ROOMS Reviews- Page 2

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/16/09 at 11:29pm

So far, it seems as if the reviews that "count" are relatively strong (The Times has yet to be posted.)

I'm quite happy to see Kritzer getting the rave reviews she deserves.

Hopefully, her reception here will help make her the breakout star she deserves to be.

Updated On: 3/18/09 at 11:29 PM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 3:32am

No New York Times? Well I'm glad the reviews are mostly positive. I think the show won't close over night, and with the awards season gearing up, it might get some noms and whatnot.

[hockeynut2]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 5:36am

Great Review in NY Daily News.
***1/2

"Can a quirky female lyricist and a reclusive rocker who can wrap his guitar around a melody make music - and find love - in the big city? “Rooms: a rock romance” transcends the obvious answer and shopworn opposites-attract plot seen everywhere from Broadway (“They’re Playing Our Song”) to big-screen (“Words and Music”) with bangup, big-hearted tunes and a small-scale construction that lets a two-actor cast strut their stuff. Strut they do."




NY DAILY NEWS REVIEW OF ROOMS A ROCK ROMANCE Updated On: 3/17/09 at 05:36 AM

[hockeynut2]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 5:39am

HERE IS A GREAT REVIEW IN THE NY POST:
"IT'S hard enough to pull off a rock musical, let alone an intimate two-hander. Add an accent - and not just any accent: a Glasgow brogue - and you have a daunting task on your hands.

And yet Paul Scott Goodman's "ROOMS a rock romance" turns out to be an appealing surprise.."

NY POST REVIEW OF ROOMS A ROCK ROMANCE

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 9:47am

RentBoy86, The Times review should be up later today.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 9:52am

With almost everyone having weighed in but The Times thus far:

Very Positive:
Associated Press

Positive:
Variety, Back Stage, NY Daily News, NY Post

Mixed:
Talkin' Broadway, Time Out NY

Negative:
Theatermania, CurtainUp

Updated On: 3/17/09 at 09:52 AM

[JenNYferTheatrical]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 12:07pm

Strange, I thought Kritzer was great, but the weaker of the two (mostly because of her wavering grasp of the accent). Glad to see these good reviews!

[Anakela]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 2:40pm

So, I've actually never heard of Talk Entertainment before, but I think the reviewer there loved it even more than the AP did-

Hit alert! Hit alert! When was the last time you went to see a new musical on or off- Broadway and came out humming a tune? Well, at least part of a tune. Rooms, a new rock or rather “rocky” romance of a musical by Paul Scott Goodman (music, lyrics and book) and Miriam Gordon (book) will have NYC humming and buzzing and cheering till the heather on the hills of Scotland is no longer.

...

Doug Kreeger as Ian and Leslie Kritzer as Monica are perfection as the oddest of odd couples with charisma by the bucketful and voices to match.

...

The amazing double tour de force performances have been beautifully directed by Scott Schwartz. He should be much in demand.

etc., etc., etc.
Rooms: a rock romance that will have NYC humming and buzzing and cheering

[hockeynut2]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 6:36pm

Broadway World gives Rooms a rave.


"It's getting late in the game, but I believe we have a new contender for the best new musical of the season."


Broadway World Rave for Rooms

[KingKong]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 7:01pm

lulz.

[KingKong]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 7:01pm

lulz.

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 7:21pm

Why didn't the New York Times review it?

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/17/09 at 7:32pm

#1Elphie, a Times critic (not Brantley or Isherwood) did attend the show.

His review should be posted at some point this evening.

Updated On: 3/17/09 at 07:32 PM

[ClumsyDude15]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 2:50am

I'm glad to see the show getting good reviews! It's such a good time and for twenty buck tickets, you honestly cannot go wrong.

[hockeynut2]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 2:44pm

Rooms
Reviewed on WOR Radio 710 Wednesday March 17th, 2009
David Richardson Theater Critic for WOR Radio 710

Once in a while one gets lucky when taking in an off Broadway show and this reviewer got very lucky Monday night when he took in the opening of a new musical called Rooms a rock romance which opened that night at New World Stages over on West 50th street.

Brought to us by the same folks who gave us Bright Lights Big City and tick, tick BOOM! both of which have cult attractions, this story of romance and pop music in the 70s is just plain terrific.

