The reviews for Groundhog Day are in, and the critics are conflicted. Based on the classic 1993 Harold Ramis film starring the legendary Bill Murray, this new musical seems to borrow the premise of the film but adapt the style to fit the Broadway stage…a fitting move to some, a damning move to others. The one item of agreement is the brilliance of Andy Karl’s performance as the central character, Phil Connors. Though different from Bill Murray’s portrayal, Karl brings a unique energy that offers its own rewards. Many find Tim Minchin’s songs and Matthew Warchus’s direction to be as clever and thoughtful here as for Matilda, though the critics aren’t in total agreement there. Overall, the musical shows off some brilliant imagination and stage work, offering fun of its own – even if not the same fun as the film.
NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW OF GROUNDHOG DAY
Repetition is an art of infinite variety as it’s practiced by Andy Karl in “Groundhog Day,” the dizzyingly witty new musical from the creators of “Matilda.” Portraying a man doomed to relive a single day over and over and over again in a small town that becomes his custom-fitted purgatory, Mr. Karl is so outrageously inventive…
TIME OUT NEW YORK REVIEW OF GROUNDHOG DAY
The meta way to review Groundhog Day would be to repeat the same sarcastic, nit-picking paragraph three or four times before softening up and saying aw, heckfire, it’s great!—thus breaking the spell of grouchy repetition. And while there are likeable, inspired elements in this musical adaptation of the great Bill Murray movie…
NBC NEW YORK REVIEW OF GROUNDHOG DAY
The creators of “Matilda” have worked their magic all over again. And again. “Groundhog Day,” now open at the August Wilson Theatre, is a textured, twisted and ticklish comic musical from composer Tim Minchin and director Matthew Warchus. The book is by Danny Rubin, who also co-wrote the screenplay to the 1993 film starring Bill…
CHICAGO TRIBUNE REVIEW OF GROUNDHOG DAY
When it comes to credible depictions of small-town Pennsylvania, “Groundhog Day the Musical” is about as veracious as a woodchuck named Phil is a qualified rodent meteorologist. This British import to Broadway — staged by people for whom small-town America is a typology, rather than a collection of souls — is more Whoville than…
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY REVIEW OF GROUNDHOG DAY
Over the past 24 years, Groundhog Day has proven itself to have a surprisingly long tail. When the film was released on Feb. 12, 1993, it was regarded as little more than a better-than-average Bill Murray comedy about an arrogant TV weatherman forced by the cosmos to relive the same day over and over…and over again. Since then…
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