Here's the deal.
A lot of people are really upset about Sherilyn's relationship with Kathy Allen. No one in the theatre wants to see the critic from the Weekly and the critic from the Star come to a show, sit right next to one another, and then write painfully similar (positive OR negative) reviews. I disagree with Stage Hand's comment that Jimmy Boegle wants theatre in Tucson to go under. The Tucson Weekly has long been an extremely generous advocate of the Arts in Tucson and a lot of that credit is due to Jimmy. They don't have to cover anything they don't want to cover and they cover every single thing they can. The headline reflected the review published and nothing else, quite accurately, too.
I'm one of the actors in FIFTH OF JULY and what I take issue with is the comments about Lanford Wilson and our production of his play both being dead just because Glen Coffman had the audacity to make a heartfelt acknowledgement of his passing and his contribution to American theatre on opening night. That's snarky, it's not artistic criticism. Snarky isn't even necessarily a bad thing, if there's some wit to it (James Reel, we really miss you right now). That was cheap and gross and unfortunately it's all anyone in the Tucson theatre scene can talk about. I have people coming up to me every day now and apologizing to me for what was said in this review and not because the review was negative but because it was hideously nasty. It's almost as though the cast and their performances have been completely disregarded (since they weren't actually assessed in any way in this review) as bad simply due to what appears to be some kind of vendetta with Glen and / or Winding Road Theatre Ensemble.
Sherilyn is absolutely entitled to her opinion and she should make it clear, that's her job as a Theatre Critic, not to give a pass or an easy review or whatever. I don't mind a bad, even a scathing review -- if it's thoughtful, specific and well written.
Thank God for Nathan Christensen. I'd take a bad review from him any day.
Recent Comments
A lot of people are really upset about Sherilyn's relationship with Kathy Allen. No one in the theatre wants to see the critic from the Weekly and the critic from the Star come to a show, sit right next to one another, and then write painfully similar (positive OR negative) reviews. I disagree with Stage Hand's comment that Jimmy Boegle wants theatre in Tucson to go under. The Tucson Weekly has long been an extremely generous advocate of the Arts in Tucson and a lot of that credit is due to Jimmy. They don't have to cover anything they don't want to cover and they cover every single thing they can. The headline reflected the review published and nothing else, quite accurately, too.
I'm one of the actors in FIFTH OF JULY and what I take issue with is the comments about Lanford Wilson and our production of his play both being dead just because Glen Coffman had the audacity to make a heartfelt acknowledgement of his passing and his contribution to American theatre on opening night. That's snarky, it's not artistic criticism. Snarky isn't even necessarily a bad thing, if there's some wit to it (James Reel, we really miss you right now). That was cheap and gross and unfortunately it's all anyone in the Tucson theatre scene can talk about. I have people coming up to me every day now and apologizing to me for what was said in this review and not because the review was negative but because it was hideously nasty. It's almost as though the cast and their performances have been completely disregarded (since they weren't actually assessed in any way in this review) as bad simply due to what appears to be some kind of vendetta with Glen and / or Winding Road Theatre Ensemble.
Sherilyn is absolutely entitled to her opinion and she should make it clear, that's her job as a Theatre Critic, not to give a pass or an easy review or whatever. I don't mind a bad, even a scathing review -- if it's thoughtful, specific and well written.
Thank God for Nathan Christensen. I'd take a bad review from him any day.