Posted: 12/22/24 at 4:44pm
Tonight marks the last Broadway opening of 2024.
Post ‘em here, kids!
Posted: 12/22/24 at 7:27pm
Culture Sauce
"‘All In’ delivers overpriced sit-down comedy from big stars"
https://culturesauce.com/2024/12/22/all-in-broadway-review-simon-rich-john-mulaney/
"But there’s a gap between being game and being entertaining — especially at inflated Broadway prices. Director Alex Timbers tries to amp up the production with cartoon projections (by Lucy Mackinnon) and occasional smoke and lighting effects (by Jake DeGroot) but there’s an underlying laziness to the staging that makes the show feel slight even before you note the 85-minute running time. Call it sit-down comedy. "
Posted: 12/22/24 at 8:02pm
Vincentelli in NY Times
‘All In’ Review: A Slight Affair for John Mulaney-Led Comedy About Love
A talented cast has fun in Simon Rich’s Broadway debut, but the minimally staged show doesn’t quite justify the hefty price of tickets.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/22/theater/all-in-review.html
" this new production is a slight affair that’s as easy to forget as it is to watch. Theatergoers likely to get the most mileage out of the show’s 90 minutes at the Hudson Theater are those who bust a gut reading The New Yorker’s Shouts & Murmurs section — they must exist, right? — where some of this material has appeared."
"Still, considering the hefty price for orchestra seats for “All In,” the bitterness of the pill — or rather the credit-card bill — stands in stark contrast to the sweetness of the show itself, which is concerned with the fact that “the most important part of life is who we share it with,” as Mulaney says near the start, reading a preface of sorts from Rich. There are as many awws as guffaws here, and the cloying sentimentality that had been simmering eventually boils over in the final segment, when a ninth-grader from 2074 (Goldsberry) presents a history paper about her great-grandfather Simon Rich and his courtship of his future wife, Kathleen."
Posted: 12/22/24 at 8:02pm
NY Stage Review
ALL IN: COMEDY ABOUT LOVE BY SIMON RICH — STORY HOUR WITH BROADWAY PRICES
By Frank Scheck
★★★☆☆ A changing quartet of notable performers including John Mulaney and Lin-Manuel Miranda read comic pieces by humorist Simon Rich in this Broadway show staged by Alex Timbers.
https://nystagereview.com/2024/12/22/all-in-comedy-about-love-by-simon-rich-story-hour-with-broadway-prices/
ALL IN: COMEDY ABOUT LOVE BY SIMON RICH — HIT & MISS REVUE
By David Finkle
★★★☆☆ John Mulaney, Fred Armisen, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Richard Kind in an amusing evening
https://nystagereview.com/2024/12/22/all-in-comedy-about-love-by-simon-rich-hit-miss-revue/
Posted: 12/22/24 at 8:04pm
Deadline
‘All In: Comedy About Love’ Broadway Review: John Mulaney, Richard Kind, Fred Armisen & Renée Elise Goldsberry Give Voice To Comic Brilliance Of Simon Rich
https://deadline.com/2024/12/all-in-comedy-about-love-broadway-review-1236238030/
"count me among the Rich converts. Directed by the ever nimble Alex Timbers and performed by a rotating cast of four actors – I was lucky to get the truly excellent John Mulaney, Fred Armisen, Renée Elise Goldsberry, and Richard Kind – the 90-minute All In is a perfect holiday snickerdoodle, a light and tasty snack no less funny for its brevity and lack of splashy production values.":
Posted: 12/22/24 at 8:05pm
Variety
‘All In: Comedy About Love’ Review: Stars Align on Broadway for Offbeat Tales of Love Connections
https://variety.com/2024/legit/reviews/all-in-comedy-about-love-review-broadway-1236257604/
"Think of it all as a hipster “Love Letters” in a loft setting: quirky, absurdist, sometimes rude but never crude (well, maybe the humping dog bit). Or perhaps Garrison Keiller on psychedelics."
Posted: 12/22/24 at 8:07pm
Daily Beast
John Mulaney Hilariously Takes Over Broadway in ‘All In’
GUY WALKS INTO A BAR...
“All In” is a series of short stories by writer Simon Rich, in which a rotating cast including Mulaney play toddlers, detectives, dogs, pirates, and more.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/all-in-review-john-mulaney-and-co-hilariously-take-over-broadway/
Posted: 12/22/24 at 8:10pm
Holdren in Vulture is, as usual, the best.
