THE MUSIC MAN Reviews- Page 2

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 7:14pm

“I am sure they will simply loathe having to tell their grandchildren about the time they were forced to witness Broadway history in the making”

 Please forgive my ignorance…what exactly is this ‘history in the making’?

[SueFB]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 7:42pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "SueFB said: "jacobsnchz14 said: "Wanted to bump this in anticipation of tomorrow’s opening. Do you think we will get some reviews tomorrow even with all the aforementioned press invites during previews situation?"

I believe tomorrow's show show starts at 6 pm and therefore should conclude around 8:30. They should have plenty of time. I'm amused at the idea that some press deadline for the morning papers is the biggest concern. The reviews are all online. The main goal for many is to get out there first. By having to wait and see the show on Opening Night, it only means they can't have it all ready to go and hit ENTER on their submission as soon as the curtain falls.”

Publications purchased preview tickets for their critics so they saw the show this past week. They may tweak and edit a little bit but the reviews are ready. No one is running anywhere after a performance and stressing themselves to get a full review completed on a deadline. Just because the production didn’t “invite” critics doesn’t mean critics didn’t get tickets to a preview performance.

in that case, why was this even a story? 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 7:47pm

Speaking of better merch, when are we getting a cast album? Are they going old school and recording the Monday after opening?

[Auggie27]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 8:37pm

If I had to guess at a theme though the reviews -- which we presume will spill forth in 24-72 hours -- it will be a thoughtful appreciation of Jackman's and Foster's belief in musical theater as culturally foundational, the art form's survival worth fighting for in the pandemic-and-politics-challenged America of 2022. The beleaguered production arrives with the stars' unimpeachable good will a part of its DNA. They endured a postponement, a cast unable to assemble together for early previews, both leads weathering infection and illness, and then a tentative return after a shut-down This costly, high ticket entertainment celebrating both Broadway's musical theater legacy and the industry's ability to re-launch with a needed mega-hit, is a specific kind of root-for. The stars are beloved, if for different reasons, and together they're very special right now: their earnest desire to give us what we're plunking down our money for is no small part of the event.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 9:24pm

'The Music Man' Review: A Pepper-Upper with a Heart (slantmagazine.com)

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 10:18pm

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/10/theater/the-music-man-review.html

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 10:21pm

‘The Music Man’ Broadway Review: Hugh Jackman Leads the Big Parade (The Wrap)

Updated On: 2/10/22 at 10:21 PM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 10:27pm

So did they let Jesse Green in early? That's an awfully thoughtful review to be written in an hour (and right on the money based on what I saw in early previews, though I liked Sutton more than he did)

Updated On: 2/10/22 at 10:27 PM

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 10:38pm

'The Music Man' review: Hugh Jackman's revival is a let-down (nypost.com)

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 10:43pm

Jesus, I bet they weren’t expecting these reviews. 

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 10:53pm

All those poor audience members who sold a kidney or a child to watch this. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 10:54pm

Hahaha. Fax. 

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 10:55pm

A rave from The Independent 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/hugh-jackman-broadway-new-york-harold-hill-rock-island-b2012770.html

[Skip23]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 10:57pm

Can’t wait for the reaction from the Producers. “F em all!  We got their money. What do we care if they actually like it!  Mwwaaahhhhh haaaaaaaa haaaaaaaa!”  - Diller, Geffen and Friends 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 10:57pm

Review: Hugh Jackman steals 'The Music Man' on Broadway (sfgate.com)

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 11:00pm

THE MUSIC MAN Stirs Up Good Trouble — Review (Theatrely)

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 11:01pm

Associated Press: Hugh Jackman steals ‘The Music Man’ on Broadway

[MattieIce2018]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 11:04pm

Just a note for anyone reading all these that The Independent and SFGate are both the AP review as well.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 11:05pm

Jordan Catalano said: "Jesus, I bet they weren’t expecting these reviews."

Oh I bet they had an inkling that it wasn't going to be received in the same way as DOLLY.

This doesn't really need reviews, though, at least as long as HJ is in it. If anything, the reviews and any press coverage tells audiences that Hugh Jackman is on Broadway in THE MUSIC MAN. Any casual fan who goes is probably still going to have a good time.

They will be able to advertise "high spirits, terrific dancing and big stars align in an extended marvel of showbiz salesmanship" – NYT

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 11:11pm

‘The Music Man’ Broadway Review: Hugh Jackman & Sutton Foster Star – Deadline

[Auggie27]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 11:25pm

So far, it seems to be the Foster Marian iteration.  She's landing not only career high personal notices, but clearly helping make the case made that Marian's gravitas and acerbic prism on the world define this interpretation. Maybe the show. The Piano Teacher. Didn't see it coming. 

Updated On: 2/10/22 at 11:25 PM

[akhoya87]

Posted: 2/10/22 at 11:38pm

Huh.  I largely agree with what the reviews have been saying uninspired vision, underwhelming set, generally great cast, etc.  But of the two leads, I thought Hugh was the stronger performer.  (I think the takes on Sutton's My White Knight are . . . generous.)

Eh, what do I know.

[PhumeleleSJose]

Posted: 2/11/22 at 12:01am

t won’t be a surprise to audiences familiar with director Jerry Zaks’s other recent Broadway revival, the ebullient Hello, Dolly!, that there’s little interest here in wholesale reinvention. Unlike, say, Daniel Fish’s 2019 production of Oklahoma!, which dove into that classic musical’s unplumbed darkness, Zaks’s take on The Music Man doesn’t make any move to subvert the show’s ultimate warm embrace of community or wholesome optimism.

But it’s also, surprisingly, not so traditional. Zaks convincingly leans into the fairy-tale, even mythic, structure of the story. For Harold Hill, an almost legendary figure trapped in the patterns of his own swindling, River City isn’t anyplace special. More you can read here:

https://deadline.com/2022/02/music-man-broadway-review-hugh-jackman-sutton-foster-1234928014/ omegle shagle

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 2/11/22 at 12:06am

If anyone wants to feel geriatric:

There is nearly as much time between the opening of HELLO DOLLY and MUSIC MAN (five years) as there was between the 03 & 08 productions of GYPSY and the 05 & 10 productions of LA CAGE.

This realization brought to you by those -- including myself -- who have been thinking of DOLLY as "recent."

Updated On: 2/11/22 at 12:06 AM

[SueFB]

Posted: 2/11/22 at 12:10am

The Wrap's review (posted above somewhere) was not kind to Sutton.

"The one major casting misstep may come as a surprise: Two-time Tony winner Sutton Foster, saddled with an unfortunate wig, does not seem to have settled into the role of Marian, the spinster who falls for Hill despite his shortcomings. She plays the role broadly, like a sitcom archetype rather than a character — and you might get whiplash trying to follow her second-act encounter with rival salesman Charlie Cowell (Remy Auberjonois) and then her all-too-rapid reconciliation with Hill. Foster also sings about an octave lower than previous Marians and bizarrely begins the ballad “My White Knight” as if it’s a patter song. She’s on surer vocal footing on “Till There Was You,” belting the number beautifully, and matches Jackson’s dance moves in numbers like “Shipoopi” and a tap finale just before the curtain."