Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me

Book by: Martin Short and Daniel Goldfarb
Music by: Marc Shaiman
Lyrics by: Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman
Directed by: Scott Wittman
Cast: Martin Short, Brooks Ashmanskas, Mary Birdsong, Capathia Jenkins, Nicole Parker and Marc Shaiman.
Synopsis: A musical salute to the cultural phenomenon that is Martin Short. A fractured autobiography, show business expose and confessional, climaxing in a giant metaphorical snowball.

What the critics had to say.....

BEN BRANTLEY of the NEW YORK TIMES: �longs to appeal on so many levels that it winds up twisting itself into a pretzel: the soft kind, sold at malls, that practically melts in your mouth.�

CLIVE BARNES of the NEW YORK POST: "The music and lyrics by Shaiman and Wittman - of "Hairspray" repute - are essentially unmemorable and certainly unhummable, leaving the highly talented cast rubbing shticks together in the hope of igniting some kind of theatrical fire. Too many, unfortunately, are simply damp squibs. "

JOE DZIEMIANOWICZ of NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: says "Short calls it 'a party.' But before you RSVP, just know some of the refreshments are past their sell-by date."

MICHAEL SOMMERS of the STAR-LEDGER: "A droll romp and roll through the swamps of glory."

LINDA WINER of NEWSDAY says: "This is an uneven, mostly good-natured, handsomely produced evening of sketches, vaudeville bits and "Forbidden Broadway"-type spoofs."

ROBERT FELDBERG of THE RECORD: "A wickedly amusing sendup of theatrical confessionals."

JACQUES LE SOURD of the JOURNAL NEWS says "The shop-worn concept and frequently tasteless book are partially credited to Short himself, but one feels the hot breath of composer Marc Shaiman � who has written a string of relentlessly third-rate songs for the show."

PETER MARKS of the WASHINGTON POST says "A cockeyed melange of comic bits, musical skits and silly walks, the evening is a soft-pedal sendup of celebrity egotism and a very funny showcase for a guy with a terminal case of exhibitionism."

FRANK SCHECK of HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: "An ambitious mixture of satire, music and vaudeville style comedy sketches, the show is wildly uneven. But the appeal of its star and the number of big laughs provided should be enough to ensure Broadway success."

DAVID ROONEY of VARIETY says "As in all skit shows, the material is inconsistent, but here it's on the mark more often than not."

External links to full reviews from newspapers

New York Times
New York Post
New York Daily News
Star-Ledger
NewsDay
The Record
Journal News
The Washington Post
Hollywood Reporter
Variety