But that doesn’t really get at the gist of my question. You’ve got a diverse range of reviewers at your disposal. Why NOT send musical-lovers to the musicals, folks who like kids to the children’s shows, “mature” reviewers to the shows targeting them, Shakespeare lovers to the Classical acts, etc? It seems you could do everyone a favor by pairing up critics and shows with an eye to genre, if not specific interest. And having each critic review shows in a single genre might make for some interesting (and helpful) commentary.
Just a thought.

I do the assigning around these parts. The process is a combination of schedule availability, diversity within each reviewer’s schedule, and serendipity. As Suzyn pointed out, one of the most fulfilling things about reviewing Fringe is that you almost always end up loving a show that you would have never seen had you not been assigned to review it. The fact of the matter is, when I’m assigning shows, I know very little about most of them. So it’s always a crap shoot, and I think the results are generally exciting and helpful, because in a perfect festival, fringe-goers too will attend shows that, upon first glance, they have no interest in reviewing.

-b

Kids can be the toughest audiences at Fringe, but those in the audience were squealing with delight, as was I. The flexible set piece was more than just a Wardrobe (somewhat fitting!) and had to be carefully designed for the show. The two actors showed real talent, fluidly hopping in and out of so many characters to construct an engaging story. It just now occured to me that, one hour before I saw “The Lion…” I had seen Egermeier in a separate Fringe show, “Goodbye Love…,” but didn’t even recognize her in her new role.

Hilary honestly points out her bias, but then reports the technical merits of the production. The bottom line is that it is geared for kids, and I think she made that clear. Considering the very few offerings even remotely appropriate for kids, this show is on the Fringes just because it is not “Fringey.” Considering how much effort went into rehearsing this show, my biggest disappointment was actually how small the audience was in one of the largest (fully air conditioned) Fringe venues.

1. Some of the best reviews I’ve given have been for shows that I wouldn’t have seen had I not been sent to them. (And yes, I’ve given lousy reviews to shows I very much wanted to see.)

2. I don’t have kids, but I took my best friend’s kids to Kung Fu Panda and had a great time. There’s children’s entertainment that really only amuses children and there’s children’s entertainment that amuses both children and adults. I think pointing out that this is the first kind is quite reasonable.