The current exhibit at Opalka is heavily focused specifically on the Albany area, and some of the work is really creative and poignant. Unfortunately the last pop up beer garden was this past Friday.

Art Night Schenectady features local artists all over town on the 3rd Friday of every month

The Friends of the East Greenbush library are putting on a fundraiser with a silent art auction: https://eglibrary.my.canva.site/night-at-the-library

This is coming up on Friday! https://www.instagram.com/p/DOocRePETib/?igsh=MXdzOGFmMTkzMHlqaw==

none. It's not gonna happen.

No matter how good you are, teams today are just too deep. The CBA is too penalizing to dynasties. Teams poach secondary stars left and right. Keeping them means maxing your guys and risk capping yourself out or moving past the 2nd apron. The luxury tax would cripple any would be dynasty. Stars and Roleplayers get injured too regularly. Team offenses are so potent, you can find someone to target on any team.

Imagine if you could bring the 90s bulls to today's rules. How much does Pippen and Rodman deserve on the open market. I'd say they're both max players, at least by their talent level with respect to other 90s players.

But let's say they're not. You'd still have to max them out. You better believe a bottom tier team is gonna shell out a max to take them away. Superstar culture also means everyone wants to be their own man.

Kobe broke with Shaq. Kyrie left Bron. Brunson left Luka. You think Pippen will tolerate playing 6 years under MJ's shadow? NO frickin way.

And even if you lock them in, you're gonna pay luxury tax through the roof. Either you keep your big three and give up your depth, or you lose your third best player.

Denver gave up MPJ, Memphis gave up Bane, Boston gave up Kristaps/Jrue.

What was done in the 90s is not possible in todays league. MJ can't be 6 for 6 today. It's just much harder

I don't think any current team is in position to do it cause of their salary cap situations. The best recent teams I can think of are the following due to their salary situations when they won:

2021 Milwaukee Bucks championship team.
Giannis being all world, Middleton would be the guy off the bench as Jordan starts, Jrue being an all-defense PG that could handle low usage, Brook being the stretch 5, P.J. and Portis being the goon forwards "protecting" Jordan old school style.

All were young and in good franchise contract standing. The only issue would be Middleton accepting a bench role with free reign or playing the 3 as the 3rd option.

2019 Toronto Raptors are a similar situation with role players, start power and good contract situation.

Put him with Jokic. 

Nuggets

Yeah it’s important to remember a few things. You mentioned Pippen’s deal, and the Bulls got lucky there. It’s not unthinkable that another player, perhaps coming off injury, might make a deal for more guaranteed money rather than more upside. You need a guy who is risk averse and a little desperate though, and most stars aren’t that. Most have people chirping in their ear that they can be the next Jordan.

Jordan’s deals were also particularly team friendly though. Jordan (and his team) realized that his real financial interest wasn’t from basketball directly, but from all his endorsement deals (Nike, Gatorade, etc) that it got him. Those deals were WAY more lucrative if he was winning championships than just another All-Star, and they made the decision to take less on his contract for team friendly deals because they’d make up for it by making him more marketable. He wasn’t the top paid guy in the league many seasons of his career at all despite almost always being the most valuable financially for the league. The logic is pretty easy to see, but too many guys think they can get it both ways by squeezing every contract for as much as possible and still win. Winning requires good teammates and that means money for those guys too. You need your top guy to be a generational guy who is marketable and seeing the long game.

Rodman was a pariah after being a trainwreck at his last several teams both on and off the court. His contract looks like a steal in retrospect, but many argued at the time that he would destroy the team and their chemistry by being a distraction. The Bulls took a calculated risk and it paid off.

Finally, the Bulls did a great job finding inexpensive role players. Defense and shooting were undervalued, and they took advantage. Shooting isn’t undervalued today, because everybody is trying to replicate Golden State, but you could argue defense still is and perhaps another category like great midrange scorers are undervalued. Chicago won by going small often in their second 3-peat while the rest of the league was looking for bigs to stop Shaq. They realized there was another option. Now everybody is raining 3s, but Shai just won MVP and a title with a midrange-centric offensive game. Being different can be an advantage if you do it well enough.

Jensen Ackles

Right show, right time. It wouldn’t work now.

Yeah, the Arrowverse had its moments, but clearly the lack of decent cohesion and storytelling killed it very often across the shows. Haven't even watched Supernatural yet, but I do plan too, as I've heard nothing but praise for it, despite its parent-publisher having a poor reputation nowadays

Dude I used to agree with you and particularly hated season 6. But on rewathes there are so many good one off episodes in season 6. Also the scooby doo episode is one of my favorite episodes of television of all time.

The writing. Robert Singer is a god damn genius.

Also, the story arc through 5 seasons was such a strong story and then the one off monster of the week episodes offered incredible depth to the world. Once they introduced the men of letters the universe became so much richer and expansive.

Can’t underrate the casting from the main characters to the side characters.

Mark Pellegrino and Misha Collins

With the exception of season 7 I loved it. Rowina was great. I have watched it three times now.

Its funny you say that. It was actually only planned for a 5 season story arc, but it kept getting renewed.

Arrived at Art at 7:50. I’m number #4. It’s now 9:25 and there are 20 in line 

My local theatre is doing Kimberly Akimbo, but it sounds like it’s a show based on a movie. Has Some Like It Hot finished touring yet?

Come From Away’s tour recently ended. Not sure which else.

All five of those are still touring in the US this season and next.

I am definitely the most intrigued by the concept of Jamie Lloyd's take on Bill and Ted's Existential Adventure, but I am the most excited for Oedipus.

