Brooks Atkinson (1894–1984)

Mixed bag of a survey of the theatre scene in New York City from the late 1890s to the mid-1970s. For the most part, a long series of capsule biographies of prominent figures in theatre. Atkinson continually harps on the inferiority of American theatre in the pre-World War I era, and is very tiresome on the issue of the impact of the Red Scare era of the 1950s — this after saying on page 434, essentially, there was little impact. The last third of the book is a dreary, joyless grind. Perhaps that is reflective of the era. Page 180 has an annoyingly coy self-reference, and there is a sloppy error on 401 relating to Don Marquis. Sloppy, because Marquis was as much an ornament of New York newspaper writing as Atkinson was. The lavish use of illustrations helps with the book, and brings up what might have been a harsh grade, indeed.… (més)

Lively account of the Great White Way's history up until the 70's, from a longtime New York Times theater critic. Atkinson is definitely opinionated, so you have to remember that even though he has more knowledge than a lot of theatergoers, his judgment isn't always the be-all and end-all. (For instance, how dare he say the music from "Fiddler on the Roof" is indistinguishable from that for "Hello Dolly"?) Still, I enjoyed learning about the past personalities on the Broadway stage (or backstage), as should anyone interested in theater in general and Broadway in particular.… (més)