuring of all things a war between riverboats that is one of the most action-packed and chaotic fights Farmer ever wrote). I should note: this anthology does NOT include any of the stories from the anthologies that were written by authors. It would be wonderful if those could be brought back into print at some point, but I’m sure the rights are a bear to wrangle.

In the non-fiction pieces written by Farmer himself, we get so much insight into how Farmer’s creative mind worked, how he strung ideas together and developed characters. I wish he’d written a book about writing or a memoir (or both!) before his death.

In addition to the letters from Farmer to various publishers and editors, Riverworld Odyssey also includes erudite and informative essays about Farmer’s and Riverworld’s influence, from writers Mary A. Turzillo (who wrote a book about Farmer), Bruce Sterling, John Gregory Betancourt, Tracy Knight, Alex Berman, and editor Michael Croteau.

At 600 pages of $29 (trade paperback)/$75 (hardcover), Riverworld Odyssey is, as stated above, well worth the price of admission, whether you’re already of fan of Riverworld and want to do a deeper dive into the series’ history or you’re a fan of other Farmer works and are just now delving into one of his greatest works.

The other books Meteor House Press has released doing deeper dives into specific Farmer series or interests are Savageology (covering everything Farmer wrote connected to Doc Savage) and The Man Who Met Tarzan (covering everything Farmer wrote regarding Tarzan, of course).

Riverworld Odyssey as well as The Man Who Met Tarzan and Savageology can be ordered from Meteor House’s website. If you’re near Pittsburgh PA, they will also have a table at Pulpfest July 30th - August 2nd!

*I have moved away from a star-based rating system here on the blog (I can’t avoid using stars on Goodreads, NetGalley, and the various bookseller sites). Instead I am switching to ranking books as “highly recommended,” “recommended,” “satisfactory” and “not right for me.” I may add other levels as I refine this concept.

THEATRE THURSDAY: La Cage Aux Folles

The productions in New York City Center’s Encores program are by design short runs, and I have a tendency to procrastinate, so by the time I post reviews of them they’re usually long over. The last time I was in City Center was for their 2023 production of Oliver! starring Raul Esparza, Lili Cooper, Tam Mutu, Julian Lerner, and Benjamin Pajak, and it took me a year to get that review posted. So the fact that we’re only a week out from the end of the City Center run of La Cage Aux Folles (and two weeks from when I saw the production) by the time this review is posted isn’t so bad, is it?

La Cage is one of those shows I know the big numbers from (can you be a Broadway fan, or a John Barrowman fan, and not know “I Am What I Am”?) but which I have never seen on stage. I’ve also never seen the original 1973 French film (yes, I know, I’m a heathen who has no right to call himself a fan of gay cinema). I have seen the Robin Williams-Nathan Lane remake, The Birdcage, several times but of course that does not have this show’s songs. So I was coming to this production with no comparisons to previous productions (the 1983 original or the 2004 or 2010 revivals), which I think maybe enabled me to see it in a less jaded way than some reviewers.

I enjoyed it. A lot. My quibbles are relatively minor.

If you know anything about the Encores program, you know that each show’s rehearsal period is condensed to ten days and that the staging is concert-style (orchestra on stage with the actors, actors carrying scripts) with usually minimal sets and choreography. In this case, scenic designer David Zinn’s set includes three runways that surround the orchestra, with a stage-width promenade at the back of the stage and a wide stairway downstage, allowing for a lot of ballroom-style choreography by Edgar Godineaux. The space works as the on-stage and back-stage portions of the club as well as the dressing room of Albin, the attached home of Georges and Albin, and local eateries.

The all-black cast (a first for a professional production of La Cage, I believe) was led by Wayne Brady as Georges and Billy Porter as Albin. I’ve been wanting to see Wayne Brady on stage for a long time now and somehow just kept missing him, so this was a true treat for me. Brady hit all the right tones as Georges-the-Consummate-Showman, bringing his TV-hosting expertise to the fore. But more impressive were the moments when he let Georges’ love for Albin come forward. “Song on the Sand” and “Look Over There” had me tearing up. The scenes where Georges knows what Jean-Michel is asking him to do is unreasonable but his love for his son brings him to try to do it anyway (even though it will hurt Albin) were also affecting. (More about Jean-Michel in a moment.) I can honestly say I was not disappointed now that I’ve finally seen Wayne live, and I look forward to seeing him again soon.

Billy Porter. I saw him in Cabaret not long before he had to bow out of the run due to sepsis. I knew he’d been deathly ill and in a coma. So if his voice was a little rougher than usual and if he wasn’t as off book as the rest of the cast, it can (and should be!) forgiven. Even with his health issues, he is a powerhouse performer. His “I Am What I Am” is angrier than any other version I’ve seen and given our current political climate towards drag performers and transgender people that anger is completely appropriate. Porter brought down the house, ending Act One with a well-deserved standing ovation and deafening cheering. Earlier in Act One, “Mascara” was a beautiful ode to aging (perhaps not the original interpretation of the song, but again, it works), and the 11-o’clock number, “Best of Times” was also a showstopper.

The supporting cast was also roundly excellent. Both Michael McElroy (as Francis) and James Jackson Jr (as Jacob) stole scenes out from under the leads with impeccable comedic timing. As Jean-Michel, Alaman Diadhiou’s tap dancing and voice during “With Anne on My Arm” were fantastic. Peter Francis James did fine work as the conservative politician Edouard Dindon, as did Sharon Washington as his put-upon wife. (Although I really wished for a moment, even a small one, where she put her husband in his place.)

My relatively minor complaints: 1. Alaman Diadhiou had an unenviable task playing the self-centered Jean-Michel. I know he’s there to drive the plot; I still found the character thoroughly unlikeable throughout, except when he’s singing about or interacting with Anne (an underused but delightful Rachel Webb). Jean-Michel’s repentance at the end of the show rang false to me because we didn’t see any indication that the kid sees Albin as anything more than an embarrassment. (Again, I’m not sure if this has been an issue in previous productions.) Still, Diadhiou has a ton of talent, and I hope we’re going to see a lot more of him on Broadway. 2. Tonya Pinkins’ accent. I’m wondering why she was the only character with a French accent. Yes, the show takes place in France, but no one else was even attempting to use anything other than their normal speaking voice. It was great seeing Pinkins on stage, and every one of the very few scenes she was in was great. But the accent kept just slightly throwing me out of the moment.

