Smelling a Rat

Said Mr. Taubman, the outgoing drama critic of the New York Times, to Mr. Kauffmann, the incoming drama critic of the New York Times: "Mr. Kauffmann, I'd like you to meet David Merrick--the enemy." Positively, Mr. Taubman? Absolutely, Mr. K.

Little did they know. Stanley Kauffmann, 49, fresh off the New Republic, came to the Times in January, after Howard Taubman was promoted out of his aisle seat. Kauffmann must have been warned about Merrick, who is the adulte terrible of Broadway producers and who, because he complained so frequently about the Times's churlish commentaries on Merrick productions, might like to take credit for Taubman's departure.

The question then became: What sort of critic would Kauffmann be? It turned out that Kauffmann was the sort of critic who decided right off that he could not do justice to a review for a morning paper when there was only about an hour between curtain's fall and press's roll. So he began attending preview performances--and even a dress rehearsal or two. That gave Kauffmann time to ruminate for an extra day or so before deadline. It also gave producers and the other daily critics a pain in the neck. The producers claimed that their shows were not ready for reviewers' eyes at previews, and the critics made unseemly comments to the effect that any fellow who couldn't dash off a sharp review in an hour ought to go paint gold-leaf letters in some monastery. The Dramatists Guild complained, the League of New York Theaters complained, and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers complained.

David Merrick, curiously, did not complain. He even said that Kauffmann could attend all the Merrick rehearsals and previews he wished. That was fine, so long as Merrick did not have a play ready. Last week, however, he had. A few days before the opening of Philadelphia, Here I Come! (see THEATER), Merrick sent two preview passes to Kauffmann. Attached was an ominous note: "Dear Mr. Kauffmann: At your peril. Sincerely, David Merrick."

Sure enough, when Kauffmann arrived at the theater with 1,100 other ticket holders, he found a dark marquee and a sign that read TONIGHT'S PERFORMANCE CANCELED. Was this an ambush, calculated to embarrass the Times's critic? No, Merrick's press-agent explained: a generator was out of order. That seemed funny: although the marquee was blacked out, the lobby lights were blazing.

Next day it was all fixed. Kauffmann played first-nightsville along with his colleagues. The premiere came off and so did Kauffmann's hour review (a murky pan). And when Merrick was pressed about the electrical troubles of the night before, he said, straight-faced: "A rat got in the generator." Positively, Mr. Merrick? Absolutely, Mr. K.

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