Broadway Reviews

Review of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway

Today I've got magic on my mind. The Harry Potter kind. Apparently so does the rest of the world. After seeing this spectacular Harry Potter and the Cursed Child I decided to borrow a book from the Library. I have NEVER seen a book available in so many languages. Some of which I don't even recognize. But who can blame them? Don't we all want to take a couple of classes at Hogwarts? Perhaps they have some adult education offerings. And about the owls. Henceforth I want all my mail delivered by a...

Review of Mean Girls on Broadway

No one is more surprised than I! Mean Girls—a big, noisy musical (not my thing), based on a hit teen movie (not my thing since...well, never), awash in stereotypes like the dumb girl, the hot boy, the powerful high-school clique, and the outsider desperate to belong—turns out to be one of those feel-good nights on Broadway when you unabashedly jump to your feet applauding because you've had such a good time.Of course it comes down to the talent— on the boards to be sure, but, more importantly,...

Review of Disney's Frozen on Broadway

Frozen is a perfect confection. It is a fairy tale come to live in the present, physical world, where it has little business being, but what the heck. Who couldn't use a little uplift - especially in these times of callousness and ignorance and all the stuff that makes you want to crawl under the covers until the plague passes. Besides, who could not use a boatload of special effects??? Frozen is a whole lot of Disney, a little Lloyd-Webber, a little John Williams, a ton of spectacle, and a boat...

Review of Jimmy Buffett musical Escape to Margaritaville on Broadway

It has been a busy season for Broadway cartographers, what with all the new and exotic landmasses popping up along the Great White Way. First the Jewel of the Antilles arose at Once on This Island, then SpongeBob SquarePants took us to Bikini Bottom, and now, like a lost flip flop floating up from a low tide, Escape to Margaritaville surfaces, revealing a volcanic Caribbean isle where local inhabitants and vacationing Midwesterners sing only the words of pop songsmith Jimmy Buffett while...

Review of Elf - The Musical at the Theater at Madison Square Garden

"The Story of Buddy the Elf" is back in town and once again delighting New York family audiences this holiday season. One of the main themes of Elf - The Musical is the importance of bringing the Christmas spirit back to a downtrodden, overworked and gloomy population of Americans that we call typical New Yorkers. Well, it does as exactly what it says on the tin, as they say.If you've been hibernating these past fifteen years (or if you are a direct descendant of Ebenezer Scrooge), then you may...

Review of SpongeBob SquarePants on Broadway

The print on this review should be in a variety of neon colors. While you are reading it on your computer, it would be fitting if I entered your house from above, suspended from a wire wearing a jet-pack on top of the most outrageous costume you can imagine. I will start singing to you about the show — with dancing and singing fish backing me up — and we'll be interrupted by a Newscaster, a Pirate, and the Mayor. All of them will vie for your attention and meanwhile an evil villain will be...

Review of Once on This Island on Broadway

The musical Once on This Island has held a special place in my heart since I saw the original production back in 1990. The infectious music and romantic tale brought a unique temperament to a traditional medium. The show has lost none of its luster over the years, and in this revival production the beauty of this musical has been given its full due and then some.It tells the legend of Ti Moune (an incandescent Hailey Kilgore), an orphaned peasant girl raised by Tonton Julian (Phillip Boykin) and...

The Lion King

NOTE: This review was written by The Lion King alum Kyle Wrentz in celebration of the show's 20th anniversary on Broadway.A sunrise on a day. It could be a Saturday or a Wednesday, but regardless, 20 years later, The Lion King is still a timeless piece of artistry and magical allure. The moment you hear Rafiki's clarion call across the pridelands welcoming the new prince to the kingdom, you are lost in the story, as the iconic procession of animals begins. It is no wonder that sold out audiences...

Company

If a theatrical gimmick works once, will it work twice?Last year John Doyle won a Tony for best director of a musical for the revival of Stephen Sondheim�s masterpiece Sweeney Todd. Unlike previous productions of that show, it featured a unit-set, dispensed with the orchestra in favor of having the music played by members of the cast, and provided the distinct pleasure of watching Patti Lupone sashaying around with a tuba.This year, Doyle and Co. have elected to revive Sondheim�s Company...

A Tale of Two Cities

A Review by Barbara Mehlman and Geri Manus.It is the not the best of shows; it is not the worst of shows.It is, rather, a "Les Mis" remake, a reunion of Mis-ites (which is not surprising given that the original ran for 6680 performances and probably employed every musical actor in New York at one time or another). It's anthem song is not "One Day More," but "Until Tomorrow." And, "At The End of the Day," as the peasants sing in "Les Mis," the French and English in the new musical "A Tale of Two...