"A lot to manage, and—despite the efforts of a uniformly strong cast—the struggle shows. The skillful score is full of appealing melodies, interesting harmonies and neatly written lyrics. But Ward is more adept as a songwriter than as a book writer; despite some good jokes, his ambitious musical is unwieldy. Good musicals are all about solid construction. Had the book of this show been Michelangelo’s scaffold, he would have fallen to the Sistine Chapel floor."
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"Schiralli helms this ambitious production with a firm hand…The drawback to the production is that it's actually a triptych of musicals that have been shoehorned together a bit too snugly. Each segment, in fact, would come into sharper focus if it breathed in its own dramatic space. That being said, Ward surely knows how to pick meaty material…This new musical, though overstuffed, is one funny look at the great things that have gone awry with masterpieces-in-progress."
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"'The Ballad of God' is interesting, but it’s long and the pace dawdles; the music is chirpy but uninspired…In 'The Ludovico Technique' the music is gorgeous and inspired…It is far and away the strongest and most moving act of the night…The last piece, 'Intervention!' is comical and all too short…I was sorry it ended so quickly…Director Michael Schiralli does a great job with his terrific cast, and has some inventive and quirky staging…All in all, an enjoyable, quirky evening."
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“In the best Broadway style, Director Michael Schiralli opens and closes the show with a high-energy bang, and everything in between is also fully entertaining, smart, and funny. Each member of the cast plays multiple roles and distinguishes well between the tongue-in-cheek characterizations of the iconic creators...While the premise of ‘Take One’ is that not everything is right the first time around, this show comes pretty close. Let there be a second take, beyond the short run in FringeNYC!”
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"A laugh-out-loud irreverent trio…There is a good truckload of wit in the rhymes and jokes and panache in the melodies, thanks to the triple-threat talent of Jeff Ward as composer, lyricist, and bookwriter…This show shows much potential as a true audience-pleaser, and with some tweaks and tightening, and getting fleshed out with sets and more choreography and sparkle, we might have a hit…And certainly, clever songwriter/scriptwriter Jeff Ward will be a name to remember and follow."
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