First Daughter Suite NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (55)
See it if You're a fan of LaChiusa or other intelligent nonlinear non traditional musicals
Don't see it if You tend to like big blockbuster easy to swallow musicals. This isn't that.
See it if you like a historical story told in segments- this was a surprisingly wonderful experience
Don't see it if you don't have some basic knowledge in the families portrayed- you will miss some of the meaning
See it if you're curious about the lives of recent first ladies/daughters... or for a hysterical dream sequence involving two first families on a boat
Don't see it if you like your musicals to be showy and grand... this one is more subdued.
See it if want to see something different or want to see a great cast perform
Don't see it if you do not care for historical musicals or if you are looking for a blow you away musical.
See it if great song writing. great singing. fascinating idea. http://frontmezzjunkies.com/2015/11/12/first-daughter-suite-not-your-everyday-thing/
Don't see it if it's not that driving and the last scene felt forced
See it if Not the best LaChuisa score but the singing is still brilliant. A little shrill but gamely, masterfully sung. Look out for these actors.
Don't see it if you're expecting a history lesson. This show is disappointingly mostly fantasy and doesn't illuminate much about these women's lives. Uneven
See it if you enjoy a variety of musical genres to portray fraught First Lady/Daughter relationships; Nancy Reagan/Patti Davis scene is memorable
Don't see it if you want to see a musical that is more than a series of unrelated skits, and prefer sonorous melodies to atonal recitative
See it if you want to see Alison Fraser being absolutely incredible.
Don't see it if you don't like Michael John LaChiusa stuff.
Critic Reviews (32)
"LaChiusa and director Kristen Sanderson run away with artistic liberties, just staying on the right side of the line between genius and insanity...LaChiusa's more perspicacious audiences may be able to glean some profundity from the absurdity, but even if no deeper meaning runs beneath the waters of their sailing adventure, it is the gold standard of unadulterated theatricality. And after 44 executive reigns, we've hopefully learned by now that first families are nothing if not theatrical."
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"A wildly uneven, but often striking and surprisingly moving, quartet of musical episodes by Michael John LaChiusa. Among the show's pleasures are the author's wildly different, and often highly original, takes on a number of presidential spouses and daughters, and an A-team of musical theatre talents in splendid voice...Cutting across partisan lines, 'First Daughter Suite' is, for all its flaws, a remarkable act of the imagination."
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"It is unarguably another serious and magnetic musical of the type LaChiusa has made his career on...'First Daughter Suite' shares its forerunner's jagged composition, which musicalizes the mechanics of thought and rather than represent them with glitzy theatricality that might obscure the characters' souls. It's an ambitious form of storytelling, but not always an effective one; it makes the women seem flimsier and less important than either the musical or reality likely intended."
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"The stage craft is impeccable. Scott Pask's glistening floor supports the watery atmosphere and the idea of all these presidential satellites being in a giant fish bowl. And the small orchestra is neatly positioned in a balcony above the stage. LaChiusa's many fans won't want to miss 'First Daughter Suite,' even though flights of fancy and references aren't as hit-home as those in 'First Wives' Suite.'"
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"Although mixed with wit, emotion, and moments of brilliance, it’s difficult to understand the underlying musical intention and, better still, the need for this creation that would make it essential for even those who crave some history in this genre would want to sit through 2 ½ hours (with intermission) of this politically partisan storytelling, other than the remarkable cast of females that make up 'First Daughter Suite.'"
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"There’s no disputing the extraordinary quality of the ensemble, each of whom sings and acts the often very complex, unconventional melodies with masterful skill and authority. However, too much borders on the banal, and for anyone who lived through these years and paid attention, there’s nothing here not already known. Mr. LaChiusa’s music has its fans, but, despite moments of great beauty, its over-dependence on dialogue-supporting recitative with extended notes may not be for everybody."
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"For all its lapses, 'First Daughter Suite' offers great satisfactions. The most prominent of these is the wonderful all-female cast...The cast’s spot-on acting inspires some genuinely moving moments...All nine actresses do such a stellar job that the joy in their performances is less in their impersonations of public figures as in their embodiments of breathing human beings. "
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"The Public Theater has brought forth another gorgeous piece from one of its favorites, Michael John LaChiusa. The piece consists of four one-acts in which First Daughters and First Ladies appear in circumstances of the songwriter’s imagining. The fourth piece is so stunning that the noun-adjective 'classic' can instantly be attached to it. One may not have the same reaction to the other three."
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