The Critics Say...: 57 Theater Reviewers in New York and Beyond Discuss Their Craft and Its Future

by Matt Windman

Overview

What will happen to the theater when there are no more critics? With the decline of print media and the rise of online journalism, theater critics are facing hard times. As their influence fades, will the industry they cover be adversely affected or can bloggers and message boards fill the void? Can a new economic model be created for theater criticism? How can critics lucky enough to still have jobs stay relevant in the age of social media?

Speaking of which, what does a theater critic really do, and how do you become one? In this book, Matt Windman, a theater critic himself, interviews more than 50 critics from New York and around the country, including Ben Brantley, Charles Isherwood, John Lahr, Terry Teachout, Linda Winer, Chris Jones, David Cote, John Simon and Peter Filichia. They discuss their long careers and the nightly process of evaluating plays and musicals, and offer their thoughts on the future of the profession.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476624693
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	04/27/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	244
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Matt Windman is the theater critic of the newspaper amNewYork and an attorney. He lives Fair Lawn, New Jersey.
Matt Windman is the theater critic of the newspaper amNewYork and an attorney. He lives Fair Lawn, New Jersey.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Foreword by Robert Simonson
Preface
Meet the Theater Critics
1. Why We Exist
2. How I Became a Theater Critic
3. Education and Personality
4. The Theater Community
5. Ethics
6. The Writing Process
7. Readers
8. Evaluation
9. Crisis
10. Economics
11. Online
12. Spider-Man
13. Regrets and Advice
Epilogue
Index

Editorial Reviews

gives us the opportunity to sit at the feet of some of the country’s top critics and hear their thoughts”—Examiner.com; “an in-depth exploration of the lives, mentalities, and views of notable writers about theatrical criticism in the present...a vivid document of the changing terrain of media coverage”—TheaterScene.net; “a one-of-a-kind survey of a profession that has gone hand-and-hand with theatre for centuries. Windman’s subjects address every possible topic” —Playbill; “students will relish the educational nature of the text”—CT News; “essential reading for Broadway lovers everywhere”—Goldderby.

From the Publisher