From hackwork to high art, shows on Broadway can be anything. A lot of the time, instead of reading the reviews, you just trust in the kind of advertising the shows put out. But should you? Here's what Broadway shows are really like.
There is a reason why we go and believe in the advertising they put out. It's kind of like how when Colgate and Oral-B both say something along the lines of “Preferred by more dentists than any other” or “Recommended by more dentists than any other brand”, you still do believe in them because you know that advertisers can't lie outright.
The thing is, for almost any kind of artistic work, you'll find that there's someone out there who writes a positive review about it. The marketing departments of shows on Broadway, when they put out quotes in their advertising about critical acclaim that they have received, are in fact working overtime looking for something in some obscure magazine somewhere that sounds good.
You mustn't think that a positive quote mentioned in an ad is actually representative of what stage critics really think of the play.
There is a reason why we go and believe in the advertising they put out. It's kind of like how when Colgate and Oral-B both say something along the lines of “Preferred by more dentists than any other” or “Recommended by more dentists than any other brand”, you still do believe in them because you know that advertisers can't lie outright.
The thing is, for almost any kind of artistic work, you'll find that there's someone out there who writes a positive review about it. The marketing departments of shows on Broadway, when they put out quotes in their advertising about critical acclaim that they have received, are in fact working overtime looking for something in some obscure magazine somewhere that sounds good.
You mustn't think that a positive quote mentioned in an ad is actually representative of what stage critics really think of the play.