Following Up With Some Clarifications

I wanted to follow up on the last post to clarify a few things that may not be clear, lest y'all think I'm shooting 100 proof bitch-slapping-haterade with a redbull back.

A few folks have cautioned that I should shut up and back off for fear of retribution.  Many have agreed with what I've written, some disagree, and a few want to pile on. Negatives always get more play than positives. This doesn't mute my criticisms, but I want to clarify that disagreeing with a piece of writing doesn't mean I'm trying to vilify someone.

I should have noted that the posts on The Theatre Loop only go back two years, and The Tribune Archives are more accurate than the categories on the sidebar. To make the case that Jones has never stepped foot in a small theatre, which I have heard, is not true. He has for years with New City and The Tribune. And it's easy to forget that. And if Chris is reading, I want to apologize for not making that more clear. Whether he should more often is debatable. I probably feel differently than the executives at The Trib.

I know a lot of people compare Jones to Richard Christiansen. It is unfair. The city is vastly different and the scene is much, much larger than it was then. I have been here for ten years, and it is much larger even than when I got here.  I don't know, at times it must feel like being Steve Young. No matter what he did, he would never be Joe Montana. Often folks forget both Montana and Young are in the Hall of Fame.

I have never said the Tribune shouldn't cover Broadway, or BIC. What I have argued for is more balance between stories about shows there and stories about local houses. Some folks agree, some disagree. I actually think Broadway in Chicago is good for the City.  I think that we get into trouble though when it it favored over all but the two largest non-profit theatres in town. Broadway in Chicago is a good thing, it towering over everything else is not.

And lest it be interpreted that Jones was responsible for the recent troubles of The House or Congo Square, that is not accurate either. The push to become a major institution before they have the organizational capacity to sustain it is what hurts companies like them. And Jones was not alone in that push. In the case of Congo Square, they never got their feet under them and they grew in a way that was not sustainable. 

In the case of the House, I don't hate the House. I don't think the shows I've seen are as well written or acted as they are hyped up to be, but many have been so much fun that it negates those concerns for many people.  I have criticized some of the things they have done, and some of their less than stellar shows; but the energy they are able to generate in their work is actually pretty incredible. I think if the scripts/stories they tell catch up with their ability to tell them it will be a pretty incredible thing to see.

I don't dislike Chris Jones. I've only spoken with him a couple of times, but he seems like good people. I don't think he's a hack. When he is on, I think he is as good as anyone in the country, if not the best. I truly believe that. One of my favorite pieces of writing on theatre I've ever read was one of his. It's pretty extraordinary. 

I just want to be clear I'm not attacking him as a person. I still completely disagree with a lot of his writing.