Michael Charlies Kuchwara (February 28, 1947 – May 22, 2010) was an American

theater critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governme ...

, columnist and journalist. Kuchwara worked as both a critic and journalist for the ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

'' for more than from 1984 until 2010, writing pieces that were read worldwide. Kuchwara, who was based in New York City, reviewed as many as 200 theater productions a year.

Biography

Early life

Kuchwara was born on February 28, 1947, in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

. His father, a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

pilot, worked for the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...

. Kuchwara's interest in theater and the entertainment industry began when he saw his first play during the late-1950s, the comedic '' Third Best Sport'', by Leo G. Bayer and

Eleanor Perry Eleanor Perry (née Rosenfeld; nom-de-plume Oliver Weld Bayer, October 13, 1914 – March 14, 1981) was an American screenwriter and author.''Variety'' "Eleanor Perry Obituary" March 17, 1981 Film critic Charles Champlin fondly remembered Perry ...

, at the Poconos Playhouse in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

and his master's degree from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

Career

Kuchwara worked for the ''

'' for more than 40 years, first as a reporter and then as a theater critic. He began his career as a journalist for the

' bureau in Chicago, Illinois. He moved to New York City to work as an AP editor on the wire service's national desk. In 1984, Kuchwara became the ''Associated Press'' chief theater critic, a position he held until his death in 2010. Michael Kuchwara died at Beth Israel Hospital in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

idiopathic An idiopathic disease is any disease with an unknown cause or mechanism of apparent spontaneous origin. For some medical conditions, one or more causes are somewhat understood, but in a certain percentage of people with the condition, the cause ...

ischemic Ischemia or ischaemia is a restriction in blood supply to any tissue, muscle group, or organ of the body, causing a shortage of oxygen that is needed for cellular metabolism (to keep tissue alive). Ischemia is generally caused by problems ...

lung disease The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory syst ...

on May 22, 2010, at the age of 63. He is survived by his sister, Patricia Henley, and wife, Jonnie Kay Kitchen; the couple had been married since 1975.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuchwara, Michael 1947 births 2010 deaths Associated Press reporters American theater critics American male journalists Syracuse University alumni University of Missouri alumni Writers from Scranton, Pennsylvania Deaths from lung disease Journalists from New York City Journalists from Pennsylvania