DAVID BROOKS ANDREWS

ANDREWS, David Brooks Writer, critic, photographer Long-time theater critic and photographer, David Brooks Andrews, passed away, at his home in Wellesley, on March 25, 2023. Early in his life, he discovered his innate love for literature and the arts, an interest that led him into an unconventional career of fulfilling pursuits over more than four decades. A budding interest in theater began at Principia College in Illinois, where he was an English major. After graduating in 1976, he traveled the country doing various jobs, including acting as a stand-in for a feature film, but soon settling in Boston to work for The Christian Science Monitor, the international newspaper published by the church he'd grown up with. His assignment as editorial assistant to the formidable but respected Henrietta Buckmaster on the newspaper's page honoring new poetry, essays, and interviews with writers, actors, and artists was formative. He became a thoughtful interviewer, his intuitive questions drawing out replies to be pondered. This was especially evident in two published interviews with Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann. A later assignment, dealing with his church's interface with the public and other Christian churches deepened and broadened his writing skills in new directions. In 1986, he married a colleague, Joan Wilson, and they moved to Wellesley, where in the '90s, David began a long career of theater criticism. He became a freelance theater critic for the MetroWest Daily News, his reviews of Boston-area theater appearing regularly for nearly twenty years. His published thoughts on film in a 1989 church magazine apply equally to his view of theater, and are reflected in his theater reviews: "At their best, movies provide us with a closer look at ourselves, individually and as a society. They cast a spotlight on the betrayals and failures of human ego. They can also reveal an identity and goodness larger than we might have thought possible. When an inspired or truly probing movie comes to an end, we may go home in silence, having glimpsed something that needs to be pondered more deeply. We may even find ourselves more willing to look into hidden corners of our lives for the purpose of healing and spiritual progress." During his years of reviewing he was also a freelance photographer for the theater department at Wellesley College, an assignment that gave him much joy. His writing, whether theater criticism, poetry or interviews, reflected a combination of curiosity, discernment, and humanity. Of his own writing he once wrote, "How can I listen so that others can hear things they have never said before and say things they would never have thought to say? That's my goal as a freelance journalist." He never lost the urge to write. On hearing of his death, Boston storyteller Jay O'Callahan said of David's writing, "It was always surprising . . . I was fascinated by the combination of an unusual mind and a kind soul." Another friend and fellow writer called David "the soul of gentleness." He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 1, 1954. His kindness came from his love for God. He lived his faith and was secure in it. His parents, Robert A. Andrews and Joan Richards Andrews, were college professors. He is survived by his wife, Joan Wilson Andrews; his twin sister, Heather Ikeda, who lives in Yokohama, Japan; and his two nieces, Misa Ikeda and Yuki Ikeda. No services are planned at this time.

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