Jonathan Mandell's recent HowlRound article, Are Theater Critics Critical? An Update, revisits an old and passionate conversation -- and it got people talking once again. You may have seen Thomas Cott's email yesterday spotlighting both Mandell's article along with one by U.K. critic Mark Shenton. In his article, Mandell asks -- and answers -- a few hot-button questions about theater criticism: Should anybody care about theater critics? Are theater critics crucial? Are theater critics too negative? Is theater criticism dying?...

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Each week we put together a collection of stories we think are worth a read. And now, in case you missed them … • We're hooked! Oscar winner and Tony nominee Christopher Walken has been nabbed to play Captain Hook in NBC's Peter Pan Live!, which airs December 4 and is a follow-up to Sound of Music Live! And in other stirring news, Duncan Sheik and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's new musical American Psycho (inspired by Bret Easton Ellis' novel) is headed...

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