All Of It with Alison Stewart
Episode: Helen Shaw Takes Over as Chief Theater Critic at 'The New York Times'
Date: February 20, 2026
Host: Alison Stewart
Guest: Helen Shaw
Overview
In this engaging episode, Alison Stewart sits down with Helen Shaw, the newly appointed chief theater critic at The New York Times. The conversation explores Shaw’s vision for criticism in the digital age, her academic background, the evolving role of critics, challenges facing Broadway, and an enthusiastic preview of upcoming theater highlights for the spring season.
Main Discussion Points & Insights
Helen Shaw’s New Role at The New York Times
- Responsibility as Chief Theater Critic (02:12–03:32)
- Shaw views her role as communicating the deep enthusiasm that seasoned theatergoers have for the art form—leveraging the Times’s reach as both “the big sorting hat” for theater audiences, and as a crucial historian for the theater community.
"The Times has an incredible reach...to kind of communicate that enthusiasm I think is concomitantly enormous. Another part...is obviously the big sorting hat...you're also trying to...choreograph the way audiences move through the New York theater system."
(Helen Shaw, 02:17) - She underlines the importance of recording theater history for posterity, describing the work as “the first draft of history.”
- Shaw views her role as communicating the deep enthusiasm that seasoned theatergoers have for the art form—leveraging the Times’s reach as both “the big sorting hat” for theater audiences, and as a crucial historian for the theater community.
Criticism in the Digital & Social Media Age
- Impact of Social Media (03:49–05:00)
- Shaw acknowledges that quick, crowd-sourced opinions on platforms like Reddit, TikTok, Instagram, and BroadwayWorld bring earlier reactions into public view—even as shows are still evolving.
"People can now go online and quickly get early responses from early viewers...That worries me a little bit...But...it also communicates to all of us that there's a huge audience for that type of responsiveness."
(Helen Shaw, 03:49) - She’s conscious that the Times is shifting towards more forward-facing, video-driven content, and expresses interest in contributing to these formats.
- Shaw acknowledges that quick, crowd-sourced opinions on platforms like Reddit, TikTok, Instagram, and BroadwayWorld bring earlier reactions into public view—even as shows are still evolving.
Bringing Academic Rigor to Theater Criticism
- Academic Background (05:00–06:17)
- Shaw’s education in set design and dramaturgy at Harvard instilled a sense of participating in a “long conversation” about the art. She finds this mindset useful for remembering criticism’s role in a centuries-old tradition:
"Criticism...remembers that you are having conversations with people who might be reading this a hundred years from now and that you are also writing about a form which has taken several thousand years to get where it is."
(Helen Shaw, 05:15)
- Shaw’s education in set design and dramaturgy at Harvard instilled a sense of participating in a “long conversation” about the art. She finds this mindset useful for remembering criticism’s role in a centuries-old tradition:
The Power and Limits of the Critic’s Influence
- Responsibility of ‘Critics’ Pick’ (06:50–07:55)
- Shaw notes the anxiety surrounding the influence of a Times review but cautions against overestimating the power critics have to make or break shows:
“Sometimes we over index this idea that critics can make or break shows. We have a lot of examples...of a New York Times review being either positive and a show collapsing or negative and a show going on to stupendous financial success.”
(Helen Shaw, 06:50) - She expresses a “terrifying responsibility” about being the historical record, particularly as opportunities for theater criticism dwindle nationwide.
- Shaw notes the anxiety surrounding the influence of a Times review but cautions against overestimating the power critics have to make or break shows:
Approaching Theater: Process, Curiosity, and the “Weird” Factor
- Daily Theatergoing & Openness (08:02–10:13)
- Shaw often sees a show every night, sometimes on a whim, leading to discoveries like a standout King Lear at La Mama.
- She defends experimental and "weird" theater, arguing that it can more truthfully reflect life’s realities than more conventional work:
"That sort of work is actually more reflective of what it is like to live in the world...watching that body be dunked into a giant tank of water...gave us all in the audience a sense of what it was like to be her that some normal sort of conventional theater structure never could have."
(Helen Shaw, 09:20) - She describes note-taking as a Zen practice to stay present during performances:
“Theater is evocative...it is incredibly easy to sit in a show and...begin thinking about your own father...you can't move away from the art if your job is to cover it. And so why I’m taking notes constantly is to remind myself...you are here, you are watching this.”
(Helen Shaw, 10:34)
State of Broadway: Pipeline, Development, and Regional Influence
- Broadway’s Current Challenges (11:33–13:34)
- Shaw is concerned about the loss of development opportunities for writers, like the closure of the Sundance theater lab. The current scarcity of new musicals is a delayed effect of the pandemic and lost “soil” for cultivating new work.
- She praises regional theaters and the rising sophistication in recognizing out-of-town development and the relationship between New York, the West End, and American regional theaters.
Musings on IP, Celebrity Casting, and the Nature of Theater
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Adaptations and the Realness of Theater (13:34–15:21)
- Shaw sees the popularity of IP-based shows and celebrity casting as part of a larger yearning for “the real”—something increasingly rare in a digital, virtual world:
“We go to the theater because it is real...those are the negatives. But on the bright side, you know that what you're looking at is real...When it comes to IP, I actually think maybe that's all part of that same network of human need that our screens...have become our lives.”
