Playwrights Lead Protest to Restore Theatre Credits in New York Times

Unhappy with the recent decision by the New York Times to delete the credit boxes attached to its theatre reviews, which listed, among others, each production's designers, a group of 80 leading playwrights have written the newspaper in protest. The letter reads in part:

"We playwrights are always mentioned in the listings and reviews. This is not about us. We think the stage managers and sound and lighting and set and costume designers we work with are just as important as we are when it comes to making theater.

"These people are so often overlooked, even though our medium is, literally, coordinating moving bodies, in clothing, with accompanying sound, through light and architectural space. The credits at the end of the reviews and listings are often the only way designers and stage managers are recognized at all. And these people are real artists. They're not helpers. They're our collaborators. They're the show itself.

"It's also important for your readers to be able to find out days, months, years later, who created the shows they saw and read about. There are so many theater artists who aren't writers and directors and actors whose careers should be followed and documented, regardless of the writers and directors and actors they're working with, simply because they make extraordinary work.

"We need talented artists in New York City to continue to want to pursue these fields. And if they're unnamed and uncredited in the Times it's bad for all of us. Their names are as important to the future of American theater as the names below."

The letter was signed by, among others, Annie Baker, Adam Bock, Sheila Callaghan, Lisa D'Amour, Eisa Davis, Kristoffer Diaz, Bathsheba Doran, Will Eno, Halley Feiffer, John Guare, Stephen Adly Giurgis, Lucas Hnath, Tina Howe, Quiara Hudes, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Rajiv Joseph, Stephen Karam, Arthur Kopit, Tony Kushner, Tracy Letts, Kenneth Lonergan, Matthew Lopez, Terrence McNally, Itamar Moses, Bruce Norris, Lynn Nottage, Adam Rapp, Sarah Ruhl, Wallace Shawn, Anne Washburn, and Doug Wright.

On a Facebook page titled Reinstate the Tony Sound Design Categories Now!, the sound designer John Gromada urges interested parties to contact the following Times personnel:

Danielle Mattoon, Culture Editor thearts@nytimes.com
Scott Heller, Theatre Editor and Deputy Editor for Arts & Leisure thearts@nytimes.com
Arthur Sulzberger Jr., Chairman & Publisher publisher@nytimes.com
The New York Times, 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10018

Gromada also posts a suggested text:

"I am writing at this time to protest your decision to eliminate the listing of credits from the reviews of theatrical productions.

"That small box at the end of each review is extremely important to many of us; theatregoers and professionals alike. Not only did the credit box provide basic information about the location and dates for the production, it also provided your readers with basic information of who worked to create the show: the author, cast, designers, director, and other key creative personnel. The vast majority of people who contribute to any production work behind the scenes and by eliminating their credits you have taken away the minimal recognition that these important workers receive.

"In other areas the NY Times seems to adhere to the philosophy 'give credit where credit is due,' but abandon it here. The contributors to an article or editorial in the NY Times are always listed; a photograph on your website always credits the photographer or source; why then is it acceptable to ignore the contributors to a live theatrical production? This is especially dismissive in a city such as NYC where the performing arts are such a vital part of the economy and our daily life.

"Broadway alone contributes nearly $12 billion to the economy of NYC in addition to the ticket sales, and 87,000 local jobs. It is considered one of NYC's greatest tourist destinations with 6.7 million tickets bought by tourists during the 2014-15 season alone. The artists who create the product that drives this economic engine deserve recognition.

"I urge you to re-consider your decision and restore the credit box at the end of each review."