Oh, Hello on Broadway

"Stupendously entertaining...There are lots of bad puns on tuna and even more jokes that qualify as politically incorrect...Consider that as a trigger warning, if you must, but I find it hard to imagine anyone’s taking offense. That’s because, like most good theater, 'Oh, Hello' exhales the transporting joy of actors becoming someone else so completely and infectiously that on some level we become them as well and adopt whatever warped worldview they’re selling us." Full Review

"Strap yourself into the roller coaster and ride along for ninety-five minutes of hilarious insanity or insane hilarity, take your pick...The scenery—designed by Scott Pask—is full of jokes, including some real belly laughs...Alex Timbers directs; or perhaps we should say he successfully manages to keep up with his actors (who seem to be unrestrainedly improvising along the way)...It starts out funny and moves past hysterical to sublime." Full Review

"A Comedy Central cult act created by Nick Kroll and John Mulaney, Gil and George are curmudgeonly wannabe artists still waiting for their big break...Directed with a keen sense of the absurd by the brilliant Alex Timbers, 'Oh, Hello' is extremely funny stuff, veering from satirical wit to wackadoodle zaniness. Kroll and Mulaney have honed these grotesques for years and 90 minutes is almost too little time in their creepy company." Full Review

"The two comedians have created a full meal out of what started as a sketch...Kroll and Mulaney are great fun to watch, and their affection for each other and the characters is evident...There’s no staleness or boredom despite them having portrayed the grumps for over a decade. Alex Timbers uses a light touch, letting his funnymen and their antics loose...Kroll and Mulaney have crafted a tasty sensation for the new Broadway season." Full Review

"The result is nothing short of hilarious, with no intention other than to make you laugh out loud. Kroll and Mulaney are in tip-top form here...The actors know exactly which buttons to push for maximum effect while never really going over the top or staying on any particular subject for too long...Filled with jokes and bits that are often politically incorrect and also occasionally unprintable, 'Oh, Hello on Broadway' is a supremely enjoyable and satisfying experience." Full Review

"Every night Kroll and Mulaney pack the Lyceum Theatre and parade their shticky counterparts in front of appreciative crowds. The result is electric. Expect non-stop laughs, and I mean non-stop...That connection between artists and audience derives in part from the growth from small stage to small screen to big stage. But it also comes from the incredible chemistry between the two performers and the unexpected way in which these exaggerated septuagenarians come to life." Full Review

"Audiences will laugh uproariously at their clownish behavior...Under the direction of Alex Timbers, the jokes are sharper, the flow more efficient, and the design considerably more extravagant...Each performance features a different guest, giving Kroll and Mulaney an opportunity to improvise and riff—and they're often funnier doing that than when they're delivering scripted material...'Oh, Hello' turns out to be a bottomless well of funny." Full Review

"'Oh, Hello on Broadway,' directed by goofy-smart prince Alex Timbers, stretches the shtick to 95 minutes of metatheatrical horseplay...The internal logic gets foggy, but 'Oh, Hello' is really about watching Kroll and Mulaney do high-level tag-team comedy, in the great tradition of Mike Nichols and Elaine May and Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner. If some of the tuna seems a bit canned, both comedians are superb improvisers...They make mustiness new, and they’re a New York City must." Full Review

"The funniest show in town...Don't go looking for much of a plot in this stand-up comedy routine dressed up as theater...The evening is structurally ragged, composed of tenuously related blackout sketches, improvised bits, and an interview segment featuring a different special guest at every show...Not all the jokes land...The show could use some pruning. But it hardly matters when the jokes come this fast and furious." Full Review

"This show is messy, puerile, crass, and wildly indulgent...It is also uproariously, stomach-achingly funny...The show probably shouldn’t work as well as it does. Kroll and Mulaney don’t always play the characters consistently (when it seems like too much effort, they just play themselves) and they crack themselves up habitually. But the pleasure they take in the exercise is obvious and infectious...The writing, though variable, has more than its share of semi-precious gems." Full Review

"There is the barest thread of a story line here and these two give it a nod every once in awhile...Mostly they wander off the reservation and tell stories or offer observations on everything from Lenny Kravitz‘s private parts to a childhood friendship with Robert Durst...About halfway through this show you realize you are never going to catch up so you let go of the reins and hang on for the ride. You realize that you have spent the better part of the past 70 minutes laughing." Full Review

“Gil and George’s language constantly subverts expectations as ordinary remarks take extraordinary turns. There are simple malapropisms, like saying ‘home page’ for ‘homage,’ while many words are mispronounced by accenting the wrong syllable. Where Gil and George are concerned, the Marx Brothers can’t be far behind, although without this show’s scatological and raunchy humor. Even the Marxes never had a love affair with a raccoon, though, much less impregnated one.” Full Review

"Intended for aging, oddball, scruffy, cranky, culturally (if not authentically) Jewish New Yorkers—and anyone else who identifies with or appreciates the same demographic...There is a wisp of a story line and even a dream ballet, but 'Oh, Hello' is primarily a vehicle for the duo to kvetch and kvell about everything under the sun and long nostalgically for the bygone days of New York in the 1970s...'Oh, Hello' is 95 minutes of politically incorrect, gleefully silly fun." Full Review

