Happy New Year!
I thought I’d do a year in review roundup again. As I said last year, I’m not one for New Year’s as a holiday. In fact, I hate New Year’s and I wrote a song about it. But I do love taking stock of a specific period of time, and the secular new year cycle provides a nice timeline for that.
Disclaimer: I only rank shows that I watch and I’m not a TV critic. Also, there are some spoilers. Read at your own risk…
Last year I watched 10 shows from 2024. This year I watched 12 shows that aired new episodes in 2025–a little increase from last year, but I did a huge push in December to finish as much as I could. Also, one of these shows is technically from 2024, but the last couple weeks of 2024, so I’m counting it on 2025.
Last year I also watched 16 seasons of TV from previous years. This year I watched 10, so there’s a drop here, but I’m not surprised because it was a challenge to watch as many new TV shows as I did.
Like last year, I did not have a show I was obsessed with, but many of the shows I watched this year were pretty great, which felt like an improvement from last year’s slate. I’m still keeping my eye out for my next obsession though. And many of these shows will be back, if not this year then in subsequent years. Only half were cancelled (assuming Poker Face doesn’t come back, but I’m rooting for it).
Here are my top 10:
1. Hacks (HBO Max)
I watched all four seasons of Hacks this year, so it really feels like my show of 2025. In some ways, I don’t think I’ve seen this kind of relationship on TV before (a close professional relationship between an older and younger woman), but on the other hand, it’s the sparring couple template that’s been remapped onto a 20-something comedy writer and an older seasoned comedian, both women. As with all my favorite sparring couples, I much prefer when they’re not at each other’s throats, so the bulk of this fourth season was a bit difficult to take–I prefer not to see people who love each other hurt each other–but they came around in a beautiful way. I also love the Kayla-Jimmy dynamic and all the supporting cast, as well as the poking fun of being a writer in LA while also treating it with reverence.
Last year, I read 13 books! This year I read 15. Still over my usual goal of 10 books per year. I also listened to a lot of podcasts, which I have included at the end of this list.
Stats:
7 fiction books (last year: 4)
Broken down into: 2 contemporary, 2 classic, and 1 part of a series, and 1 YA/childrens
1 of these was the second book in a trilogy; 3 were re-reads; 1 was by someone I know
6 non-fiction books (last year: 8)
Broken down into: 3 memoirs/autobiography, 2 academic/history, 1 psychology
3 were by someone I know
1 book of poetry (last year: 1)
1 play (last year: 0)
I read 5 non-American authors this year from the UK, South Korea, and Ukraine (though written in English as the author is based in the UK); last year it was 2. This year I read 9 female authors with 2 being a woman of color (I am counting the Thornton Wilder Journal as 1 female author); last year I read 8 female authors, with 2 being women of color. 6 books were for book clubs (last year it was 5): 1 of those was for the fiction book club at work (last year 2), 2 were for the ERG discussion groups at work (last year 2), 1 was a re-read for both the Thornton Wilder Society group (also 1 last year), and 1 was for the Barnard friends book group (0 last year). Usually I try to read at least one book by someone I know, and this year I read 4. Last year I read 1 books related to something I was writing/working on, and this year I read 2.
These stats are fairly similar to last year’s with slightly more fiction books and slightly fewer non-fiction books, but it’s pretty even. I kept my good mix of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, including one theater book, which I did not read last year.
I also read 5 New Yorkers and 4 New York magazines, two and three less respectively from last year.
Goals:
Last year my goals were: “Make sure to read a theater book (I’m sure I’ll have no problem with that), continue to read memoir/autobiography but try to read an actual biography, read the next book in both series, read one book of poetry, re-read one Wilder fiction or play and one Wilder non-fiction. Continue to read more than half by women authors and have half of those be women of color, and half of your overall selections be authors of color. Read 7 New Yorkers and 7 New York Magazines again.”
