Who is this Anita Gates you speak of?

A.G.’s journalistic triumphs over 25 years at The New York Times include drinking with Bea Arthur (at a Trump hotel), Wendy Wasserstein (at an Italian restaurant) and Peter O’Toole (in his trailer on a mini-series set near Dublin). It is sheer coincidence that these people are now dead.

At The New York Times, she has been Arts & Leisure television editor and co-film editor, a theater reviewer on WQXR Radio, a film columnist for the Times TV Book and an editor in the Culture, Book Review, Travel, National, Foreign and Metro sections. Her first theater review for The Times appeared in 1997, assessing “Mrs. Cage,” a one-act about a housewife suspected of shooting her favorite supermarket box boy. The review was mixed.

Outside The Times, A.G. has been the author of four nonfiction books; a longtime writer for travel magazines, women's magazines and travel guidebooks; a lecturer at universities and for women’s groups; and a moderator for theater, book, film and television panels at the 92nd Street Y and the Paley Center for Media.

If she were a character on “Mad Men,” she’d be Peggy.

If You Don't Believe Us, Ask The New York Times

Anita Gates

Want to know what the newspaper of record had to say about the eight productions that Press Nights is featuring this month? Here are a few of the critics’ thoughts, plus links to the full reviews.

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BELLA, BELLA

Jesse Green didn’t care for Harvey Fierstein’s solo show. Compared it to a PowerPoint presentation. Criticized it for “meager tension.” Said he wanted to take Fierstein to “take it down a notch.” But acknowledged that it was clear that the solo show’s star and writer loved his subject.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/22/theater/harvey-fierstein-bella-bella-review.html

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DUBLIN CAROL

This Conor McPherson revival left Elisabeth Vincentelli mostly cold. “Just one more day in a wrecked life,” she said. She blamed the booze. “Drinking can smother drama as well as people.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/theater/dublin-carol-review.html

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LINDA VISTA

Ben Brantley declared Tracy Letts’s latest, a comedy about a newly divorced jerk, an “inspired, ruthless take on the classic midlife-crisis comedy.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/10/theater/linda-vista-review.html

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LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

Brantley loved this musical about a man-eating plant too. Called it a “delicious revival.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/theater/little-shop-of-horrors-review-jonathan-groff-feeds-the-beast.html

MACBETH

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Laura Collins-Hughes found the Classic Stage Company’s production “profoundly human.” She praised the performances, the set and the costumes. Her only real complaint was about the sight lines in the Banquo’s-ghost dinner scene.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/27/theater/macbeth-review-corey-stoll.html

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THE ROSE TATTOO

Brantley tiptoed around his opinions of this Tennessee Williams revival starring Marisa Tomei. The subhead seemed more direct, referring to it as an “unmoored production.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/15/theater/the-rose-tattoo-review-marisa-tomei.html

SLAVE PLAY

“A happy surprise,” said Green.of this transfer from downtown. And if it was a bit daring? “Shock and offense may be just the ticket now.”

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THE SOUND INSIDE

Green loved the changes the playwright had made since this drama’s Williamstown production. The bottom line: “A rivetingly dark and detailed production.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/17/theater/the-sound-inside-review.html

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