tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251043500092242623.post4823421113292245899..comments2024-03-10T01:06:11.768-05:00Comments on markrothmansblog: Broadway. It Ain't All Disney.mark rothmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06577361966051927102noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8251043500092242623.post-78255039265746317322009-03-10T08:31:00.000-04:002009-03-10T08:31:00.000-04:00Checked a bunch of reviews this morning. There is ...Checked a bunch of reviews this morning. There is nearly a consensus of "loved Jane, didn't like the play." (The only dissenters I saw were the Hartford Courant, who loved both and the New York Post, who hated both. Financially, though, it's always the Times review that matters, and that one flipped for Fonda and passed on the play.)<BR/><BR/>I haven't seen it yet, but I do find the critics especially brutal to new plays, especially new plays that are not twelve-hour repertory events about Russian history. (Nothing wrong with those, per se, either, but sometimes you need something else.) I wouldn't advocate for fixing the game and giving a free pass to all non-musical plays, but you would think the critics have an interest in getting plays back on Broadway.<BR/><BR/>I agree that it is better in recent years, and plays are coming back. Some originals, more revivals, but plays. I love musicals, but they don't seem as susceptible to bad reviews. Broadway is mostly a tourist and special occasion business now, and musicals are always an easier sell for Uncle Mervyn's birthday or The Red Hat Society of Winnetka, Illinois' annual New York frolic. I don't blame them, but with a little plugging from critics, plays could compete much more equally.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com