Another critic axed
David Rooney
Variety, the so-called show biz bible, has jettisoned the full-time theater critic position held by David Rooney, simultaneously saying it will continue to review theater with the same frequency. (How many of us have heard that before?) Links to two commentaries: “The iceberg of serious, informed theatrical criticism lost another chunk,” says Kenneth Jones in playbill.com; “The critical bloodletting continues,” says Adam Feldman in Time Out N.Y.
But the best read yet on the subject (you know it’ll be good when you see the illustration, Brueghel’s “Tower of Babel”) is “Eliminate theatre critics at your peril” by David Cote in The Guardian. He calls critics “the dung beetles of culture” — and that’s praise. Read some reader response, too, the kind you rarely get in the U.S.
Happier news
Cheers for Richard Christiansen. On March 1, Chicago’s Tony-winning Victory Gardens Theater named its new 109-seat studio theater after the retired chief critic for the Chicago Tribune, a key figure in the growth and recognition of Off-Loop Chicago professional theater and a longtime ATCA member. Read more under Milestones: Achievements, or enjoy this eye-witness tribute by Chris Jones and this one, on our ATCA Blog page, where Jonathan Abarbanel reports from the event.
Elizabeth Maupin, former ATCA chair and long-time critic for the Orlando Sentinel, retired Feb. 26 — see her announcement in the Transitions section of the Milestones page. You can also read her final Sentinel blog; in bidding farewell to 9,609 days at the Sentinel, she promises to continue writing about theater in other ways. Check out the wonderful reader comments attached.
Explore the new ATCA website. It’s still under construction, but it’s not too early to give us your comments and suggestions.


