Mr. Saturday Night is the story of Buddy Young Jr., an outrageous and outspoken comedian who found fame, if not fortune, in the early days of television. Now, some 40 years after his TV career flamed out, Buddy seeks one more shot at the spotlight, and while he's at it, one last shot at fixing the family he fractured along the way.
As it turned out, Mr. Saturday Night was perfect to watch on a Sunday afternoon. It's billed as a musical comedy, but really it feels like an amiable comedy with some songs scattered on it, like icing sugar on a light sponge. Its star Billy Crystal wrote the book with Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel; the music is by Jason Robert Brown, and lyrics by Amanda Green. The show is a ranging 2 hours and 40 minutes (opening Wednesday night at the Nederlander Theatre, booking to Sept. 4), but in the spirit of many good things on stage, it does not dawdle under John Rando's easy-as-it-goes direction, instead ambling pleasantly and un-challengingly along at its own pace.
To underline Crystal's powers the colorful Brown and Green have written 'Any Man But Me.' Though more than vocally acceptable throughout. the show's star (no understudy listed) brings this eleven o'clock number off with expanding fortitude. He delivers it as if this final quarter of the musical is the one he's truly pleased to be headlining. Is it going too far to suggest Crystal might someday make a terrific Uncle Vanya? It would be unfair to suggest that Mr. Saturday Night is any less than amiable start to finish, not only for a focal figure who has the audience eating out of his hand but for the other seven-and for Ellenore Scott's jaunty choreography. Paymer has Stan well in hand. Graff, always marvelous, is present much of the time as a likable foil but shows her strength in the 'Until Now' duet with Crystal and in the mock-sultry 'Tahiti.' Though Bean is given ditties as if she's there and so ought to have a song or two, she makes them count. Harmon shows off in the Buddy Young Jr.-taunting 'What If I Said?'
2022 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Billy Crystal |
2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Billy Crystal |
2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lyrics | Amanda Green |
2022 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lyrics | Amanda Green |
2022 | Drama League Awards | Contribution to the Theater Award | Billy Crystal |
2022 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Awards | Shoshana Bean |
2022 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Awards | Billy Crystal |
2022 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Musical | Mr. Saturday Night |
2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Billy Crystal |
2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Lowell Ganz |
2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Babaloo Mandel |
2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Shoshana Bean |
2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Musical | Mr. Saturday Night |
2022 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Video/Projection Design (Play or Musical) | Jeff Sugg |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Book of a Musical | Billy Crystal |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Mr. Saturday Night |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Jason Robert Brown |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Jason Robert Brown |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical | Billy Crystal |
2022 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Shoshana Bean |
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