The musical heads to Broadway following runs at London’s Kiln and Criterion Theatres. Here’s what the critics have had to say…
The New York Times: “As gleefully as the musical follows the formula of the rom-com genre, it also has a welcome comfort with ambiguity and, stashed up its sleeve, some psychological bombs. The action floats along so comfortably, both in and out of song, that it seems odd to interrupt that momentum with an intermission. But the second act brings a stark shift in tone, getting darker for a while before rebounding with great silliness and gratifying sympathy.”
New York Theater.me: “On stage, Tutty and Pitts dance with great joy, as if they’re having fun – indeed, with an exaggerated, almost self-mocking panache that feels at times as if they are playing at being adults. I’m not sure this is what director and choreographer Tim Jackson intends, but if so, it would fit their characters. (Their age and station in life may help explain the appeal of the show among theatergoers who appeared to be mostly in their twenties.)”
Vulture: “As you grow, you do the hard work of parting with the vision of the world you had in your head. That’s a dynamic repeated throughout Two Strangers. Dougal is learning to give up both his idealized image of a foreign city and the relationship with his father he thinks he could re-ignite during this trip, and Robin learns to abandon the myth she’s telling herself about her own failure. When the show’s creators zero in on those feelings, something a lot more specific and wistful than a love story between two strangers, the piece comes alive. If only it stayed there.”
Theatrely.com: “My heart is a generally open one, and I did not walk away from Two Strangers fuming about the state of modern musical theater. It has an agreeableness that will offend no one, and will surely charm many. But I should’ve known from its twee little title that this would not be for me, and I was unfortunately correct. You have to trust your gut, sometimes, whether with love or desserts. The results will come out eventually.”
Entertainment Weekly: “The same could probably be said of the entire romantic comedy genre, but when you have the right stars and the right songs, it doesn’t really matter. If it works, it works. And Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) definitely works.”
Talkin’ Broadway: “Director/choreographer Tim Jackson (he choreographed the recent Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along) keeps the lid on both the slickness and the treacliness and allows a surprising degree of honesty to shine through. The songs are far better than the typical pop scores we have been fed in heavy doses elsewhere, while doing the job of revealing the characters and moving the plot along. One standout is the opening number, a tribute to the Big Apple and titled, simply, “New York.” It is catchy enough to give “Empire State of Mind” a run for the money.”
The New York Post: “That’s not to say the musical by the writing team of Jim Barne and Kit Buchan is lousy. “Two Strangers” is never less than likable. But I simply cannot imagine it working nearly as well without its extraordinary male lead.”
1 Minute Critic.com: “Some may find Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) a pleasant enough holiday confection, but as Robin says to Dougal to squelch his movie fantasy of NYC, “You know how much it costs to go for dinner in midtown Manhattan? To see a Broadway show? New York is just money, that’s all it is.””
The Wrap.com: “A new rom-com musical begins promisingly but loses its way somewhere between JFK Airport and midtown Manhattan.”
New York Theatre Guide: “Two Strangers could have sunk into treacly territory, but it stays afloat on a banter-filled book and twinkling contemporary score by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan. While the lyrics aren’t groundbreaking, the sonorous ballads play to the stratosphere even when patter songs register as clunky. In less competent hands, this modest musical (one that could play well in smaller theatres) would drag at two hours, but luckily, Two Strangers intersperses its reveals with stirring emotion and rich humor.”
New York Stage Review: **** “But it’s Tutty who’s the revelation. Coming across like a younger, more lovable James Corden, he’s so endlessly winning that he has the audience on his side from the moment he bursts onstage. He also becomes an instant frontrunner in the Tony race for Best Actor in a Musical.”
To find out more visit: https://twostrangersmusical.com/