The sudden death of theater blogger/critic Patrick Lee last week was a shock to us at StageGrade, and not only because he was just 47. He was a friend and colleague not only to this site's founders but to the site, as well--in fact, when he died, he was preparing a feature on StageGrade for his blog, Just Shows To Go You. He seemed in the pink of health when we spoke to him last week, and we know from his comments in our recent Tony poll that he was looking forward to the upcoming awards show, and many more seasons on the scene. His enthusiasm and perspective will sorely be missed; though he'd already been doing criticism for a number of years at both JSTGY and Show Showdown, and brought considerable depth and knowledge to his writing, it seemed to us, in the best possible sense, as if he'd only just begun.

The theater blogosphere just got a little bit less fun, but here at StageGrade we promise to do our best to keep shining a light on the best (and the worst) the theater has to offer--in short, to keep our critical wits about us. We think that's how Patrick would have wanted it.

A roundup of tributes:

August Schulenberg: A poem for Patrick Lee
Aaron Riccio: On Patrick Lee
Time Out's Adam Feldman: RIP Patrick Lee
David Bell: Our friend, Patrick Lee
Producers Perspective: A blog about a blogger
Broadway & Me's Jan Simpson: In Memoriam
Steve on Broadway: RIP Patrick Lee (1959-2010)
Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals: A Tribute
Parabasis: I Read the News Today, Oh Boy
The Wicked Stage: Patrick, We Hardly Knew Ye