After 24 years, Ben Brantley, co-chief theater critic at the New York Times, is stepping down from the position.
Jesse Green, his co-chief critic, will remain in his role while the Times will look to fill Brantley’s position. Brantley’s last day will be October 15, 2020.
“This pandemic pause in the great, energizing party that is the theater seemed to me like a good moment to slip out the door,” Brantley said in a press release. “But when the theater returns, I hope to be there — as a writer, an audience member and, above all, the stark raving fan I have been since I was a child.”
Brantley joined the Times in 1993 and became chief theater critic in 1996. He is the longest serving New York Times theater critic since Brooks Atkinson. He received the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism in his first year as chief critic at the Times.