"A bit like being stuck at Thanksgiving dinner with a garrulous, self-regarding, time-sucking uncle...It falls short of offering seriously useful ideas about how individuals can make a difference...I actively resisted plenty of material that might otherwise be amenable to me politically...For theatergoers expecting anything theatrical, the evening, directed as if with hands thrown up in resignation by Mayer, will prove fairly grim...Moore’s not preaching to the choir: He’s bragging to it."
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"In its best moments, 'The Terms of My Surrender' is amusing, informative, even inspiring. But it is also compromised by familiarity, oversimplification and indulgence...While Moore has excelled in his role as a progressive gadfly in books and documentaries, onstage he is less assured; he does not yet know how to control his audience, his tone or his time...By the time he reaches the climax—about poisoned water in his hometown of Flint, Michigan—the crowd is restless."
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"That should be uplifting. Moore wants to uplift...So why does 'The Terms of My Surrender' feel so uninspiring? First of all, because it’s almost entirely unsurprising...Feels like a live version of my Facebook feed: a few good stories and a boatload of preaching to the choir...'The Terms of My Surrender' might look like a play, but make no mistake: This is not theater...The best moments in 'The Terms of My Surrender' come when Michael Moore pauses for a moment simply to tell us a story."
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"Moore is at ease onstage and projects a jolly conspiratorial air...But the show is a rambling, ramshackle affair that careens between shtick and sober business, and both ends of that spectrum suffer...'The Terms of My Surrender' is heartfelt and represents the thinking and ideology of a crucial voice of dissent and opposition. But it’s a lazy show that severely underestimates it audience. Preaching to the choir is one thing; pandering to it is of a somewhat lower order."
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"An engaging solo selective memoir...'Surrender' has a casual, semi-scripted tone...Moore’s easygoing rapport with the audience goes a long way in these memories...Tony-winning director Mayer keeps things rolling smoothly. Mostly, anyway...A game show inspired by a dumbed-down America isn’t half as smart as it wants to wants to be. Those are minor quibbles. Moore pulls the show together with a flashy finale."
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"Moore makes his revolutionary pitch with surprising sweetness...Although he charms the audience into a group sing, he’s determined not to preach to the choir, preferring to make his political points through stealth...One terrific effect really puts across his best story, about a librarian who saved his bacon...The personal anecdotes are interesting, but that librarian story illustrates the main message of this rally—that 'one person out of nowhere can make a revolution.'"
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"'Surrender' reveals Moore to be a warmly funny and engaging raconteur, presiding over an evening of surprising emotional depths...Smart enough not to fall into the trap of simply preaching to the choir, Moore makes the evening partly autobiographical...The evening, cleverly staged by Michael Mayer, is not just an illustrated lecture. It has a vibrantly theatrical, variety-show atmosphere...The joyous finale, which again relies on the element of surprise, sends the audience out on a high."
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“A funny, colorful and totally entertaining one-man show…I expected to be challenged, embarrassed, provoked and possibly enraged by so many condensed and concentrated opinions at one sitting. What I did not expect, in the bargain, was to have such a good time…Regardless of your politics, he’s so persuasive and charming that you end up agreeing with him in spite of yourself. You also learn things.”
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