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Aug. 14, 2026 | By PoliticsMoneyCulture Editors You can spend a lot of money on a bottle of balsamic vinegar, and we have. Once a while, when we have some juicy vine-ripened tomatoes grown by a friend in her backyard, a drizzle of rich, knock-your-socks-off balsamic (plus a few grains of maldon salt) is worth the splurge. But for every day cooking, we prefer a reasonably priced bottle. I did not say cheap. I am talking about a good quality balsamic that satisfies our eve

July 17, 2026 | By PoliticsMoneyCulture Editors You arrive in a great city, check into a good hotel, make dinner reservations, dutifully visit the museums, and never once leave the gravitational pull of the capital. You've done a lot, but you still are missing out on some great discoveries. The Markthal is a residential and office building with a bustling market hall underneath, a must-see on your daytrip to Rotterdam Dynamic capitals like Amsterdam, London, and Tokyo are not

July 10, 2026 | By Bruce R. Feldman In a recent New Yorker essay, Joshua Rothman takes on one of modern travel’s most surprisingly emotional questions: should you recline your airplane seat? The piece frames the issue as both tiny and enormous: only a few inches are involved, but those inches can feel like a moral referendum on how we behave in shared space. Rothman calls it “the central dilemma of our time,” with a wink, but the essay’s point is serious: airline cabins have

"Master Harold…and the Boys,” Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles, Apr. 16 – May 10, 2026 April 20, 2026 | By Bruce R. Feldman In Brief: John Kani’s monumental performance quietly builds to an emotionally shattering conclusion in this engrossing revival of Athol Fugard’s drama about racial inequality in South Africa under Apartheid. L-R: Ben Beatty, Nyasha Hatendi and John Kani in Master Harold...and the Boys at Geffen Playhouse. (Photo: Jeff Lorch) In Master Harold...and the

“Level Up,” Latino Theatre Co., Los Angeles, Mar. 26 – May 3, 2026 Apr. 12, 2026 | By Bruce R. Feldman In Brief: A teen-themed drama about sexual identity, family, and the immersive fantasy world young Desi concocts to cope with a vortex of adolescent emotions. The ideas in Gabriel Rivas Gómez’s text aren’t new, but the cast is winning, and the production is first rate. Mathias Brinda, Xol Gonzalez, Khalif J. Gillett in Level Up (Photo: Jenny Graham) In Level Up , two b

‘Sex, Lies and Harold Pinter,’ Odyssey Theatre, West Los Angeles, Mar. 20 - Apr. 26, 2026 April 3, 2026 | By Bruce R. Feldman In Brief: The modestly stimulating double-bill now at the Odyssey offers a glimpse into the mind of Harold Pinter through the lens of two of his lesser-known works, one from early in his development, before he had achieved fame and notoriety, and the other written some 30 years later. Michelle Ghatan, Paul Marius, Larry Eisenberg, Mouchette Van Helsd

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, “Still/Here,” Royce Hall, Los Angeles, Mar. 5, 2026 Mar. 8, 2026 | By Bruce R. Feldman In Brief: The Jones company performed a potent full-length dance and theatre piece with grace, vitality, and conviction. It was here in Los Angeles for one night only. Kick yourself if you missed it. Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company in Still/Here . (Photo: Nir Arieli) In 1992, Bill Jones conducted the first of what he called “survival workshops.” They

“Amadeus,” Pasadena Playhouse, Feb. 11 - Mar. 15, 2026 Feb. 18, 2026 | By Bruce R. Feldman In Brief: Peter Shaffer’s florid period drama was a huge hit in London and on Broadway in the early 1980s. It holds up well some 45 years on, but the real pleasure in Pasadena Playhouse’s lavish staging is Jefferson Mays’s bravura lead performance. Jefferson Mays in Amadeus at Pasadena Playhouse (Photo: Jeff Lorch) Let’s give author Peter Shaffer his due. He took two historical fig

This complex, endlessly fascinating, and superbly staged new drama interleaves the mercurial careers and strained marriages of two female authors. One is a young present-day novelist struggling after early success; the other just happens to be the poet Sylvia Plath, whose short, patchy career, personal demons, and notorious suicide at age 32 catalyzed several generations of women writers.