Veteran Chicago theater critic Jonathan Abarbanel was elected chair of the American Theatre Critics Association July 20, at the conclusion of the Association’s 40th annual conference, held this year in Shepherdstown, W. Va.
He will serve a one-year term as chair of the association’s nine-member executive committee and may be re-elected for up to two more years.
Abarbanel is an award-winning critic and arts reporter who recently concluded 17 years as theater contributor for Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ). He reviews for Windy City Times and for TheaterMania.com as well as his new blog and podcast, The Dueling Critics (www.duelingcritics.net), with longtime WBEZ colleague Kelly Kleiman.
In addition, he writes an arts news column for each issue of Chicago Footlights, a theater and dance program magazine, and is an adjunct instructor in the School of Theatre and Music at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) has nearly 250 members nationwide, and is the only nationwide organization for professional theater critics.