Opinion Writing

When I caught sight of a tweet from Washington Post theater critic Peter Marks about The Band’s Visit I was struck by his phrase “a Broadway musical that you can actually talk about.” Looking deeper into the article he was setting up a “little show that could” scenario between The Band’s Visit, an Off-Broadway transfer from the Atlantic Theater, against the other Tony-nominated new Broadway musicals—Frozen, Mean Girls, and SpongeBob—which he calls “brand-name shows” with “with fan bases of their

Theatre productions beamed into the cinema act as soft diplomacy for the industry. It expands access beyond physical theatres and national boundaries, and connects audiences to shows they may not otherwise see. But what happens if your ambassador goes full Boris Johnson and puts the wrong foot forward for a show.

As I listened to James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, tell the Senate Intelligence Committee about his personal meetings and phone calls with President Trump, I was reminded of something: the experience of a woman being harassed by her powerful, predatory boss. There was precisely that sinister air of coercion, of an employee helpless to avoid unsavory contact with an employer who is trying to

As yet another white man is hired to the most prestigious job in US theatre criticism, Exeunt's New York writers ask when the conversation will really change.

After theater critic Charles Isherwood was fired, the New York Times announced an open search for that position. In March, we learned that the Times had not just named a replacement, but hired a “co-chief” theater critic to work alongside Ben Brantley. Jesse Green joins the Times beginning May 1.

For the past few years, Green has been th

New York theater criticism is having a week. Where is my fainting chair and good strong drink?

It’s been a while since we had a bona fide criticism kerfuffle but I wish this one did not exist. The dispute that arose this week somehow queries whether contextual criticism is “serious” criticism. I can’t quite believe I have to defend the merits of theater criticism which responds to the work’s place in our time.

In this battle royale, on one side we have Laura Collins-Hughes. She is one of the N

I was surprised to receive an email from Playwrights Horizons addressing the divisiveness of Annie Baker's new play The Flick.

On Friday, Twitter exploded with the news that This American Life was retracting the Mike Daisey episode because Daisey had "fabricated" parts of his monologue. Despite the quick rush to judgment, the "I knew that story couldn't be true" naysayers, and angry Ira Glass fans, my initial thought was disappointment and sadness. My fear was that an important topic would be more easily swept under the rug because it's most vocal advocate lost some credibility (Steve Jobs is/was still an enormous dickh