Sondheim addresses dislike of critics in book
When Stephen Sondheim speaks about the theater, people listen. Tonight, the Onyx will open his celebrated “Assassins,” a musical about people who have tried to kill American presidents. By coincidence, I just finished reading his new book, “Look, I Made a Hat,” and it left me puzzled.
Sondheim is notorious for not thinking highly of critics. In a section of “Hat,” he brings up many valid points about why he detests these scavengers. For any audience member who doesn’t understand why we have people judging other’s theater work, or theater craftsmen who want to learn how to better handle reviews, or curious philosophers who want to bone up on ethical issues, Sondheim’s essay is a must-read.
Trouble is, while the great one poses many valid questions, he doesn’t provide answers.
“I was brought up in the in the newspaper era, and I read the critics avidly and believed what they told me,” he writes. “But then I grew up and became a writer, and gradually got to know better.”
I too grew up in the newspaper era when my hometown of New York had multiple papers. Even as a child, there was no way I could believe everything they told me, because they disagreed with one another so often. This encouraged me to want to see the shows in question so I could make up my own mind.
Sondheim notes, “It takes a long time to learn not to pay attention to critics.”
But why would anyone want to do that? A theater craftsman has to learn to put a review in perspective, and when he figures out how, might there not be some benefit in hearing what the “people in the dark” think of your show? Without the critic, all we have is public relations releases, exuberantly happy mothers and friends and the memories of those who too often think that every show they’ve worked on was a stunning success.
He also points out that theater folks must endure the humiliation of knowing many people are reading about their “failure.” Of course, that’s true, although the critic has to endure the same fate when he is publicly condemned with a bluntness no production member I know of has experienced.
It’s not pleasant to hurt people, or to feel you’re stunting artistic growth. But by consistently, and critically, covering the arts, a reviewer is calling attention to the whole process. And part of the joy in the work is finding talents or “little productions” that the public might have overlooked. Sondheim himself notes that during Broadway previews for “Sunday in the Park with George,” audiences were leaving in droves. When a rave New York Times review came out, the show got standing ovations.
There’s much more to the argument, so I hope readers will grab the book. The problems are easy to define. But does anyone have solutions?
Anthony Del Valle can be reached at vegastheaterchat@ aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.