So Long Boulder City NYC Reviews and Tickets

“Most of the jokes hit me as grin-worthy at best, and Mr. Fowlie seemed too convinced of his own funniness, pausing after each line in anticipation of the laugh...The satire is scattershot, the zingers not so zingy...Mia’s show is unintentionally terrible while Mr. Fowlie’s is intentionally bad. Mia’s sleazy agent calls solo shows 'self-indulgent, self-congratulatory and self-masturbatory.' Mr. Fowlie’s is all of those things. On purpose. If only it were worse."
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“An amusing portrait of basic-girl enthusiasm and self-delusion...Mia projects a can-do attitude that does not appear to accurately reflect what she is actually capable of. Because her egocentrism is harmless, she remains likeable as the show follows her through a number of terrible accents and several supremely ill-conceived costume changes...As both satire and character study, it's pretty slender stuff. It may not get any blood from its Stone, but it seems to have fun poking.”
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"They're funny bits that will most likely get a laugh out of anyone who's had to drink their way through a friend's self-produced passion project. But they're bits that have been done before, and in much sharper ways. What's missing in all of this clichéd ridicule is either the irreverent love or intense derision for the source material that inspired such a niche choice…Fowlie reaches for the low-hanging trope of a dumb actor with the audacity of ambition."
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“A sometimes lighthearted, at times sad, but constantly funny and endearing take on one woman's attempt to be an actor...As engaging with its plot as what Fowlie visually presents to us...A heartfelt, inspirational story that makes us really appreciate the power of a dedicated soul...Fowlie makes the actor's journey seem a bit more familiar, a bit more warmhearted and, of course, possessive of more wild and fun comedy than we would ever think the premise of this show to have."
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"In its funniest moments, 'So Long, Boulder City' is a deadly accurate spoof of the kind of high-hopes, low-rent fringe theatre epic...After a while, however, it becomes clear that 'So Long, Boulder City' has little more than one-liners to offer, which vary wildly in quality, and the evening grows tiresome before long. It's the sort of premise that would have worked much better in a short sketch, and Fowlie and Black, who also directed, struggle to keep it going."
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"'So Long Boulder City' isn’t so much for me—or anyone who’s never seen 'La La Land'—as much as it is for devoted fans and certainly for Fowlie and Black, who wrote it after seeing the award-winner 10 times...Fowlie takes stage with a walk that brings to mind a particularly perky sorority sister, but Mia’s behavior didn’t get me to laugh, not once. Others were chuckling throughout, which leads me to suggest that 'La La Land' fanatics make up their own mind and that the rest of us stay home."
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“A ridiculous and enjoyable spoof...While the parody is enjoyable, it’s hard to watch a talented actor like Fowlie wait for cheap laughs from his audience...The script is sharp and witty in most places and the story moves quickly until we get to a few unbearably funny costume changes...It is the too-muchness of the show that makes it work – so while I cannot say it is the funniest show I’ve ever seen, I can say it is incredibly well done.”
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"A spot-on parody of L.A. solipsism...It takes a certain fearlessness to go out and embarrass oneself in front of a crowd, and Fowlie milks the awkwardness, especially in the show’s climactic moment...It’s all in the delivery, and Fowlie’s comic timing is impeccable, not just with dialogue, but also in two outrageously long costume changes and a sequence in which he takes forever to rearrange the set...Amid the absurdity, they’ve actually made us care about the character."
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"The production is slick and professional...The audience came prepared to laugh, and laugh they did, almost constantly. I, regretfully, was considerably less amused...The script is jam-packed with hip insider jokes about the entertainment industry, and it’s full of predictable targets...She plays a number of characters, but goes in for such elaborate costume changes that her performance becomes absurdly bogged down. The show is not my cup of tea...It may be yours."
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