Yeah, I'd agree with Magilla that it was the period in which Barnes took over that made him so powerful. Atkinson, actually, was the legendary figure who gave the Times its influence -- though that was more in the vein of helping struggling shows than hurting others. (William Goldman talks in The Season about how a rave from Atkinson kept an otherwise tepidly-reviewed play called The Rope Dancers on the boards for nearly a year) By the time Barnes stepped in, Broadway theatre was fading as a dynamic force -- imports began to dominate -- and, as Magilla says, the number of NY newspapers was sharply reduced. This combination gave a sort of veto power to the powerful Times critic slot.
I actually began to follow Times theatre reviews in the chaotic period just after Atkinson. Within a few years, there was, I believe, first Howard Taubman, then Stanley Kauffmann (who was widely viewed as too negative by the theatre community -- and also disliked for the his then-unheard-of preference for reviewing a final preview rather than the official opening night). When the Herald Tribune folded in '66, Walter Kerr -- considered the top-rate critic at the time -- moved over to the Times. But, after a year, he switched to Sundays-only -- which he thought would amount to a power-split with the newly hired Barnes. As Goldman recounts, though, people tended to rely on the first-night critic, so Kerr faded into irrelevance and Barnes ascended.
There was resentment of Barnes -- because he was a Brit, because he also reviewed dance, because he seemed disrespectful of American playwrights like Williams and Miller. But it probably was the right pick at the right time, as the Broadway theatre was changing radically. Kerr was more appreciative of the Inge era; this was the time of Peter Weiss, Pinter and Stoppard, as well as a whole generation of off-Broadway playwrights, and Barnes was far more open to them than Kerr.
A decade or so late, Barnes moved on -- I never quite understood how hard he was pushed -- and started reviewing for the Post. The fact that the power of the Times critic came from the paper and not the man was soon clear, as no one took what Barnes said very seriously when it wasn't in the Arts and Leisure context. I'd also suggest that Barnes' writing at the Post wasn't terribly impressive -- I don't know if editorial/space limitations held him back, or his facilities were starting to desert him (I recall one piece on Sam Shepard that was virtually incoherent), or that he simply wasn't that good a writer to begin with. (Kerr, whatever his shortcomings as appreciator, was always a strong writer)
R.I.P. Clive Barnes
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True, but that had as much to do with the collapse of the newspaper business as it did his style. Before him it took a consensus of critics to make or break a show. By the time Barnes came along, the only papers left in New York were the Times, the Post and the Daily News. Gone were the Herald Tribune, World, Telegraph and Sun, Journal-American and Daily Mirror.Damien wrote:He was really the first Times critic who could make or break a show.
In earlier days if Brooks Atkinson or Mel Gussow panned something in the Times, a preponderance of favorable reviews by Walter Kerr in the Tribune and others could save a show.
He was really the first Times critic who could make or break a show. remember Robert Anderson's I Never Sang For My Father receiving unanimous raves, except for a pan from Clive Barnes who dubbed it a "soap opera." Although he was initially seen as a very tough critic, as time went on he seemed to like almost everything.
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The obit:
Clive Barnes, a passionate critic who covered the New York theatre and dance scenes for 40 years, has died. He was 81.
Barnes died Wednesday of liver cancer at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, the New York Post reported.
Barnes had been the theatre and dance critic for the Post since 1978 and wrote his last review, a positive rave about a revival of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow, on Oct. 24.
"Clive Barnes was a genuine legend," Col Allan, editor-in-chief of the New York Post, said in a statement. "For 30 years as a critic for the New York Post, he wrote with honesty and a delightful whimsy. Clive's colleagues and the readers he served for so long are impoverished by his passing."
Barnes's passion for both dance and theatre and his distinctive voice made him a legend in New York's art scene.
Born May 13, 1927 in London, he was educated at Oxford and wrote about dance for the Daily Express and the Spectator before coming to the U.S.
