Ben Brantley
Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. "Ben" Brantley is an American journalist and the chief theater critic of The New York Times...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionJournalist
Date of Birth26 October 1954
CountryUnited States of America
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I personally read criticism - at least by writers I enjoy - to stimulate a conversation in my own mind, and I like to think that's the function I serve for others.
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The power of the print reviewer is one of those urban myths. There have always been shows that slipped under the critical radar to become popular successes: 'Tobacco Road', 'Abie's Irish Rose' and our old friend 'Spider-Man', which got the worst reviews in theatre history and is still apparently going strong.
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If you agree with a critic, you admire him or her. If you disagree, you despise them. We all feel a great need to be confirmed in our opinions.
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While the world may love a love story, it seems safe to say that Lennon ultimately will be remembered less as the husband of Ms Ono than as a member of the group that changed the face of popular music.
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Con's climactic metamorphosis into the man behind the aristocrat's pose is embodied with shattering, scary violence and precision.
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The man in black turns sunshine yellow in 'Ring of Fire,' the show that strings songs associated with Johnny Cash into an artificially sweetened candy necklace.
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You will gasp again and again at the inventive visual majesty.
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Everyone and everything winds up lost in this ... adaptation of Tolkien 's cult-inspiring trilogy of fantasy novels. That includes plot, character and the patience of most ordinary theatergoers.