Tuck Everlasting

"A warm-spirited and piercingly touching musical…Nicholaw evinces a natural feel for the tender emotional core of the material…The rather complicated story is cleanly shaped in Ms. Shear and Mr. Federle’s book…'Tuck Everlasting' can sometimes be a little ham-handed in addressing its central theme...Among the many refreshing surprises of 'Tuck Everlasting' is this reminder that a musical doesn’t necessarily have to sing or speak its truths to bring them home to us." Full Review

"The plot is so disjointed that it is often hard to tell how we got where…Miller and Tysen's score is hit-and-miss, with some songs helping to further the plot while others stop the show in its tracks...The super-talented Lewis plays Winnie with technical proficiency but an emotional flatness that remains consistent, giving us no sense that our protagonist has actually gone on any sort of journey...Director Casey Nicholaw opts to drown the script in a tidal wave of production elements." Full Review

"It’s pretty crazy that this story about regret, mortality and big life choices could end up so toothless...You need a cast of aces to even try to bring to life Chris Miller and Nathan Tysen’s score—a procession of dull, Renaissance Faire songs that float by, making barely a ripple...What does have an impact is the show’s ending: a 10-minute story-ballet in which director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw finally earns his paycheck...The number resonates more than anything that preceded." Full Review

"A hearty and magical Americana-style charmer full of poignancy and good humor and very suitable for families…11-year-old Sarah Charles Lewis, who can belt it up to the back rows, makes her Broadway debut as Winnie, exuding an immensely likeable and confident presence, paired with good acting chops…Miller's music is an appealing mix primarily based in folk matched with lyricist Nathan Tyson's homespun poetics...'Tuck Everlasting' is a real heart-tugger." Full Review

"An earnest, somewhat attenuated musical…The philosophical aspect of the Tuck dilemma comes out in two brooding numbers. In these songs, Miller’s Celtic-flavored music and Tysen’s searching lyrics deliver emotionally, elsewhere they seem merely upbeat and serviceable...The lumpy book takes too long to establish tone and stakes in the first act, leaving a lot of mopping up in the second...I can admire several elements here; they just seem slightly misjudged or misaligned." Full Review

"A sweet concoction that feels in over its head...The book is more serviceable than inspired...The tuneful country and folk music-influenced score is equally unmemorable. Director Nicholaw keeps things moving at a sprightly pace, although he overdoes the carnival-style dance sequences that are clearly intended to provide visual distraction. The design elements are impressive...The performers put the fanciful material over with admirable energy and emotional conviction." Full Review

"Wholesome, moral winsomeness will never go out of style, presumably; but a rousing musical it does not make, at least in the case of 'Tuck Everlasting'…Nicholaw proves that he can, indeed, work in this gentler, not-in-your-face form of musical…In 'Tuck Everlasting,' though, matters are all too mild…As has been the case in several recent musicals, many of the principal actors provide enjoyable performances." Full Review

"The lyrics can feel generic and so, too, can the book…Something also seems amiss with the storybook design....The musical’s ultimate salvation is its sentimentality...Winnie is given a dead father, ostensibly to deepen her emotional predicament and there’s a sappy quality in how her pert presence revivifies each of the tired Tucks. If this seems mushy and unnecessary, the same sentiments inspire a concluding ballet, which is a triumph." Full Review

"Like the children’s book, the script fudges some narrative questions and complications and grapples ever-so-lightly with the complexities of infinite life. But the narrative, at least, is always buoyed by its tuneful folk-rooted score by Miller and Tysen...Director Nicholaw, here shows a more lyrical side, climaxing in a story-of-life dance number that packs an emotional wallop. At the show’s end, you’ll want to hug your family." Full Review

"A ruthlessly by-the-book treatment of a high-concept, low-wattage fairy tale...The more Shear and Federle clarify the material the more ordinary and threadbare it seems, a problem that Casey Nicholaw’s staging mostly exacerbates in its dogged adherence to the conventions of Broadway storytelling…The homogenization feels deliberate, as if bits of 'Wicked,' 'Brigadoon,' and 'Carousel' had been dumped into a blender with skim milk to produce a smoothie that's way too thin." Full Review

"The staggering finale is the only scene that completely fulfills 'Tuck Everlasting’s' obvious aim to be one of those musicals that appeal to children of all ages. Otherwise, the candy-colorful and energetic stage adaptation seems largely suited for 11-year-old girls…The songs are all pleasant enough, albeit not especially memorable, or even essential to the show, but they are delivered by a cast of charismatic pros." Full Review

"'Tuck Everlasting' has its charming moments, including a solid opening number…At the same time, it is a show that pleases rather than thrills; the rueful, folk-inflected music and plain, often prosaic, lyrics move the story along without providing real excitement or adding to its emotional heft…There's no question that the final dance sequence, and its brief aftermath, brings 'Tuck Everlasting' to a much stronger close than one expects." Full Review

"I had reservations about ‘Matilda’ but, in retrospect, its overall originality make apparent its neighbor’s relative lack of laughs, unexceptional, folk-inflected score, lack of dramatic tension, excessive sentimentality, and stretches of dullness...Several theatregoers could be spotted drying their eyes after the show ended, but only time will tell if ‘Tuck Everlasting’ has more than a famous title and a tear-jerking finale to make its stay on Broadway an everlasting one." Full Review

