Did Critics Warmly Welcome Whoopi Back to Broadway?
Here is a sampling of what they had to say:
William Stevenson in his Broadway.com Review: "To her credit, Goldberg has an easy rapport the audience, and her comic delivery is fine. If only her material were fresher. In addition to the political diatribes, the bathroom humor and the predictable mocking of latecomers, Goldberg recounts a visit to the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam. Like her anti-Bush monologue, it states the obvious. First she's bowled over by the fact that the Oscar that Shelley Winters won for the movie The Diary of Anne Frank is in the museum. Then, when she sees a picture of a concentration camp, she says, 'Man, this was deep.' Whoopi, on the other hand, isn't deep."
Charles Isherwood of The New York Times: "She remains a spirited, engaging presence, but this is a show in desperate need of a stringent theatrical intelligence. Mike Nichols, who famously discovered Ms. Goldberg and 'supervised' the original Broadway production, is among the producers of this newfangled Whoopi and has apparently offered some input… But there's little evidence that he - or anyone else, for that matter - has helped Ms. Goldberg shape this intermittently funny but sluggish evening of comic portraiture… Goldberg's grasp on the specific mannerisms and vocal inflections that define her characters is looser than it was two decades ago. Her current interpretations compare unfavorably with the incisive portraits of Sarah Jones… If Ms. Jones's characterizations have the clarity and focus of digital photographs, Ms. Goldberg's now resemble pictures drawn in sand."
Clive Barnes of The New York Post: "A lot has happened to her over the past two decades, and it shows. What remains totally unchanged is her levitating gift for spontaneity: She creates her own reality moment from moment… Her entire performance is acting that is brilliant in its sense of identification and commitment, and she constantly displays a geniality that could disarm even the fiercest of her political opponents… Whoopi seems exactly as she was on our first encounter with that strange, unique talent. Whoopi, indeed!"
Howard Kissel of The New York Daily News: "Occasionally her comments are fresh 'Gay marriage was a huge issue in the middle of the country--the people out there were afraid gay people were trying to marry them.' But much of the tirade seemed recycled from The Longest Campaign. Later, she has a lot of jokes about menopause, which includes a whole sequence on flatulence. Tastelessness, I'm afraid, is not as novel or funny as it seemed 20 years ago. If Whoopi felt compelled to make a comeback, perhaps she should have devised some characters as unusual as the ones she did back then, rather than just offering comedy-club riffs."
David Rooney of Variety: "While original presenter and production supervisor Mike Nichols is again on board, the absence from the credits of a director is evident throughout this unfocused return to Goldberg's roots. Like an unknotted, over-inflated balloon, Whoopi is loudly, buoyantly airborne for an initially exuberant spin, before sputtering with gradually decreasing energy and landing with a splat on the ground."
Michael Kuchwara of The Associated Press: "It's disappointing to report that despite its fair share of laughs, her new-old show, which opened Wednesday, seems diffuse and draggy. It's something a director presumably could have helped to eliminate. None is listed in the Playbill, although Mike Nichols, who produced and 'supervised' the original, has returned as producer. He should have done something to move things along. But then, Goldberg always has been a free spirit and that randomness infuses her current show."
Linda Winer of Newsday: "How you feel about Whoopi: The 20th Anniversary Show will depend, in huge part, on the feelings you have accumulated about her through the years. This is a loose, pretty shapeless, 90-minute opportunity to hang out with a battered but still charismatic old friend while she rants on about post- election politics, post-estrogen womanhood and other familiar indignities… Although we recognized her personal magnetism in her 1984 breakthrough showcase, her material struck us as a flabby, self-righteously naive set of manipulative character-monologues. On the whole, it was indistinguishable from a decent night at a comedy club. The anniversary-show material isn't any fresher: on the contrary! Her attempts at audience participation and her scolding of latecomers just make us more nervous about the Vegas-ization of Broadway this season. And yet, Goldberg has worn better than we expected. Despite her iffy career choices and occasional public blunders, we have grown fond of her bawdy Moms Mabley persona, respected her social activism and admired her talent. In other words, we're feeling more indulgent about this show than it deserves."