"The entire 100-minute evening is pointless, and evinces no socially or theatrically redeeming value I could detect. And yet I loved every single second of it...Despite its innumerable failings, it is insanely hilarious. And, considering that it never for a moment wants to be anything else, and that everything everyone involved does with it is in pursuit of that goal and no other, it unfurls with the unshakable confidence of a no-holds-barred success—and, in turn, becomes one." Full Review

"A gleefully misanthropic sketch show...The laughter here often hinges on the feeling that we probably shouldn’t be finding any of this quite so funny...But when that banter knowingly sends up its own bigotry, then we may guffaw as well as groan...That blend of arcane local colour, highbrow repartee and toilet humour makes for an improbably enjoyable evening. 'Oh, Hello' may just consist of two evil old men gassing on stage for 90 plotless minutes, but you’ll love them by the end." Full Review

"You better be ready to laugh. A lot...These stars want, and you better believe they get, their spotlights. Director Alex Timbers keeps things tight, an accomplishment given the seemingly rambling delivery of the elderly leads...While you could call 'Oh, Hello on Broadway' sophomoric, to do so misses the point. There is a sophistication beneath its frat house mentality that keeps it sharp...It observes and skewers pop culture with laser-like precision and sets up jokes with skill and care." Full Review

"The show's plot is thin...But you're not there for the plot. You're there to see Kroll and Mulaney's masterful take on Faizon and St. Geegland—two incredibly nuanced and well-rounded characters who manage to be wildly offensive and incredibly lovable at the same time. Both are equally excellent...The laughs rarely slow down in the pitch-perfect show either...Alt-comedy fans will surely love 'Oh, Hello.' But rarely do theatergoers get to see such a refreshing, relatable character study." Full Review

"Our long national downer is over. 'Oh, Hello' has finally put an end to entertainment’s interminable War on Fun. The smart, 95-minute two-hander created by and starring comedians Nick Kroll and John Mulaney dares to be hilarious, without a nanosecond of deeper meaning...Directed with chutzpah by Alex Timbers, the show — which, at 95 minutes, is a bit too much of a good thing — is completely un-PC, infectiously energetic and packed with winning zingers." Full Review

"Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland of 'Oh, Hello on Broadway' are refreshingly crotchety. For those unfamiliar with these cantankerous oldsters, Gil and George are bizarre creations of 30-something comics Nick Kroll and John Mulaney...The structure of their two-man show is loosey-goosey...Director Alex Timbers keeps the daffy duo on a relaxed leash, allowing them to romp and jump but not run out of control...Anyone with a taste for tangy humor should see 'Oh, Hello.'" Full Review

"Their unlikely showbiz ascension is exactly the outcome we deserve — those of us who don’t mind a few lung-punishing laughing jags of an evening, in the theater...Comedians John Mulaney and Nick Kroll hold a theater crowd in their loony spell for a giddy, galloping 90 minutes...Their brand of comedy is a winning melange of all the brows: low, middle and high...Terrific bits of observational comedy — and more successful, I think, than an interlude halfway through." Full Review

"None of this is especially memorable, but it is very entertaining, especially given the duo's knack for improvisation...Mulaney and Kroll occasionally pause to address audience members who make the mistake of sneezing or, even worse, getting up to use the bathroom. They appear to be having a blast putting on old man makeup and ill-fitting corduroys and trying to make each other laugh. Their spirited silliness proves infectious." Full Review

"'Charmed, I’m sure,' says Gil Faizon after nearly every introduction. It’s hard not to be...Kroll and Mulaney, who are in their thirties, use an intentional 'budget' elderly look as a tongue and cheek mechanism—and it works wonderfully. The plot is paper thin and the sophomoric jokes abound, but do not be fooled into thinking that this is only for frat-boys. On the contrary, Kroll and Mulaney have a knack for combining Borscht belt yuks with intelligent, existential humor." Full Review

"Impropriety is the lifeblood of Nick Kroll and John Mulaney’s 'Oh, Hello,' a savage sendup of growing old and out-of-touch but still persisting...You’ve probably seen these guys in their tattered blazers browsing used bookstores and other faded New York institutions. There’s a darkness that courses through that keeps the jokes uneasy and adds complexity to this thoroughly enjoyable show." Full Review

"Creators Kroll and Mulaney have honed these characters for more than ten years, who were first born in live sketches and then online videos...For an audience of theatre and comedy nerds, Kroll and Mulaney’s love letter (perhaps stalker note they say) to the theatre is simply hilarious." Full Review

"The ninety-minute evening allows for bits of improvisational riffing and Kroll and Mulaney have perfected a loose chemistry that plays on a low-key level...While fans of Kroll and Mulaney will no doubt eat it up, 'Oh, Hello on Broadway' tends to lose some steam during the last half-hour...The fact that something as non-traditional and New York-centric as an evening with George St. Geegland and Gil Faizon can play the Lyceum is a welcome sign for the creative health of Gotham's theatre scene." Full Review