Hi,
As you know, several days ago we changed how we display critic reviews on Show-Score. Since then, we’ve received a great deal of constructive feedback from across the NYC theater ecosystem, and in particular two questions: why did we make this change, and what publications will we now cover?
We hope that this statement helps to clarify some of our thinking.
To answer the latter question first, our definition of “major” critics now includes about 30+ publications. About 20 or so of these publications are print, online, and television outlets that have a high readership/viewership. Based on your feedback, especially about Off- and Off-Off Broadway shows (which we refer to as “Beyond Broadway”), we have also added an additional 14 outlets that provide extensive and consistent coverage of Beyond Broadway. These shows are important to our members. In order to help our members discover shows they will love, we want to do what we can to add seasoned voices to the conversation. You can see the full list of outlets who will be represented on Show-Score, below.
We will be reaching out to these publications individually about the process moving forward.
We’ve also been asked, and seen lots of theories about why we stopped scoring critics' reviews. The truth is that this is an expensive process. As a small business with ambitions to expand regionally, we needed to make some tough decisions about allocating our resources. That is why we initially reached out to key critics to ask if they would provide their own scores.
We’ve spent the last few days doing a great deal of listening and reflecting about this important and complex decision. Theater is an important part of the human experience, and professional critics are knowledgeable guides to the theatrical landscape. That’s why we are still the only NYC theater website that continues to find and list critics’ reviews, across many outlets, for all NYC theater.
We hope that these clarifications help explain our thinking. We extend sincere thanks to everyone who has provided constructive feedback, and look forward to continuing that dialogue.
Best,
t
Tom Melcher, Founder and CEO
List of outlets (in alphabetical order)
AM New York
Broadway Blog
Broadway News
Broadway World
Chicago Tribune
Cititour
CurtainUp
Deadline
Entertainment Weekly
Exeunt Magazine
Front Mezz Junkies
Front Row Center
Lighting & Sound America
Los Angeles Times
New York Daily News
New York Magazine / Vulture
New York Post
New York Stage Review
New York Theater
New Yorker
NY1
Off Off Online
Stage Buddy
Talkin' Broadway
The Hollywood Reporter
The New York Times
The Observer
The Washington Post
Theater News Online
Theater Pizzazz
Theatermania
TheaterScene.net
Theatre is Easy
Theatre Reviews Limited
Theatre's Leiter Side
Time Out New York
Variety
Wall Street Journal