Choir Boy (Broadway)
Choir Boy (Broadway)
84

Choir Boy (Broadway) NYC Reviews and Tickets

84%
(434 Ratings)
Positive
93%
Mixed
6%
Negative
1%
Members say
Great singing, Great acting, Absorbing, Relevant, Entertaining

About the Show

After staging its US debut in 2015, Manhattan Theater Club brings Oscar-winning writer Tarell Alvin McCraney's ('Moonlight') music-filled drama, about a gifted member of a school's gospel choir, to Broadway.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (434)

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1167 Reviews | 465 Followers
91
Relevant, Great writing, Great acting, Absorbing, Resonant

See it if You want to expand your heart understanding of just some of the challenges that young gay black men face. Beautifully written/acted/sung.

Don't see it if You’re homophobic or racist. You should, but don’t bother, you won’t get it.

61 Reviews | 11 Followers
91
Masterful, Must see, Thought-provoking, Resonant, Entertaining

See it if you want a show that makes you think, and you like plays with singing

Don't see it if you want a straight play and like light comedy

450 Reviews | 148 Followers
91
Entertaining, Great singing, Energizing, Great direction, Polished

See it if Highly pleasurable show. Funny but not idiotic; weighty but not tortured & tearful. You like plays about characters swimming upstream.

Don't see it if want a teen fairy tale where they win nationals, pair off into complementary couples, correct the errors of their ways without consequence. Read more

60 Reviews | 11 Followers
90
Great acting, Great singing, Absorbing, Clever

See it if you want your heart broken by this fine group of actors

Don't see it if you don't like thinking about race or gender or anything uncomfortable.

52 Reviews | 7 Followers
90
Great writing, Inspiring, Relevant, Great singing, Absorbing

See it if You love fabulous singing and enjoy socially relevant stories with a religious setting.

Don't see it if You need to tap dancing chorus lines or the music of an 80s pop star to enjoy a musical

50 Reviews | 5 Followers
90
Entertaining, Refreshing, Resonant, Thought-provoking

See it if Such a great show from start to finish. Emotionally raw with such real characters.

Don't see it if Just see it

73 Reviews | 15 Followers
90
Riveting, Relevant, Great singing, Ambitious, Entertaining

See it if You want to see a relevant contemporary drama further enlivened by great choral singing

Don't see it if You’re not interested in prep school, racial or LGBT themes

146 Reviews | 17 Followers
90
Absorbing, Resonant, Masterful, Intelligent, Riveting

See it if you want to explore the topics of sexuality, bullying, acceptance, and identity. The cast is excellent singing and moving in sync.

Don't see it if you do not want to explore and experience the topics of sexuality, bullying, acceptance, and identity. Read more

Critic Reviews (57)

The Wrap
January 8th, 2019

“’Choir Boy’ is laced with music...Pope’s vocals can be more than a little indulgent, which might be the point...’Choir Boy’ ends with one of those gooey emotionally charged moments...It’s patronizing and rings false. Still there’s a real lethal power...McCraney provides an exhilarating ride through the sexually charged atmosphere of locker rooms and dorm rooms...Cullman’s strong direction is emblematic of that strength, driving ‘Choir Boy’ into a fast-moving, testosterone-fueled freight train.”
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T
January 11th, 2019

“Bobby is offended at Pharus’ implied conflation of black and gay oppression and therein is the central conflict of the play: inclusion versus separation...McCraney explores the myriad variations on this theme in a compelling hour and 45 minutes, staged with economy and passion by Trip Cullman, punctuated by stirring gospel numbers featuring Jason Michael Webb’s dynamic arrangements and Camille A. Brown’s exciting movement."
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Wolf Entertainment Guide
January 10th, 2019

“Here is another case in which the performances exceed the caliber of the play...The cast is a stalwart one...But the play abounds in plot clichés, seems overlong...and abounds in predictable situations...Much seems contrived. However, the choral singing, mostly of religious songs, but enhanced on occasion by some well-choreographed modern riffs, brighten the show. And always there is the assembly of fine performances.”
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Towleroad
January 9th, 2019

“A new play...that allows young Black men the rich, messy humanity of any other character, rather casting them as unseen statistics...‘Choir Boy’ is nothing short of a rapture...McCraney unfurls an ensemble coming-of-age story that’s insightful and generous with every boy in the choir...In their intimately observed stories, and through soulful, rousing music interludes, McCraney illustrates the specific cultural forces that shape the conventions of Black masculinity."
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Stage Left
January 14th, 2019

“The experience of seeing the Broadway premiere of “Choir Boy” is transcendent. . The play itself, its structure and devices, is hardly revolutionary...Finely acted and beautifully told...Its red-hot simmering story and soaring music offer a nice complement to the deep freeze of winter...The very presence of this play on Broadway about a black, queer teenage boy navigating private, Christian Prep school life is seismic, and Pope offers a memorable debut in this timely and important work.”
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DC Metro Theater Arts
January 12th, 2019

"A soul-stirring Broadway debut...Flowing with the unsurpassed eloquence and empathy that define the award-winning playwright’s exquisite style, the coming-of-age play with music is once again directed by Trip Cullman, with an engrossing balance of vibrancy and poignancy, humor and heartbreak...The stellar cast’s compelling portrayals are enriched with soaring a cappella vocals and animated movement that express the characters’ deeply felt emotions...Don’t miss it."
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Daily Beast
January 8th, 2019

“A stirringly acted drama about desire, masculinity, and identity...The songs are beautiful, and beautifully sung, if sometimes puzzlingly placed...Pharus' refusal to obviously define himself, or for the play to define him, is key to the play and yet dramatically it is also a flaw...The play unloads key pieces of information and lets them sit unelaborated upon. These oddities do not undermine Pope and Clay's excellent performances, or the power of a story about the cost of coming out."
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Financial Times (UK)
January 9th, 2019

“A startling play...’Choir Boy’ is packed with short, punchy scenes that often seem rather hurried in Trip Cullman’s interval-less 105-minute staging...Lively renditions of gospel songs between scenes are also slightly marred by some platitudinous choreography, as the students repeatedly stomp about the stage. 'Choir Boy' is nonetheless an often startling and provocative work, which features a remarkably assured and charismatic central performance by Jeremy Pope as Pharus.”
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