In the following review, which originally appeared in the New York Times on October 21, 1947, Atkinson offers praise for Robinson Jeffers's adaptation ofEuripedes's Medea. His review illustrates how ancient Greek dramas can be altered slightly or extensively without changing the messages intended by the original authors. Such adaptations can make these dramas more accessible to modern audiences.
As drama critic for the New York Times from 1925 to 1960, Atkinson was one of the most influential reviewers in America,
If Medea does not entirely understand every aspect of her whirling character, she would do well to consult Judith Anderson. For Miss Anderson understands the character more thoroughly than Medea, Euripides or the scholars, and it would be useless now for anyone else to attempt the part. Using a new text by Robinson Jeffers, she set.....
