I mean, I love the idea of Sleep No More, in that with a firm grounding in the liberal arts you're allowed to play around with ideas and tropes and performance realities and relational art blah-blah. I love haunted houses because they are little plays art-directed for only me, and I love Shakespeare, and Macbeth is perfect for the treatment here. I'm sure the people involved are brilliant, and the acclaim the show's getting is totally earned... But how cynical, how art-appreciation, the buzz instantly became. I mean, don't judge the thing -- this show included -- solely by the people who like the thing.

Except you kind of have to, in this case, because of Akiva Goldsman: Do we go to this show because it works thematically within the larger context of the season and the episode? Or do we go to the show because it's a thing happening in New York right now that might be cool or not, people say it's cool, I saw several headlines about it on various websites, it gets inches. Regardless of the viewpoint, the quality of the show stays the same. It's just hard to trust anything anymore.

WALDORF

Serena: "Why is it when you don't want Gossip Girl to post about you, she does constantly, and when you do, silence!"
Blair: "I share your frustration. The Chuck Bass Spotted page is broken. Not one blip. He's off the map. Wait."
Serena: "Wait, why are you looking for Chuck?"
Blair: "[Explains at length.]"
ibid., verbatim: "Chuck may be sponsoring a [Sleep No More] performance, but it's only because in the dark with his mask on, he is safe to reveal his true self."
Serena, verbatim, my emph.: "B. Whatever you're thinking, stop. Just work on your relationship with Louis, and let Chuck work on himself. Meanwhile, I'm gonna stay home and work on my blog."
Blair, verbatim: "Well, how hard can that be?"

Blair, alone or so she thinks, calls for a Sleep No More ticket so she can be awful some more. Dorota listens in and is very judgmental, or gassy.

SPECTATOR

Serena: "I'm not willing to sell myself or anyone else out to attract an audience. Like how we talked about six times last week, and I never actually comprehended the words coming out of your mouth, and thus have now forgotten that we already resolved this."
Diana: "Serena, once again I'm confounded by how you keep mixing up the simple act of blogging 250-500 words, about the most inconsequential shit imaginable, with the murder of innocents. I don't know where the fucking glitch is there."
Serena: "I've been trying so hard to get off Gossip Girl. Today I almost hurt an innocent stranger to make you happy."
Diana: "Call it what you want, but that's the stupidest thing you've said yet."
Serena: "It just didn't feel right!"
Diana: "Going to lunch with a chef is not blogging! Foisting your poor time management on other people is not blogging! What is wrong with you?"
Serena: "...And the worst part is, he actually seemed like a good guy, and now I'll probably never see him again."
Diana: "No, the worst part is that you may have a brain disorder, or else why do we keep having these full-on bizarre conversations about your fantasy-land ideas?"