During the 28 years I've been reviewing theater for the Daily Gazette, folks have asked me — in lobbies, at Hannaford, in bars — many questions about the experience. Here are some examples.
How did you get your start? Well, I was bitten by the acting bug in a memorable 1952 production (second grade) of “Peter Pan,” in which I was the eponymous character dressed in a smart green outfit made by my mother. In high school I played father types because I was tall and stiff. Then in the summer of 1996, Eleanor Koblenz, theater critic for The Gazette, needed an assistant to review the many shows in the area. “Give it a whirl,” she said, and I’ve been whirling ever since.
Have you kept all your playbills? No. My husband, Mark, would kill me.
Did you ever fall asleep during a show you were reviewing? Once. (No, not that show.) When I awoke, I had no idea who the new character onstage was and what she was doing.
What are your theatergoing pet peeves? One ringy-dingy, two ringy-dingies … just last week I had to get up from my seat and tell a woman to turn off that thing glowing like Three Mile Island. I had to. I mean, you are not all surgeons waiting for a call!
Just who do you think you are telling anyone what you think? Lots of people have asked me this, and not just about reviewing. My younger siblings, for instance. Students. Mark. People on the phone in theaters. The internet has certainly made a lot of other people’s opinions about theater far more interesting and persuasive than mine, but because I appreciate the paycheck I have hung in there. And I always think of the acronym IMHO (in my humble opinion) when I’m typing a review.
Did you ever have an unusual experience on the job? Most of my experiences are unusual, but one theater experience from 20 years ago stands out. I was driving to the Gazette offices after a show to file the review "late and live." I got stuck at a railroad crossing and the 11:30 p.m. deadline was fast approaching — faster than the freight train. The car ahead did a U-turn, so I followed. We ended up in some part of Schenectady blocks away where she parked and went into a house. I returned to the crossing, which was now clear, and made it just in time.
What is a reviewing rule you have lived by? “Well, Lamar, they are doing something you can’t. And they have rehearsed for weeks while you were doing nothing. So tell the truth," but if need be, “occasionally tell it slant,” as Emily Dickinson wrote. We’re all in this together.
Did you ever have a mystical experience at a show? Tons! I think that’s why the Greeks went to the theater and I think that’s why most of us go: to be in the dark, not talking; watching (theater means “a seeing place”) and listening, hoping to be surprised by life once again. Long-ago productions of “Copenhagn,” “Coriloanus” and the opening to “Ragtime” quickly come to mind, and the beauty part is I can’t tell you exactly why.
If you could live your life over again would you be an actor? I would be a tap dancer in the chorus. I was a history of music major in college and musicals are my jam … 5-6-7-8!
What will you take away from this side hustle of 28 years? (I don’t think the term “side hustle” was used, but I paraphrase because I’m hip.) Admiration and gratitude.
Gratitude to Gazette colleagues such as Eleanor Koblenz and Peg Churchill Wright; Dick Bennett, arts editor and friend, who always reminded me that my job was to tell the reader “what’s happening and what you think about it”; Wendy Liberatore and Geraldine Freedman; Bill Buell, Irv Dean, Bill Finelli, Chris at the newsroom front desk late at night; Maggie Hartley; Jeff Haff; Indiana Nash; Adam Shinder; Miles Reed; fellow Gazette theater reviewers Bob Couture, Carol King, and the estimable Matt Moross; and local reviewer pals Bob Goepfert, Michael Eck, Steve Barnes, Roseann Cane, Patrick White and Bill Kellert.
And admiration for every theater manager, producer, director, actor, techie, crew member, choreographer, musician, stagehand and staff member in the area’s marvelous theater companies. I might not be on the aisle anymore, but I will always look forward to another op’nin’, another show.
