THEATER
I f — and it’s a bi g i f — t heate rs s t ay opMUSIC
Analbumforeverymood.➽Pokémon
Legends:Arceus
(Jan .28)
Playa Pokémontrainerinthe
untamedoutback,hidingout
amongthecreaturesintheir
naturalhabitatlikea Jane
GoodallforPikachus.Forthe
firsttimeinthehistoryofthe
franchise,a PokémonRPGis
nothinderedbyrandom
encounters—anangry
Gyaradoscanattackyou
directly,ratherthanyour
indoctrinatedpets.Pokémon
fanshavebeenwaitingfora
lessrigidtakeonthisuniverse
sinceroughly1998.Will
Nintendostickthelanding?
➽EldenRing
(Feb.25)
Thisgamewasannouncedin
2019 withtheauspicious
newsthattheauteurish
Japanesestudio
FromSoftwarewas
collaboratingwithGeorge
R.R.Martinonitsstory.
Therehasbeenbarelya peep
onitsdevelopmentsince.
Nextmonth,thepublicwill
getthechancetoseewhat
they’recookingup.
lukewinkie➽Shhhh
(AtlanticTheater
Company,Jan.12)
ClareBarron’s
transgressiveplaysare
someofmyfavoritesever.
InShhhh,shecontinues
herinvestigations
intokink,trauma,and
pleasure.Consideryourself
hushedinadvance,if
you’reintothat.➽WolfPlay
(SohoRep,Feb.2)
HansolJung’splayabouta
childwhosedissatisfied
adoptiveparentsendsthe
boyawaywasoneofthe
mostawaiteddramasof
theseason-that-wasn’t.
SohoRep,whichalways
treatsnewwritingwith
care,mountsit with
directorDustinWillsand
theverybusyMa-Yi
TheaterCompany(also
co-presentingTheChinese
LadyatthePublic).➽TheMusicMan
(WinterGardenTheatre,
inpreviewsfor
a Feb. 10 opening)MeredithWillso
musicalstartsw
whichrhymeswi me,
a personwhois clearly
goingtothisshow.Two
ofourgreatestmusical
stars—HughJackman
andSuttonFoster—will
likelytap-danceanydark
thoughtsyouhaveright
intosubmission.➽LarryOwens’s
Sondheimia
(CarnegieHall,Feb.25)
Thesiren-voicedtornado
whofirstsweptawaythe
comedyscene,then
demolishedthetheatrical
oneinMichaelR.
Jackson’sA Strange
Loop,nowaimsat
CarnegieHallfora no-a eae o oa a
ina triumphant 1978
run.CamilleA.Brown
choreographedthe
Public’srecentrevivaland
nowbringsit uptownas
director,appropriatelyfor
a piecethatf lowsamong
forms,alwayswitha
woman’sbodyatitscore.➽Macbe
(LongacreTheatre,
Mar.29)
AftertheSadBond
Movie,DanielCraigin
theSadScottishPlay
shouldshoveyourtragedy
meterintothered.No
onegetsoutalive,but
everyonegetsoutwitha
monolo ue.Soit’sluck➽Mitski,LaurelHell(Feb.4)Onherprevious
slippedinandoutofarchetypes:theself-sufficient
thedutifulhousewife.Forherfollow-up,LaurelHel
thecharacterssoshecouldsitina “grayarea,”
“I neededlovesongsaboutrealrelationshipsthata
lost.”➽CharliXCX,Crash(Mar.18)Sincesigni
CharliXC Xha srepeatedlyimpliedshehadtof ightt
knownfortoday.Asif tofinallycapitulatetomajor-
admittedsheis going“ultrapopstar”and“sellyou
thecontract.➽CardiB,TBA(TBA)Despiterele
longyearsago,CardiB hasmaintaineda firmgrip
CardiB.Althoughcovidcausedhertopausework
sheconfirmedit’scomingthisyear.➽Rosalía,Mo
everydaya f lamencosingerbecomesa mega–popst
album,2018’sElMalQuerer,Rosalíahasrisentog
branchedoutintogenreslikereggaeton,dembow,an
Herthirdalbum’sfirstsingle,“LAFAMA,”a Weeknd-feat
seemstoindicatemoresonicroaming.V ideo
GamesNow more than ever.
PHOTOGRAPHS:
JOAN
MARCUS
(MUSIC
MAN);
MARC
BRENNER
(CYRANO);
KEVIN
WINTER/GETTY
IMAGES
(CARDI
B);
RICH
FURY/GETTY
IMAGES
(CHARLI
XCX);
DAVE
SIMPSON/WIREIMAGE
(MITSKI)
63
of Edmond Rostand’s
classic without a rubber
nose. I saw this Jamie
Lloyd production in
London, and it’s as plain
as the [redacted] on your
face that you’ll need
tograba ticketearly.➽WeddingBand
(Theatrefora New
Audience, Apr. 23)
The once-sidelined Alice
Childress’s Tr o u b l e i n
Mind finally made it
toBroadwaythis past
fall, and another of her
works—a heartbroken
1972 play about how
white supremacy can lie
coiled up in those who
try to love you—arrives
hard on its heels.
Awoye Timpo directs.
helen shaw