Brooks Atkinson

Brooks Atkinson was an American theater critic for The New York Times from 1925 to 1960. His reviews helped shape Broadway reputations, and he championed new plays and playwrights.

Eugene O’Neill: Eugene O’Neill was an American playwright whose work helped establish modern drama in the United States. Atkinson championed O’Neill’s serious drama as American theater expanded beyond light entertainment.
Broadway theatre: Broadway theatre is professional stage performance presented in New York City’s Broadway district and nearby venues. It was the central institution whose productions Atkinson reviewed and helped bring into public view.
The Iceman Cometh: The Iceman Cometh is Eugene O’Neill’s 1946 play about residents of a down-and-out New York saloon. Its bleak vision exemplifies the ambitious dramatic writing Atkinson argued deserved serious attention.
Theatre reviewing: Theatre reviewing is the timely assessment of a stage production, usually written for publication or broadcast. Atkinson’s reviews show how a critic’s judgments could become part of a production’s public identity.
Harvard University: Harvard University is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, founded in 1636. Atkinson studied there before beginning his career in journalism.
Tennessee Williams: Tennessee Williams was an American playwright known for psychologically intense dramas including A Streetcar Named Desire. Atkinson reviewed Williams’s breakthrough plays during Broadway’s postwar flowering.
The New York Times: The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. Its theater desk gave Atkinson a prominent platform and a broad audience for his judgments.
A Streetcar Named Desire: A Streetcar Named Desire is Tennessee Williams’s 1947 play about Blanche DuBois and the Kowalski household. Its Broadway success shows the kind of psychologically rich new play Atkinson covered.
New York theatre: New York theatre is the city’s network of professional stage venues, companies, artists, and audiences. Atkinson’s career is inseparable from the city whose theater life he chronicled for decades.
The Boston Evening Transcript: The Boston Evening Transcript was a Boston newspaper published from 1830 to 1941. Atkinson worked for the newspaper before joining The New York Times.

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