26 Quotes by Ben Brantley

Con's climactic metamorphosis into the man behind the aristocrat's pose is embodied with shattering, scary violence and precision.

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.

You will gasp again and again at the inventive visual majesty.

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.

The cliche was always that ‘everybody’s a critic,’ but it becomes truer every day. Long before reviews appear in the traditional outlets, you can now usually discover – somewhere in the thickets of the Internet – reactions to shows from people who’ve seen them in previews.

I have received hostile voice mail messages and e-mails. They are often anonymous, I’m sad to say, as anonymous messages are delivered only by very low forms of human life, in my opinion.

I’ve seen plays that are, objectively, total messes that move me in ways that their tidier brethren do not. That’s the romantic mystery of great theater. Translating this ineffability into printable prose is a challenge that can never be fully met.

It’s nowhere near as intense as what I imagine an actor experiences backstage, but I feel a fluttering nervousness before a curtain goes up on a play. I mean, any play, anywhere – on Broadway or the Bowery or in a church basement.