Authors: Matt Windman
Matthew Murray:
Theater does not exist on the page. It exists on the stage, and that’s where you have to experience it. See professional (Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional) plays. See college and high school plays. See community theater. See everything you can, even if it’s not your favorite genre: plays, musicals, operas, dance shows, mime, circuses, performance art. See old plays: the Greeks, the Romans, Shakespeare. See new plays. If you are a serious theater critic, you won’t be able to pick and choose what you see, so you need to know as much as you can about everything that’s out there. And you can augment this by having at least a passing familiarity with other related disciplines: art, architecture, music, fashion, choreography. Eventually, they’ll all play a role in some theater you see.
Then, once you’ve done that, figure out what you think about what you’ve seen and how you can communicate that to others. Tell them who you are and why that’s important. Make them see the play through your eyes. Whatever you think about a play, you’ll bring to it something that no one else in the world possibly can. It’s scary at first, but don’t shy away from it. Embrace it. Embrace who you are and what you have to say, and don’t let anyone tell you that you shouldn’t be saying it. If you know your stuff and you’ve done your homework, your perspective is just as valuable as theirs, and maybe even more so.
Jason Zinoman:
In a way, it’s a better time than ever for people getting started. If you work hard, you can make a name for yourself pretty quickly. Don’t necessarily wait for institutions to give you a platform. Get out there. Write and get better. Freelance as much as possible. Doing some reporting is useful, too. To get really good, you need to do it a lot. And fail. And mess up. Just like an actor or a playwright, you have to focus on your craft. The fun thing about this job is that if you’re a curious person, there’s an endless amount of interesting things. You can never stop learning.
When you’re starting out and young, you have to balance the things that you want to do with the things that you have to do for money. You need to settle on a ratio for that in your mind and stick to it. That ratio can change as you develop in your career. For a long time, I thought, 50 percent of what I’m doing is what I want to do, and 50 percent of what I’m doing is what I need to do.
Hilton Als:
Please keep writing. Do it out of your love for the theater.
It is now February of 2016. Since I completed work on this book a few months ago, the
New York Daily News
and
New York Post
have severely reduced their theater coverage. Frank Rizzo (
Harford Courant
) and Christine Dolen (
Miami Herald
) have retired, and Richard Ouzounian (
Toronto Star
) is on the verge of retiring, which brings into question the future of theater criticism at all of those publications.
In the coming years, we will see more of the same. Mainstream publications will continue to cut back on theater criticism. Except for just a few writers at the
New York Times
and other major regional papers, theater criticism will die out as a full-time profession or even a part-time paying gig. But thanks to countless reviews on the Internet (of varying quality and credibility) theatergoers may not care or even notice.
The straw that would break the camel’s back would be if the
New York Times
scaled back its theater coverage. But barring any unforeseen circumstances, this seems unlikely to occur. As much as people may bemoan the overwhelming power of the
Times
, no other outlet publishes as many reviews of consistent quality. And if the
Times
did scale back, what other outlet would be capable of filling the void?
I am slowly becoming more optimistic about the role that non-paid reviewers on the Internet can have. If they regularly write about theater, and if they do it with knowledge, passion, and wit, they can conceivably establish themselves as legitimate critics. There are plenty of people out there who love theater and are willing to write reviews in exchange for press tickets, or for nothing whatsoever. By just posting a link to their reviews via
Facebook
or
Twitter,
they can peddle their reviews to their social media followers, who may be potential theatergoers. And if their writing is good enough, maybe they can find a way to get paid for their writing (via sponsors or advertising or getting hired by another party).
In a way, this makes theater criticism into more of a meritocracy. In the past, a critic got access to readers only by being published in a newspaper. The paper brought readers to the critic. Going forward, the critic will need to attract readers on his or her own. The critics who manage to stand out may be the best writers, if not those that skilled at self-publicity.
A fine example is the user Jesse21 on the discussion board
All That Chat
. Since 2008, Jesse21 has written a review of about 600 to 800 words for every new Broadway show, posting each review right before the show officially opens. Since he apparently does not receive complimentary press tickets, he is under no obligation to wait until the press embargo is lifted, and he can beat other critics to the punch. I, along with many others who check out
All That Chat
on a daily basis, look forward to his straightforward, well-developed reviews.
My own reviews are also part of the trend of non-professional theater criticism to a certain extent. I have never been a full-time theater critic, and at this point, I never expect to be one. I balance writing theater reviews with the demands of a full-time legal career. I go to a show virtually every night of my life and churn out countless reviews out of my love of seeing theater, just like many others out there.
Bottom line: the theater will change. Theater criticism will change. But regardless of the changes, we need to hold on to our journalistic standards and ethics. We need to turn out reviews that will earn the respect and attention of different kinds of readers. If we can manage that, there could be a meaningful future for theater criticism.
