Posts Tagged ‘peter marks’

WaPo Kennedy Center Smackdown!

Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser must be smartin' this weekend. In today's Washington Post, the Sunday Arts section unleashes a five-critic assault on the massive arts center's upcoming season. "Is the Kennedy Center playing it too safe?" reads the headline of Philip Kennicott's package-leading essay. If the answer was no, there'd be no point in asking.
Looking at [...]

Open Season: Shakespeare Theatre Company

In the world of theater marketing, successfully rolling out your season is an art. Sell it with a strong hook, and you can build serious buzz for your upcoming slate of plays and programming. But for those of us who cover theater, season announcements can get pretty old pretty quickly. In order to stay interested, [...]

Far Out vs. Hot Dang, Vol. 23

You might ask yourself, "Is there a spiritual component to Far Out vs. Hot Dang?" The answer is no. You might note to yourself, "in a cosmological sense, the use of the words 'far' and 'hot' creates a mild paradox." You might be right. And y'know what, D.C.? We're glad you're thinking about us all [...]

Fare Assessment: Peter Marks Reviews Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

There are plenty of reasons for an arts critic to leave town—say, vacation. OK, OK, all critics should see what's animating the national conversation from time to time—it can broaden and inform their perspective. But sometimes it feels like The Washington Post's reviewers are spending a bit too much time consuming art in other cities, [...]

Should Theater Critics Be Allowed to Tweet an Opinion Before Writing a Review?

I fielded an interesting call last week from a theater in the D.C. area: What, the theater wanted to know, was my policy on critics tweeting?
This was the impetus: One of Washington City Paper's critics saw a play there, reacted strongly during the first act, tweeted about it during intermission, and then sat down for [...]

David Muse to Succeed Joy Zinoman as Studio Theatre’s Artistic Director

Come Monday, you'll probably read in the Washington Post that at long last, the Studio Theatre has announced a replacement for retiring Artistic Director Joy Zinoman. But if you're like me, your Mondays can be hectic, so let me save you a little time: The name they'll announce is that of David Muse.
How do [...]

Joy Zinoman Leaves Studio Theatre: D.C. Media Falls Asleep on Story

The Washington City Paper sucks. The Washington Post sucks. The Washington Blade sucks. The Washington Examiner sucks. Metro Weekly, Dupont Current, DC Theatre Scene, DCist, TV news stations: suck, suck, suck, suck, suck.
And a catch-all assessment for all other D.C. media outlets that pretend to cover area news and culture: Suck!
What other word, after all, [...]