I have experienced boredom in the theater before. New York, New York is not necessarily a bad show. Nor is it a particularly good one. The first act is akin to sitting through a marathon. If you go, standing at intermission will be a glorious relief. Is the second act better? Not enough to change the headline: Boring!
This musical is somewhat based on the flop 1977 film starring Liza Minelli and Robert DeNiro. The title song has since become a well-known classic. Here it is the final number and is a rousing finale. There are also other moments to enjoy in between the uninspired dullness of a very expensive Broadway production.
All the principals in this cast were enjoyable. Their storylines in David Thompson and Sharon Washington’s book are a mishmash of Big Apple dreams in post-WWII New York City. There are too many of them, they don’t coalesce into a cohesive whole and everything is flat. You enjoy the performers because they are good. You don’t care very much about the predictable story arcs which unfold.
The star-crossed lovers are Jimmy Doyle (Colton Ryan) and Francine Evans (Anna Uzele). He’s a musician and she’s a singer. A Star is Born is the blueprint. There’s a producer (Ben Davis) with mischief on his mind which causes a very hard to believe conflict in Act II. Will love between this surprisingly well-handled interracial relationship prevail? Start spreading the news.
The Diaz family are the immigrants in this melting pot. Mom Sofia (Janet Dacal) is married to an abusive man (Leo Montezuma). There is a par for the course gay subplot concerning their son (Angel Sigala). A Jewish violinist progidy (Oliver Prose) wants to go to Julliard. Will Madame Veltri (understudy Wendi Bergamini in the performance I saw) take him on as a student while she deals with her own traumas?
More characters fill this overstuffed melodrama. Jimmy’s sidekicks help him focus, including a memorable Clyde Alves as his best friend. Ensemble member Jim Borstelmann plays a slew of funny minor characters. Director and Choreographer Susan Stroman gives her large cast lots and lots people to play. Towards the end of this slog a pregnant woman and her husband cross the stage. There are millions of stories in the big city. Most of them are on this stage.
Beowulf Boritt’s scenic design won a Tony. The skyscraper scene is incredible both visually and contains the show’s most exciting number. The set contains many backdrops and voluminous scene changes. That may be one of the issues contributing to the boredom factor. Little dribbles of filler are everywhere connecting the not overly interesting storylines.
New York, New York is not bad just very, very boring. I enjoyed the entire cast, especially the leads. Mr. Ryan’s quirky and varied character was particularly fun to watch. The Kander and Ebb score from the film was supplemented by songs from their catalogue as well as an assist from Lin-Manuel Miranda. “Let’s Hear It For Me” from Funny Lady was a nice surprise. I remembered that movie as I was listening. That is not ideal.