But again, those are minor quibbles. City Center seems to have had a solid run of transfers to Broadway over the past few years (Into the Woods, Parade, Ragtime, even stretching all the way back to the still-running Chicago). I have no idea if La Cage did well enough to garner interest in a transfer. If it does, I will definitely see it again. The Brady-Porter pairing was great and given more recuperation and rehearsal time I suspect Porter’s performance would only get even more stunning. And of course, the show is just as topical and important now in 2026 as it was back in 1983.

Image: Billy Porter (center left) and Wayne Brady (center right) enter for their bows between members of the Cagelles chorus, with the orchestra in the background.

I’ve always loved live theater, and in the past couple of years I’ve been making a stronger effort to see more of it. Theater Thursday is an occasional series where I talk about live theater, both shows I’ve seen recently and shows I’ve loved in the past.

READING ROUND-UP: June 2026

The fifth monthly summary of what I’ve been reading, listening to, and watching in 2026!

BOOKS

I read 5 books in June: 3 in print, 1 in e-book format, and 1 in audio format. They were:

1.       Devout: Losing My Faith to Find Myself by David Archuleta. (AUDIOBOOK)

2.       Puck Wild (Storm Warning Book 1) by Declan Rhodes (E-BOOK)

3.       Leonard & Larry: Domesticity Isn't Pretty by Tim Barela (PRINT - SOFTCOVER)

4.       X-Men: Elsewhen Vol 1 by John Byrne (PRINT - HARDCOVER)

5.       A World of Curiosities (Inspector Gamage #18) by Louise Penny. (PRINT - SOFTCOVER; Stanza Books Mystery Book Club pick for June)

STORIES

I have a goal of reading 365 short stories (1 per day, essentially, although it doesn’t always work out that way) once again this year. Here’s what I read this month and where you can find them if you’re interested in reading them too. If no source is noted, the story is from the same magazine or book as the story(ies) that precede(s) it.

1.       “Ghost in the Tank” by M.R. Robinson, in Lightspeed Magazine #193, edited by John Joseph Adams

2.       “Memostasis” by Benjamin Rosenbaum

3.       “The Overview Initiative” by David Marino

4.       “The Sharing of Some Familiar Song” by Adam-Troy Castro

5.       “The Best of Intentions” by Mari Ness

6.       “An Oral History of the Schooner Key Invasion” by Alex Irvine

7.       “I Cut Off A Monster's Arm. AITA?” by Marie Brennan

8.       “Ash-Shura; or, a Book, a Bowl, A Bag of Coins” by Beesan Odeh

9.       “Let Sirens Sing Your Name” by Seanan McGuire, from the Author’s Patreon

10.   “Ponyhenge” by Faith Allingham, From Kaleidotrope Spring 2026, edited by Fred Coppersmith

11.   “The Tipping Point” by S.M. French-Byrne

12.   “We Who Have Been Raised by Tigers” by P.V. Vamsidhar, from Otherside #2 edited by V.M. Ayala, M.R. Robinson, Ash Vale

13.   “In This Corner of the World” by A.E. Weisgerber, from The Deadlands #42, edited by E. Catherine Tobler

14.   “The Dog” by Phoenix Mendoza

15.   “The Glass City” by AnaMaria Curtis, from Uncanny #70, edited by Michael Damian Thomas

16.   “Extracted from an unravelled braid” by Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga

So that’s 16 short stories in June. Way less than “1 per day,” and I don’t think I managed any author birthday short stories at all for like the 3rd month in a row, so that project may be on hiatus! (June 30th was the 181st day of 2026.)

COMIC BOOKS

I’ve begun tracking the individual monthly comic book issues I read and thought it would be fun to include that list in this monthly round-up as well. I’m striving for a comic book per day. I’ve also started doing a “Random Back Issue Comic Books Read/Reread” daily post on my Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky accounts. I’ve italicized those issues. Here’s the comics I read in June:

1.       Marvel Premiere #6 (Satana) (Marvel)

2.       House of Secrets #75 (DC)

3.       Sea Devils #20 (DC)

4.       Rip Hunter, Time Master #29 (DC)

5.       Exquisite Corpses #13 (Image)

6.       JSA (2024) #20 (DC)

7.       Blackhawk #202 (DC)

8.       Blackhawk #207 (DC)

9.       Wiccan & Hulkling: Raid of Ultron #1 (Marvel)

10.   Lost Fantasy #10 (Image)

11.   Justice League Unlimited #19 (DC)

12.   Superman (2024) #38 (DC)

13.   All-Star Squadron #5 (DC)

14.   All-Star Squadron #6 (DC)

15.   The Defenders #100 (Marvel)

16.   Gay Comics #20 (Gay Comics)

17.   Strikeforce: Morituri #1 (Marvel)

18.   Strikeforce: Morituri #8 (Marvel)

19.   Wordsmith #1 (Renegade Press)

20.   Metal Men #40 (DC)

21.   All-Star Squadron #7 (DC)

22.   All-Star Squadron #8 (DC)

23.   All-Star Squadron #9 (DC)

24.   DC Comics Presents Annual #2 (Superman and Superwoman) (DC)

25.   Giant-Size Fantastic Four #2 (Marvel)

26.   Gay Comics #21 (Gay Comics)

27.   Team America #1 (Marvel)

28.   Mage: The Hero Defined #1 (Image)

29.   All-Star Squadron #10 (DC)

30.   All-Star Squadron #11 (DC)

31.   All-Star Squadron #12 (DC)

32.   All-Star Squadron #13 (DC)

33.   Swamp Thing '89 #1 (DC)

34.   Gatchaman: Red Impulse #2 (Mad Cave)

35.   Gatchaman #18 (Mad Cave)

36.   The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery #4 (DC/Vertigo)

37.   The Flash (2023) #33 (DC)

38.   Ironjaw #3 (Atlas)

39.   Ironjaw #4 (Atlas)

40.   Justice Society of America (1991) #4 (DC)

41.   Marvel Two-In-One #95 (The Thing & The Living Mummy) (Marvel)

42.   Toka #6 (Dell)

43.   Logan's Run #2 (Marvel)

44.   Justice League of America #207 (DC)

45.   All-Star Squadron #14 (DC)

46.   Justice League of America #208 (DC)

47.   All-Star Squadron #15 (DC)

48.   Justice League of America #209 (DC)

49.   Marvel Premiere #39 (The Torpedo) (Marvel)

50.   Marvel Premiere #40 (The Torpedo) (Marvel)

51.   Action Comics #1099 (DC)

52.   Deadly Hands of K'un-Lun #5 (Marvel)

53.   Americomics #1 The Shade, The Slayer, & Captain Freedom) (AC Comics)

54.   Batwoman (2026) #4 (DC)

55.   Supergirl (2025) #14 (DC)

56.   Sorcerer Supreme #7 (Marvel)

57.   The Shade Special #1 (AC Comics)

So that’s 57 comics, way ahead of the “one per day” goal, but fewer new comics and more back issues than last month.

