Once in a while you go to a Broadway show and leave so completely entertained that you can hardly believe your luck. If you don’t already know, the basic plot premise is that Phil Connors (Andy Karl) is an irritable, obnoxious weatherman sent to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to cover Phil, the groundhog, and his shadow prediction for spring. But something happens and he wakes up to face February 2nd again and again. I vaguely remember liking the movie on which this show is based and I am a big fan of Andy Karl’s previous work (On the Twentieth Century, Rocky, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Legally Blonde). His performance (acting, singing, clowning, being an asshole) is astonishingly great and he is onstage nearly the whole show.
I would rather not give too many details, just go. Groundhog Day is a combination of inventive set design (Rob Howell), a very funny book (Danny Rubin), clever lyrics (Matilda‘s Tim Minchin, another winner) and direction (Matthew Warchus) that tightly packs in so much hilarity throughout. Importantly, this entire cast was stellar and memorable no matter what the size of the role. If you want to attend a big Broadway show, be wildly entertained and leave completely in awe of the talent that created and performs this finely tuned machine, then Groundhog Day is a must-see.
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