I did so-so with these goals. I read the 1 theater book, continued to read memoir/autobiography books, 1 poetry book, and 3 Wilder books: fiction, non-fiction, and play. However, I also only read one of the next books in the series I had started (the Book of Dust series), but I had to skip the other (the Tree of Life series). I had had to skip the Book of Dust series last year, so this year I made the choice to read the 2nd book in that one and not finish the Tree of Life. I did not read a biography per se, but I did read autobiographies. I count those, but I’d like to get back to biographies again. 9/15 of the books were by women, which is definitely more than half, though only 2/9 were women of color, which is less than half. This was similar to last year. And I only read 5 New Yorkers and 5 New York magazines (and I’m still finishing those up, don’t tell anyone).
My goals for 2026 will be: Read a real estate book again, at least 1 Wilder fiction and 1 Wilder non-fiction, continue to read memoir/autobiography but try to read an actual biography, finish the Tree of Life series, read one book of poetry, and at least one theater book. Continue to read more than half by women authors and keep trying to have half of those be women of color, and half of your overall selections be authors of color. Read 7 New Yorkers and 7 New York Magazines again.
This year, I also did what I could of the online poetry course ModPo in the fall, which included listening to all the live webcasts and attending one in person. I also read two pilots this year.
My favorite book(s) of the year:
The Big Parade: Meredith Willson’s Musicals from The Music Man to 1491 by Dominic McHugh
Colored Television by Danzy Senna
And re-reads:
Our Town by Thornton Wilder
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (audiobook)
Last year I saw 41 shows. This year I saw 53, another increase from the previous year and a pretty big one! 46 of those were in person and 7 were streaming or on Zoom (2 more than last year). 9 shows were on Broadway.
These include my own shows/readings: I performed/read in the 2 Thornton Wilder Society readings and in 2 singing salons. One was a concert of my songs, and one was a reading of my musical.
Opera/Concerts: I only saw 1 opera this year after watching 2 last year, and I saw two chorus concerts featuring friends. I saw one music concert.
Travel: I saw 1 show in DC, 1 show in LA, 5 shows in London, and 1 concert in Philadelphia.
I have highlighted my favorites. And after the favorites is the HUGE list of everything I saw. Then, I have listed some panels, exhibits, and events I also attended this year.
Top 10 Favorites (in no order, I swear):
Dead as a Dodo (Wakka Wakka/Baruch)
Liberation (Roundabout Theatre Company/Laurel Pels)
Elephant (Menier Chocolate Factory)
Here We Are (National Theatre)
River Roads Music Festival featuring The Indigo Girls and Dar Williams (Heuser Park)
John Proctor is the Villain
The Seat of Our Pants (The Public)
Oh, Mary!
Marjorie Prime
Keen’s Mix Tape #1 (Keen Company at Irondale Arts Center)
Runners Up (Also in no order):
Real Women Have Curves
Old Friends (MTC)
Salty Brine: Good News, or Harry the Dog (Joe’s Pub)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Signature Theater)
Last year I saw 29 movies, and this year I saw 23. This is a drop, but I wonder if this year I will see a drop in my viewing habits overall given how busy I was.
I saw 8 new movies (last year it was 4), and 15 older movies streaming/on a plane. All 8 of new movies were in a movie theater, which means I more than doubled my movie-theater going this year, which was a goal of mine.
Our annual Christmas movie marathon around a series or theme was movies about using technology to edit out painful memories, or, more broadly, imperfect memories (we watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, After Life, and Marjorie Prime). Our Halloween movie was Practial Magic; our Valentine’s Day movie was You’ve Got Mail.
My rating system for new movies uses stars and equates as follows: 1=bad, 2=ok 3=really good 4=great.
This year I did a new thing: review all the movies on Letterboxd as I went along, so I’m including those reviews here as well.
My favorite new movies (4 stars) this year were:
Life After
Wake Up Dead Man
Runners up (3.5 stars):
Freakier Friday
Wicked: For Good
Rental Family
My favorite old movie I saw for the first time:
My Old Ass
My favorite old movies I loved seeing again:,
Clueless
Hannah and Her Sisters
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The (Not-So) Big List (now with reviews!):
Continue reading
As I was finishing my TV writing classes and working on my cabaret in the spring, I had an overwhelming feeling that I wanted to write more lyrics. I’m so grateful that the musical A Story No One Knows came back into my life at that moment. In just four months I rewrote lyrics, wrote new lyrics, revisited old lyrics. It was a huge challenge for me, one that at times I wasn’t sure I would be able to do, but I’m proud to say that on October 20th we presented a successful and beautiful reading presentation of A Story No One Knows!
