Satiric Obama show 44 THE MUSICAL to open off-Broadway in October

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 8/1/25 at 10:43am

Written, composed, and directed by Eli Bauman; playing an 8-week engagement at Daryl Roth Theatre beginning October 14

Updated On: 8/1/25 at 10:43 AM

[THDavis]

Posted: 8/1/25 at 2:21pm

This was a messy night of theatre in LA. Impressive vocalists, and some catchy musical lines, but completely unaware of what it’s trying to do or say. I’ll be curious to see how NYC responds, as it did well enough in LA to warrant a second mounting after the initial run closed. 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 8/1/25 at 2:37pm

It'll be in Chicago later this month too, so I'm curious to hear reports

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 8/1/25 at 4:07pm

Yay, just what we need: more half-baked, one-act political satire musicals.

[EntrActe]

Posted: 8/2/25 at 1:48am

Color: Here in LA it was two acts!
 

 

 

Updated On: 8/2/25 at 01:48 AM

[THDavis]

Posted: 8/2/25 at 2:28am

In two acts with absolutely no justification, in my opinion. 

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 8/2/25 at 7:15am

EntrActe said: "Color: Here in LA it was two acts!"

Even worse.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/2/25 at 7:22am

I’ll check out in Chicago (mostly to see that space) 

[EntrActe]

Posted: 8/2/25 at 2:01pm

I wrote a whole post about it last night and then edited it down to that because it read like I had an ax to grind with it. I truly don't.

The writing doesn't even justify one act and "half-baked" for its third or fourth or fifth run (it's played, Philly, LA, Chicago, LA again, who knows) is still generous for the condition of the writing. The first time the cast sings "Mother Fu**in' Obama" it's thrilling and interesting. The cast in LA was truly extraordinary. But nearly three hours later, still being bludgeoned with that phrase over and over and over because the author has nothing to actually say, I was ready to go.  

It's not satire. It has no POV. It's just a run of musicalized events across the Obama era. They're not unfunny, but the humor is situational to the show, not a commentary on the Obama years. 

It wore very thin, very fast, but I'm extremely glad I saw the cast. I look forward to seeing those performers in things in the future.  

There's an odd racial component here too: in his introduction of the show, the white author tried to present himself as culturally black in an acknowledgement of the show's (black) co-composer and music director. I still don't understand why he introduced the show the night I saw it, but the more he talked about the co-composer/MD, the more it seemed like "composing" the show was the "author" coming up with an idea for a song and the MD doing all the heavy lifting and turning a couple of lyric ideas into a full music number. I guess that's why Hollywood thinks writing a musical is? His introduction seemed to make much of the audience uncomfortable (I was just mostly confused), but the opening soloist got everyone back for a while.

I drove home in silence, more than three hours after first sitting in my seat.

 

 

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 8/2/25 at 2:17pm

I know art doesn’t necessarily need to be thought provokingly relevant or ‘purposeful’…but I also think there needs to be a reason for something to exist in a specific moment in time other than “because we can”. 

On top of the show being of poor quality, it’s just largely unnecessary and tone deaf. There’s no reason that the world needs nor wants this right now.