Craig Saavedra and Michael Shulman arrive on the red carpet at Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Theatre for the star-studded Opening Night of AFTER MIDNIGHT.NEW YORK - It was a star-studded affair Opening Night as a packed audience that included luminaries such as Hugh Jackman, Stephen Schwartz, George C. Wolfe, k.d. lang, Tyne Daly, Barbara Walters, Clay Aikens, Norm Lewis, Mary-Louise Parker, Rosie Perez and Wynton Marsalis settled in to watch the Jazz at Lincoln Center All Stars rock the house with the legendary sounds of Duke Ellington.
The sets, costumes and large cast of singers and dancers won praise across the board as Broadway's newest musical garnered rave reviews:
“HOT, SWEET AND ALTOGETHER GLORIOUS! This SPARKLING and JUBILANT
show has A SUPERABUNDANCE OF TALENTED PERFORMERS who sing, slide, scat,
cartwheel and generally raise a ruckus in front of the Jazz at Lincoln
Center All-Stars – sixteen musicians who rollick through the music of Duke
Ellington and others with a verve that almost CAPTIVATES THE EYE AS MUCH
AS IT DOES THE EAR. The music gleams, shimmers, dances and sings with an
eloquence that ENTHRALLS. YOU'LL BE IN SEVENTH HEAVEN.” - The New York
Times
“★★★★★! RAUCOUS, JOYOUS & WHITE-HOT. It’s a
JAZZ PHANTASMAGORIA that shifts from head-spinning tap to silken crooning by MC
DULÉ HILL and tender standards by the DIVINE FANTASIA BARRINO.” - Time Out
“Some of the best dancing, costumes and singing in some time. YOU MAY
WANT TO GO BACK WEEKLY!” - The Wall Street Journal
“PURE JOY! AFTER MIDNIGHT IS AN UNMITIGATED
PLEASURE. Opulent yet tasteful, wild but disciplined, kinetic and sexy but
smart, smart, smart. The result is one of the best revues in recent memory and
A FLAT-OUT SUCCESS on any terms. When the bandstand slides toward the apron of
the stage, bringing the sound almost into your lap, AFTER MIDNIGHT
achieves AN APOTHEOSIS OF PURE JOY. THIS IS ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS!” - New York
Magazine
“EXQUISITE! Packs more than two dozen numbers into 90 BOUYANT,
TALENT-RICH MINUTES. The Jazz at Lincoln Center All-Stars, a sixteen-piece
onstage big band organized by Wynton Marsalis, GORGEOUSLY PERFORMS many of Duke
Ellington’s original arrangements. DULÉ HILL speaks Langston Hughes’s poetry
beautifully, looks cool, and impresses as a singer and dancer. The vocalists
are EXCELLENT and the dancers are THRILLING!” - The New Yorker
“SMOLDERING! A sleek, elegant tribute to Duke Ellington and the glory
days of the Cotton Club that brings class back to Broadway. You can’t help but
THRILL!” - New York Post
“★★★★ DAZZLING! 90 minutes of uninterrupted
pleasure!” - Bloomberg News
“JAW-DROPPING! The best choreography I have ever seen on the Broadway
stage! Director and choreographer WARREN CARLYLE smoothly transports audiences
to the golden age of the Harlem Renaissance with over 25 STUNNING musical and
dance numbers. INFECTIOUSLY JOYFUL and BEAUTIFUL!” - BET
“EXHILARATING! 90 minutes of honest, vital entertainment delivered with
breezy wit and giddy energy. A SHOWCASE FOR GREAT ARTISTS PAST AND PRESENT.” - USA Today
“DAZZLING! IT LEAVES YOU FEELING LIGHTER THAN AIR! The show re-creates
the ENERGY and FUN of Harlem’s famous Cotton Club nightclub in the 1920s and
30s, when Duke Ellington and his band made everything cool. FANTASIA BARRINO IS
THRILLING!” - AP
“ROOF-RAISING, DOWNRIGHT DAZZLING and PACKED WITH TRAFFIC-STOPPING
TALENTS! By the time the JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ALL-STARS close the show with
one last, GLORIOUS BURST OF BRASS, NOBODY WANTS TO GO HOME!” - Variety
“THERE ARE SHOWSTOPPERS APLENTY in the ebullient new musical AFTER
MIDNIGHT, a CELEBRATION of classic jazz and swing numbers with some of
the MOST ASTOUNDING AND SPIRITED CHOREOGRAPHY CURRENTLY ON BROADWAY!” - Entertainment
Weekly
“SPECTACULAR! Drop everything and head to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.
For pure entertainment, AFTER MIDNIGHT is worth every
penny. YOU ABSOLUTELY MUSTN'T MISS IT!” - The Huffington Post
“The big cast – GORGEOUSLY COSTUMED BY FASHION DESIGNER ISABEL TOLEDO –
overflows with talent, individuality and winning attitude in this 90-minute
song-and-dance entertainment with an INTOXICATING 16-PIECE BAND.” - Newsday
“You’re in for SOMETHING SPECIAL. AFTER MIDNIGHT is jam packed
with some of FINEST, JAMMIN’ musicians this side of the Hudson and beyond. A
THRILLING showcase of some very GIFTED and ALTOGETHER INSPIRED TALENTS! JARED
GRIMES and SORMESHIA SUMBRY-EDWARDS are PHENOMENAL tap dancers. KARINE
PLANTADIT delivers with UNRIVALED ELEGANCE. ADRIANE LENOX BRINGS DOWN THE HOUSE!
ISABEL TOLEDO’S SENSATIONAL costumes deserve a bow all to themselves. WILDLY
ENTERTAINING!” - NY1
