Red Roses, Green Gold NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (104)
See it if if you like the grateful dead as it is their music and mostly just that. It is not very well presented.
Don't see it if your better off seeing the grateful dead movie, rather then seeing this. it is not well staged, acted or executed. It was boring and had no
See it if you can enjoy a clever version of the Dead Songs. Country must be in your blood. All versatile and good singers Set is fine.
Don't see it if you are a pure Dead Head or a country music fanatic. Story is inane. Dialogue needs work.
See it if You love Grateful Dead songs and good folky blues music if you're not familiar with the Dead.
Don't see it if You want a traditional book musical.
See it if A few great songs & the ending song is fun.
Don't see it if Way too long, runs 2 hours 30 minutes and so many songs sound the same.
See it if you can enjoy great music performed by a talented cast even if the plot is weak and has nothing to do with the music.
Don't see it if you like a musical where the songs further the plot or you don't like the Grateful Dead. Read more
See it if You are such a dead-head that you will see literally anything dead related.
Don't see it if If you are not a dead-head, I cannot imagine a reason for you to see this show. Read more
See it if a Grateful Dead tribute band + some amusement park level narrative sounds like a fun time.
Don't see it if you are unfamiliar with the Grateful Dead and love musical theatre. Read more
See it if you're a Deadhead because you'll find things to appreciate. The plot is barely there and kinda bizarre but the ensemble rocks.
Don't see it if you want a musical with a compelling plot. The songs are shoehorned into breaks of dialogue and do nothing to advance the story.
Critic Reviews (13)
“The good news is that the songs, which lean heavily on a classic Americana sound, are effective in a sit-down, smoke-free theatrical context...Unfortunately, Mr. Mann has shoehorned them into a cartoonishly corny story...The zany mood is furthered by Rachel Klein’s bouncy staging...As manic as the goings-on are, they cannot entirely detract from the music...The songs are drenched in folk, country and blues, and rendered quite well by the multitasking cast, which plays all the instruments.”
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"The featherweight endeavor crams some two dozen beloved Dead songs into a flimsy narrative that wouldn't sustain an animatronic theme-park attraction. The book must have been written under the influence of the band's favorite illicit substances...The sketchy storyline mainly provides an excuse for the actor/musicians to deliver the numbers...The renditions here leave much to be desired. Many are delivered in a frantic, over-amplified style that robs them of their charm."
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"A very good Dead cover band takes a tour of the band’s hits...Sorry to say, the good music comes wrapped in decidedly un-good nonsense...On the plus side, Kovach has used the space well, with an open, colorful setting...Chimenti’s arrangements do justice to the catalog of songs...'Red Roses, Green Gold' isn’t so much a long strange trip as it is a brief tumble into cozy, pain-free nostalgia."
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“’Most enjoyable when Klein makes the show into a good old-fashioned rock concert...When the story doesn't intrude, the show and its performers deliver genuine excitement...Whether it's worth wading through a drawn-out plot to get to those performances will depend on how invested you are in the music...Those looking for an entertaining story to go with the music may want to ‘turn around and leave and walk away.’”
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"Is it possible to make an entertaining jukebox musical out of the songs of Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter? Not under these circumstances...One of the most glaringly incompetent musical books in recent times...The performers, all of whom are gifted musicians, do their best, but all night long they must fight the noise made by the projectors...Thus, an already flat, convoluted script is made even less compelling...Garcia, Hunter, and the others at least deserve something better than this."
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"It’s terrifically performed and snappily presented but lasting close to two and half hours including an intermission and with encores, the tired plot makes it less then enthralling...Though it’s wonderful experiencing such spirited renditions of Grateful Dead classics by the talented ensemble, 'Red Roses, Green Gold' doesn’t really cohere into a satisfying work of musical theater."
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"You might well be pleased by its tunefulness, but you’ll also have a fair amount of trouble deciphering the lyrics, which makes it doubly hard to understand how they fit into the silly plot...It often can’t decide whether it just wants to be a cover band concert or an actual musical, a problem Rachel Klein’s rather uninspired direction does little to solve...You might have a perfectly good time at 'Red Roses, Green Gold,' even if it’s less a diamond in the rough and more fool’s gold."
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"There is little pretense for the songs to connect meaningfully to the text or to defining any of the corn-ball characters such as they are. However, this raucous showcase gives its multi-talented cast of eight every opportunity to keep the ridiculous plot going...I doubt if the fans will care how well the songs are integrated into the farcical fable."
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