"A modestly proportioned, low-key Broadway musical...The results aren’t perfect by any means, and the pop-folk score owes far too much to 'Into the Woods' for comfort. Still, 'Tuck Everlasting' realizes enough of its ambitions to be watchable, and Casey Nicholaw’s staging is full of quiet delights, though his swirly choreography, especially in the show’s climactic ballet, is bland...I suspect this is the kind of children’s show that mothers and fathers will enjoy more than their kids." Full Review

"A G-rated, surprisingly well-crafted new Broadway musical…Claudia Shear and Tim Federle’s book for the musical successfully expands upon these themes. The folksy score emphasizes a child’s sense of wonder, along with some tender spots...'Tuck Everlasting' is refreshingly free of camp and flash. Nicholaw ends the show with a striking coup in the form of a poignant narrative ballet. It also allows the dance ensemble (which mostly remains in the background) to finally take center stage." Full Review

"The resulting show feels resolutely real, in a way no other new entry on Broadway this season has…You'd expect thoughtful, emotionally acute performances from the many veterans in the company, and you get them…It could do with more confidence and polish...But as it is, it knows what it wants to be and what it wants to do, and it accomplishes its goals with aplomb. Lovely, honest, and ultimately moving, in the ways that matter most, it's what a musical should be." Full Review

"A wholesome but hyperactive new Broadway musical...Authors Shear and Federle make some smart changes…Composer Miller and lyricist Tysen wrap the story up in a warm and folksy score. It fits the 19th-century time period…Characters are pretty sketchy, but the cast makes the most of what they’ve got…In a stirring climactic ballet...'Tuck Everlasting' is allowed to breathe. Like people, musicals need that to live." Full Review

"A Broadway musical so treacly you may leave the theatre wanting to kick a puppy…Winnie is played by newcomer Sarah Charles Lewis and she is charmless, with all the attributes of an over-prepared, too-polished child actor...The best bit of casting is Terrence Mann as the evil Man in the Yellow Suit…Mann transforms a hopeless Act I into a nearly salvageable Act II. Still, unlike the unlucky Tucks, this material aged out long ago and far away." Full Review

"Lewis, the spunky young actress in this role, is one of the show's great assets, as are Carmello and Park, who beautifully evoke loving parents...'Tuck Everlasting' does have its charms and some likable moments—including a few pleasing numbers, some warm relationships...But there are some crucial story points that get insufficient prominence—including, bizarrely, the moment when Winnie decides whether or not to drink...Not everything will track if you don't know the story." Full Review

"I just loved this musical….The music and lyrics are lovely, although in general, the lyrics seem to be a bit forgettable, but what they have been able to do is infuse a great deal of emotion into our hearts with each number…Nicholaw’s choreography is at times spectacular, fun, and also lovely. The ballet finale, in particular, beautifully and wordlessly tells the story of the circle of life, and all its love, loss, and the different shades of its divine value." Full Review

"A gentle but hardly lightweight fantasy musical…This touching low-tech show is for an underserved niche audience — families who want to be thoughtfully charmed for a few hours after being hyper-entertained by 'Wicked' and 'Matilda'...Someone onstage says we don’t have to live forever, just live. I feel the same about the future of this enchanting long-shot of a show." Full Review

"The problem with the new show is that it is all so bland…The score is pleasant but innocuous…The talented cast varies in success based on the depths of their roles as written in the libretto, which often flattens their counterparts from the original novel…'Tuck Everlasting' is a colorful family entertainment suitable for all ages. Considering its theme, however, it could have been much more. Nonetheless, the game cast puts their all into the singing, dancing and storytelling." Full Review

"Nothing gives us a better glimpse of eternity than this musical’s lax narrative, generic performances, and endless ballet...The songs by Chris Miller and Nathan Tysen also give a nod to eternity. No tune seems to have a beginning, a middle and an end...Casey Nicholaw directs and choreographs...'Tuck Everlasting,' however, is more whimsical than it is broad slapstick, and Nicholaw is better with the latter. As a result, the performances in 'Tuck' come off as merely Broadway generic." Full Review

"Wonderfully crafted…Poignancy mixes well with humor, the songs are fresh and sweet, the set is blissful and the performances honest. It has a polished feel. All of the parts work smartly….An overly hectic first song laying out the narrative stumbles, but the show soon rights itself, continues strongly and ending with a blissful, wordless ballet that caused many sniffles...Humor wonderfully leavens the weighty issues. The music by Chris Miller is magical…Nathan Tysen’s lyrics are even better." Full Review

"There are a couple of book-to-stage issues that haven’t been completely solved...The show never firmly decides whether the story it’s basically telling is of Winnie growing up or the more interesting tale of the Tucks dealing with the burden of being stuck in time...While 'Tuck Everlasting' is essentially for children, adaptors Shear and Federle have inserted the requisite jokes for older folks...and there are some clever lyrics by Tysen, who wrote the serviceable score with composer Miller." Full Review