Midnight at the Never Get

“Wonderfully engaging and ear-tingling score...A sumptuous collection mixing beautiful melodies framing lyrical poetics with jaunty numbers loaded with snazzy jokes and unexpected rhymes - it's the superb storytelling of Sonnenblick’s book, exploring issues of the 1960s gays rights movement in a universal manner...that makes the musical truly soar...Smart and romantic, funny and politically aware, ‘Midnight at the Never Get’ is a knockout from start to finish.” Full Review

"The songs are remarkably literate, jazzy little items that call to mind Coleman's work with Leigh; they display a level of craft all too frequently absent from today's musicals...A remarkable entertainment for several reasons -- the accomplished songs, the evocative portrait of gay life in another era, and its understanding of a certain go-for-broke showbiz sensibility...'Midnight at the Never Get,' for all its showbiz pizzazz, has plenty of raw honesty, and it is a beautiful thing, indeed." Full Review

“On the surface, ‘Midnight at the Never Get’ is a well-focused 90-minute cabaret act. Yet it goes much deeper, offering insights into gay history and the struggle for acceptance. Sonneblick’s music is so authentic that at times, I had to question if it was, in fact, original...Podd has created some gorgeous arrangements...A classy show that inspires hope for the future of musical theatre and appreciation for places like the York Theatre, who proudly nurture new talent and ideas.” Full Review

“Sonnenblick’s deeply touching book, music, and lyrics allow you to follow the romance between Arthur...and Trevor his muse...Bolen and Cohen, are incredibly talented. Sonnenblick’s score is catchy, smart, an homage to a time gone by...The script is touching, warm, real, and moving especially in the end when he breaks our hearts...Friedman’s direction keeps us guessing and doesn’t try to trivialize the emotions that are bound to affect an audience.” Full Review

"More than just a romantic musical, it considers the impact of social politics and homophobia, economics and ambition, on the personal relationship of two twenty-something men in New York in the 1960s...Directed by Friedman, the sentimental show is brimming with love and heartbreak, a mood of nostalgia, and a sense of palpable torment...'Midnight at The Never Get' offers an intimate view of finding love and identity in a time filled with hateful bias and closeted secrecy." Full Review

“A rare bird in today’s musical theater, Sonnenblick is a genuine tunesmith whose danceable rhythms urge your legs to stand up and fox trot and your lips to hum along. His lyrics may still lack the clever rhymes...but some of his lines are already quite striking for a 28-year-old artist...A memory play with all its ensuring virtues and vices...There are intriguing twists along the way...Friedman’s fluid direction...keeps your attention glued to the stage, where it should be.” Full Review

“The songs are absolutely gorgeous...Unfortunately, the book, isn’t as successful as the music. The back story doesn’t unfold enough for the audience to feel like we understand what has actually gone on, and the character of Arthur is not fully developed...However, even though ‘Midnight at the Never Get’ may not succeed entirely as a theater piece, it is actually a successful musical evening due not only to Sonnenblick’s marvelous music, but to Bolen and Cohen’s talents as performers.” Full Review

"'Midnight' has the slightly over-slick feeling of a show that’s been through the workshopping process, and through it and through it. But the high gloss suits the subject matter...The show is solidly constructed and well performed by both Bolen and Cohen—and its last number comes with a particularly touching twist—but it’s difficult for Friedman to find his way in the finale. The show both wants to break itself and doesn’t." Full Review

"The emotionally rich but melodically not-quite-there songs are the results of Sonnenblick's attempt to capture the American songbook quality associated with the…compositions of Cole Porter and his ilk…Generally speaking, the lyrics and music, while superficially pleasant, and definitely well performed, sound like so-so pastiches of 40s and 50s numbers,…but too often falling short…Bolen's Trevor is personable, energetic, and expressive...Cohen offers a nice counterbalance." Full Review

