Entertainment

‘Broad Strokes’ Off Broadway Review: Comedian Cat Cohen Delights

Published

2 days ago

July 28, 2026

The big surprise isn’t her subject matter. It’s that she sings about having a stroke at age 32.

If Beyoncé or Taylor Swift sang about having “a hole in my heart,” it would be just another lovesick anthem. With Cat Cohen, she literally had a hole in her heart that led to a stroke just as she was about to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023. Her wonderfully performed (and titled) one-person show “Broad Strokes” opened Monday at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.

Comics often throw some bit of human tragedy into their acts to show us they have a heart. Since Cohen’s heart was congenitally damaged, she doesn’t go there. Never for a moment does she beg for sympathy, even though the whole premise for the 60-minute “Broad Strokes” is her badly flawed pump.

Actors sing in musicals when the spoken word just won’t do. It’s a little different with Cohen in “Broad Strokes.” She breaks into songs (written by Cohen and David Dabbon) just when things get a bit grizzly, and “A Hole in My Heart” is just one example. It helps, too, that her singing voice always seems to be floating on an overdose of helium.

Whether she sings about having her pubic hair shaved pre-op or inserting a tampon even before she ever had her first period, Cohen brings a sweet, innocuous Shirley Jones sound to lyrics that are often X-rated. That inspired conflict takes the audience through several stages of comic nirvana.

Alex Timbers directs, and like all his other musicals, from “Beetlejuice” to the current Broadway revival of “The Rocky Horror Show,” he brings a hip Gothic touch to “Broad Strokes.” The scenic design by Derek McLane provides what might be the most lavish set ever seen at the tiny Lortel Theatre.

Cohen has devoured way too many bodice-ripper novels, and imagines herself living at the sea in some medieval castle designed by Vincent Price. Of course, her grandly romantic nature hides deep insecurity issues, and Timbers and McLane give her enough extravagant opera curtains and throne-room furniture to launch a few hundred lurid sex fantasies. Kelsey Randall’s costume for Cohen manages to be both retro and leggy.

"The Potluck" Off Broadway (Julieta Cervantes)

movies

Nicholas Alexander Chavez Joins Margaret Qualley In ‘Possession’ Remake

Published

4 minutes ago

July 29, 2026

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EXCLUSIVE: Madeline Brewer, Emory Cohen and Nicholas Alexander Chavez are joining Margaret Qualley and Callum Turner in Paramount’s remake of the supernatural thriller Possession. Paul Dano and Diego Calva are also on board to join the cast.

Parker Finn is directing from a script he penned. Finn is also producing as well as Jonathan Fass through their Bad Feeling banner as well as Roy Lee through his Vertigo banner. Andrew Childs will also produce through Vertigo.. Robert Pattinson is also producing. Marc Bienstock will exec produce.

The 1981 film revolves around a woman who starts exhibiting increasingly disturbing behavior after asking her husband for a divorce. Suspicions of infidelity soon give way to something much more sinister.

Best known for her role in The Handmaid’s Tale, Brewer was most recently seen in Lionsgate’s Anniversary alongside Kyle Chandler, Phoebe Dynevor, Diane Lane, and Zoey Deutch, and appeared opposite Penn Badgley in the fifth and final season of Netflix’s You.

Cohen recently appeared in A24’s Marty Supreme which starred Timothee Chalamet. Chavez’s portrayal of Lyle Menendez in Ryan Murphy’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story earned widespread acclaim and debuted as the number one show worldwide. He reunited with Murphy starring in Grotesquerie alongside Niecy Nash-Betts, Courtney B. Vance, Lesley Manville, and Travis Kelce.

Brewer is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360, and Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham, Cohen is represented by Range Media, Verve, and Jackoway Austen and Alexander Chavez is repped by CAA, Untitled, and Felker, McGinnis & Ryan.

Entertainment

The Academy Re-Elects Producer Lynette Howell Taylor as Its President

Published

9 minutes ago

July 29, 2026

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The Board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has re-elected Oscar-nominated producer Lynette Howell Taylor as president of the organization.

Joining her in 2026-2027 officer positions also elected by the Board are Music Branch member Lesley Barber as Vice President (chair, Membership Committee), Marketing and Public Relations Branch member David Dinerstein as Vice President/Treasurer (chair, Finance Committee), Producers Branch member Jennifer Fox as Vice President (chair, Awards Committee), Actors Branch member Lou Diamond Phillips as Vice President (chair, Equity and Inclusion Committee), and Writers Branch member Howard A. Rodman as Vice President/Secretary (chair, Governance Committee).

Paul Schrader at the 2021 Gotham Awards held at Cipriani Wall Street on November 29, 2021 in New York City

In addition to it being Howell Taylor’s second term as president, Barber, Fox, Phillips and Rodman were all re-elected as officers. This will be the first officer role for Dinerstein.

“We are so deeply grateful to Lynette, Lesley, David, Jennifer, Lou and Howard for their commitment to the Academy and to our global film community,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer via statement. “As we move toward our 100th anniversary, I am excited to continue our vital work with the Board and these exceptional Board officers to support our members, the industry and the Academy’s mission and programs.”

Howell Taylor, a member of the Academy’s Producers Branch since 2014, has produced several Oscar-nominated films, including “A Star Is Born,” “Captain Fantastic,” “Blue Valentine,” and “Half Nelson,” and was nominated for an Emmy in 2020 for producing the 92nd Oscars with PGA co-president Stephanie Allain. She has already served two terms as a governor of the Academy, meaning she would usually be required to take a two-year hiatus. But as president, she is able to serve four consecutive one-year terms in the role, so this time around she will serve as an ex officio voting member of the board until the completion of her term.

The Academy’s Board of Governors is the group that sets the organization’s strategic vision, preserves the organization’s financial health and assures the fulfillment of its mission. Again, all officers serve one-year terms, with a maximum of four consecutive years in any one office.

Overall, Academy board members may serve up to two three-year terms (consecutive or non-consecutive), followed by a two-year hiatus, after which eligibility renews for up to two additional three-year terms for a lifetime maximum of 12 years. However, If a governor is elected for a term of fewer than three years, that term will not apply against governor term limits.

A complete listing of the Academy’s 2026-2027 Board of Governors is available on the Academy website.

movies

Josh Bowman And Ron Perlman To Star In ‘Live 2 Die’

Published

12 minutes ago

July 29, 2026

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EXCLUSIVE: Josh Bowman, Ron Perlman And Esai Morales are set to star in thriller Live 2 Die. Victor Rios is directing the pic from a script by Jason Zimmatore.

The film follows Detective Jack Graves, Dr. Eduardo “Lalo” Gonzalez, and investigative journalist Penny Jaramillo who uncover a deadly organ trafficking network tied to cartels, corruption, and law enforcement. As the conspiracy deepens, they find themselves hunted by the very people meant to protect the city.

The film will be produced by Jason Strickland, Jasmin Espada, Victor Rios and Peter M. Lenkov. Nickie Davis, Morales and Tony Sarandos.

Bowman is best known for is most well known from starring in the ABC series Revenge. His upcoming films include Little Audrey and Starstruck.

Perlman was most recently seen in the Apple TV series Cape Fear. Morales was most recently seen in Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning and Mission: Impossible-The Final Reckoning.

Bowman is repped by Gersh Agency, Inspire Entertainment, United Agents, Perlman is repped by Independent Artists Group and Link Entertainment and Morales is repped by Innovative Artists.