Tribulation: The Musical (FringeNYC) NYC Reviews and Tickets

73%

(13 Reviews)

Positive

77%

Mixed

Negative

15%

Members say

Clever, Funny, Quirky, Edgy, Thought-provoking

About the Show

Part of FringeNYC: It's the end of the world...and you still need a job. In Tribulation: The Musical prophets, whores, and middle managers alike all struggle to prevent the Apocalypse, in this hilarious, irreverent take on the Bible's Book of Revelation.

Categories: Musical/Opera, Comedy, National. Written by Book and Lyrics by Molly Miller, Music by Brad Kemp. Directed by Tyler Samples, Music Director: Charlie Worth. Choreographer by Tyler Samples, Music Director: Charlie Worth.

FROM THE ARTIST:
Stepping away from sketch and improv, young members of Chicago's comedy scene have created a deftly scored, savagely funny book musical. Affectionately blasphemous (but not exactly heretical), Tribulation: the Musical explores the realities that the rent is still due even when the world has literally ended, and that sometimes a crappy desk job can save your life.

Member Reviews (13)

Disappointing, Some clever songs & lyrics, Some good performances, Never takes off, Left at intermission due to heat

See it if like the college heave ho effort of young less than experienced actors with some sterling efforts thrown in

Don't see it if don't want everything to musically sound the same along with lame humor

Confusing, Disappointing, Indulgent, Quirky, Banal

See it if you like musicals that are sexually explicit, silly comedies, about the end of the world.

Don't see it if like intelligent musicals with great music.

Funny, Entertaining

See it if you're endlessly entertained by end of the world scenarios

Don't see it if you can't deal with woefully ineffective air conditioning.

Clever, Funny, Quirky

See it if You don't worry about the apocalypse

Don't see it if You LOVE your work ethic

Clever, Funny, Edgy, Raunchy

See it if you like smart sketch comedy AND musical theater, you enjoy satire about religion, you like silly fun catchy songs

Don't see it if you don't like sex based humor or foul language, you only want to see super polished musical theatre

Delightful, Clever, Funny, Relevant, Great singing

See it if you like irreverent musical comedies with great vocal power and a strong female lead.

Don't see it if you might be offended by jokes about the rapture.

Clever, Edgy, Funny, Quirky

See it if You like Rick and Morty and other self-aware genre shows.

Don't see it if You don't like dick jokes. Seriously then, don't.

Entertaining, Funny, Original, Relevant, Thought-provoking

See it if you are interested in postreligious ideas about God, Jesus, Devil, apocalypse, and human purpose

Don't see it if you think religious topics and obscenity don't mix.

Critic Reviews (6)

"The week’s lineup also had to include the kind of unsalvageable amateurish flop the Fringe is known for. In 'Tribulation: The Musical,' hapless young insurance company employees try to fight off the apocalypse with the help of a slacker Jesus. The end of days feels like the end of theater. Enduring this witless show, you have to wonder about the selection process. It might simply be first come first served."
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"The show has some genuinely funny moments…Not all of the humor succeeds, however…Act one is disjointed, partly because there are a lot of threads to 'Tribulation.' And even though act two manages to tie up every one of these loose threads, it does so in a way that feels unsatisfying...This final battle between kind of good and definitely evil ends so quickly it barely has time to fizzle."
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"A show with such an outlandish setup needs to be grounded somewhere, if not in its plot then in having its characters behave like actual human beings, or at least something resembling them. That's not what the script offers, though, giving a cast with impressive comedic credentials little to work with. Instead, we're given a lot of cookie-cutter gags without satisfying depth that are aggressively jumped on and rehashed into oblivion."
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"This religious satire is a smart comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously...'Tribulation' is brazenly outrageous, unafraid to offend. The story isn't exactly unique or fleshed out, opting for the absurdity of the situation...Molly Miller and Brad Kemp's show is one that works well for comedy outlets. As a full-fledged stage musical? It's a harder sell. But there is potential deep within."
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"Filled with overblown unlikeable stereotypes and predictable jokes, the script and score are long and redundant, incessantly peppered with puerile profanity and juvenile talk about sex acts and body parts. While the heavy-handed humor and blatant direction by Tyler Samples might work as a short sketch in an improv comedy club, it gets old in a full-length two-act musical."
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For a previous production

"Writer Molly Miller knows when to duck away from expectations and when to lean into them...Characters that would come off as one-note in another show are developed into three-dimensional human beings…See it for the songs if nothing else, especially 'Someone You Hate Dies,' an instant classic. Composer Brad Kemp, choreographer Lauren Lopez, and musical director Charlie Worth pull off an amazing job of creating immersive, polished numbers in a relatively small space."
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