Broadway Scrapbook (The Brooks Atkinson Series)

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Brooks Atkinson’s (1894-1984)long shadow fell on the Broadway theatre district for decades. He was a voice that kept the “Broadway” in Times Square, even when it appeared that the star of this Mecca of Entertainment would dim. Though Broadway changed over time in content and grandeur, his focus on the writing and the acting was clear and motivating for both the players and the audience. A “Brooks Atkinson” hoorah meant money for the producer and playwright, fame for the stars, and entertainment for the crowds, while his razzie foretold a quick decline in attendance and, often, a kiss of death for the production.

Broadway Scrapbook is a collection of Atkinson’s reviews of many of the plays on Broadway from 1934-1947 as well as some of the off-Broadway events that energized the people of New York City during that time. His clear-headed and honest reviews were welcome fodder for the public tired of the contrived play writing of the early 1900s. As a result of his direct attention to detail and the human nature, the theatre grew by showing the warts of society and people who are never as perfect as we would prefer.

As a consequence, “The theatre not only reflected but also created public opinion;” and its plays became “pertinent to the human tradition.”

“It is in historical projects such as this one that Atkinson performs the ultimate connecting of the dots over long periods of time. We see him recognizing other decade-long patterns, … and continuing to elevate his impression of the astonishing creative outbursts that belied the Great Depression’s grueling hardship. The defining characteristics for him — the conclusions he always seeks — have to do with the fundamental originality of the works in question, and in what way they struggle with, or somehow shed new light on, real-life predicaments.”

Nancy Malitz

Founding music critic at USA Today

Editor, Classical Voice North America

Publisher, Chicago On the Aisle