MOVIES

I watched ZERO movies in June. This is getting to be a habit I need to break.

TELEVISION

·       Doctor Who Classic S08 Eps 11 – 25 (Pertwee Season 2) (15 Episodes)

·       The 49th Annual Tony Awards (1 episode)

LIVE THEATER

1.       The Balusters (comedy, Manhattan Theatre Club/Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, NYC)

2.       La Cage Aux Folles (musical, New York City Center, NYC)

PODCASTS

I’m a fairly recent convert to listening to podcasts, so I thought it would also be fun to list those here in the monthly roundups:

1         The Doctor's Beard Episode 65 (Terror of the Autons)

2         The Doctor's Beard Episode 66 (The Mind of Evil)

3         The Doctor's Beard Episode 67 (The Claws of Axos)

4         Borgo Pass Horror Podcast Episode 13 (Murders in the Zoo (1933))

5         Borgo Pass Horror Podcast Episode 14 (The Mummy's Hand (1940))

6         The Doctor’s Beard Episode 68 (Colony in Space)

7         The Doctor's Beard Episode 69 (The Daemons)

8         The Doctor's Beard Episode 70 (Patrick Troughton Retrospective)

9         World On Fire: An All-Star Squadron Podcast Episode 6 (Squadron Issues 6 & 7)

10     World On Fire: An All-Star Squadron Podcast Episode 7 (Squadron Issues 8 & 9)

11     Dropping Names ... and other things Episode 1  (Guest: LeVar Burton)

12     World On Fire: An All-Star Squadron Podcast Episode 8 (Squadron Issues 10 & 11)

13     World On Fire: An All-Star Squadron Podcast Episode 9 (Squadron Issues 12 & 13)

14     Justice Society Presents Episode 48 (Justice Society of America 1991 Issue 4)

Summary of Challenges:

Books Challenge: This month: 5 read; YTD: 44 of 120 read.

366 Short Stories Challenge: This month: 16 read; YTD: 205 of 366 read.

Graphic Novels Challenge: This month: 2 read; YTD: 8 of 52 read.

Movie Challenge: This month: 0 watched; YTD: 6 of 52 watched.

TV Shows Challenge: This month: 16 episodes watched; YTD: 84 of 365 watched.

Live Theater Challenge: This month: 2 shows attended; YTD: 10 of 12 attended.

Comic Books Challenge: This month: 57; YTD: 401 of 365 read.

Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0 read/watched; YTD: 0 read/watched.

Theatre Thursday: The 2026 Tony Awards

I think this is the first time since I started blogging that I’ve thought to do a post-Tony Awards post for Theatre Thursday. It’s never occurred to me before, probably because I never see enough Tony-nominated shows/performances to have a really strong opinion about nominations/winners or to make any kind of serious predictions. But this year it occurs to me that I can talk about the broadcast itself and what I enjoyed and who I *hoped* would win out of the shows I did see.

And what were those shows? In order of when I saw them: Oedipus. Chess. Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York). The Lost Boys. (I had tickets to see Marjorie Prime back in December on the same day I was supposed to see Oedipus but got sick and then had a ton of work travel and only managed to see one of them before they both ended their limited runs. I did see Titanique during the off-Broadway run, but I don’t think any of that cast is in the current production (we saw Marla Mindelle’s understudy). (The links embedded in the show titles are to my reviews.)

THE HOST

There’s not much I can say about P!nk as host that hasn’t been said already by countless reviewers, pundits, and Broadway-going Instagram accounts. So I’ll just add my voice. Yes, she was an unlikely choice. Yes, she owned it and ran with it. I think she did an excellent job, especially with the opening number and with “All That Jazz” in the Chicago tribute. Her love of live theatre/performance shone through the entire night. That opening number, “Leading Lady Marmalade,” was truly impressive not just in the reworked lyrics but also in the sheer number of performers they worked in (170!), giving all of the Musical-nominated shows (and a few of the Plays) a moment to shine. I’ve rewatched it several times and have attempted to watch it with sub-titles on … and I know I still missed a bunch of references and callouts. (My favorite moments: June Squib’s little spoken word bit; the intro for Megan Thee Stallion and her “cake” comment; Sam Tutty’s Dougal having no lines but wandering the stage looking in-character confused and excited; the little “spoiler” that maybe the Paddington musical is coming to Broadway next season (there’s a family history involving my sister and Paddington, so we WILL be seeing that show if it comes to NYC, no matter what I have to pay for tickets).)  I have to admit that I didn’t really get the interstitial comedy bits with Darren Criss and Ariana DeBose. But that’s fine, not every bit of the show has to be for me!

THE PERFORMANCES

I loved most of the Best Musical and Best Musical Revival performances. I was very happy that The Lost Boys and Two Strangers opted for medleys. While “New York” is clearly the signature song of Two Strangers, it doesn’t really give Christiani Pitts much to do so I was hoping they’d combine it with one of her solos (perhaps “This is the Place”) but “American Express” worked very well and kept the energy super-high. I have said this multiple times, but watching Pitts and Tutty perform together is truly a joy; clips of them online immediately bring a smile to my face. And while The Lost Boys’ “I Have To Have You” clearly establishes David’s (Ali Louis Bourzgui) allure and Michael’s (LJ Benet) attraction to Star (Maria Wirries), it doesn’t feature Shoshana Bean’s Lucy or Benjamin Pajak’s Sam. And I always prefer it when the Musicals that have more than one performer nominated feature most or all of them (My complaint about Death Becomes Her’s performance last year was that it was just Megan Hilty, leaving co-nominee Jennifer Simard out. I understand why they wanted to showcase that number, but still.) For similar reasons, I was happy that Ragtime went with a shortened version of the Prologue which not only sets the tone of the show but also featured all four of their nominees (Caissie Levy, Joshua Henry, Brandon Uranowitz, and Ben Levi Ross). It wasn’t surprising that Shmigadoon! went with their title number, which was old-style fun even if it didn’t feature nominees Sara Chase and Ana Gasteyer heavily. The Rocky Horror Show medley was also raucous fun, again even if it didn’t give Stephanie Hsu as much to do as Luke Evans and Rachel Dratch (at least it was a number where she was on stage, again unlike Death Becomes Her). And (warning! I’m about to be a hypocrite!) while the Cats: The Jellicle Ball performance barely included nominee Andre DeShields, I think they made the smart choice to go again with a truncated version of their opening number, because I already wanted to see it but now DAMN do I really want to see it. The disappointment to me was Titanique! I loved the show when we saw it down in Union Square last year. It is a ridiculously good time. My face hurt from laughing so much, and that is not an exaggeration. But the Tony performance seemed disjointed, and it seemed like Marla Mindelle’s energy was off compared to what I’ve seen in online clips (or even to her earlier appearances on the Tony broadcast, which were fun!). It’s almost like they tried to do too much in the time they had allotted, and it didn’t really sell the show – or give nominee Layton Williams a real moment to shine.

