Very curious to see how this does critically. I truly enjoyed, Rocky, and wish it well. I suspect that this show might be "critic proof" though and will find an audience no matter what the reviews are. Time will tell.
ARTc3 formerly ARTc. Actually been a poster since 2004. My name isn't Art. Drop the "3" and say the signature and you'll understand.
Got the new Entertainment Weekly today in the mail, and it has their review of Rocky. They gave it a B, and generally said it was a wonderful production, which stays faithful to the indie spirit of the original film, but that the songs were largely bland, with clunky rhymes.
Google has a tease of the financial times review Financial Times-4 hours ago Rocky, Winter Garden Theatre, New York – review ... What precedes that coup is, in Broadway terms, an unexpectedly intimate affair – a well-acted, occasionally dull and sometimes ...
"How can you not burst into laughter when Rocky optimistically sings about how, despite all his troubles, "my nose ain't broken"? Seriously, that's the lyric."
"The music and lyrics by longtime collaborators Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (“Ragtime”) are serviceable, if humdrum. “My Nose Ain’t Broken,” used to establish Rocky’s years training in obscurity, hardly seems to warrant a reprise, yet it gets one. The two best songs in “Rocky” are those not written for the musical: Bill Conti’s spirit-lifting theme, and “Eye of the Tiger,” used in a training montage that includes those iconic museum stairs. The latter was written for “Rocky III,” but don’t be confused—the Broadway musical otherwise tracks the plot of only the first film."
"“Eye of the Tiger” joins the cacophony preceding the climactic bout between Rocky and Apollo. And it becomes apparent that the musical Rocky subscribes to the method of Mamma Mia! – the previous piece of cheese to take over this theatre, the Winter Garden, for aeons – for ensuring a hit: wallop the audience for the final 15 minutes. The fight, which includes movement by choreographers Steven Hoggett and Kelly Devine, draws in the audience. By then, Andy Karl’s painstaking performance as Rocky disappears among the cheers."
I'd call NBC-NY mixed. It does end on "For whatever its flaws, “Rocky” the musical wins with a knockout final scene that is, guaranteed, unlike anything you’ve seen in the theater."
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
An unbidden association suddenly springs uncontrollably to mind: The ensemble all dressed like Rocky recall the ensemble all dressed like Spider-Man in “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark.” The two musicals have much in common, superficially. Both are based on an iconic brand, a money-making franchise in another medium. Both are a story about a main character that everyone considers a loser, who starts off as a shmo – as an everyday you or me — and becomes a hero….and gets the girl-next-door of their dreams. Both end in a climactic fight scene. The different theater artists adapting both thought it a good idea to translate the story using elaborate stagecraft with state-of-the art technology. But there's a crucial difference.... Rocky Review: The Italian Stallion on Broadway
No nod to the actress who played Adrienne. The score being weak was expected but saying a boxer singing about his nose not being broken. What was he supposed to sing about - the situation in the Ukraine?
I swear some of these critics are dumb beyond dumb.