Don't always listen to the Critics!

            When you think about going to see a show, what types of things do you look for?  Name recognition?  Famous actors and actresses?  Good music?  Maybe even a good director?  These are all important things to think about, but there’s one more factor that can make or break a Broadway show’s run: the critics.

            When it comes to ticket sales, critics have the power to decide the fate of a show.  Their reviews come out in the newspapers, and everyone is excited to see what they have to say.  If a bad review comes out for a show, many people who were maybe planning on seeing it suddenly lose their interest.  While, on the other hand, when a good review comes out, suddenly ticket sales boom and it becomes the next big Broadway hit.

            This is rue for new, no-name shows that no one knows about, but revivals don’t always follow the same pattern.  Often when Broadway opens a show that everyone has heard of already, just the name recognition of the show brings in the masses.  Even if the critics give it an awful review, people still want to see it anyway.

            Critic reviews can be very useful when deciding on a show to see.  After all, Broadway is expensive, and you want to make sure you spend your money on a show that you’ll actually enjoy.  But there’s a downside to listening to the critics.  There are many times when the reviews just seem plain wrong.  I’ll read a review of a show that got awful ratings, go see it, and absolutely love. 

            And here’s the weakness of listening to critics:  they’re each only one person.  Everyone has his own opinions, and many times these opinions are conflicting.  Just because one critic may have hated a show doesn’t mean everyone will hate it.  It just means that this one critic happened not to have liked the show.  Someone else might go see the show and walk out thinking it was the best show they’ve ever seen.

            It’s really a shame how much power the critics have over Broadway.  Theatergoers should be able to make their own decisions about shows.  Of course, no one said anyone has to listen to the critics, but its bound to happen anyway.  If I had never heard of a show before, and then I read a terrible review for it, the review will be my only experience with the show and naturally I wouldn’t want to see it. 

            And psychologically, hearing a bad review for a show will affect your opinion of the show even if you see it.  In social psychology, this is called “assimilation.”  Assimilation is when you unconsciously decide your opinion on new information based on attitude already stored in memory.  In this case, when you see the new show, you will automatically make it fit with the information you already had about it, i.e. the bad review.

            While it is definitely important to consider critic’s opinions when looking for a new show to go see, just remember they’re not always right.  If a critic says a show is great, then go ahead, see it.  But if a critic says a show is terrible, make sure you do some extra research, get more than one opinion.  Because you never know, if you listen to the critic you may be missing out on what could become your favorite show.