Songbird NYC Reviews and Tickets

"The requisite themes of 'The Seagull' are threaded throughout and each character created in beautiful detail. There’s an enormous amount of talent in the cast and they are ably directed…'Songbird' doesn’t quite thrill. The concept is promising, the actors beautifully cast and clearly interesting, but the music and lyrics are predictable. Somehow the country and western conceit pulls 'The Seagull' into cliché...Nevertheless, it’s a worthwhile experience, created with heart and talent."
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"Playwright Michael Kimmel and songwriter Lauren Pritchard gambled by setting 'Songbird', their adaptation of 'The Seagull' inside a messy nest of contemporary Nashville musicians. But the resulting work is a fervent theatrical experience that deserves a long, happy future…Engaging performances are delivered by just about everybody…Pritchard’s remarkably diverse score both explicates character and shapes conflict.”
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"The plot sticks very closely to Chekhov’s original, so the question becomes does the Russian classic work in this new setting? The surprising answer is yes, if mostly because of the heel-tapping music...In between the songs there’s a lot of wistful talking and whiskey drinking – again reminiscent of Chekhov... Entertaining as this all is, it’s hard to engage too deeply in the characters’ fate, and there are moments when you wish they would all just stop talking and do what they do best: sing."
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"Thanks to Michael Kimmel’s rich text, it is a remarkably rich retelling of Chekhov’s classic, following the characters, their conflicts, and their tortured stories in exacting parallel progression...Under JV Mercanti’s scrupulous and precise direction, the ensemble cast rips into Michael Kimmel’s text with passion and exposes every nuance of the script with exacting honesty and authenticity."
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"Chekhov’s delicate interplay among characters and his reliance on subtextual psychological themes become soap opera theatrics and sudden, superficial, emotional blowups. Covering up the lack of believable transitions and interplay are Ms. Pritchard’s sprightly and even moving songs, mostly C&W but also including blues and rock; the songs are mostly stand-alone and don't help further the plot, as in more conventional musicals. But they're probably the strongest reason for visiting 'Songbird.'"
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"If your heart, unlike mine, leaps up at the prospect of 'The Seagull' retooled as a Grand Ole Opry-style musical set in a Tennessee bar, then 'Songbird' is for you...Chekhov's characters and the emotions they unleash are universal. No matter what the setting into which they're plopped, they retain the Russian playwright's dramedy impact. Of course, that's if they're well played, which, it's a pleasure to say, they are."
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"Without previous knowledge of the source material, you’d be scratching your head trying to piece together a plot…It’s a shame that the structure of the text prevents 'Songbird' from soaring because Lauren Pritchard’s music is something special. …Material aside, 'Songbird' is stacked with talent...Once the team decides whether it’s a play with music or a musical, going back to the drawing board will allow the show to fly."
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"While respecting Chekhov’s story, Kimmel’s scenario, realised smartly under JV Mercanti’s knowing direction, clips along briskly, avoiding the sense of ennui that often colours the staging of Chekhov’s plays. Pritchard’s score further keeps things lively with a variety of tempos and moods, while remaining within the country and western realm..It stands on its own as an engaging piece of musical theatre."
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