On The Town at Lyric Theatre

The New York Times - Recommended

"...And now, a show about sex that you can take the whole family to: the kids, the grandparents, even your sister the nun. That idea may sound kind of creepy, or (worse) dreary. But I assure you that the jubilant revival of On the Town, which opened Thursday night at the Lyric Theater, is anything but. On the contrary, this merry mating dance of a musical feels as fresh as first sunlight as it considers the urgent quest of three sailors to find girls and get, uh, lucky before their 24-hour shore leave is over."

NY Daily News - Highly Recommended

"...The cast is top-to-bottom excellent. In sailor suits and stripped to their skivvies, Johnson and Alves are adorable and able-bodied. Umphress adds sass and brass as the go-for-it taxi driver, and Stanley is delicious as the oversexed scientist. Jackie Hoffman is a hoot-and-a-half playing a boozy voice teacher and a few more small roles."

Associated Press - Highly Recommended

"...The webs have been swept away, the comic book villains are long gone and even the name of the theater has changed. So what better way to bid farewell to the doomed Spider-Man musical at the re-christened Lyric Theatre than with a pure American classic? An exuberant, dazzling revival of On the Townm> opened Thursday, filling Broadway's biggest theater with big, crowd-pleasing dance numbers, lavish and clever visuals and superb performances from a massive cast. It's simply a helluva show. The 1944 romance-chasing romp by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green - later made into a film with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra - has been celebrated by director John Rando and choreographer Joshua Bergasse, who have filled this lighter-than-air confection with helium."

Hollywood Reporter - Recommended

"...A glorious 28-piece orchestra playing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in front of a giant American flag safety curtain has the audience on its feet before On the Town gets started. But it's the jagged blasts of brass, the languorously bluesy romantic ballads and the exuberant comedy numbers of Leonard Bernstein's jazzy score that make this vibrant Broadway revival such transporting entertainment. Then there's the dancing, with ballet interludes that mark the groundbreaking 1944 show as a distinctive hybrid. If the humor in Betty Comden and Adolph Green's book veers into cornball, who's complaining when the production packs so much charm?"

NBC New York - Highly Recommended

"...Of all the musicals of its generation, "On the Town" has never received the same level of praise as some of its contemporaries from, say, Cole Porter or Rodgers & Hammerstein. But 70 years after its premiere, Rando's glorious revival reminds you just what a gem of a piece it is. This is one walk down memory lane you'll want to take."