Choir Boy (Broadway)

See it if / I don't think I can rate this fairly, for reasons I explain below, but director/producers should think twice before allowing this again.

Don't see it if / see below.

Also I must have seen it on an off-night, because everyone raves about this! But there were two understudies in student roles the night I saw it (including, very disappointing for everyone who wanted to see Jeremy Pope, the role of Pharus) -- and yes, that happens, but the problem is that this left barely any "chorus." And what remained just... didn't have any power behind it.

If your chorus doesn't have enough power when you're short two people, then you either need to hire swings to fill in, as needed, or you need to think creatively. But sadly, the vocal arrangements were pretty massively off for a Broadway production, and I just couldn't feel the power of the show. Everyone I saw it with agreed. Very disappointing.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy good but very very very brief singing

Don't see it if you want an original story that makes you think.

Also It had the bad misfortune to come after "American Son."

See it if You want to hear young men with magnificent voices performing in a play that’s not as good as their singing

Don't see it if You are tired of performances out performing the play. The concept of the play is just a little tired in 2019.

See it if Fairly good story with good scenes. Too many monologues, and story not really consistent. All the actor were good. Nice staging.

Don't see it if You expect greatness. Not as good as I'd hoped from writer of Moonlight. Some diction is hard to understand. The religion bugged me too.

See it if You want to see some high octane stomp routines and gorgeous harmonizing.

Don't see it if Story drags on and on ending up in the shower scene which we all knew was coming.

Also This felt like a play trying to be set in today that was actually set on the 1990’s. The Kanye joke felt like going for low hanging fruit.... Read more Read less

See it if Imaginative set design Good ensemble Good singing, for a non-musical

Don't see it if Not compelling A bit slow Cannot empathize with the oppressed character.

See it if You enjoy good singing; stories about boys school and sexual awakening.

Don't see it if You are interested in real depth in terms of playwrighing. If you mind cliche treatment of subject. .

See it if You like Boys to Men and that kid of music. Young talented performers with a surprising storyline.

Don't see it if You like women in shows and fun costumes.

See it if You are ok with fairly explicit (considering that these are high school kids) scenes. I wasn’t expecting rear male nudity.

Don't see it if You want a fast paced show. This is VERY slow

See it if A story of young blacks at a prep school.good singing.

Don't see it if If you want a better story. Same old. If you do not want a show about gay young people at a prep school. If you want good acting.

See it if u like Lifetime movies & u'd enjoy one about boys coming-of-age in an elite black prep school (w/nudity & d*ck jokes to make it "edgy").

Don't see it if ur in search of original ideas, original story, original songs, original characters or a fresh take on a familiar tale of sexual awakening.

Also A huge, empty chalkboard stands at the center of the set with a large stick of chalk. Just as the anticipation that something profound will be written on the blackboard is never fulfilled, so, too, is the disappointment with this rather trite, timeworn tale of teenage angst throughout which you are just waiting for something important and unpredictable to happen.... Read more Read less

See it if you like a show with actors whose roles are very cliched. I couldn't understand most of what main character said. Singing good but plot not.

Don't see it if you don't like gay themed plots or lots of partial nudity. This show could have been so much better.

See it if You like shows about all boy's school an choirs.

Don't see it if If you want a fresh take on this old story.

See it if you want to see young energetic talented singers. Written by Tarell McCraney

Don't see it if You want a fresh take on school as a microcosm of life. You want to see a culture different from the usual frat boy club.

Also This is a story we have seen many times before; a prestigious boys school and the troubled kids that inhabit it. The scholarship kid, the bully/gay baiter, the legacy kid, the openly gay kid and his closeted lover who breaks him and the jock who loves and defends him.

The transposition of this heretofore predominantly caucasian trope is what makes this play noteworthy. The portrait of a disparate Black upper middle class is allowed to organically evolve without comment. It's good to see it on Broadway.

Chuck Cooper was underused and underwritten. But it is he who relates the heroics of Austin Pendleton's character providing the basis of his attack on the use of the N word.

The singing is energetic with complex harmonies, well performed, but which rarely interested me. Interestingly the audience (about 25% non white) was
frequently enraptured, yet it was the 75% leading the cheers.... Read more Read less

See it if you haven't had enough on Broadway about teenage angst, especially about sexuality. Or, if you want to see it with a different twist.

Don't see it if hearing the N word repeatedly is offensive or if you really care about this topic.

See it if You want to see great singing and actors trying their best with very poor material.

Don't see it if You want to see something new. So many cliches, so little time. Bullied gay character, savior white frumpy teacher, other boys using...

Also ....the Bible as a mask, typical prep school antics, headmaster over involved, predictable problems and events. I really wanted to like this play but there was nothing original. Very disappointing.... Read more Read less

See it if you want a message of tolerance and great singing.

Don't see it if you're homophobic or expecting a full musical.

See it if Like men singing to fill in what's really a little one act.

Don't see it if What some meaning. Play goes nowhere and says nothing really.

See it if Beautiful a capella spiritual singing. Young Black actors who can harmonize and move well. An excellent point made regarding the ‘N’ word.

Don't see it if The stage and back wall are red. The color of passion, blood, anger. All of which are blandly explored in this story which does not qualify

Also as reaching the level of a play. There is a central gay character with padding about a choral competition, a discussion about the deep meaning of Spirituals, and a brief revelation of a seemingly clueless White man’s sincere involvement with civil rights, Events do not make a play. Especially one where the actors were chosen for their singing, not their acting.... Read more Read less

See it if professional production with subject matter particularly attractive to american black. Presented with inevitable homosexual content.

Don't see it if above does not entice your interest.

See it if you like great singing and slow moving plays that do not feature a likable lead character.

Don't see it if you enjoy original pieces of work. The play is one cliche after another. It's attempting to be edgy when it plays like one big stereotype.

See it if you want to hear great singing amidst a familiar story line. Heartfelt acting and some interesting staging but unfocused and flabby.

Don't see it if you want an interesting or novel take on a gay acceptance story set in the recent past. Well tread material but well-staged and acted.

Also Pendleton was great but what did his character add exactly?

See it if you love a cappella singing. I wish they would have sung the entire show!

Don't see it if you are weary of edgy themes or hard of hearing. The dialogue was hard to follow. The writing weak, the plot and characters shallowly cast.

See it if you want to support theater that puts gay black men front and center.

Don't see it if you want something new and out of the ordinary.

See it if You can score tickets for a low price.

Don't see it if You’re not comfortable with male nudity.