David Cote
@davidcote.bsky.social
Theater Critic. Playwright. Opera Librettist. Future Dog Daddy.
In this light his face looks like a dirty copper face plate about to slip and fall off.
Trump lies: "Grocery prices are starting to go rapidly down. Rent is down. Airfares are down. Hotel rates are down. Cell phone prices are down."
January 13, 2026 at 7:47 PM
In this light his face looks like a dirty copper face plate about to slip and fall off.
This week's #wordlesentence: Banghra Cowboy Edition!
“A raga blast from the sitar-shredding dude on the pecan-colored filly gave the posse proof of his oomph.”
1/8: BLAST
1/7: PECAN
1/6: OOMPH
1/5: FILLY
1/4: POSSE
1/3: SITAR
1/2: PROOF
“A raga blast from the sitar-shredding dude on the pecan-colored filly gave the posse proof of his oomph.”
1/8: BLAST
1/7: PECAN
1/6: OOMPH
1/5: FILLY
1/4: POSSE
1/3: SITAR
1/2: PROOF
January 9, 2026 at 5:44 PM
This week's #wordlesentence: Banghra Cowboy Edition!
“A raga blast from the sitar-shredding dude on the pecan-colored filly gave the posse proof of his oomph.”
1/8: BLAST
1/7: PECAN
1/6: OOMPH
1/5: FILLY
1/4: POSSE
1/3: SITAR
1/2: PROOF
“A raga blast from the sitar-shredding dude on the pecan-colored filly gave the posse proof of his oomph.”
1/8: BLAST
1/7: PECAN
1/6: OOMPH
1/5: FILLY
1/4: POSSE
1/3: SITAR
1/2: PROOF
Reposted by David Cote
Capricorn: Your desire to travel may be awakened by a pack of pale wolves that surround your apartment complex. Now’s the time to finally check if that door in the laundry room connects to the old mineshaft. Hurry!!
January 4, 2026 at 6:06 PM
Capricorn: Your desire to travel may be awakened by a pack of pale wolves that surround your apartment complex. Now’s the time to finally check if that door in the laundry room connects to the old mineshaft. Hurry!!
This week's #wordlesentence
“A diptych of an obscure fable—a batch of rotting fruit, a siren serenading a ship making speed through waves—was the only extraneous décor the abbot kept in his office.”
1/1/2026: FABLE
12/31: SIREN
12/30: DECOR
12/29: FRUIT
12/28: ABBOT
12/27: BATCH
12/26: SPEED
“A diptych of an obscure fable—a batch of rotting fruit, a siren serenading a ship making speed through waves—was the only extraneous décor the abbot kept in his office.”
1/1/2026: FABLE
12/31: SIREN
12/30: DECOR
12/29: FRUIT
12/28: ABBOT
12/27: BATCH
12/26: SPEED
January 2, 2026 at 4:16 PM
This week's #wordlesentence
“A diptych of an obscure fable—a batch of rotting fruit, a siren serenading a ship making speed through waves—was the only extraneous décor the abbot kept in his office.”
1/1/2026: FABLE
12/31: SIREN
12/30: DECOR
12/29: FRUIT
12/28: ABBOT
12/27: BATCH
12/26: SPEED
“A diptych of an obscure fable—a batch of rotting fruit, a siren serenading a ship making speed through waves—was the only extraneous décor the abbot kept in his office.”
1/1/2026: FABLE
12/31: SIREN
12/30: DECOR
12/29: FRUIT
12/28: ABBOT
12/27: BATCH
12/26: SPEED
Reposted by David Cote
A New Year's Toast from Patricia Highsmith (and me) 🥂🥂
December 31, 2025 at 1:51 PM
A New Year's Toast from Patricia Highsmith (and me) 🥂🥂
He was given free rein to reign freely and freely rain rained that gray day and reigned over my going away, washing away any sovereign sway about my departure today sans delay.
December 30, 2025 at 2:56 PM
He was given free rein to reign freely and freely rain rained that gray day and reigned over my going away, washing away any sovereign sway about my departure today sans delay.
new #wordlesentence!
“Spicy tendrils of myrrh incense rose as I stared hard into the conch, my eye following a glint down its white, calcium spool, a prism or quilt of light, particolored and spinning.”
