Amazing Grace

"This show has the power of the spirit without EVER preaching. It shows slavery for what is was but it also shows the evil black princess who was also part of the evil as she sold her own people in to slavery. None of it felt PC, nor did it feel forced or worse yet like it was trying to teach a lesson. If you are anywhere near New York you must see this show. It is worth the drive, the airfare or whatever it takes to get there. 'Amazing Grace' isn’t just amazing, it’s a miracle." Full Review

"A captivating tale of romance, rebellion and redemption, this radiant production follows one man whose incredible journey ignited a historic wave of change...Brimming with emotion and adventure, 'Amazing Grace' is an unforgettable musical saga. This show was categorically stunning, thrilling, inspiring, and breathtakingly beautiful. " Full Review

"'Amazing Grace' on Broadway is an unforgettable experience that will wow the critics, captivate the crowd, and inspire people to pursue love and freedom despite racial tensions in the country...Overall 'Amazing Grace' on Broadway is a show that we would gladly recommend to anyone...The acting allows the audience to go on this journey with Newton and it is a show with a rare voice not usually heard on Broadway." Full Review

"Far from light-hearted but deeply felt and spiritedly envisioned, 'Amazing Grace' is another stirring historical period musical adventure...It remains to be seen whether his lilting arias and stirring anthems and the the impressive text will ultimately validate him as a major musical find. What I do know is that Smith and his production associates have given us an amazing show with an abundance of grit and grace." Full Review

"I found it to be engrossing, inspiring and bursting with excellent performances and heavenly staging... It’s very moving...The score is adequate, but lacks the swell of big Broadway." Full Review

"For the most part the numbers are really quite good and way better than some of the music and lyrics that inhabited shows this past season...Amazing no…but enjoyable? Certainly yes!" Full Review

"The authors load up on the atrocious behavior to make Newton’s redemption that much more impressive. But when it finally happens, it comes much too quickly...The songs and book of 'Amazing Grace' are no more than serviceable, but the show does offer theatrical pleasures. It moves with good energy, and there are vivid scenic effects." Full Review

"The refreshing new show 'Amazing Grace' admirably covers slavery, abolition, sedition and spiritual themes in 1740s England and Africa, complete with spirited acting and inspirational ballads and anthems...It's a long time coming, but the title song is performed in the beautiful and emotional finale. By then we've been on quite a journey with these characters, and the hymn resonates with relevance and hope, both for their personal stories and the still-uneasy state of racial relations today." Full Review

"'Amazing Grace' may have the noblest intentions of any major musical I've ever seen...The close of 'Amazing Grace' is every bit as stirring as you'd expect. It's everything the show needs to be, and enough that those in search of nothing more won't leave the theater feeling cheated. But this elevation does not come without a cost: Saving this song of all songs for the very end only emphasizes how thoroughly what precedes it fails to meet the composition's heaven-high standards." Full Review

"Director Gabriel Barre is at his best guiding the many action sequences and incorporating the production’s special effects without overwhelming the show. Unfortunately, there are so many scene changes that achieving a consistent flow or developing an emotional core is difficult....a heartfelt effort not fully realized." Full Review

"Broadway’s new play is bound to resonate—and provoke...The musical’s comforting message that redemption and absolution are possible for even the worst sinners, while no doubt an inspiration to some, may strike others as too simplistic...Newton’s conversion takes place abruptly during the play, with little apparent cost either to him or anyone else." Full Review

"There’s an audience out there for 'Amazing Grace,' flawed as it is. Christian congregations and other faith-based groups should respond to this epic-scaled saga of how John Newton, an 18th-century British slave trader played by Josh Young, experienced a 'miraculous' religious conversion, became an Anglican minister, and went on to write 200 church hymns, including the stirring title piece. But ye of little faith will find it tough sledding." Full Review

"If 'Grace' has the courage of its convictions, it shows less daring, and little invention, as a creative work. Mostly generic, sometimes bombastic score and stilted dialogue...The standing ovation that followed surely included more skeptical folks who were, if not converted, moved by this flawed musical's open heart and chutzpah." Full Review

"Lest you think that 'Amazing Grace' is one long celebration of the soul-stirring song, theatergoer beware. You’ll have to wait to hear those two little words—almost two and a half hours. The good news: It’s worth it...If only the rest of 'Amazing Grace' had such force. While by no means unpleasant, Smith’s songs are lifeless and forgettable." Full Review

