Critic's Choice (play)

Critic's Choice
First publication (1961)
Written byIra Levin
Date premieredDecember 14, 1960
Place premieredEthel Barrymore Theatre, USA
Original languageEnglish
SubjectTheater, marriage, playwriting
GenreComedy
SettingNew York City apartment

Critic's Choice is a play written by Ira Levin.

It opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on December 14, 1960 [1] and ran for 189 performances, closing on May 27, 1961. Levin's inspiration was then-New York Herald Tribune drama critic Walter Kerr and his playwright wife Jean.[2][3] Otto Preminger directed. Oleg Cassini provided the costumes.

A play in three acts, Critic's Choice tells the story of theater critic Parker Ballantine whose second wife, Angela, writes a play which is produced on Broadway. The play is awful and Parker must decide whether or not to review the play honestly.

Reviewing for The New York Times, Howard Taubman wrote, "Ira Levin's new comedy, which opened at the Ethel Barrymore last night, is not much of a play." And, "Otto Preminger's staging discloses a seasoned hand, although his pacing often turns languid and his ideas for comedy run thin, like the playwright's."[1]

In 1963, the play was made into a film of the same name starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball.[4]

  1. ^ a b Integrity Comes First in "Critic's Choice": Comedy by Ira Levin Debut at Barrymore, by Howard Taubman. The New York Times, December 15, 1960
  2. ^ "Children Run Longer Than Plays". Time. New York, NY. 14 April 1961. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
  3. ^ Erickson, Hal. "Critic's Choice". Allmovie. Retrieved 5 December 2008. Ira Levin wrote the stage comedy Critic's Choice as a good-natured retort to a comment made by critic Walter Kerr. In his essay How Not to Write a Play, Kerr noted that the worst possible scenario would involve a drama critic forced to review a play written by his wife (we should mention that Kerr's own wife was noted playwright Jean Kerr).
  4. ^ Martin, Mick, Marsha Porter, and Derrick Bang. DVD & Video Guide 2006. New York: Ballantine Books, 2006.