I’m so grateful for this reading and for our amazing cast, band, sound crew, stage manager, the awesome space NoFlex, our producer, our incredible director Joe Barros, my friends and family who came, everyone who helped, and, of course, my amazing collaborator, the bookwriter and composer Hyeyoung Kim for creating this profound story and for always believing in me and my lyrics. I think much of my journey this year has been falling in love with lyric writing in a way I had never been able to access before (even though there are always dark, stressful times with it!) and finding even more confidence with it, and this show was definitely a monumental step in that journey.
So much love to everyone who was a part of this. You are more than just souls passing through!
1. Watch me give my conference presentation! The presentations from the StageStruck! Women and the American Musical Theatre Conference in May of this year are now available to watch on the Library of Congress website! Here is a link directly to my session. I am 3rd, so about an hour in. You can also watch all the sessions by going to this list. I recommend them all!
2. Listen to my talk with Alvin Eng on Our Town and his memoir Our Laundry, Our Town! My talk with Alvin Eng at the Drama Bookshop back in January is finally available as a podcast episode! Listen to it on the Broadway Podcast Network or wherever you get your podcasts. Description: “Eng reflects on growing up as the son of Chinese immigrants in 1970s Flushing, Queens—balancing life inside his parents’ hand laundry with the turbulent, inspiring world outside. His memoir traces the journey from punk rock and downtown theater to discovering Thornton Wilder’s influence, and ultimately to reconnecting with his ancestral roots in China. Together, Eng and Greenberg explore themes of identity, culture, and storytelling, while considering Wilder’s lasting legacy in American theater.”
3. Speaking of podcasts, I was a guest on a podcast! Thank you so much to Li Grado for having me on her podcast State of the Arts! We covered so much of my artistic life in this 23 minute interview. Listen to it on Spotify.
After graduating from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, & Television Professional Program in Writing for Television (Comedy) in early June, summer officially began with… more writing!
This summer I have been focused on rewrites for a new musical with my collaborator Hyeyoung Kim in preparation for a reading in NYC in October. More details to come on that.
I’m also calling this my international summer in that I visited 3 countries, which doubles the number of countries I have visited to 4! In June I visited Paris and London for the first time, and in August I returned to Montreal. I also made a couple trips to Philadelphia, where I saw The Indigo Girls and Dar Williams in concert over 4th of July weekend, another summer highlight, and visited friends in Connecticut.
Summer is also anniversary season for me! 25 years in NYC and since starting Barnard, 13 years at my job, 20 years since I started at my graduate program at NYU!
I’m looking forward to a busy and productive fall!
In June I graduated from the UCLA School of Theater, Film, & Television Professional Program in Writing for Television (Comedy)! From September to June I took three 10-week online classes in which I wrote a spec script and two pilots. I also had lectures and Q&As with different teachers as well. It was a journey, and I can’t believe it’s over.
Thank you so much to the organizers of the StageStruck! conference and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., one of the most amazing places in this country. It was such an honor to talk about musical theater for three days in this room from May 14-16, 2025. And thank you to everyone who was able to watch my presentation on the musical Inner City on Zoom. This was such a wonderful experience, and I truly valued being among all the thoughtful and intrepid scholars dedicated to the musical theater art form.
Inner City, a short-lived 1971 musical, first came to my attention because of composer and music director Rob Baumgartner, who reached out to me in 2017 because he was putting together an Inner City concert at 54 Below and thought I might be interested in the first Broadway musical to have a score written solely by women.
Inner City is most likely the first Broadway musical in the modern musical theater era to have a score written by women in collaboration and it followed about 40 years of very few women composers writing for the Broadway stage.
My presentation gave an overview of this hidden gem in musical theater history and why it should be seen as an important milestone for women writers thanks to the work of writers Helen Miller and Eve Merriam who were fascinating figures in the musical theater canon.
It was also nice to have my work on the Maestra Timeline included in the opening remarks.
