PopularScience.com will no longer accept comments on its articles, says its online content director Suzanne LaBarre. A study found “Even a fractious minority wields enough power to skew a reader’s perception of a story.” And she writes “Take this to its logical end – commenters shape public opinion, public opinion shapes public policy, public policy shapes how and whether and what research gets funded…turn the comments off.”

Critics can certainly skew my perception of a play. Audiences can determine the makeup of a season. Who ends up produced in our seasons shapes our dramatic landscape.

Do the very few determine what we see on stage, and thus, and terribly, what we are allowed to dream into reality?

It is so important not to read reviews. But I am always so bloody curious.