In America today, there is a constant stream of media being released for everyone to enjoy. Whether that be a new album from a popular artist, the latest blockbuster in movie theaters, or another video from a content creator, people always have something to occupy their attention. However, with this new media comes criticisms and reviews. Critics see a work and document their thoughts to post online, usually in a positive or negative light. Most people rely on these reviews to make up their minds about whether to see something or not, and they are helpful in that sense.
The Evanstonian also posts review articles. Students write movie and album reviews just the same as they are written online, but there is one specific review that stands out differently from others: ETHS Theatre reviews.
You might be wondering, “What’s so special about that?” Well, the answer is how the Evanstonian posts its issues. There is always one issue each month, and students usually get that whole month to write their article – since the Evanstonian is not year-round and starts a bit after the school year begins, the issues for that month are posted a few days after the month has begun.
With ETHS Theatre, shows have 3 performances, with the expectation of YAMO and the musical, which have 6 or 7. A student writing the theatre review sees the show, writes the article, waits for it to be edited, and then it gets posted in the issue a few weeks later. The problem with this is that the review is always posted much after the show’s closing time, which shuts down the point of that review. If a review of the most recent play, You On The Moors Now, is posted in this issue, people will be reading about it almost a month after the show closed, which was February 15th.
Obviously, there is no way around this problem, and I am not saying we should completely re-arrange the process to make it right; that would be nearly impossible. But what is the point of a review if you are never able to see what it’s reviewing? With movies and albums, you are always able to watch on streaming services or listen on Spotify, but with an ETHS Theatre performance, after it’s done, it’s done forever.
I think that the reviews of ETHS Theatre (and all reviews) are mainly for entertainment purposes. You read them to see more of how a show went rather than if it was a good or bad performance. Previews give you an overview of what’s to come, and reviews tell you what actually happened the night of the show. So, why not make that the norm? Rather than telling people they should watch a performance because it was great or shouldn’t because it was bad, an overview that doesn’t praise or criticize the show is written instead – because why tell someone they should or shouldn’t see something if they can never see it at all? For a situation like this, I feel an opinionated review is not necessary and does not capture what the play actually was when it is only a few perspectives. Reviews lose meaning when they are written for something that can never be seen again. A non-opinionated summary being introduced in place might give ETHS Theatre productions the outro they deserve.
