24 સપ્ટેમ્બર, 2026

"Joey’s family’s business is an undistinguished upstate New York watering hole.... It does hold one mystery for him, though."

"What, precisely, goes on in its back room?... Whatever nigh on miraculous peace that men are finding in there — one at a time, very hush-hush — Joey does not know the feeling. The blissful intensity of that sensation is the gospel news that gains acolytes in Max Wolf Friedlich’s gleefully weird comedy 'The Holes,' a tall tale of a play about, pardon the bluntness, manual stimulation as religious experience.... The play’s premise makes ample room for contemplation and satirization: of misogyny; economic exploitation; homophobic self-loathing; the barely-to-not-at-all veiled homoeroticism of all-male spaces; and the deliberate, cultish opacity of the men’s wellness niche. Also a target: the kind of counterfeit authenticity that Wesley envisions in his remade version of the bar. 'Honestly maybe we funk it up a bit,' he says, after Joey has done some sprucing. 'Spill some cans on the floor? I’m missing that old beer seeped into wood smell.'"

From the NYT review of the play "The Holes": "Benediction in the Back Room/The men’s wellness niche, and men-only spaces, come in for a skewering in Max Wolf Friedlich’s gleefully weird follow-up to 'Job.'"

27 ટિપ્પણીઓ:

n.n કહ્યું...

Privacy is a plea with forward-looking risks. Be very wary.

Aggie કહ્યું...

I guess this is just another example of someone that isn't governed by tidying up.

baghdadbob કહ્યું...

Gay glory hole? It is Broadway after all.

n.n કહ્યું...

Transgenderism? Don't ask, don't tell, don't publish.

RideSpaceMountain કહ્યું...

"What, precisely, goes on in its back room?"

Sardonic jokes about women. Extremely gratifying.

Iman કહ્યું...

Only the NYT and readers of same would find this sordid shit uplifting and worth of praise.

Iman કહ્યું...

worthy

Narr કહ્યું...

I'll wait for the movie, and ignore it.

Ann Althouse કહ્યું...

Things I asked Grok: 1. "spoil the ending of the play "The Holes" by Max Wolf Friedlich," 2. "what's the punchline?" 3. "surely somebody out there has revealed the punchline!"

Apparently not.


Ann Althouse કહ્યું...

4. "What are some famous plays that have a big last line that could be called a punchline (where all is explained/revealed)?"

baghdadbob કહ્યું...

Ann Althouse said...
4. "What are some famous plays that have a big last line that could be called a punchline (where all is explained/revealed)?"

Some Like it Hot. (Spoiler alert...)

"Nobody's perfect."

RCOCEAN II કહ્યું...

Bluntness "manual Stimulation"? Blutness would be masturbation, Beating off, etc.

"the barely-to-not-at-all veiled homoeroticism of all-male spaces" = Gay projection.

RCOCEAN II કહ્યું...

I get the feeling the USA has moved beyond "Culture". We used to have real culture with highbrows and lowbrows. And pop culture. Now we just have entertainment. thinly disguised politics, and people looking backwards into the past.

I cant remember there was a new piece of serious music, drama, or literature that I truly wanted to experience. Thats not just me getting old, its the culture just collapsing onto itself.

Temujin કહ્યું...

"Thats not just me getting old, its the culture just collapsing onto itself."

On this, RCOCEAN II is spot on.
I tend to come in late to this blog each day and read the posts from the top down, from the newest to the oldest. And so my comments sometimes follow, from the top down. Today, my reaction to all of the posts pretty much reflects what I see in our culture, what RCOCEAN II stated at 10:15am.

CJinPA કહ્યું...

"The play’s premise makes ample room for contemplation and satirization: of misogyny; economic exploitation; homophobic self-loathing; the barely-to-not-at-all veiled homoeroticism of all-male spaces..."

FINALLY.

Topics the arts establishment has ignored for 60 years!

CJinPA કહ્યું...

"The play’s premise makes ample room for contemplation and satirization: of misogyny; economic exploitation; homophobic self-loathing; the barely-to-not-at-all veiled homoeroticism of all-male spaces; and the deliberate, cultish opacity of the men’s wellness niche.

FINALLY.

Topics the arts establishment has ignored for 60 years!

n.n કહ્યું...

Beyond Culture or BC. Forward to the past.

Josephbleau કહ્યું...

Chicago had the Levee “entertainment” district years ago around 22nd and State, that is where things like this belong.

Rabel કહ્યું...

"The play centers around a dive bar backroom where an open secret promises a life-changing encounter. The reviewer is hinting at the dark, comedic, and surreal premise of the show: the "One Guy" providing these mystical handjobs is heavily implied to be Jesus Christ, utilizing the stigmata (the crucifixion wounds, or "holes," in his hands)."

That's quality entertainment right there.

Narr કહ્યું...

Punchline: You aren't going anywhere--it's your turn in the barrel.

J Scott કહ્યું...

The punchline has to be "at least it's an ethos"

baghdadbob કહ્યું...

Punchline: "Soylent Green is People!"

Hassayamper કહ્યું...

Is it just me, or does every movie and play that our hostess has blurbed lately sound like watching it would be less pleasant than having bamboo splinters shoved under our fingernails?

Lazarus કહ્યું...

So, sort of like the play 50 years ago with Heaven as a steam room and God as (I think) the janitor? Culture must be dead for real.

Howard કહ્યું...

The massage is the message

narciso કહ્યું...

Your not wrong

Narr કહ્યું...

Is your culture dead? Try mine.

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