Review Roundup: THE KING’S CRITIQUE Opens Off-Broadway

The new musical comedy The King’s Critique has officially opened at the Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center. The King’s Critique is a delightful, demented, wholly original musical from Nat Zegree and Eric Holmes that’s more infectious than the plague and more fun than a magnificent ship full of gay men and Patti LuPone.

King Benjamin decrees that women are strictly forbidden from performing onstage. Josephine is determined to change that, and she hatches an elaborate plan with playboy tenor Sebastian… but if you’ve ever seen theater people try to execute any sort of plan, you can guess what happens next. “Bridgerton” meets “South Park” in this gloriously inappropriate new musical comedy.

With music and lyrics by Nat Zegree and book and lyrics by Eric Holmes, The King’s Critique is directed by Catie Davis. The complete cast features Taylor Iman Jones, Sky Lakota-Lynch, Justin Collette, Donna Lynne Champlin, Matthew Patrick Quinn, Gabi Carrubba, Gilbert L. Bailey II, Bridget Beirne, Nick Cearley, Christian Fary, Timothy Matthew Flores, Amy Jo Jackson, Kamal Lado, Johanna Moise, Geena Quintos, and Justin Sudderth. The company understudies are Kyrie Courter, Brandon Stonestreet, and Ryan Everett Wood.

Check out what the critiques are saying about the new musical…

Austin Fimmano, New York Theatre Guide: Despite the narrow stage, The King’s Critique’s shining moments are its big ensemble numbers, which manage to feel like something out of an old movie musical like Singin’ in the Rain, Mary Poppins, or even The Pirates of Penzance. With a cast so talented, it’s hard not to get swept up in the infectious joy they’re delivering on stage — never more evident than in songs like “Women” or the title track. Whatever else may be said about it, The King’s Critique is a musical that first and foremost champions a love of theatre, and that’s something to celebrate in itself.

Zachary Stewart, Theatremania: Holmes and Zegree obviously want to satirize the tyranny of the royal homosexuals—the producers, casting agents, artistic directors, and (gulp) critics who dictate taste in the theater. Truly, it is a rich source of material worthy of satire. But try as they might (and they try so hard) the writers never strike comedic gold, suffering from a deadly combination of unsharpened tools and poor aim.

James Wilson, Talkin’ Broadway: Holmes and Zegree’s songs blend pop and musical theatre, and although they tend toward the generic, they are overall appealing. The second-act showstopper, “The Gem of Arcanum Vitae,” is a story song that is reminiscent of Stephen Schwartz’s “Meadowlark.” I couldn’t quite follow the empowering message of the lyric (and for some reason a seal from the sea plays a part in it), but in Jones’s thrilling, take-no-prisoners delivery, it doesn’t matter. There are a few similar moments in The King’s Critique that made me sit up and hope for more of the same. In the longueurs, though, I fancied myself like the titular monarch, casting judgement on a show that had royally squandered its potential.

Thom Geier, Culture Sauce: There’s a good deal of talent wasted on this unruly royal mess of a show. The creators, no strangers to theater history given all the shout-outs to Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Hamlet, etc., seem not to have absorbed the storied advice to creatives to “kill your babies.” In the case of The King’s Critique, that would mean finding a razor-wielding Sweeney Todd to run roughshod through Miss Hannigan’s orphanage until less than half are left standing. At least that would be a start.

Average Rating: 55.0%