On The Town

"When did you last see a big-budget musical that made you want to shout with joy? If you’ve been feeling anxious about the lukewarm state of American musical comedy, get ready to get hot again: The new Broadway revival of “On the Town” is everything a great show should be." Full Review

"Living in New York City, it’s easy to forget the fun of experiencing it all for the first time. It’s the sort of childlike discovery that makes even a crowded subway seem like a magical place. That unmitigated glee is alive and well at the Broadway revival of the they-don’t-make-‘em-like-they-used-to musical “On the Town.”" Full Review

"And now, a show about sex that you can take the whole family to: the kids, the grandparents, even your sister the nun. That idea may sound kind of creepy, or (worse) dreary. But I assure you that the jubilant revival of “On the Town,” which opened Thursday night at the Lyric Theater, is anything but." Full Review

"If 'On The Town' does not hold the kind of sacred place as the flag or the Star-Spangled Banner, it is part of its own American tradition – an early American musical comedy classic. Not every production has been able to rekindle the original excited reaction to this savvy mix of silken song, dazzling dance and silly story – high-brow art in a pas de deux with middle-brow entertainment. This fourth Broadway production does." Full Review

"Playgoers who haven't walked away from a Broadway musical beaming since before they can remember should head over to Times Square...Comden and Green pioneered a fast and funny, comic sketch-style musical comedy while Bernstein loaded in a mixture of show tunes and highbrow stuff...This On the Town would leave them tickled pink and leaping for joy." Full Review

"Director John Rando, choreographer Joshua Bergasse and music director James Moore have mined the show for all its raw poignance, without sacrificing any of its jazzy wit or exuberant romanticism...The result is a portrait of Town's primary subjects, New York City and young love, that will leave you both exhilarated and haunted." Full Review

"Unless you bought a ticket expecting all-Misty, all-the-time, however, the first theater appearance by American Ballet Theatre's newly appointed first black principal dancer was an impressive and satisfying event...She definitely can act -- with her expressive body, of course, but also with her (heavily miked) voice. Her singing, the little she does here, has a gutsy quality that exudes personality, if not elegant tone." Full Review

"Re-electrifying a show in its dying days, ballet sensation Misty Copeland brings considerable charisma and elegant physicality to her Broadway debut. As you might expect of a theater novice, Copeland’s acting abilities conform to only a narrow range of accomplishment, oscillating between charm and vivacity. And the voice is most assuredly still a work in progress. But as for the real skill that landed her on the stage, well, on that count we’re in far more scintillating territory." Full Review

"Her Ivy was terrific...Ms. Copeland’s singing voice may be flat, but this is a dancing role, and her Ivy has vulnerability and moxie. She lit up the stage of the Lyric Theater — enough to make you wonder: Is Ms. Copeland’s home on Broadway? Here, she finally looked like a star, more fresh and free than she’s appeared in ages." Full Review

"Three footloose sailors aren’t the only ones who get lucky in “On the Town.” The audience does, too. Director John Rando has assembled a great cast for this fizzy and frisky revival. Tracing a tale of World War II tars on leave in the big city, the production feels like a big, juicy kiss. So pucker up, New York." Full Review

"Although Copeland's acting is stilted and her singing ability very modest, she acquits herself nicely in the role. She has a natural star quality accentuated by her striking beauty and all-American sex appeal, and her dancing, not surprisingly, is sublime. The part is small enough that her lack of acting experience doesn't weigh too heavily, and her lithe physicality is gorgeously illustrated in several dance numbers." Full Review

"A glorious 28-piece orchestra playing “The Star-Spangled Banner” in front of a giant American flag safety curtain has the audience on its feet before On the Town gets started. But it’s the jagged blasts of brass, the languorously bluesy romantic ballads and the exuberant comedy numbers of Leonard Bernstein’s jazzy score that make this vibrant Broadway revival such transporting entertainment." Full Review

"Betty Comden and Adolph Green’s book and lyrics still crackle and pop after all these decades, and therein lies the rub: The show’s already written funny, so director John Rando’s frantic oversell can feel a little desperate...But that can’t dim the glittering gem that is “On the Town,” with its delirious, high-energy score." Full Review

"The ants-in-their-pants revival of On The Town that snap, crackle and popped open on Thursday night is so unabashedly old-fashioned it could seduce a Red State senator. And yet it’s also so subversively fresh you may find yourself wondering when Broadway musicals got so stuffy." Full Review

"Director John Rando admirably takes all the various components of such a big, splashy enterprise and makes it work. The key is harmony, taking a spirited, care-free show and successfully balancing the extensive production numbers so the 2 ½ hour musical flows smoothly without unnecessary starts and fits." Full Review

"“On the Town” is back on Broadway, and whaddya know, it’s still a helluva show...and although the young and vital cast is light on acting chops, the dancing is sensational." Full Review

"On the Town is a heartbreakingly youthful work: both about youth and by youth. Watching its three sailors pursue a lifetime of adventure while on 24-hour shore leave in New York, New York, you can’t help sensing the shadows of the three giddy pals who knocked the show together in 1944." Full Review

"John Rando's altogether loving, good-humored, skimpy-looking but imaginative frolic...We miss the shadow of World War II that surely must hover over young men on their last 24-hour shore leave before shipping out. Instead, this just is a breezy, peppy, pleasantly libidinous valentine to New York-New York that respects Leonard Bernstein's jazzy brainy score with a lush 28-piece orchestra." Full Review

"Although it occasionally pushes too hard, John Rando’s production inspires considerable affection...I suspect there will be people who love the torch-carrying spirit of this On the Town, and I wish them, and it, the best. To me, however, it seems a bit like a well-mounted exhibit at some Natural History Museum of Broadway: a stuffed lark." Full Review