Judgments on the Theatrical Imagination
Who Needs Them?
Arthur Miller
-Brook Atkinson
Didn't they all know before this that it was success?
-their opinions can persuade people not to attend.
-can kill box office sales and put everyone out of work
-comments on the choices of many

Critics and Criticism
-Criticism-evaluate experience
-describe the production
-articulate a public response for the theatre artists
-not really theatre makers and more than a theatregoer
-brief recommendations to highly detailed analysis
-Theatrical Criticisms
-weekly or monthly publications
-more time for deeper analysis
-Analyst critics
-less immediately influential
-similar to political commentators that do more than report the news
-larger significance of events to nations and world
-opinions are more discriminating than those of the average audience member
-educate the audience, improve the state of the art
-Reviews-immediate response
-recounts the experience
-newspaper columns or TV news shows
-must summarize in capsule form from their experiences
-describe the plot
-assess the quality
-make recommendations
-capsule reviews
-Media reviewers-radio or TV broadcasts
-Local reviewers
-polite lies
-telling the truth is much more difficult
-community theater should be held to community standards
-Daily reviewers-large metropolitan papers
-opinions carry tremendous weight

Critical Skills
-familiar with traditions and modern practice of theatre
-necessary to love theatre
-all performances of all plays aren't as successful
-question of impartiality
-set of standards and personal viewpoints
-George Bernard Shaw
-don't socialize with those you write about
-literary skills
-brevity
-art on the stage is description on the page
-clever, entertaining phrase making
-critic bashing in one of the theatre's favorite pastimes

History of Theatrical Criticism
            Critics of the Theatre
-theatre critics are different than critics of theatre
-anti-theatre forces
-Jeremy Collier- "A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage"
-immorality and profanity in contemporary culture
-David Merrick-Frank Rich

Philosopher Critics
            -Aristotle-was the 1st theatre critic
                        -The Poetics
            -Roman
            -Horace
            -Epictetus
            -Lucian
            -Renaissance

Critical Standards
            -standards for reviewing plays came from Goethe
                        -What is the play or production trying to do?
                        -How well was it done?
                        -Was it Worth Doing?
            -play reviews have become regular features of newspapers and magazines
            The Puff System
                        -puffers
            -Theatrical Syndicate and the Shubert Corporation-
                        -Now- pay for their critics tickets
                                 -strict policies on the appearance of the conflict of interest

Artistic Symbiosis: Critics in the Modern Theater
    Power to the Critics
            -"chief arbiters of theatrical quality"
            -portions of review
            -certify hits and designate failures
            -money reviews
            -mixed reviews
            -pans

The Critical Authority of the New York Times
            -it has a national reputation for theatre arts coverage
            -the daily critic has the absolute power to proclaim theatrical hits and misses
                        -Brook Atkinson
                        -Walter Kerr
                        -Frank Rich-called the "Butcher of Broadway"
                                    -highest standards, careful prose and strict impartiality
                        -Cameron Macintosh

Critic and Playwrights
            -measure plays to other plays throughout history
            -innovative vs idiosyncratic and gimmicky
            -many theatre masterpieces have received negative reviews initially
            -standards keep changing
            -cultural sensitivity
            -diversity
            -should think of themselves as a court recorder and defense attorney, that they have interactive relationships with those
                    they judge

Critics and Actors
            -actors are not judged against performers who appeared before they did
            -believability, subtlety, passion, skill and astonishing choices
            -shun exaggeration, phoniness and inarticulate actors
            -actors depend on critics for wider notices of their work, career boosts
            -can assure that more people will see the actor's work
            -Anna Deavere Smith

Critics and Theatregoers
            -advertising and word of mouth
            -audience are dependent on the critic
                        -television critics
                        -movie reviews
                        -theatre reviews
            -stars or "thumbs up" rating system
            -box office appeal and word of mouth are also persuasive
 

Critics vs Critics: A Matter of Opinion
            -Ralph Fiennes' Hamlet
The Critical Conundrum of Theater Arts
            -audience members hurry toward the exit
            -event doesn't last and can't be repeated exactly
            -critics bear witness to a singular event, destined by the conditions to never be exactly the same again
            theatregoers rarely see what the critics see (what they actually see)
            -evolution
            -mutability
            -if a movie or play is ahead of it's time the only option is to wait until the time in right-Chicago

The Critic at Work
Exit the Critic After 13 Years of Drama and Farce...
Humming the Music and Settling Scores
-Reflection of Frank Rich's career
-Love of Theatre
-His Literary Technique
-Championing New Talent
-Impartiality
-David Merrick
-Reviewing Bombs-biggest bombs begin with the letter "m"
-Writing Slams-no point in pulling punches for the readers who knew better
-Responsibility to Readers
-why encourage them to see a mediocre play?
-Power of the New York Times
-Broadway only accommodates one drama per season unless there is a star on the marquee
-Profound Effect of Great Theatrical Choices

Choices
-What if audience reactions are exactly opposite the critics reactions?
-Should the critic consider the audience's responses?
-How would you chose 3 plays on Broadway to see?
-If you were a director and the reviewer suggested changes would you make them?
-How can the power of the critic be balanced?
-equal time for other opinions
-Do other business ventures rely on opinions of a few?