Pamela's First Musical NJ Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (40)
See it if you love wit, grand music, wise lyrics, a phenomenal cast, a tale for kids of all ages, plus Wassersteinian and Durangian verbal magic.
Don't see it if you are a stick in the mud with an inability to let a grand musical help you forget your sorrows and allow u to fly away to a land of glee.
See it if You want to see a pleasant, entertaining show that you can take your granddaughter to.
Don't see it if You want a serious play that you will think about afterwards
See it if If you want a family friendly, delightful story with lots of inside Broadway jokes and if you enjoy Broadway musicals.
Don't see it if you don't like Broadway musicals and are looking for a profound, serious drama. Read more
See it if you enjoy classic musicals with a cheeky edge to them, sort of like Hairspray mixed with Drowsy Chaperone and Annie.
Don't see it if you prefer serious and dramatic musicals or can't stand children in leading roles. Read more
See it if you like theater insider jokes (the leading lady is Mary Ethel Bernadette) and want to see a star in the making in Sarah MicKinley Austin
Don't see it if you are looking for something with deep meaning or don't like underdeveloped characters
See it if you want to see a solid, children's musical with great pedigree before it makes it way to Broadway.
Don't see it if you don't want to see a show that still needs some additions and refinement before it takes its next step Read more
See it if you love theatre, love great singing love seeing new work
Don't see it if you are put off by the hour train ride from NYP to Red Bank. The theater is a block from the station with lots of restaurants nearby
See it if You want to see a valentine to Broadway with a delightful young lead and a group of veteran musical performers
Don't see it if You want real comedy and depth of character , this is okay but wants to be great Read more
Critic Reviews (11)
“A delightful production...Daniele directs this production like a Broadway musical in miniature. All the pieces for something bigger are here: a great cast, memorable songs, and a fast-paced, exciting narrative. But for a show about the Great White Way, ‘Pamela's First Musical’ feels small...Yet...there's much to recommend. Its story will appeal to younger audience members, while its satirical jokes and insider references will amuse theater-loving grown-ups.”
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“Musical theatre lovers and many more will be delighted by this dazzling, enthralling production...A show that will surely be enjoyed by a broad audience of theatergoers including families with youngsters...’Pamela's First Musical’ is spirited and heartfelt...The highly accomplished company electrifies the stage with their musical prowess and wonderful character portrayals...The musical score of the show is an ideal complement to the story along with the lively dance numbers.”
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“Nearly everything a parent could want in a child's first theater experience...The show boasts a creative team with a miles-long list of accomplishments...But...This roster of theatrical titans seems to have preferred...a dramatized children's story told with a stripped-down simplicity...The cast is not given much room to shine in the simplicity of the characters, but high points nonetheless emerge...This show offers great fun for the young and musical-curious...Don't expect much beyond that."
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“Bland and unmemorable at best and shockingly tone-deaf at worst. Those who harbor warm feelings toward Wasserstein or Coleman should stay far away, lest their memories be spoiled...Although Daniele manages to stage an entire musical-inside-a-musical, she never captures the sense of a little girl falling in love with the art form...More pointedly, neither play nor production gives a strong sense of what Pamela longs to escape from...Essentially a piece of fluff.”
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“While ‘Pamela’s First Musical’ boasts credentials equal to those precursors...The show, if not the production, suffers in comparison; that storied foursome are not at the top of their game...It is entertaining, but not, one suspects, to the extent it must have been to those creators...It’s essentially an extended inside joke..It remains a collegiate enterprise, albeit an accomplished one...A striking production...with eye-catching sets."
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"This show is, in a word, wonderful...The score is rich with more-than-occasional wit...If you love musicals, especially the ins and outs of their creation, you should see this show. If you know girls and boys who are interested in the theatre or are highly imaginative, you should take them to this show...The show is corny, and charming, and utterly irresistible. Allow yourself to be perfectly delighted by this gem of a production."
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"Billed as a valentine to Broadway. It’s that, and much more, including an unexpected moral to the story...It’s a great introduction to how the theater works to create a live musical performance, plus plenty of references and nuances to keep adults and musical theater lovers entertained...A big round of applause for the ensemble that played a cast of thousands."
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"Director and choreographer Daniele delivers all the necessary camp and pizzazz, but also gives us beautiful moments of stillness...'Pamela’s First Musical' transported me back to when I was a similarly precocious child seeing my first Broadway musical, a feeling of nostalgia that is, to me, more than worth the price of admission. While the show is written for a theatre-savvy crowd, it can still be enjoyed thoroughly whether this is your first musical or your thousand-and-first."
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