Desperate Measures NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (1,066)
See it if Fine farce with so many opportunities to laugh yourself silly that you almost hurt. Great singers who convey their joy at every opportunity
Don't see it if You do not like farces even when based on Shakespeare. A little raunchy too so do not take children.
See it if very cute comedic cast, fantastic voices, silly version of Measure by Measure set to music. It's adorable, sharp, witty, & satisfying
Don't see it if musical theatre archetypes (virgin, whore, hero, villain, fool) light silly fun with an All is Well ending. Not for the serious or stuffy Read more
See it if When of my favorite shows! It was absolutely a gift to see this show and we could not stop laughing and having fun
Don't see it if you do not like musicals comedy and great talent
See it if If you like truly creative, clever dialogue (still amazed at how this was crafted from Shakespeare!), great acting and excellent score
Don't see it if You prefer the jukebox musicals with very little story running on Broadway now
See it if You just want to have fun watching this tremendously talented ensemble wow you with their performances in a terrific production
Don't see it if You want a drama or something profound.
See it if You like a good story set in Wild West with most verse in Rhyme ...most of the time. Great singing and acting and humorous situations. Fun!
Don't see it if You don’t like Westerns. However this is a wonderful show that should not be missed
See it if you want a fun time at the theater, with great acting, light music and lots of laughs
Don't see it if you are a scrooge Read more
See it if you wish to enjoy a clever farse loosely based on Shakespeare's play and masterly rendered as a musical.
Don't see it if you do not appreciate comedies based on incredible situations that poke fun at human folly.
Critic Reviews (49)
"'Desperate Measures' relies on cliche and spoof to carry the evening. That said, this show has enough feel-good reserve that, by the time it wraps up, the audience is clapping to the band’s hoedown rhythms as the cast takes curtain calls...Kellogg makes the rhyming device fun without beating you over the head with it…The singing voices and the harmonies sound pure...In the market for a small, sweet, feel-good musical? 'Desperate Measures' should do the trick."
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“Hilariously silly but fun new musical...Opens with a surprisingly smart and funny bang...With solid music direction and orchestrations by David Hancock Turner and a smartly directed and choreographed good time by Bill Castellino the musical production giddily gallops forward, taking a convoluted Shakespearian text and improving on it. I never thought I’d say that, but ‘Measure for Measure’ mixed with Mel Brooks and a melodic musical score creates one great time at the dance hall.”
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“As bodacious and bawdy as ever...Has the ‘guts’ of ‘Measure for Measure’ with the charm and appeal of a traditional Broadway musical...This is a pleasant musical that celebrates the enduring themes of love, commitment, and ‘being alive’. The cast is uniformly engaging – all triple threats with vocal, acting, and movement skills. They stay true to their characters and deliver authentic and believable performances.”
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"Deft direction and a snappy book and score delivered by a comically-gifted cast, this evening is the perfect compliment to these #metoo times…Highest comic marks go Ryan and Molina as secondary love interests Johnny and Bella… Although on the surface, the evening is played for laughs, Castellino subversively works in some of the Bard’s deeper themes of heartless unyielding law enforcement and sexual harassment—both alive and well four centuries later in Trump’s America."
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"Last October, I strongly recommended 'Desperate Measures,' the delightful musical farce loosely based on…'Measure for Measure,' which it sets in the Wild West, turning…Angelo into a Trump-like tyrant. 'Desperate Measures' has now returned for a commercial run with the only cast change being Sarah Parnicky in the role of Sister Mary Jo...Despite a drop in intimacy, and a running time…that's a little longer than it need be, 'Desperate Measures' continues to ride high in the saddle."
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"Delightful, slightly bawdy show…The entire cast are excellent…The music by David Friedman is consistently hummable and occasionally more than that. The book and lyrics by Peter Kellogg are very clever...Director/choreographer Bill Castellino is quite comfortable with the material and works in several bits of hilarious physical humor.…If you are looking for old-fashioned light summer entertainment, this will fill the bill nicely."
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“Abandons any pretense of wrestling with Shakespeare’s grander, weightier statements...but plays out like the early musicals of the 1930s...While it could be punchier and more socially relevant, I am hard pressed to think of another new musical as fun and, well, charming—a guilty pleasure that kept me smiling from start to finish...The score is abundantly smart and surprising, despite its subtlety, Kellogg’s book and lyrics are well-crafted and humorous."
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"The show’s book by Kellogg, while not exactly a one-joke affair, is pretty close to one. Luckily, there’s no effort to take anything seriously, and the dialogue is filled with rhyming verse, heightening the larky flavour. With the aid of an appealing cast and Bill Castellino’s lively direction and choreography, it manages to work up its share of pleasant merriment...All in all, 'Desperate Measures' is a respectable addition to the canon of musicals that have found their inspiration in the Bard of Avon."
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