Gettin’ the Band Back Together (NYC) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (367)
See it if You like spoof humor, such as Naked Gun
Don't see it if You want a thought provoking musical. This is show is dumb humor Read more
See it if You are looking to have a fun time out and not looking for anything profound. Reminiscent of Rock of Ages and School of Rock.
Don't see it if You are overly critical and looking for something more innovative/fresh. This is a fun show, but not overwhelmingly original.
See it if Funny, engaging, upbeat, entertaining. If you are an 80s kid you will love the music and the jersey jokes are on point.
Don't see it if You expect deep, thought provoking, edgy material in every show.
See it if You enjoy some laughter and fun light-hearted live music competition with an obvious ending.
Don't see it if You don't enjoy musicals or whimsical themed shows.
See it if I loved this musical! Original songs and story that resonates with the tristate crowd. I bought the soundtrack!
Don't see it if you don’t like musicals or new jersey
See it if You are a wanna be musician or singer
Don't see it if You don’t like to dream
See it if you like shows that bring fun and modern elements to the stage
Don't see it if you're not a fan of the "modern musical"
See it if you want to see how not to produce a Broadway show or happened upon a free ticket with nothing else to do.
Don't see it if you value your sanity and can get seats to anything else.
Critic Reviews (47)
"Empty-headed entertainment...Originality isn’t novelty, and the show is such a calculated rehash of a million tired tropes that it can best be described with Broadway math: 'School of Rock' plus 'The Fully Monty' divided by 'The Wedding Singer' — and multiplied by zero...Here the obviousness of the characters and the outcome of the plot give the songs almost nothing to do, and here I’m able to say that Mark Allen, who wrote the music and lyrics, is equal to the task."
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"A community-theater vanity production that has somehow surfaced at a Broadway house, it is schlocky at every turn. In essence the show is a fusion of 'Rock of Ages,' minus the hit songs, with 'The Full Monty,' minus the sincerity, charm, and character development...Aspires to a knowing attitude toward its own silliness...But it’s not sharp enough to pull off the gambit; you can’t tell if it’s winking or just has something weird in its eye. Even the show’s best bits get pounded flat."
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"'Gettin’ the Band Back Together' is marketing one of my least favorite kinds of fun: the sentimental myth of the 'do over'...Its writers seem to be laboring under the misconception that because something actually happened to you, it’s not a cliché. The play they’ve put together, from its plot to its sense of humor, feels like the theatrical equivalent of one of those movies that metastasizes out of a mis-chosen SNL sketch."
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"What it’s doing on Broadway is hard to figure, but the members of the cast of 'Gettin’ the Band Back Together' are so amiable that it’s not too unpleasant—up to a point—to spend an evening watching them tell corny jokes and sing Mark Allen’s lame but innocuous songs...While I certainly don’t recommend that you spend your own money on 'Gettin’ the Band Back Together,' it won’t kill you should you be forced to see it on somebody else’s dime."
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"The playful musical is more infectious than you might expect. Be warned, though: Enjoyment of 'Gettin’ The Band Back Together' will be in direct proportion to a tolerance for not-so-young guys making guitar faces and devil horn hand gestures for two and a half hours...Davenport’s book lets few jokes go unrepeated...And given the musical’s two-or-three year gestation period, director Rando had plenty of time to trim the repetitions."
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"Although simplistic by design, the script is funny without being hilarious, grooving along mainly on its many goofy throwaway lines...Nunes delivers a cool performance and a killer musical turn, and runs away with the show...Cheap laughs? You bet, but even cheap laughs count; and let’s admit it—it feels so good to laugh real laughs on Broadway."
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"Technically speaking the show isn't based on a pre-existing movie or literary property. But if there's one thing 'Gettin' the Band Back Together' isn't, it's original...To say that the humor is unsophisticated is an understatement...But some of the comic bits, both physical and verbal, are very amusing. You may find yourself laughing a lot, although you won't be proud of it afterwards...The score is strictly generic pop-rock but bouncy enough."
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"Sweaty, janky garbage fire...The plot feels like a bottom-shelf Ben Stiller–Owen Wilson vehicle from 2006, one that ranks below 'Little Fockers' at that...Klaitz, wild-eyed and roly-poly, gets a tacky but enjoyable Meat Loaf-ish wailer...Such moments, if there were more, could have saved the show, especially with a cast this appealing and given John Rando’s bright, comic staging. But there’s the music. Such crummy music."
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