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Draft:Jesse Green (theatre critic)

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  • Comment: Only secondary coverage of the subject cited in the references is coverage from when Green was hired as the Times's critic. More independent coverage is needed to demonstrate notability. microbiologyMarcus [petri dish·growths] 18:22, 2 July 2024 (UTC)


Jesse Green
Born1958 or 1959
OccupationTheatre critic

Jesse Green is the chief theatre critic for The New York Times, having started that role in 2017 as co-chief with Ben Brantley.[1] Previously, he was the theatre critic at New York Magazine.[2]

Early life[edit]

Green worked on student musicals in high school, acting as Will Parker, Cliff Bradshaw, and Prince Dauntless.[3] He also attended the arts summer camp at Interlochen Center for the Arts from 1967 to 1974.[4]

Green graduated from Yale University with a dual major in English and theatre. He worked in the Broadway theater world after graduating college in various roles, including as "apprentice" to Harold Prince in 1982 and "gofer" for John Kander.[3][5]

The New York Times[edit]

Green began at The New York Times as co-chief theater critic following the firing of the newspaper's second-string theatre critic, Charles Isherwood, in February 2017.[6][7] Green takes notes during the shows he reviews in a small reporter's notebook.[8] Due to the nature of the theater season, Green will usually see a show only once before he publishes a review.[8] He generally sees more than 100 performances in a given year.

As the lead critic for the city's largest theater section, Green has faced criticism of perceived gender biases. In 2017, after tepid reviews of their Broadway debuts by Ben Brantley, Pulitzer Prize winners Lynn Nottage and Paula Vogel publicly criticized co-chiefs Green and Brantley as representing patriarchal irrelevancies.[9][10][11] The online publication 3Views on Theater was established in March 2020 by The Lillys non-profit organization as a way to provide a minimum of three viewpoints on a given production.[12] One of the co-founders for 3Views, Tony-winning playwright Sarah Ruhl, described 2017 as a "particularly awful" year for women playwrights, galvanizing the search for an alternative to the critical establishment that Green and Brantley represented.[13]

In 2018, Green was favorably cited as being respectful of trans and non-binary identity following a controversial review of Head over Heels by co-chief critic Brantley.[14] The Brantley review drew significant criticism—and was later corrected—for dismissing the gender identity of Ru-Paul's Drag Race contest Peppermint, who became the first out trans woman to originate a lead role on Broadway.[15]

A 2021 review of Lauren Gunderson's play "The Catastrophists," was noted for coded word choice like "overwrought" and for unduly focusing on the playwright's personal life—though the play's subject was Gunderson's husband, virologist Nathan Wolfe.[16][17] In November 2022, actress Tonya Pinkins wrote an open letter to Green, accusing him of "misogynoir" and of misunderstanding the intentions of a reimagining of A Raisin in the Sun at The Public Theater, in which Pinkins played Lena Younger.[18][19]

In 2022, the producers of the musical KPOP wrote an open letter to Green and the Times, accusing his negative review of the Broadway production of representing an "implicit assertion of traditional white cultural supremacy."[20] The major points of contention were Green's negative view of the musical's emphasis on electronica in the score and his use of the phrase "squint-inducing" to describe the lighting design.[20] The newspaper defended Green's review as "fair," rejecting the allegations of racism.[21] The musical closed on December 11, 2022 after only 17 performances, though the producers denied that the closure was directly related to Green's pan.[22]

Of the 35 new productions in the 2023-2024 Broadway season, 28 were reviewed by Green, while the remainder were reviewed by other staff and guest critics. Of those 28, ten received the positive "NYT Critic's Pick" superlative from Green.[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]

Personal life[edit]

Green lives in Brooklyn Heights with his husband Andrew Mirer.[8][33]

Bibliography[edit]

