Thom Geier
@thomgeier.bsky.social
Award-winning writer, editor, critic and pop culture aficionado. Founder of CultureSauce.com Former executive editor of TheWrap. Compulsive punster. Papa of Steve the Cardigan Corgi.
It’s tempting to call ‘The Baker’s Wife’ a tasty bagatelle, but it’s more like a baguette offering simple but hardy nourishment for the mind and the soul.
Ariana DeBose charms in a reimagined ‘The Baker’s Wife’ (Off Broadway review)
After nearly half a century, Stephen Schwartz’s 1976 musical The Baker’s Wife can finally claim a proud place in the American musical pantheon. Best known for the cabaret-standard balla…
culturesauce.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:33 PM
It’s tempting to call ‘The Baker’s Wife’ a tasty bagatelle, but it’s more like a baguette offering simple but hardy nourishment for the mind and the soul.
Michael Urie casts a strikingly regal figure as Richard, injecting the Bard’s poetry with an intelligence and admirable deftness. But he’s hampered by Craig Baldwin’s curious adaptation and a conceptual framework that sets the action in the 1980s.
Michael Urie leads a wan ’80s-style ‘Richard II’ (Off Broadway review)
There are good reasons why Richard II, the first play in William Shakespeare’s Henriad tetralogy, is less frequently performed than its successors, the two Henry IV plays (revived this past s…
culturesauce.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Michael Urie casts a strikingly regal figure as Richard, injecting the Bard’s poetry with an intelligence and admirable deftness. But he’s hampered by Craig Baldwin’s curious adaptation and a conceptual framework that sets the action in the 1980s.
‘The Queen of Versailles’ is a tone-deaf celebration of all-American affluenza that can never resolve how we should feel about the vain, misguided woman at its center.
Kristin Chenoweth squandered in tone-deaf ‘The Queen of Versailles’ (Broadway review)
Jackie Siegel, the buxom pageant queen turned billionaire’s wife who was the subject of Lauren Greenfield’s 2012 documentary The Queen of Versailles, was present at the performance of t…
culturesauce.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:49 PM
‘The Queen of Versailles’ is a tone-deaf celebration of all-American affluenza that can never resolve how we should feel about the vain, misguided woman at its center.
‘Queens’ captures an essential quality of lives lived in the margins with performances that are simply astonishing.
‘Queens’ unearths the basement of the immigrant experience (Off Broadway review)
Martyna Majok’s ensemble drama Queens, which debuted in 2018 in the early years of the first Trump administration, remains a timely exploration of marginalized immigrant women forced into the…
culturesauce.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:50 AM
‘Queens’ captures an essential quality of lives lived in the margins with performances that are simply astonishing.
‘Queens captures’ an essential quality of lives lived in the margins with performances that are simply astonishing.
‘Queens’ unearths the basement of the immigrant experience (Off Broadway review)
Martyna Majok’s ensemble drama Queens, which debuted in 2018 in the early years of the first Trump administration, remains a timely exploration of marginalized immigrant women forced into the…
culturesauce.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:43 AM
‘Queens captures’ an essential quality of lives lived in the margins with performances that are simply astonishing.
Stephen Kunken displays all the confidence and arrogance you’d expect of this avatar of late-20th-century American manhood in this riveting recap of historic climate change talks
‘Kyoto’: The devil’s in the details. He’s also the narrator (Off Broadway review)
International negotiations about climate change do not seem like the most promising subject for theater and yet Kyoto defies the odds in ways that are both surprising and utterly riveting. Certainl…
culturesauce.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Stephen Kunken displays all the confidence and arrogance you’d expect of this avatar of late-20th-century American manhood in this riveting recap of historic climate change talks
Metcalf demonstrates why she is one of the finest actors of her generation — delivering a performance that is natural, compelling, and in key moments emotionally raw.