(Helen Shaw, 13:56)
- Shaw sees the popularity of IP-based shows and celebrity casting as part of a larger yearning for “the real”—something increasingly rare in a digital, virtual world:
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Film and TV Actors on Stage (15:21–16:40)
- Physical presence and “knowing what to do with your hands” is a key differentiator for screen actors transitioning to stage.
“IO is going to be great...because IO has clown training...knows how to perform with an entire body. Other people...great faces...But...they look like they’re screaming at us: Bring down the curtain. I feel so awkward.”
(Helen Shaw, 15:44)
- Physical presence and “knowing what to do with your hands” is a key differentiator for screen actors transitioning to stage.
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Are Broadway Stars Bankable? (16:40–17:55)
- Shaw argues that stars like Audra McDonald have a transformative, almost physical impact on audiences that transcends “bankability”:
“When you are in the presence of Audra McDonald, that's one of those where you actually feel the molecules in your body realign.”
(Helen Shaw, 16:52)
- Shaw argues that stars like Audra McDonald have a transformative, almost physical impact on audiences that transcends “bankability”:
Preview: Notable Spring Shows
Rocky Horror Show at Studio 54 (17:55–20:01)
- Directed by Sam Pinkleton, features a deep and diverse cast.
- Pinkleton’s strength in choreographing “many bodies on stage” promises vibrancy.
- The production focuses on live “theater experience,” not recreating the film.
“They are so excited about the juicy experience of being in a theater...this is the deepest bench on Broadway that I can imagine.”
(Helen Shaw, 18:26)
Dog Day Afternoon (20:01–21:14)
- Stars Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Bachrach—longtime collaborators.
- The season has a “bring your flares, get sweaty, seventies vibe.”
“They have been devotees of each other’s stage work and having deep, passionate conversations about stage...We’re about to see how explosive that is when they take it to a really big venue.”
(Helen Shaw, 20:26)
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (21:14–22:44)
- Starring Taraji P. Henson and Cedric the Entertainer, directed by Debbie Allen.
- Shaw highlights August Wilson’s ensemble style and Allen’s choreographic vision.
“It is a great homage to...Freddie King Jr. Who, you know, discovered Debbie Allen...You are now talking about a conversation which is going on more than a century.”
(Helen Shaw, 21:28)
Documentary and Archive-Based Theater
- Hate Radio at St. Anne’s Warehouse (22:44–24:45)
- A European-style piece using archival Rwandan genocide radio broadcasts; intensely affecting, with contemporary echoes.
“They’ve taken...a super episode of...Hate Radio...And so you’re listening to it through these very heavy headphones...it feels like a hand is kind of clamped on your head, and it is saying, remember this? And also, doesn’t it sound familiar?”
(Helen Shaw, 22:59) - Kramer/Fauci at Skirball Center
- Reenacts public conversations between Larry Kramer and Anthony Fauci; described as “absolutely dissolved in tears—very beautiful show.”
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On historical records:
“The terror is this might be the one chance we get to write down what happened, and we have to get it right.”
(Helen Shaw, 07:55) -
On the impact of seeing stage stars:
“When you are in the presence of Audra McDonald...you actually feel the molecules in your body realign.”
(Helen Shaw, 16:52) -
On the “realness” of live theater in a digital world:
“We go to the theater because it is real...Those are the negatives. But on the bright side, you know that what you're looking at is real.”
(Helen Shaw, 13:56) -
On how she stays present during performances:
“Why I’m taking notes constantly is to remind myself all the time, you are here, you are watching this, you are thinking about this. You are not thinking about something else.”
(Helen Shaw, 10:34)
Timestamps of Key Segments
- [02:12] Role and responsibilities as chief critic
- [03:49] Social media’s influence on criticism
- [05:15] Academic background shaping critical voice
- [06:50] Power and limitations of critics’ influence; Critics’ pick
- [08:02] Encountering transformative theater experiences
- [10:34] Note-taking and staying present during shows
- [11:54] Concerns about the Broadway pipeline and development
- [13:56] Risk and value of using existing IP and celebrity casting
- [15:44] Stage presence: what makes a good screen actor on stage
- [16:52] The experience of live performance with major Broadway stars
- [17:55] Preview: Rocky Horror Show
- [20:26] Preview: Dog Day Afternoon and season’s vibe
- [21:28] Preview: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, ensemble ethic, Debbie Allen
- [22:59] Documentary theater: Hate Radio and Kramer/Fauci
Conclusion
Helen Shaw’s conversation offers thoughtful, sometimes witty, and deeply impassioned reflections on the art and duty of theater criticism. She is attentive to the challenges facing New York’s theater ecosystem and is committed to maintaining a vibrant critical “long conversation.” Her enthusiasm for new and unconventional work, blended with intellectual rigor, promises to invigorate The New York Times’ theater coverage in the seasons to come.