12/25: PRISM
12/24: SPOOL
12/23: GLINT
12/22: CONCH
12/21: QUILT
12/20: WHITE
12/19: MYRRH
“Spicy tendrils of myrrh incense rose as I stared hard into the conch, my eye following a glint down its white, calcium spool, a prism or quilt of light, particolored and spinning.”
12/25: PRISM
12/24: SPOOL
12/23: GLINT
12/22: CONCH
12/21: QUILT
12/20: WHITE
12/19: MYRRH
December 26, 2025 at 2:59 PM
new #wordlesentence!
“Spicy tendrils of myrrh incense rose as I stared hard into the conch, my eye following a glint down its white, calcium spool, a prism or quilt of light, particolored and spinning.”
12/25: PRISM
12/24: SPOOL
12/23: GLINT
12/22: CONCH
12/21: QUILT
12/20: WHITE
12/19: MYRRH
“Spicy tendrils of myrrh incense rose as I stared hard into the conch, my eye following a glint down its white, calcium spool, a prism or quilt of light, particolored and spinning.”
12/25: PRISM
12/24: SPOOL
12/23: GLINT
12/22: CONCH
12/21: QUILT
12/20: WHITE
12/19: MYRRH
"Okay, newsroom! Let's make sure we represent both sides when the governments of two nations collude to commit flagrant civil rights and human rights abuses!"
Bari Weiss just sent this Christmas Eve email to the CBS News staff about "building trust," which includes her tripling down on spiking the CECOT piece "to make sure it's comprehensive and fair."
One CBS staffer tells me: "She really has no idea how insulting she comes across."
One CBS staffer tells me: "She really has no idea how insulting she comes across."
December 24, 2025 at 7:10 PM
"Okay, newsroom! Let's make sure we represent both sides when the governments of two nations collude to commit flagrant civil rights and human rights abuses!"
If you want to see the segment axed by Little Miss Goebbels (a.k.a. Bari Weiss)
December 23, 2025 at 2:00 AM
If you want to see the segment axed by Little Miss Goebbels (a.k.a. Bari Weiss)
My last review before the year goes "poof."
A rather unfortunate new Tartuffe.
observer.com/2025/12/revi...
A rather unfortunate new Tartuffe.
observer.com/2025/12/revi...
Old French Bores: Molière Is Blasphemed in This Tin-Eared ‘Tartuffe’
What a misguided affair from such an accomplished team.
observer.com
December 19, 2025 at 6:03 PM
My last review before the year goes "poof."
A rather unfortunate new Tartuffe.
observer.com/2025/12/revi...
A rather unfortunate new Tartuffe.
observer.com/2025/12/revi...
New #wordlesentence: British Sport Edition!
“Built like a truck but a dodgy miser with the rugby ball, Clive would segue from locker room to grass pitch, warming up with a violent leg swing.”
12/18: RUGBY
12/17: GRASS
12/16: SEGUE
12/15: DODGY
12/14: SWING
12/13: MISER
12/12: TRUCK
“Built like a truck but a dodgy miser with the rugby ball, Clive would segue from locker room to grass pitch, warming up with a violent leg swing.”
12/18: RUGBY
12/17: GRASS
12/16: SEGUE
12/15: DODGY
12/14: SWING
12/13: MISER
12/12: TRUCK
December 19, 2025 at 4:19 PM
New #wordlesentence: British Sport Edition!
“Built like a truck but a dodgy miser with the rugby ball, Clive would segue from locker room to grass pitch, warming up with a violent leg swing.”
12/18: RUGBY
12/17: GRASS
12/16: SEGUE
12/15: DODGY
12/14: SWING
12/13: MISER
12/12: TRUCK
“Built like a truck but a dodgy miser with the rugby ball, Clive would segue from locker room to grass pitch, warming up with a violent leg swing.”
12/18: RUGBY
12/17: GRASS
12/16: SEGUE
12/15: DODGY
12/14: SWING
12/13: MISER
12/12: TRUCK
Honored to be one of MANY theater folks asked to weigh in. My suggested plays are the ones that are 100% correct and impeccably wise, well-judged, exquisitely curated, etc.