"Unfortunately, the show is yet another one of those where you can see flashes of 'what could have been' coupled with a ton of playing it safe. The result is an alternately interesting, pleasant, and (mostly) boring production...The book is all over the map, hovering somewhere between a safe Disney live-action historical drama, a Hallmark Hall of Fame 'important' drama, and, rarely, a hard-hitting expose on one of history's darkest chapters." Full Review

"Smith’s score seems to aim for “Les Miz”-like grandeur, but falls short, despite some agreeable tunes. But of course nothing comes close to the title song, which isn’t just the show’s payoff, but the reason it exists. However awkward or heavy-handed the proceedings are up till then, 'Amazing Grace' doesn’t fail to draw tears." Full Review

"The show postpones Barack Obama’s favorite tune to the finale, offering a long and dull history lesson with a score heavy on bombastic anthems. In Hollywood parlance, they call it “medicine”: a movie or TV show that’s good for you, that teaches you something, that hopefully leaves you inspired. 'Amazing Grace' is definitely medicine... But is 'Amazing Grace' inspirational and, more important, does it hold one’s interest?...In their final exchange, Mary asks Newton why “it took you so long” ... Full Review

"Can a man who has done cruel, hateful, casually sadistic acts for almost three quarters of a musical become a sympathetic hero by abruptly discovering his faith? Is it possible to excuse some of history's worst crimes against humanity by explaining that, well, the perpetrator was merely a brat rebelling against his father? So much effort, sincerity and talent - not to mention cash - have been funneled into 'Amazing Grace' that it would be nice to be able to answer yes to any of that. Alas, t... Full Review

"The show is definitely blessed with a number of virtues that many will find sufficiently entertaining to keep them in their seats, including an important historical lesson , several big-chested songs, a remarkable underwater special effect, and, among other things, the beloved eponymous hymn...On the other hand, this tale is a fictionalized distortion of what actually happened, its narrative is awkward and clichéd, its characters broad stereotypes, and its wit almost an afterthought." Full Review

"A mildly enjoyable adventure enhanced greatly by sumptuous design and staging...The exciting score feels like window dressing on the skeletal remains of a much more robust story." Full Review

"It is an amazing story, but it is told on stage mostly in less than an amazing way. The new musical combines a coming-of-age tale, love story, slave narrative, costume drama, and Saturday morning adventure serial. It tries to do many things at once. For all that, we don’t actually learn much about the song... Much time, talent and money has gone into this well-meaning project to tell the story of John Newton. But it’s a musical hobbled by a misunderstanding of what makes good theater." Full Review

"The tone of scenes in the first act oscillates wildly, from striking and severe to overly smug and smirky. The songs are confident, if not quite memorable...In an epilogue, Young begins an a cappella version of the song. Within a minute, some audience members were standing with an evangelical hand raised to God. The moment is as lump-in-the-throat as it sounds. It seemed disconnected from the rest of the musical, and was the first time during 'Amazing Grace' my emotions were truly stirred." Full Review

"'Amazing Grace' is so formulaic that you could write some of the scenes in your head before they unfold. But its conceptual backbone warrants appreciation...The score built around the title song is so functional you wonder if composer Smith was holding back...The panorama of characters is well paced and well constructed but generally so risk free that even when characters start sacrificing their futures for their ideals, the consequences are minimal. " Full Review

"'Amazing Grace' earns a place right alongside 'Scandalous,' and 'Into the Light...' While there is indeed a lightning strike on the stage, it comes courtesy of the electrician...In speaking of faith-based musicals, it was often stated--and universally proven--that you don't have to be Jewish to love 'Fiddler on the Roof.' I don't expect the producers of 'Amazing Grace' will find a happy parallel." Full Review

"It’s not so much a musical as an antislavery pageant, with innocuous songs by Christopher Smith and a vertiginously high-minded book by Mr. Smith and Arthur Giron. ... Whatever its weaknesses, this is one of the best-looking musicals to reach New York in recent seasons...I can’t imagine that 'Amazing Grace' will last long on Broadway, but it’s a perfect fit for the drama departments of Christian high schools and colleges, where it will doubtless have a profitable afterlife." Full Review