I was just writing in response to an ongoing problem I and many others have with one of your critics, Justin Hayford. I have never been one to question another man’s opinion. In fact, I have never really cared about what someone has to say, especially Justin Hayford. But as an ongoing supporter of the Trap Door Theatre, I think this problem should be addressed.
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I witnessed two productions this year, Orpheus Descending, which was panned in your paper by Justin [November 20, 1998], and most recently Lebensraum [September 10]. In both reviews, as I recall, he does not feel the two playwrights, Tennessee Williams and Israel Horovitz, are credible. What? The only things he finds entertaining seem to be cabaret and campy sketch comedy shows. These men are legends, award-winning playwrights and courageous speakers for social justice. Is Justin a racist, is he a Nazi, or just a washed-up playwright himself, jaded to the extent that anything creative and beautiful is completely foreign to him? I think we can answer that question with about as much thought as he puts in his reviews.
