"Move over, you adorable scamps in ‘Annie.’ Settle down, weird girls in ‘Matilda.’ Broadway has a new unlikely heroine, a frail widow who hums hymns and has a bad heart."
"[Vanessa Williams is] a delight to watch, and looks sensational in Van Broughton Ramsey’s period costumes."
"Following a 30-year Broadway absence, Tyson gives an awe-inspiring performance. She sings, she dances, she does everything but cartwheels."
"At the matinee I attended, Ms. Tyson’s interpretation of that hymn was so infectious that much of the audience was soon singing and clapping along. Ms. Tyson turned full-face to us, raised her arms and swayed in encouragement, like an impassioned choir master."