What Is Ben Brantley's Worst Review?

Worst as in most scathing? He's not much of a bitch queen.

Worst as in dunderheaded? Well, your can take your pick there, but I'd have to go with his pan of CAROLINE OR CHANGE for just flat-out not getting it.

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I always thought his most scathing review was his review of Jekyll and Hyde.

The first time he reviewed Spider-Man, it was pretty bad. The second time was better, but he still didn't like the show.

I doubt it.

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This just makes me want to post Charles Isherwood's Yogurt Shop.

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Oh god. I just went and looked at that. He was distracted by the lady bug while writing the review. Because, see, he thought the *production* had ADD so he thought that would in some way illustrate it.

He's not a smart writer.

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Updated On: 1/28/12 at 10:16 PM

I'd have to agree that his review of the original Spiderman was the most scathing review I've read of his. If I remember correctly he referred to it as "a Broadway superlative, for all the wrong reasons" -- and that was only the intro.

I find it strange to only have one or two main critics because they're human so they're just going to not like/not get certain things. And it just blows that an entire production could potentially shut down because of said review. But I guess that's life.

On Love Never Dies:

"To think that all this time that poor old half-faced composer hasn’t been dead at all, just stewing in his lust for greater glory. Being the title character of “The Phantom of the Opera,” the most successful musical of all time, wasn’t enough for him. Oh, no. Like so many aging stars, he was determined to return — with different material and a rejuvenated body — to the scene of his first triumph. So now he’s back in the West End with a big, gaudy new show. And he might as well have a “kick me” sign pasted to his backside."

"This poor sap of a show feels as eager to be walloped as a clown in a carnival dunking booth."

"Its plot is so elaborate and implausible it makes the libretto of “Il Trovatore” read like a first-grade primer. If you don’t know the first “Phantom,” you will be very confused; if you do know the first “Phantom,” you will also be very confused."

"The score is, for the most part, so slow that you have time to anticipate Mr. Slater’s next leaden rhyme. Each of the songs — which range from bathing-beauty frolics to power-chord operetta ballads — spins a single tune until it loses its tread."

You could tell that he had a lot of fun trashing this show.

If only he could write them well. If only he weren't overly dependent on parentheses. If only, if only.

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I don't get why so many people dislike Ben Brantley. I've been reading his reviews for what, fifteen years now, and he's a very entertaining, articulate, and insightful reviewer. Then again, if I or one of my shows were ever subjected to one of his taunting pans, I'd probably hate him too. But as of now, I always enjoy him.

Yeah, Betty, his VERGE review was brutal. I was expecting something bad, but not THAT brutal. I still have yet to read it for a second time.

Updated On: 1/28/12 at 02:50 AM