Brooks Atkinson

American theatre critic (1894–1984)

Justin Brooks Atkinson (November 28, 1894 – January 14, 1984) was an American theatre critic. He worked for The New York Times from 1922 to 1960. In his obituary, the Times called him "the theater's most influential reviewer of his time." He returned to the theater beat in the late 1940s, until his retirement in 1960.

Atkinson was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, to Jonathan H. Atkinson, a salesman statistician, and Garafelia Taylor. As a boy, he printed his own newspaper (using movable type), and planned a career in journalism. He attended Harvard University, where he began writing for the Boston Herald. He graduated from Harvard in 1917, and worked at the Springfield Daily News and the Boston Evening Transcript, where he was assistant to the drama critic. In 1922, he became the editor of the New York Times Book Review, and in 1925 the drama critic. Atkinson viewed the Chinese Communist Party as communist in name only and more democratic than totalitarian. The Times effusively titled his article Yenan, a Chinese Wonderland City. Atkinson was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1960. He came briefly out of retirement in 1965 to write a favorable review of Man of La Mancha; his review was printed on the first page of the show's original souvenir program. After his retirement, he became a member of The Players who organized a tribute dinner for Atkinson's 80th birthday, which was attended by Arthur Miller, Elia Kazan, and other prominent actors and playwrights. He died on January 14, 1984, at Crestwood Hospital in Huntsville, Alabama. Atkinson had moved to Huntsville from his farm in Durham, New York, in 1981 to be closer to his family.

The Mansfield Theatre in New York was named Brooks Atkinson Theatre in his honor between 1960 and 2022.