HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO Opening Night Critics’ Reviews — Page 2

Here's NYT

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/10/theater/how-to-dance-in-ohio-review.html

Deadline is mixed:

https://deadline.com/2023/12/how-to-dance-in-ohio-review-broadway-1235658895/

"Broadway’s First Autistic Cast Has All The Right Moves In A Musical That Sometimes Doesn’t"

The Observer is mixed:

https://observer.com/2023/12/review-how-to-dance-in-ohio-welcomes-autistic-youth-under-the-disco-ball/

"Though clearly made with love, this musical adaptation of an HBO documentary about autistic people learning to dance tries to balance good intentions and razzle-dazzle will mixed results."

DTLI Consensus: How to Dance in Ohio is diverse and authentic in its casting and representation, but artistically, it is not quite going places.

5 positive, 5 mixed (including the NYT).

https://didtheylikeit.com/shows/how-to-dance-in-ohio/

Updated On: 12/10/23 at 10:10 PM

Yeah. They've got something to work with in these, but it's all slightly damning with faint praise. These certainly aren't reviews that will save them. The NY Times does make a pretty good case for watching the documentary!

How to dance at an opening night party with notices like that?

I think it's pretty clear that between Spamalot, this, and to an extent Purlie Victorious people on this board tend to be considerably more negative than critics and audiences at large. I guess that's to be expected as the sample size is a niche of a niche, but it was more pronounced here (even really liking the show, mixed-positive was what I was pretty much expecting from critics). I'm not trying to get into a fight, but there almost seemed like there was an effort to manufacture negative buzz, like that one person on the KPOP thread who claimed to know that the show would close before its opening night.

decolonize theatre.

What is "decolonize theatre"????

KevinKlawitter said: "I think it's pretty clear that betweenSpamalot, this, and to an extentPurlie Victoriouspeople on this board tend to be considerably more negative than critics and audiences at large. I guess that's to be expected as the sample size is a niche of a niche, but it was more pronounced here (even really liking the show, mixed-positive was what I was pretty much expecting from critics). I'm not trying to get into a fight, but there almost seemed like there was an effort to manufacture negative buzz, like that one person on theKPOPthread who claimed to know that the show would close before its opening night."

Published critics cannot be as harsh or blunt as anonymous posters on a message board. But the reviews here line up with what critics have been saying- that this is a well-meaning but weak show. So I'm not really sure what you're saying.

darquegk said: "Maybe it also feels like a bit of a nothing burger in a season with HERE LIES LOVE, a really innovative and experimental show actually written by an openly neurodivergent artist and iconoclast."

I think this is a really good point.

Sometimes a more subtle approach is better.

We've had many other musicals written/directed/produced by/starring neurodiverse people, and centering around characters who are neurodivergent. The difference, of course, is that those artists haven't been "out" (or weren't diagnosed), and the stories have been more subtextual.

The messaging behind this $50 ticket initiative is so odd. Just got this email



"Help us build momentum to reach 50,000 audience members by the end of 2023! For a limited time, every day, select unsold seats for that day’s performance will be only $50 at the Box Office. This never-been-done-on-Broadway deal is first-come, first-served and applies to select unsold seats in the house!*"

this is a rush ticket, you are claiming to have invented a rush ticket....