I Married an Angel NYC Reviews and Tickets

72%

(58 Reviews)

Positive

71%

Mixed

22%

Negative

Members say

Dated, Entertaining, Great singing, Delightful, Fluffy

About the Show

New York City Ballet principal Sara Mearns stars as the Angel in New York City Center's Encores! presentation of Rodgers and Hart's musical, a light-hearted, love story for the ages that weds balletic grace with drawing-room comedy.

Meet Count Willy Palaffi, a jaded banker who swears off women claiming the bride for him would have to be an angel. When he eventually ties the knot with an actual celestial being, there are chaotic and comic consequences that compel Willy’s shrewd sister, Countess Peggy Palaffi, to save him from his wife’s otherworldly innocence.

Member Reviews (58)

Fluffy, Stitled, Inane book, No great songs, Disappointing

See it if you LOVE everythg at Encores; you'll LIKE IMAA. For me, it lacked spark. No stellar performances/songs, some fun choreography. And a harp!

Don't see it if you dislike fluff. Absurd fr start to finish. Mearns dances (like an angel!) but struggles w speaking. James is fun, but not in gr voice. Read more

Light fare, Entertaining, Great singing, Great dancing

See it if you enjoy old fashioned musicals. Good music and great singing. Lots of top-notch dancing.

Don't see it if You don't like when several numbers seem to have nothing to do with the plot Read more

Silly, Great dancing, Great singing, Delightful, Entertaining

See it if You appreciate great singing and dancing. Lots of dance numbers and ballet.

Don't see it if You can't get past the silly premise.

Thought-provoking, Refreshing, Entertaining

See it if Worth a look at theater in 1938.We should appreciate & learn re: the growth of musical theater in the U.S. Dancing, Dancing, Dancing ALSO

Don't see it if Several folks left at intermission. Female-Male relations not up to 2019 expectations. Story plays 2nd fiddle. Read more

Fluffy, Great dancing, Great singing, Entertaining, Enchanting

See it if You love dance and color and joy! Fun, fun evening. Left City Center dancing.

Don't see it if The story is thin and rediculous. No redeeming social significance. Leave your politics at home.

Dated, old style pre-oklahoma rogers & hart musical but come for the dancing

See it if dancing by a talented troupe particularly prima ballerina Sara Mearns is heavenly; solid cast

Don't see it if pre-feminist plot assumes women need to deceive 2 succeed; particularly silly plot; few memorable tunes & Hart is no Hammerstein

Disappointing, Fluffy, Uneven, Boring, Dumb

See it if you like hearing classical Broadway voices singing old-fashioned showtunes.

Don't see it if you like interesting plots, any sort of believable character development, or a show that has something to say.

Ballet and tap dancing, Sweet, Great singing, Entertaining

See it if It bring alive the late 30's, A different time and place. If you like classic and still enjoy them.

Don't see it if It's a straight lace happy end. Read more

Critic Reviews (10)

"Not only does it provide an opportunity to watch the New York City Ballet star Sara Mearns perform the choreography of her husband, Joshua Bergasse, and to hear a Richard Rodgers score suavely reincarnated, but it also makes you think about the role musical theater has often played in maintaining odious social norms...Mr. Bergasse has neither the troops for spectacle nor the directing chops to keep the evening from separating like mayonnaise."
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"The plot is flimsy and meandering, and the score is not exactly on par with the best of Rodgers and Hart. Nevertheless, the production is an elegant affair...One hopes the production will receive a cast recording, which will at least preserve the score (which contains some lovely ballads and a lush overture) in its entirety for future generations of musical theater geeks."
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"Even with a newly adapted script by writers Sandy Rustin and Sarah Saltzberg, this dated, mind-boggling musical is far too outmoded in its attitudes toward women...On one hand, it's interesting to see something like this, where the dialogue and topical references are so of a different era, to examine how far we've come socially over the past eight decades. On the other, producing a show that passes such extreme judgment on female behavior isn't a good idea now."
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"The trouble with opening a jeweled candy box that has been collecting shelf-dust for 80 years is—well, the contents can prove to be beyond dusty. And that, alas, is today’s report on 'I Married an Angel.' What can they—songwriters and librettists Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, at the absolute pinnacle of their talents—have been thinking?..Everything is fine at the Encores! 'I Married an Angel,' actually. It’s just Rodgers and Hart who, most surprisingly, let us down."
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"Capturing again the lightning in a bottle that was a vintage Broadway musical is challenging, especially when a work, for all of its period charms, appears flimsy by modern-day standards. Such is the case with 'I Married an Angel'...The most entirely satisfying component of this concert is the visuals...The performances tend to be spotty...Although the visual and musical sides of 'I Married an Angel' are fairly blissful, the unsubstantial book needs sharper staging."
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"As the title angel, who comes down to heaven to satisfy the marital urge of upstanding Hungarian banker Count Palaffi (a fine Evans), Mearns looks heavenly in a series of white costumes (by Viletti, whose work throughout is gorgeous). But more importantly, she graces the stage beautifully, and proves herself a winning actress with a gentle comic flair. Her angel may have come from way above, but Mearns grounds these featherweight proceedings."
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"Has that ebullient, slightly fairy tale charm that characterizes Depression-era musicals...Tap always lifts your spirits, and the show-stopper in 'I Married an Angel' is no exception...The performances vary...It is Sara Mearns, as the show’s angelic star, who has to carry the show, which she does admirably. Some line readings drop, but she lands most of her jokes. She has clearly been well directed by Joshua Bergasse."
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"Encores! is devoted to reviving forgotten pieces of musical theatre, but in the case of 'I Married an Angel,' it’s best to let sleeping musicals lie. The show is so blatant in its sexism that many of the actors on stage looked uncomfortable when delivering their lines...So tone-deaf to our current social climate that it’s actually shocking that Encores! would think it’s okay to produce...The bulk of Rodgers and Hart’s score is bland and forgettable."
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"A feather-light postcard from a precious era of musical theatre evolution—thin on story, generous with dance, and trying, as it were, to push the form just a bit further...It is a treat to hear Richard Rodgers’ tuneful score lushly performed by the 30 piece Encores! orchestra using the original orchestrations...Mr. Bergasse does a fine job with a book newly edited of its more obvious misogyny by playwrights Sarah Saltzberg and Sandy Rustin."
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"The piece is decidedly old school (and dated) but this fine glossy production allows musical theater fans an opportunity to revisit this silly chestnut...All of the dancing in this show was extremely entertaining...'I Married an Angel' is a perfect choice for the 25th anniversary of this series. Where else can you see such magic resurrected with this level of quality and polish?...The creative team has given this show a beautiful staging."
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