"This latest incarnation of 'Torch Song'...finds an irresistibly compelling gravity beneath the glibness...Kaufman and Urie make sure we see the vital links between camp comic postures and the genuine fear and pain that lie beneath...Urie and Ruehl take the show to a level of emotional truthfulness that makes objections to ungainly construction feel beside the point...Kaufman’s stirring production propels an ostensible period piece into a vibrant present."
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"A welcome and well-assembled revival of Fierstein’s plangently funny and touching play...Director Moisés Kaufman’s production retools it effectively for its new star, the different but very appealing Michael Urie...Kaufman works hard to dispel any scent of schmaltz, sometimes to somewhat dry effect; the central fight between Arnold and his Ma gets a little buried. But the overall approach seems right: It gently and lovingly tends to Fierstein’s flame."
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"Fierstein could have been a bit more merciless...'Torch Song' starts to lose steam by the end of the night. But here’s the good news: For the most part, the production feels like a case of too much of a pretty good thing. It’s charming, intelligent, and, at 40 years old, often strikingly fresh...Urie is making the character undeniably his own...It isn’t that 'Torch Song' never feels dated...But the third act’s raw, desperate explosions between mother and son feel powerfully present."
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"The only thing wrong with Second Stage’s revival, which has been very effectively directed by Moisés Kaufman, is Mr. Urie, a fine actor who is miscast as Mr. Fierstein...Mr. Urie is a whiny, slimmed-down one-note version of Arnold, thus putting him at a hopeless disadvantage when he goes up against Ruehl...It’s full of bright nuggets of truth that get lost among the punch lines. Does it still come off? Absolutely, and not just as a period piece, either."
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"New but not exactly fresh. It builds humorously if haltingly, through performances that push too hard...Uneven direction...The physical humor never quite works. But the hollerfest is pungent, and it’s amazing, too...Urie skates across Arnold’s words...Ruehl is fiery and on top of her game...One element he’s given surprisingly short shrift in this revision is that wrenching music...That’s what’s just off-the-mark here. What’s missing isn’t the trilogy, it’s a torch."
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"This pioneering but patchy comedy-drama of gay life and love still draws laughs and tears...The new production shows off the play’s strengths. That includes great one-liners, graceful touches and daring...But it can’t mask weaknesses of this deeply sentimental work...Urie isn't a perfect fit either...The play is an open-hearted howl for acceptance and authenticity — no apologies. The characterization...is self-sabotaging. It muffles this 'Torch Song.'"
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“An affectionate if ill-considered revival…As imperfectly directed here by Moises Kaufman, Urie has made little attempt to make the role of Arnold his own…The trimmed-down show has kept its basic storyline but lost some of its grace notes…Arnold’s story is as sweet as ever…Does this history piece hold up? Yes, in the sense that the show is kind to its characters and true to its dated sensibilities. No, in the sense that the characters are unbelievably sweet and its sensibilities are dated.”
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"In Second Stage's choppy revival, director Moises Kaufman and star Michael Urie battle against that past association by inflating the lead role into an emphatic caricature...Without Fierstein's own unique brand of big-hearted, sloppy sentimentality inhabiting the central character, 'Torch Song' is a more pallid ballad, bittersweet and frequently funny but lacking the vitality to fully sustain its two-hour-40-minute run time."
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