AP+Review+of+Review+of+Broadway+Play

Ally Parker Richmond Theatre 2000 20 February 2017 Review of Lauren Collins-Hughes’s Review of Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth” For this assignment, I went straight to the New York Times for a Broadway show review and expected a very negative and harshly opinionated critique on whatever I found. I read Lauren Collins-Hughes’s Review of Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth and was pleasantly surprised. Hughes began the review with a brief history of the show’s premieres and times on Broadway along with some of the sentiments that came from the initial showings. This extra context on the show was helpful because it made it easier for us, the reader, to follow Hughes review along with the other excerpts of reviews she included. The structure of the review was very different. Hughes separated the review into sections and began each section with an excerpt from a different critic, and then she would add onto or give a contrasting opinion to those specific thoughts. I liked this because it created variety within the review and kept my interest throughout reading it. However, I thought Hughes had several, scattered thoughts of the show instead of one or a few very clear opinions, so that was hard to follow at some points. I think she could have been more clear on what she was trying to get across to her audience. She was very insightful when explaining the overarching themes and ideas of the show, but I believe she could have included more specific detail on the casting, blocking and lighting/sound design. She discussed the set design of the show and how difficult it was to produce this show because the set was so challenging. She also included that this show was very relevant to the world right now and our sense of ultimate turmoil, and I really liked this comparison. Overall, I think Hughes accomplished an effectively helpful yet positive and upbeat review of Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth.”