Critics
Critics
#1Critics
Posted: 3/1/09 at 6:03pmHow much to critics and reviews affect your decision to go see a show? Or do you only rely on word of mouth, and blogs like these?
Madame Morrible: "So you take the chicken, now it must be a white chicken. The corpse can be any color. And that is the spell for lost luggage!" - The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken
#2re: Critics
Posted: 3/1/09 at 6:08pmI never base shows off of reviews. I usually will go to a new show's website and look at video clips, music clips, and pictures to see if it interests me. If it interests ME, I see the show.
I'm a professional. Whenever something goes wrong on stage, I know how to handle it so no one ever remembers. I flash my %#$&.
"Jayne just sat there while Gina flailed around the stage like an idiot."
Yankeefan007
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
#2re: Critics
Posted: 3/1/09 at 6:09pm
The majority of the theater-going audience relies on the NY Times to tell them whether or not they'll like a show.
I don't remember what I saw a few weeks ago when a woman said to the Usher "I don't know why I'm here, it got terrible reviews from the Times." The Usher replied "I like to remain optimistic," then nodded to the woman that the show wasn't so hot.
I think it may have been Hedda.
ashley0139
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/3/05
#3re: Critics
Posted: 3/1/09 at 6:11pm
"Who'd make a living out of killing someone else's dream? I mean, what kind of man would take a job like that?"
No, critics almost never affect if I go see a show or not.
"This table, he is over one hundred years old. If I could, I would take an old gramophone needle and run it along the surface of the wood. To hear the music of the voices. All that was said." - Doug Wright, I Am My Own Wife
#4re: Critics
Posted: 3/1/09 at 6:26pm
I do listen to critics, which is stupid-- I loved The Little Mermaid and I like the score for A Tale of Two Cities. But I'm a high school theatre critic (I review other high schools' shows for local newspapers) and I'm always really interested in professional reviews. I usually never pay attention to reviews that are completely negative or completely positive, though, because I've never seen a show that had no strengths or no weaknesses.
In my pants, she has burst like the music of angels, the light of the sun! --Marius Pantsmercy
Updated On: 3/1/09 at 06:26 PM
WishingOnlyWounds2
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/25/08
#5re: Critics
Posted: 3/1/09 at 6:27pm
Awww, someone beat me into turning this into a 'Curtains' song!
But, I never listen to critics.
2008: Feb. 18- Rent, Feb. 19- Curtains, April 18- Xanadu, April 22- Wicked, April 26- Legally Blonde, May 31- Wicked, June 13- The Little Mermaid, June 28- Wicked and Young Frankenstein, July 2- The Little Mermaid, July 6- A Chorus Line and Legally Blonde, August 16- Xanadu, September 13- Legally Blonde and 13, September 28- Xanadu and Spring Awakening, Oct. 12-GYPSY and [title of show], Oct. 19- Hairspray & Legally Blonde, Nov. 9- Wicked and 13, Dec. 14-13, Dec. 26- Billy Elliot, 2009: Jan 1- Shrek, Jan 2- 13 and Wicked, Jan 4- 13, Feb 17- In The Heights, Feb 19- Billy Elliot, Feb 22- Sweeney Todd (tour), March 28- Mary Poppins, April 4- Mamma Mia!, April 15- Jersey Boys (on tour), April 25- next to normal & 9 to 5
May 1- Billy Elliot, May 3- Spelling Bee (tour), May 8- Chicago, May 21- Wicked, June 6- Everyday Rapture, June 23- The Wiz, June 25- Hair July 15- Shrek, August 9- Wicked, September 7- Rock of Ages, October 11- Next To Normal, October 23- The Marvelous Wonderettes, November 7- Ragtime November 29- Dreamgirls, December 25- Billy Elliot, December 30- Finian's Rainbow, 2010: January 9- Bye Bye Birdie, January 16- Memphis February 17- The Phantom of The Opera, February 18- God of Carnage, March 7- Billy Elliot, March 31- American Idiot
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#6re: Critics
Posted: 3/1/09 at 6:28pm
I think professional reviews HELP me make a decision if I am on the fence.
I also like to hear opinions on these boards or from friends. After a while, you get a pretty good feel with whose opinions you can rely on. Not because they are right per se, but that your opinions reflect theirs when you've both seen the same production.
I have to admit...if I had waited to hear about Hedda Gabler BEFORE I'd bought my tix I probably would have refrained. (and wish I had).
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#7re: Critics
Posted: 3/1/09 at 6:31pm
Hmm i don't pay attention normally, If i want to see something I will see it.
