Nancy Updike

In The Death of Stalin, there's this intense rivalry among the men around Stalin, all jockeying for power after he dies, scheming and whinging and flailing. That workplace power struggle is what made Veep so funny, too. In the Strangelove play, the president and his advisors are in the war room, gathered around a ludicrously large circular table, mostly arguing.

In The Death of Stalin, there's this intense rivalry among the men around Stalin, all jockeying for power after he dies, scheming and whinging and flailing. That workplace power struggle is what made Veep so funny, too. In the Strangelove play, the president and his advisors are in the war room, gathered around a ludicrously large circular table, mostly arguing.

And one guy, a guy you may know from your own job, keeps throwing out bad ideas in a loud voice, in a sort of Roman Roy, I'm the only one being real here, way. For instance, he argues that maybe the thing to do is to lean into this attack the U.S. has launched, not bring back the bombers that are on their way, but send more planes with more bombs, try to win this war rather than try to stop it.

And one guy, a guy you may know from your own job, keeps throwing out bad ideas in a loud voice, in a sort of Roman Roy, I'm the only one being real here, way. For instance, he argues that maybe the thing to do is to lean into this attack the U.S. has launched, not bring back the bombers that are on their way, but send more planes with more bombs, try to win this war rather than try to stop it.

Pre-talliate isn't in the Strangelove movie, but it was built out of logic that is in there and that Armando and the director and co-adapter, Sean Foley, expanded and riffed on.

Pre-talliate isn't in the Strangelove movie, but it was built out of logic that is in there and that Armando and the director and co-adapter, Sean Foley, expanded and riffed on.

But Armando says sometimes you really don't need to riff or invent. Sometimes comedy is just sitting there, waiting to be picked up, like a $100 bill on the sidewalk.

But Armando says sometimes you really don't need to riff or invent. Sometimes comedy is just sitting there, waiting to be picked up, like a $100 bill on the sidewalk.

Yeah, Pieces Are Profession shows up a bunch of times in the movie, along with other sort of funny sight gags of just the way things are labeled. And I thought Pieces Are Profession was over the top. I thought, oh, it's too much.

Yeah, Pieces Are Profession shows up a bunch of times in the movie, along with other sort of funny sight gags of just the way things are labeled. And I thought Pieces Are Profession was over the top. I thought, oh, it's too much.

Like a scene that ended up in the movie about Stalin's son, Vasily.

Like a scene that ended up in the movie about Stalin's son, Vasily.

I've now seen Dr. Strangelove a bunch of times, the movie and then the play, and every time I think, so no one wins in the end. The bad ideas don't prevail. Nothingness prevails. It's shocking. Many times in my life, I've looked back at a specific moment and thought, oh, right, that was before, before I knew that, before this happened.

I've now seen Dr. Strangelove a bunch of times, the movie and then the play, and every time I think, so no one wins in the end. The bad ideas don't prevail. Nothingness prevails. It's shocking. Many times in my life, I've looked back at a specific moment and thought, oh, right, that was before, before I knew that, before this happened.

But it's much more unsettling to experience now, the moment you are currently in, as that before time. To look around and feel that you will look back on this moment as one that came before so many losses or changes or hardships. Dr. Strangelove, the play, gave the audience a chance to, sure, laugh, but also to feel that dread, to see ourselves as living in a time before, before something.

But it's much more unsettling to experience now, the moment you are currently in, as that before time. To look around and feel that you will look back on this moment as one that came before so many losses or changes or hardships. Dr. Strangelove, the play, gave the audience a chance to, sure, laugh, but also to feel that dread, to see ourselves as living in a time before, before something.

It's not clear what. Nuclear bombs have a narrative advantage that way. They have one iconic image associated with them, a recognizable brand of destruction. What is the right image for what's on our horizon? Or mine, I'll just speak for myself, my dread. I rewatched the movie and saw the play during the hottest year on record, in the summer before the U.S. presidential election.

It's not clear what. Nuclear bombs have a narrative advantage that way. They have one iconic image associated with them, a recognizable brand of destruction. What is the right image for what's on our horizon? Or mine, I'll just speak for myself, my dread. I rewatched the movie and saw the play during the hottest year on record, in the summer before the U.S. presidential election.

I'm writing this story, wondering how much of Los Angeles is going to burn, and whether there's going to be a nationwide ban on abortion, mass deportations. I don't have a picture in my head to focus on. It feels more like a play, a lot of dialogue, and I'm experiencing it live.

I'm writing this story, wondering how much of Los Angeles is going to burn, and whether there's going to be a nationwide ban on abortion, mass deportations. I don't have a picture in my head to focus on. It feels more like a play, a lot of dialogue, and I'm experiencing it live.