Does the NYT Critic's Pick Seal Mean Anything to You (Anymore)? — Page 2

Bwayfan292 said: "Does the general public read reviews though? Or do they just go cause a show looks cool?"

There isn't a yes-or-no answer, and I think it's very different with a play than with a musical. Smaller shows or shows without stars rely on rave reviews (and, later, Tonys) to stay alive. Look at The Humans, Band's Visit, Oslo, Fun Home, Come From Away, and even Hamilton (though that was also the audience reception). Then there are the shows that didn't recoup, but the reviews helped them in the beginning (Dolls House 2, Hand to God, Groundhog Day, Carousel).

Anotha one:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/04/theater/american-son-review.html

Updated On: 11/4/18 at 10:17 PM

The only person the critic's pick seal should really mean anything to is the critic who decided to apply it to their review, denoting that they quite liked the piece they are reviewing. Criticism and reviews are purely subjective - sure, we can hope that professional critics are more educated and are coming to the theater from a place of higher regard than average audiences, but at the end of the day they are just expressing their own individual opinion.

The critic's pick seal can be helpful as a reader to note which shows that individual critic liked a lot, but as with anything I never use reviews or ratings to tell me what I should or shouldn't see. I see what I want to, and then perhaps read the reviews afterwards. It's not meant to be some definitive stamp of approval or to suggest that everyone will like this show or everyone should see this show, and it shouldn't be taken as such.

Updated On: 11/5/18 at 11:17 AM

So the esteemed NYT critics extols the stellar ‘critic pick’

So the lavished show buys marketing space in the said publications, pointing out it is the anointed one of having the behemoth ‘critic pick.’

See what I am trying to say?

If I show I dismissed as skippable gets a Critics Pick, I'll go and read some more reviews and see if my rationale for skippage is unfounded. But it doesn't mean I automatically buy tickets.