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And when they do...

Posted by: AC126748 10:10 am EST 01/16/15
In reply to: re: Critics almost NEVER change their minds ... - NewtonUK 09:46 am EST 01/16/15

The direction is often negative to positive. If I recall correctly, this is what happened with Brantley and Once: he warmly received the Broadway transfer after initially penning a tepid appraisal of the NYTW staging.


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re: And when they do...

Posted by: SidL 05:21 pm EST 01/16/15
In reply to: And when they do... - AC126748 10:10 am EST 01/16/15

Kevin Kelly gave "La Cage" a rave in the Boston Globe when it opened at the Colonial.

But the last Sunday of the run he wrote a "On Second Thought" piece in the Sunday Globe. I think he was back-peddling and trying to cover himself just in case it tanked with the critics in New York.


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re: And when they do...

Posted by: Budinsky 02:14 pm EST 01/16/15
In reply to: And when they do... - AC126748 10:10 am EST 01/16/15

After giving THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA a tepid review and admitting that he did not like the show on a THEATER TALK appearance soon after, Brantley remarked in his review of SOUTH PACIFIC: "Mr. Sher, who heralded the return of full-blown lyricism to musicals with his exquisite production of Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas’s 'Light in the Piazza' several years ago..."

One of countless examples as to why I don't trust Brantley and dislike his insipid reviews.


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re: And when they do...

Posted by: davei2000 03:15 pm EST 01/16/15
In reply to: re: And when they do... - Budinsky 02:14 pm EST 01/16/15

He's talking about Bartlett Sher's work there, not The Light in the Piazza as a whole. A "sumptuous production" ("pretty but confused")in the original review becomes an "exquisite production" later. Not so bold a contradiction.

Link http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/19/theater/reviews/19ligh.html

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re: And when they do...

Posted by: Budinsky 11:56 am EST 01/17/15
In reply to: re: And when they do... - davei2000 03:15 pm EST 01/16/15

Within the context of his rave review of SOUTH PACIFIC, Brantley offers praise for Sher's direction by citing his work on another musical. The inference is that he is making reference to another Sher production that he admired.

Further, Brantley not only commends Sher's previous staging of THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA but refers to that work as "the return of full-blown lyricism to musicals," which -- to me, at any rate -- doesn't sound like a description of a show that he originally dismissed.

Of course, I could simply be leaping to my own conclusion based on my low opinion of Brantley. So be it. I stand by my assessment.


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re: And when they do...

Posted by: ryhog 11:01 am EST 01/16/15
In reply to: And when they do... - AC126748 10:10 am EST 01/16/15

In this situation, of course, the show could actually have improved. In any case, I find this notion of "admitting you were wrong" ridiculous when it is pretty obvious that most people are just expressing their own honestly-acquired reaction to a show and not suffering from some psychological defect that prompts a dishonest reaction to be expressed.


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re: And when they do...

Posted by: AlanScott 02:11 pm EST 01/16/15
In reply to: re: And when they do... - ryhog 11:01 am EST 01/16/15

I found Brantley's turnaround on Once a bit odd. I wouldn't have found it odd if he'd said that he simply liked it more on a second viewing. That happens. It's happened to me. It's probably happened to lots of people.

But his attempts to make it seem like the show had improved in some mystical, indefinable sort of way and . . . I don't really know what he said, even after re-reading it.

It's OK to just say, "I liked it more the second time."


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re: And when they do...

Posted by: ryhog 02:46 pm EST 01/16/15
In reply to: re: And when they do... - AlanScott 02:11 pm EST 01/16/15

Those of us who go to the theatre a lot know that, sometimes, we don't like a show for extraneous reasons. Sometimes we just don't feel great, and we have trouble concentrating. I'll admit that but I am not sure a published critic can be expected to. (And before anyone says it is their job not to let how they feel interfere, I say bullshit. And I would say the same about an actor who performs when they aren't at the top of their game.)

I also think there is a second category, which is the show that you have trouble following the first time through, and therefore don't enjoy, but that plays much better the second.

And then there are the shows that are actually working better after more time on its feet.

I agree with you that it ought to be ok to just say I liked it better the second time, but I think there is a motivation for trying to explain it in some more observed way.


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