Peter Marks officially resigned from the Washington Post as the national paper’s chief theater critic on Dec. 31, 2023, accepting a voluntary buyout. Marks had served as the Post’s theater critic for 21 years — and as the New York Times’ second-string critic for three and a half years before that. There is no question Marks’ writing created a deep and lasting impact on the American theater and on the local D.C. scene. Marks told Broadway News that his goals, when arriving at the Post in 2002, were “to make people feel theater was important” and put D.C. back on the map as a theater town. If you ask this writer, mission accomplished. So much so that the announcement of Marks’ exit sent shockwaves through the industry. What would theater do without this earnest, measured, intelligent and consistent voice?
In reaction to the news of Marks’ departure, DC Theater Arts published an article titled “Peter Marks is gone. Now what?” Nearly three years later, rigorous writing about the theater has not disappeared. But another interpretation of that question could be: “Peter Marks is gone. Now what” for Peter Marks?
In a 2024 exit interview with the Washingtonian, the newspaperman suggested he might try playwriting or acting. “I’m interested in the idea of a critic being a performer,” Marks told that publication. For the past two years and change, Marks has been exploring exactly that — and then some. Marks has dived headfirst into a career as an actor (performing in readings and auditioning for commercials), playwright (writing his farce “The Executors”) and dramaturg (for a Broadway-bound musical). But his exploration of the creative side — rather than the critical one — isn’t simply a philosophical experiment. It’s a return to Marks’ origins.
