Submission Date

7-24-2026

Document Type

Paper- Restricted to Campus Access

Department

Media & Communication Studies

Faculty Mentor

Sheryl Goodman

Project Description

Historically, theater critics have been trusted sources of information for analyzing all aspects of live theater. Booth (1991) argues that theater, of all the arts, is most affected by theater critics. Theater is a risky business due to the amount of money invested in a show and the lack of a guarantee that investors will recoup their investment. According to Booth (1991), the money is in the audience, and the audience tends to rely on critics for live theater because they are seen as guides to what they are watching. Therefore, theater critics can make or break a show. Reddy, Swaminathan, and Motley (1998) found that theater reviews in the New York Times had the most impact on the success of Broadway shows. Because of their significant impact, Booth (1991) suggests that theater critics must be well-versed in different forms of theater and educated in history, language, and politics so that the standards are consistent between shows. However, in a 2017 article on a theater forum, multiple theater scholars and practitioners authored an editorial documenting a long-term history of bias among first-string theater critics against women and people of color. This research seeks to address the question: Can racial and/or gender bias be detected in New York Times reviews? Using content analysis, a systematic method of analyzing specified characteristics of texts, this research examines a random sample of theater reviews in the New York Times from 1989 to 2019.

Comments

Presented during the 28th Annual Summer Fellows Symposium, July 24, 2026 at Ursinus College.

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