Romy & Michele: The Musical Off-Broadway Reviews

“Romy & Michele: The Musical,” like we needed one, really is that bad. But yet not bad enough to work on a campy level, either.

When Schiff’s book disappoints by simply regurgitating her screenplay, the original score by Gwendolyn Sanford and Brandon Jay provides the necessary fresh energy. It’s nothing more than bubblegum, but like Hubba Bubba, the songs come in a wide variety of flavors and colors.

Of course, if you’re a devoted fan you may experience Romy & Michele: The Musical differently. By hewing so close to the movie, the pleasure in the intended nostalgic echoes—there is even very literal ’80s/’90s nostalgia beamed on to background screens—may make for a pleasurable evening. But at the performance I attended the applause after nearly every number (with one or two enthusiastically-received exceptions) was politely tepid at best.

It’s the soundtrack that lets this production down. While the songs (by Gwendolyn Sanford and Brandon Jay) are all well-executed in the moment, they lack sticking power. Looking through the track list now – a mixture of Nineties-inspired ballads and dance numbers – I can picture the staging and energetic choreography of nearly each number (giant fruit magnets! dancing with scarves!) but fail to conjure the memory of a single melody. Hats off, though, to choreographer Karla Puno Garcia, who adds her own flair while maintaining the integrity of some of the film’s most iconic scenes – lovers of the reunion dance moment will understand.

Uncanny screen chemistry between Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow is a main reason the movie clicks. As directed by Kristin Hanggi (Rock of Ages), the musical’s stars don’t stray far from their film templates. Bundy (Legally Blonde, Hairspray) leans hard into a Valley Girl accent, while Lindsay (Newsies), delivers lines in deft clueless fashion. They bring likable BFF energy to this buddy comedy, and while they won’t make anyone forget the onscreen duo, they give it their all — just like Romy and Michele.

In the end, Romy & Michele: The Musical is exactly what director Kristin Hanggi promised: a “joy bomb” that detonates with glitter, heart, and enough “business women specials” to remind us why we fell for these two in the first place. Even if the explosion lasts a little longer than necessary.

The new musical is a lot of fun, with Bundy and Lindsay delivering laugh after laugh. Their chemistry as the long-time besties is palpable. In particular, Bundy steals the show as she replicates Sorvino’s famous lower voice and accent, while still making the character her own. Laura Bell Bundy is truly impressive as she brings comedy one minute and tears the next. Her physicality (see: her “businesswoman walk”) is especially entertaining.

The sorry excuse for a stage adaptation, which opened Tuesday at Stage 42, takes a quirky 90-minute film that was completely reliant on the charm and chemistry of its leads Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow, pumps in almost an hour of formless filler and pulverizes its personality to the point of being practically unrecognizable.

It’s also frustrating because the show doesn’t stand a chance to work on its own, especially since the journeyman score by the married team of Gwendolyn Sanford and Brandon Jay, does nothing to spark things up. (Admittedly, the orchestra is hampered by a teeny, muddled sound reminiscent of an old Nintendo game; this pushes the vintage vibe too far.)