What Was the Critic Paid to Critique?

How can Michael Phillips call himself a critic (“Long Live ‘Evita?’ She Has,” April 22). I turned to Page 58 to see if the “Evita” production he was reviewing was worth my time and money. After 11 paragraphs, I was still unsure as to his views on the production.

Eight paragraphs were spent criticizing Andrew Lloyd Webber. After 20 years, I am sure most theatergoers know the plot. So why not critique the production? Isn’t that what Phillips was paid to do?

If he wishes to tear apart Webber for his choice of subjects and the way he chooses to present them, let him write a separate column about this. Then I could choose to read it, if I wish to know his opinion on the subject.

Mr. Phillips: Mr. Webber has been around for a long time producing plays that have stood the test of time. I wonder how long you will last.

VICTORIA LEVIN

Anaheim

Michael Phillips forgot to mention one other thing that “a shiny hack job like ‘Evita’ ” also means: It gives critics like him the opportunity to trash the works of artists they do not like..

I cannot understand why critics continue to review shows that they know beforehand they will not enjoy. Phillips tells us that he does not like the shows of Andrew Lloyd Webber, so when he sets out to tear apart not only “Evita” but all other shows written by him, how can we expect any type of objective reporting?

This is an old show, and most of us know what we are getting. For Phillips to dissect it in this manner after all this time serves no useful purpose.

LOU PEREZ

Studio City

Grey: Truly a Visionary

Your art critic Leah Ollman panned the exhibit “Sacred Mirrors: The Visionary Art of Alex Grey” at the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego as “suffocating,” “laughable” and “New Age cliches” (April 27).

This of course is only Ollman’s opinion. Many, many other people, especially those who have tasted the spiritual experiences that Grey portrays, agree with Ken Wilber, widely regarded as today’s foremost philosopher, who wrote in his foreword to Grey’s latest book that Alex Grey may be the most important spiritual artist in the world today.

ROGER WALSH

Professor, College of Medicine

UC Irvine