Review Roundup: Alan Menken's DUDDY KRAVITZ Musical Opens in Montreal

The Segal Centre closes its blockbuster 2014-2015 Theatre Season with The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz: The Musical, a world premiere musical adaptation of Mordecai Richler's novel and the feature film by the same name, through July 12, 2015. This new production boasts an original musical score by Alan Menken, the legendary Oscar and Tony winning composer of Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, with book and lyrics by acclaimed lyricist-librettist David Spencer and direction by American theatre veteran Austin Pendleton. Presented with the generous support of RBC and Muse Entertainment.

The poignant Montreal coming of age story of ambitious scoundrel Duddy Kravitz, Canadian author Mordecai Richler's beloved anti-hero, will premiere as a brand new musical in the city where the story takes place.

Let's see what the critcs had to say...

Meghan Pearson, BroadwayWorld: Unfortunately though, if Duddy Kravitz is going to be a show that lasts, there is going to have to be some serious changes made. The show is ultimately crippled by its length and pacing issues. Content could have been cut to counteract the lull the story lends itself to, as well as to shave some time off of the total running length. The overall narrative of the show is also somewhat two-dimensional. Duddy wants to be someone, this is made abundantly clear, however the other characters are left somewhat flat to make way for Duddy's exposition on wanting to be a "somebody." Despite its flaws, the cast is a talented ensemble that boasts both superb acting and vocal skills. Stewart brought admirable energy that never faltered in the full three hours as Duddy. He was complemented by the crystal clear vocals of Marie-Pierre de Brienne, who played Yvette, Duddy's Quebecois girlfriend.

Jim Burke, Montreal Gazette: There's much to enjoy in this audaciously unorthodox musical, including a screening of the novel's famously tasteless bar mitzvah home movie, and a descent into Montreal's gangster underworld (Michael Rudder is a sinisterly silky Jerry Dingleman). But is there enough here to finally get Duddy a slice of prime real estate on Broadway? Perhaps, if some adjustments are made to give it a sense of bigger, brasher staging: Pendleton's direction leans more toward the intimate, reflected by Michael Eagan's unfussy depiction of the grit of St-Urbain St. and Duddy's lakeside idyll. In any event, for a clearly ecstatic first-night audience, this was a big welcome home to Montreal's most beloved fictional character.

Sharman Yarnell, Montreal Times: It has been thirty years in the making and the end result is fantastic! The New York team of David Spencer (book and lyrics) and Alan Menken (music) have done the St. Urbain Street boy proud! It is so very hard not to love this young man who dares to dream of a future...then dares to do. We may not like the choices he makes to get there but his spirit and verve are undeniable.

Anna Fuerstenberg, Montreal Rampage: It is not up there with my favourite musicals but it comes close. Most delightful is the cast. Ken James Stewart is a terrific Duddy and his manic laughter echoes that of Richard Dreyfuss in the film version. His energy and innocence combine to make his most heinous deeds forgivable. Marie-Pierre de Brienne was truly exquisite as Yvette and her performance was as professional and polished as her singing was flawless. While the rest of the cast was excellent, the most impressive was Michael Rudder as Jerry Dingleman the Boy Wonder, he managed to make this character menacing and threatening while resting on both a cane and a crutch, beautifully done.

Bernard Mendelman, The Suburban: For me, the musical was a nostalgic trip. I grew up with both Richler and Gesser in the heart of Montreal's Jewish ghetto. We all went to Baron Byng High School and belonged to social clubs at the Davis Y, on Mount Royal Avenue. We also noshed on "specials" at Wilensky's Light Lunch (they cost 12 cents then) where scenes were filmed when the book was made into a celebrated motion picture in 1974. A replica of Wilensky's counter and stools are part of the props in the musical. I also summered often in the Laurentian Mountains where Duddy discovers his long sought out lake and land.

Sarah Deshaies, CultMTL: The singing and acting is on point. Most of the 14-member cast is not from Montreal, with the exceptions of Michael Rudder (sleazy as heck as local gangster Jerry Dingleman) and Marie-Pierre de Brienne as Yvette, Duddy's clever francophone girlfriend. Kristian Truelsen is sly and funny as the effete Peter John Friar, a blacklisted film director Duddy hires to make bar mitzvah movies. One of the strongest scenes is when Friar's 'avant-garde' tribal-themed bar mitzvah movie is screened to a skeptical audience (Fun fact: the short film is taken from the 1974 movie adaptation).

Stephanie Laughlin, Forget the Box: If the production does become successful, it would be great to see more money be put into set design, as the current sets seem rather lackluster. So will this production ever end up in the city that never sleeps? It's likely the show will continue a successful Segal Centre run if for nothing else than the sentimentality of having such a popular Montreal story brought to the stage. And while Duddy definitely can sing, its future success will depend on whether non-Montreal audiences connects to the show in the same way.

Alan Hustak, The Metropolitan: Richler's characters are rooted in a specific place, Duddy is a homegrown musical efficiently directed by Austin Pendelton. The Segal's production is as entertaining a Duddy as its gets. That said, whether it will move audiences outside the city to the same degree as it does at the Segal remains to be seen.

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