From Playbill:
John Simon, who has been theatre critic at New York magazine for newly 40 years, has been dismissed from that position, the critic told Playbill.com.
“I expected it,” he said May 10, when asked if New York editor Adam Moss’ decision took him by surprise. “Then again, my birthday is coming up, so I didn’t think it was a very good birthday present.”
Jeremy McCarter, theatre critic for the New York Sun, was named as Simon’s replacement. McCarter’s first review for New York will appear June 1.
Simon is known equally for his considerable erudition, his longevity as a critic (he is 79) and his vituperative style. His stinging reviews–particularly his sometimes vicious appraisals of performers’ physical appearances–have periodically raised calls in the theatre community for his removal.
The timing of the firing is somewhat ironic. This fall, Applause Books will publish three volumes of Simon’s collected works: one on his theatre writing, one on music, one on film.
Simon also said he’s not ready to lay down the pen. “I still feel quite chipper. I don’t feel my writing has somehow faded. If I felt tired, I’d stop, but I don’t feel that way.”
Read the whole thing here.
I’m sorry to see this happen. As the saying goes, John Simon has forgotten more about theater than I’ll ever know. For all the controversies he stirred up over the years, he was and is a critic of the very first rank, not least because of his ability to place what he sees on stage in so wide and deeply informed a cultural context. Even when I disagree with him, I take no one else’s opinions as seriously.
Simon’s departure from New York will be news. It should be.