The Sit-Down Comedy of All In
https://www.vulture.com/article/theater-review-all-in-comedy-about-love-mulaney-rich.html
"If this final Broadway show of 2024 is the year’s dessert, All In feels like a strange culinary hybrid: Breyers vanilla served with gold leaf and just enough Dubai chocolate to try and get it trending on TikTok. It’s got a simple center, with some fun and some heart to it, but the commercial stunt of the whole endeavor is pointed and unavoidable. Maybe that’s not an inappropriate metaphor for Christmas, or for Broadway, but it can leave you feeling a bit like Goldsberry’s baby dame: not quite sure what exactly we’re all doing here."
Posted: 12/22/24 at 8:11pm
Theatremania
Review: John Mulaney and Friends Read Us Stories by Simon Rich in All In: Comedy About Love on Broadway
Alex Timbers directs a theatrical anthology of funny and ho-hum tales at the Hudson Theatre.
https://www.theatermania.com/news/review-john-mulaney-and-friends-read-us-stories-by-simon-rich-in-all-in-comedy-about-love_1759021/
"In theory, having actors read stories, scripts in hand, seems like a reasonable idea. We’ve seen similar plays before (A.R. Gurney’s sappy Love Letters and the currently running Pen Pals are two examples). Rich has a knack for the kooky and absurd, and his tales about growling pirates, dogs trying to connect through the personals, and babies that talk like characters out of a Philip Marlowe novel, are never not amusing. I have to say that I was smiling throughout much of the show, but with the exceptions of one or two winners, All In feels like a joke that goes on for too long and it doesn’t have the knee-slapping payoff to make it worth 90 minutes of your time."
Posted: 12/22/24 at 8:13pm
One star from NY Post
‘All In: Comedy About Love’ review: Starry Broadway show’s a big waste of money
https://nypost.com/2024/12/22/entertainment/all-in-comedy-about-love-review-starry-broadway-shows-a-big-waste-of-money/
"The phrase “all in” probably summons flop-sweat memories of putting every one of your chips on the poker table.
Well, at the Broadway show “All In: Comedy About Love,” the audience does the very same with their hard-earned money — and loses big-time."
"Each cutesy bit is more self-satisfied and twee than the next. And the entire night has the low boil of a long-winded intro that builds to nothing."
Posted: 12/22/24 at 8:16pm
NY Sun
John Mulaney and a Rotating Series of Stage and Screen Stars Bring to Life the Stories of Simon Rich
‘All In: Comedy About Love by Simon Rich’ consists of a series of vignettes adapted from Rich’s stories, and their general sensibility exists at the intersection of ‘Saturday Night Live’ and the New Yorker.
https://www.nysun.com/article/john-mulaney-and-a-rotating-series-of-stage-and-screen-stars-bring-to-life-the-stories-of-simon-rich
Posted: 12/22/24 at 8:25pm
Four stars from TimeOut
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/all-in-comedy-about-love-broadway-review-simon-rich-john-mulaney
"Director Alex Timbers gives All In the air of a live reading of The New Yorker, where much of Rich’s text first appeared: Set designer David Korins evokes a high-toned literary-bohemian atmosphere that is offset by Emily Flake’s adorable illustrations, projected on exposed brick. If you read The New Yorker regularly, you may remember some of the works collected here; Rich’s writing is memorably sharp and well-crafted. But their comic surprises are refreshed in performance."
Posted: 12/22/24 at 8:52pm
DTLI Consensus: This half-baked comedy featuring the short stories of Simon Rich does not quite do enough to justify high ticket prices, despite the star power on display.
6 mixed (including the NYT), 4 positive, 1 negative.
https://didtheylikeit.com/shows/all-in-comedy-about-love/
Posted: 12/22/24 at 9:07pm
I’m glad many of the critics took issue with the pricing this is demanding, but it does feel like it was still largely handled with kid gloves. Not that this is something that ever was going to live or die on reviews.
