Vanities - The Musical
Closed 1h 30m
Vanities - The Musical
74

Vanities - The Musical NYC Reviews and Tickets

74%
(140 Ratings)
Positive
77%
Mixed
16%
Negative
7%
Members say
Great singing, Entertaining, Dated, Delightful, Cliched

About the Show

Three women learn about how the world sees them, and how that colors their self-worth, over decades.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (140)

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121 Reviews | 23 Followers
95
Clever, Delightful, Enchanting, Entertaining

See it if Story about 3 talented women Great musical with excellent singers Wonderful music The story the performance was great

Don't see it if You dont like musicals Read more

55 Reviews | 16 Followers
95
Must see, Great staging, Great singing, Great acting

See it if See it if You enjoy minimalist staging very well done. Decades worth of friendship told in 90 minutes with a live orchestra and a talk back.

Don't see it if Don't see it if You do not enjoy Powerful singing and complex relationships and historical content.

57 Reviews | 7 Followers
90
Delightful

See it if you want to check out a much improved version of an off-Broadway musical. Great singing, staging and design.

Don't see it if you don't like intimate period musicals

86 Reviews | 11 Followers
88
Relatable, Resonant, Great singing, Great acting

See it if You like slice-of-life narratives that take characters across the years, you enjoy character-focused explorations.

Don't see it if You don't like small productions, don't like musicals, prefer action-packed plotlines. Read more

135 Reviews | 16 Followers
88
Friends, indeed.

See it if a heartfelt comedy with a pleasing score and a moderately feminist slant would appeal to you.

Don't see it if a small cast show charting the lives of three young women, beginning with their years as high school cheerleaders, would turn you off. Read more

111 Reviews | 17 Followers
86
Refreshing, Intelligent, Absorbing

See it if you appreciate the journey from girls to women, the difficulties they faced in light of changing times from late sixties to early nineties

Don't see it if you think every show about this era has to be JC Superstar or Hair. This is about the people living that from the sidelines, opening up. Read more

94 Reviews | 26 Followers
86
Great singing, Great acting, Entertaining, Clever

See it if You like short musicals with snappy scores.

Don't see it if You don't like small cast shows.

273 Reviews | 36 Followers
86
Great singing, Dated, Surprising, Thought-provoking, Edgy

See it if You want to see three friends sing their lives through three decades. The three actresses updated the stale plot and added great interest.

Don't see it if Old show are not for you.

Critic Reviews (10)

Theatermania
March 30th, 2023

"The material itself leans too much on cliché, with the entirety of our characters’ personal hurdles wrapped up in the show’s “vanity” metaphor"
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Talkin' Broadway
March 30th, 2023

"You'll enjoy Kirshenbaum's pleasant melodies, perhaps identify with the uncomfortable pangs inherent in long-term friendships, and probably be mildly moved by the end. But 'Vanities–The Musical' ends where it does only because it has no place else to go."
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New York Stage Review
March 30th, 2023

"Watching 'Vanities–The Musical' today, a reviewer can’t be blamed for wondering whether a cultural sea change Heifner wouldn’t have envisioned in 1976 could cause questioning half a century on. "
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New York Stage Review
March 30th, 2023

"Heifner’s play was never a searing piece of social commentary to begin with, and by continuing to brighten both the presentation and the resolution of this spinoff, he’s giving his nearly 50-year-old baby room to grow."
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TheaterScene.net
April 5th, 2023

'Vanities - The Musical" is rather tame and dated as it doesn’t go past 1990 but extremely well-acted and staged. While it does not offer any new revelations or insights, it is a diverting musical and very entertaining. It will hold your interest even if you can see where it is going long before it gets there. The engaging and appealing cast is delightful company for the evening.
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Theater Pizzazz
April 4th, 2023

I’m not convinced that musicalizing Vanities improves it. The 1990 extension notwithstanding, the material remains a time capsule from over half a century ago, its historical allusions (JFK, Vietnam, Hair, pot, flower children, etc.) deeply ingrained in the memories of the older spectators, who’ve seen countless stage, film, and TV reminders of them (what could be more triggering than to be told it’s November 22, 1963?). I suspect younger visitors couldn’t care less.
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Front Row Center
March 30th, 2023

"If beautiful singing and performances are all you wish for then this play will satisfy. Concentrate on the production values, the marvelous performers, the direction and choreography, the scenic design, the costumes, and the musicians, and you will leave full with a theatrical experience."
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T
April 3rd, 2023

"This new 'Sweeney' is probably the most perfect production of a Sondheim musical...A terrifyingly terrific cast for a horrifying great 'Sweeney Todd'."
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