Bullets Over Broadway – Location, Tickets, Reviews
Woody Allen’s 1994 comedy about hapless artists and menacing mobsters coming together to put on a show has been adapted into a splashy Broadway musical. With direction and peppy choreography by Susan Stroman and a score of early jazz numbers, Bullets Over Broadway is Allen’s first stab at a stage musical.
Maxamoo
Susan Stroman knows a little something about adapting legendary film comedies for the stage. Her biggest hit, The Producers, took a beloved Mel Brooks movie and shot it full of irresistible Broadway fizz. One might expect the same from her take on Woody Allen, but Bullets Over Broadway is a letdown. Though all the right pieces seem to be in place – a catchy score of reworked standards, a solid cast, and a smiling, tap-dancing energy – Bullets Over Broadway is listless. The jokes fall flat, the story is tedious, and (perhaps most perplexing) it doesn’t feel like Woody Allen. The wry, neurotic energy that made the film work is missing at the St. James Theater.
The cast is the saving grace of Bullets Over Broadway. Zach Braff affably plays David, a two-bit playwright who gets a chance at Broadway after a mob boss bankrolls David’s newest play as a vehicle for his vulgar, erotic dancing girlfriend. Marin Mazzie does a fine job as Helen Sinclair, an aging Broadway diva (a role that earned Diane Weist an Oscar for the film). But by far the best reason to see this show is Nick Cordero, who is fierce, funny, and eminently likable as a hit man named Cheech. Cordero, nominated for a Tony in this role, is so good that his absence is palpable whenever he’s not onstage.
If you’re eager for a musical comedy, get a cheap ticket to see Cordero alone. Otherwise, we’re pretty sure Bullets Over Broadway is on Netflix.
Critics’ Review
The critics were perplexed by Bullets Over Broadway. Most acknowledge that the show should work but the jokes are corny and it lacks a sense of fun.
New York Times
The chanteuse and the Gun Are Loaded
New York Post
‘Bullets over Broadway’ is a Sterling Musical Comedy
Variety
Susan Stroman’s energetic direction almost compensates for a weak book and a few key miscastings in Woody Allen’s showbiz tuner.
New York Daily News
Good dance numbers in the Woody Allen musical don’t offset the uninspired use of old songs, or the blah performances by Zach Braff and Helene Yorke
Hollywood Reporter
“Flat where it should be frothy, the show is a watered-down champagne cocktail that too seldom gets beyond its recycled jokes and second-hand characterizations to assert an exciting new identity.”
New York Magazine
Misfires in Bullets Over Broadway
TICKETS
$49 – $252 (click here for tickets)
DATES
Open Run
LOCATION
St. James Theatre
246 W 44th Street
New York City
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RUNNING TIME
2 hours 45 minutes, one intermission
CAST & CREW
(partial list)
Written by Woody Allen
Based on the screenplay by Woody Allen and Douglas McGrath
Directed and Choreographed by Susan Stroman
Featuring Brooks Ashmanskas, Zach Braff, Nick Cordero, Marin Mazzie, Vincent Pastore, Betsy Wolfe, Helene Yorke