Friday, January 9, 2009

Post's Perfunctory Puff Pieces; and Poorly Performing Publishers

Always the last one out with a story, the Palm Beach Post forgoes reviewing plays and instead gives us a couple of puff pieces promotional articles by Kevin Thompson.

First, he interviews Brad Oscar, currently starring in Barnum at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre. The buzz is that it's a strong production; it's a shame that no one is bothering to review it. But that would be, you know, work. The Post would have to pay mileage.

Kevin's other piece is a synopsis of The Drowsy Chaperone, the national tour now playing the Kravis Center. We learn nothing that isn't in any press release of the show.

I remember when the Post was a pretty good paper. They'd release the puff piece early in the week, and save TGIF space for the reviews. But like $1 a gallon gasoline, that's ancient history. Why waste space on news when they can cram another advertisement onto the page instead?

These are two great shows, in great productions, at leading theatres. They deserve better treatement, and so do the readers and theatre patrons of Palm Beach County.

Not that I'm blaming Kevin, mind you. His work is perfectly adequate. It's his bosses that are letting us all down. They've forgotten that people go to them for NEWS, not to read advertising.

1 comment:

  1. Who are you and why are you attacking me? Why did you make me spend 24 hours fighting with the entire theater community when it was all coming from you? What qualifies you to do so? Please email me at gary@26StreetTheater.com. I refuse to start this war all over again and embarrass innocent people when this is all your doing (you, so obviously made it appear as if you were Christine Dolen herself, that was horrible). If I so choose, I will provide you with whatever I feel is necessary to prove how wrong you are, but I am not doing it over the internet.

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