Reviewing the Drama: Broadway, Off-Broadway, Ballet, Movies, and TV Reviews

Time 's 100 Most Influential People in the World The news magazine announced its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The list includes world leaders, artists, entertainers and sports stars, activists and more. Time splits the list into five categories, Titans (like Jay-Z , Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett and Lebron James )  Pioneers (like the Egyptian Jon Stewart, Bassem Youssef ), Leaders (like President Barack Obama , Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan and New Jersey governor Chris Christie ), Icons (like Michelle Obama , Justin Timberlake , Beyonce , Daniel Day-Lewis and Lena Dunham ) and Artists (like Jennifer Lawrence , Jimmy Fallon and Mindy Kaling ). What might be even more interesting than the list itself is the roster of folks who are writing about the influential people. To wit: Mayor Mike Bloomberg writes about Jay-Z. Head to the Time website for the full list of influential people. [Note: click on any one of the five category headings ...

The Newsroom I loved "The 112th Congress." This is classic Aaron Sorkin storytelling - jumping around in time to help move the story forward. (Think "The Midterms" or "The Stackhouse Filibuster," both from season two of The West Wing .) We got some lovely moments between the characters, met Jane Fonda's Leona Lansing and were reminded that Aaron Sorkin is a musical theatre scholar. (References included Gypsy , Little Shop of Horrors and Brigadoon ) As is the new normal, Broadway.com has a rundown of favorite quotes from the episode, like this line uttered by John Gallagher, Jr.'s Jim: "I'm not going to 'get in there.' I'm not going to swoop in like she's a rent-controlled apartment." Another great thing about this episode: it was co-written by Gideon Yago , the cutie journalist you may remember from MTV's Idiot Savant and his IFC news program, The IFC Media Project . And now, here's a look at the next e...