Laurie Metcalf shines in ‘Little Bear Ridge Road’ (Broadway review)
All the lonely people, where do they all come from? Samuel D. Hunter grapples with this question in his heartfelt one-act drama Little Bear Ridge Road, which opened on Broadway Thursday after a suc…
culturesauce.com
October 31, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Metcalf demonstrates why she is one of the finest actors of her generation — delivering a performance that is natural, compelling, and in key moments emotionally raw.
Bess Wohl’s latest drama is her most personal — an instant classic of a memory play that focuses on Wohl’s desire to come to terms with a mother she suspects did not fully embrace the feminist ideals of her youth.
‘Liberation’ is an instant-classic memory play bursting with life-affirming power (Broadway review)
In the last decade, Bess Wohl has emerged as one of the most talented and eclectic voices in American theater — whose work ranges from historical pieces (Camp Siegfried) to broad domestic comedy in…
culturesauce.com
October 29, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Bess Wohl’s latest drama is her most personal — an instant classic of a memory play that focuses on Wohl’s desire to come to terms with a mother she suspects did not fully embrace the feminist ideals of her youth.
If ever there were a show that begged for the jukebox treatment, it’s this one — especially since the supposedly original songs mostly amplify the mood of a scene rather than deepen our understanding of the stubbornly one-dimensional characters or the herky-jerky plot.
‘Romy & Michele: The Musical’ is a wan mimeograph of the Gen X cult movie (Off Broadway review)
Not every semipopular movie from the last half century needs to get the stage musical treatment. That’s the takeaway from the lukewarm mess that is Romy & Michele: The Musical, which turn…
culturesauce.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:58 AM
If ever there were a show that begged for the jukebox treatment, it’s this one — especially since the supposedly original songs mostly amplify the mood of a scene rather than deepen our understanding of the stubbornly one-dimensional characters or the herky-jerky plot.
I'm so grateful for my two nominations for this year's National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards from the #LosAngelesPressClub, for theater criticism and my column for the lamentably now-shuttered Musicals Mag.
October 28, 2025 at 9:27 PM
I'm so grateful for my two nominations for this year's National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards from the #LosAngelesPressClub, for theater criticism and my column for the lamentably now-shuttered Musicals Mag.
The tunes are pleasant and mostly up tempo, though neither the melodies nor the lyrics are likely to embed themselves in your hippocampus for very long
‘Beau’ sets a gay coming-of-age story to a country-pop beat (Off Broadway review)
The producers of the big-hearted new country-pop musical Beau have turned the subterranean black-box space at Off Broadway’s St. Luke’s Theater into a Nashville tavern/concert space, co…
culturesauce.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:42 AM
The tunes are pleasant and mostly up tempo, though neither the melodies nor the lyrics are likely to embed themselves in your hippocampus for very long
There’s nothing melodramatic about Zoë Kim’s remarkable, clear-eyed performance, which leans into choreography by Iris McCloughan that adds an element kinetic body poetry
‘Did You Eat?’ explores a Korean immigrant’s Dickensian childhood (Off Broadway review)
Early on in her brave and bravura solo performance piece Did You Eat? ((밥 먹었니?), Zoë Kim lulls you into thinking that hers will be a typical immigrant’s yarn about generational differences in…
culturesauce.com
October 25, 2025 at 4:06 AM
There’s nothing melodramatic about Zoë Kim’s remarkable, clear-eyed performance, which leans into choreography by Iris McCloughan that adds an element kinetic body poetry
‘Not Ready for Prime Time’ can’t decide what story it wants to tell, and winds up setting up too many plot threads over too many short scenes that never lead anywhere in particular
‘Not Ready for Prime Time’ is haunted by the ghosts of classic ‘SNL’ (Off Broadway review)
We’re all familiar with the sketches that air during the final half hour of Saturday Night Live, the ones that start with a half-decent premise but outstay their welcome and only cling to our…