THE WINNERS

Again, having not seen most of the nominated shows/performances, I can’t say categorically who I thought should have won versus who did. I can say that I thought most of the acceptance speeches felt like the right length (okay, it did feel like John Lithgow meandered a bit). I was hoping that Ali Louis Bourzgui, Shoshana Bean, and Lesly Manville would win their categories and was happy when they did. I was hoping that Mark Strong, Nicholas Christopher, Christiani Pitts, Oedipus, and The Lost Boys would win their categories, and they didn’t. I was still happy for John Lithgow, Joshua Henry (who I suspected would win), Caissie Levy, Death of a Salesman, and Schmigadoon! I can also say I was surprised that Aaron Tveit and Lea Michele didn’t get Lead noms for Chess (although I didn’t see Lea, friends who did say she really was compelling in the role), that Anne Reid didn’t get a Featured Actress nom for Oedipus, and that LJ Benet didn’t get a Lead nomination for The Lost Boys.

I haven’t commented on any of the Technical or Writing awards because I didn’t see “Act One” on Pluto TV and I haven’t had a chance to look up the lists of nominees versus winners for those. And as this post is already overdue (at least it’s still Thursday in other time zones), I’m going to wrap this up the way several Tony Awards hosts have in the past:

Go support live theater! You don’t have to be in New York (or London’s West End) to do so. See a touring show. Find your nearest Regional Theater. Support community theatre and high school and college theater programs.

 I’ve always loved live theater, and in the past couple of years I’ve been making a stronger effort to see more of it. Theater Thursday is an occasional series where I talk about live theater, both shows I’ve seen recently and shows I’ve loved in the past.

THEATRE THURSDAY: Oedipus and CHESS

I know, I know … today’s not Thursday, it’s Saturday. Work life happened, and I really want to post at least short reviews of the other two 2026 Tony Award nominees I saw before the Tony Awards happen, which is tomorrow (Sunday, June 7) as of when I’m writing this. One closed back in January, and the other is closing soon after the Tony broadcast.

OEDIPUS

I was supposed to see Oedipus and Marjorie Prime during Christmas week but got sick. Thankfully, I was able to squeeze a performance of Oedipus in before the run ended in January (sadly, I did not make it to Marjorie Prime before it closed). I went in expecting the original Sophocles, or something close to it, in modern dress as is so often done with Shakespeare. That’s not what creator and director Robert Icke gave us. This is a modern language, modern dress, retelling of the original. It takes place on Election Night in Thebes, in the last hour and a half before the race’s results are to be announced. The front-runner is Oedipus, an immigrant to Thebes and second husband to Jocasta. Jocasta was married to the former ruler of Thebes, who died twenty years earlier under what some consider questionable circumstances. Over the course of a strict hour-and-a-half (with no intermission), counted down by a large LED clock on the stage, Oedipus and Jocasta, along with their family and staff, uncover secrets that end in tragedy. (SPOILERS: If you didn’t study Greek myths in school, suffice to say: the prophecy at Oedipus’ birth that he would kill his father and have sex with his mother came spectacularly and gruesomely true, to everyone’s horror.)

Mark Strong and Leslie Manville led the company as Oedipus and Jocasta, and they fully deserve their Tony nominations, Manville in particular. Strong was a commanding Oedipus, even in his confusion and despair. Manville’s Jocasta, the true power of the family and the cause of her younger husband’s political rise, in comparison, deteriorates in minutes before our eyes. I could not take my eyes from her during the final 20 minutes of the play. As with Hadestown, I knew what was coming and still kept hoping this time the story would turn out differently.

I have to say that I thought Anne Reid, as Oedipus’ adoptive mother Merope, would score a Featured Actress nomination. Reid walked that fine line of managing grief, anger, and despondency so incredibly well.

This was the only 2026 Tony-nominated play I managed to see this season. I do hope Strong and Manville win in their categories.

CHESS

The other Tony-nominated show I saw was CHESS. Now anyone who knows me knows I’ve loved this show since the concept album came out (and will therefore probably be surprised that this is the first time I’ve seen it performed live). I went in with hopes, rather than expectations. The show has a rough history, and I knew the book had been rewritten and song order rearranged with some songs dropped and others added. I also saw it the during the period Lea Michele was out.

Let me just say: I know the category is full of powerhouses this year, but I will be severely disappointed if Nicholas Christopher does not win Best Performance By an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. I’d previously seen him as Sweeney in Sweeney Todd (during the period after Josh Groban left and before Aaron Tveit took over) and he was phenomenal, so I went out of my way to make sure he’d be in CHESS the night I saw it. He did not disappoint. You’ve seen the viral clip of the note he holds at the end of “Endgame.” It’s even more powerful in person. If you need one reason to see CHESS before it closes … that note should be enough. (Full admission: Anatoly’s songs are my favorites in the show, the ones I would belt (not necessarily well, mind you) along with the concept album vinyl in my living room. So yes, Nicholas Christopher made me cry. Multiple times.) Aaron Tveit’s Freddie is appropriately slimy and smarmy; the revised book tries to give him a bit more depth and Tveit tries his best, but there’s not really a lot that can be done to make Freddie at all likeable or sympathetic. I am also happy that Bryce Pinkham got a Featured Actor nomination as the Narrator/Arbiter. His comedic talent injected the otherwise dark show with much needed lighter moments. With Lea out, I saw Katerina Papacostas as Florence and she was terrific. I hope she gets snapped up by a new show after CHESS closes and has a chance to create a role. She’s further proof that being an understudy or standby does not mean the performer is any less talented than the full-time cast.

It only occurs to me as I’m rereading the above reviews that what these shows both have in common is how appropriate they are for our current political climate. Oedipus comments on the nature of celebrity and celebrity-in-politics, how that spotlight can both blind the populace and reveal every shadow of a politician at the same time. CHESS’s grounding in the Cold War machinations of the 1980s shines a light on how those same machinations are still happening right now.

I’ve always loved live theater, and in the past couple of years I’ve been making a stronger effort to see more of it. Theater Thursday is an occasional series where I talk about live theater, both shows I’ve seen recently and shows I’ve loved in the past.

