Over on DO, Alexandra Lange and I launch our new feature, Lunch with the Critics, with a discussion of the doings at Lincoln Center. Here's me on the Johnsonian aspects, but do check it out in its entirety:
Though I was concerned because I so admired Philip Johnson's old fountain, the new one by WET is a dancing wonder. The same can't be said of what's been done to the interior of Johnson's David Koch Theater — formerly the New York State Theater, and don't get me started about this renaming — where several broad aisles have been driven through the orchestra, in a single stroke removing many of the best seats in the house while destroying its aesthetic unity. Those familiar with the old theater will remember its "Continental" seating; that is, each row was an unbroken arc of seats. If this was admittedly a bit of a pain, it was done quite consciously to create a sense of community in the audience, and it did that, brilliantly.