He came to New York in 1965 to write about dance for The New York Times, impressing readers with his encyclopedic knowledge of dance.
In 1967, he also became the Times's chief theatre critic, one of the most influential positions in New York criticism because of the ability to make or break Broadway shows.
Barnes was a witty raconteur and an enthusiast about theatre, as well as a well-known face at openings and on television.
"Clive was charming, witty and learned — not exactly what most of today's critics can claim for themselves," said John Simon, a veteran theatre reviewer, first for New York magazine and now Bloomberg News.
Barnes often courted controversy, publicly calling fellow critics to task and annoying powerful producers.
When Hair first opened on Broadway, U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond read his positive review aloud in Washington and accused Barnes of "praising depravity."
Left Times in 1978
He left the Times in 1978, when the paper told him he could no longer cover both dance and theatre — that he had to choose one or another.
He accepted an offer from the New York Post to become its chief drama and dance critic and remained there the next 30 years.
Barnes also wrote a monthly column called Attitudes for Dance Magazine.
His numerous books on theatre and the performing arts included 50 Best Plays of the American Theatre, Masters of Movement: Portraits of America's Great Choreographers (with Rose Eichenbaum), New York Times Directory of the Theater and Ballet Here and Now.
He also wrote biographies of dancer Rudolph Nureyev and playwright Tennessee Williams.
Barnes was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1975.
Barnes was married four times. He is survived by his wife, Valerie Taylor Barnes; a son, Christopher, of London; a daughter, Maya Johansen, of Woodstock, N.Y., and two grandchildren.
A funeral is planned for Monday.
Clive Barnes, a passionate critic who covered the New York theatre and dance scenes for 40 years, has died. He was 81.
Barnes died Wednesday of liver cancer at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, the New York Post reported.
Barnes had been the theatre and dance critic for the Post since 1978 and wrote his last review, a positive rave about a revival of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow, on Oct. 24.
"Clive Barnes was a genuine legend," Col Allan, editor-in-chief of the New York Post, said in a statement. "For 30 years as a critic for the New York Post, he wrote with honesty and a delightful whimsy. Clive's colleagues and the readers he served for so long are impoverished by his passing."
Barnes's passion for both dance and theatre and his distinctive voice made him a legend in New York's art scene.
Born May 13, 1927 in London, he was educated at Oxford and wrote about dance for the Daily Express and the Spectator before coming to the U.S.
He came to New York in 1965 to write about dance for The New York Times, impressing readers with his encyclopedic knowledge of dance.
In 1967, he also became the Times's chief theatre critic, one of the most influential positions in New York criticism because of the ability to make or break Broadway shows.
Barnes was a witty raconteur and an enthusiast about theatre, as well as a well-known face at openings and on television.
"Clive was charming, witty and learned — not exactly what most of today's critics can claim for themselves," said John Simon, a veteran theatre reviewer, first for New York magazine and now Bloomberg News.
Barnes often courted controversy, publicly calling fellow critics to task and annoying powerful producers.
When Hair first opened on Broadway, U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond read his positive review aloud in Washington and accused Barnes of "praising depravity."
Left Times in 1978
He left the Times in 1978, when the paper told him he could no longer cover both dance and theatre — that he had to choose one or another.
He accepted an offer from the New York Post to become its chief drama and dance critic and remained there the next 30 years.
Barnes also wrote a monthly column called Attitudes for Dance Magazine.
His numerous books on theatre and the performing arts included 50 Best Plays of the American Theatre, Masters of Movement: Portraits of America's Great Choreographers (with Rose Eichenbaum), New York Times Directory of the Theater and Ballet Here and Now.
He also wrote biographies of dancer Rudolph Nureyev and playwright Tennessee Williams.
Barnes was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1975.
Barnes was married four times. He is survived by his wife, Valerie Taylor Barnes; a son, Christopher, of London; a daughter, Maya Johansen, of Woodstock, N.Y., and two grandchildren.
A funeral is planned for Monday.