READING ROUND-UP: MAY 2026

The fifth monthly summary of what I’ve been reading, listening to, and watching in 2026!

BOOKS

I read 5 books in May: 3 in print, 1 in e-book format, and 1 in audio format. They were:

1.       Riverworld Odyssey edited by Michael Croteau. (Advance Reader Copy, E-BOOK) PREORDER HERE

2.       Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 1) by Matt Dinniman (AUDIOBOOK)

3.       The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald  by John U. Bacon (PRINT - HARDCOVER) (SPARTA BOOKS BOOK CLUB MAY PICK)

4.       King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby (PRINT - SOFTCOVER) (STANZA BOOKS MYSTERY BOOK CLUB MAY PICK)

5.       Superman: Miracle Monday by Elliot S. Maggin. (PRINT - SOFTCOVER)

STORIES

I have a goal of reading 365 short stories (1 per day, essentially, although it doesn’t always work out that way) once again this year. Here’s what I read this month and where you can find them if you’re interested in reading them too. If no source is noted, the story is from the same magazine or book as the story(ies) that precede(s) it.

1.       “The Knacker Man” by Scott Dalrymple, in Lightspeed Magazine #192, edited by John Joseph Adams

2.       “The Star Where We Meet” by Sam W. Pisciotta

3.       “The Stars Look Away From the Vessel” by dave ring

4.       “The Test of Time” by Kristin Kathryn Rusch

5.       “Sarah's Laugh” by Melissa A Watkins

6.       “The Aerialist” by Yoon Ha Lee

7.       “Ten Unsent Letters to the Dark Lord” by Ada Hoffman

8.       “The Last Season of Your Life” by Christopher Barzak

9.       “Eden Sank to Grief” by Seanan McGuire, from the Author’s Patreon

10.   “River of Eternity” by Philip Jose Farmer from Riverworld Odyssey, edited by Michael Croteau

11.   “Day of the Great Shout” by Philip Jose Farmer

12.   “Riverworld” by Philip Jose Farmer

13.   “Riverworld War” by Philip Jose Farmer

14.   “Crossing the Dark River” by Philip Jose Farmer

15.   “A Hole in Hell” by Dane Helstrom (Philip Jose Farmer)

16.   “Up The Bright River” by Philip Jose Farmer

17.   “Coda” by Philip Jose Farmer

18.   “Emeralds to Emeralds, Dust to Dust” by Seanan McGuire, from Oz Reimagined edited by John Joseph Adams & Douglas Cohen

19.   “The Final Safest Place” by Wendy N. Wagner, from Three-Lobed Burning Eye #47, edited by Andrew S. Fuller

20.   “Out to Sea” by Dom D. Borg, From Kaleidotrope Spring 2026, edited by Fred Coppersmith

21.   “Hollow Cast” by Sarah Grey, from Nightmare #164 edited by Wendy N. Wagner

22.   “A Magic Kingdom” by Bruce McAllister

So that’s 22 short stories in May. A bit less than “1 per day,” and I don’t think I managed any author birthday short stories at all! (May 31st was the 151st day of 2026.)

COMIC BOOKS

I’ve begun tracking the individual monthly comic book issues I read and thought it would be fun to include that list in this monthly round-up as well. I’m striving for a comic book per day. I’ve also started doing a “Random Back Issue Comic Books Read/Reread” daily post on my Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky accounts. We’ll see how long that lasts. Here’s the comics I read in May:

1.       Marvel Presents #6 featuring The Guardians of the Galaxy (Marvel, 1976)

2.       Black Lightning #4 (DC, 1977)

3.       Superman In the Computers That Saved Metropolis (DC, 1980)

4.       Planet of the Apes #16 (Marvel black & white magazine, 1976)

5.       Rip Hunter Time Master #19 (DC, 1964)

6.       Rip Hunter Time Master #26 (DC, 1965)

7.       Bizarre Adventures #30 featuring Paradox, Silhouette, Hero (Marvel black & white magazine, 1982)

8.       Adventures of Superman: Book of El #8 (DC, 2026)

9.       Captain America (2025) #10 (Marvel, 2026)

10.   JSA (2024) #19 (DC, 2026)

11.   Looney Tunes #216 (Dell, 1959)

12.   Showcase ’93 #9 (DC, 1993)

13.   Wiccan: Witches Road #5 (Marvel, 2026)

14.   Showcase #46 (DC, 1963)

15.   Zatanna (2026) #1 (DC, 2026)

16.   World's Finest #154 (DC, 1965)

17.   World's Finest #157(DC, 1966)

18.   Swamp Thing '89 #1 (DC, 2026)

19.   The Flash (1960s series) #236 (DC, 1975)

20.   Brain Boy #6 (Dell, 1963)

21.   Justice League Intergalactic Special #1 (DC, 2026)

22.   Gatchaman: Red Impulse #1 (Mad Cave, 2026)

23.   Deadly Hands of K'un-Lun #3 (Marvel, 2026)

24.   Tales of the Green Lantern Corps: Guy Gardner #1 (DC, 2026)

25.   Marvel Team-Up #120 (Marvel, 1982)

26.   New Teen Titans Drug Awareness Special #1 (DC, 1983)

27.   Tarzan Family #60 (DC, 1975)

28.   Superman Family #173 (DC, 1975

29.   Captain America (2025) #11 (Marvel, 2026)

30.   Supergirl (2025) #13 (DC, 2026)

31.   The Fury of Firestorm (2026) #2 (DC, 2026)

32.   Action Comics #1098 (DC, 2026)

33.   Emperor Aquaman #17 (DC, 2026)

34.   The Thing on the Doorstep #4 (Image, 2026)

35.   Green Lantern Corps (2024) #16 (DC, 2026)

36.   Nectar #1 (Vault Comics, 2026)

37.   Super-Team Family #1 (DC, 1975)

38.   Batman Family #1 (DC, 1975)

39.   Morgana Pendragon #2 (Queen of Mercia LLC, 2026)

40.   Barbara Gordon: Breakout #1 (DC, 2026)

41.   The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones #1 (Marvel, 1983)

42.   Spider-Woman #2 (Marvel, 1978)

43.   Dracula Lives! Annual #1 (Marvel black & white magazine, 1975)

44.   Planet of the Vampires #2 (Atlas, 1975)

45.   The Hardy Boys #2 (Gold Key, 1970)

46.   Batwoman (2026) #3 (DC, 2026)

47.   Superman Unlimited #13 (DC, 2026)

48.   Odin #1 (Image, 2026)

49.   Deadly Hands of K'Un-Lun #4 (Marvel, 2026)

50.   Batman/Superman: World's Finest #51 (DC, 2026)

51.   Marvel Classics Comics #1 (Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde) (Marvel, 1976)

52.   Imperial Guardians #3 (Marvel, 2026)

53.   Super Creepshow #3 (Image, 2026)

54.   Seven Wives #1 (IDW, 2026)

55.   Sorcerer Supreme #6 (Marvel, 2026)

56.   Superboy #103 (DC, 1963)

57.   Nectar #2 (Vault Comics, 2026)

58.   Nectar #3 (Vault Comics, 2026)

59.   Monster Hunters #15 (Charlton, 1975)

60.   Blood of Dracula #1 (Apple Comics, 1987)

61.   Excommunicated #1 (Vault Comics, 2026)

62.   Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp #6 (Whitman, 1971)

