Wendy Wasserstein once told me about her favorite backhanded compliment. A woman came up to her on the street and said, “I saw your play. It was light but I enjoyed it.”
Here are some other backhands, which I’ve either received or heard about:
“I liked your whatever the hell that was.”
“I didn’t hate-hate it.”
“I thought it got better in the second act.”
“My husband wanted to leave, but I made him stay.”
“It’s like a nice sorbet before whatever better thing you do next.”
“I was on the fence, but my mother loved it.”
“Maybe I need to see it again.”
“I wasn’t laughing, but I had a nice time.”
“I don’t care what anyone says, I loved it!”
Here’s the thing you must never do: never approach someone involved in a show and say, “I saw your play”, and stop there. You should either lie and say, “I saw your play and it was great” or be honest and say, “I saw your play and I didn’t get it.” Just announcing that you saw or read something sounds like you want either an attendance medal or a refund.
