David Cote

Not reviewing *The Curious Case of Benjamin Button* musical—imported from the UK—but I def. would sneak in the phase, "It's nearly three hours of watching dry paint become wet."

davidcote1.substack.com/p/sarah-kane...

rounding up last couple weeks of showgoing with thoughts davidcote1.substack.com/p/see-a-show...

"Helplessly Gen X, my humor reflex responds when there are no sacred cows, and Slam Frank scratched that chaotic itch." davidcote1.substack.com/p/slam-frank...

Stop callinge them "data centers" and starte callinge them "slop peripherals"

Thrilled to share that an opera I've been developing with Scott Davenport Richards and Robin Guarino will be part of next year's return of the great VOX opera lab! Our opera is called ROBESON/MOSCOW, it's big, and scarily relevant to [waves arms around] www.voxamericanopera.org/finalists

Capricorn: One skill that will help this week is hibernation. Seriously. Try to figure out how to turn into a bear.

Delighted to share my first piece for the Brooklyn Rail, a Q&A with the outstanding Jay Wegman, who has programmed a jaw-dropper of a season (his 10th at NYU Skirball Center): Angélica Liddell, Romeo Castellucci, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Milo Rau and lots more. brooklynrail.org/2026/09/thea...

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This week's #wordlesentence: Highfalutin Bully Edition! “Don’t snipe or feign privy knowledge, you wimpy dweeb, or I will toss you over the fence, whereupon you will noisily crash and clunk.” 8/13: CRASH 8/12: WIMPY 8/11: FENCE 8/10: SNIPE 8/9: CLUNK 8/8: PRIVY 8/7: FEIGN

davidcote1.substack.com/p/after-the-...

This week's #wordlesentence “It was more a valve than a plume from which grape jelly pumped with the consistency of putty, prompting the ex-sonar operator to murmur, ‘aloha,’ like a Hawaiian poser.” 7/30: FLUME 7/29: VALVE 7/28: SONAR 7/27: POSER 7/26: GRAPE 7/25: ALOHA 7/24: PUTTY

As a longtime theater critic and librettist, it's no surprise @davidcote.bsky.social is attracted to the messy tangibility of slips slips—as with the stage, you can expect to get your hands dirty if you want to engage. Check out his profile in our newsletter: slipsslips.substack.com/p/contributo...

This reboot of THEY LIVE looks 🔥

This week’s #wordlesentence! “His mind locked in orbit around surf churn and the scuba gear in his lorry, the diver slid from the booth as the Big Petrol shill rabbited on about legal technicalities.” 7/23: ORBIT 7/22: LORRY 7/21: SHILL 7/20: DIVER 7/19: CHURN 7/18: BOOTH 7/17: LEGAL

This week's #wordlesentence! “A stout, avian specimen perched high on a butte, tearing into a trout steak snatched from a canal with a clack of the beak and defiant screech which sounded like, ‘pshaw!’” 7/16: BUTTE 7/15: PSHAW 7/14: STEAK 7/13: STOUT 7/12: CLACK 7/11: AVIAN 7/10: CANAL

At Arena Stage, Hana Sharif's departure raises questions about the often fraught relationship among executive leadership, staff, and boards at American theatres. In our reporting, we found that there were conflicts over what art belongs, working conditions, and sustainable paths forward financially.

live your life so "effortlessly posh" is in your obit headline

This week's #wordlesentence! “The swami could not amend his weakness for demon drink, and stroked his bamboo baton (or ‘danda’) wondering whether to enjoy the pizza with a Hot Toddy or Singapore Sling.” 7/9: AMEND 7/8: DEMON 7/7: SLING 7/6: TODDY 7/5: SWAMI 7/4: PIZZA 7/3: BATON

This week's #wordlesentence: Weimar Edition! “In a crude attempt at friendliness, the Emcee urged the cabaret maven to scoop up the puppy, but the latter, feeling acute unease, decided to demur.” 7/2: MAVEN 7/1: DEMUR 6/30: PUPPY 6/29: CRUDE 6/28: EMCEE 6/27: SCOOP 6/26: ACUTE

I'm barking for joy after seeing Bailey Williams's THE FAMILY DOG, which is a tiny bit like if OUR TOWN had a sickly canine as the Stage Manager. Really it's a phenomenal piece of ensemble writing and acting that is zany, weird, bitterly funny and wrenchingly sad www.clubbedthumb.org/productions/...

