Good morning. Today we'll look at an Off Broadway musical that Donald Trump's onetime fixer will promote at a press preview this morning. We'll also get details on a lawsuit against Mayor Eric Adams that, in an unusual move, the City Council may join.
Today — the day when a judge may schedule a criminal trial for Donald Trump — the onetime fixer who figures in that case will promote an Off Broadway sendup of the former president and several women in his life. The show, "Five: The Parody Musical," centers on Trump; his two ex-wives; his current wife, Melania Trump; his daughter Ivanka; and Stormy Daniels, the porn actress whom the fixer, Michael Cohen, paid $130,000 to keep quiet about her story of an affair with Trump. Cohen is to be the M.C. at a press preview this morning for "Five," introducing cast members who will perform songs from the show. He said he had seen the script and had found it "clever and funny." The book and lyrics for "Five" were written by two gay men with Orthodox Jewish backgrounds — one a drag performer, the other a former mortgage loan officer turned playwright and producer. The show took inspiration from "Six," the high-energy Broadway musical about the wives of Henry VIII that the Times critic Jesse Green called "a Tudors Got Talent belt-off among six sassy divas." "The lightbulb moment came right after we saw 'Six,'" the writers of "Five," Moshiel Newman Daphna and Shimmy Braun, said in a news release for the show. They said "Five," with music and additional lyrics by Billy Recce, a 26-year-old composer with other Off Broadway credits, "at least gives these women their moment in the limelight." Previews begin tonight at Theater 555, at 555 West 42nd Street. Cohen — who pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations and served time in prison — told me by phone that he was working on his material for the press preview. "It really should sound like me — otherwise it's not authentic," he said. "I think my sense of humor is strong enough. This is not a full, you know, comedic routine. It's merely minutes in between the acts." This was after we had straightened out whom, exactly, he was talking to. He had called me, as arranged by people from the show, but at first he thought he had called someone from the show who would give him "some talking points," he said. "I don't want to talk about this legal circus that's surrounding Trump," he said. "His legal team — it's like playing Whac-a-Mole with subpoenas. You get a subpoena! You get a subpoena! Everyone gets a subpoena." It wasn't Oprah Winfrey shouting "You get a car! You get a car!" but he liked it. "I'm going to go with that," he declared.
Cohen said it was "interesting" that the press event had been scheduled on the same day as a hearing in one of the cases involving Trump. But he also said that "anyone would be hard pressed to find a day to have a press conference that he's not being confronted with a legal issue." The case on the docket today was brought by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, who has accused Trump of falsifying records of payments he made to Cohen reimbursing him for the hush money. Trump has attacked the judge as "Trump-hating" and Bragg, who is Black and a Democrat, as a "racist" on a politically motivated "witch hunt." Cohen said he had become involved with "Five" after the show's public relations agents contacted him to ask if he would read the script — "and if I liked it, if I would be willing to host the press conference." There is no part for him in the show, he said — but he noted that it does mention him, because one of the titular five women is Daniels. Cohen has said Trump directed him to make the payment to Daniels; Trump has denied having an affair with her.
Cohen said he had not seen a performance of "Five." Nor has he seen "Six." "Obviously I know the story," he said. "This is somewhat of a comedic rendition off that, using Donald instead of Henry V." Henry the what? "Henry VIII," he corrected himself. He continued musing about his monologue. "Here's something more like me — how I would end the initial introduction," he said. "In all seriousness, it's easy for us all to sit here to make jokes about Trump or Trump's legal troubles, but there are real consequences at stake here, not just for our individual liberties but the future of democracy. With that being said, let's hope that justice is served. And not just with a well-done steak and ketchup on the side, but with some real repercussions, so we can all agree that no one is above the law." "Actually," he said, "can you read that back to me? I'm going to use that word for word."
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We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. Adams is accused of failing to comply with new laws on housing vouchers
There are four petitioners in a class-action lawsuit against Mayor Eric Adams and the city: three tenants facing eviction from affordable apartments they have lived in for years, and a family in a city-run shelter. All four are represented by the Legal Aid Society, which is accusing Adams of not complying with laws intended to reduce homelessness. And, in an unusual twist, the City Council is expected to join the lawsuit soon. At issue is a package of bills that the Council passed last year to expand eligibility for a housing voucher program that is one of the city's principal tools for fighting homelessness. Adams vetoed the legislation, saying the city could not afford the changes that the bill called for. The Council voted in July to override the veto. Since then, the lawsuit says, the administration has failed to make the vouchers more widely available. Legal Aid filed the lawsuit on behalf of people eligible for the voucher program, which is known as CityFHEPS. The mayor has made some changes to the program by executive order, including scrapping a rule that said people could not be eligible for vouchers until they had stayed in a shelter for 90 days. Advocates for the homeless had pressed for that modification. But the package of laws passed by the Council went further, making tenants eligible for a voucher after they received a demand for unpaid rent from their landlord. Previously, people usually had to show that they were facing eviction in housing court. METROPOLITAN DIARY Rush-hour read
Dear Diary: I was on a rush hour train going uptown with my children, a 3-year-old and an infant. I had to stand with the stroller and the baby, but I found a spot where my daughter could sit a little ways away. After she sat down with her "Madeline" book, she looked up at me. "Mommy, you were going to read to me," she said. I made eye contact with a man sitting next to her. He was tall and slim, with a beige cotton summer suit and a bow tie. "Sweetie, ask the man if he will read to you," I said. The man gestured toward himself. "Me?" he said. I nodded. Then he read "Madeline" from 42nd Street to 72nd, as riders nearby looked on and listened. — Claire Steichen Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Send submissions here and read more Metropolitan Diary here. Glad we could get together here. See you tomorrow. — J.B. P.S. Here's today's Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. You can find all our puzzles here. Melissa Guerrero, Jeffery C. Mays, Ed Shanahan and Mihir Zaveri contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at nytoday@nytimes.com. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox.
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Thursday, February 15, 2024
N.Y. Today: A Trump musical parody with Michael Cohen’s blessing
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