“In trying to achieve a balance among its various styles, the musical’s book never solved the problem of being too many things at once...That’s pretty much the dichotomy of ‘Wholesale,’ runny then hard-boiled. It’s hard to know how to crack it.”
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“Weidman’s book (now revised by his son, John Weidman) and Rome’s score often seem at odds with each other, and the show's intended tone is frequently unclear. While the show is increasingly aware of Bogen’s dubiousness, there’s a jovial quality to the music that doesn’t gel with the seriousness of a story about misplaced racial and class trauma fueling cutthroat ambition.”
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“No, we’ll probably never see ‘I Can Get It for You Wholesale’ again after this, and certainly not with a cast like the one Cullman has assembled. And you know, that’s probably fine. Because this one? Dayenu.”
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“For all its original qualities, Harold Rome's rangy, ambitious score sometimes feels caught between a sour, trenchant reality and those bright Broadway lights...Still, it's hard not to be grateful for Trip Cullman's driving production with its cast of Broadway regulars (here giving their regards to 13th Street, home of CSC)…This new, rather more intimate, version bids fair to give the show a berth in the musical theatre repertory, where it rightfully belongs. If all musical also-rans were this good, the theatre would be a much, much happier place.”
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“With astute direction by Trip Cullman, this ‘Wholesale’ deftly balances the exceedingly dark overtones with the lighter musical comedy conventions.”
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“The current bittersweet backward glance, as directed by Trip Cullman and choreographed by Ellenore Scott, is so keen-eyed that it instantly qualifies as a rediscovery to reckon with. That’s not only because it looks like a billion bucks when compared to some of the low-standard musicals unfurled these days but because it has the musical goods by the clothing-rackful.”
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“A final, potentially controversial note: Color-blind casting is clearly here to stay, and with very good reason. But the casting of two Black performers as Harry’s love interests, one of whom is clearly Jewish, proves more distracting than productive in this show depicting a very distinct ethnic milieu. Discuss among yourselves.”
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“ A crosscurrent of compelling themes run fast and deep in the turbulent, terrific revival of ‘I Can Get It For You Wholesale’...this 1962 musical boasts a passionate ensemble of thirteen actors, a vigorous six-piece orchestra, and a protagonist you’ll absolutely love and loathe at the same time.”
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