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Ben Brantley
Chief Theater Critic, The New York Times
Ben Brantley is the chief theater critic at The New York Times. Brantley is the editor of “The New York Times Book of Broadway: On the Aisle for the Unforgettable Plays of the Last Century" (2001) and received the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism in 1997.
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2 min
I think there are so many voices out there now weighing in at all times that no single piece of criticism can have the same impact, not at this moment […]
1 min
Of all the Shakespeare analogies of recent years (George W. Bush as Henry V; Hillary Clinton as Lady Macbeth), President Barack Obama is perhaps the most elusive.
1 min
Some scholars say that Shakespeare’s notorious tragicomedy is too politically incorrect to stage in modern times. Is there really no room for such “polluted” texts?
1 min
The New York Times chief theater critic points to key instances where lines from Shakespeare are taken out of context and misunderstood.
One of the most popular Shakespearean analogies presents George W. Bush as Henry V. But does it hold up?