Torch Song (NYC)
Closed 2h 40m
Torch Song (NYC)
88

Torch Song (NYC) NYC Reviews and Tickets

88%
(415 Reviews)
Positive
98%
Mixed
2%
Negative
0%
Members say
Great acting, Funny, Absorbing, Entertaining, Great writing

About the Show

After a hit run Off-Broadway, the revival of Harvey Fierstein's Tony-winning comedy heads to Broadway. Starring Drama Desk Award winner Michael Urie and Oscar and Tony winner Mercedes Ruehl.

Read more Show less

Member Reviews (415)

Sort by:
  • Default
  • Standing in our community
  • Highest first
  • Lowest first
  • Newest first
  • Oldest first
  • Only positive
  • Only negative
  • Only mixed
1015 Reviews | 420 Followers
94
Must see, Profound, Resonant, Great acting, Touched my heart

See it if You saw the off Broadway show it’s actually gotten better! If you missed it DO NOT MISS THIS! Heart achingly real and super funny-like life.

Don't see it if You’re homophobic.

655 Reviews | 129 Followers
86
Funny, Entertaining, Great acting, Absorbing

See it if living life and looking for love. Its funny and sad.

Don't see it if if gay theme bother you. No open mind. Read more

505 Reviews | 729 Followers
95
Funny, Great acting, Great staging, Great writing, Must see

See it if you’re interested in LGBTQ issues, or are looking for masterful performances and writing with much humor and resonance. Urie and Ruehl!!!

Don't see it if you have trouble sitting through long shows. This is nearly 3 hours, but you may not even notice.

520 Reviews | 107 Followers
22
Disappointing, Excruciating, Fluffy, Overrated

See it if you want to see a play that deals with A gay man that wants love but can never truly find it

Don't see it if If you are bothered by an over the top flamboyant lead character Read more

484 Reviews | 130 Followers
85
Quirky yet tame, Hilarious but tear inducing, Snapshot of 70's, Profound yet sometimes mundane, Doesn't take risks

See it if love the script, Michael Urie, or Mercedes Ruehl, remember 70s scene, want to hope, remember the original production, need show about family

Don't see it if can't tolerate LGBTQ themes, hate dragqueens, can't pay attention for 3 hours+, think UR seeing Harvey Fierstein, can't think of possibility

468 Reviews | 121 Followers
90
Sparkling, funny revival of gay classic

See it if Michael gives his usual spot-on, hilarious performance. He makes the part all his own. Funny and touching. Wonderful dialogue.

Don't see it if Mercedes is also excellent. Loved the supporting cast. Audience rapport was palpable. A pre-AIDS period piece that still resonates.

474 Reviews | 68 Followers
93
Funny, Resonant

See it if Should be required watching for every gay! Humorous journey of how he's proud of himself and fights to receive love and respect from others.

Don't see it if Out and proud homosexuals scare you. Drag queen humor falls flat for you. Read more

469 Reviews | 54 Followers
82
Funny, Great acting, Dated, Heartwarming

See it if Good acting in a well-made play that is funny and pulls on one's heart strings at the same time.

Don't see it if not interested in the topic or parent/child relationships. a bit dated.

Critic Reviews (34)

The New York Times
November 1st, 2018

"As embodied by Michael Urie in the happy revival of Harvey Fierstein’s 'Torch Song,' Arnold is just the guy and gal to pull you out of your election-season weariness...Mr. Kaufman’s staging now feels smoother and quicker on its feet. It also feels, well, bigger...That’s Ms. Ruehl’s part, which she walks, not runs, with and nearly steals the show in an expertly coiled performance."
Read more

New York Magazine / Vulture
November 2nd, 2018

“’There’s something mechanical about the production’s particular brand of glossy camp...I kept wanting ‘Torch Song’s’ flow of winks and witticisms to feel a little less automated, a little more undergirded with real stakes, anguish, and risk...Without more ferocity and friction under the facade, the play’s hijinks start to feel less like a statement about how gay men find and protect their power and more like a series of hat tips to an audience who’s come looking for a laugh.”
Read more

The Hollywood Reporter
November 1st, 2018

"Perhaps there's something liberating about being back within these historically significant walls that has coaxed Michael Urie out from behind the author's shadow to seize ownership of the heart-on-his-sleeve protagonist in a virtuoso turn... Not only does he now feel more like a flesh-and-blood person, but the staging has acquired greater fluidity and emotional richness...Kaufman and his cast hit every note of humor and heartache in a durable work."
Read more

Entertainment Weekly
November 1st, 2018

"In the exquisite new Broadway revival, Michael Urie establishes himself as a fearless and compelling leading man — delivering a master-class in physical comedy and dramatic authenticity that, in the play’s most gripping scenes, brings laughter and tears nearly simultaneously...Some of those cuts are missed, though 'Torch Song‘s' flame still burns bright. This fresh production, skillfully directed by Kaufman, shows that Fierstein’s words are as poignant now as they were then."
Read more

Variety
November 1st, 2018

“An affectionate if ill-considered revival…As imperfectly directed here by Moises Kaufman, Urie has made little attempt to make the role of Arnold his own…The trimmed-down show has kept its basic storyline but lost some of its grace notes…Arnold’s story is as sweet as ever…Does this history piece hold up? Yes, in the sense that the show is kind to its characters and true to its dated sensibilities. No, in the sense that the characters are unbelievably sweet and its sensibilities are dated.”
Read more

The Wall Street Journal
November 1st, 2018

"Mr. Fierstein’s play might not have been quite so radical as it once seemed...‘Torch Song’ is looking more like a commercial comedy about a nice Jewish boy and his impossible mother—and a pretty good one, too...The only thing wrong with Second Stage’s off-Broadway revival of ‘Torch Song,’ which has been very effectively directed by Moisés Kaufman, is Mr. Urie, a fine actor who is miscast as Mr. Fierstein."
Read more

Deadline
November 1st, 2018

"Director Moisés Kaufman and Fierstein have streamlined things, not ideally but smoothly enough. The play’s connective tissue was always more spirit than plot anyway. And even with the cuts, 'Torch Song' seems like the pal you haven’t seen in ages, forgotten charms resurrecting themselves before your eyes...The creeping feeling that 'Torch Song' is more dated than we’d hoped takes hold...As if to confront and wrestle down any datedness head-on, Kaufman and his cast go broad."
Read more

Chicago Tribune
November 1st, 2018

"On Broadway, the heart always has sold the most tickets and this show has all the right feels...Under-appreciated for years, Urie is a fantastic physical actor — an atypically precise and detailed master farceur as adept at physical shtick as at making you care about his eminently lovable character...Miscast Jack DiFalco, who does not come off even remotely as a teenager...But even this unfathomably bizarre choice does not change the play’s poignancy."
Read more