can’t believe a narcissist is being so publicly humiliated by a reflecting pool

This week’s #wordlesentence: Romeo & Juliet Carnival Attraction Edition! “Insert the token, gain entry, and it will amaze you how your presence will quell the broil, break the sepia haze of ancient grudge.” 6/18: ENTRY 6/17: TOKEN 6/16: AMAZE 6/15: BROIL 6/14: SEPIA 6/13: QUELL 6/12: BREAK

this week's #wordlesentence. On the Waterfront Edition! “As we saw his cheer morph into testy impatience, the mafia don jerked a thumb toward a schooner trying nobly to align with the wharf in a storm.” 6/11: TESTY 6/10: ALIGN 6/9: WHARF 6/8: MAFIA 6/7: THUMB 6/6: MORPH 6/5: NOBLY

This week's #wordlesentence “Steel alloy shone in his smile and a notch in his braces held a blob of chili as a Chopin étude formed the basis of a cafeteria soundtrack under the clang of silverware.” 6/4: ALLOY 6/3: NOTCH 6/2: BASIS 6/1: CHILI 5/31: ETUDE 5/30: SMILE 5/29: CLANG

new review up at 4 Columns www.4columns.org/cote-david/t...

The first of what I hope are several pieces for a smart and stylish new online magazine for NYC theater www.readthehat.com/articles/clu...

Thinges fall apart Data centers take holde

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activists outraged — and granted moral superiority — that millennia of atrocities persisted into their adolescence

holy crap. good Sunday morning...

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new #wordlesentence: Mock Wodehouse Edition! “See here, chap—stuff the bloody golf game; the niece is recumbent on the couch getting vocal rest: why don’t you make a visit whilst I chuck this divot into the woods?” 5/28: DIVOT 5/27: STUFF 5/26: COUCH 5/25: VISIT 5/24: NIECE 5/23: CHUCK 5/22: VOCAL

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new #wordlesentence ! O thou dull, dusty Wreck of Time! Thy fatal Bylaw all do see Yet fain loath am I t’agree With th’unmoved Mover Creed: That ev’ry Death doth Nature feed, That Dying with Living should rhyme. 5/21: AGREE 5/20: WRECK 5/19: DUSTY 5/18: LOATH 5/17: BYLAW 5/16: MOVER 5/15: CREED

Short-ish takes on recent-ish shows davidcote1.substack.com/p/thursday-c...

Honor as always to help with these awards! news.ssbcrack.com/2026-theatre...

This week’s #wordlesentence: Arctic Fashion Edition! “I didn’t waver in the store, but now the newly purchased satin parka seems dowdy; just clock the lumpy umbra I cast on the snow.” 5/14: WAVER 5/13: DOWDY 5/12: CLOCK 5/11: NEWLY 5/10: PARKA 5/9: SATIN 5/8: UMBRA

Spreading the word about a handful of wonderful opera companies that make New Yorkers want to sing! www.tdf.org/on-stage/tdf...

The Banality of Evil…Can Be Banal open.substack.com/pub/davidcot...

This week's #wordlesentence: Oversleeper Edition “She tried to bring coffee to the tardy riser, but the latch wouldn’t budge; a steamy plume rose from the mug which one might liken to a puffy, lazing cloud.” 5/7: BUDGE 5/6: LIKEN 5/5: LATCH 5/4: RISER 5/3: PUFFY 5/2: BRING 5/1: PLUME

This week's #wordlesentence “Drunk, with a syrupy gloss thickening his tongue, he said ‘quack’ when he meant ‘crock,’ seeing eerie women surrounding the rural cottage, each holding a bottle of maple rum.” 4/30: CROCK 4/29: RURAL 4/28: QUACK 4/27: EERIE 4/26: GLOSS 4/25: WOMEN 4/24: DRUNK

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Qualified praise for a musical that could have been much worse...and considerably better. How The Lost Boys Breaks the Vampire Musical Curse open.substack.com/pub/davidcot...

TONIGHT @ 7:30 open.substack.com/pub/davidcot...

New #wordlesentence “I can’t stand it anymore, the belle thought, scowling at his dozing clump: the pathetic weave on his scalp, his toady status at work, how his snore whistled like the tweet of a dying budgie.” 4/23: TWEET 4/22: SNORE 4/21: CLUMP 4/20: WEAVE 4/19: STAND 4/18: TOADY 4/17: BELLE

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I pray to god they didn't get to Tracy Gill www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...

Oops I did it again substack.com/@davidcote1/...