New York, New York
Opening Night: April 26, 2023
Theater: St James Theatre
Website: newyorknewyorkbroadway.com
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April 26, 2023
And it is that title song alone, rather than the movie, that is the true inspiration for the sprawling, unwieldy, surprisingly dull show that opened on Wednesday night at the St. James Theater.
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April 26, 2023
Composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb are the legendary songwriting partners behind genre staples like “Chicago” and “Cabaret.” Those works — first produced in the ’60s and ’70s — married theatrical spectacle with important socio-political themes. The duo’s latest musical offering “New York, New York,” however, gets stuck between the two.
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April 26, 2023
Well, you can. New York, New York, the new(ish) Kander & Ebb musical, opens tonight at Broadway’s St. James Theatre. But be warned: Even the rosiest-hued urban utopia can get a bit tiresome when it’s this overstuffed with good intentions.
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April 26, 2023
It has much of what Broadway lovers would want from such a musical, including songs by Kander and Ebb (some written for the film and others from their vault) plus half a dozen more written for the show by Kander in collaboration with Miranda.
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April 26, 2023
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.
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April 26, 2023
But “New York, New York,” 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.
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April 26, 2023
Some days, New York City may be exhausting, but a Broadway musical about New York, celebrating New York, should never be. Sadly, New York, New York (St. James Theatre, booking to November 19)—despite the resounding presence of that classic “these vagabond shoes,” “if I can make it there” anthem—is a stodgy slog of a show loosely based on Martin Scorsese’s 1977 film.
READ THE REVIEWApril 26, 2023
There are neon marquee lights from days of old. There are bustling dancers showing off their prowess as they rush to work and back home. There are even a few classics from John Kander and Fred Ebb’s heyday. Unfortunately for New York, New York, now running on Broadway at the St. James Theatre, there isn’t much else.
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April 26, 2023
At its best, the new musical New York, New York feels like the “Rhapsody in Blue” segment from Fantasia 2000; an impressionistic burst of sound and movement coalescing rapturously around a theme. Loosely based on the 1977 Martin Scorsese film that introduced the world to one of its most enduring anthems—written by John Kander & Fred Ebb, whose music returns here, with some additions by Kander and Lin-Manuel Miranda—it is a loud, brash, and often brilliant ode to the city that never sleeps.
READ THE REVIEWApril 26, 2023
There’s still no shortage of shows to see on The Great White Way, but when it comes to pure populist entertainment, New York, New York might be the closest thing on offer this season.
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April 26, 2023
With that level of talent involved, what could go wrong? A frustratingly large amount.
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April 26, 2023
The result is the New York, New York musical that just opened on Broadway, reconceived as a love letter to the cultural melting pot that is New York City. It is also an overstuffed misfire.
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April 26, 2023
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.
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April 26, 2023
Start spreading the news…about “Chicago,” not so much “New York, New York.”
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