Posted: 12/22/24 at 9:28pm
Vincentelli nailed my reaction to the show but much more articulately than I ever could. I can’t lie, I arrived salty. The website still says “performed by” not read by… when I bought my ticket, I thought I’d be seeing a play. I guess the stories are performed, but it’s a stretch. I laughed a bit. There were many cutesy moments-too cutesy for me. The woman beside me kept going “awww” and I felt like gagging. I hate that the female role is basically reduced to a child. Mulaney is definitely Mulaney here. I can’t lie-I really enjoy him. His cadences, inflection, it’s all there. I can’t imagine the stories told by anyone else, really. If I was listening to “The Moth” while walking my dog, I’d probably enjoy the stories more, but I checked-I paid 344 smackers-nope not worth it. I felt swindled. Oh, and I love the Magnetic Fields. I think you hear snippets 3-4 of the 69 love songs and I wanted more music. Overall, meh.
Posted: 12/22/24 at 9:45pm
I think it's really interesting that so many critics are weighing in on the show being overpriced for what it is, despite the fact their tickets were comped.
This is definitely an instance where critic reviews are being shaped by the conversation on social media, as opposed to the other way around.
Posted: 12/22/24 at 10:19pm
MemorableUserName said: "Variety
‘All In: Comedy About Love’ Review: Stars Align on Broadway for Offbeat Tales of Love Connections
https://variety.com/2024/legit/reviews/all-in-comedy-about-love-review-broadway-1236257604/
"Think of it all as a hipster “Love Letters” in a loft setting: quirky, absurdist, sometimes rude but never crude (well, maybe the humping dog bit). Or perhaps Garrison Keiller on psychedelics.""
Variety can’t even spell the name of someone as notable as Garrison Keillor? Jesus.
Posted: 12/23/24 at 1:54am
Apparently these dropped just after the curtain was up on tonight’s show…which I was at.
This show has no idea what it wants to be. The writing is childish and amateurish with a very loosely associated idea of “love” as a through line.This feels like it should’ve been a one-night BCEFA fundraiser.
Mulaney and Kind were reliably hilarious (I want a show where they play father and son), but Goldsberry and Armisen feel underused. The fact that they did this all sitting down with no physical action was also vexing.
Having now seen everything opened this fall, while not the worst show, it’s definitely near the bottom of my list. Spend the bare minimum on it if possible
Posted: 12/23/24 at 8:06am
I don’t think I’ve ever seen critics talk so much about getting what you pay for and tickets prices. It’s one thing to say a show looks cheap. It’s another to say a show is a cash grab. Glad they’re holding the producers to task. But I guess this show is mostly sold out already so it doesn’t really matter.
Posted: 12/23/24 at 6:46am
Someone somewhere must have said "Take my money!" when this was announced.
Updated On: 12/23/24 at 06:46 AM
Posted: 12/23/24 at 8:44am
Someone somewhere must have said "Take my money!" when this was announced.
Totally agree. It's like the producers aren't even trying to hide the fact that they want to bilk holiday theatergoers who will literally buy tickets to anything. I audibly gasped when reading one of the reviews that mentioned tickets going for $800 a pop to watch B tier actors sit on a stage and read from a book.
Posted: 12/23/24 at 9:23am
EvanstonDad said: "
Totally agree. It's like the producers aren't even trying to hide the fact that they want to bilk holiday theatergoers who will literally buy tickets to anything. I audibly gasped when reading one of the reviews that mentioned tickets going for $800 a pop to watch B tier actors sit on a stage and read from a book.
Umm..."literally buy tickets for anything"?? TAMMY FAYE and MAYBE HAPPY ENDING and SWEPT AWAY (just to name a few) would all like a word!
Can we assume that while you were "gasping", you were simultaneously clutching your pearls??
Posted: 12/23/24 at 11:59am
Umm..."literally buy tickets for anything"?? TAMMY FAYE and MAYBE HAPPY ENDING and SWEPT AWAY (just to name a few) would all like a word!
Can we assume that while you were "gasping", you were simultaneously clutching your pearls??
Yes!! I sit in my house, and I grab one of my many sets of pearls, and I rend my hair and gnash my teeth, and scream at the heavens, WHY, OH WHY ARE PEOPLE BUYING TICKETS TO THIS SHOW? WHY???!!!
Updated On: 12/23/24 at 11:59 AM
Posted: 12/23/24 at 3:44pm
I’m also surprised how the critics mention pricing especially when the show is able to sell tickets at tho prices.
Had they sold this at a cheaper price, scalpers would have bought those tix and resell them for $500-$800, keeping the profits.
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