Elysa Gardner
Contributor
BSR Contributor Since May 1, 2017
Elysa Gardner, formerly the theater and music critic at USA Today, has also written for the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, and other publications. She served on the Pulitzer Prize drama jury in 2015, and chaired it in 2017.
Elysa Gardner, formerly the theater and music critic at USA Today, has at various points been a regular contributor to the New Yorker (as “Night Life” columnist), Rolling Stone, the Los Angeles Times and VH1. Her writing has also appeared in the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Spin, Vibe, Billboard, Town & Country, Out, American Theatre, and other publications. Her many profile subjects have included Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Stoppard, and Oscar the Grouch, as well as the late Arthur Miller, August Wilson, David Bowie, and Prince.
Book credits include U2: The Rolling Stone Files, for which she wrote the introduction, and a chapter on Taylor Swift in Woman Walk The Line (University of Texas Press, September 2017). TV and radio appearances range from NPR to the late The O’Reilly Factor.
Elysa has served on the Pulitzer Prize drama jury twice, most recently (2017) as chair, and is a board member of the Drama Desk. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.
