Leonard Jacobs, National Theatre Editor and theatre critic for Back Stage and New York Press, is also the mind behind the popular theatre blog, Clyd Fitch Report. Brave soul that he is, Leonard agreed to be our first "Critic on the Spot" by fielding questions from some of our Extra Criticum authors.
Every few days, we've posted a new Q&A between Leonard and one of us. Here's #8, our final installment with Leonard, this one from Alan Carter. Thank you, Leonard, from all of us at Extra Crtiticum. You've engaged with us in a spirited and thought-provoking conversation! Bravo! From us, you get a rave review!
Q:
The theater is a small community -- unlike TV or movies -- how hard is it to write a really negative review of a show when you are friends/acquaintances with the producers or stars knowing you will have to run into them at some point socially?
A:
This is similar to a question I was asked earlier but I want to tackle this one anyway because it raises an important point. I think there's a difference between whether you're genuinely in a friendship with an artist, in which case it gets very sticky, and the possibility of running into an artist that you may know as an acquaintance, or not even that. For me (as I mentioned in my earlier answer), I don't review friends, period. Of course, this raises the question of what constitutes a friend as opposed to an acquaintance, but I think that's usually pretty clear. In terms of review acquaintances, well, I think that just as actors, say, have to be cordial if and when they meet a critic at a social function, critics also have be cordial and courteous. It strikes me as terrible form for a critic to discuss his or her reviews, for example, in such a situation. And while some actors might, say, bring up a negative review written by that critic at such a function (there's the famous story of actress Sylvia Miles dumping a plate of pasta on John Simon's head), it's generally not the case.
Of course, it's impossible not to run into producers, either, but I think most producers are aware of what the rules are, and tend to be cordial if critics are cordial. I actually think it can be much harder in some ways to be friendly with a producer than with an artist. Money just sort of changes the whole dynamic.
Next Critic on the Spot: Philadelphia Inquirer Movie Critic, Carrie Rickey!
