The musical had its world premiere at the St. James Theatre on Broadway with the first preview occurring on March 24, 2023. The cast, which was announced on February 1 of the same year, included Clyde Alves, Emily Skinner, and Janet Dacal.[3] It officially opened on April 26, 2023,[4] and closed on July 30, 2023, having played 33 previews and 110 regular performances.[5]
≠ - Not included on the cast recording but there is an included instrumental version as a bonus track
Cast Recording
On May 8, it was announced that the production would release a cast recording, which was released on June 23, 2023.[6] The recording also features five original demo recordings of "Can You Hear Me?" "Along Comes Love," "Wine and Peaches," and "New York, New York" by Lin-Manuel Miranda, John Kander, and Fred Ebb as well as an instrumental version of the title song.
Reception
The Broadway production received mixed to negative reviews from critics. As of May 2, 2023,[update] the theatre review aggregator Did They Like It? includes 14 reviews of the show, of which one is categorized as positive, six are categorized as mixed, and seven are categorized as negative.[7]
Writing in The New York Times, Elisabeth Vincentelli called the show "sprawling, unwieldy, [and] surprisingly dull", and criticized the new songs written for the production, saying they "lack Kander and Ebb's serrated edge".[8] Greg Evans of Deadline Hollywood praised the cast, particularly Ryan, but called the rest of the show "overstuffed" and criticized David Thompson and Sharon Washington's book as "predictable [and] cliché-loaded".[9] At Time Out New York, Adam Feldman gave the production three stars out five, writing that a number featuring "a tap bonanza for workers balanced on the beams of an uncompleted skyscraper" was "as good a metaphor as any for the musical as a whole", concluding, "there's a lot to enjoy if you don't look down".[10]
Robert Hofler of TheWrap was more positive, calling the first act "confused" but writing that the show "ultimately delivers its melting-pot message with intelligence, style and, yes, good old-fashioned razzle-dazzle".[11]
