As Reviewed by Ben Brantley

by Mick Stingley

THE MUSICAL COMEDY ON BROADWAY is constant as a star, though in the luminescence of the New York skyline, or weather-permitting, sometimes difficult to glimpse. And pondering the stars in the firmament, whether in wishful desire or true appreciation of…

Blog Never Written by Mommy Who Had Baby in the Days Before Blogs

by Gail Konop Baker

December 3, 1988 I gave birth. Wow. Baby is a miracle. I could hold baby all day. Baby is reason Mommy was put on earth. Comment (0) December 5, 1988 Daddy is shaving. Baby is crying. Mommy is tired. Comment…

Dear Abba

by Jonathan Shipley

Dear Abba, I’m in love with my boss. I’ve talked it over with my mom but she says I shouldn’t do anything about it. She doesn’t want to see me get fired from this job (which I cherish) if the…

A.I. Wanna Rock and Roll All Nite

by Daniel Nester

What follows is a transcript of a conversation between Gene Simmons, the bassist for the rock band KISS, and Terry Gross, host of NPR’s “Fresh Air,” originally broadcast on February 4th, 2002, with Mr. Simmons’s responses replaced by those of…

Exceedingly Cagey and Awfully Precocious

This month (um, circa) the Y.P.R. Book Club solicits your clever tricks satirizing or inspired by Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, whether you’ve read the book or not. Please point your ingenuity this-a-way: hasselhoff@yankeepotroast.org. Recycled but relevant:…

If the Republicans Were Making GEICO Commercials

by Will Layman

Dick Cheney: Mr. President, the latest poll numbers on Social Security reform are in. George W. Bush: Dick, if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times—I don’t care about the polls. The Lord is telling me how…

Airbag Warnings

by Angela Genusa

Never sit less than 10 inches from the steering wheel because if the airbag inflates, you may be injured, up to, and including, decapitation. The air bag is not a pillow, or a toy, and must be kept out of…