63.   DC Super-Stars #9 (The Man Behind the Gun) (DC. 1976)

64.   All-Star Squadron Preview (originally published in Justice League of America 193, insert removed) (DC, 1981)

65.   All-Star Squadron #1 (DC, 1981)

66.   All-Star Squadron #2 (DC, 1981)

67.   All-Star Squadron #3 (DC, 1981)

68.   All-Star Squadron #4 (DC, 1981)

69.   Ironjaw #1 (Atlas, 1975)

So that’s 69 comics, way ahead of the “one per day” goal.

MOVIES

I watched ZERO movies in May.

TELEVISION

·       Doctor Who Classic S07 Eps 12 – 25 (Pertwee Season 1) (13 Episodes)

·       Doctor Who Classic S08 Eps 01 – 10 (Pertwee Season 1) (10 Episodes)

·       Good Omens S03 Ep 01 (1 episode)

That’s 24 episodes of television, much closer to the “1 per day” I was shooting for.

LIVE THEATER

1.       TRU (drama, Church of the Redeemer, NYC)

2.       Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York City) (musical, Longacre Theatre, NYC) (REVIEW HERE)

3.       The Lost Boys (musical, The Palace Theatre, NYC) (REVIEW HERE)

PODCASTS

I’m a fairly recent convert to listening to podcasts, so I thought it would also be fun to list those here in the monthly roundups:

1         Justice Society Presents Episode 46 (Interview with Matt Wagner and James K. Snyder III)

2         Justice Society Presents Episode 47 (The Sandman Slept Here 06 (Sandman Mystery Theatre Annual #1 and Adventure Comics #47))

3         Borgo Pass Horror Podcast Episode 11 (Dracula's Daughter 1936)

4         Borgo Pass Horror Podcast Episode 12 (The Werewolf of London 1936)

5         The Doctor's Beard Episode 60 (“Spearhead From Space”)

6         The Doctor's Beard Episode 61 (“Doctor Who and the Silurians”)

7         The Doctor's Beard Episode 62 (“Ambassadors of Death”)

8         The Doctor's Beard Episode 63 (“Inferno”)

9         The Doctor’s Beard Episode 64 (Patreon Exclusive #48)

10     FW Team-Up Episode 82 (Marvel Two-In-One #33, The Thing and Modred the Mystic)

Summary of Challenges:

Books Challenge: This month: 5 read; YTD: 39 of 120 read.

366 Short Stories Challenge: This month: 22 read; YTD: 189 of 366 read.

Graphic Novels Challenge: This month: 0 read; YTD: 6 of 52 read.

Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0 read/watched; YTD: 0 read/watched.

Movie Challenge: This month: 0 watched; YTD: 6 of 52 watched.

TV Shows Challenge: This month: 22 episodes watched; YTD: 66 of 365 watched.

Live Theater Challenge: This month: 3 shows attended; YTD: 8 of 12 attended.

Comic Books Challenge: This month: 69; YTD: 344 of 365 read.

READING ROUND-UP: April 2026

The fourth monthly summary of what I’ve been reading, listening to, and watching in 2026 (slightly overdue)!

BOOKS

I read 5 books in April: 4 in print, 0 in e-book format, and 1 in audio format. They were:

1.       The Cannibal Owl by Aaron Gwyn. (PRINT - SOFTCOVER)

2.       Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater (PRINT - SOFTCOVER)

3.       The Author Immortal by Frank J. Barbiere, Morgan Beem, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Sasha E. Head (PRINT - SOFTCOVER)

4.       The Long Way Home by Elissa Ebersold. (PRINT - SOFTCOVER)

5.       Mortal Monarchs: 1,000 Years of Royal Deaths by Suzie Edge. (AUDIOBOOK)

STORIES

I have a goal of reading 365 short stories (1 per day, essentially, although it doesn’t always work out that way) once again this year. Here’s what I read this month and where you can find them if you’re interested in reading them too. If no source is noted, the story is from the same magazine or book as the story(ies) that precede(s) it.

1.       “Saint Zero of the Hollows and the Eagle Knight” by V.M. Ayala, in Lightspeed Magazine #191, edited by John Joseph Adams

2.       “Dad Died on Discord” by Andrew Dana Hudson

3.       “Update on Rules for the Spatiotemporal Use of Campus Spaces” by Andrea Kriz

4.       “Empathetic Psychosis” by Justin C. Key

5.       “Hell is Empty” by J.R. Dawson

6.       “Six-Gun Vixen and the Machinist of Doom Valley” by Ashok K. Banker

7.       “Time Management” by P.A. Cornell

8.       “A Solitude of Space” by Seanan McGuire, from the Author’s Patreon

9.       “Nacre” by E. Catherine Tobler from Three-Lobed Burning Eye #45, edited by Andrew S. Fuller

10.   “The Barrens” by Octavia Cade

11.   “Once Upon an Invasion” by Amanda Cecelia Long, From Kaleidotrope Spring 2026, edited by Fred Coppersmith

12.   “Outbreak” by Michelle H. Porter

13.   “Macaroni Art in the Age of Filtration” by Ryan Cole, from the Clarkesworld #235, edited by Neil Clarke

14.   “DOG” by Tania Fordwalker

15.   “The Final Girl Trap” by A.C. Wise, from Nightmare #163 edited by Wendy N. Wagner

16.   “The Spiders You Swallow in Your Sleep” by Wendy Nikel

17.   “Cool Beans” by Teel James Glenn, from Cirsova #25 (Winter 2025) edited by P. Alexander

18.   “This Is Not Your Extinction Event” by Elena Sichrovksy, from Otherside #1 edited by V.M. Ayala, M.R. Robinson, Ash Vale

19.   “Vitrification” by Ishmael Grey

20.   “Not Known” by W.H. Chizmar, from Author Chapbook/Patreon

21.   “Windows” by Ibrahim Ojedokun, from The Dark #131 edited by Sean Wallace

22.   “Dromedary Mary” by Phoenix Alexander

23.   “Johnny Otha Has a Problem” by Margaret Dunlap, from The Sunday Morning Transport April 2026, edited by Fran Wilde and Julian Yap

24.   “Strawberries” by D.A. Xaolin Spires

So that’s 24 short stories in April. A bit less than “1 per day,” and I don’t think I managed any author birthday short stories at all! (April 30th was the 120th day of 2026.)

