The reviews are in! And, well, who cares? No, seriously, who really cares? Yes, the cast, creatives, crew all care – as well as their mothers, grandmothers and 7th grade drama teachers. Don’t get me wrong, Auntie Martha loves the critics and the papers and thinks everybody should subscribe to lots of them. But, walking by the Winter Garden Theatre the other day I was looking at the review quote ads plastered all over the building and asked myself, “Self, in 2019 does a quote ad really have an influence on passersby buying a ticket to the show?”
For those of you kind enough to care about Auntie Martha, I didn’t answer myself. But, I’ll answer now. It’s doubtful. And, I’m not picking on the Winter Garden. They all have these quotes. My question now is…why not get those passersby to engage in the show more with say, an Instagramable moment? Everybody in 2019 has a camera on their phone and everybody has social media on their brain. Even an old-timey insert your face into the hole to look like you’re Beetlejuice is something people walking by the Winter Garden couldn’t resist. It’s good buzz for the show – despite whatever the reviews say.