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Kitty April 28th, 2023
From Laura Linney and Jessica Hect celebrating the Bicentennial to a Kander and Ebb tale about the lives of New Yorkers with additional lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda - the critics had plenty to enjoy - but did they?
First up, Summer, 1976 from Manhattan Theatre Club, heating up the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre with Laura Linney and Jessica Hect starring as two very different women who meet during the country's Bicentennial. Written by Pulitzer Prize winner David Auburn, did the critics celebrate?
Theatrely certainly enjoyed the performances, saying:
"Linney and Hecht's confident, vulnerable-lite performances are the reasons to come, and the two stage veterans embrace the audience with their affable warmth and charm."
The New York Post agreed, setting a nice scene:
"As temperatures warm up, and our temperaments improve, there is something so soothing about spending an afternoon on a sun-bathed, screened-in porch with two fabulous actresses. And that is what David Auburn's Broadway play "Summer, 1976," which opened Tuesday night at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, generously provides featuring the indomitable Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht."
And The Daily Beast agreed:
"Linney and Hecht are excellent and generous scene partners, and though Summer, 1976 has none of the explosive bells and whistles of some of its Broadway compadres, it has its own gentle, unassuming power."
Average 4/5
On to New York, New York now, offering a new musical experience over at the St James Theater. Pitched as a love letter to the city's melting pot sensibility, and based on Martin Scorses's 1977 film of the same name, the show includes songs by the legendary duo Kander and Ebb, with additional material from Lin-Manual Miranda. However, it looks like even with this pedigree, the critics found something lacking...
The good from The Wrap:
"Under the savvy direction and choreography of Susan Stroman and featuring a score by John Kander and the late Fred Ebb, additional lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by David Thompson and Sharon Washington, ultimately delivers its melting-pot message with intelligence, style and, yes, good old-fashioned razzle-dazzle."
The neutral from Time Out:
"There are eight million stories in the naked city, and the new musical New York, New York seems to include about half of them. Set in the 1940s in what the iconographic title tune calls "the city that never sleeps," this hustling, bustling show doesn't rest for a minute."
And...the bad from The New York Post:
"Watching the new Broadway musical "New York, New York," which opened Wednesday night at the St. James Theatre, is akin to being stuck on the tarmac at LaGuardia. You can spot the city's stunning skyline taunting you from across the river "I want to be a part of it!" you think but then nothing happens for hours on end, as you're silently trapped there in your uncomfortable and expensive seat."
Vulture summed it up with:
"With that level of talent involved, what could go wrong? A frustratingly large amount."
Have you seen either of this week's openings? Let us know on the show's review page!
Delivers its melting-pot message with intelligence, style and, yes, good old-fashioned razzle-dazzle.
Linney and Hecht are excellent and generous scene partners, and though Summer, 1976 has none of the explosive bells and whistles of some of its Broadway compadres, it has its own gentle, unassuming power.
