Greed: A Musical for Our Times
Opening Night: April 3, 2014
Closing: April 20, 2014
Theater: New World Stages
What do Jamie Dimon, Lance Armstrong, Pope Francis and Bernie Madoff have in common? They all appear in Greed: A Musical for Our Times. The musical comedy’s targets range from Ponzi schemes to the not-so-subtle sales pitches of retirement planners and mortgage bundlers. With numbers like “A Little Juice,” “Inside Information,” “I’ll Cheat On My Taxes” and “The Ballad of Jamie Dimon,” Greed takes aim at the obvious, and not so obvious, targets.
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April 3, 2014
Like an amuse-bouche, the title Greed: A Musical for Our Times is a mere taste of the grubby greediness to come — and yet the bitter flavor lingers for all 85 minutes of Michael Roberts’ comedic musical revue. A long roster of theatrical vignettes takes us to every corner of society to point out each demographic as it enjoys its unique brand of moral depravity. From litigious beach bums to juiced-up athletes to hair-grabbing infants — there’s a nondescript jazzy song for them all highlighting their insatiable need for the finer things in life. Titles like "It’s Mine," "I Like Things," and "Passing the Mortgages" fill the bill, with lyrics that are occasionally clever but not biting or revelatory enough to make it worth our while to continue spinning through this revolving door of unlikeable characters
READ THE REVIEWApril 6, 2014
While the lesson we’re supposed to walk away from this show with is ‘Greed is not good’, that is unfortunately how one could also describe Greed: A Musical for Our Times. More of a musical revue than a musical, we take a journey through various incarnations of greed, though always greed for financial gain. Attempting to tackle such societal issues as conspicuous consumption, crooked bankers, religion, and steroids in professional sports—all valid concerns and with the potential for some deep mining—the show stays unfortunately close to the surface. Such a superficial exploration of these topics could be aided by well-placed humor, as the show is intended to be satirical, but more often than not the jokes fall flat. Lacklustre execution of choreography does little to keep Greed exciting.
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April 5, 2014
What do the Catholic Church, Bernie Madoff, a clan of liberal hippies, and a two-year-old have in common? According to the new comedic revue at New World Stages, it’s greed. The new musical GREED: A Musical For Our Times — low in budget but high in gags — is a high-energy romp that reminds us that the human race still has quite a way to go. With a four-person cast and a bare-bones stage, the performers inhabit dozens of characters and change through endless costumes in their diverse representations of greed. Written and composed by Michael Roberts, who clearly has some strong feelings toward the greedy among us, we are shown financial advisors, beach bums, mortgage brokers, mothers, and plenty more whose determination for financial and material wealth trumps any foreseeable acts of good will or empathy for others.
READ THE REVIEWApril 6, 2014
Greed is a snappy little revue crisply directed and choreographed by Christopher Scott that features a book, music & lyrics by Michael Roberts. It starts out promising, with an amusing song called “It’s Mine” (Part 1), where a toddler is being fed and coddled by his parents who are those irritating yuppie types who treat their kids like they are the center of EVERYONE’S universe. You know the kind. It is staged cleverly and I thought perhaps we would follow the child through his life into greedy adulthood. Instead, we are presented with one greedy scenario after another unrelated to each other except with regard to that second of the seven deadly sins.
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April 5, 2014
Was Bernard L. Madoff ever tempted to sing about his pyramid scheme? Did Martha Stewart contemplate an insider-trading tap dance? Their efforts might have enlivened Greed: A Musical for Our Times, a revue by Michael Roberts at New World Stages. Belted and crooned by four actors — Julia Burrows, Stephanie D’Abruzzo, James Donegan and Neal Mayer — the show hurtles through 19 songs in 85 minutes, some of them briefer than the scene change vamps. But just as their lyrics suggest, more isn’t always better. For every sound investment, there are numerous toxic assets.
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