I've seen plays that are, objectively, total messes that move me in ways that their tidier brethren do not. That's the romantic… — Ben Brantley Copy Share Image
Theater criticism should be visceral, at least on some level, an articulation of that fierceness and passion. I usually do a fair amount of… — Ben Brantley Copy Share Image
I have received hostile voice mail messages and e-mails. They are often anonymous, I'm sad to say, as anonymous messages are delivered only by… — Ben Brantley Copy Share Image
Rage properly channeled can definitely give birth to good even great theater. Disgust, a more passive and distancing emotion, is far less likely to.… — Ben Brantley Copy Share Image
EVERY SINGLE DANCER, SINGER and BAND MEMBER is a BRILLIANT SOLO ARTIST — Ben Brantley Copy Share Image
I personally read criticism - at least by writers I enjoy - to stimulate a conversation in my own mind, and I like to… — Ben Brantley Copy Share Image
Whether you like it or not, a performance's triumphs and belly flops come to seem excruciatingly intimate, as if you were somehow partly responsible… — Ben Brantley Copy Share Image
What Mr. Kaufman and his team are after is less a portrait of any one person than one of the ethos of a place.… — Ben Brantley Copy Share Image
The cliche was always that 'everybody's a critic,' but it becomes truer every day. Long before reviews appear in the traditional outlets, you can… — Ben Brantley Copy Share Image
It's nowhere near as intense as what I imagine an actor experiences backstage, but I feel a fluttering nervousness before a curtain goes up… — Ben Brantley Copy Share Image
The power of the print reviewer is one of those urban myths. There have always been shows that slipped under the critical radar to… — Ben Brantley Copy Share Image