"Starts feeling less and less like a realistic look at a relationship, or the era, and more like a gay version of a 1940s melodrama. The songs go back in time as well, feeling like pastiches of, yes, Cole Porter...If the show would have been better off presented in an actual cabaret rather than a proscenium theater, and if one must have a high threshold for bathos to embrace (or even tolerate?) the ending, there are moments that are downright inspiring." Full Review

"A charming if uneventful cabaret-style musical...Bolen narrates the story with remarkable stamina and a honeyed voice. Though for the better part of this 90-minute show, being in love seems to be his character’s only trait — until losing that love takes over...It may have been easier to feel sympathy for these fellas if they had more skin in the game...At its most profound, Sonnenblick’s musical explores the penumbras suggested by its title." Full Review

“Sonnenblick’s exceptional book is an accomplished mixture of prodigious research, well-drawn characters, and adept if misguided construction. It skillfully dramatizes the gay experience of living in NYC in the 1960s...Sonnenblick’s music and lyrics for his score are a buoyant assortment of songs that perfectly recall vintage show business style...Before it’s unsatisfying jaggedly dour finale, ‘Midnight at The Never Get’ is a blazing, novel, and affirmative experience.” Full Review

"Mr. Sonnenblick’s musical compositions are indeed a fine representation of the era and The Great American Songbook, along with lyrics that are smart, sometimes witty, and turn sentimental during some sultry ballads. The obvious problem is that they were written for a cabaret performance and really do no address the task of character development or moving the plot forward...It is an entertaining evening of cabaret but falls a bit short as a full-fledged theatrical production." Full Review

"The acting is excellent, and the story is romantic and tough, but also in the realm of the show biz cliché of performers eventually going separate ways...The musical achieves added poignancy by being concerned with the blatant police prejudice against gays that led to the Stonewall revolt...The show unfolds in different time frames, and some of it is confusing...Friedman keeps the plot moving, but the story, for all its sincerity, becomes maudlin and drawn out at times." Full Review

"A sweet musical fairytale that turns sour, 'Midnight at the Never Get' offers a poignant chapter of pre-Stonewall gay life in the 1960s, garnished with Great American Songbook-style numbers...The latter revelations of the musical curdle beyond bittersweet. Watching the show is akin to sipping a Shirley Temple cocktail only to discover a worm lurking at the bottom of the glass...Bolstering this bijou musical is the sincerity of its performances under Friedman’s well-tuned direction." Full Review

"A striking little production and some very-worth-hearing songs. And it still needs a bit of work...Sonnenblick's cabaret pastiches are clever and convincing...His music, if not bursting with melody, is pleasingly structured and combines traditional form with the occasional unexpected detour...And then there's the book. Well, Sonnenblick is no slouch at dialogue...You just wish Sonnenblick had devoted as much care to character development and storytelling as he did to music and lyrics." Full Review

"A snapshot of times past featuring a collection of songs in the spirit of the waspish, linguistically playful constructions of Coward, Porter, and Sondheim. The music is punctuated by frustratingly abbreviated dramatic scenes...The most interesting stories at the heart of this play­­­­­­ go completely unexplored, as do a flurry of plot and psychological developments...There are a lot of ghosts...but they need more life and dramatic room to breathe to make us care about them." Full Review

"Sonnenblick’s musical compositions are indeed a fine representation of the era...along with lyrics that are smart, sometimes witty...The obvious problem is that they...really do no address the task of character development or moving the plot forward. This required responsibility is left to the somewhat confusing and weak book that does not fare well...Entertaining evening of cabaret but falls a bit short as a full-fledged theatrical production." Full Review

"A gay romance that goes sour at just about the time that the Mark Sonnenblick musical, co-conceived by Sam Bolen, itself goes sour...Maybe Sonnenblick doesn’t see the unappealing aspects of his musical. Perhaps he misses the unmitigating facets to Arthur that can alienate spectators. Needless to say, unsympathetic characters have their dramatic place. So far, however, Sonnenblick hasn’t found the place, and that severely affects his musical." Full Review