Isherwood's solo voice...

It's interesting that Isherwood is a lone voice of high praise for BRONX TALE and RIDE THE CYCLONE. Most of his colleagues were decidedly mixed to dismissive on both. And then writing that for him NATASHA is better than HAMILTON...He seems intent on being alone in his views. Thoughts? I find I've grown really used to his writing style so I find him getting less interesting in the writing, but more interesting in his singular stances.

He also hated Fun Home, for the record.

Updated On: 12/2/16 at 01:43 PM

He also raved about Tuck Everlasting...

And wasn't Disaster also a Critics' Pick? There's a pattern.

He's had some odd reviews lately, even for him. His takes on The Harvest and A Life were both supremely misguided.

He is a truly terrible critic. It is shocking that he is writing for the newspaper of record. He doesn't so much not understand theater as he appears not interested in understanding theater.

And there we have it.

Reviewers viewed individually mean little or nothing, especially out of context. A reviewer I usually disagree with is just as good as one I usually disagree with. A bad reviewer is one too inconsistent to be of any value.

GhostXmasPast said: "As a theater patron it is ultimately up to you to parse the words of a critic - and align yourself with those critics whose reviews align with your own experience and opinion


I have found that I am a Brantley guy -- not his writing, per se, but I like what he likes almost all the time. Not the same for Isherwood -- sometimes yes, often no. And I notice that recently, he has liked most of what he sees.

But I agree that his review here was problematic -- for me, reading it -- it didn't seem like "high praise" or a "recommendation" -- but there's that "critic's choice" mark at the top -- (boy, the producers must love those when they get them). If I hadn't seen that and just read the review, I wouldn't think he was recommending it.





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Updated On: 12/2/16 at 09:41 PM

I will never forget when he raved about Disaster (one of the biggest mess I've ever seen), made it a Critic's Pick and said Jennifer Simmard was the one who deserved the Tony. Those were his personal opinions, of course, but they differ from that of many theatergoers, including mine.

Updated On: 12/3/16 at 09:16 PM