MR. SATURDAY NIGHT Reviews

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 12:00am

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 12:11am

I took more fellow Jews tonight and everyone had tears in their eyes from laughing so hard. I can’t get e enough of this show. 

[MCW1227]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 7:48am

Fingers crossed for positive reviews.  I loved it!!

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 8:47am

My guess is it will play better for theatre critics - especially for theatre critics of a certain age - than it did for a lot of the people on the Previews thread.

[Dan6]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 11:28am

Jordan Catalano said: "I took more fellow Jews tonight and everyone had tears in their eyes from laughing so hard. I can’t get e enough of this show."

I was there last night too (also with fellow Jews of a certain age). Look, it's objectively not a great musical and there's plenty to gripe about...a disappointingly bland JRB score, an amateurishly expository book, and nothing-to-see-here production values. I can't see it having any life beyond Billy Crystal's involvement. But oy, is he a master class in comedy and in holding an audience in the palm of his hand. Every joke (and there are many priceless ones) landed perfectly, and we laughed our tuchases off for two-and-a-half hours. Despite the many flaws, I'll remember this one for a long time, and I hope Billy gets the reviews (and the Tony nomination) that he richly deserves.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 11:32am

We're at the "frayed nerves" point of the season, so I don't think any of the remaining 3 shows to open (this, Potus, Macbeth) will fare all that well with critics, aside for some praise for specific elements (Dratch & the Potus cast, Crystal's performance/jokes, etc.

[RWPrincess]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 12:03pm

I saw this via Lottery earlier in the month and liked it way more than I expected to. I'm under 50 and Jewish but I don't think you need to be Jewish in order to appreciate this. Billy seems like he's having the time of his life on stage and his enthusiasm is palpable. I wish there had been more of the daughter in Act 1 because that was one of the storylines that was most interesting to me. And I do wonder if this would have worked better as a straight play instead of as a musical--I just didn't feel like the songs really added much. But overall, I enjoyed this very much and the audience seemed to eat it up too. And it was a much younger audience than I expected as well. Hope this scores some great reviews.

[Patty3]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 4:08pm

I saw this a few weeks ago. I friend from out of town wanted to see it. I was pleasantly surprised. It was an enjoyable time at the theater. Billy's enthusiasm is infectious. I also enjoyed the daughter's storyline. I really am rooting for Crystal to at least get a Tony nom.

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 7:43pm

Four stars/Recommended from Time Out:

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/mr-saturday-night-review-broadway-billy-crystal-musical

"By Broadway standards, Mr. Saturday is a modest little show. In John Rando’s production, there are only four other actors: Chasten Harmon as Buddy’s green new agent, and Jordan Gelber, Mylinda Hull and Brian Gonzales as everyone else. Everything about it is resolutely old-fashioned—in some ways it’s a celebration of oldness itself—and it's not long on drama. (We don't even get to see the big flashback meltdown scene.) But it delivers exactly what it promises: Crystal, completely in his element, with a crowd that is more than happy to buy what he’s selling. He’s the cream in the borscht, the schmaltz in the gribenes, and his prodigious charm makes Mr. Saturday Night a very haimish experience. If you have a taste for this sort of thing, the show is—o Lord of old comics, forgive me for what I’m about to write—the show is a Crystal ball."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 9:13pm

NY Daily News:

Broadway Review: Billy Crystal’s ‘Mr. Saturday Night’ is a hilarious, retro good time

https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/broadway/ny-broadway-mr-saturday-night-review-billy-crystal-20220428-wpxmftachnaelb3uct26zwrbw4-story.html

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 9:15pm

Theatermania:

Review: Billy Crystal's Mr. Saturday Night Musical Is Matzo Ball Soup for the Jewish Soul

https://www.theatermania.com/broadway/reviews/review-billy-crystals-mr-saturday-night-musical_93708.html

"Billy Crystal's sweet and hilarious Broadway musical adaptation of his unsuccessful 1992 movie Mr. Saturday Night is practically created with two groups in mind: old Jews, and old Jews at heart. Rarely has there been a show more perfectly tailored to its target audience, the kind of people who either have fond memories of summering in the Catskills at Kutsher's or Grossinger's, or fond memories of hearing their parents talk about their fond memories.

Firmly in the latter camp (and having proudly memorized albums like the 2000 Year Old Man as a child), I found Mr. Saturday Night, running at the Nederlander Theatre, to be matzo ball soup for my Jewish soul. Though a solid 45 minutes too long, it feels like a warm hug from your bubbe, brimming with the same kind of heart and humor that have sustained our people through generations of oppression. In short, it's one of my favorite musicals of the season, even if it doesn't entirely know how to be a musical."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 9:50pm

AM NY is negative:

Review | Hardly the most exciting night on Broadway

https://www.amny.com/entertainment/broadway/review-hardly-the-most-exciting-night-on-broadway/

"While Crystal and the cast are droll and endearing, “Mr. Saturday Night” (directed by John Rando with an especially small cast for an old-fashioned-style musical comedy) is pretty dull, slow, and schmaltzy. The gentle score, much of which was custom-built for a leading man with a limited vocal range, lacks the flavor and bite of Brown and Green’s best work. A lively establishing song performed by Bean in the first act seems to have come out of an entirely different, more contemporary, more interesting show."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 10:01pm

The Wrap:

‘Mr. Saturday Night’ Broadway Review: Billy Crystal Is Very Funny – Until He Starts to Sing

Which is a problem for a new musical with songs by Jason Robert Brown and Amanda Green

https://www.thewrap.com/mr-saturday-night-broadway-review-billy-crystal-musical/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 10:02pm

Daily Beast:

Billy Crystal Gives ‘Mr. Saturday Night’ Charm, Laughs, and No Drama

HEARD THE ONE?

