MR. SATURDAY NIGHT Reviews- Page 2

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 11:16pm

Oleksinski loving this after not really liking Skin of Our Teeth, A Strange Loop, or POTUS is... rich. 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 11:23pm

Helen Shaw in Vulture is mostly positive:

https://www.vulture.com/2022/04/theater-reviews-potus-and-mr-saturday-night.html

"So why did I enjoy it so much? When the show isn’t trying to be a musical, it puts Crystal up in front of us and has him do Buddy’s act. Crystal is the kind of entertainer whose blade never dulls. Occasionally it even shows a bit of Buddy’s old act, including a clip from the film. In the video, Crystal’s timing is perfect, a pirouette, a riot. What a master he was! What a master he is. They creative team can afford to show us Crystal in his heyday because he hasn’t changed his fundamentals. His high-pitch zany key, the gunfire patter, the Big Characters (your Miracle Max, for instance)—those have fallen away, but his grace is just getting finer and finer. Crystal delivers each punchline like a Ping-Pong player hitting short; he delicately tips the ball over the net. It’s a class he’s giving, and it’s one you should go see him teach in person: Cultivate ease when you are young, because it’s the one thing that won’t desert you when the rest of your gags are gone."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 11:25pm

Newsweek is positive:

Billy Crystal Does Stand-Up Job in Broadway Comedy 'Mr. Saturday Night'

https://www.newsweek.com/billy-crystal-does-stand-job-broadway-comedy-mr-saturday-night-review-1701276

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 12:00am

I have to confess I expected less than the basic consensus we are seeing here (though I think some of the positives are a bit on the B+ side and not getting a critics pick from the Times is probably a bigger deal than everything else we are reading here. I don't think this necessarily translates into a Tony for Crystal. (But my track record on this show is not that great.) We shall see

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 12:18am

I’m really happy so many critics had a great time. 

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 12:20am

I really don't see how Crystal wins a Tony for this. He's wonderfully charming sure, and in his prime element in front of an audience. But Lead Actor is Jaquel Spivey's to lose. And there's a whole lot of daylight between the two performances and in terms of what is required of the respective actors. 

[Luminaire2]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 1:50am

Shoshana received some nice comments in that NYT review, so happy to have her doing more and more Broadway again! 

Updated On: 4/28/22 at 01:50 AM

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 8:43am

Observer is positive on Crystal, negative on just about everything else (and appears to have printed the review text twice):

Review: Billy Crystal Deserves Better Than ‘Mr. Saturday Night’

Whatever charm exists in 'Mr. Saturday Night' is due to Mr. Crystal, but even he needs proper material. 

https://observer.com/2022/04/review-billy-crystal-deserves-better-than-mr-saturday-night/

 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 9:33am

MayAudraBlessYou2 said: "I really don't see how Crystal wins a Tony for this. He's wonderfully charming sure, and in his prime element in front of an audience. But Lead Actor is Jaquel Spivey's to lose. And there's a whole lot of daylight between the two performances and in terms of what is required of the respective actors."

I don't think Best Actor in a Musical is anyone's "to lose", at the moment, mostly because it's such a strong category overall this year. You have the major star turns from Jackman and Crystal, strong comic work from the likes of Rob McClure, and star-making turns from Jacquel Spivey and Miles Frost, not to mention well-regarded work from beloved veterans like Tony Yazbeck and Jay O. Sanders.

I'm currently predicting Frost. I think it might help if you being a performance that stands out from the show around it, and even people who don't like or aren't comfortable with the musical could have a hard time denying the effectiveness of his performance.

[SisterGeorge]

Posted: 4/28/22 at 1:57pm

MayAudraBlessYou2 said: "...But Lead Actor is Jaquel Spivey's to lose. And there's a whole lot of daylight between the two performances and in terms of what is required of the respective actors..."

I am  so hoping you are right. I saw the first preview in DC, where you could see Spivey was nervous as hell, but he gave an amazing, hilarious, heart-breaking performance. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 5/2/22 at 12:23pm

Music director David O posted on his Instagram story that in addition to this morning's TODAY Show performance, the orchestra has started to lay down tracks today for an Original Broadway Cast Recording!