"The ultra-pared-down approach means that details get lost in the scramble, especially regarding the characters’ location at any given time, but over all the storytelling is relatively clear...The musical faithfully follows the movie’s plot and includes all the classic lines — though not, alas, a breakout performance to match Ms. Witherspoon’s...'Cruel Intentions' could run for a while as a semi-staged rock show, but it does feel like an exploratory tryout crying for a fuller production."
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"We learn all of this via numbingly expository dialogue stuffed between 'Cruel Intentions’ true raison d’être: its jukebox score of ’90s pop hits, woven together by nostalgia maestro Zach Spound. Some of the score is satisfyingly subverted...But most of the songs barely budge the plot, commenting on it instead with a convenient key phrase or two. While its story emphasizes the guilt of pleasure gained at the expense of others, the musical invites you to bop your head along."
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"By no means the next great American musical, but it is off-Broadway's newest guilty pleasure...This isn't really a satirical adaptation...Nevertheless, humor springs from the smartly curated songs...To their credit, the cast interprets these numbers with style and sincerity...Between the retro story, the skillfully performed '90s pop, and the mom from 'Home Improvement,' one couldn't ask for much more in the way of millennial nostalgia. This show is stupid good fun."
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“The sexy and cruelly delicious sights and sounds seduce you the moment you enter...A tantalizing night out mixed with incredible voices and charm, as much a tribute to the 90's as it is a beautiful new take on an iconic classic...This production is something fierce...It has a little something for everyone...A wonderful hybrid of a musical and concert, keeping the edge and risqué found in the movie with the emotion that translates so well to the stage...The cast is stellar."
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“A jukebox musical, making use of numerous '90s pop hits...Only distantly related to the action onstage...’Cruel Intentions’ is junk, but everybody involved seems to be in on the joke, and the cast is loaded with young talents...Rosin's direction ensures a fast pace, lest anyone have a minute to think about the overall silliness...As a kind of party game for a young audience interested in having a few drinks and hearing dynamic covers of pop hits from their salad days, I suppose it works.”
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“This well-mounted jukebox musical is packed with 1990’s pop songs and faithfully replicates the 1999 teen drama...It’s best appreciated by those of the right age nostalgic for the music of their youth. Anyone else would most likely find it at best a passable diversion...It’s decidedly not an event for musical theater connoisseurs...Ross, Rosin, and Kumble’s script is an efficient and cheeky treatment with an abundance of erection jokes and sly, sexual innuendo.”
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"Savvy, engaging, fun pop culture entertainment. Well-cast, beautifully sung, fun, and funny, 'Cruel Intentions: The Musical' works on every level. Broadly entertaining, fans and newcomers will absolutely be entranced as the usage of song enhances characterizations and wryly comments on the situations....Rosin’s direction is strong – brisk, with deft characterization choices, wise musical selection, and astute casting...The cast is uniformly great."
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"Full of fun high school sex and drama...It’s a fun evening, cute, just a wee bit sexy, and super silly...The story is really there to provide a context for the performance of our favorite ‘90s pop songs...This is a satisfying play: hearing the lines we love, predicting or being surprised about the songs they choose to include. In a way, this is as close to a ‘sure thing’ performance you are going to find. If you are about that ‘90s pop life, you'll love it.”
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