A young Glasgow girl is anxious to find someone to add music to some lyrics she has written for a Bat Mitzvah and she runs into a young man who just happens to have those qualifications. The two then proceed with a romantic affair plus becoming the hit of the musical pop rock world while traveling and performing in London and New York. A few problems emerge along the way including our heroes penchant for the bottle but things do work out in the end.

Now that story may sound a tad familiar but it’s not the story you care about…. it’s the cast. There are exactly two people up there on the small stage backed up by a 5 piece band and a stage set consisting of a moving door and those two people are two of the most talented performers I have ever seen. Doug Kreeger plays the lad with a drinking problem but with music on his mind and he’s super and a perfect match for Leslie Kritzer, who was the Tony nominated bride in last seasons A Catered Affair, who is fast becoming a star, and in my opinion possesses the best pipes on the New York Stage today. No kidding she is just fantastic here and judging by the totally wild audience reactions after each show she’s becoming a cult figure herself.

"Rooms a rock romance" certainly is for the younger generation but no matter your age you will love this tiny show with a big heart and its two marvelous performers.

[Anakela]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 3:24pm

Leslie Kritzer, who was the Tony nominated bride in last seasons A Catered Affair

um...

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 4:53pm

The New York Times is Very Positive:

"The story told in “Rooms: A Rock Romance” is 100 percent surprise-free; you always know exactly where it’s going. That means the stars of this modest musical at New World Stages need to be very good for the thing to stand a chance of holding your attention. Fortunately, they are.

The young lovebirds are played by Doug Kreeger and Leslie Kritzer, and they mesh perfectly. He is a rumpled Glasgow musician named Ian with a mild case of agoraphobia and a much worse drinking problem. She is a bubbly singer named Monica whose mantra is “Whatever it takes”: she’ll sing any style and cross the ocean in pursuit of fame.

Paul Scott Goodman (“Bright Lights, Big City”) wrote the music and lyrics and collaborated with his wife, Miriam Gordon, on the book. (The work was seen in 2005 at the New York Musical Theater Festival with a different cast.) They haven’t much on their minds beyond what is implied in the title: this is a slight, sweet love story that begins in Glasgow in 1977, when Ian and Monica meet, and ends in New York in 1980..."

http://theater2.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/theater/reviews/19room.html?ref=theater

Updated On: 3/18/09 at 04:53 PM

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 5:02pm

The final "round-up" stands at-

Very Positive:
Associated Press, NY Times

Positive:
Variety, Back Stage, NY Daily News, NY Post

Mixed:
Talkin' Broadway, Time Out NY

Negative:
Theatermania, CurtainUp

Updated On: 3/18/09 at 05:02 PM

[musicalman2]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 5:09pm

Congrats to cast and crew on "Rooms" on generally favorable reviews including reviews from all the majors!

[hockeynut2]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 6:10pm

I think we should move the NY Times review into Very Positive. Congrats to everyone involved in the show.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 6:14pm

I'd find it hard to classify the NYTimes review as very positive, negative, or anything, it's probably the most boring review I've read. He barely talked about the actors the way other reviews did, neither did he mention much about the production, the score, direction, anything really. What a bland "review."
Good for both Kritzer and Kreeger, so when are we getting a FUNNY GIRL revival starring Kritzer?

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 6:28pm

While I agree that the Times review is very poorly written, upon reading it again, I do think it can be classified as "very positive."

Although the reviewer doesn't point out much, everything he says about the show is in praising it.

He seems to have gotten what the general consensus was, which is that the piece is predictably sweet but catchy and well performed.

[hockeynut2]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 6:45pm

The final "round-up" stands at-

Very Positive:
NY Times, Associated Press, Broadway World, TalkEntertainment.com.

Positive:
Variety, Back Stage, NY Daily News, NY Post

Mixed:
Talkin' Broadway, Time Out NY

Negative:
Theatermania, CurtainUp

[25th Annual Speller]

Posted: 3/21/09 at 4:31pm

I saw this show last night and completely fell in LOVE with it. I really hope it does well.

[musicalman2]

Posted: 3/21/09 at 5:37pm

when i was at the show, I heard two separate conversations where people were saying that that had already been back once. I am hoping it develops a big group of "returners". I definitely think it has a chance for some Lortel nominations. How did it do at the Helen Hayes awards?