  • O Beautiful (1992)[34]
  • The Velveteen Father: An Unexpected Journey to Parenthood (1999)
  • Shy: The Alarmingly Outspoken Memoirs of Mary Rodgers (2022) (with Mary Rodgers)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The New York Times Names Jesse Green Co-Chief Theater Critic". The New York Times Company. 2017-03-22. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  2. ^ Gans, Andrew (March 22, 2017). "Jesse Green Named Theatre Critic for New York Times". Archived from the original on March 22, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Jesse Green - The New York Times". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  4. ^ "From Interlochen dilettante to The Times". www.interlochen.org. 2018-02-14. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  5. ^ Green, Jesse (2019-07-31). "My Summer With Hal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  6. ^ "The New York Times Has A New Theater Critic — But What Does He Think Of Arthur Miller?". The Forward. 2017-03-23. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  7. ^ Kachka, Boris (2017-02-22). "Why Was New York Times Theater Critic Charles Isherwood Fired?". Vulture. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  8. ^ a b c Bahr, Sarah (2023-10-13). "Tagging Along With The New York Times's Chief Theater Critic". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  9. ^ Nottage, Lynne (June 14, 2017). ""The patriarchy flexing their muscles to prove their power."". Twitter [X]. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  10. ^ Vogel, Paula (June 14, 2017). ""Brantley&Green 2-0. Nottage&Vogel 0-2. Lynn, they help close us down,&gifted str8 white guys run: ourplayswill last.B&G#footnotesinhistory."". Twitter [X]. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  11. ^ "Pulitzer Prize Winners Tweet: Bad Reviews from the NY Times Doom Female-Written Plays". Observer. 2017-06-14. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  12. ^ "2020 Archive". www.3viewstheater.com. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  13. ^ David, Cara Joy. "Where Are All of the Female Theatre Critics?". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  14. ^ "NY Times Theater Critic Under Fire Over Transphobic Review Comments". Observer. 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  15. ^ Henry, Alan. "Ben Brantley Apologizes Over New York Times Review For HEAD OVER HEELS". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  16. ^ Green, Jesse (2021-01-28). "Review: Playwriting and Bug-Hunting Wed in 'The Catastrophist'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  17. ^ Derr, Holly L. (2021-03-22). "Forget the Times—Stream This Feminist Playwright's Newest Work Now". Ms. Magazine. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  18. ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (November 14, 2022). "Tonya Pinkins Calls Out New York Times' Jesse Green For His Review of A Raisin in the Sun". Playbill. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  19. ^ Pinkins, Tonya (November 12, 2022). "Open Letter To Jesse Green of the New York Times". ZORA on Medium. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  20. ^ a b Culwell-Block, Logan (December 2, 2022). "KPOP Producers Request Apology From New York Times' Theatre Critic Jesse Green". Playbill. Archived from the original on June 27, 2024.
  21. ^ Cristi, A. A. "The New York Times Issues Response To Criticism Of KPOP Review". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  22. ^ "Broadway's 'KPOP' musical is abruptly closing. What went wrong?". Los Angeles Times. 2022-12-08. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  23. ^ Green, Jesse (2024-03-08). "Review: Welcome to 'Illinoise,' Land of Love, Grief and Zombies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  24. ^ Green, Jesse (2024-03-22). "'Water for Elephants' Review: Beauty Under the Big Top". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  25. ^ Green, Jesse (2023-10-10). "Review: 'Merrily We Roll Along,' Finally Found in the Dark". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  26. ^ Green, Jesse (2023-11-17). "'Spamalot' Review: You'll Laugh in Its General Direction". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  27. ^ Green, Jesse (2023-12-19). "'Appropriate' Review: When Daddy Dies, a Disturbing Inheritance". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  28. ^ Green, Jesse (2023-09-28). "Review: 'Purlie Victorious' Throws a Comic Funeral for Racism". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  29. ^ Green, Jesse (2024-03-08). "Review: In 'Doubt,' What He Knows, She Knows, God Knows". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  30. ^ Green, Jesse (2024-03-19). "Review: With Jeremy Strong, 'An Enemy of the People' Is Still Making Trouble". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  31. ^ Green, Jesse (2024-04-24). "'Mary Jane' Review: When Parenting Means Intensive Care". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  32. ^ Green, Jesse (2023-10-04). "Review: At 'Jaja's,' Where Everybody Knows Your Mane". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  33. ^ Green, Jesse (2020-09-14). "Walt Whitman, Poet of a Contradictory America". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  34. ^ "Jesse Green". Cynthia Cannell Literary Agency. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
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