culturesauce.com
October 21, 2025 at 2:19 AM
‘Not Ready for Prime Time’ can’t decide what story it wants to tell, and winds up setting up too many plot threads over too many short scenes that never lead anywhere in particular
Stachel is an appealing narrator of his life story who jumps fluidly between dozens of different characters with skill
Ari’el Stachel sweats through his competing identities in ‘Other’ (Off Broadway review)
There’s an old adage that actors should work hard to make their performance seem effortless. Ari’el Stachel doesn’t do that — but he offers a solid excuse in his labor-inten…
culturesauce.com
October 20, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Stachel is an appealing narrator of his life story who jumps fluidly between dozens of different characters with skill
‘Oh Happy Day!’ is messy, in the same way that life can be messy. It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s raw, and ultimately uplifting
Jordan E. Cooper’s ‘Oh Happy Day!’ offers a queer update of Tyler Perry gospel plays (Off Broadway review)
Jordan E. Cooper, who delivered a satirical wake-up call to the theater world with his extended sketch comedy Ain’t No Mo’, is back with a new play. Oh Happy Day!, which is billed as a …
culturesauce.com
October 16, 2025 at 1:26 AM
‘Oh Happy Day!’ is messy, in the same way that life can be messy. It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s raw, and ultimately uplifting
André De Shields portrays the title character with a delicious hauteur in a fleet-footed production in a noteworthy setting: the sumptuous library of House of the Redeemer
André De Shields camps it up as ‘Tartuffe’ in a classic setting (Off Broadway review)
The appeal of classics is how they continue to speak to us across the centuries. Molière’s 1664 comedy Tartuffe is a telling example, offering both acute insights into religious hypocrisy as …
culturesauce.com
October 15, 2025 at 2:58 PM
André De Shields portrays the title character with a delicious hauteur in a fleet-footed production in a noteworthy setting: the sumptuous library of House of the Redeemer
Dylan Mulvaney delivers a tour de force performance, full of personality, playfulness, and the gee-wiz energy of an old-school children’s TV show host
Dylan Mulvaney romps through ‘The Least Problematic Woman in the World’ (Off Broadway review)
Dylan Mulvaney, the transgender performer best known for an ill-fated 2023 branding deal with Bud Light that created a media firestorm that led to boycotts of the beer, embraces all of her many con…
culturesauce.com
October 8, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Dylan Mulvaney delivers a tour de force performance, full of personality, playfulness, and the gee-wiz energy of an old-school children’s TV show host
‘Torera’ is a loving portrait of Mexican society at its most traditional, misogyny and class rigidity very much reinforced. But Monet Hurst-Mendoza overstuffs the final scenes with too much meat, too many revelations and narrative turns
‘Torera’ celebrates Mexican bullfighting as an intimate telenovela-style saga (Off Broadway review)
Monet Hurst-Mendoza’s Torera, which opened Sunday at the WP Theater, simulates the experience of binge-watching a telenovela-style saga set in the world of a Mexican bullfighting. The twisty …
culturesauce.com
October 5, 2025 at 9:26 PM
‘Torera’ is a loving portrait of Mexican society at its most traditional, misogyny and class rigidity very much reinforced. But Monet Hurst-Mendoza overstuffs the final scenes with too much meat, too many revelations and narrative turns
In their delightfully daffy, subversively philosophical new act, Abby Wambaugh wanders the stage with the perky command of a beloved kindergarten teacher
Abby Wambaugh wows with ‘The First Three Minutes of 17 Shows’ (Off Broadway review)
Why settle for one stand-up routine when you can deliver The First Three Minutes of 17 Shows? That’s the high-concept premise of American-born comedian Abby Wambaugh’s delightfully daff…
culturesauce.com
October 5, 2025 at 5:19 PM
In their delightfully daffy, subversively philosophical new act, Abby Wambaugh wanders the stage with the perky command of a beloved kindergarten teacher
There’s a mother-lion fierceness and determination to Chloë Grace Moretz’s performance, but also a softer, mindful side that jibes with her in-recovery insistence on honesty and accountability.
