By Graydon Royce
Dominic Papatola, the St. Paul Pioneer Press theater critic since May, 1999, is leaving the paper Jan. 15. He will become a program officer with the Otto Bremer Foundation, a major philanthropic force in St. Paul.
The announcement came in a staff memo from Pioneer Press editor Tom Fladung. He noted Papatola's service as a Pulitzer juror, a lecturer at the O'Neill Theatre Critics Institute and his presidency of the American Theater Critics Association. He was also a commentator on the arts with Minnesota Public Radio. He said by e-mail Tuesday that he will continue there until he departs the newspaper.
"The decade I've spent at the Pioneer Press has been one of the best of my life, and I will certainly miss it," he said in an e-mail.
Papatola says he will continue to "periodically contribute reviews to the Pioneer Press on a freelance basis."
I always considered Papatola a worthy adversary. He saw an awful lot of theater, worked hard and whether I agreed with him or not, he generally defended his opinions -- even when he was wrong.
