Riedel: Drama Critics Dying Out

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 10/31/08 at 1:30pm

'... "We're huddling in the corner going, 'What's going to become of us?' " says Michael Sommers, who took a buyout this week after 15 years in the aisle seat for New Jersey's The Star-Ledger.

Also leaving is Peter Filichia, the paper's New Jersey critic for more than a decade.

Eric Grode, a promising young critic, evaporated with the New York Sun a few weeks ago. Two other top New York newspaper drama critics are bracing themselves for a coming round of buyouts and layoffs.

Says Sommers: "The diadem is certainly sitting uneasily on the heads of the first-nighters."'

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10312008/entertainment/theater/condition__quite_critical_136088.htm

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 10/31/08 at 1:54pm

I hope I'm not opening a can of worms here, but I like to think that the "official" critics are individuals of certain background, experience and discernment that place them in a higher echelon than your everyday theatregoer. Don't get me wrong -- I love this board and having the opportunity to voice my opinions and listen to those of other posters. But I would NEVER delude myself into thinking that I had the credentials to be a professional critic. I make a point of seeing shows during the late preview period to ensure that I'm not unduly swayed by preconceived notions. It's gratifying when the critics have the same opinion as mine and annoying when they don't. Just my thought.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/31/08 at 1:55pm

Why would that be opening a can of worms?

[jasonf]

Posted: 10/31/08 at 3:05pm

Heh - as it happens, I actually HAVE the credentials to be a theater critic. I was a theater/journalism major in college with a focus on theater history, dramaturgy, and criticism. I spent four years on my school paper reviewing EVERYTHING that came through my school (a good two, three, or sometimes even four productions a week). I came out of school with honors, and strong recommendations from professors, only to find that becoming a theater critic for most papers is nearly impossible: it's considered a cushy job and given to people who put in ten or fifteen years of grunt work, and often to people with no vested interest in theater. Once I learned that first hand, my respect for the job diminished tremendously. I do want to note though that I have spent several years corresponding with Peter Filichia and reading his thrice weekly column on theatermania.com. He is a true theater lover - one of a dying breed of critics who actually LOVES the art form for what it is - not trashing something because it's fluff or praising something because it's pretentious as some critics do.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/31/08 at 3:24pm

He neglected to mention that the newspapers and magazines these critics write for are themselves dying out.

The Washington Post's earnings are down 86 percent. The Conde Nast magazines and The New York Times are facing staggering losses.

[Hank]

Posted: 10/31/08 at 4:16pm

The newspapers are indeed dying out themselves, and it's sad to read that The Star Ledger, my favorite newspaper, is in such a state.
Peter Filichia's reviews will be especially missed. They often gave a big boost to many local productions.
The point is on the money, however, there so many blogers here and elsewhere willing to do it for nothing.

[sroderick2]

Posted: 10/31/08 at 4:25pm

The Washington Post's earnings are down 86 percent. The Conde Nast magazines and The New York Times are facing staggering losses.

Not to mention the hell at the LA Times...it's pretty scary over here.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/31/08 at 4:29pm

I think unfortunately the Internet, where a lot of young writers test the waters and get their starts, is going to contribute to the fall of the necessity of the critic. And I'm not even just talking about the blogosphere and message boards -- look at Word of Mouth. A featured enabled by the internet took the place of a legitimate in-print critic.

Updated On: 10/31/08 at 04:29 PM