Tynan's Anger

Arts & Culture Commentary from a Loving Digital Skeptic

Theater Review (Broadway): The 39 Steps [SECOND LOOK]

It’s not surprising that, when The 39 Steps premiered on Broadway, some critics were outraged that a play lacking any focus on plot would be any sort of success. The outrage was less palpable when the play made it to Broadway, where it has become a smash success, outlasting every play from its season, including [...]

How Michael Riedel is killing theater criticism

Watch this episode of Theater Talk very carefully. Michael Riedel, the instigator of most of the conversation, is not treating the death of theater criticism as a “what if” question. He’s treating it as a given. If the aforementioned death hasn’t happened already, it will, in Riedel’s viewpoint. Very subtly, he manipulates the conversation to [...]

HOW TO SAVE THEATER CRITICISM – Part Three

Image via WikipediaHOW TO SAVE THEATER CRITICISM Lately there’s been a lot of rambling about the death of theater criticism. Michael Riedel has felt demeaned as an old stodgy covering theater, a far cry from the classic depiction of the theater critic. The Playgoer has wondered whether mainstream theater is now immune to critics in [...]

Theater Review (NYC): American Buffalo by David Mamet

This review was originally published on Blogcritics.American Buffalo, David Mamet’s breakthrough play currently in an excellent revival at the Belasco Theater, may be a better source of explanation for the current economic crisis than you can get from any economist. Every exchange in the play has business on the mind; in the world of Donny, [...]

How America Failed Theater: Theater from a Business Perspective

How America Failed Theater: A capitalist marketing perspective on theater’s socioeconomic role in American life. In case you’re not convinced that it’s essentially impossible to make money as a theater blogger, try this experiment. First, watch this video by online media guru Gary Vaynerchuk: Now, take Gary V’s suggestion and apply it to theater blogging. [...]