'Music City' Off-Broadway review — small bar, big dreamers in Nashville's country music scene

Read our review of Music City off Broadway, a country musical featuring songs made famous by artists like Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, and Uncle Kracker.

Summary

• Music City follows aspiring singers trying to make it big in Nashville
• The show transforms St. Luke's Theatre into a fictional honky-tonk called the Wicked Tickle; it also functions as a bar for an immersive experience
• The show's story is hit-and-miss but is buoyed by the performers and the score of country hits by songwriter J. T. Harding
• The show is recommended for fans of country music and immersive experiences

Upon entering Nashville's Wicked Tickle bar — that is, a transformed St. Luke's Theatre — you feel at home among the helter-skelter tables and chairs, columns wrapped in rainbow string lights, country music paraphernalia, and hooting and hollering. A pre-show open mic seamlessly transitions into a jukebox country musical, the beguiling while narratively uneven Music City, set to rollicking tunes by Billboard chart-topping songwriter J.T. Harding.

Peter Zinn’s book has the plot of a melodramatic music video: Two Nashville musician brothers, Drew (Jonathan Judge-Russo) and T.J. (a disarming Stephen Michael Spencer), dream of selling out stadiums with their songs homegrown at open mics. T.J. has a meet-cute with an airport-gig songwriter, called “23” (Lauren Pritchard, in for Casey Shuler during a leave of absence), that leads to romance. But the brothers resort to selling drugs to pay for studio expenses, and T.J. finds he has to secretly deliver to 23’s mother, Leeanne (Leenya Rideout), a washed-up talent spat out by the music industry.

It’s a rocky start, with the first bout of Uncle Kracker's “Smile,” here T.J. and 23’s songwriting collaboration, oddly not as energetic as one hopes (it returns in greater force in Act 2). But the theatre quakes when T.J. coaxes Leeanne to sing, and Rideout unleashes the floodgates of a transportive “For This Town.” Almost an hour into Act 1, Music City here finds its footing through the earnest rawness of its country catalogue.

These characters might be archetypes, but their hardscrabble backgrounds make them distinctive enough. Otherwise, Andrew Rothenberg is cloyingly cartoonish to a fault as the antagonistic Bakerman, who browbeats the brothers into delivering drugs. But he is chilling as fictional country legend Stucky Stiles, who prowls around the bar, emanating stubborn masculinity and embitterment over lost glory days. He’s a swaggering shell of a bygone world, magnetic with a dark side.

And Music City has its darkness. When Act 2 takes surprising turns, don’t think about the military-industrial complex. Don’t think about a sudden unnamed war, laughably opaque as if to dodge controversy, beneath the shiny surface of the patriotism that sells much country music. But it’s harder not to think of the script glossing over the gravity of 23's mother overlooking possible sexual harassment. It’s not a fault that Music City embraces country melodrama, but it pulls its punches whenever it’s tempted to spiral into darkness. From the darling mother/daughter duet “Clean” and the ensemble barnburner of “Sober as a Drunk,” Music City tests how much you’re willing to swallow the musical tonic to drown out its more questionable plot points.

Music City summary

Welcome to the Wicked Tickle, a Nashville honky-tonk with country music, cheap beer, and talented dreamers at the open mic night. Drew and T.J. are foster-raised brothers whose childhood heartbreak fuels their dreams of performing with country music idol Stucky Stiles. When record producer Tammy, a Stucky associate, happens to stumble upon their performance and asks them to record a demo, they’re forced to fund their recording by selling drugs for a volatile drug dealer.

Matters get heated when T.J. finds himself delivering drugs to the mother of his love interest and co-songwriter, an airport gig singer who goes by “23,” and dilemmas both personal and within the larger music business threaten the group’s bond.

Music City previously premiered at the West End Theatre in 2025.

What to expect at Music City

Within the Wicked Tickle, some songs are performed diegetically in the bar, while others are not. The textures of the band and lyrics reverberate thanks to Jane Shaw's sound design and Julianne B. Merrill (playing Wyn, the emcee) and PJ Ju’s orchestrations and arrangements. The stage is populated with the band and a single sofa so it can function as a living room, while a porch is tucked stage right.

Even if you’re no stranger to the immersive bar designs in other Off-Broadway productions like The Lonely Few or Beau the Musical (the latter of which also played at St. Luke's) Wicked Tickle’s transformation of the St. Luke space gives other bar-immersive musicals a run for their money. Expect to hear hooting and hollering when entering in the middle of the open mic scheduled about 15 minutes before showtime, during which you can use your phones. If Music City is a show about how dreamers can be discovered at an open mic, be attentive to your fellow theatregoers who sign up to perform.

If you’re on the floor at a table, angle your chair wisely to avoid too much strain as you watch the action around the space, including behind you (a wall mirror doesn’t solve all the obstruction from every vantage point). Other tiers of audience members are seated on tall chairs at the side and back of the theatre.

What audiences are saying about Music City

Based on 37 Show-Score reviews and an 84% audience approval score from the previous run, theatregoers found the show entertaining and well-performed if narratively hit-and-miss. Those at early performances of the current run expressed similar sentiments.

• "I like country music quite a lot and enjoyed Nashville the TV show. The story and vibes of this show feels very similar to Nashville, so if it’s your thing, you’re guaranteed a great time." - Reddit user u/Kathrynxuxx
• "It's fluff, but fun fluff. The vibes are good. The music is engaging. It's the first immersive bar set I've seen that actually feels like a bar." - Show-Score user Eric F 3
• “While the book is not the most original and some characters seem more like archetypes than three-dimensional people, the show is so well-performed with great music, an immersive set design, and talented performers that you can't help but go along for the ride.” - Show-Score user MaxD
• “That was really good. The actor who played T.J. brought exactly the right amount of charming earnestness to his role. This musical is about what it means to chase your dreams in a world where grizzly musicians and drug dealers tell you you can only succeed their way. ” - My +1 at the show

Who should see Music City

• Country music fans will appreciate the musical, considering Harding's contributions for big-name artists like Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Uncle Kracker, Darius Rucker, Keith Urban, and more.
• Those who liked musicals like Beau The Musical or The Lonely Few will find themselves at home in the immersive bar setup (and be tempted to buy drinks).
• Spring Awakening fans would love the casting of the Grammy-nominated Lauren Pritchard (known professionally as LOLO), who originated that show's role of Ilse on Broadway.
• Come for the vibrant performances by established talents Jonathan Judge-Russo, Stephen Michael Spencer, Leenya Rideout, Andrew Rothenberg, and Julianne B. Merrill.

Learn more about Music City off Broadway

Music City makes a tempting cocktail of an irresistible cast, barn-burning country songs, and stellar orchestration, one that halfway seduces you to look away from its muddier storytelling.

Learn more and get Music City tickets on New York Theatre Guide. Music City is at St. Luke's Theatre through October 31.

Photo credit: Music City off Broadway. (Photos by Jeremy Daniel)