Chris Jones is a British-American journalist and academic. He is the chief theater critic and Sunday culture columnist of the Chicago Tribune. Jones started his career as a critic in the 1980s by contributing film reviews, interviews, and reports for WCBE-FM in Columbus, Ohio. In 2014, he also became the director of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Critics Institute. Jones appears live on the news broadcast of CBS-2 Chicago as a weekly theater critic. In 2016, the New York Times cited Jones as an important reason that Broadway shows try-out in Chicago, noting the role his reviews have played in helping producers improve productions for New York runs.
If you’ve ever gotten a bad review (which means everyone who has ever worked in this business), then you’ve probably dreamed about what the theater would be like without critics. Tune in and hear Chris chat about:
- The THREE words he has taped to his computer to remind him to do every time he writes a review.
- His role as an “Out-Of-Town” expert and the biggest issue he sees with developing shows (writers take heed!).
- What New York can learn from the Chicago theater scene and vice-versa.
- How he deals with “Critic Fatigue.”
- The role of the audience in the writer’s process (Ooooh, I loved his thoughts on this!).
Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway