There's about to be a new theatre critic in town. The New York Times, in a staff email first procured by Variety, revealed it is shaking up its culture department. Longtime head theatre critic Jesse Green is going to be reassigned to a new position at the paper. That means the Times is currently searching for a new theatre critic to replace him.
According to a Times spokesperson, the paper will continue reviewing theatre while they search for Green's replacement, saying: "We’re undertaking a search for a new theatre critic, and will review productions in the meantime using staff and freelance critics. Jesse is a deeply valued Times journalist and colleague who has produced a thought-provoking and remarkable body of theatre criticism."
Along with Green, three other longtime Times critics are also getting reassigned: television critic Margaret Lyons, music critic Jon Pareles, and classical music critic Zach Woolfe.
In a memo to the Times staff, which was provided to Playbill, culture editor Sia Michel wrote that the paper was pivoting in the way it covers the arts and entertainment, writing: "Smartphones have Balkanized fandoms even as they have made culture more widely accessible than ever, and arts institutions are facing challenges and looking for new opportunities.
"Our readers are hungry for trusted guides to help them make sense of this complicated landscape, not only through traditional reviews but also with essays, new story forms, videos, and experimentation with other platforms."
Indeed, the Times recently hired two new restaurant critics, Ligaya Mishan and Tejal Rao, whose job has included creating video reviews, in addition to written ones. So it seems, per the memo, that any new theatre critic will need to "help our coverage expand beyond the traditional review."
Green has been the chief theatre critic at the Times since 2017, after previously serving as the theatre critic for New York Magazine. His criticism at the Times has been met with equal parts outcry and cheers—with many in the industry considering his reviews the one that can help sell or close a show.
This change is the latest in the Times' evolving treatment of theatre criticism—the Times traditionally always had two full-time theatre critics. But ever since longtime critic Ben Brantley departed, Green has filled the chief critic post alone—with the other reviewing work done by freelancers and other Times staff members.
Michel's full memo is below:
"We are in the midst of an extraordinary moment in American culture. New generations of artists and audiences are bypassing traditional institutions, smartphones have Balkanized fandoms even as they have made culture more widely accessible than ever, and arts institutions are facing challenges and looking for new opportunities.
"Our readers are hungry for trusted guides to help them make sense of this complicated landscape, not only through traditional reviews but also with essays, new story forms, videos, and experimentation with other platforms.
"Our mission is to be those guides.
"As we do so, I am making some changes in assignments in the department. Four critics who have made major contributions and whom we deeply cherish and respect—Jesse Green, Margaret Lyons, Jon Pareles, and Zach Woolfe—will be taking on new roles, and we will be conducting a search for critics on their beats in the weeks to come.
"All of these critics are best in class, and we are so proud of their excellent body of work. Jon, the chief pop critic since 1988, has had an unparalleled influence on pop music criticism, expert in a dazzling array of genres. Jesse, our theatre critic since 2017, has championed important theatre from Broadway and beyond with his incisive, witty reviews. For nearly a decade, Margaret has helped curate television and streaming for readers through her Watching newsletter, with a knack for discovering shows that become sensations. Zach, who served as our classical music editor before becoming the classical critic several years ago, pioneered the 5 Minutes format and has written elegantly on everything from Maria Callas to Janacek.
"We will be celebrating our colleagues and sharing news of their new roles soon.
"I know that these are big changes. While it has long been the practice in the newsroom to shift the roles of reporters, editors, and bureau chiefs to bring different ideas and experience to important beats and coverage areas, we've done this far less with our roster of critics. But it is important to bring different perspectives to core disciplines as we help our coverage expand beyond the traditional review.
"This department has already made major strides to adapt to this moment. Our critics have pioneered new story forms, examining masterpieces with the Close Read format, and helping people discover jazz and classical music with 5 Minutes. Recently, we began dissecting pop hits with the Song of the Week video series. We’ve also used video to cover dance and comedy in groundbreaking ways, anointed a new canon with the blockbuster “100 Best Movies” project and explored the new Frick museum and the new Rockefeller Wing at the Met with visual-first presentations. We have examined our broader culture and politics in probing essays about television and movies.
"These achievements are thanks to the vision, dedication, and hard work of all of you. Now we are at another inflection point. We need to meet it with even more change, in terms of what we cover, how to appeal to a growing national and international audience, how we approach criticism and how we set ourselves up for even greater success with our current and future audiences.
"I’ll be working with many of you on how to pursue the vision I’ve laid out here. I’m always eager to hear your ideas for new and more ambitious ways to cover culture."
