Two Thumbs down from Talkin' Broadway's Murray, though he liked Harris.
"Dress it up with all the denim, fake fur, fishnets, and sequins you like, a second-rate talent shouldn't fit easily into a first-rate house. That's the puzzling contradiction at the core of the revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch that just opened at the Belasco.." Hedwig and the Angry Inch
"Transitioning from child star to adult gay icon, sitcom prince and social-media wizard, Neil Patrick Harris always seemed to be a cultural rock star. But in his latest reinvention, it turns out that the actor is, y'know, an actual rock star. As the imperious, spurned, fright-bewigged, sweaty glitterbomb at the heart of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Harris makes Broadway rock harder than it ever has before...Mitchell juices his 1998 script with topical jabs: dating sites, TMZ and Mark Rylance, while Harris winks at some of the ephemera that remain embedded in the lyrics. Director Michael Mayer expertly balances the needs of a messy, punk protest with jaw-dropping visuals (Julian Crouch's mock-Broadway set design decays brilliantly)."
Time Out NY is positive, calling Harris a "rock star." "As the imperious, spurned, fright-bewigged, sweaty glitterbomb at the heart of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Harris makes Broadway rock harder than it ever has before!" Time Out Review
Isn't one supposed to have the courtesy of at LEAST waiting until the show has wrapped up on opening nite...before one posts a review? (I guess not...)
AM New York is mixed to mostly-positive , I'd say… saying NPH's Hedwig is understandably not yet fully-developed but will improve" and that the show is "a wildly enjoyable production." "...While no one can doubt Harris' fierce theatricality, strong voice and expert handling of the comedy aspects, his Hedwig has yet to come together as a fully-developed, vulnerable character. But given the role's extreme complexity and grueling physical demands, that's more than understandable. Chances are that his performance will improve as the run continues...But as it is, this remains a wildly enjoyable production of one of the most exciting and inventive rock musicals of all time."
The Financial Times seems mixed to positive . He says "the physical production, which includes a set by Julian Crouch centred on a broken-down car, helps keep us engaged when the storytelling sags" but the storytelling "manages to make us think about not just gender-based aspects of love but also the cold war, cheap American pop music, and the price of fame." Praise for NPH in saying "A veteran not only of sitcoms but also of gender-bending stage shows such as Rent and Cabaret, Harris is ideally experienced to deliver Hedwig’s low jokes as well as its rock ’n’ roll kick-outs and tearful ballads." Financial Times Review
Apologies for hijacking this thread, but I'm excited about this one. Plus, I've got some free time on my hands. Please feel free to correct my negative-to-positive scale and analysis
NBC New York seems mostly positive . "As with any piece that is essentially a straight monologue by a single person, there are places where "Hedwig" slows down. But "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" is still the finest musical you're going to see this year about a transgendered Berliner with a chip on her shoulder, and it only further burnishes the crown on the head of the reigning king, and now queen of Broadway." NBC New York Review
tiny -- the reviews almost always start appearing once the curtain goes up. Nothing new here.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
Does NPH disappear in a way that I would actually enjoy it? I find him almost as annoying as Sutton Foster so I have no interest in seeing him in anything but I love Hedwig.
"The swift answer on both counts is that Harris is beyond fabulous, holds nothing back and plays it any way but safe in Michael Mayer's exhilarating production."
Scratch and claw for every day you're worth!
Make them drag you screaming from life, keep dreaming
You'll live forever here on earth.
"Only when he finally clicks with the material — as on the heartbreaking “Wig in a Box,” about the process of becoming someone else — is the show suddenly worth the effort he’s poured into it."
Scratch and claw for every day you're worth!
Make them drag you screaming from life, keep dreaming
You'll live forever here on earth.
"The screaming starts when a bespangled Neil Patrick Harris parachutes onstage in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and doesn’t stop until he’s back in his dressing room. That’s the kind of rock-star performance he gives in this spectacular revival — helmed with fabulous flash by Michael Mayer — of the 1998 musical (and later movie) by John Cameron Mitchell (book) and Stephen Trask (music & lyrics)."
Scratch and claw for every day you're worth!
Make them drag you screaming from life, keep dreaming
You'll live forever here on earth.
"Before our eyes, Harris is opening another chapter in his exceptional show business career with this 90-minute show and he simply crushes it, holding nothing back, softening no edges, making no nice."
Scratch and claw for every day you're worth!
Make them drag you screaming from life, keep dreaming
You'll live forever here on earth.