Jessica Lange’s Haunting Role in ‘Mother Play’ Was Made for Her

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( in conversation [Made for Her]( Jessica Lange’s haunting role in Mother Play, like so much of her work, is one only she could perform. Photo: Mark Seliger Sitting in a chair next to a window in a break room at the Hayes Theater, where she’s rehearsing [Mother Play](, the new work by [Paula Vogel]( ([How I Learned to Drive](), [Jessica Lange]( has a regal presence and a storybook narrator’s voice. There’s a subdued gravitas to the way she tells her own tale: She was a hippie intellectual from rural Minnesota who went off to Paris and New York to study mime and dance and figure herself out. Despite having no money, no industry connections, and almost no formal training as an actress, she landed the lead role of Dwan in the 1976 King Kong and played her as a daffy sexpot, made the cover of Time, and got pilloried by critics. She has since won two Oscars, three Emmys, five Golden Globes, and a Tony and published four books of her photographs. She has played Frances Farmer, Patsy Cline, Edith Bouvier Beale, Blanche DuBois, and Tamora, Queen of the Goths, as well as a gallery of scary oddballs in [Ryan Murphy](’s series [American Horror Story](. Her romantic life is defined by relationships with artists of comparable stature: Mikhail Baryshnikov and [Sam Shepard](. She’s still brutal on herself and her work, delivering the sorts of scathing assessments you would expect to hear from the many fearsome women she has embodied over the past half-century. She also keeps challenging herself, even though, at 74, she has nothing to prove. [read more]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now]( to save over 40% on unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • Shōgun: [Turning the Tide]( • Vanderpump Rules: [Hungry Like the Wolf]( • Love Is Blind: [A Tale of Two Jet Skis]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [In Defense of the Randos on Love Is Blind The show casts 30 singles. Why do we see only ten of them for most of the series?]( By Brian Moylan [The Crow Reboot ‘Is a Bit Like a Cure Song’ Everything we know about FKA Twigs and Bill Skarsgård’s upcoming film.]( By Zoe Guy [Pino Palladino Never Met a Song He Couldn’t Play The bassist shares the stories behind eight of his most significant riffs, from Don Henley to D’Angelo.]( By Devon Ivie [The MFL Is the Cure for SAGging Spirits And so begins the final Oscars countdown.]( By Joe Reid [Euphoria Star Hunter Schafer Arrested at Pro-Palestine Protest The protest was intended to disrupt President Biden’s Monday interview with Seth Meyers.]( By Jennifer Zhan [Rebecca Ferguson Drops Her Own Blind Item The Rock claims he’s only guilty of loving Rebecca Ferguson.]( By Jason P. Frank [Before the Show, It’s the BAFTA Party The fortunes of the Barbenheimer twins continue to sadly diverge.]( By Vulture Editors [In The Ally, Impossible Conversations We’re All Having Itamar Moses’s drama about a lefty Israeli American caught up in the complexity of pro-Palestine academia is confident and eloquent in its humility.]( By Sara Holdren [It’s Charli’s New Album, Baby Brat releases this summer, but will it be out in time for Pride?]( By Jason P. Frank [All of Us Strangers’ Unexpected Twist Ending, Explained Let’s analyze the clues that Harry and Adam’s romance is not what it appears to be.]( By Zing Tsjeng [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Vulture Games [Today’s Crossword]( 3-Down, Five Letters: What Prince Harry accused the Daily Mail of Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Getty [Today’s Cinematrix]( Can you name an Oscar-nominated Owen Wilson movie? Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Marc Piasecki/WireImage, Lisa O’Connor/AFP via Getty Images, Gregg DeGuire/WireImage A newsletter about the perpetual Hollywood awards race, for subscribers only. [Sign up]( to get it every week. [Get the Newsletter]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2024, All rights reserved