Mr. Christiansen went to work for The Information in 1957. He began on the night time shift, however by the early Nineteen Sixties he was writing increasingly more concerning the arts — books, tv, music. And theater. He left The Information in 1973 to edit a brand new journal, The Chicagoan, however when it went out of enterprise after 18 months he returned to The Information. When that paper went below in 1978, he was picked up by The Tribune.
As a critic, Mr. Christiansen was no cheerleader; if he thought a manufacturing was unhealthy, he wasn’t shy about saying so. His opening sentence in a 1985 overview of a drama referred to as “White Biting Canine” at Stays Theater stated merely, “‘White Biting Canine’ shouldn’t occur to a canine.”
But when he preferred a present, his phrases might assist make the reputations of actors, administrators and corporations. An oft-cited working example was his 1983 overview of Jack Henry Abbott’s “Within the Stomach of the Beast: Letters From Jail” at Knowledge Bridge Theater, a manufacturing directed by Mr. Falls and starring William L. Petersen, the actor now well-known from the tv collection “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” Mr. Christiansen wrote of Mr. Petersen’s stage mannerisms and craftsmanship, then stated this:
“These qualities are admirable in appearing, and may be accounted for, however how do I account for the truth that minutes after leaving the theater Thursday night time, I needed to pull my automotive over to the aspect of the road in order that I might clear the tears from my eyes?”
Afterward, the Chicago theater world was stated to seek advice from a rave from Mr. Christiansen as “a pull over.”
Some critics maintain a distance from actors, administrators and others they write about, however Mr. Christiansen, who leaves no fast survivors, was recognized to speak store with these within the theater world and supply profession steerage.
Within the mid-Nineteen Eighties, as an example, he went to a showcase manufacturing of Shakespeare scenes staged by a younger director and actress named Barbara Gaines, preferred it and invited Ms. Gaines to lunch.
“I didn’t even end my chocolate mousse earlier than he instructed — or moderately, knowledgeable me — that my subsequent mission have to be to direct a full-length Shakespeare play,” Ms. Gaines stated by e mail. “And from that fateful day, Chicago Shakespeare Theater as we all know it was born.” She is now creative director of that well-regarded firm.