COMIC BOOKS

I’ve begun tracking the individual monthly comic book issues I read and thought it would be fun to include that list in this monthly round-up as well. I’m striving for a comic book per day. I’ve also started doing a “Random Back Issue Comic Books Read/Reread” daily post on my Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky accounts. We’ll see how long that lasts. Here’s the comics I read in April:

1.       Justice League Red #6 (DC, 2026)

2.       Strange Tales (2025) #4 (Marvel, 2026)

3.       The Eternals 50th Anniversary Special #1 (Marvel, 2026)

4.       Batman/Superman: World's Finest #50 (DC, 2026)

5.       JSA (2024 series) #18 (DC, 2026)

6.       Nightmask #1 (Marvel New Universe, 1986)

7.       Beowulf: Dragon Slayer #1 (DC, 1975)

8.       Beowulf: Dragon Slayer #2 (DC, 1975)

9.       Beowulf: Dragon Slayer #3 (DC, 1975)

10.   Beowulf: Dragon Slayer #4 (DC, 1976)

11.   Beowulf: Dragon Slayer #5 (DC, 1976)

12.   Beowulf: Dragon Slayer #6 (DC, 1976)

13.   Targitt #3 (Atlas, 1975)

14.   The Sandman #1 (DC, 1974)

15.   Sherlock Holmes #1 (DC, 1975)

16.   Nova: Centurion #05 (Marvel, 2026)

17.   Adventures of Superman: Book of El #7 (DC, 2026)

18.   Universal Monsters: Phantom of the Opera #2 (Image/Skybound, 2026)

19.   Deadly Hands of K'Un-Lun #2 (Marvel, 2026)

20.   The Flash (2023 series) #31 (DC, 2026)

21.   Captain Britain #6 (Marvel, 1985)

22.   Stalker #3 (DC, 1975)

23.   The Shadow War of Hawkman #1 (DC, 1975)

24.   Superboy #200 (DC, 1974)

25.   Planet of the Apes #1 (Marvel black & white magazine, 1974)

26.   Marvel Preview #16, featuring Lilith and Hodiah Twist (Marvel black and white magazine, 1978)

27.   Pick-Up #1 (AWA, 2026)

28.   New Titans #33 (DC, 2026)

29.   Super Creepshow #1 (Image/Skybound, 2026)

30.   Captain America (2025 series) #8 (DC, 2026)

31.   Supergirl (2025 series) #12 (DC, 2026)

32.   The Fury of Firestorm (2026 series) #1 (DC)

33.   Green Lantern Corps (2024 series) #15 (DC, 2026)

34.   Action Comics #1097 (DC, 2026)

35.   Emperor Aquaman #16 (DC, 2026)

36.   The Nice House By The Sea #9 (DC/Vertigo, 2026)

37.   Doomsday +1 #1 (Charlton, 1975)

38.   Bizarro Year One #1 (DC, 2026)

39.   Batman (2025 series) #8 (DC, 2026)

40.   The Thing on the Doorstep #1 (Image, 2026)

41.   The Thing on the Doorstep #2 (Image, 2026)

42.   Lost Fantasy #8 (Image, 2026)

43.   Imperial Guardians #1 (Marvel, 2026)

44.   Blackhawk #220 (DC, 1966)

45.   Blackhawk #221 (DC, 1966)

46.   Astonishing Tales #24 featuring IT! The Living Colossus (Marvel, 1974)

47.   Dark Shadows #17 (Gold Key, 1972)

48.   Classics Illustrated #67 (The Scottish Chiefs) (Gilberton, 1950)

49.   Justice League of America (1960 series) #56 (DC, 1967)

50.   Superman (2023 series) #36 (DC, 2026)

51.   DC/Marvel: Superman/Spider-Man #1 (DC, 2026)

52.   Sorcerer Supreme #2 (Marvel, 2026)

53.   Sorcerer Supreme #3 (Marvel, 2026)

54.   Sorcerer Supreme #4 (Marvel, 2026)

55.   New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident #1 (DC/Milestone, 2026)

56.   Green Lantern (2023 series) #31 (DC, 2026)

57.   Green Lantern (2023 series) #32 (DC, 2026)

58.   Green Lantern (2023 series) #33 (DC, 2026)

59.   Justice Society of America (1991 series) #3 (DC, 1991)

60.   Werewolf #2 (Dell, 1967)

61.   Giant-Size Avengers #1 (Marvel, 1974)

62.   Frankenstein #3 (Dell, 1966)

63.   Wynd: The Power of the Blood #8 (BOOM!, 2026)

64.   Imperial Guardians #2 (Marvel, 2026)

65.   Exquisite Corpses #12 (Image, 2026)

66.   The Other/Half #2 (Ignition Press, 2026)

67.   Captain America (2025) #9 (Marvel, 2026)

68.   The Flash (1960s series) #173 (DC, 1967)

69.   Sorcerer Supreme #5 (Marvel, 2026)

70.   Justice League Unlimited #18 (DC, 2026)

71.   Superman Unlimited #12 (DC, 2026)

72.   Gatchaman #17 (Mad Cave, 2026)

73.   Batwoman (2026 series) #2 (DC, 2026)

74.   Steel The Indestructible Man #2 (DC, 1978)

75.   Steel The Indestructible Man #3 (DC, 1978)

76.   Steel The Indestructible Man #4 (DC, 1978)

77.   Steel The Indestructible Man #5 (DC, 1978)

78.   Marvel/DC: Spider-Man/Superman #1 (Marvel, 2026)

79.   Lost Fantasy #9 (Image, 2026)

80.   Fireborn #1 (Image, 2026)

81.   Marvel Two-In-One #11 featuring The Thing & The Golem (Marvel, 1975)

82.   The Peril of the Brutal Dark: an Ezra Cain Mystery #3 (DC/Vertigo, 2026)

83.   Universal Monsters: The Phantom of the Opera #3 (Image/Skybound, 2026)

84.   Superman (2023 series) #37 (DC, 2026)

85.   The Thing on the Doorstep #3 (Image, 2026)

86.   Marvel Spotlight #5, featuring Dragon Lord (Marvel, 1980)

87.   Green Lantern (2023 series) #34 (DC, 2026)

88.   The Flash (2023 series) #32 (DC, 2026)

89.   Super Creepshow #2 (Image/Skybound, 2026)

90.   What If Dark: Tomb of Dracula #1 (Marvel, 2025)

91.   Iceman Omega #1 (Marvel, 2025)

92.   Challengers of the Unknown #81 (DC, 1977)

93.   Battle of the Planets #6 (Western Publishing, 1980)

94.   Justice League of America (1960s series) #47 (DC, 1966)

95.   Mission: Impossible #2 (Dell, 1967)

So that’s 95 comics, way ahead of the “one per day” goal.