Looking forward to seeing Chess!

Im excited for Queen of Versailles whatever that will be lol

Ragtime

Ragtime. Hands down! I can't believe I am finally able to see it on Broadway after 28 years!

Hi! I’ve seen a lot of newer theatre this year and my favorite thing I’ve seen is John Proctor is the Villain, by far. However, if you’re just looking for a fun mom night out I’d probably recommend Death Becomes Her for you two- it’s big, splashy, and the special effects and costumes are really impressive! Little Shop of Horrors (which is technically off-Broadway, but I digress) is super fun too and this production is perfect!

everyone saying Death Becomes Her is spot!!! on!!! it’s soooo fun and campy and the performances are incredible (literal michelle williams. plus megan hilty and jennifer simard who were both nominated for best actress tonys. okay.) plus all about female friendships which is great for a girls night.

i would also say John Proctor… bc it’s very hot and sexy right now. good ticket to get, a liiiittle more prestige-y feeling than DBH. (not saying whether that’s right or wrong, just the vibe rn!!!)

if you’re into something more dark and innovative, SUNSET BLVD is also really worth the ticket. nicole scherzinger won the tony (in an insanely competitive season) and the production is REALLY interesting. there’s a live video component that’s super compelling. if that sounds interesting but you don’t like andrew lloyd weber (and who could blame you) the production of Dorian Gray starring sarah snook (another tony winner) uses similar tech and staging but is a one-person play. also super buzzy.

be on the lookout for the Jellicle Ball (cats runway revival) to come to bway soon, as well as Masquerade and the Chess revival. exciting time !

I’m a big Broadway girl and my picks right now would be:

• Death Becomes Her: so fun! Megan Hilty and Jennifer Simard in particular are hilarious and so talented. Really fun esp if you like the movie and can lean into the camp of it all.

• Gypsy: a classic musical and seeing Audra McDonald is truly a masterclass. she blows me away and this is one of the best roles for maybe the best theatre actress of our generation.

• Cabaret: objectively one of the best musicals of all time (same with Gypsy). very cool experience in the physical theater itself, love the production, incredible cast, and incredibly poignant material.

• John Proctor is the Villain: a straight play (vs musical). really well done new play with a great cast. skews younger but as a 33F, found this one very good, engaging and moving. TBH thought i would hate this when i read the plot line but most i have talked to felt similarly and loved it.

• Maybe Happy Ending: a sweet original new musical that just won a bunch of Tony’s. a cute show with a great cast. has been a fan favorite this season for sure.

I really liked the new Cabaret. Hadestown is still running and still great if you haven't seen it yet. Obvs the Alex Winters/Keanu Reeves Waiting For Godot is a hot ticket. The HOTTEST tip that I have though is that the immersive Phantom revival goes on sale on 6/30 at 10AM. My alarm is SET.

Death becomes her or &Juliet are fun options for a girls night out

I have not yet seen that 🙈 Need to get myself there!!

Just focusing on the long-runners (5 years or more):

Sure Bet: Wicked, Lion King, Chicago

Almost Certainly: Hamilton

Could Go Either Way: Book of Mormon

Seems to be entering the end of its life cycle: Hadestown, Aladdin

No Shot: Cursed Child, Moulin Rouge

I really hope Hadestown has a long successful run, so that's my want for this list. I feel like Chicago, Lion King, Hamilton, and Wicked will run as long as Phantom, if not longer. The themes for the latter 3 continue to be topical and people will feel drawn to them over other shows because of that.

Definitely wicked and lion king. I think Chicago as well, they are dirt cheap to run and in an undesirable theater.

I’d put Hamilton and BOM at a maybe. Both still sell well and BOM is really the “I need to take a man to Broadway” show. I could also see Six transferring to an off broadway location and having similar success to the play that goes wrong.

i think hadestown is also a candidate. definitely hamilton and lion king, probably wicked and chicago

My votes are Wicked, Lion King, and Chicago.

I think for Chicago, just for posterity, they’ll keep it running until it is the longest running show in Broadway history. It’s already the longest running American musical in Broadway history, but it hasn’t taken the crown from Phantom. Yet. Once the show has done that, I imagine they’ll keep it going as long as possible after that to try and build an unbearable legacy. 🤷🏻‍♂️

I could see Hamilton and Book of Mormon losing steam or keeping open for another 10 years. I think those are toss ups, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them still running in 2035.

Operation Mincemeat is touring in 2026.

So far, the tentative Fall 2026 launches and their respective cities are:

Death Becomes Her (Cleveland)

Buena Vista Social Club (Buffalo)

Operation Mincemeat (TBA)

Maybe Happy Ending (Baltimore)

The Who's Tommy (TBA, probably the most uncertain of all)

Phantom starts this season actually, in November.

The only new shows I'm aware of starting in 2026 that are officially announced are Death Becomes Her and Maybe Happy Ending.

Edit: Oh it looks like Operation Mincemeat is planning one too. I had only heard of a "world tour" with no specifics about US dates but this says all of North America.

Shows from this season that aren’t confirmed but at least possible: Boop, Dead Outlaw, Oh Mary, RWHC, Smash, John Proctor. Some of these seem way more likely than others, but I’ve found them listed online assessing interest from touring houses.

I mean logistically it’s one of the easier shows of the season to tour— smaller cast, minimal set that’s easy to scale for smaller houses, not a ton of costumes. But I honestly don’t know if it’d sell well or not.

are the tours usually not with the obc?