What is 2nd to NYTimes review?
What is 2nd to NYTimes review?
#1What is 2nd to NYTimes review?
Posted: 4/7/21 at 6:44am
Apologies for the very stupid question but is there consensus on what publication constitutes the 2nd most important source for Broadway theatre reviews behind the NYtimes?
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#2What is 2nd to NYTimes review?
Posted: 4/7/21 at 10:23am
I don't know that there is any one outlet or critic I would put in that position. But Helen Shaw, NY Mag/Vulture; Peter Marks, Washington Post; Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune; David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter; Terry Teachout, Wall St. Journal and the several critics who rotate in the top slot at The New Yorker are all of importance.
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
#3What is 2nd to NYTimes review?
Posted: 4/7/21 at 3:53pmSmaxie said: "I don't know that there is any one outlet or critic I would put in that position. But Helen Shaw, NY Mag/Vulture;Peter Marks, Washington Post; Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune; David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter; Terry Teachout, Wall St. Journal and the several critics who rotate in the top slot at The New Yorker are all of importance."
I agree about NY Magazine, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal, and I will also add Variety and the Associated Press to this list.
Oh look, a bibu!
Updated On: 4/7/21 at 03:53 PM
#4What is 2nd to NYTimes review?
Posted: 4/7/21 at 4:05pmCharles Isherwood for “Broadway News” lolololol jkjk
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#5What is 2nd to NYTimes review?
Posted: 4/7/21 at 7:39pm
A tweet from Donald Trump comes in a very close second.
"I'm hearing from many, many people it's very very bad. Very bad. They say it's going to close tomorrow, it's so bad. A lot of money is going to be lost, a lot of jobs lost. That's how bad it is. Tens of millions of dollars is going to be lost. It's very very sad."
That's all I need to read to make up my mind. 
#6What is 2nd to NYTimes review?
Posted: 4/7/21 at 8:22pm
I don't believe any other newspaper has make-or-break power over a show, so I'd say none.
#7What is 2nd to NYTimes review?
Posted: 4/9/21 at 4:56am
I would say that it could depend on circulation of the news outlets themselves. USA Today carries theatre reviews and is one of the highest read news outlets world wide.
IAMREADING
Stand-by Joined: 12/15/15
LarryD2
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/1/14
#9What is 2nd to NYTimes review?
Posted: 4/10/21 at 1:49pm
In the context of New York, the plain and simple fact is that no reviewer or outlet is really make-or-break anymore, even the NYT. The critics smaxie listed are respected and known within the industry, and among those "in the know," but the average ticket-buyer has never heard of Helen Shaw. That said, critics at major regional newspapers (like Chris Jones in Chicago or Peter Marks, who writes about DC theater despite living in New York) have a greater influence among ticket-buyers within their markets and when it comes to booking out-of-town tryouts.
ErmengardeStopSniveling
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
#10What is 2nd to NYTimes review?
Posted: 4/10/21 at 2:31pm
I echo Smaxie –– it's not one publication (and the writer at that publication is irrelevant), but a consensus from the following publications bodes well whether or not the NYT loves it:
Wall Street Journal, New Yorker, NY Post, Washington Post, NY Magazine, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Entertainment Weekly
(I would leave the trades like THR and Variety out since those are mainly just read by industry folks and Very Online theatre fans)
Of course, genuine buzz and word of mouth is even more necessary to keep a show afloat; reviews just jumpstart that.
Fosse76
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/21/05
#11What is 2nd to NYTimes review?
Posted: 4/10/21 at 4:23pm
LarryD2 said: "In the context of New York, the plain and simple fact is that no reviewer or outlet is really make-or-break anymore, even the NYT. The critics smaxie listed are respected and known within the industry, and among those "in the know," but the average ticket-buyer has never heard of Helen Shaw. That said, critics at major regional newspapers (like Chris Jones in Chicago or Peter Marks, who writes about DC theater despite living in New York) have a greater influence among ticket-buyers within their markets and when it comes to booking out-of-town tryouts."
I agree. The internet has pretty much made word-of-mouth the default critic of choice, though it's often simply people "it was really good" and "I loved it" and little to no analysis. Other than for pull quotes in a show's advertising, it seems to me that reviews might have some away over people who are "on the fence" of seeing a show, or by people trying to justify their own opinion of a show.
