ROOMS Reviews

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 2:58am

Let us welcome Rooms: a rock romance, a new musical penned by Bright Lights, Big City's Paul Scott Goodman, to th forfront. This one officially opens at Off-Broadway's New World Stages/Stage 2! Break legs, Leslie (and Doug)!. Best to all involved. Please, post the reviews here.

Best,
- Mike

[ClumsyDude15]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 3:39am

I saw it on Friday and I loved it.

Leslie finally gets to show off that big voice of hers that she's been unable to do in Legally Blonde and A Catered Affair. She is just fabulous and could sing the phone book and I'd love it.

Doug Kreeger is fantastic! His voice is wonderful and his acting is very precise and well-thought out. He and Leslie have fabulous chemistry.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and want a cast recording, badly!

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 3:54am

I really hope it gets good reviews, but I think the reviews will be mixed - positive for the performers, but panning the show.

[KingKong]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 4:00am

I think the show itself will get mixed/positive. Kreeger will get positive, and Leslie will get raves.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 9:12am

I hope to see this soon...I love Leslie Kritzer. Best of luck to the cast and crew with the reviews!

[Anakela]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 10:23am

For anyone who hasn't seen/heard anything from the show yet, the ROOMS page on Facebook now has two video clips posted- one montage, and one clip of Kritzer's "Bring the Future Faster."
ROOMS - a rock romance

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 1:50pm

Wow...that makes me really miss Natascia's "Bring the Future Faster." I want to like Leslie in the part, but I'm not sure I do based on what I've seen/heard. I'd love to be able to see the show in New York, though.
Updated On: 3/16/09 at 01:50 PM

[Taryn]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 2:09pm

Hmm. That also makes me miss Natascia Diaz's version. Of course, this is only a short video clip, but I shouldn't make too many judgments, but it seems a lot less detailed than Diaz's. (Diaz also just manages to bring through a lot of the musicality of the accent during her songs.)

I have a good friend who's seen both and loves Leslie, though, and I trust her judgment. It's enough that I want to visit NYC and see the show again.

[Spider Woman]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 4:59pm

fingers crossed as I love this show. Natascia was good in the role, but, gotta say, I could never understand 3/4 of the words to Bring the Future Faster when she sang them.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 6:38pm

The Associated Press is Very Positive:

"It's a sound formula for fun musical theater — rock 'n' roll with an edge, youthful romance and fresh comedy performed with an exaggerated Scottish brogue.

You'll find these elements and more in Paul Scott Goodman's delightful "Rooms: a rock romance," which opened Monday at off-Broadway's New World Stages.

Goodman's lively, narrative-infused score manages to be lyrical, clever and even poignant — all without taking itself too seriously. And his tuneful songs are bolstered by a promising two-person cast and a capable backing band."

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/03/16/arts/Theater-Review-Rooms.php

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 6:56pm

Yay, that was a really good review. I'm expecting to read lots of praise for both actors, and big raves for Leslie Kritzer.

[Sauja]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 7:11pm

Very nice from the AP. I enjoyed this show, though I admit it's imperfect. For those displeased with the video of Kritzer's "Bring the Future Faster," I have to say--she was much better when I saw her. Not the accent--that was pretty bad throughout. But her vocals were much, much more appealing than they are in that clip. I'd think I just happened to catch a good night, but it was the first preview, so you'd think they'd only have improved since then. Who knows?

[KingKong]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 7:37pm

her accent wasn't necessarily on point but it was consistent.

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 8:04pm

Variety is Positive:

"The ambitious Monica gets them a recording contract as punk duo Lillian Filth and Perry Comatose, and they soon have a No. 1 hit. Soon they're in New York, where they discover -- surprise, surprise -- that their relationship is more than simply professional.

It's at this point, halfway in, that momentum halts. Given the presence of only two actors, even a precocious pre-teen could forecast the second-half trajectory. Yes, the suddenly (and strangely belatedly) romantic couple quickly break up when Ian's drunkenness sabotages their debut at CBGB; and yes, by the time the curtain comes down, they are finally back together. What else can you do with a two-character musical?

