Review Roundup: WORKING GIRL Premieres at La Jolla Playhouse

Now running at La Jolla Playhouse is the world premiere of Working Girl starring JoJo Levesque, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer and more. The production is now on stage through November 30 at the Mandell Weiss Theatre. 

Based on the beloved Twentieth Century Fox film, the production features music and lyrics by Tony and Grammy Award winner Cyndi Lauper, a book by Theresa Rebeck, and direction by Tony Award winner Christopher Ashley in his final production as the Playhouse’s Rich Family Artistic Director.

The cast stars JoJo Levesque as Tess, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer as Katharine, Ashley Blanchet as Cyn, Anoop Desai as Jack, and Joey Taranto as Mick, joined by a dynamic ensemble including Jacqueline Arnold, Jesse Bhamrah, Michael Genet, Bailey Lee, Amy Hillner Larsen, Ashley Levin, Nathan Madden, Alisa Melendez, Sydni Moon, Jennifer Perry, Julio Rey, Elliot Sagay, and Ian Ward.

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

Peter Debruge, Variety: But “9 to 5” this is not. Where that movie — and the Dolly Parton-backed Broadway musical it inspired — were peppy and empowering, serving up an amusingly extreme answer to workplace chauvinism, “Working Girl” feels like it might have made a sharper play, given how plot-driven Kevin Wade’s original screenplay was. Catchy enough to warrant radio play, Lauper’s songs have the tricky task of sounding simultaneously hip (by contemporary standards) and retro, like a recently unearthed pop album originally recorded back in the ’80s, then lost to time.

Pam Kragen, San Diego Union Tribune: Joanna “JoJo” Levesque stars in the musical as Tess. She’s sincere and endearing and she has a unique vocal range, register and slight grit that sounds remarkably similar to Cyndi Lauper’s voice in the ’80s. As a result, her voice fits Lauper’s score like a glove. As Jack, Anoop Desai is a charismatic actor with an excellent singing voice. And as Tess’s dishonest boss, Katharine, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer is both fierce and laugh-out-loud funny.