[NEohioPAL] Reviews on NeOhiopal

Sat Aug 8 06:57:00 PDT 2009

I have to strongly disagree here.

While I know that theater audiences and general patrons are somewhat in the
minority but I am one...

I'm not sure why you would feel that printed matter was the "appropriate"
organ for expressing critical views on theater? Given the immediacy of
the Internet, what better way gauge reaction after a performance? With the
open nature of the Internet, what better way to see what the reactions of
"Joe Audience Member" are?

Quite frankly in a review 99% of the time I desire anything but
a "professional slant" or "educated reviewer" (and what, exactly, makes for
an educated reviewer?)-- a synopsis of the show, perhaps a hign or low
point and a go/maybe/no go is all I need.

The worst, most tortuously awful, show (hint: think plywood) I have ever
seen was lauded by, I believe, every "educated reviewer" with a
"professional slant" in greater Cleveland. There's another reviewer who I
can count on one finger the number of reviews I've even partially agreed
with, though the frequent insertion of irrelevant commentary on things like
the program design may contribute to that.

Largely I ignore reviews. Frequently I'll read them after I've seen a show
to see how my thoughts and reactions compared to someone else (one of the
disadvantages to being a single 25 year old guy attending theater in
Cleveland is the lack of someone to bounce thoughts and reflections off of
immediately after a performance). Sometimes a review -- even if it's
comically awful -- will make me attend a show that I had not previously been
aware of or had planned on not attending.

A good review, professional or otherwise, has never been the sole reason
I've seen a show. A bad review has never been the sole reason why I've not
seen a show.

I would think, or at least hope, that the creative staffs involved would
appreciate feedback from ticket-buying audience members and perhaps consider
that feedback in future productions. After all, if you don't give audiences
what they're looking for, audiences will dwindle. If audiences disappear
there's no reason to put on a show and eventually no money to put the show
up.

What it comes down to is theater (and dance, and opera, and orchestra) is a
form of entertainment and commentary. It is a special form of entertainment
where no two performances are exactly the same, and where audience members
feed off the energy of the actors, dancers, musicians as much as the talent
feeds off of the audience. But it is, ultimately, entertainment. Each
person's concept of what makes for "good" and "bad" entertainment is
different which is why a variety of viewpoints is a good thing. If you
aren't entertained I doesn't matter how "revolutionary" the coreography was,
if the blocking was sloppy, if the lighting design was compeilling....

I may get flamed for this, but sometimes I feel like the "professional"
critics are stuck in a theoretical MFA-induced utopia and detached from what
the casual audience member is experiencing... and what the casual audience
member wants to experience.

To the subject at hand, I was on the fence about doing Pippin tonight (even
though Cain is about a 5 minute walk from my place) -- after the laudatory
reviews I was still on the fence. Now I'm thinking that I will see it.

Wow, that got a lot longer than I expected it to be. If I have offended
anyone, please excuse me and accept my appologies.

Lincoln

On Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 7:11 PM, Ensemble Theatre <
ensemble-theatre at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>   I cannot imagine anyone saying it any better, David. Let the reviewers,
> that is, those who
> fancy themselves as 'critics' if that is a correct appellation, find an
> appropriate organ (!!)
> to express themselves.
>
>  *The Plain Dealer, The Sun Newspapers, The Scene, The Free Times, The
> Heights Observer, The Call and Post, The Advocate, The Earth, Cleveland
> Magazine, Northern Ohio Live. . . . .any more??? How about an independent
> website devoted *
> *to all arts companie's performances? *
>
> The *NEOPAL *subscription list is not the place for reviews. It is vastly
> subscribed to by arts organization members, and NOT by theatre patrons and
> general audiences who are seeking an *educated* reviewer to give them a
> professional slant on the production - and a reason to see it - or
> NOT!!  The internet has caused there to be a blurring of lines of authority,
> as well as professionalism. Hence - Tony Brown does NOT publish his reviews
> on NEOPAL. nor any other reviewer from those organs mentioned above for a
> simple reason -
>
> Because it is the* ticket-buying general public* that needs the
> information, NOT subscribers to NEOPAL. Excellent point,David. And I happen
> to agree with you
> about Greg Violand and Mary Ann Nagel - I would listen to them sing a
> hardware catalog!!
> * *
> Martin Cosentino
>
>
> --- On *Fri, 8/7/09, David Robeano <david_jekyllandhyde at yahoo.com>* wrote:
>
>
> From: David Robeano <david_jekyllandhyde at yahoo.com>
> Subject: [NEohioPAL] Reviews on NeOhiopal
> To: "neohiopal at listserve.com" <neohiopal at listserve.com>
> Date: Friday, August 7, 2009, 1:51 PM
>
>   I know this is a touchy subject, and many will disagree, but I urge
> anyone who reads reviews, as with any outlet that voices personal opinions,
> to take comments with a grain of salt.  Fred developed this amazing,
> one-of-a-kind resource as a way to support local theatre and artists.  While
> freedom of opinion and speech is imperative, are your personal views really
> so all important as to be posted here and to possibly be a detriment to
> business at a local theatre?  I may be mistaken, but I have not seen Tony
> Brown posting his reviews here, he leaves them for his paper, the forum that
> they were meant for.
>
> I have not been lucky enough to see Pippin yet, but I have worked with many
> of the artists in the show, and I would go watch MaryAnn Nagel and Corey
> Mach sing the phone book.  I look forward to seeing what they do with these
> roles.
>
> I for one, am thrilled that my computer has a "delete" button, and will
> look for my reviews from the reviewers and papers I choose, and leave this
> site for information about a great community of shows and people that I miss
> a great deal!
>
>
>
> David Robeano
> Director of Entertainment
> The Jekyll and Hyde Club
> Davidrobeano.com
>
> All typos coUrtesy of iPhone.
>
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