Holiday Inn, The New Irving Berlin Musical NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (760)
See it if Youre a fan of Irving Berlin music and/ or well done adaptations from screen to stage
Don't see it if You want a modern musical with modern music
See it if you want to sit back, relax and enjoy a show.
Don't see it if you don't want to have a good time.
See it if You're a fan of romance, nostalgia, Old Hollywood and Irving Berlin. You just need a dose of Christmas cheer! You loved HSM back in the day
Don't see it if You want something deep and profound. You're averse to the saccahrine.
See it if you love great performances, lavish costumes, and Gershwin music.
Don't see it if you only like very serious and intense musicals
See it if Such a delightful evening of classic musical theatre! The dancing is out of this world and you'll want to sing a long!
Don't see it if You don't like fluffy musical theatre.
See it if You want to be uplifted by wonderful performers who act, sing and dance their hearts out. Totally charming and fun.
Don't see it if You don't like musicals, or are opposed to seeing movies transformed or adapted for the stage.
See it if you love big chorus numbers, with lots of tap dancing and costume changes! Also if you love old movie musicals such as the one it's based on
Don't see it if you are looking for a fresh, modern style of plot. This is stylish, but slightly cheesy old-fashioned fun.
See it if you like fun stories that just entertain you with a basic plot and fun musical numbers.
Don't see it if you need intense, thought-provoking story with underlying deep meanings and has a big statement to make.
Critic Reviews (59)
"Greenberg and Hodge’s book does not measure up to Berlin’s score, but how could it? Still, you wish it would make up its mind to be either parody or pastiche...'Holiday Inn' is at its best when the ensemble is onstage, singing and dancing its high-energy heart out in tandem with one or more of the principals...That doesn’t mean that 'Holiday Inn' is anything less than surefire entertainment. You just can’t help wishing it could have made it to the next level."
Read more
"There is a story line to follow, but it is clear from the start that it exists only to serve as a launching pad for the beautiful songs of Irving Berlin, and to pause when a big dance number is ready to stop the show...A short stay at 'Holiday Inn' provides a welcome getaway...Where else can 'Shaking the Blues Away' transform into a fantastic chorus number featuring tap dancers with jump ropes?...Director Gordon Greenberg has the show running like a well-oiled machine."
Read more
"We only have to sit back and relax. Open our hearts to the beautiful Irving Berlin songs and take in with all the love we have of choreographer Denis Jones’s spectacular dance numbers...Greenberg and Hodge kept the joy and the fun, and got rid of the awkward moments in the film...Return to a place that is warm and optimistic, even if it is a fantasy land filled with lovely music and great tap-dance numbers."
Read more
"When it works, this musical brings down the house. When it doesn’t, the seams show in the storytelling and it is let down by some uneven performances...As the big dance numbers dominate, quiet dramatic scenes fade into the scenery...After several blow-out dancing and singing ensemble tunes before intermission, we are left with long sequences to ponder the plot in the second act. We remain hopelessly waiting for another glimpse of that sensational first-act exuberance."
Read more
"Consider this a medley of some of his greatest hits...There is a love triangle or two, but mostly what this production has is great music and top-notch performances...Greenberg is a relatively new name for Broadway and generally keeps the action moving...There are a couple dance numbers, choreographed by Denis Jones, that bring down the house with a combination of tapping, jumping rope, juggling and more...It honestly felt good to me."
Read more
"It will absolutely chase your blues away for two hours, but it isn’t quite good enough to warrant making a return reservation...As good as the principals are, though, the standout performances come from the brilliantly funny Megan Lawrence, the hilarious Lee Wilkof, and Morgan Gao...The disappointment in the production comes primarily from Denis Jones’ choreography, which is never less-than-serviceable, but only really catches fire twice...It just didn’t capture my heart."
Read more
"The Broadway adaptation of the movie features a hard-working, elegantly costumed cast in one pleasantly diverting musical number after another. But it’ll help to check your sense and sensibility in the coatroom...Bleu’s performance is a revelation...There are other changes from the movie that add up to a complicated lesson in gender and racial cultural politics...One can try to overlook such assaults on current sensibilities for the bliss of a 13-piece orchestra performing Berlin’s melodies."
Read more
"Better suited to community theater than to Broadway...Of the lead performers, only Corbin Bleu, a talented dancer, manages to make something of his role...The rest are fine, but not necessarily right for their roles...What you have in the end is the Irving Berlin songs. The problem is, only a couple of them are staged with any panache...The show as a whole is lacking in so many of its elements that it fails to satisfy, even on the light-and-fluffy entertainment scale."
Read more