My primary goal as a theater reviewer is to write an honest critique of a play that promotes interest in the production and/or theater company, and prompts conversation about the play's core themes. My approach is respectful, compassionate, and constructive. I try to be insightful and look for nuance. I do not believe in tearing down artists. I see theater critics as a bridge between artists and their potential audience. I want to encourage engagement between theater makers and theater goers. I want you to love theater as much as I do.

I have been reviewing plays for the Theater Mirror since 2019. Below is a catalog of those reviews. You may also find my reviews on Instagram: @ReviewsByJulie

Julie-Anne Whitney 11/9/25 Julie-Anne Whitney 11/9/25

‘Summer, 1976’ offers Thoughtful Retrospective On a Friendship Found and Lost

The simplicity of Summer, 1976 makes it easy to minimize its value. Like most women we know, Diana and Alice are deeply flawed, laden with loneliness, and longing for more.

Julie-Anne Whitney 10/12/25 Julie-Anne Whitney 10/12/25

Manual Cinema Brings Playful Puppetry to Wheelock Family Theatre

The versatile four-person cast is responsible for animating hundreds of illustrated paper puppets, dozens of two-dimensional props, and several hand puppets.

Julie-Anne Whitney 10/10/25 Julie-Anne Whitney 10/10/25

‘Hang Time’ is a Searingly Powerful Call to Action

Hang Time forces you to bear witness, to lean in, to confront. It is a reckoning and a powerful call to action. It demands that you think about the lives these Black men deserved but didn’t get to have.

Julie-Anne Whitney 10/5/25 Julie-Anne Whitney 10/5/25

A.R.T.’s ‘300 Paintings’ Brings Humor to Harrowing Story of Mental Illness

What Kissajukian didn’t know at the time was that he had been living with bipolar disorder, and he was about to enter into a brutal six-month manic episode that would completely sever him from reality.

Julie-Anne Whitney 9/21/25 Julie-Anne Whitney 9/21/25

‘From Here to Where’ Offers Fascinating Reflections on Being Alive

The experience unfolds primarily through monologue, music, and movement as you are led on a wild, unrestrained journey that is “part lyrical sermon, part political exorcism.”