Sara Holdren leaving as Vulture's theater critic

“Sara Holden leaving as Vulture's theater critic.”



Good.

I'm really excited to see whatever is ahead for her, but man, I'm going to miss her reviews so, so much. She was truly the best out there. I always looked forward to her reviews on opening nights, and I've learned so much about both the craft and the audience thanks to her. This will probably be selfish and far-fetched, but I really hoped she'd become the chief critic for the Times someday, or gained that amount of influence wherever she worked. She truly sees what matters in an industry where pushing boundaries shouldn't be an odd thing.

bear88, it was also her review what drew me to see Oklahoma, which is now on my Top 3 of things I've seen on Broadway. I just can't thank her enough.

Agreed. I have to admit, I hated her reviews at first, and thought that she basically just liked every show in direct proportion to how "woke" it was. But the more I read, the more she opened my eyes to new perspectives and ideas, and by now I've really come to respect and admire her reviews as the best of the bunch. In line with what many of you have said, she reliably brings a fresh angle that no other critic does; I've been grateful for it, and I'll miss it.

I would imagine she got burnt out by the theatre beat, and it could have been a conflict-of-interest for her to continue directing on the side.

I loved that her reviews were a little "rough around the edges" sometimes (that's a compliment). I hope NYMag will hire another young-ish person from outside the theatre journalism world. But if not, there are plenty of out-of-work theatre critics who could use a good gig like this.

I had been hoping she would also jump to the TIMES, to be Jesse's #2 after Lord Brantley finally retires.

Updated On: 9/17/19 at 10:47 AM

She's the best! Happy she's finding success directing these days, but I'll really miss her reviews. I think what made her reviews so good was how she explained her process within the review -- "What exactly is this? Does this deserve a proper theatrical critique? Or should it be treated like a theme park show?" Her review of King Kong is great for this exact reason -- it's almost meta in its writing. She's the best at getting to the bottom of why things work and they don't -- and even when I didn't agree with her, her arguments were very fundamental, and helped me understand why people like/dislike some pieces.

I have never been a particular fan of her writing. Her overlong reviews read like rambling Tumblr posts, and her opinions usually display a keen grasp of the obvious. I always thought it was a slap in the face to the many established (and better) journalists in NYC and elsewhere that she was essentially handed this plum job with no experience. I assume she comes from some kind of moneyed background, since many people wouldn't leave a secure, salaried position for the unstable career of freelance directing without a cushion of support.

LarryD2 said: "I have never been a particular fan of her writing. Her overlong reviews read like rambling Tumblr posts, and her opinions usually display a keen grasp of the obvious. I always thought it was a slap in the face to the many established (and better) journalistsin NYC and elsewhere that she was essentially handed this plum job with no experience. I assume she comes from some kind of moneyed background, since many people wouldn't leave a secure, salaried position for the unstable career of freelance directing without a cushion of support."



Sara Holdren has an MFA in Directing from Yale School of Drama... ; an undergraduate degree in Theater; and studied Shakespeare Acting at RADA; and a Drama League Fellow. She may not be an “established Journalist”, But I would hardly call her unqualified to critique theater. Publications need more theater critics like her. I, for one, will surely miss reading her well thought out reviews.