The reviews for It Shoulda Been You are in, and there are too many appropriate “shoulda, coulda, woulda” jokes here to pick just one (so let’s just skip those altogether). The reviews for this new musical are not positive, and the critics clearly place blame on Barbara Anselmi (music, concept) and Brian Hargrove (book, lyrics). Tired, overused jokes, over-stereotyped characters, and unimaginative music combine to produce an evening you’re unlikely to brag about. Director David Hyde Pierce does his best with the material and so does the mostly veteran cast, but unfortunately there’s not much that can save a musical that the entire audience will likely feel like they’ve seen before. If you’re itching for jokes about Jews or just want a dark place to snuggle with your honey, head to the Brooks Atkinson Theater. Otherwise, steer clear.
NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW
As the father of the bride might put it, “Oy.” “It Shoulda Been You,” which opened on Tuesday night at the Brooks Atkinson Theater, confirms the sad truth that weddings — those supposed celebrations of everlasting love — bring out the worst in some people. That includes cynics, show-offs, heavy drinkers, envious …
The best way to enjoy the madcap, madly old-hat “It Shoulda Been You” is to pretend it’s a lost TV relic from the 1970s. The shortcomings of Brian Hargrove and Barbara Anselmi’s mossy new show, about an interfaith wedding gone awry, are easier to forgive through a lens of affectionate camp: the dated stereotypes …
That old popular-comedy chestnut “Abie’s Irish Rose” is given a modern twist in the new musical “It Shoulda Been You,” which plays like vintage dinner theater infused with a Borscht Belt sensibility. That it nonetheless manages to be truly amusing is a testament to the talent both on and offstage: such comic pros …
Something old, something new Something borrowed, something blue-ish. If you can predict that “blue-ish”–in the new musical, “It Shoulda Been You” – rhymes with something like “it’s true-ish when you’re Jewish,” then you’re two (or five) steps ahead of the authors. If it’s Jewish jokes you want, there’s a …
Broadway’s so-far stuffy spring season needed to loosen up, and relief arrives with the campy ensemble comedy “It Shoulda Been You.” Now open at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, the musical is notable as the Broadway directing debut of David Hyde Pierce, the “Frasier” star. “Shoulda” has a stock set-up: The Steinberg …
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