The Robber Bridegroom NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (473)
See it if you want 90 minutes of incredibly theatrical bliss; want to swoon over Steven Pasquale; Love great fun in the theatre; want to tap your toes
Don't see it if you don't like theatrical stories told via a musical;
See it if you're in for a total delight-- witty staging, a bouncy score, and charismatic, glowing performances from a skilled ensemble
Don't see it if you'll be bothered by the dated gender politics, sensitively and humanely challenged as they are by this sly and sharp revival
See it if you enjoy the clever and creative use of "low-budget" effects, bluegrass music, and fairy tales. This is a fun show with lots of laughs.
Don't see it if you're looking for great depth or aren't into bluegrass.
See it if We loved it a rollicking good time.
Don't see it if you like to have great fun
See it if you want to lift your spirits and see why Alex Timbers (director) is a genius. Brilliant directing, fantastic performances, just GO.
Don't see it if you are completely devoid of a sense of humor or live a joyless life.
See it if you enjoy a rousing musical. The cast had as much fun as the audience. the ensemble was great-a thoroughly wonderful afternoon at the theate
Don't see it if no negatives
See it if If you love over the top, joyful acting with great voices and adorable songs. Just darling, a good time for all.
Don't see it if You're a curmudgeon, only like serious works, or hate musical theatre.
See it if you need a laugh or fifty. Leslie Kritzer alone is worth the price of admission
Don't see it if you don't like to laugh. Might not be appropriate for young 'uns.
Critic Reviews (40)
"For ninety minutes of banjo-twangin', thigh-slappin', gut-bustin', down-home fun, head over to 'The Robber Bridegroom'...The score is pleasantly tuneful with a country twang, with some true beauties mixed in with an assortment of delights. And the cast does them full justice...The production offers a continuous stream of laughs and sight gags, some of which threaten to knock you out of your seat...'Bridegroom' is an inventive, unconventional, corn-full delight."
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"This adaptation of a novella by Eudora Welty has been given the full Alex Timbers treatment...Everything is geared to being relentlessly entertaining and the effort shows. A Mississippi folk tale of a gentleman by day/robber by night turns into little more than an animated cartoon set to loud bluegrass music...Maybe I just got up on the wrong side of bed, but I found the entire production tedious. It was a long 90 minutes and I had a headache when it was finally over."
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"This intentionally silly folktale about the romance between a charming rogue and a Mississippi plantation owner's daughter has drawn considerably higher marks from most critics. But I found its fun to be a bit forced...Everyone seems to be working so hard that I could almost see the beads of sweat...I smiled a little. I tapped my foot some. But I couldn't help wishing that they'd been more at ease and that I'd been having more fun."
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"The revival amounts to 90 minutes of icky-sweet, grating, perky tedium that not even the major gifts of omnipresent TV star Steven Pasquale can redeem...Director Alex Timbers has turned genres gleefully on their edges. Right now, however, he is back in his sappy mood, with manic characters creating props in faux Story Theater style and a humor that, except for the raunchy bits, seems more like a show for children than — what’s the cliché? — for the child within us all."
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"It's a show that you'll probably like or not depending on which side you stand on the whimsy issue...I'm in the anti-whimsy camp. And I did, indeed, find the show, with the exception of several appealing melodies, jokey, tiresome, and offering little reason to try to follow its convoluted story. However — there were more than a few people in the audience who seemed to having a great time. So, there's that."
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"Dubbed a Mississippi fairytale, the off-Broadway revival at the Laura Pels Theater boasts a lively bluegrass score and Alex Timbers’ trademark frenetic direction....You get a sweet, somewhat hokey show. Admittedly, it’s a thin premise, but its hardworking cast delivers on the entertainment front. 'A Robber Bridegroom' makes up for in energy what it lacks in sensibility."
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"A sexy leading man and inventive director collaborate to charm audiences in 'The Robber Bridegroom'...Steven Pasquale and Alex Timbers deserve an extra helping of applause for the Roundabout revival now on the boards because the thin-ish plot and bluegrass score of this eccentric tuner are not to everyone’s tastes...Certainly one of the season’s lighter offerings, but if in-your-face, rural slapstick is your thing, it could make off with your heart."
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"Director Alex Timbers and a cast of top-notch gleeful talents put a bright and especially frolicsome shine on 'The Robber Bridegroom'...Waldman’s tunes pair seamlessly with Uhry’s adroit lyrics that mix the literate with the colloquial...The cast wonderfully carries through Timbers’ intentions, keeping things bubbling at every turn...Sound and sight gags abound, sometimes shamelessly, but never tiresomely. It all manages to retain that mysterious essence called charm."
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