re: Broadway.com Broadway reviews?

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 11/13/06 at 10:27pm

Does Broadway.com no longer review shows anymore, or what?

Since Ken Mandelbaum left, I don't go there as often as I used to. But it seems like they never review shows anymore.

Does anyone know what the deal is?

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 11/14/06 at 7:50am

They opted to make it an even more tourist-friendly site by eliminating a real critic and letting random people off the street do video reviews of shows, with an ever-so-convenient link to buy tickets to said show on Broadway.com for a low $22 per ticket surcharge. So convenient. They even pick the seat locations for you.

Updated On: 11/14/06 at 07:50 AM

[LostLeander]

Posted: 11/14/06 at 8:12am

What tourist frequents Broadway.com everyday?

I want my reviews back, dammit!

[FosterChild]

Posted: 11/14/06 at 8:49am

I don't know--I wasn't crazy about their critics. They used to have some good ones, people like Adam Feldman and Eric Grode, who went on to bigger and better jobs, but not recently.

The man-on-the-street critics aren't for me, but I think it does hit much of their target audience. Broadway.com actually DOES get a lot of tourist traffic, Leander. It's far more of a mix of theater fans and regular people than any other site.

[MotorTink]

Posted: 11/14/06 at 9:07am

I started out going to broadway.com all the time, and using that as my source of all information. But, then they got really slow updating stuff and the effect wore off. I started searching, found BWW, and have never looked back since!

[BreeDaniel]

Posted: 11/14/06 at 9:09am

Boy, is it ever getting really shilly around here.

[Craig]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 8:05pm

"It's far more of a mix of theater fans and regular people than any other site. "

Hmm. Well I know you don't have any such access to our statistics or demographics. Conversely I can't claim you don't know Theatermania, Playbill, or in your example, Broadway.com's statistics. But since you may or may not have statistics for one or some of the aforementioned, I can only assume that statement is a matter of (your) opinion. While many fans around the world congregate on our message boards, it's only one part of the comprehensive site as a whole.

In either event (and back on topic) I enjoyed reading Ken's reviews regardless of whether or not I agreed with him on any given production.

[ShuQ]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 8:08pm

And is there any reason that they can't continue to release reviews from REAL critics and still use the word-of-mouth trash?

[FoscasBohemianDream]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 8:11pm

After Ken Mandelbaum left I used to visit their web site only for the re-cap of the reviews from the major papers, but now they do not even have that. I never visit the site anymore, it has become a joke, in my opinion.

[StephenSondheimWHOO]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 8:13pm

heehee look at craig getting all defensive. But anywho i miss the reviews the word of mouth is really crap.

[Craig]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 8:15pm

No - not defensive (although it could read like that) - Just amused when someone rattles off a "statistic" as fact when there's nothing to support it.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:05pm

There surcharge is probably the highest of any site. It's outragous. It still has some good videos & interviews, but that's all it good for now.

[gonnapassmealaw]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:17pm

Broadway.com is beginning to get a little "fluffy", much like the content of shows opening nowadays.

[Julian2]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:28pm

Yeah, I really miss Ken's column, he actually reveiwed products AND discussed Broadway. John Simon only does products, and I find his reveiws to be a little flat at well. Not to mention that corner of the site is not kept well at ALL. And not only have they done away with real reveiwers and the compilation page, but I don't think they reveiw ANY off-B-way any more. Its all just Broadway. And I don't look as foward to their opening night videos as much as I used to. What happened to that place!?!?!? I wonder what killed it.

It really all started the end of the last season, they never even posted a reveiw for Tarzan.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:34pm

Not to mention that its editorials are constantly filled with grammatical and factual errors.

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 2:09am

Ken posts on BWW under a pseudonym...and a few of us are onto him

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 2:56am

It's not hard to understand. Real critics cost money -- "man on the street" reports, don't. Broadway.com gets free comps in exchange for their reviews, so they simply pass those comps onto "regular, everyday people" and in exchange get to print the opinions of the "commonfolk" and the "average ticket buyer" at no cost to them. While I could truly give a f*ck what any of these people have to say about anything, I understand the arrangement -- Broadway.com gets "reviews" for no money and these "folks" get to see theatre for free. Whatever. I suppose it's fine for tourists who see 1 or 2 shows a year and might appreciate the "common man" point of view, but for me, who sees dozens of shows a year, I'd prefer an enlightened, educated, cogent analysis of the shows I see from people who know what the f*ck they're talking about. Not that I always get that from most of the so-called professional reviewers in town -- you can often find better written and more illuminative critiques here and at ATC -- but at least a couple of them have opinions worth reading.

[FosterChild]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 3:44am

I can see how that would make sense to someone on the outside, Margo, but it's simply not true. I had a friend who wrote reviews for Broadway.com and I don't believe he made more than $50 for them (maybe $75?). Do you really think it's cheaper to do all of that video production for the regular people review videos? Video is FAR more expensive that sending some freelance writer to see a show. Especially when they were paying them so little!

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 3:51am

They've ALWAYS done video -- even when they were paying Mandelbaum and others to review the shows. They've apparently made a decision to keep the video, but get rid of the paid reviewers, thus cutting their costs since most of the people who but tix from them don't know or care who is reviewing the shows -- Mandelbaum, Feldman, or Joe Blow from off the street.

[FoscasBohemianDream]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 5:12am

What's interesting is that they keep the reviews running on theatre.com, aren't they run by the same people?

[ICEcreamAssassin]

Posted: 11/16/06 at 5:20am

I had to ditch Broadway.com after seeing the updates every 3-4 days.. too long for me. BWW and playbill are the best. I rarelt hit theatermania.. but i should try it more.