Dianne Dulain

Broadway Reviews – How to Translate Them

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There are several things that a person should consider while reading a theatre review. Reading theater reviews can be quite enjoyable and informative especially if you are not sure about how well the play was received. Almost for every play, you will find both positive and negative reviews. That’s why it’s normally difficult to bias your judgment about a particular play. And for the same reason, you should remember that a review is just an individualized opinion, not fact. Just because someone didn’t like the review doesn’t mean that you won’t like it. Some sites have started rating plays based on the number of positive or negative reviews that a play gets. Some other sites also take in the best and the worst points from every review and form an independent review based on all these points.  A review should contain five paragraphs.

To get back to my premise, some things to consider while reading a theatre review are:

1)     A basic introduction of the play.  Always include who, what, where and when. For e.g. What: “The Phantom of the Opera”, Who: “LA Pierce College Students”, Where: “LA Pierce College”, When: “January 10th 2008”

2)     Were the characters in the play believable? Did their facial expressions and body movements look natural when they performed? Also, look for other information that will help you judge the play better. For example, things to look for are the set, lights, costume, make up and sound.

3)     Finally, how did they audience react to the play? Did they have a good time or they got bored? Make sure the review describes the major strengths and weaknesses of the play.

4)     Finally the review could conclude with an analysis of the success or failure of the production. Is it generally worth seeing, or do its flaws outweigh its merits?

With these helpful tips, you should be able understand where the reviewer is coming from and if he opinion has any merit. Remember, a Broadway theater review is just another person’s opinion on a performance.

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