The Wrap.com MOSTLY POSITIVE.
http://www.thewrap.com/groundhog-day-broadway-review-andy-karl-star-reborn-reborn/
Finds some of the "gross-out humor" less effective and calls Doss a "rather bland love interest."
"Need an antidote to the saccharine good-time, small-town vibe of “Come From Away”? You’ll find it in the inventive, acerbic, and thoroughly irreverent “Groundhog Day,” which opened Monday at the August Wilson Theatre.
Minchin follows his “Matilda” success with his far more eclectic “Groundhog Day” score. He does a couple of very unusual things, at least for Broadway. Minchin emphasizes the rhythmic in his act-one songs, then turns very melodic for act two. He also gives his two best ballads, “Playing Nancy” and “Night Will Come,” to minor characters. Neither song furthers the plot or expands on the characterizations of the principals, but both bring a lovely contemplative mood to “Groundhog Dog” after an extremely frenetic first act.
Minchin’s lyrics are never less than clever. Sometimes, however, they are not outrageously witty when they need to be. That’s where Warchus picks up the slack to deliver the act-one showstopper “Stuck,” which finds Phil taking a couple of slackers (the very funny Andrew Call and Raymond J. Lee) on the truck ride of their life, which in any other circumstances would automatically lead to their death.
Even better is act two’s “Hope,” which finds not only Phil but the entire populace of Punxsutawney trying to off itself in ways that run the suicide gamut, from popping too many pills to electrocution by toaster in the bathtub. with help from set designer Rob Howell, Warchus achieves here what the makers of last season’s “American Psycho” musical never quite pulled off. An added attraction are a number of Act 2 stunts that can only be described as sleight-of-body and should not be revealed here.
Less effective are Minchin and Warchus’s attempts at gross-out humor having to do with bodily fluids. ..... "Karl is so good that after five minutes you stop thinking about Bill Murray in the movie. You might, however, miss Andie MacDowell. Barrett Doss possesses a pretty singing voice, but emerges as a rather bland love interest."
Updated On: 4/17/17 at 09:32 PM