The Glorious Ones

What the press had to say.....

"A sweet but strange hybrid, both joyfully naughty and totally innocuous. It�s like a whoopee cushion that emits a wistful sigh...If their scores are rarely groundbreaking, they are nicely varied, melodic and satisfying...Despite its roots in a novel by Francine Prose, �The Glorious Ones� is short on narrative thrust. It really is just a sung valentine to the actor�s life, with its joys, hardships and sorrows...A natural taste for low humor may not be strictly necessary for enjoyment of �The Glorious Ones,� but it certainly wouldn�t hurt."
Charles Isherwood
New York Times

"It's easy enough on the eyes and ears, but the 100-minute one-act, directed and choreographed by Graciela Daniele, is a minor and only modestly entertaining work."
Joe Dziemianowicz
New York Daily News

"This musical, adapted from Francine Prose's novel, works too hard to make its case. Largely a song cycle, it features a sketchy plot detailing the struggles of a typical commedia troupe.... The show never lives up to the promise of its title."
Frank Scheck
New York Post

"For a musical about low comedy, "The Glorious Ones" is breezy and delicate....turns out to be an overextended but pithy little valentine to the twilight of improvisation... The songs may have a debt to "Into the Woods" and "Cabaret," but the overall effect is goofy and sweet....Well, not heaven. It is, however, a nice place to visit."
Linda Winer
NewsDay

"Lively production boasts significant charms, notably leading man extraordinaire Marc Kudisch's juicy performance as a great big hunk of prosciutto cotto. But although there is typical craft and smarts to the estimable "Ragtime" makers' latest score, "The Glorious Ones" proves to be only fleetingly satisfying...A forgettable musical that thrives very pleasantly on a moment-by-moment viewing basis."
Michael Sommers
Star-Ledger

"Misguided new musical... Ms. Ahrens and Mr. Flaherty have resurrected the crude, mask-wearing vagabonds of late 1500s Italy � not out of some abiding love for that tradition, but as window-dressing for a paintby-number tale of backstage envy... The songs are competent without being memorable, and seldom venture to capture a sound that might be linked either to commedia or to Renaissance Italy... There isn't much to be done for a musical about the glories of entertainment that fails to entertain."
Joy Goodwin
New York Sun

"Like a multicolored harlequin costume, The Glorious Ones...is a patchwork affair. Some individual numbers shine brightly, but the show doesn't hold together... Another problem is that the bits and sketches performed by the troupe aren't that funny... There are a few charming numbers featuring sprightly lyrics by Ahrens and sweet melodies by Flaherty.., but they fail to flesh out these flat characters."
David Sheward
Back Stage

"Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens have written a customarily intelligent score for their new musical, "The Glorious Ones," and Marc Kudisch gives an especially fine performance in the central role. But this musical in commedia dell'arte style never quite engages the audience's attention, resulting in an admirable but only intermittently amusing evening... The low comedy on display here, simply put, is unlikely to set many theatergoers rolling in the aisles."
Steven Suskin
Variety