“Leeds directs the York's latest visit to this underappreciated effort, a very enjoyable book-in-hand production featuring a terrific cast...Burns gives a gutsy, dramatically sung performance as the title character...The score features the catchy, Neapolitan-styled ‘It's Time For A Love Song’, a wonderfully-structured story-telling selection, ‘Someone In April’...Certainly, ‘Carmelina’ is a musical that deserves at least one more walk around the garden.”
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"No justification is needed for an entertainment as charming and tuneful as this...The show had only thirty-six hours of rehearsals; one imagines that, had he had more time, the director, Michael Leeds, would have cleaned up a bit of business...But the laughs are plentiful, the songs fall beautifully on the ear, and a show that once seemed destined for the flop shelf now looks like a highly playable proposition."
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“Witty, well-crafted, romantic, smart...and gorgeously melodic...Harman's heavily rewritten book plays just fine, and the score, re-conceived and reordered as it is, remains both a model of musical-comedy efficiency...It's a rare look at a late work from musical masters, and, as much as it's been tampered with, a fun story that speaks eloquently of spiraling deception, fragile male egos, and parental responsibility.”
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"Though not in the same class with Lerner's masterpiece, 'My Fair Lady,' 'Carmelina' has a similar theme: how a young woman reinvents herself. While the three soldiers are under the impression that they invented Carmelina in the classic Pygmalion and Galatea fashion, in fact Carmelina has reinvented herself, also a major theme in the Lerner canon, along with Coco...This charming musical comedy also features a Tony Award-nominated score which deserves a second and a third hearing."
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"It was my pleasure to see this charming show in a well-staged, sweetly performed and beautifully sung production...I was hooked. Burton Lane was one of the great melodists that ever wrote for the theatre (or film), and his score for 'Carmelina' is no exception...If you’ve never experienced a 'mufti,' then you can do no better than to luxuriate in Burton Lane’s outstanding melodies in 'Carmelina,' sung by a talented eight-person cast."
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“Staging under the direction of Michael Leeds, with David Hancock Turner as musical director, is quite delightful. Yes, the plot may still be a stretch, but the story abetted by some very good songs offers the opportunity for performances that are amusing and also sometimes touching...The York has come through once again with an impressive cast of eight who bring the tale to life.”
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"40 years later, this pared down production makes a strong argument for revisiting the show. Despite their common roots, 'Carmelina' is tighter than 'Mamma Mia!,' boasting higher stakes and a more focused character plot. The secret weapon is Joseph Stein’s charming book, revised by Barry Harman and director Michael Leeds. A master at painting compelling portraits of ethnic small town life, the happiest surprise of 'Carmelina' is the comedy."
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"'Carmelina's' strength is in its plot...While the music is nice, there aren't any standout songs and the songs are definitely not up to the standards of Lerner's other work or even the standards of his other work with the composer of the show, Burton Lane...This is not to say that the show is not worth seeing, however because it is really a very engaging and amusing show."
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