The reviews for Gigi are in, and most of the critics agree that this revival’s pretty surface fails to totally cover the weaknesses just underneath. Originally a novella by Colette, then a 1958 Lerner and Loewe film, and then a 1973 Broadway bust, the latest version features a revised book by Heidi Thomas that aims to modernize the tale but ends up sterilizing it. Vanessa Hudgens, known from “High School Musical,” brings brightness to the title role and sings her songs with sparkle, but misses the mark emotionally. The supporting cast is strong and the scenery and costumes are impressive, but in the end, this revival of Gigi just lacks a heart and a soul and wears a bit too much make-up.
NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW
A shower of soap bubbles descends upon the audience at the finale of the pretty and pleasant revival of the musical “Gigi” that opened at the Neil Simon Theater on Wednesday. The gentle downpour is meant to evoke the fizz in a glass of Champagne, the delights of which have been celebrated in one of the bounciest …
TIME OUT NEW YORK REVIEW
Champagne, as Gigi reminds us, “is not actually a force of nature, but the result of industrial chemistry!” Neither natural force nor chemistry, alas, is much in evidence at this fizzless toast to Parisian romance in the Belle Époque. Based on a story by Colette, and its 1958 film adaptation by Alan Jay Lerner and …
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER REVIEW
Given her famously ambivalent acquaintanceship with Coco Chanel, it seems possible that novelist Colette might be rolling her eyes, if not quite rolling over in her grave at Père Lachaise Cemetery, upon discovering that double-G T-shirts mimicking the interlocking-C Chanel logo are being sold at the merchandise …
HUFFINGTON POST REVIEW
NBC NEW YORK REVIEW
Vanessa Hudgens brings verve and vivacity to a reimagined version of the classic musical “Gigi”—a production equally memorable for its rich contributions from Tony winner Victoria Clark, as the carefree young girl’s indulgent grandmother. “Gigi” has just opened at the Neil Simon Theatre, following a world premiere …
Broadway Musical Blog 