Playgoer in NYT
Philip Weiss, who penned the Nation's big muckraking piece on "Rachel Corrie" last spring, has a big profile of Cameron Mackintosh in Arts & Leisure today.
I recommend it because a) it's a great read about a big figure, and b) I'm quoted in it!
Thanks to Weiss for interviewing me and--more importantly--for getting the name and url of any theatre blog into print there.
4 comments:
weiss's story is BO-ring -- no fault of his own, i'm sure. it's that nyt celeb approach to any story, especially a profile. there's lots of "color" and "personality" in here, pulled up very deftly. but realy, what about the SIGNIFICANCE of CM and his shows for the shape and nature of contemporary broadway? an idea or two about the state of the musical and CM's impact (for better or worse, not that the NYT would allow the "worse" to be mentioned in any meaningful way) would have made this a far more interesting and useful story. playgoer: it's great you're quoted (and thank you for saying something about the nature of the work!). had you not been, and had you not been familiar with the writer, what would you have said about this puffy story?
funny note on the perils of automatic linking: when the song "chim-chim-cher-eee" is mentioned, the 'cher' syllable is hot and links to -- a story about cher!
Excellent to see you there, and for the Times to so wantonly link to you. Lovely. Well done.
I hope all will understand my not analyzing Weiss' article under the circumstances. But I hope everyone else feels free in this space to have at it!
I meant what I said about it being a good read. (And no, not just the graph with me in it.) Certainly I would like to see a more rigorous and critical analysis of someone as important and influential as Mackintosh. (Because I believe he IS important.) But alas I'm afraid NYT arts just doesn't see the point in providing space for true "critical writing" these days--especially on a subject who has a big, big (Dinsey) show coming up.
So as I'm sure Weiss would agree, read it for what it is.
true, too true, PG. so here's a question for the bloggers and commenters out there who want to see "true critical writing" and"more rigorous critical analysis": if we have a chance to write for the sunday times, shoudl we participate in this celeb-driven, dumbing down of theatrical discourse, or refuse on principle? (and don't say: we should do the stories and nudge in as much critical smarts as we can. i have tried. with very few exceptions -- jonathan kalb's excellent work springs to mind -- the NYT blands it out.)
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