Are Brantley and Isherwood mellowing, or is this a really strong season?

[mikem]

Posted: 12/16/07 at 11:18pm

The last four shows to open on Broadway (August: Osage County, The Seafarer, Is He Dead? and now The Homecoming) have all gotten positive reviews from the New York Times, with three of them being pretty much raves. Although the non-profits have not gotten the best reviews, of the 11 commercial openings on Broadway so far this season, Brantley and Isherwood seem to like most of them, which is a much better ratio than usual. Only Grease, Young Frankenstein, and The Farnsworth Invention have really gotten panned. Are Brantley and Isherwood becoming less harsh, or is the quality of this season's productions better than usual (or is it both)?

[DMsquared2]

Posted: 12/16/07 at 11:19pm

I think it's the season.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 12/16/07 at 11:21pm

1. It's the season.

2. Jon Robin Baitz's article on The Huffington Post tearing B & I to shreds, oh so tactfully and truthfully, must have had some sort of an impact on the way they review from that point on.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 12/16/07 at 11:22pm

Definitely, it's a case of the season being one of the strongest for plays in recent memory. And it's not just Brantley and Isherwood -- the vast majority of the other critics have given mostly positive reviews to August, The Seafarer, Is He Dead?, et al. It's been a great season so far.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 12/16/07 at 11:24pm

For those who didn't see:

Isherwood's article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/13/theater/13ishe.html

Baitz's article in response:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robbie-baitz/all-the-views-fit-to-prin_b_72637.html

[mikem]

Posted: 12/16/07 at 11:40pm

Wanna Be a Foster, thanks for the links. I tend to agree that both Brantley and Isherwood can come across as gratuitously cutting, almost as if one of their main goals is to write the outrageously mean quote that we'll talk about the next day. I have not really analyzed their reviews in comparison to others, but I tend to think of them (Brantley in particular) as liking fewer shows than other people, and also that when they don't like something, they REALLY don't like it. Maybe my impression is not accurate -- as I said, I haven't really analyzed it.

Updated On: 12/16/07 at 11:40 PM

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 12/17/07 at 12:17am

Thanks for that Baitz piece, Wanna Be A Foster.

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/17/07 at 1:10am

Thanks for both pieces Wanna Be.

Wow.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 12/17/07 at 1:13am

The Baitz piece was fascinating to read and my respect for him just grew higher than it already was, though he has some balls accusing Isherwood of waspish writing and then go write a BROTHERS & SISTERS episode (and I'm a fan of the show).

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/17/07 at 1:18am

The comment about Isherwood not having a family to raise and the way he said it, well, my jaw just dropped a little. It was fabulous.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 12/17/07 at 5:12am

I doubt that Baitz's article had any effect on Isherwood (or Brantley) at all. Both critics can be generous and effusive when they see good work, which is largely what we are receiving on Broadway this season.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 12/17/07 at 6:32am

The Baitz piece was fascinating to read and my respect for him just grew higher than it already was, though he has some balls accusing Isherwood of waspish writing and then go write a BROTHERS & SISTERS episode (and I'm a fan of the show).

Ray ~ I don't think he meant WASP-ish. I'm pretty sure he meant stinging, fierce, like a wasp.

[SarahNYC]

Posted: 12/17/07 at 10:13am

My coworker and I think they're stoned.

Or on Prozac.

Although, it is the strongest year in a long long LONG time for straight plays (so that could be it too).

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 12/17/07 at 10:28am

Excellent! Thanks for posting this!

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 12/17/07 at 10:45am

Well, now I feel dumb, jordangirl. Thanks for clarifying that one for me.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 12/17/07 at 11:45am

I didn't mean to make you feel dumb. It's an easy mistake to make. :)

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 12/17/07 at 11:53am

If you look at the comments below Baitz's article, Theresa Rebeck commented, regarding Brantley's review of her play MAURITIUS, and there are a bunch of other comments there, all in support of Baitz.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 12/17/07 at 12:31pm

Not that I'm trying to take anything away from wonderful plays, but I've always felt that Brantley, Isherwood, and most critics save their scathiest reviews for the musicals. I've always felt that plays received much more positive notices than musicals. Sometimes I feel like Brantley, at least, doesn't like musicals, period.

[mikem]

Posted: 12/17/07 at 6:31pm

wickedrentq, that is an interesting point. As far as I can remember, the only new musicals on Broadway in the past three years that have gotten positive reviews from the Times for both the material and the performances are Spring Awakening, Xanadu, and Spelling Bee, and the last "big" new musical to get a positive review in the Times may have been Hairspray, which was over 5 years ago.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/17/07 at 6:38pm

You have a better chance of GWB becoming the most popular President ever than you have of either one of these 2 gents mellowing.

[GladysBumps]

Posted: 12/17/07 at 8:05pm

And I have the feeling "August-Osage County" didn't blow Brantley's skirts up. It's a bit too ballsy for his cerebral, academic taste. Thank God it was given to Isherwood, who, mind you, I still haven't forgiven for getting all pissy about Lucy Thurber's gorgeously grungy, autobiographical play "Scarcity."

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 12/18/07 at 9:52am

I've been trying to think -- what was the last new musical that Brantley gave a rave to?

His JERSEY BOYS review was more of a praise fest for John Lloyd Young.

I suppose it was HAIRSPRAY?

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 1/2/08 at 11:47pm

Playwright Jon Robin Baitz has been "ousted" from his ABC television series "Brothers & Sisters," the scribe revealed Jan. 2 in his blog on The Huffington Post.

"I have left the show I created, 'Brothers & Sisters,' from which I was ousted, not fired, an important distinction," said Baitz in a post titled "Leaving Los Angeles (Part Two: Love)." (The original "Leaving Los Angeles (Part One: Work)" alluded to his departure from the series and detailed his troubles with "the studios.")

He continues: "I am still one of the executive producers of 'B&S,' still enjoy friendly relations with the entire writing staff, and entire cast, still read scripts avidly, and I hope to be asked to write an occasional special, 'it's time for a weird Robbie episode' episode (like 'Mistakes Were Made,' which was co-written with my friend Craig Wright, another playwright who left for his own show, 'Dirty Sexy Money')."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robbie-baitz/leaving-los-angeles-part_b_78361.html
Playwright Baitz Leaves ABC's "Brothers & Sisters"; At Work on Play in NYC

[mikem]

Posted: 5/7/08 at 7:27am

After Brantley's shockingly gentle review for Glory Days, it seems that he is mellowing at least a little. Even though he has almost nothing positive to say about the show, the way the review is couched, it is hard to tell that at first glance. I can't think of another occasion when he's been so kind to a show that he doesn't like (nor do I really understand why he's being so kind -- he seems extremely protective of Blaemire, Gardiner, and the actors).