Hey, did you see that great review?
Well, if you were looking in the Dayton Daily News the answer would be no, you didn’t. The reason is the Dayton Daily News no longer
reviews theatre.
I talked with Alexis Larsen, Arts and Entertainment Editor for the Dayton Daily News, last week because I had people asking me where the review was for our recent presentation of The Drowsy Chaperone (which was produced for us by The Human Race Theatre Company). It was a terrific production, and yet sales were anemic. One of the things missing in the whole mix was a review in the major daily newspaper, and while I can’t say that was the only reason the show didn’t sell (and it’s certainly not the job of the Dayton Daily News to sell tickets to our shows), I do believe a review would have helped because good or bad, reviews can get people talking about a show and talk is a good thing.
Alexis said the reason they don’t review shows anymore is according to their research, not enough people read reviews and people prefer to read preview articles and then make up their own mind about seeing a show. She said the Dayton Daily News had a very few number of calls from people asking them to re-instate the reviews, but it was really not enough to have any influence over the new policy. It’s about giving readers what they want and balancing resources. She did say the paper was investigating types of “alternate” reviews and something like a “Chatter Box” for theatre might be instituted. We will see.
Maybe we “show-folk” just obsess about reviews and maybe they are passé in today’s world. But I miss the critical response to the work that either frustrates or elates me for just a few minutes. My favorite review–although not at the time it came out– was when a critic said a production of A Streetcar Named Desire I had just produced was well acted, but the play needed a re-write!
So, loyal readers: I’d like to know if you think reviews in the Dayton Daily News are helpful when making entertainment buying decisions. If the
Dayton Daily News isn’t going to review shows, will you look for on-line reviews in weekly papers like the Dayton City Paper or websites such as DaytonMostMetro.com? Or will you look for them on our website or Facebook pages? How can we help to fill that void?
