THE CRITIC BITES

posted by James Reel

    Via ArtsJournal, here’s a link to a Philadelphia Magazine article about perhaps the nastiest theater critic since John Simon, the locally (but not universally) reviled Toby Zinman of the Philadelphia Inquirer. I’d never heard of Zinman, but from what I’ve read of her own work and of her detractors this morning, she seems to be 1) a highly knowledgable, experienced theater critic 2) who tends to write either raves or, more often, pans, with little nuance in between, 3) and who regularly indulges a catty sort of cruelty. Her reviews can be great fun to read, if you’re not an actor or director or writer.
    A critic has to make honest evaluations of what’s on stage, but there’s usually no reason to get nasty. A review is not just a plot summary; indeed, I usually write as little about the plot as possible. It’s an analysis of all the various components that go into a production. And if a critic is going to serve a purpose distinct from that of publicist, the analysis has to be frank and even-handed. No special lenience for one’s friends, no vendettas against artists with whom the critic does not get along. Observe carefully, do whatever homework may be necessary, and evaluate in a way that will be meaningful to readers.
    Thumbs-up/thumbs-down reviews usually aren’t meaningful, because they don’t reflect the complexity of what’s on stage. In 18 years of reviewing concerts and plays and CDs (and, on occasion, films and dance performances and books), only a couple of times have I encountered something so bad that it had no redeeming qualities at all. Neither have I been compelled to write absolute raves very often, because perfection is a rare thing. Readers sometimes complain that there are too many shades of gray in my reviews, and they can’t tell whether I liked the show or not. Well, in the first place, aesthetics don’t usually come down to like/dislike, except for people who haven’t outgrown childish gut reactions. In the second place, why should you care, really, whether I like or dislike something? Isn’t it more relevant to you if I describe my perception of the positive and negative (and interesting and dull) elements of a production in a way that helps you decide if you might like it?
    Not long ago, an actor who was about to leave town got up the courage to say hello to me outside a theater. (How do these people recognize me? I try to keep a low profile.) He thanked me not for writing nice things about him, but for being fair, even when I’d been critical of productions he’d been involved in. That’s the most meaningful compliment a critic could hope for.