MOVIES

I watched ZERO movies in April.

TELEVISION

·       Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special Eps 1 – 2 (2 episodes)

·       Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair S01 Eps 1 – 4 (4 episodes)

·       Doctor Who Classic S07 Eps 1 – 11 (Pertwee Season 1) (11 Episodes)

That’s 17 episodes of television, still not even close to the “1 per day” I was shooting for.

LIVE THEATER

1.       CHESS (musical, Imperial Theatre, NYC)

2.       Titus Andronicus (Red Bull Theatre, NYC)

PODCASTS

I’m a fairly recent convert to listening to podcasts, so I thought it would also be fun to list those here in the monthly roundups:

1         Justice Society Presents Episode 44 (The Sandman Slept Here 05 (Sandman Mystery Theatre Issues 17-20))

2         Justice Society Presents Episode 45 (JSA in the 90s: Justice Society of America #3 ('91))

3         Borgo Pass Horror Podcast Episode 7 (Frankenstein 1931)

4         Borgo Pass Horror Podcast Episode 8 (Captive Wild Woman 1943)

5         Borgo Pass Horror Podcast Episode 9 (House of Dracula 1945)

6         Borgo Pass Horror Podcast Episode 10 (The Raven 1935)

Summary of Challenges:

Books Challenge: This month: 5 read; YTD: 34 of 120 read.

366 Short Stories Challenge: This month: 24 read; YTD: 139 of 366 read.

Graphic Novels Challenge: This month: 1 read; YTD: 6 of 52 read.

Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0 read/watched; YTD: 0 read/watched.

Movie Challenge: This month: 0 watched; YTD: 6 of 52 watched.

TV Shows Challenge: This month: 17 episodes watched; YTD: 42 of 365 watched.

Live Theater Challenge: This month: 2 shows attended; YTD: 5 of 12 attended.

Comic Books Challenge: This month: 95; YTD: 275 of 365 read.

Theatre Thursday: Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York)

Two weeks ago, I saw Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York). Full honesty: I went into it knowing very little about the plot, and wanted to see it mostly because I remember Sam Tutty’s various filmed performances of songs from Dear Evan Hansen when he played the lead role on the West End as well as videos from the West End run of Two Strangers, and I have a well-known catastrophic attraction complex to cute funny redheads. Yes, that’s a pretty superficial reason to see a play. At least I’m honest.

Two Strangers is a two-hander – just two actors, Tutty as Dougal, newly arrived in NYC on his first visit from England to attend the wedding of the father he’s never met, and Christiani Pitts as Robin, the younger sister of the bride tasked with running all the wedding-related errands too menial for the bride and groom, including picking the groom’s son up from LaGuardia airport. Dougal and Robin do not instantly hit it off, and the show is about how they gradually get to know each other while, among other tasks, retrieving the titular cake from Flatbush and getting it back to Manhattan. The play also explores Dougal and Robin’s relationships with their families (his mom and imagined meeting with his father, her grandmother and sister).

Along the way, there are twists and bumps and secrets revealed leading to a cathartic and sweet denouement. Jim Barne and Kit Buchan have written a well-structured show, full of banter and balancing the comedic with the serious. In fact, I would go so far as to say it is the perfect Broadway musical rom-com. It doesn’t take itself too seriously even when dealing with some weighty subjects (none of which I will spoil here). You don’t leave feeling like you’ve been lectured to, but you’ve still learned something about dealing with abandonment and betrayals of trust (whether you are the abandoner or the abandoned, the betrayer or the betrayed). I find myself still thinking about the character arcs two weeks after seeing the show.

I also find myself still thinking about the set design by Soutra Gilmour, which manages to be abstractly concrete … or should it be concretely abstract? The set is basically two giant stacks of luggage, most of which open in various configurations to form bedrooms, coffee shops, hotel rooms, the interior of a rideshare, and the streets of New York. Combined with Jack Knowles’ lighting design the set is as much a character as the characters are.

If you’re on social media at all, you’ve seen clips of the songs “New York,” “This Is The Place,” “About To Go In,” and “American Express.” Barne and Buchan’s songs swing from raucously funny to introspective, all appropriate. It’s not unusual for me to suddenly have snippets of each of the four songs I just mentioned, as well as “This Year” and “If I Believed” dancing around inside my head.

Tutty’s Dougal is adorkable – a movie geek who loves his mother and really just wants to be everyone’s friend, including the father he’s never known. His mannerisms are appropriately exaggerated when he’s excited, but what was really touching was the smaller gestures when Dougal is anxious or a little unsure of his footing. Dougal tries too hard sometimes, but just when that might start to be annoying Tutty pulls it back in and shows why Dougal is trying so hard.

Pitts’ Robin is more guarded, with just enough simmering anger at the start to telegraph that this cool, collected woman has some inner conflict that needs addressing. Pitts spools that out to the audience as much in body language as in the written dialogue throughout act one, and when she explodes in act two, every moment of it is earned and relatable.

When I sat down in the theater and flipped through the Playbill, I realized I actually had seen Christiani Pitts before … in King Kong! This is a very different role in a very different scale production. In Kong, she was overshadowed by the puppet work (which was phenomenal) and not necessarily well-served by the music. Here, she really gets to shine. Her Tony nomination is well-deserved (as is Tutty’s, and the show’s) and honestly, if I was a Tony voter, she’d have my vote. (No, I haven’t seen every Tony-nominated performance from this season’s musicals; I’m confident that she’d get my vote even if I had).

It’s probably obvious from this review that I highly recommend if you’re near New York City you go see Two Strangers at the Longacre Theatre. Of the musicals I’ve seen so far this year, it’s in the top two for me (after The Lost Boys).

I’ve always loved live theater, and in the past couple of years I’ve been making a stronger effort to see more of it. Theater Thursday is an occasional series where I talk about live theater, both shows I’ve seen recently and shows I’ve loved in the past.