See it if You like string characters, love stories, and a little bit of tongue in cheek.
Don't see it if You like big spectacular musicals.
See it if you've ever read Joyce or if you want a great reason to read reading him for the first the first time. Great show!
Don't see it if you don't like clever original biographies of famous people or you must watch in a theater with at least 500 seats
See it if If you are a James Joyce fan or like romantic musicals
Don't see it if If you want a fast pace show
See it if You like well done period pieces. Thoughtful. Smart. Romantic. A little long. I'd lose a couple numbers completely but really quite good.
Don't see it if You don't like a historical musical. They try (with a fair amount of success) to bring the characters to life and to show the love story.
See it if wonderfully produced, great singing voices. good acting
Don't see it if if you don't like period pieces.
See it if you like musicals
Don't see it if you do not tolerate raunchiness
See it if you enjoy romantic but balanced stories and are interested in James Joyce's personal life. Good musical numbers, some Irish dancing.
Don't see it if you do not care for male-female romance or about James Joyce. If you do not like Ireland or the Irish.
See it if You like musicals.
Don't see it if You have no interest in literary figures singing.
"Joyce’s literary legacy is secure—but his story is incomplete without a larger understanding of his muse. ‘Himself and Nora’ fills in that essential gap in a smart, lively fashion. With a tuneful pop score, it neatly gives an impressionistic look at the great writer…Bogart and Bashor have chemistry on stage, capturing their obvious, lifelong attraction…Michael Bush directs a strong cast in an intimate production that will inspire audiences to read or re-read Joyce anew."
Read more
"The danger, of course, in writing a show about one of the greatest writers ever lies in crafting words that do the great man justice, which 'Himself and Nora' patently fails to do...Beyond the biographical disservice, his show fails at even the most basic dramaturgy...Interspersed amid the clunky book are the generic music and lyrics...One real reason to see the show would be to see a fine group of performers doing their damnedest to make Brielle’s show work."
Read more
"There's a lot of 'telling,' which doesn't leave much room for 'showing' plot. The script is very oddly put together, in my opinion. The songs are mostly all filler and we get plot points shoved into a few lines of dialogue. It didn't really make sense to me. I guess I wonder why the author thought this needed to be a musical. There doesn't seem to be a feel of Joyce in either the book or the lyrics...The pop-ish score is pleasant enough, but it's not dramatic and it's not theatrical."
Read more
"A lively, sometimes lusty, spin through the love life, troubles and literary times of the great Irish writer...Less a lyrical study of an artist’s life than a robust romantic musical, it skims through the biographical details to leave ample room for the couple’s love story...The enjoyable score by Mr. Brielle meshes neatly with his libretto and embraces a rhythmic variety of ardent, melodic songs that are often affirmative in spirit and occasionally colored musically by Joyce’s Irish heritage."
Read more
"Jonathan Brielle's well-intentioned but trying show captures nothing uniquely Irish about either of its subjects, and, worse, functions as neither a vibrant history lesson nor an absorbing character study. The title duo's worries about health, money, and the state of the world that surrounds them are so generalized that they could be any couple at any time in any place...The most generic part of the paint-by-fading-numbers evening is the score."
Read more
"The show possesses a polish and finesse normally associated with a piece that has had more time to iron the kinks out...There are a couple of Mr. Brielle’s numbers in the show that could be replaced for the betterment of the production...The direction by Michael Bush is light-handed and creative...'Himself and Nora' is a worthy entry to this year’s New York Musical Theatre Festival. It had me leaving the theatre humming the songs."
Read more