Abie’s Irish Rose
Act One
Actors’ Equity Association
After Dark
Agee, James
Al Hirschfeld Theatre
Albee, Edward
All About Eve
All That Chat
Als, Hilton
America
(magazine)
American Idol
American Place Theatre
American Theater Web
American Theatre
(magazine)
American Theatre Critics Association
American Theatre Wing
amNewYork
Angels in America
Anna in the Tropics
Annie
The Apple Family Plays
A.R.T. Institute
Associated Press
Atkinson, Brooks
Atkinson, Jayne
Aucoin, Don
August: Osage County
Austin Chronicle
Ayckbourn, Alan
Bacalzo, Dan
Backstage
Baldwin, Alec
Barnard Bulletin
Barnes, Clive
Bart, Peter
Benanti, Laura
Bennett, Michael
Bentley, Eric
Bergen County Record
Berger, Glen
Bergman, Ingmar
Bernard, Jami
Betrayal
Bezos, Jeff
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Bishop, Andre
Bishop, Kelly
Blanchett, Cate
The Blonde in the Thunderbird
Bloomberg
Bock, Jerry
Bono
The Book of Mormon
Boston After Dark
Boston Globe
Boublil, Alain
Bradshaw, Thomas
Brantley, Ben
Brecht, Bertolt
The Bridges of Madison County
The Broadway Association
Broadway.com
Broadway League
Broadway World
Broadway Yearbook
Brook, Peter
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brown, Jason Robert
Brown, Scott
Brown, Tina
Brustein, Robert
Bucks County Playhouse
Burton, Richard
Buscemi, Steve
Cabaret
Camino Real
Canby, Vincent
Caroline, or Change
Cassidy, Claudia
Cats
CBC
Chapman, John
Chenoweth, Kristin
Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Theater Movement
Chicago Tribune
A Chorus Line
Christian Science Monitor
Christiansen, Richard
City Center
Clurman, Harold
Clyde Fitch Report
CNN
Coleman, Cy
Colin Quinn: Unconstitutional
Collins, Gail
Columbia Daily Spectator
Columbia University
Cote, David
Coward, Noel
Cox, Gordon
Craig, Daniel
Crain’s New York
Croce, Arlene
Cromer, David
Cruz, Nilo
Cunningham, Dennis
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Curtain Up
Daisey, Mike
Dale, Michael
Dallas Morning News
The Dance of Death
Davidson, Gordon
Deadline
Death of a Salesman
deBessonet, Lear
Denby, David
Denby, Edwin
Disney
Dogeaters
Dolen, Christine
Dorfman, Ariel
Doubt
Downtown News
Doyle, John
Drabinsky, Garth
Drama Desk
The Drowsy Chaperone
The Duck Variations
Dziemianowicz, Joe
Ebert, Roger
Edelstein, Gordon
Elle
The Empty Space
Encores!
Eno, Will
Entertainment Weekly
Eugene O’Neill Theater Center
Eustis, Oskar
Facebook
Feiffer, Jules
Feingold, Michael
Feldberg, Robert
Feldman, Adam
Felker, Clay
Fiddler on the Roof
Fifth Row Center
Filichia, Peter
Finkle, David
Fleming, Mike
Follies
Footloose
Foreman, Richard
Foster, Sutton
Foxwoods Theatre
Foy, Eddie, Jr.
Franco, James
Fun Home
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Gardner, Elysa
Geier, Thom
Genet, Jean
George Washington University
Gerard, Jeremy
Gerroll, Daniel
Ghosts
Giamatti, Paul
Gigot, Paul
Gilbert, Matthew
Gingold Theatrical Group
Girls in Trouble
Glass, Ira
The Glass Menagerie
Globe and Mail
Globe Theatre
Glory Days
Good People
Good Person of Szechwan
Goodman, John
Goodman Theatre
Grantland
Green, Jesse
Greenberg, Clement
Grode, Eric
Guardian
Guettel, Adam
Guider, Elizabeth
Gypsy
Haimes, Todd
Hair
Hamilton
Hamlet
Harrington, Eve
Harris, Leonard
Hart, Moss
Hartford Courant
Hartford Stage
Harvard Crimson
Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review
Hays, Charlotte
Hazlitt, William
Hedda Gabler
Heilpern, John
Henning, Doug
Henry, William A., III
Henry V
Herman, Jerry
Hicklin, Aaron
Hilton, Perez
The History Boys
Hitchcock, Alfred
Hitchens, Heather
Hoelterhoff, Manuela
Holler If Ya Hear Me
Hollywood Reporter
Hot Seat
Hudson Review
Huffington, Arianna
Huffington Post
Huneker, James Gibbons
Hurwitt, Robert
Ibsen, Henrik
If/Then
Imus in the Morning
Inge, William
Instagram
Into the Woods
Irina’s Vow
Irving, Amy
Isherwood, Charles
It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman
Jackman, Hugh
Jacobs, Leonard
Jefferson, Margo
Jenkins, Jeffrey Eric
Jesse21
John, Elton
Johnson, Samuel
Jones, Chris
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Kael, Pauline
Kane, Sarah
Kansas City Star
Kauffmann, Stanley
Kaufman, George S.
Kelly, Kevin
Kennedy, Louise
The Kentucky Cycle
Kerr, Walter
Kilgallen, Dorothy
The King and I
King Lear
Kinky Boots
Kipness, Joseph
Kissel, Howard
Klein, Stewart
Krugman, Paul
Kushner, Jared
Kushner, Tony
La MaMa
LaBute, Neil
Labyrinth Theater Company
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill
Lahr, Bert
Lahr, John
Lane, Anthony
Lane, Nathan
Lansbury, Angela
La Rocco, Claudia
Laurents, Arthur
Law, Jude
Leight, Warren
Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim
Lestat
Letterman, David
The Light in the Piazza
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center Festival
Lindsay, Robert
Lindsay-Abaire, David
The Lion King
Lipton, Brian
“Little Man”
A Little Night Music