Cagney NYC Reviews and Tickets

85%
(501 Ratings)
Positive
94%
Mixed
6%
Negative
0%
Members say
Entertaining, Delightful, Great acting, Great singing, Clever

About the Show

'Cagney' follows the actor from his humble beginnings through his rise as a vaudeville song-and-dance man, to his superstardom in Hollywood.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (501)

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752 Reviews | 145 Followers
100
Clever, Entertaining, Great acting, Great tap dancing

See it if Alot of tap dancing, Early age in Hollywood, everyone, have to sing, dance. Tells his story to Hollywood.

Don't see it if You did not like the early age Hollywood.

116 Reviews | 53 Followers
100
Entertaining, Masterful, Great staging, Great singing & dancing!, Epic portrayal of cagney

See it if ..aching for a good old fashioned 100% entertaining traditional American musical with riveting story & performers that sing well & dance WOW

Don't see it if U don't like energetic musicals or bios. Do not know American icon actor James Cagney which would be hard to believe even if U are young. Read more

65 Reviews | 8 Followers
100
Delightful, Enchanting, Entertaining

See it if Loved the story the acting the star was amazing

Don't see it if You don't appreciate vaudville

58 Reviews | 12 Followers
100
Delightful, Entertaining, Enchanting

See it if you love amazing tap dancing.Robert Creighton is James Cagney.I saw it three times and will probably go back again.

Don't see it if You don't like amazing tap dancing.

63 Reviews | 12 Followers
100
Great dancing, Epic, Masterful, Entertaining, Thought-provoking

See it if If you want see the best Off-Broadway show playing today, see this show. It has got it all! Great Singing & Acting; Dancing & Staging :~)

Don't see it if If you're NOT a fan of musicals; you DON'T like movies from the 1940's; you're NOT a fan of tap dancing; you're saying: Who is James Cagney?

151 Reviews | 19 Followers
100
Entertaining, Delightful, Clever

See it if You enjoy a certain amount of nostalgia and some amazing dancing and song

Don't see it if You don't enjoy classic song and dance by a very talented group of actors

52 Reviews | 15 Followers
100
Delightful, Entertaining, Clever, Absorbing

See it if You want to see a wonderful show filled with energy!

Don't see it if You don't want to attend one of the best shows ever.

TT
146 Reviews | 28 Followers
100
Great acting, Entertaining, Delightful, Intelligent, Refreshing

See it if you like song and dance musicals that tell great stories. If you want to learn the wonderful story of Cagney from it's beginnings.

Don't see it if you don't like musicals or autobiographies or James Cagney.

Critic Reviews (51)

The Observer
April 14th, 2016

"It doesn’t come close to telling the whole story, but an amazing star turn by Robert Creighton brings pieces of it to life with so much vibrancy and excitement...Full of vitality, swirling feet, crowd-pleasing songs and dances...There isn’t much breadth in the score or the staging of the numbers, which is mostly perfunctory, but when Creighton leaps and taps and soars his way through George M. Cohan classics you get the quickest lesson in how to stop a show since Joel Grey in 'George M.'"
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NY1
April 18th, 2016

"While the show itself is entertaining in an uninspired way, Creighton as Cagney is stupendous. He sings sublimely and, with the help of Joshua Bergasse’s savvy choreography, he brilliantly summons Cagney’s light-on–his-feet dance style...The five member supporting cast forms a fine ensemble...The book by Peter Colley is fairly standard issue and even with Bill Castellino's energetic direction, the show almost feels more like a revue...But Creighton as Cagney just kills it."
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BroadwayWorld
April 3rd, 2016

"'Cagney's' return to Off-Broadway, with the same cast, director and choreographer, is a slicker, fuller production that should send audiences out with big smiles...'Cagney' isn't crowded with plot, but it doesn't tell you much about the man either. Think of it as more of an entertaining salute...Creighton sings with gusto, dances with even more and is an extremely likable presence...While 'Cagney' isn't high art, it's peppy, sincere and a heck of a lot of fun."
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Talkin' Broadway
April 3rd, 2016

"Creighton is a constant source of energy and joy, plowing his way through scenes and songs that are corny but that demonstrate his triple-threat-plus skills to unbeatable advantage...When a performer is this good, you want everything around him to be, too. No dice...It's as cliché, lazy, and cynical as fourth-tier show-biz bios get...If the script and score have received any work in the last year, it's not evidenced by what's onstage."
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TheaterScene.net
April 5th, 2016

"The show’s rudimentary book is a jumbled assemblage of true events, cloying clichés, compressed chronology and simplistic characterizations...Still, Mr. Colley has crafted several inspired episodes that are quite effective…The score is decent and has some pleasant and tuneful if not outstanding songs…Its good-natured tone and Robert Creighton’s colossal performance make 'Cagney' satisfying entertainment, especially for those familiar with the movie legend."
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Theater Pizzazz
April 3rd, 2016

"Robert Creighton is perfectly cast... 'Cagney' is a joy for people who love top-notch tap dancing...What’s missing in this musical interpretation of Cagney’s life is that incomparable bit of spark that made Cagney so exceptional. The orchestrations in 'Cagney' are sometimes bland and uninspired. Creighton’s performance was first-rate, and the book by Colley is quite solid, but perhaps, with livelier music, the show would have had more unwavering appeal."
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Front Row Center
June 10th, 2016

"Robert Creighton is beyond brilliant in the title role. Do yourself a favor and hoof on over to the Westside Theatre and see this show. While the first act lags a little in its earnest attempt to document Cagney’s path, the second picks up the pace...Creighton not only nails the outward Cagney but manages to reveal the inner workings of a man who was an icon but not a human being to most of us...And his dancing is sublime."
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Front Row Center
March 17th, 2017

"A compact package bursting with a sparkle that nearly knocks you over...Creighton is such a smooth dancer that he makes it look easy...All of this would be just so much Hollywood legend without the dancing...What happens in these numbers is that Creighton turns on the magic machine, and we enter into a different time. We experience the gift that theatre is at its core...You end up in a wonderland that you can feel down to your toes. And THAT my friends, is showbiz magic."
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