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From the publisher...
September-October 2007
Mention theatre reviews in Louisville, and most people immediately think of Judy Egerton, a writer well known for her insight, fairness and integrity. What's it like being Louisville's foremost theatre reviewer? TheatreLouisville's A.S. Waterman and Niles Welch recently sat down with Judy to find out. Judy is currently finishing up her 28th year at the Courier-Journal daily newspaper, and her 13th as a reviewer here in Louisville. "When I was in college, thinking about becoming a journalist, I really was most interested in arts and maybe book reviewing," she tells us. She has done "a few book reviews here and there" for the C-J. She grew up in an arts-oriented family in Elizabethtown. "I used to come to Louisville a lot when I was young, and I used to come to Actors Theatre when I was in high school. That was when it first opened down at the railroad station. So I was actually there before Jon Jory," she says with a laugh. She has seen a lot of changes. "Since I started, it seems like there were other, smaller theatre companies, but they weren't doing as much." Now there are many more companies having more extended seasons, or more productions during the season. "And people have come here from other places, like New York City or Chicago, who wanted to be involved in theatre, and they've started their own companies ... so there's a lot more to see, and more of a variety."
There's also a lot more to review. The C-J's editorial policy governs some of the choices as to what's reviewed in its pages, and ticket price is a consideration. "If you're thinking of spending $30 for an Actors Theatre ticket, you need to know if you should or not," Judy comments. The paper uses freelancers for smaller theatres, although Judy makes a point of covering some. When reviewing a smaller, independent production, she tries to remain mindful of their budget, and then assesses it artistically from that standpoint -- saying, for example, for an organization that's just starting out, "This seems like a strong beginning," or, alternatively, "From somebody who has this kind of money, we should expect better."
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