Bloody Hell

Another disagreement. Brantley loves Martin McDonagh's gory new play, while I found it cheap, shallow, and disgusting. To each his own—though I will admit, based on the audience reaction and the buzz about this show, that I expect to be fairly lonely in my objections. UPDATE: The AP's Michael Kuchwara, the Post's Frank Scheck, the News' Howard Kissel, and Talkin' Broadway's Matthew Murray join the ayes. Variety's David Rooney is less impressed.

Another Place, Another Times Byline

You wouldn't know it from the archives at BackStage.com, but among the charter reviewers for Back Stage West back in its inception in the early to mid-'90s was none other than the NY Times' much-discussed Charles Isherwood (here with another brilliant read). I claim no credit for his subsequent meteoric rise as a critic. But I can note with some pride that joining the ranks of former BSW scribblers who now have a Times byline is former staffer Laura Weinert, in today's paper. Onward and upward!

A Less Than Perfect Fit

I cannot seem to get on the same page with The Times' critics. Here's my take on the shiny, happy, hollow new Pajama Game, and here's Brantley's rave. UPDATE: All right, so it's a split decision, with a big chorus of critics in the yea column: Barnes at the Post, Rooney at Variety, Gardner at USA Today, Kuchwara at AP, Sommers at the Star-Ledger. More equivocal or downright negative are Kissel at the News, Winer at Newsday, Grode at the Sun, Sheward at Back Stage, Murray at Talkin' Broadway. This is the game we're in.

Awarded Off

The Observer notices and diagnoses the same trend I observed in my final years at Back Stage West: movie studio ads taking over editorial priorities.

Williams Envy

At the top of my personal Wish I Could See This File. (Guess I wouldn't mind seeing this, too.)

Young Love in Hindsight

My review of a pretty smart new production of Barefoot in the Park. UPDATE: A bitchslap from Brantley, a polite shrug from Winer, a brush-off from Rooney. This is a devilishly subjective business, is it not?

Which Is BackStage?

If VNU is broken up into three divisions to avoid a buyout, as this report has it, which of the three silos would BackStage end up in? The available categories are "Media and Measurement, Marketing Information, and Business Information." Hmmm. Such inviting choices, it's hard to say.