Madam, - Mike Murphy's assessment of The Pirate Queen(Opinion & Analysis, April 10th) was right on the button. On the night I attended there was a genuine standing ovation.
To my mind the critics were being "theatrical" when they should have been assessing the show as what it is - a hugely enjoyable traditional Broadway musical extravaganza. What the visitor to New York looks for in a Broadway show is probably anathema to the a cynical bunch of critics who have to justify their existence by engaging in occasional blood-letting. - Yours, etc,
DECLAN MacPARTLIN, Camolin, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford.
Madam, - While Mike Murphy is correct about the poison-pen tendencies of New York theatre critics, he misses the mark on The Pirate Queen. Critics have long held more power than is due them, but musicals are largely immune to critics because their audiences are mostly tourists looking for a bit of fun.
The Pirate Queen'sprimary problem is that it teaches us history, but it doesn't allow its characters to fully develop or to engage us. It wants us to love Grace O'Malley on the basis of historical fact and proto-feminism, not because of strong character development. The pageantry was there, but the strong writing Broadway has come to expect from Irish productions was notably absent. - Yours, etc,
CASSIE S. FARRELLY, New York, USA.