However, I must admit I wouldn't have gone to see August Osage County in London if it hadn't received so many good reviews for the broadway production.
MrJNLong
Featured Actor Joined: 6/20/08
#8re: Critics
Posted: 3/1/09 at 7:24pmSome times really good reviews encourage me to see something I wasn't already interested in (ie the new Our Twon), but if I had already wanted to see something, Ill still usually see it even if it gets bad reviews. Although I keep finding myself agreeing with the reviews in almost every case, so I kind if pay attention to that. plus Im from out of state, so when I come I can only see a certain number of shows, so I want to get the most out of my experience...i can't afford to waste my night on a Little Mermaid experience...
#9re: Critics
Posted: 3/1/09 at 8:02pmI do not think The New York Times has the sway it used to, when it was guaranteed to sign a death certificate for a show, this is evident with Shrek not doing to well, despite good review and more proof how well May Poppins has done despite a poor review.
Byron Abens
Broadway Star Joined: 7/17/08
#10re: Critics
Posted: 3/1/09 at 11:29pm
If I'm interested in something I'll go see it whether everyone else likes it or not.
I'm also willing to go see "bad" theatre, as I think if you always ignore what is bad, you will end up unable to recognize it in your own work. You have to maintain balance in your artistic life. (Plus, it's good to have horror stories about some of the awful things you've sat through, lol)
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#11re: Critics
Posted: 3/1/09 at 11:47pm"I do listen to critics, which is stupid..." Please, please just STOP.
Twitter @NamoInExile
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#12re: Critics
Posted: 3/1/09 at 11:54pmSince I am too far away to frequent NYC, I rely on word of mouth or length of run (long-running shows obviously have done something right).
"Rather than ignore those who choose to publish their opinions without actually talking to me, I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest and feel most fortunate to be working with wonderful people in the business I love."
-Neil Patrick Harris
#13re: Critics
Posted: 3/2/09 at 7:22amIf you do listen to reviews? Why? Do you trust Critics to know more than the rest of us? If you don't, why? Aren't Critics supposed to have insight we dont?
Madame Morrible: "So you take the chicken, now it must be a white chicken. The corpse can be any color. And that is the spell for lost luggage!" - The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken
#14re: Critics
Posted: 3/2/09 at 10:03am
I always tell myself that critics' reviews are just subjective and try to ignore them, but they always end up sticking in my mind. You know-- "Want to go see The Little Mermaid?" "Oh, I heard it was terrible."
In my pants, she has burst like the music of angels, the light of the sun! --Marius Pantsmercy
#15re: Critics
Posted: 3/2/09 at 10:14amThere obviously are lots of people who base their decisions on others' opinions but I could never even consider it.
<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES
#16re: Critics
Posted: 3/2/09 at 3:06pmSee a show that has been critically ravished always feels a bit tainted.
#17re: Critics
Posted: 3/2/09 at 3:16pm
The closest critics ever come to affecting my judgement is... well, I like to go by word-of-mouth as to whether something's good or not, and the critics have mouths just like everyone else. I don't ascribe any more importance to their views than anyone else's views, but I'll listen to what they have to say and it can contribute overall to my decision. :3
#18re: Critics
Posted: 3/2/09 at 3:21pm
If I hadn't been planning on seeing a show and it gets rave reviews, then I will certainly try to see it. If I had been planning on seeing a show and it gets panned, I'll still see it.
Reviews certainly don't control the shows I go to, but they can bring attention to some smaller shows I wasn't aware of.
I do, however, try to get as much info as possible about a show before I see it, whether it be through reviews or this board, so I'm aware of what I'm getting myself into.
homeimp
Leading Actor Joined: 10/2/08
#19re: Critics
Posted: 3/2/09 at 7:54pmI certainly do not rely on the critics. Nor do I rely on blogs like these where sometimes the responders are as nasty and intolerant as the critics. If I relied on the critics I would have missed many shows that I have loved. For me, it's a combination of the source material, the director, the stars, the composer/lyricist (if it's a musical). The critics come way down my list. If only I felt they were looking for the good in a show with as much diligence as they look for the bad. I'm a retired teacher, and honestly, if I had reported on my students with as much meanness, indifference and sarcasm as they report on many of the shows they view, I would have been fired in my first year. They have the best job in the world, if only they knew it. Isn't it blatantly obvious by now that the more the critics think a show will be a big hit with the public, the harder they try to come down on it? They have a vested interest in proving that they know better.
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