"Overproduced, overwritten, overacted, and over-everything-elsed adaptation...They've buried most of the movie's abundant charms beneath a heap of hypercaffeinated glitziness that honors neither the Broadway musical form nor Karl's inspiring work ethic...All this frenzy occurs for no dramatic or theatrical reason, and it doesn't so much create energy as it does sap it; it's exhausting watching any show try harder than necessary to engage you, all while missing the underlying point."
Read more

"Life would be grim indeed if I had to wake up and face this tedious, charm-free and often tasteless show again day after day...Despite Minchin’s often cleverly turned (if vulgar) lyrics and the Trojan-like work of Karl, 'Groundhog Day' never achieves the comic liftoff that made the movie at least mildly diverting...Minchin is a skillful songwriter, but his score for 'Groundhog Day' is mostly flavorless and uninspired."
Read more

"Andy Karl’s magnetism elevates this decent and sugary musical adaptation of the celebrated film...A mildly entertaining production...Tim Minchin’s score is a pleasant blend of jazzy, pop and Country & Western music, but his lyrics are rudimentary...The talented ensemble all depicts their cartoony roles with excellent characterizations, but no one really makes much of an impact...This treatment of the original work is adeptly presented but it’s lacking in emotional resonance."
Read more

"It's a yes and no on whether this marriage of this iconic film and the musical-theater genre works...Rubin's book works pretty well and songwriter Tim Minchin has created an ear-pleasing range of tunes. But while director Matthew Warchus and his designers have certainly created an abundance of eye-popping theatrical wizardry, this is a problematic marriage...Fortunately, Andy Karl saves the day...He won me over enough to almost forgive the extreme busyness and clownish elements."
Read more

"A brilliant creative team and an outstanding leading man make this musical version of the beloved ‘90s movie an experience you’ll be happy to repeat...Warchus’ staging is a marvel...It’s safe to say there’s no current Broadway cast having more fun than this one...The show works. It gives restless audience members plenty of razzmatazz, while drawing in the more pensive ones with its surprisingly complex critique of American culture and our search for meaning in the modern world."
Read more

“Director Warchus knowingly creates rings of excitement, producing high-energy movement as the cast whirls and twirls…However, the repetition of Phil waking up each day to repeat the same 24 hours...wears thin and monotonous, added to by an overlong first act…The production heavily relies on one person, Andy Karl...Karl has that ability to take an unlikable character and emerge as the charming leading man he is; his vocal presence along with comic timing, amazing.”
Read more

"The film was a terrific zebra; the Broadway musical is a kind of unicorn...Minchin’s score makes a joyful noise, to be sure, but it is not unalloyed hoopla...This is an original score that will endure. The sometimes dense lyrics, by turns funny and poignant, leave you stretching to sort it all out at times. It’s more than worth the effort...Erasing the estimable Bill Murray in the audience’s memory is no small task—unless you are Andy Karl...On the performance side, the craft is stunning."
Read more

"Its treatment of the source material is duly deferential and just different enough...True to Minchin’s stand-up background, his lyrics are clever and often Sondheimian in their rhyme scheme. Only one tune feels gratuitous and out-of-place...The book by original screenwriter Danny Rubin wisely doesn’t interfere much with the baroque construction of the film, but is punched up and updated unobtrusively...'Groundhog Day’s' a bright spot."
Read more