See it if You want to see a dazzling production lead by an exquisite leading performance and clever direction.
Don't see it if You're looking for a stronger central plot - the core story is a little flimsy, like the movie it's based on.
See it if You love original musicals that are light but not fluffy. It's Once meets Alice In Wonderland.
Don't see it if You want a straight forward, drama driving show with no whimsy
See it if you want to see Phillipa Soo put on a wonderful and effortless performance and/or a cute (but short) romantic musical with whimsical sets
Don't see it if you want an epic, or thought-provoking tale. I just wish it was a little longer considering the cost of going to theatre these days.
See it if you want to see a delightful and warm-hearted show that sends an uplifting and compassionate message without taking itself too seriously.
Don't see it if you are not a fan of humorously unrealistic props or do not like shows about the beauty and impact of small (and large) acts of kindness.
See it if If you like quirky and whimsical. I Loved it. Phillips Soo & Adam Chanler Berat have great chemistry. I never saw the move now I want to.
Don't see it if You don't like quirky and whimsical. If you didn't like the movie you won't like this at least that's what I'm told. Read more
See it if You are tired of the typical musical or you need something a little more lighthearted, short and sweet. Phillipa Soo is wonderful.
Don't see it if You want a huge, grand production along the lines of Wicked or Phantom. Or you want an original show not based on anything. Read more
See it if You like shows that are fanciful, slightly charmingly absurd at times, whimsical, and romantic. If you buy in to this show, it's a delight.
Don't see it if You don't like the above, prefer real world situations, are looking for "big" performances, or don't want a happy ending.
See it if You love the movie, if you believe in faith, luck and a little bit of people.
Don't see it if you want to hear extraordinary music, it's a decent, enjoyable work, but nothing more, I wouldn't buy it on CD.
"Deeply disappointing...It's so painful to watch the very determined Soo, who is both an exceptionally capable actor and completely miscast here...The director needed to help Soo find a completely different path, but then there's not a lot of evidence here of a viably engaging theatrical path for this show overall, never mind one that Soo could herself take in...It's both afeared of the movie, trying to break away without quite knowing how, and ever more trapped within its memory."
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"The show is a quirky-sweet creampuff that breezily imports much of the original’s off-kilter charm, even as it inevitably loses some of its je ne sais quoi...MacKinnon keeps it all moving along briskly, winnowing down the movie’s sprawl to theater-size and making room for fresh flights of fancy...If any one thing feels lost in the transfer from screen to stage, it’s the pathos that pinned the film’s whimsy to steadier ground."
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"Soo, looking stunning, gives a winning, seemingly effortless performance, and there are nice supporting turns from Adam Chanler-Berat as Amélie’s sensitive crush and Tony Sheldon as her elderly neighbor...You appreciate their hard work, but it doesn’t really come together...The soft pop score occasionally sounds pretty but is mostly unmemorable and derivative...The episodic structure leaves little in the way of advancing the plot. It’s got plenty of charm, but that only goes so far."
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“There really is just one reason to see the musical, and that's lead actress Phillipa Soo…She is effervescent and quite lovely...But all that and a pristine voice does little to salvage this misfire of a show. From the music to the staging to the cartoonish set design, it reeks of well-intentioned children's theatre…It's a deliberate conceptual style, but on that very big Broadway stage, it just seems amateurish…The talented performers are undermined by a diet of forced preciousness.”
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"A tepid take on a much bolder film. Suffering from a derivative score, it features a main character who doesn't seem fully present in her own story...Director MacKinnon does capture the playful editing of the movie with her cinematic and inventive production..Not an unpleasant way to spend two hours; it's just not that memorable. Between its blandly whimsical score and inoffensively quirky love story, we cannot shake the feeling that we've seen this show before."
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“MacKinnon enhances the quirks of the oddball text, set to Messé's indie-style music, with a delightful array of surprising, slightly surreal visuals applied with a strong hand that keep the whimsy from floating out of control. Which is fortunate, because 'Amelie' tends to meander about a bit when it comes to storytelling and song placement…A low-key charmer. Phillipa Soo plays the young Parisian introvert with sly intelligence that welcomes you to her improvisational life.”
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“There's one indisputably great thing about ‘Amélie,’ and her name is Phillipa Soo…A faux French frolic that consists of nothing but the frothiest conceits and allegedly adorable oddballs, all tethered to a plot so inconsequential that a meringue would weigh it down…The songs often feel as skittish as Amélie…In its overreliance on a general mood of winsomeness, it can be something of a trial to sit through.”
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"Phillipa Soo is loaded with charm and knows how to use it to make the new musical 'Amélie' something more than it could ever be on its own...But Soo's shimmering central presence only amplifies the troubles around her. Bookwriter Craig Lucas, composer-lyricist Daniel Messé, lyricist Nathan Tysen, and director Pam MacKinnon may have been ultra faithful as far as the letter in escorting this quirky movie to the stage, but the underlying spirit is nowhere to be found."
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