Tony season is under way, and The Year of Magical Thinking isn’t even nominated for a best-play Drama Desk trophy—confirming that a backlash-proof memoir does not an award-winning play make. (And we expected so much! Which may have been the whole problem.) Six Drama Desk nods for Mary Poppins might get more grown-ups to the show, where the acting and artistry may pleasantly surprise them. But if you’re going to Spring Awakening expecting the second coming of Equus (or even Rent), gird your loins against disappointment. Meanwhile, the art world is getting pre-buzzed as the circus in Venice approaches, and Michael Chabon is a perennial wonder boy. But Spider-Man 3, just a week ago soaring above criticism, is already on the downswing.

Related:

• Archive: “Theater Features”
• Articles by Boris Kachka
• Table of Contents: May 14, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!