Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/06
http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat_new/d.php?id=2374623
Updated On: 4/29/17 at 10:30 PMBroadway Legend Joined: 5/16/06
Sorry, just saw ljay's mention in the David Cote thread
Good
The title of this thread is misleading. It makes it sound like Matthew was fired, when in reality he resigned due to personal circumstances.
I am still mourning the loss of Shelley Goldberg.
I for one, am not unhappy to see him go. I think that his reviews are often pseudo-intellectual, and instead of a good writer's understanding that "less is more" he often seems to write with an understanding that "more is better." He delights, it seems, from being considered erudite when in truth many of his reviews were often unreadable. There's an amateur reviewer on the site who reviews every show under the moniker Jesse21 who I believe is both a better critic and a better writer than Murray.
Aside from that, I think that Murray enjoys being a contrarian. Though I, like most here, agree with a particular critic's reviews some of the time and disagree some of the time, it seemed to me that I disagreed with Murray more frequently than I did with any other critic.
RaisedOnMusicals said: "I for one, am not happy to see him go."
It sounds like you are happy to see him go.
I honestly just stopped reading his reviews. I read his bio somewhere and it shed,for me anyway, a bit of a light on his negativity. I welcome the new person.
Thanks, Elphie. Fixed it to say what I meant.
Understudy Joined: 3/13/17
this stinks. I loved his reviews. It was nice to read dissenting opinions from the rest of the rabble.
He was crazy, and he seemed to hate theatre, but I always found his perspectives interesting, even when wildly off-target.
Understudy Joined: 2/4/05
RaisedOnMusicals said: "Thanks, Elphie. Fixed it to say what I meant."
Actually, it now says "unappy." Which is off enough to be confusing. You should edit it again.
Ragged Tear said: "RaisedOnMusicals said: "Thanks, Elphie. Fixed it to say what I meant."
Actually, it now says "unappy." Which is off enough to be confusing. You should edit it again."
I read it after the initial edit and understood that it was a basic typo. It wasn't confusing at all.
Also, I've never cared for his reviews, so I'm dreadfully curious about this career he's pursuing outside of New York. What local pennysaver is going to reap the benefit of his years of experience?
he seemed to hate theatre
Yes, someone who reviewed more than 2,000 shows for free while holding down a separate full-time job clearly hates theater.
My hometown had a severe critic who was ground down by years of weekly amateur theater. Eventually the only thing he still liked were broad comedies. They seemed to wake him up.
Show Score has tallied Murray's reviews. I'm not seeing a different pattern. This year he enjoyed the plays: A Dolls House Part 2, The Antipodes, Indecent, The Emperor Jones, Significant Other, Sweat and The Liar. The only musicals he cared for were Hello Dolly and Sunset Boulevard.
Are his standards higher for musicals or is he simply tired of them? Does it take a female star to get his attention?
https://www.show-score.com/member/matthew-murray
I don't think he hates theater, but I do think he enjoys being a contrarian. He's also quite old-fashioned.
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/30/15
I don't read reviews all the time and knowing his reputation for negativity, I avoided his in general. But for some of the smaller shows where I was curious enough to read his reviews, I thought the bad reviews were spot on. He was critical in smart, relevant ways (not like some people going off on tangents).
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