In the breezy Broadway musical comedy “Mr. Saturday Night,” Billy Crystal, playing a comedian plotting a return to the screen, does what he does best—telling zinger after zinger.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/billy-crystal-gives-mr-saturday-night-charm-laughs-and-no-drama

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 10:02pm

Deadline:

‘Mr. Saturday Night’ Broadway Review: Genial Billy Crystal Musical Delivers Punchlines Without The Punches

https://deadline.com/2022/04/mr-saturday-night-billy-crystal-broadway-review-1235009759/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 10:04pm

Washington Post:

Billy Crystal, bringing the funny in Broadway’s ‘Mr. Saturday Night’

https://www.washingtonpost.com/theater-dance/2022/04/27/billy-crystal-mr-saturday-night/

"It’s an evening of ba-dum-bum punchlines in this vein at the Nederlander Theatre, where “Mr. Saturday Night” marked its official opening Wednesday night. Low-key ballads in classic Broadway cadences by Jason Robert Brown and Amanda Green are interspersed throughout the proceedings, amiably directed by John Rando. But they are not such prominent features as to distract from the main focus, which is the funny business — sometimes tender, other times cruder and more caustic — derived from the notion that Crystal’s semiretired Buddy Young Jr. is over the hill."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 10:04pm

B- from Entertainment Weekly

Mr. Saturday Night review: Billy Crystal brings his nostalgic '90s comedy to Broadway

The musical adaptation of Crystal's 1992 film is a bumpy but talent-filled ride.

 

https://ew.com/theater/theater-reviews/mr-saturday-night-broadway-review-billy-crystal/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 10:06pm

Variety:

‘Mr. Saturday Night’ Review: Billy Crystal Brings the Laughs in His New Broadway Musical

https://variety.com/2022/legit/reviews/mr-saturday-night-review-billy-crystal-broadway-musical-1235241292/

"The end result is certainly the funniest show on Broadway in years, if not the most likable. Look for a healthy run, at least with headliner Crystal, who last packed houses with his autobiographical show “700 Sundays.” And with composer Jason Robert Brown and lyricist Amanda Green supplying one of the most appealing and disarming scores in some time, what’s not to like?"

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 10:09pm

Theatrely is positive:

MR. SATURDAY NIGHT is a Breezy Sunday Stroll — Review

https://www.theatrely.com/post/mr-saturday-night-is-a-breezy-sunday-stroll-review

"This new musical isn’t perfect; the first act runs far too long, and some plotlines aren’t sufficiently developed. But you’re there for Crystal and he delivers. His singing voice is as full of character as his comic delivery — imagine a male Carol Channing — and the winning team around him makes this Saturday Night a delightful evening out."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 10:10pm

Laura Collins-Hughes for NYT:

Review: Billy Crystal Carries the Tune in ‘Mr. Saturday Night’

In a mishmash new musical based on his 1992 movie, he charms the audience as a has-been comic reconnecting with family.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/27/theater/mr-saturday-night-review.html

"Three decades later, Crystal too is in his 70s, and in the new musical comedy “Mr. Saturday Night,” which opened on Wednesday night, he slips much more naturally into Buddy’s skin. As a piece of theater, the show is a bit of a mess; the jokes, even some of the hoary ones, work better than the storytelling, and the acting styles are all over the place. Still, it makes for a diverting evening — because it will almost surely make you laugh, and because of how acutely tuned into the audience Crystal is."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 10:39pm

Both NY Stage Review critics give it three stars out of five:

Finkle: Mr. Saturday Night: Billy Crystal Musicalized Vehicle Runs Smoothly Enough

https://nystagereview.com/2022/04/27/mr-saturday-night-billy-crystal-musicalized-vehicle-runs-smoothly-enough/

Scheck: Mr. Saturday Night: Broadway Musical, Borscht Belt Style

https://nystagereview.com/2022/04/27/mr-saturday-night-broadway-musical-borscht-belt-style/

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 10:44pm

DTLI Consensus: Billy Crystal is indeed "the kamikaze of comedy," and he proves it once again in his Broadway musical debut. 

7 positive, 4 mixed (including the NYT), 4 negative. 

https://didtheylikeit.com/shows/mr-saturday-night/

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 10:47pm

I feel like these reviews are about as good as this show could have hoped for. No raves but not trashed either and I think Billy Crystal is a lock for a Tony nom and certainly in the mix to win.

[MCW1227]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 10:53pm

Mr. Wormwood said: "I feel like these reviews are about as good as this show could have hoped for. No raves but not trashed either and I think Billy Crystal is a lock for a Tony nom and certainly in the mix to win."

Up until I saw this show last weekend, I though McClure was a lock for a Tony. I now feel Billy will win for not just a wonderful comedic performance but great depth for the serious moments. Not the greatest singer but neither is McClure so that is a wash as far as that goes. My money is on Billy. 

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 11:16pm

Oleksinski loving this after not really liking Skin of Our Teeth, A Strange Loop, or POTUS is... rich.