Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
critic. He worked for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the ''Times'' called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of his time."
[ Atkinson became a ''Times'' theater critic in the 1920s and his reviews became very influential. He insisted on leaving the drama desk during World War II to report on the war; he received the Pulitzer Prize in 1947 for his work as the Moscow correspondent for the ''Times''. He returned to the theater beat in the late 1940s, until his retirement in 1960.
]
Biography
Atkinson was born in Melrose, Massachusetts to Jonathan H. Atkinson, a salesman statistician, and Garafelia Taylor. As a boy, he printed his own newspaper (using movable type
Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric characters or punctuation m ...
), and planned a career in journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...
. He attended Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, where he began writing for the '' Boston Herald.''["Atkinson, (Justin) Brooks." The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives. Ed. Kenneth T. Jackson, Karen Markoe, and Arnold Markoe. Vol. 1: 1981-1985. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998. p22-24.] He graduated from Harvard in 1917, and worked at the '' Springfield Daily News'' and the ''Boston Evening Transcript
The ''Boston Evening Transcript'' was a daily afternoon newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, published from July 24, 1830, to April 30, 1941.
Beginnings
''The Transcript'' was founded in 1830 by Henry Dutton and James Wentworth of the firm of D ...
'', where he was assistant to the drama critic. In 1922, he became the editor of the ''New York Times Book Review'', and in 1925 the drama critic. Atkinson married Oriana MacIlveen, a writer, in August 1926.
On the drama desk, Atkinson quickly became known for his commitment to new kinds of theater—he was one of the first critical admirers of Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Nobel Prize in Literature, literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama tech ...
—for his interest in all kinds of drama, including off-Broadway productions. In 1928, he said admiringly about the realism of the new play '' The Front Page'', "No one who has ground his heels in the grime of a police headquarters press room will complain that this argot misrepresents the gentlemen of the press." In 1932 Atkinson dropped the J. from his byline and embraced the witty, direct writing style that became his hallmark.
Atkinson, stepping into the role of major progressive thinker and writer of his time, was a strong supporter of the WPA and particularly the new Federal Theatre Project, Roosevelt's attempt, in the midst of the unemployment and poverty of the Great Depression, to extend welfare support to out of work theater professionals, and to create a theater responsive to the American public in range and diversity. Atkinson travelled extensively to be able to see productions such as the Harlem "Voodoo Macbeth" directed by the 21-year-old Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
, the collaborative historical play "Lost Colony," staged on Roanoke Island in North Carolina, and openings of interesting plays all up and down the east coast.
His reviews were reputed to have the power to make or break a new stage production: for example, his panning in 1940 of Lawrence Riley
Lawrence Riley (1896–1974) was a successful United States, American playwright and screenwriter. He gained fame in 1934 in literature, 1934 as the author of the Broadway theatre, Broadway hit ''Personal Appearance'', which was turned by Mae West ...
's ''Return Engagement'' led to that comedy's closure after only eight performances, despite the success of Riley's previous comedy, ''Personal Appearance'', which had lasted for over 500 performances on Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
. Atkinson had already been dubbed "the conscience of the theater," due to his openness to earnest experimental theater, his sense of duty toward supporting theater that addressed important moral and social issues of the day, and his firm conviction that theater could educate and foment serious public debate; but he was often not comfortable with the influence he wielded over the Broadway box office.
Following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...
in December 1941, Atkinson attempted to enlist in the Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
, but was refused. He requested a reassignment to war coverage, and ''The New York Times'' sent him to the front lines as a war correspondent in China, where he covered the second Sino-Japanese war
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
until 1945. While in China, he visited Mao Tse-Tung in Yenan
Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an) ...
and was captivated by Mao, writing favorably about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) movement, and against the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek, which he saw as reactionary and corrupt. After visiting Yenan, he wrote that the CCP political system was best described as an "agrarian or peasant democracy, or as a farm labor party."[Knightley, Phillip, ''The First Casualty: The War Correspondent as Hero and Myth-Maker from the Crimea to Iraq'', JHU Press (2004), , , p. 303][Shewmaker, Kenneth E., ''Americans and Chinese Communists, 1927-1945: A Persuading Encounter'', Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press (1971) ] Atkinson viewed the Chinese Communist Party as Communist in name only and more democratic than totalitarian; the Times effusively titled his article ''Yenan, a Chinese Wonderland City''.
After the end of the war, Atkinson stayed only briefly in New York before being sent to the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
to serve as a press correspondent in Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
. His work there for ''The Times'' earned him a Pulitzer Prize for Correspondence in 1947. Upon his return to the United States, Atkinson was reassigned to the newspaper's drama desk, where he remained until his retirement in 1960. He is given much credit for the growth of Off-Broadway into a major theatrical force in the 1950s, and has been cited by many influential people in the theatre as crucial to their careers. David Merrick's famous spoof ad for ''Subways Are For Sleeping
''Subways Are for Sleeping'' is a musical produced by David Merrick with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne. The original Broadway production played in 1961–62.
The musical was inspired by an article abo ...
''—in which he hired seven ordinary New Yorkers who had the same names as prominent drama critics to praise his musical—had to wait for Atkinson's retirement, because Merrick could not find anyone with the right name. There was only one Brooks Atkinson in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
Atkinson was elected a fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
in 1960. He came briefly out of retirement in 1965 to write a favorable review of '' Man of La Mancha''; his review was printed on the first page of the show's original souvenir program. After his retirement, he became a member of The Players who organized a tribute dinner for Atkinson's 80th birthday which was attended by Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...
, Elia Kazan, and other prominent actors and playwrights.
He died on January 14, 1984 at Crestwood Hospital in Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in ...
. Atkinson had moved to Huntsville from his farm in Durham, New York in 1981 to be closer to his family.
Publications
Skyline Promenades, 1925
Henry Thoreau, The Cosmic Yankee, 1927, 1981 reprint
East of the Hudson, 1931
The Cingalese Prince, 1934
Once Around the Sun, 1951
New Voices in American Theater, 1955
Tuesdays and Fridays, 1963
Broadway, 1970
This Bright Land: A Personal View, 1972
The Lively Years, 1920-1973, 1973
Legacy
The Mansfield Theatre in New York was named Brooks Atkinson Theatre
The Lena Horne Theatre (previously the Mansfield Theatre and the Brooks Atkinson Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 256 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1926, it was designed by Herbert ...
in his honor between 1960 and 2022.
References
External links
Brooks Atkinson Theatre
Broadway, New York, NY
Brooks Atkinson papers, 1904-1980
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Brooks
1894 births
1984 deaths
People from Melrose, Massachusetts
American theater critics
Critics employed by The New York Times
Harvard University alumni
Pulitzer Prize for Correspondence winners
The New York Times Pulitzer Prize winners
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Special Tony Award recipients