Almost Famous
Opening Night: November 3, 2022
Theater: Bernard B. Jacobs
Website: almostfamousthemusical.com
Led Zeppelin is king, Richard Nixon is President, and idealistic 15-year-old William Miller is an aspiring music journalist. When Rolling Stone magazine hires him to go on the road with an up-and-coming band, William is thrust into the rock-and-roll circus, where his love of music, his longing for friendship, and his integrity as a writer collide. Almost Famous is a hilarious and heartfelt celebration of community, family, fandom and the power of music.
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November 3, 2022
Like a good old friend, Almost Famous takes you on a trip and brings you home safely. For two hours, I sat back, humming along, grateful I chose to share a profession with greats like Bangs, Fong-Torres, and Miller.
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November 3, 2022
Though celebrating the rock world of 1973, when the real Lester Bangs was the field’s most influential critic, “Almost Famous” is neither glorious nor righteous. It barely even has a form.
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November 3, 2022
Unfortunately, when an original musical doesn’t actually have anything original to say, every note falls flat.
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November 3, 2022
One more thing the show misses: A respect that musical theater is an art form, too, and not just a commercial commodity — something Lester Bangs could relate to.
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November 3, 2022
This Almost Famous gives you all that and the music — but it also wants to be everyone’s friend, cozy and familiar. There’s no mud and guts to be found here.
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November 3, 2022
Rarely has rock ‘n’ roll looked and sounded as boring and tedious as it does in the strange Broadway mess that is Almost Famous (Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, booking to April 9, 2023).
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November 3, 2022
But one thing the effusive show gets right, like the movie that spawned it, is the infectious energy of rock ‘n’ roll at a transitional moment — 1973 — when the raw, rebellious spirit of great rock was making way for the slicker, more commercialized sound of mass-consumption superstardom.
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November 3, 2022
So bereft of anything resembling care, wit, and imagination is this Tom Kitt-Cameron Crowe musical that it may end up being memorable for a different reason: as an object lesson in how not to bring a beloved movie to the stage.
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November 3, 2022
Although the musical has undoubtedly been crafted with care, Mr. Crowe’s unusually lovely and authentic movie here feels tamed and out-of-focus, becoming yet another blandly diminished stage version of material that was more fresh, trenchant and affecting on film.
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November 3, 2022
Those classic bits are all still here, yes, but they’re a wisp of the original. British director Jeremy Herrin, who should stick to plays and steer clear of Stratocasters, composer-lyricist Tom Kitt and book writer-lyricist Crowe do not present a compelling case for why the film must be a Broadway musical. It’s pleasant and sweet and passes the time, sure, but should that be enough?
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November 3, 2022
It is a production so dull, with poor direction, ugly sets, uninteresting music, and flat performances, that it really needn’t exist at all.
READ THE REVIEWNovember 3, 2022
Fully competent and coherent, “Almost Famous” has a lively book, a rich score, many skilled and engaging performers and a nicely droll visual pallet from the designers Derek McLane, David Zinn and Natasha Katz.
READ THE REVIEWNovember 3, 2022
While the Broadway version of Almost Famous may not be full of surprises, it capably and dutifully retells Crowe’s semi-autobiographical tale of aspiring teen rock journalist William Miller (Casey Likes), who scores a job writing about a Led Zeppelin-esque rock outfit named Stillwater.
READ THE REVIEWNovember 3, 2022
In the end Almost Famous is a mid-level musical that lives up to its title. Like groupies trailing after rock stars, it chases but never captures the quirky luster of the cinematic source.
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