How much hate mail do you think Ben Brantley gets?

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 3:37pm

I just got a hate email from someone I panned (constructively) in one of my reviews, and it got me to wondering...

How much hate mail does Brantley get? Tons, I bet. If I get angry email based on my constructive criticism, then he must be overloaded with angry mail.

[greenegirl87]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 3:40pm

Do you mean from readers that are fans, or directly from the people involved with the shows?

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 3:44pm

Both. But I'm more thinking of artists? The guy who sent me the hate mail was a director, clearly upset I didn't give him a rave. Do theatre artists really respond like this? I'm often shocked by some people's inability to take criticism.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 3:48pm

The worst thing I've ever said was when I reviewed The Wild Party and said that the actress playing Queenie was so wrong for the role that she must have just been the only blonde available.

Remember Rosie's ode to Brantley on her blog? He probably gets tons of hatemail, but I doubt he reads any of it.

[greenegirl87]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 3:50pm

I have no first hand experience of this whatsoever, but I would guess he gets more hatemail from fans. As much as it would suck as an artist to get panned by him, I bet most people either just take it with a grain of salt or get internally pissed. I would assume most directors, actors, etc. are professional enough to take criticism, even if its terrible, but I am sure that there are always some.

Now for the fans, I bet he gets tons!

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 3:53pm

When I was reviewing for a hometown newspaper many moons ago, I not only got hatemail, but people involved with productions I had panned would stop me on the streets, in restaurants, in the supermarket, etc and yell at me to my face. Some people just can't take criticism, and if you can't deal with reviews, then you're in the wrong profession.

A critic friend of mine always said that if they hate you, you must be doing something right.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 4:02pm

If some people really read the reviews, perhaps they would learn and become better artists. Reviews do serve a function, and I think they are an important thing for artists to read. I know there are some bitter critics, but some people really do want to provide honest and constructive criticism.

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 4:12pm

i'd read it and laugh

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 4:17pm

Yeah, though I admnit it's hard to chuckle after being called a "non-entity".

[TargemQ8]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 4:35pm

I have had two strange responses to reviews I've written on here. One was from an actress who was in a show I panned, thanking me for my honest review... I found out later from a friend of hers that she, and most of the cast, hated the show so much, and were thrilled someone had blasted it.
I gave a mixed-to-poor review (and I was, in retrospect, rather kind) to another show, and got an e-mail from the author, who was very polite, but pointed out what she felt was a factually unfair slight regarding a pun I claimed was used three times. They claimed it had only been used twice. I re-read it, and changed the review.
Brantley, I'm sure, has never done this. I'm certain he is too busy coming up with snarky things to say to read his heaps of mail.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 4:38pm

Odd that I've never received any negative feedback from any of the hundreds of artists I've reviewed over the years. Even when I've panned shows, I've gotten PMs from composers, playwrights, directors and actors thanking me for giving a fair and non-personal assessment of the show in question. Not sure why no one ever seems offended. Perhaps it's a tone thing, but I don't know.

Brantley probably rarely gets any hate mail (at least from artists). He's the most powerful critic in the American theatre, so it would not be in the best interest of anyone's career to piss him off or have him develop some personal vendetta against you. Perhaps he gets anonymous hate mail, but I doubt many people who want to get good reviews from him in the future are stupid enough to sign a poison pen letter against him.

[ShuQ]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 4:44pm

Margo's probably right. Besides, what good is it going to do? In the local circuit, I can imagine that hate mail is a big deal, it probably effects people. But Brantley'd probably just use it to wipe his a**

[Horton]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 4:58pm

I respect Ben Brantley, I think that he doesnt really really ever write horrible thigs about people that are not truth full. and BTW if your mom tells you that your proformance is amazing and Ben Brantley says its crap, who will you listen to? really?

[Horton]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 4:58pm

I respect Ben Brantley, I think that he doesnt really really ever write horrible thigs about people that are not truth full. and BTW if your mom tells you that your proformance is amazing and Ben Brantley says its crap, who will you listen to? really?

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 5:11pm

What if your mom is Ben Brantley?

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 5:42pm

Margo: The weird thing is the tone of this article is quite fair, in my opinion

https://seattle.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=6993

I'm just amazed how people read into things so much.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 5:56pm

Your review seems fair. You explain and give detailed reasons behind your criticism of his direction, which is all any critic can do. He can feel free to disagree and think that you're wrong, but it serves no purpose to attack a reviewer who was not out of line or overly personal in his evaluation. He's apparently rather thin-skinned -- he needs to get over that if he wants to have a career and keep his sanity.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 5:59pm

Thanks Margo. Some people just can't handle honesty, I guess.

[kooky]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 8:11am

Ben receives NOT NEARLY ENOUGH hate mail, he is mean and evil, not
constructive AT ALL. All I can say is remember KARMA, Ben !

[Kevinoes]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 8:53am

I think ALW sends him at least 2 a month, just to show he keeps a grudge.

[ruprecht]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 11:54am

I think he reads them, shrugs it off and doesn't give it another thought. I wouldn't be so foolish to think people like Brantley don't "get off" on the power they wield but if he (or John Simon) cared what people thought or feared the repercussions, they'd have quit years ago.

[Liz_Bennet]

Posted: 2/6/06 at 10:32pm

I'd guess that John Simon got (not sure about now) as much hate mail in a month as Brantley gets in a year. He was/is a great deal more antagonistic, and sometimes very personal and nasty.