I can't think of anything to write here right now. The new year hasn't quite ramped up, but I have just bought tickets to the first play I'll see this year, and that will be (drum roll, please)....About Face's production of Douglas Carter Beane's The Little Dog Laughed. Moo-hah-hah! Actually, it's a preview we're seeing, and ever since I saw Good Boys and True, I've had this ethical struggle inside myself about how much I should really say about any previews I see. Whaddaya think? I mean, I have to see previews. We can't really afford to see anything but previews these days, and while what I write here in my blog aren't official journalistic-type reviews, I still have an opinion about things.Something like Beane's play, for example, I'm not going to feel so bad about saying what I think about the show because the piece is a finished piece, unless of course Beane is somehow involved in this production and is in the middle of further revisions, but I pretty much doubt that's the case. Part of me thinks I shouldn't say anything about world premieres I see in previews (like Good Boys and True), but then am I not being fair if I say something about the Beane play?
I know I'm not beholden by anyone's editorial policy when I write in this blog, but I do work for a newspaper and I write stories for that newspaper, so I think like a journalist. I know, this isn't anything I should lose sleep over, but hey, I'm seeing the Beane play along with Shining City and Chicago Shakes' Othello, and probably a couple of shows this month, all in previews, and I'd hate not to say what I think about them. Would you be offended by an opinion? Would I be violating every ethical code in the world? Would it be more acceptable if I avoid labeling entries as reviews? Or should I just get even more folksy and "aw shucks" about it?
Did I say I can't think of anything to write here right now?
Go see Don Hall and Joe Janes at the Theatre Building tonight at 9:30, by the way. I won't be able to make it, but maybe YOU can!
3 comments:
Hi, Rob -
We're opening A View from the Bridge tonight at StageLeft and will run until Feb. 2nd. If you and your wife get a free night, please think about seeing it as it would be nice to meet you ... I'm offering a Bloggers Special 2 for 1 deal, as well.
Happy New Year!
Rebecca
While a show may not be "finished" when still in previews, it is still interesting to see where it may have been in the process. We could read about your experience at the preview, and then read the official opening reviews.
Besides, if the theatre is selling tickets to the previews (selling being the key word) then there is some promise of giving them a full production. It may not be the same show that is performed for the rest of the run, but it is something. I've done some shows where the overall feel and meaning of it changed between previews and opening. The performances presented after opening should not negate the experience of the preview performances.
Giving a review of a preview is fine, as long as it is clear that it was a preview performance, not the main run.
Unless you made some sort of commitment that you would not blog about it, you are free to say what you want at any time.
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