Did San Francisco Critics Give the New Musical Lennon a Chance?

Lennon, which is based on the life and songs of John Lennon, is currently playing at its first pre-Broadway stop, the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco, where it opened on April 19. Next up is Boston and then it is on to New York, where the tuner is scheduled to begin previews at the Broadhurst Theatre on July 7. Did San Francisco critics give Lennon a chance?

Here is a sampling of what they had to say:

Phil Gallo of Variety: "John Lennon's life is told with a finger on the fast-forward button in the tuner Lennon, keeping the soul of the man at arm's length, occasionally dipping into his wit and only rarely capturing the unique style he brought to a song. Format of having eight actors -- the idea is that John is everybody -- play the former Beatle generates disappointing results. Only one actor, Will Chase, appears to embody the man -- the others don't come close, even in spirit, and their generic portrayals, compounded with a heartless story, prevent Lennon from shooting 'all you need is love' arrows into auds' hearts."

Robert Hurwitt of The San Francisco Chronicle: "Lennon is brightly creative, engagingly earnest, irreverent, sweet, informative and funny. It contains terrific songs and dynamic voices to match. But it never fulfills the rich promise that hovers so tantalizingly just beyond its reach. That makes it still several cuts above most of the animated songbook musicals that have flooded the field of late, thanks to the still-astonishing richness of Lennon's output and the inventive showmanship of author-director Don Scardino… One of the advantages of using Lennon's songbook is the surprising frankness or depth of introspection he could achieve, as well as the timeless musicality of so much of his work. When Lennon taps that great mother lode, it's formidable, but it doesn't do so often enough."

Tiger Hashimoto of The San Francisco Examiner: "The show veers dangerously close to hagiography, but a smart, hot, techno production and sensational singing save it... What the arrangements country-western, gospel, blues lack in authenticity, they make up in sheer musical vitality. A couple of early numbers from the Hamburg days 'Twist and Shout' produce genuine rock and roll thrills. The 'trick' to this show is that there are nine cast members--eight of whom including two blacks and four women portray Lennon, the Beatles and various other characters including J. Edgar Hoover and clueless TV personalities. They are superb... John Arnone's industrial set and projections, Jane Greenwood's costumes, Natasha Katz's lighting, Joseph Malone's choreography and Bobby Aitken's excellent sound--loud but not distorted--contribute to Lennon's upbeat vibe."

Chad Jones of The Oakland Tribune: "It's all very polished and peppy, and the performers are all possessed of appealing pop-rock voices... If Lennon is shallow, speedy and highly selective when it comes to biographical details, at least it's consistently enjoyable. 'Instant Karma' is a hoot, and the re-creation of Lennon's appearances with David Frost and Mike Douglas are great. Somehow, though, an examination of John Lennon's life should be more than fun. It should be upsetting and powerful and moving. This is a super-sized, superstar biography that hardly stops to catch its breath. Scardino clearly loves and honors Lennon, and his choice to give the final song, 'Imagine,' to Lennon himself is exactly right."

Karen D'Souza of The San Jose Mercury News: "For the most part, this Broadway-bound production shows an abject lack of creativity -- a quality that Lennon had in spades. The musical bearing his name feels like a paint-by-the-numbers sing-along pastiche that never comes together. Despite its golden-oldie-a-minute score -- the envy of jukebox musicals everywhere -- the show remains too pat and plastic to give us any insights into a man who was nothing if not a free thinker."

Pat Craig of the The Contra Costa Times: "Imagine something awful. It's easy if you see Lennon… The show is bad for any number of reasons, but the greatest of these is that, throughout, Lennon's life appears to have been hijacked by the likes of Up With People and the other contemptible '60s choral music groups that attempted to make pop musical palatable to moms and dads out there in TV land… The whole piece is reminiscent of those Bob Hope specials where Bob, Lucy and Phyllis would don long wigs and sheepskin vests and pretend to be hippies… Fortunately, the cast as many as 10 different actors portray Lennon over the course of the show is wildly energetic and appears to have talent to burn. And when they lose the schlocky musical numbers, there are some tremendous singers who can do justice to Lennon's hard-driving rock 'n' roll."