The New York Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...But all the cast members fulfill their raisons d'etre, which is to sling a whole lot of mud in the nicest possible way. As for Mr. McNally's play itself (as opposed to Peter Austin's), it mostly has the depth of a shot glass (and I mean that in the nicest possible way). It is to Broadway what Neil LaBute's "The Money Shot," downtown at the Lucille Lortel Theater is to Hollywood - an R-rated sitcom satire with some very funny jokes."
Associated Press - Recommended
"...Terrance McNally's play is not so much a love letter from a shy, smitten admirer as a mash note sent by a stalker who's written it in capital letters and smeared it with what may be bodily fluids. Whatever it is, it's a pure hoot, a rollicking comedy with perfect casting and deft direction in Jack O'Brien that gleefully dissects modern Broadway and doesn't pretend to mask its targets by using fake names. There are jokes about James Franco, Kelly Ripa, Alec Baldwin, Tommy Tune, Liza Minnelli, Shia LaBeouf - in legal trouble, of course - and snide comments about shows like Matilda the Musical and Mamma Mia! Ben Brantley, the powerful theater critic for The New York Times, is mentioned several times and even becomes the butt of a prank."
Hollywood Reporter - Recommended
"...The big draw is the reteaming of Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, the adored double-act who made the Mel Brooks musical The Producers a commercial juggernaut and demonstrated their box-office clout again in a 2005 revival of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple. But it's in Lane's dynamite early scenes with gifted newcomer Micah Stock that this funny if flimsy comedy really fires on all cylinders, while Broderick underwhelms in a key role."
Variety - Recommended
"...At the heart of the humor is the sublime narcissism of the professional players and their honest conviction that nothing matters except the theater. Certainly not those real-life horrors reported on the television news shows that James impatiently cuts off while waiting for Roma Torres' all-important TV review from NY1. So laugh if you must - and you really must laugh at McNally's unquenchable wit - but those sloppy-kiss tributes to the theater delivered by Peter and James are deeply felt and honestly moving. And if you don't share the gooey sentiments, you really shouldn't be at this show."
Entertainment Weekly - Recommended
"...Director Jack O'Brien's production reteams Tony winners Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, who these days pack a bigger punch at the box office than in terms of natural onstage chemistry. The two play old friends-Lane as an actor who's passed up the lead role in the play-within-a-play to continue his hit TV series, and Broderick as the anxious playwright whose first big hit was a star-making vehicle for Lane's character. But while Lane commands the stage with his quippy narcissism (abetted by some of McNally's strongest meta-jokes), Broderick continues his recent run of stiff, somnambulent, and overly mannered stage performances. The energy and pace of the show deflate whenever he opens his mouth. Worse, he's saddled with some of the lengthiest speeches in the show, overly earnest paeans to the theater and Why It Matters. (Even his quips, like one about an imagined revival of Chekhov's The Three Sisters starring the Kardashians, don't so much land as disintegrate on impact.)"
Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...Fine, so this is a comedy. As directed by Jack O'Brien, it is also a depressingly uneven production. The first scene, which takes place between the immaculate Lane, who is superb, and the one no-name in the cast, Micah Stock - having a career-making moment playing a newbie to Broadway and thus the guy serving the drinks - sparkles with pleasures. You think you're in for a great night. Channing, playing a washed-up Hollywood actress, is similarly entertaining. Mullally, playing the standard-issue rich producer, gets off some corkers. We all are having fun."
