The reviews for Gutenberg! The Musical are mostly positive, thanks in no small part to the immeasurable talent of Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad, reunited on Broadway for the first time since Book of Mormon. The show itself is silly, the songs intentionally terrible, and the props and set dressed down as can be, but with these boys on board, who cares!? Grab your hat and enjoy this two-hander at the James Earl Jones Theatre while you can.
New York Times Review of Gutenberg! The Musical
I know we could all use a good laugh nowadays. But would you settle for a thousand chuckles? Because that’s what “Gutenberg! The Musical!” is offering. In the two-man, 20-character skit of a show that opened Thursday evening on Broadway, the jokes are abundant, interchangeable and lightweight: comedy as packing peanuts. If that suggests an inconsequential payload, well, perhaps consequential was not what the writers, Scott Brown and Anthony King, and the director, Alex Timbers, were after. Silliness crossed with satire seems to be their target, and with the help of two expert farceurs, Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells, they do hit the silliness bull’s-eye. The satire, I’m not so sure. … Gad and Rannells, a Mutt and Jeff team since they starred in “The Book of Mormon” in 2011, couldn’t be better. … Together they land every joke. But with more than two hours of can-you-bottom-this yucks, it’s exhausting work — for them and for us.
Deadline Review of Gutenberg! The Musical
When Gutenberg! The Musical! debuted Off Broadway 17 years ago, critics wondered whether it was ready for Broadway. Perhaps they should have asked whether Broadway was ready for Gutenberg! All these years later, the answer to both is yes. Not only has the musical been fine-tuned and shined-up, but a Shucked-era Broadway is clearly in the mood for some absurdly silly good fun. … Gutenberg! is a gleefully self-aware theater parody that’s smart enough to tickle the aficionados and flat-out funny enough to bring in outsiders. Few in either group will long remember the pastiche score, but even fewer will get through the show’s impeccably performed tunes without smiling.
Variety Review of Gutenberg! The Musical
The real fun, however — and there is much of it — lies in simply watching Gad and Rannells run riot, riff with each other, play with the audience, and just have a grand old time once again playing sweet, deluded dreamers. With their simpatico rhythms, the two demonstrate the art of great comedic pairings: Rannells’ tightly-wound, cool earnestness perfectly counterbalances Gad’s hot-mess of anxieties. … In the end, it’s not “Gutenberg” the show but rather this odd coupling of comedic pals, both on stage and off, that delights. Hats off to them.
TimeOut Review of Gutenberg! The Musical
Rannells and Gad work so well off each other’s strengths that Gutenberg! makes you want to see them in a revival of The Producers. Though Doug is the gay one of the team, Rannells mostly plays it relatively straight; physically graceful and a bit of a control freak—you can occasionally catch him mouthing lines when Bud speaks—he plays the central role of the hardy Gutenberg… Meanwhile, Gad’s more excitable Bud capers around him and shows off his impressive range, both comic and vocal, in juicier side roles like a hateful flower girl and an evil, growling monk. … Affection is the key that opens the show’s comedy: You feel for Doug and Bud, and even root for them. As stupid as their historical musical may be, you can’t deny that they’ve got heart.
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