The unhappy heroine of The Mistakes Madeline Made, which premiered Off Broadway in 2006, hates working as one of 15 personal assistants to a financier and his family. The patriarch, she observes, “runs his home the way he runs his hedge fund—using a model to protect his family against the possibility of loss or waste or even just the unexpected.” His “Household System” demands perfection: Even the hunt for a duplicate pair of New Balance sneakers is to be executed with the logistical finesse of a Navy SEAL strike.
The play was written by Elizabeth Meriwether, who would go on to create the sitcom New Girl for Fox. Her fictionalized account of her brief stint working for the Wall Street billionaire David E. Shaw never reached a wide audience, but the script became samizdat among the harried members of Shaw staff—as the family’s highly compensated, Ivy-educated, hierarchical cadre is known. Her disgruntled protagonist’s job making sure “nothing bad can ever happen to this family” has felt familiar to some of Meriwether’s successors.
This story is from the September 30–October 13, 2019 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 30–October 13, 2019 edition of New York magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Our Campus.Our Crisis.
Inside the encampments and crackdowns that shook American politics.
Middle Management
A 40-something woman undergoes asexual awakening in Miranda July’s thrilling new work.
Return to Guantánamo
Serial dusts off American terror's old machinery.
Chekhov, Misfiring
An Uncle Vanya that’s all talk.
The Art World's Pot Stirrer Returns
Maurizio Cattelan’s first solo gallery show in more than 20 years is a provocative commentary on America’s ills.
On Normani's Time
Five years into her solo career, the pop star's debut album is finally imminent. She's not sorry for the wait.
French Quarter Seafood in Fort Greene
Lots of oysters and fillets of fish inspired by Nobu at Strange Delight.
Where Does the Wine Bar End and the Restaurant Begin?
Pét-nats, pan roasts, and a lobster on the loose at Penny and Demo.
Trial-and-Error Arcadia
Kitty Hawks and Larry Lederman's Chappaqua gardens have been a three-decade-long journey.
The Trash and Treasures of Temu
How are these headphones 4.98? And everything else you've wondered about the chaotic new Everything Store.