It's been mortifying to go so long without a chief theater critic... But as I've told many people who didn't always believe me, the main reason for the delay was the very high standard the paper sets for its critics, who are the soul of our cultural pages. Charles [McNulty] will join an outstanding group, and I am confident he will shine a penetrating and entertaining light on the wide, unappreciated world of Southern California theater.
For his part, McNulty informs Los Angeles readers that "there's a compelling story to be told about L.A. theater... Those of us who have been working in the American theater already know what a fantastic theater town L.A. is. It's rich in all sorts of ways."
More in this story, which also answers the question about McNulty's Brooklyn job.
And if you're not confused enough, The New York Times puffs the Ahmanson's new show—for which, we are very interested to read, new CTG artistic director Michael Ritchie both raised an extra $1 million and struck a deal with Equity that allows "nearly half of the cast to be nonunion and work free, or nearly." Wow! He just keeps raising the stakes, doesn't he?
"very high standard the paper sets for its critics,"
ReplyDeleteThen, how does Mark Swed stay employed? McN's reviews (via yer links) are enjoyable but no more or less so than Birchall, Morris, and/or Mikulan.
At least the wait is over.