Brantley Fond of Snake Eyes
In his latest review, Ben Brantley (pictured), the New York Times Chief Drama Critic, panned Des McAnuff’s revival of “Guys and Dolls”, which opened March 1 at the lavishly refurbished Nederlander Theatre; he called the show disconnected and without ‘chemistry’. His review comes as no surprise to theatre-goers. Brantley has of late seemed quite content to call ‘snake eyes’ (to use the craps term for failure) on many a revival this season without patience for the merit and charm of some admittedly bland productions (one recalls his scathing review of “Hedda Gabler”). Although I find myself agreeing that these revivals have been nothing to write home about, Brantley opinion of them as merit-less and amateur seems to me to be searching for the worst in theatre at a time when the theatre most needs hope. Come on Ben, find your silver lining.
