Gerald Weales: formally retired but still writing Oct. 15 — Gerald Weales, winner of the 1965 George Jean Nathan Award (the highest national award reserved for theater criticism) and an ATCA emeritus member, says, “After more than a half century of reviewing, I formally retired. My farewell...
Cheers for Richard Christiansen. On March 1, Chicago’s Tony-winning Victory Gardens Theater named its new 109-seat studio theater after the retired chief critic for the Chicago Tribune, a key figure in the growth and recognition of Off-Loop Chicago professional theater and a longtime ATCA member. Read more...
Larry Devine and his wife, Lois, made a surprise visit to Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater March 1 to attend the gala ceremony naming the new VG second stage in honor of Larry’s old friend and ATCA colleague Richard Christiansen. Since the new “R. C. Theater,” as it already...
Gerald Weales announced his retirement in the Fall, 2010 issue of The Georgia Review with an addendum to his annual “American Theater Watch” essay. His first review appeared in 1955 and he had regular gigs for The Reporter, Drama Survey and especially Commonweal (1968-93)...
Michael Kuchwara, since 1984 drama critic for the AP and thus the most widely disseminated in the U.S., died May 22, age 63. He was an even-handed, well-informed, enthusiastic critic who did the profession proud. Only a sporadic member of ATCA, he...
(Feb 1, 2011) Randy Gener, Senior Editor of American Theatre magazine, has garnered a bunch of prestigious awards lately. When he says he’s been busy trying to make a difference, he’s telling the truth: the Philippine government awarded Gener the 2010 “Pamana ng Pilpino” Presidential...
Long time ATCA member Robert L. King, contributing editor in drama criticism to The North American Review since 1993, and professor of English at Elms College, Massachusetts, saw publication of The Ethos of Drama: Rhetorical Theory and Dramatic Worth (Catholic University Press) in May 2010. The book...