That said, Goodman's songs keep us involved. They range from tender to tough, introspective to brash, and punk rock to good old showbiz; the music is often inventive, and the lyrics are laced with delightful images."

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117939881.html?categoryid=33&cs=1

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 8:09pm

Her accent didn't bother me at all. I just hope Ghostlight picks this up, as I'm sure it will.

I went on the second preview and it was pretty much sold-out. Any word on if it's still selling well? I really hope it gets great reviews and has a healthy run. It's not a perfect show, but I think the design, music, acting, and directing are great - the book is just the weakest part, but whatever, I was still entertained.

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 8:12pm

I loved Leslie in the role; although I thought her accent was a little inconsistent, it didn't really bother me. I'm glad it's getting good reviews so far. I really enjoyed the show. It was predictable, but I thought the score was wonderful and so was the acting.

[KingKong]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 8:39pm

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/ob/03_16_09.html

"When Rooms first appeared at the 2005 New York Musical Theatre Festival, with different actors but the same director it has here (Scott Schwartz), it was both saccharine and acrid, anchored by a few attractive heavy rock tunes, weighed down by several others of no discernible distinction, and slathered with triteness. Ian and Monica were so introspectively insignificant that they were all but dwarfed by the bare-bones production and the smallish Off-Off-Broadway theater around it - at its best, the show felt more like a staged concept album than fully realized drama. Even today, very little has changed.

Except Kritzer. Her iron-plated vocal folds are perfect for convincing us of Monica’s exceptional talent. But it’s her slight air of waifishness that explains why suffers bad breaks and the effects of bad choices, her constant pulse of optimism that carries her through debilitating trials, and her knife-in-the-back knack for humor that reveals her tantalizingly individuality. Just by curling and pursing her lips she can bring the house down with laughter - and collapse your heart along with it. "

Talking Broadway is pretty negative. With raves for Leslie.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 8:46pm

I wouldn't classify that review from Talkin' Broadway as "pretty negative" by any means, especially considering the usual vitriol Matthew Murray dishes out.

Because of the literal love letter for Kritzer, Murray ends the review by saying she is so good that she elevates the quality of the material and makes the production worth seeing.

That is hardly anywhere near "pretty negative."

Updated On: 3/16/09 at 08:46 PM

[BustopherPhantom]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 8:49pm

Backstage is Positive:

"This familiar tale is made plausible, and curiously pleasant, by the performers, who uncover surprising depths in these Scottish youths. Kritzer easily delivers Monica's almost abrasive need for stardom even as the actor exposes the vulnerability that lies just under the character's surface. Though Kreeger overplays some of Ian's neurotic tics initially, his performance becomes increasingly rich as the collaboration and romance deepen.

Though Goodman and Gordon's book relies too heavily on the clichés of a too-rapid rise to stardom (Monica's bulimia alongside Ian's alcoholism), Goodman's songs—delivered powerfully by the performers—are a catchy amalgam of late-1970s rock styles fused with musical theatre tradition. The lyrics are well-crafted, often surprising, and even a little satiric, particularly when the duo are performing in their punk personae."

http://www.backstage.com/bso/news_reviews/nyc/review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003952007

[KingKong]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 8:50pm

except for Leslie he bashed everything about the show from the score, to the book, to the other actor.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 8:53pm

...and yet Kritzer still took up 90% of the review.

The fact that he raved over her to such an intense degree and inevitably used her as a justification for recommending the show puts that review in the Mixed category, especially considering Murray's track record.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 9:07pm

Time Out NY is Mixed, with a rave for Kritzer:

"Is there a technical showbiz term—besides divine—to describe Leslie Kritzer?