Chloë Grace Moretz plays a fierce but flawed mom in ‘Caroline’ (Off Broadway review)
Homecomings can be a tricky thing, as Chloë Grace Moretz’s Maddie learns in Preston Max Allen’s new drama Caroline. After fleeing home as a teenager amid drug-fueled rebellion, stealing…
culturesauce.com
October 1, 2025 at 1:35 AM
There’s a mother-lion fierceness and determination to Chloë Grace Moretz’s performance, but also a softer, mindful side that jibes with her in-recovery insistence on honesty and accountability.
Keanu Reeves’ Estragon recalls his slack-jawed hero from The Matrix series if Neo had refused both the red pills and the blue pills — one to see the world as it really is, and the other to live in blissful ignorance of the truth.
Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter wrestle with existence in a Gen X ‘Waiting for Godot’ (Broadway review)
Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, who famously played stoner time travelers in the Bill & Ted comedies 35 years ago, were not high on anyone’s list to tackle the philosophizing tramps Estrago…
culturesauce.com
September 29, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Keanu Reeves’ Estragon recalls his slack-jawed hero from The Matrix series if Neo had refused both the red pills and the blue pills — one to see the world as it really is, and the other to live in blissful ignorance of the truth.
Leo McGann ramps up the tension to an ending that is both shockingly unexpected and yet feels absolutely right. But at nearly two and a half hours, The Honey Trap runs too long to build up and sustain the suspense to its crackerjack finale
‘The Honey Trap’ is a taut thriller about the legacy of Ireland’s Troubles (Off Broadway review)
Ireland can never seem to outlive the long, dark legacy of The Troubles — a period that looms large in Leo McGann’s often gripping new thriller, The Honey Trap, which opened Sunday at t…
culturesauce.com
September 29, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Leo McGann ramps up the tension to an ending that is both shockingly unexpected and yet feels absolutely right. But at nearly two and a half hours, The Honey Trap runs too long to build up and sustain the suspense to its crackerjack finale
In an astonishing Off Broadway debut, Elizabeth Yeoman is absolutely riveting, looking haunted and wounded while harboring a fierce determination to be understood, and ultimately to assert her autonomy.
‘And Then We Were No More’ delivers big ideas and a riveting debut in a lo-fi sci-fi package (Off Broadway review)
Tim Blake Nelson, the beloved character actor best known for his work in Coen Brothers films like O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, continues his foray into playwriting w…
culturesauce.com
September 29, 2025 at 1:18 AM
In an astonishing Off Broadway debut, Elizabeth Yeoman is absolutely riveting, looking haunted and wounded while harboring a fierce determination to be understood, and ultimately to assert her autonomy.
‘Murdoch’ is ultimately unsatisfying, degrading a conservative bogeyman without indicting him and his beliefs in any substantive way. This is a hatchet job with a very dull blade.
‘Murdoch: The Final Interview’ is a one-man hatchet job about a conservative bogeyman (Off Broadway review)
Much ink has been spilled about Rupert Murdoch, the Australian born media mogul who at 94 remains an influential force in politics and society who’s become a hero to the right and a bogeyman …
culturesauce.com
September 28, 2025 at 7:14 PM
‘Murdoch’ is ultimately unsatisfying, degrading a conservative bogeyman without indicting him and his beliefs in any substantive way. This is a hatchet job with a very dull blade.
It’s a meaty, complicated role that Leguizamo has written for himself — and as an actor he persuasively demonstrates how a man who can often seem to be an absolute monster with a quick temper and obvious blind spots can also charm his way through life.
John Leguizamo’s ‘The Other Americans’ reimagines Willy Loman as a Latino striver (Off Broadway review)
John Leguizamo is no stranger to live theater, but he’s best known for solo shows like Spic-O-Rama and the 2018 Tony winner Latin History for Morons. His new play, premiering at the Public Th…
culturesauce.com
September 26, 2025 at 2:43 AM
It’s a meaty, complicated role that Leguizamo has written for himself — and as an actor he persuasively demonstrates how a man who can often seem to be an absolute monster with a quick temper and obvious blind spots can also charm his way through life.