Soul Doctor NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (8)
See it if You know or are interested in this musician's story.
Don't see it if You expect an extremely entertaining bio musical.
See it if You like quirky-interesting but real-life stories, told in a lively, fast-paced way with good music and staging
Don't see it if You aren't interested in Josephine Baker or stories about religious ways of life, or musicals
See it if you can't get tickets to much else. It's a decent story. Got a lot harsher reviews than necessary. Felt like a high school production though
Don't see it if you want to see a masterfully written and acted musical that will move you.
See it if you enjoy jewish culture and are interested in learning more about the side this show covers
Don't see it if you want to see something well written... it's good, but not the best
See it if you enjoy Jewish feel-good music and Nina Simone
Don't see it if you want something with a more coherent plot
See it if You want to learn more about Shlomo Carlebach and his story.
Don't see it if You're looking for a transformative theater experience. This show is pretty basic and frankly quite dull. I found myself wanting it to end.
See it if You love stories about Jewish Rabbis
Don't see it if You don't like shows that are very quirky
See it if It opens again. đ see it if you want to see a unique convergence of Jewish and black histories.
Don't see it if You don't like musicals.
Critic Reviews (13)
"I wasnât feeling so much wonder, having a low tolerance for all-together-now spiritual uplift. Those with affectionate memories of Carlebachâs music may find âSoul Doctorâ inspiring and absorbing. I found it disappointing that this intriguing figure came across as a bland, bromide-spouting relic of the hippie era, albeit one tie-dyed in classic Jewish guilt."
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"Gevalt! The best that can be said about Soul Doctor, a strange Broadway musical based on the life and music of âsinging rabbiâ Shlomo Carlebach, is that it isnât as bad as it sounds."
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"Okay, Soul Doctor isnât that bad. But it does display a muddy, bumbling, amateurish quality in its storytelling that gets in the way of some fine performances and seriously impedes its ability to
grapple with questions. The Broadway incarnation suffers from structural bloat and thematic penury, message-y persistence and character fog."
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"Long before Matisyahu, there was Shlomo Carlebach.This Orthodox Jewish performer, whose catchy moniker was the âRock Star Rabbi,â delivered an accessible brand of Jewish music that made him an unlikely pop star in the 1960s. Heâs the subject of the ambitious new musical, now premiering on Broadway after earlier regional and off-Broadway runs. The transfer may have been ill-advised."
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"Oy gevalt. Itâs not that thereâs anything particularly terrible about Soul Doctor, but there isnât all that much to recommend either. Director Daniel S. Wiseâs production â which consists mostly of a Judaic jukebox of Carlebachâs popular melodies â fails to achieve anything beyond a standard, and occasionally cringeworthy, retelling of his life."
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"Unless youâre personally into it, thereâs entirely too much of this ponderous religious pedantry to keep an audience alert.  And while the cast seems to be in constant motion, the choreography is clunky and obvious."
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"Much like its subject, the new Broadway musical âSoul Doctorâ is terminally earnest and relentlessly sunny. Sadly, âSoul Doctorâ is unlikely to be as popular as the man himself. While the show did well off-Broadway last summer, its hackneyed awkwardness will spell doom on the main stem, from the vague choreography to the groan-inducing dialogue."
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"The show never moves beyond the basic chronology. Carlebachâs precise place and significance in history remain as fuzzy as his bearded face, even after spending hours with him. While itâs certainly not the aim of the creative team, Carlebach emerges as a novelty, a footnote in both the Jewish faith and folk-rock."
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