She's the rare singer-performer around whom musical sought to form as naturally as the earth's mantle surrounds its molten core. She has a wallpaper-shredding belt that belies her petite form and pretty, elfin looks. She's drop-dead funny but owns her serious moments. Where is her big, fat, custom-built Broadway show? ROOMS a rock romance is a decent vehicle for Kritzer's multiple talents, but it leaves you wanting a better showcase for her gifts.

Paul Scott Goodman provides the tunes and co-writes the book for this tale of a troubled relationship between Scottish songwriters Monica (Kritzer) and Ian (Kreeger). She's intent on stardom at any cost; he's determined to get drunk at all times. The course of their affair and career follows a predicable path: initial antipathy, sudden love, success, estrangement and breakup. Thanks to the actors' charisma (Kreeger, though handsome, makes a convincing greasy lush) and the occasional funny line, the journey with these characters is affable, if never fully gripping..."

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/theater/72448/rooms-a-rock-romance

Updated On: 3/17/09 at 09:07 PM

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 10:11pm

I'm glad to see fairly positive notices so far! I think the show's score is wonderful.

Natascia was good in the role, but, gotta say, I could never understand 3/4 of the words to Bring the Future Faster when she sang them.

Heh, unfortunately, I have to agree. Because she did so much with the accent, which I adored, her version is harder to understand. And since the lyrics are great, that's one strength of Leslie's. But Natascia kind of sounded like the lead singer of the Cranberries (in the best possible way), and was a complete powerhouse during the number to boot.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 10:29pm

Theatermania is Negative:

"Paul Scott Goodman knows how to start a show. The first riffs of his score for ROOMS, the new two-handed tuner at New World Stages, pulse with infectious theatre rock energy. Unfortunately, this self-styled "rock romance" almost immediately turns into a mirthless melodrama full of backstage clichés not even worthy of an episode of Behind the Music.

The show's set-up is simple: Monica (Leslie Kritzer) and Ian (Doug Kreeger) meet in Glasgow in the late 1970s. She's a Scottish-Jewish-Princess/lyricist and he's a misanthropic mope/composer. (Thudding dialogue quickly intrudes with a couple of British cusses to let us know we're not dealing with Americans.) Yet, somehow, Goodman (who wrote the book, music, and lyrics) and his wife Miriam Gordon (who shares bookwriting credit) have found nothing lively in sex, booze, and rock-and-roll.

It's not the innocence of the characters that accounts for the show's emotional inertia, nor is it lack of personal feeling. Indeed, the problem seems to lie with the musical material, which tries to blend rock and theater, yet doesn't hold up as either..."

http://www.theatermania.com/new-york/reviews/03-2009/rooms-a-rock-romance_18063.html

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 10:52pm

CurtainUp is Negative, with yet another rave for Kritzer:

"I don't know all that much about Monica, or the Pope, but that Leslie Kritzer can sell just about anything she's handed. She demonstrated that ability in last season's A Catered Affair and, before that, in Legally Blonde. Both the good and bad news about Rooms a rock romance is that Ms. Kritzer once again makes the most out of the hand she's been dealt. She impresses us much trying to make something out of this otherwise uneventful new musical that's been kicking around since the NYMF festival of 2005.

Rooms is a two-hander about Ian (Doug Kreeger), a reclusive musician, and the far more ambitious woman, Monica (Leslie Kritzer), who coaxes him out of his room for a brief trip to the top of punk rock stardom. The book (by Paul Scott Goodman, who also wrote the songs, and his wife, Miriam Gordon) tells us precious little that matters about the pair, and treads a path that many have already gone down to better effect before.

Not surprisingly, a "romance" develops, fades and re-emerges. Much is made of the fact that Monica is Jewish and Ian is not, but not so much to invest the story with meaning as to set up a disappointing song, "Scottish Jewish Princess." It's a pattern — jokes and songs float on their own bottom, rarely bothering to move the plot along. Even when they do, as in Kritzer's barnstorming "Bring the Future Faster," what's remarkable is how little beyond its title the song adds to the story..."

http://curtainup.com/rooms.html