Review of A House Divided Was Unprofessional and Upsetting

At 12:05 a.m. on Friday, May 13, I received a call from The Harvard Crimson. The editor who spoke to me told me that your paper was printing a review of A House Divided, the original musical I produced in the Agassiz Theater, and needed to know the name of the director. Attempting to conceal my surprise at this lack of basic information, I gave him his answer--Alexander Franklin--and then mentioned that the director's name was listed in the program. The editor replied that The Crimson had lost the program. (I believe "sort of lost" was the phrase the editor used.)

I was appalled by The Crimson's irresponsible and unprofessional behavior. The reviewer, Susan Lee, had attended A House Divided on Friday, May 6. One would think that a week would be enough time for her to make sure that she had all the necessary information to include in her piece, especially when one considers both the point in the year during which she was writing, and the many resources available to The Crimson to acquire that information.

Few shows perform during reading period:The Philadelphia Story and The Prophet and the Janitor finished their runs, and the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club bulletin listed openings last weekend for only. A House Divided and No Exit (which was not reviewed). Finding out the names of the directors and designers for only one or two new productions should not be a problem.

Moreover, both the HRDC Bulletin and A House Divided's press release contained complete information about the show's production staff, and I can assure you that both items had been sent to The Crimson. I wrote them both myself, and coordinated both mailings.

The Crimson's shoddy work neither began nor ended with that midnight phone call. The photographer assigned to A House Divided on Saturday, May 7 was a last minute replacement, who showed up at the theater after the performance with only one shot left in his camera. Had I not had a chance to stop by my room a couple of hours before the show that night, I would not have even known that the photographer was coming, and would have dismissed the actors and crew before he arrived. Ultimately, it made no difference--the single picture was not even printed with the review.

As for the review itself? I wonder why I am surprised by it, considering The Crimson's poor handling of the way in which it was put together. Director Alexander Franklin is never named, despite my conversation with the editor. Neither is the book writer, Julia Sullivan. The set, light, and costume designs are completely overlooked.

In addition, only three performers from an eleven-member cast are mentioned at all, and little is said about them other than their names. One of the three, Genevieve Roach, is identified as playing the lead character's daughter when, in fact, she plays his colleague: the role of the daughter, Karin (not Joanne) is played by Jessica Semerjian, an actress who neither looks nor sounds anything like Genevieve. I cannot accept Ms. Lee's remark that "the acoustics of the auditorium overwhelm the singers" as an excuse for confusing such a basic element of the plot.

It is not my place to take issue with Ms. Lee's opinions of the production, nor do I intend to. I do believe, however, that I have the right to express my great dissatisfaction with The Crimson's methods. The lack of thoroughness and professionalism which marked the conduct of your paper should be upsetting to all readers. As a member of the Harvard-Radcliffe theatrical community, I am especially displeased. A tremendous amount of effort goes into every production which appears on this campus. I would like to think that at least a small fraction of this effort is put into the writing of reviews. After this experience, however, I doubt it. Joanna Pressman '95   Producer, A House Divided