War Paint NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (1,329)
See it if You love Broadway divas Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole and want to see them onstage together
Don't see it if You don't like Broadway divas
See it if You want to see two legends on stage
Don't see it if You don't like musicals
See it if you enjoys shows about female empowerment. Based on a true story told by brilliant acting and a terrific score. Powerful story and staging
Don't see it if You're not interested in the rise of strong women in business. You're looking for a massive spectacle on stage.
See it if ...you enjoy seeing an unforgettable performance by two inimitable Broadway stars.
Don't see it if ....you don't want to see a story about women in the cosmetic industry that has great acting and singing.
See it if you like female leads.
Don't see it if don't like pink.
See it if You want to see Broadway stars at the top of their form bring two brilliant cosmetics tycoons to life. Costumes take you from 30s to 60s.
Don't see it if You don't like biography, musicals or strong women.
See it if You have any interest is cosmetics or female empire builders. This is a glam piece, about glam women who created yet more glam--lush!
Don't see it if You don't want a show heavily weighted to the female perspective. Read more
See it if you are a fan of either leading lady, or you just want to see a slick, well-produced musical that moves along quickly.
Don't see it if you don't like musicals at all or the idea of one about make-up ladies does not exactly thrill you. Read more
Critic Reviews (72)
“Ms. Ebersole and Ms. LuPone go a great distance in disguising the show’s essential sameness. Ms. LuPone is as imposing as Rubinstein must have been, and presumably a whole lot funnier. Ms. Ebersole is equally formidable in a lighter vein. And Frankel and Korie have written numbers for their stars that cannily play to their separate but equal strengths…So, though my eyes occasionally glazed seeing ‘War Paint,’ I wouldn’t have missed it, if only to hear its leading ladies’ climactic ballads.”
Read more
"There are two excellent reasons to see 'War Paint,' and their names are above the title...Otherwise, much of 'War Paint' is a blur. It has been crafted with intelligence and care by the team behind 2006’s poignant 'Grey Gardens'...Michael Greif's direction keeps it moving efficiently along. But the show doesn’t make a persuasive case that its stories must be told...'War Paint’s' nails, though attractively polished, only scratch its surface."
Read more
"Beguiling but frustrating...For all the intelligence, sophistication, and sheer talent involved — LuPone and Ebersole are in top form — 'War Paint' keeps falling between an older model of storytelling and a new one, never fully climbing its way out of the gap...The structure quickly becomes a bit monotonous...Why, onstage, despite a perfectly smooth staging from Michael Greif, should 'War Paint' feel so effortful, like getting through an overheavy meal?"
Read more
"The stars are starry, the sets are glossy, and the book is full of snappy one-liners. In the end, though, 'War Paint' fails to keep its costly promises...The plot fails to pass the who-cares test...Structurally rigid, dramaturgically overcrowded and emotionally tepid... LuPone and Ebersole are as good as you’d expect, Greif’s staging and the choreography are smooth and polished. In short, it looks like a winner—but as anyone in the cosmetics business can tell you, appearances are deceiving."
Read more
"The musical’s DOA...Somehow this all manages to be a huge bore though not for want of trying and effortful lung power from the leads in director Michael Greif’s high-voltage production. The score is as hard on the ear as the book is clunky and predictable...Working so hard, and so effectively, to establish equivalency in the stories of these two phenomenally successful women in the end drains 'War Paint' of any drama."
Read more
"LuPone’s performance is slathered in gusto. Ebersole’s turn is creamier than any emollient. They’re so good, you wish the show were better...The structure of the show doesn't help. Arden starts a song, only to have Rubinstein chime in to give her side of the same story — or vice versa...The songs are easy enough on the ears. But the score is less memorable for revealing bottled-up emotions than goop inside makeup containers."
Read more
"Luckily, there’s not much plot to distract from these carefully nuanced characters, their amazing careers and dazzling wardrobes...The music feels right for both the individual characters and the progressive time frames. The lyrics suit the characters and serve the plot. And the book is smart and literate...While much is made of their fierce competitive practices, there’s little at stake here, aside from the loyalties of their male partners."
Read more
"The marquee draw is the dynamite pairing of Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole, Broadway's finest, in richly distinctive roles that play to their respective strengths...Their contrasting turns here are simply mesmerizing...Despite its relatively low-key dramatic engine, this is a smart, sophisticated exploration of two uncompromising...Some no doubt will find the show lacking in dramatic momentum or explosive conflicts. I found it thoroughly compelling and masterfully entertaining throughout."
Read more