The Daily News gives the show
2 Stars out of 5 'As is, the score by Jason Robert Brown ("Parade") is pleasant enough, tripping from pop and Carly Simon-ish ballads to blues. While short on character development, Brown's lyrics do manage to evoke teen-speak, as when boys lament that their buddy "fell for a slut with a fabulous butt."
Director Jeremy Sams creates some clever moments, including an amusing scene in a movie theater where the kids watch a horror flick. The pubescent crowd may find this new musical fascinating — but Mom and Dad will be left thinking about 13 better ways they could have spent their ticket dollars.'
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/arts/2008/10/06/2008-10-06_13_teen_musicals_days_are_numbered.html The New York Post (with Barbara Hoffman reviewing) gives the show
3 Stars out of 4:
'I can't remember the last Broadway musical with a big Torah number. Then again, I can't re member a leading man six years shy of legal drinking age.
All that (and more) adds up to "13," the disarmingly charming new musical that opened last night.'
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10062008/entertainment/theater/musical_mazel_tov_for_heartland_teens_132389.htm The Philadelphia Inquirer is
a Rave:
'The new musical called 13 is every bit as sweet as your first kiss. And maybe even as memorable.
It opened last night on a Broadway stage filled with teenagers - both the 13-member cast and the accompanying musicians range in age from 12 to 16. And by the time its 90 minutes pass, a child shall lead them has a fresh theatrical meaning.'
http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/arts/20081006__13___A_sweet_show_by_and_about_kids.html Newsday is
Mixed-to-Positive:
'Imagine "Grease" remade as an after-school special and you have "13," the cheerful and endearing, ebulliently performed and blandish musical that stars genuine tweens as fictional tweens as they all grow into their scary new skin.
Think "Middle School Musical" for the window of demographic opportunity between Disney and "Spring Awakening." Raunchier than "Bye Bye Birdie," more sanitized than Buffy, this 90-minute moptop package explores two familiar agonies - pre-pubescence and kid-in-a-new school - with smart-enough lyrics and canny-enough pop-rock pastiche and, despite a general lack of meanness, a bizarre glee in making fun of the dying crippled kid...'
http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/exploreli/ny-etent5871879oct06,0,890060.story The Hartford Courant is
Mixed-to-Negative:
'...Brown's songs, a mix of rock and pop ballads, give the intermissionless production some momentum as it shifts from a vista of toy town to a bland school hallway, in the design of David Farley, who also dressed the kids.
Yet for all the enthusiasm of the ensemble, "13" seems to be going nowhere fast.'
http://www.courant.com/entertainment/stage/reviews/hc-13rev.artoct07,0,1430666.story John Simon is
Negative:
'As for the tunes, which luckily for Brown I cannot quote, let me say only that they are entirely worthy of the lyrics. That leaves the book by Dan Elish and Robert Horn, among whose credits are a kiddie show ("The Worldwide Dessert Contest") and a Disney animation "Wild Life."
Manifestly, the driving force behind "13" was the (undeserved) success of Disney's "High School Musical!" franchise and the assumption that something similar could be achieved with a middle-school musical. I wouldn't be surprised if "13" could progress from middle school to middle school to middle school.'
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aQUtGOUqqE_Q The Hollywood Reporter is
Mixed-to-Positive:
'While not exactly sophisticated enough to stand as adult entertainment, "13" works more than well enough on its own terms and should well please its target audience. Brown's pop-rock score is bouncy and fun, and is performed in exuberant fashion by the youthful cast. Indeed, the ensemble is highly impressive, putting over the material with precocious professionalism and -- presumably thanks to the steady hand of director Jeremy Sams -- avoiding the show-offy, "look at me" syndrome so endemic to younger performers.
Only at the evening's end, during the musical number performed at the curtain call, do they seem to be showing off. But there's no denying that by then they've earned the right.'
http://www.reuters.com/article/artsNews/idUSTRE4963BJ20081007
"Y'know, I think Bertolt Brecht was rolling in his grave."
-Nellie McKay on the 2006 Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera, in which she played Polly Peachum
Updated On: 10/7/08 at 08:34 AM