Over the past few months, American Theatre surveyed industry workers, leaders, and observers for the plays and musicals that have shaped theatre in the U.S. in the 21st century. We've compiled the results into 50 remarkable titles. Which titles would you include on your list?
The Shows That Reloaded the Canon for the 21st Century
To compile this list of the new millennium's influential plays and musicals, we turned to industry workers, leaders, and observers to come up with 50 that pushed theatre forward.
www.americantheatre.org
December 18, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Honored to be one of MANY theater folks asked to weigh in. My suggested plays are the ones that are 100% correct and impeccably wise, well-judged, exquisitely curated, etc.
New #wordlesentence: Socially Awkward Holiday Party Edition!
“Guess who’s among the festive snide, draining a postprandial flute of fizz and wishing he could erase the gravy stain on his bulging waist.”
12/11: GUESS
12/10: ERASE
12/9: SNIDE
12/8: GRAVY
12/7: FLUTE
12/6: WAIST
12/5: AMONG
“Guess who’s among the festive snide, draining a postprandial flute of fizz and wishing he could erase the gravy stain on his bulging waist.”
12/11: GUESS
12/10: ERASE
12/9: SNIDE
12/8: GRAVY
12/7: FLUTE
12/6: WAIST
12/5: AMONG
December 12, 2025 at 4:14 PM
New #wordlesentence: Socially Awkward Holiday Party Edition!
“Guess who’s among the festive snide, draining a postprandial flute of fizz and wishing he could erase the gravy stain on his bulging waist.”
12/11: GUESS
12/10: ERASE
12/9: SNIDE
12/8: GRAVY
12/7: FLUTE
12/6: WAIST
12/5: AMONG
“Guess who’s among the festive snide, draining a postprandial flute of fizz and wishing he could erase the gravy stain on his bulging waist.”
12/11: GUESS
12/10: ERASE
12/9: SNIDE
12/8: GRAVY
12/7: FLUTE
12/6: WAIST
12/5: AMONG
Reposted by David Cote
speaking as a journalist who does *not* report non-arts news: I wish the media would not blare "Why This..." or "How This..." headlines before they can accurately report WHAT tf is happening in the first place.
December 11, 2025 at 7:04 PM
speaking as a journalist who does *not* report non-arts news: I wish the media would not blare "Why This..." or "How This..." headlines before they can accurately report WHAT tf is happening in the first place.
Reading Dorothy Parker on her theater beat more than a century ago, you reflect… maybe things ain’t quite so bad today?
December 10, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Reading Dorothy Parker on her theater beat more than a century ago, you reflect… maybe things ain’t quite so bad today?
Back to reviewing after a couple months of residencies hither and yon: observer.com/2025/12/revi...
Review: ‘Marjorie Prime’ Tracks the Ghost in the Machine of Artificial Intelligence
As humans are periodically replaced by eager and curious Primes, the audience tumbles headlong into the uncanny valley.
observer.com
December 10, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Back to reviewing after a couple months of residencies hither and yon: observer.com/2025/12/revi...
Normalize characters in their 20s not shoveling slang like parrots
December 8, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Normalize characters in their 20s not shoveling slang like parrots
Recently awarded a NYSCA grant through an application made with Hubbard Hall in Cambridge, New York upstate. With composer Alejandro Zuleta, I'm writing an oratorio called The Lemon Grove Incident, based on an actual school segregation court case in California in 1931. Excited to get working!
December 5, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Recently awarded a NYSCA grant through an application made with Hubbard Hall in Cambridge, New York upstate. With composer Alejandro Zuleta, I'm writing an oratorio called The Lemon Grove Incident, based on an actual school segregation court case in California in 1931. Excited to get working!
This week's #wordlesentence. Maternity & Floriculture Edition!
“A gruff mother made haste one muggy morn past a tulip field shriveled from mineral leach, her baby with colic and prickly as a patch of cacti.”
12/4: TULIP
12/3: HASTE
12/2: CACTI
12/1: LEACH
11/30: MUGGY
11/29: GRUFF
11/28: COLIC
“A gruff mother made haste one muggy morn past a tulip field shriveled from mineral leach, her baby with colic and prickly as a patch of cacti.”
