In an era of presidential mug shots, Capitol riots, and the bizarre antics of Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, this fifty-five-year-old spoof struggles to keep up. If you're eager to be reminded of the Kennedy family's nepotistic practices or Lyndon Johnson's habit of picking up his pet beagles by their ears, this is the show for you. If you're bewildered by punch lines about Spiro T. Agnew and the credibility gap, you've dropped in at the wrong polling station. And remember: Eugene McCarthy has nothing to do with Kevin McCarthy.
Read more

“ ‘How to Steal an Election’ doesn't always court logic, and its 90 minutes feel a bit longer than that, but it's a valuable look at then and now, the political similarities and dis-, set to a most listenable score. Meanwhile, the 2024 election is already upon us, and there's every possibility that someone will try to steal it. Luckily, they won't learn much about how to do that here.”
Read more

While the misnamed "How to Steal an Election: A Dirty Politics Musical" is no lost masterpiece and at times seems long, it is a diverting political revue which offers an interesting take on the political campaigns of the last 180 years. With the charming Jason Graae at the helm, the rest of the talented cast keeps the show rolling merrily along. New faces Emma Degerstedt, Alex Joseph Grayson, Courtney Arango, Kelly Berman and Drew Tanabe demonstrate that they should have very successful and acclaimed careers before them from their work here.
Read more

“If you like your musical theater in the form of a history lesson then there’s a lot that a relic like ’How To Steal an Election’ can offer”
Read more

“The script’s funny, with a plethora of quick one-liners, and laughs throughout the evening...The songs are wonderful, and everyone on stage is a powerhouse. Degerstedt and Grayson have the range and chemistry that made an audience member point out, as they left the theater...Yes, the show felt a little heavy-handed, and a little dated. But it’s a great effort, and for a great cause.”
Read more

With the subtitle “A Dirty Politics Musical,” the York’s latest revival certainly has a timely subject, and its fifteen musical numbers are an eclectic mix of old campaign ditties and original songs – ballads, Sousa-type marches, waltzes, jazzy tunes — by Oscar Brand, who was a folksinger-songwriter and celebrated radio host. But “How to Steal An Election” is largely a historic curiosity -- a polite way of saying dated.
Read more