[title of show] Broadway Opening Review Excerpts

Here are some excerpts from reviews about [title of show]'s Opening Night on Broadway!!!

From an article in the New York Times:

As a performer, Mr. Bell has a cuddly, golly-gee manner that is endearing. In contrast Mr. Bowen takes a more businesslike approach, which includes an obsessive need to correct his friend’s every grammatical lapse. Ms. Blackwell’s idiosyncratic humor is a distinct asset. Learning that the authors have earned a lot of attention from an Internet video promoting the show, she cracks, “I’m gonna go onYouTube and announce that I want a golden pony.”

The cheery Ms. Blickenstaff is the strongest singer in the cast, and the only one to have appeared on Broadway previously, mostly as an understudy. If “[title of show]” has a purpose larger than mere diversion, it is to expose the obstacles — internal and external — that artists on the fringes of the business claw past every day to keep their aim true and their egos from imploding. Ms. Blackwell keeps having to remind her friends that she can’t be hanging out brainstorming or rehearsing all day because she actually has to earn a living as an office manager. Later she leads a funny, pointed song, “Die Vampire, Die!,” about the specter of self-doubt that visits all struggling artists in the wee hours — and the not so wee ones, too.

From an article on Newsday.com:

Created and performed by two self-described "nobodies in New York," the first entry of the new season is a clever and often adorable little invention about writing a musical about two nobodies writing a musical while performing the musical. Got that?

The title is what composer Jeff Bowen and author Hunter Bell - both show-biz obsessives - called this meta-project while filling out the application form for the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2004. The men and their two self-described "secondary characters" - Heidi Blickenstaff and Susan Blackwell - were a hit at the festival and Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre in 2006.

Their inside-baseball humor, their sardonic attitude and their Cinderella story arrive at the creators' mainstream fantasy fulfillment with a passionate fan base, nurtured on the Internet by a come-on-along YouTube series about the show.

Everyone in Michael Berresse's production is quick and charming. The setup - four mismatched chairs, street clothes and a grimy rehearsal room - has a prepossessing anti-spectacle ordinariness. The show-tune pastiche - think Laura Nyro as interpreted by William Finn - is accompanied by the amusing Larry Pressgrove on a lone keyboard.

From an article in the Daily News:

The production's greatest asset remains its score. Bowen's melodies and harmonies are gems, and his bright lyrics offer insight into everything from self-doubt ("Die, Vampire, Die!") and friendship ("What Kind of Girl Is She?") to integrity ("Nine People's Favorite Thing").

The performers are great fun to hang out with for 90 minutes and as idiosyncratic as the title — especially the irresistibly offbeat Blackwell. Blickenstaff has girl-next-door charm, and her gorgeous voice soars on the soulful show-stopper "A Way Back to Then."

Michael Berresse's stage and dance experience shows in his vibrant direction and choreography, which puts imaginative spin on each number.

Way to go [title of show]! Check out the opening night greeting that In the Heights sent to [title of show] here -- which is extremely similar to the one [tos] sent In the Heights here.