12/4: TULIP
12/3: HASTE
12/2: CACTI
12/1: LEACH
11/30: MUGGY
11/29: GRUFF
11/28: COLIC
December 5, 2025 at 2:52 PM
This week's #wordlesentence. Maternity & Floriculture Edition!
“A gruff mother made haste one muggy morn past a tulip field shriveled from mineral leach, her baby with colic and prickly as a patch of cacti.”
12/4: TULIP
12/3: HASTE
12/2: CACTI
12/1: LEACH
11/30: MUGGY
11/29: GRUFF
11/28: COLIC
“A gruff mother made haste one muggy morn past a tulip field shriveled from mineral leach, her baby with colic and prickly as a patch of cacti.”
12/4: TULIP
12/3: HASTE
12/2: CACTI
12/1: LEACH
11/30: MUGGY
11/29: GRUFF
11/28: COLIC
Reposted by David Cote
My friend @davidcote.bsky.social
introduced me to Tom Stoppard during intermission of the original run of the Harry Potter Cursed Child magic show: I was starstruck and shy and Stoppard seemed charmed and baffled by the expensive spectacle he had just seen www.bbc.com/news/article...
introduced me to Tom Stoppard during intermission of the original run of the Harry Potter Cursed Child magic show: I was starstruck and shy and Stoppard seemed charmed and baffled by the expensive spectacle he had just seen www.bbc.com/news/article...
November 29, 2025 at 5:40 PM
My friend @davidcote.bsky.social
introduced me to Tom Stoppard during intermission of the original run of the Harry Potter Cursed Child magic show: I was starstruck and shy and Stoppard seemed charmed and baffled by the expensive spectacle he had just seen www.bbc.com/news/article...
introduced me to Tom Stoppard during intermission of the original run of the Harry Potter Cursed Child magic show: I was starstruck and shy and Stoppard seemed charmed and baffled by the expensive spectacle he had just seen www.bbc.com/news/article...
New #wordlesentence Evil Landlord!
“Plead no more, I loathe each supplicant vowel; to remain in this dismal hovel, remit one thick bunny ready for the pot, and turn that dough into something I might butter.”
11/27: REMIT
11/26: HOVEL
11/25: PLEAD
11/24: DOUGH
11/23: BUNNY
11/22: THICK
11/21: VOWEL
“Plead no more, I loathe each supplicant vowel; to remain in this dismal hovel, remit one thick bunny ready for the pot, and turn that dough into something I might butter.”
11/27: REMIT
11/26: HOVEL
11/25: PLEAD
11/24: DOUGH
11/23: BUNNY
11/22: THICK
11/21: VOWEL
November 28, 2025 at 4:26 PM
New #wordlesentence Evil Landlord!
“Plead no more, I loathe each supplicant vowel; to remain in this dismal hovel, remit one thick bunny ready for the pot, and turn that dough into something I might butter.”
11/27: REMIT
11/26: HOVEL
11/25: PLEAD
11/24: DOUGH
11/23: BUNNY
11/22: THICK
11/21: VOWEL
“Plead no more, I loathe each supplicant vowel; to remain in this dismal hovel, remit one thick bunny ready for the pot, and turn that dough into something I might butter.”
11/27: REMIT
11/26: HOVEL
11/25: PLEAD
11/24: DOUGH
11/23: BUNNY
11/22: THICK
11/21: VOWEL
A friend of mine is a professional driver for celebrities. He’s driven movie stars, pop stars, and politicians. I tell him he must be proud of his famous clients.
He shrugged.
“What do I have to chauffeur it?”
He shrugged.
“What do I have to chauffeur it?”
November 27, 2025 at 9:09 PM
A friend of mine is a professional driver for celebrities. He’s driven movie stars, pop stars, and politicians. I tell him he must be proud of his famous clients.
He shrugged.
“What do I have to chauffeur it?”
He shrugged.
“What do I have to chauffeur it?”
Reposted by David Cote
As we pass
Through arrangements of shadows
Toward the verticals of trees
Forever.
Through arrangements of shadows
Toward the verticals of trees
Forever.
November 26, 2025 at 11:51 PM
As we pass
Through arrangements of shadows
Toward the verticals of trees
Forever.
Through arrangements of shadows
Toward the verticals of trees
Forever.