{"id":2121530,"date":"2025-10-28T23:31:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T23:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2121530"},"modified":"2025-10-28T23:31:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T23:31:10","slug":"an-awful-reunion-nobody-asked-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/an-awful-reunion-nobody-asked-for\/","title":{"rendered":"An awful reunion nobody asked for"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2025%2F10%2F114307650.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--review alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n\t\t<span class=\"inline-module--review__eyebrow subsection-heading-semi__label\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tTheater review\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"inline-module--review__title subsection-heading-semi\">\n\t\t\tROMY AND MICHELE: THE MUSICAL\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"rating\">\n<div class=\"rating__stars\">\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--empty\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--empty\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--empty\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Two hours and 30 minutes with one intermission. At Stage 42.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The off-Broadway show \u201cRomy and Michele: The Musical\u201d cuts out \u201cHigh School Reunion\u201d from the title.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Punchier, I guess.<\/p>\n<p>If only that eraser was put to better use.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The sorry excuse for a stage adaptation, which opened Tuesday at Stage 42, takes a quirky 90-minute film that was completely reliant on the charm and chemistry of its leads Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow, pumps in almost an hour of formless filler and pulverizes its personality to the point of being practically unrecognizable.<\/p>\n<p>Devolving into commodity slop is a curious move for an underdog cult comedy ostensibly about the drawbacks of pretending to be someone other than yourself.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--more inline-module--columnist inline-module--more--thirds\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<h2 class=\"inline-module__heading subsection-heading subsection-heading--single-line \">\n\t\t\tMore From\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"subsection-heading__sub\">Johnny Oleksinski<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Yet that\u2019s what this entire exercise in soulless IP exploitation is: A fun movie masquerading as an interminable musical.<\/p>\n<p>In much the same way their BFF characters unconvincingly don power suits, stars Laura Bell Bundy and Kara Lindsay try their best to adapt Sorvino and Kudrow\u2019s kooky California accents and bizarre behavior into a song-and-dance setting.\u00a0It just doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n<p>We gawk at the peculiar pair like they\u2019re long forgotten classmates at our own reunion. <\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t I know them from somewhere?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They can\u2019t be our favorite Diet Coke drinkers.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Kara Lindsay and Laura Bell Bundy star in \u201cRomy and Michele: The Musical.\u201d  <span class=\"credit\">Valerie Terranova<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Bundy plays husky-voiced, direct Romy, while Lindsay is bubbly Michele. They\u2019re roommates, soulmates and, in this unappealingly goofy show, practically inanimate. <\/p>\n<p>The actresses are well matched, chemistry-wise, however there\u2019s zero honesty to their performances. And the singing leans screechy. Kudrow and Sorvino, unsurprisingly, prove irreplaceable. You wouldn\u2019t want to watch \u201cPee-wee: The Musical\u201d without Paul Rubens. The same is true of \u201cRomy and Michele\u201d without the OGs.<\/p>\n<p>Their plot roughly matches the movie \u2014 just a lot longer. Two LA best friends embark on a road trip to their high school reunion in Tucson, and en route decide to fool their class by telling a big lie about their careers: They invented Post-Its.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The first act is mostly a forgettable, sluggish flashback sequence to their years as teenage outcasts and a dramatic prom night filled with unrequited crushes involving goth Heather (Jordan Kai Burnett), nerd Sandy (Michael Thomas Grant) and hunky Billy (Pascal Pastrana).\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Much of the first act is a flashback to their high school years. <span class=\"credit\">Valerie Terranova<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There are barely any laughs in the drag-and-drop staging from director Kristin Hanggi, whose work on \u201cRock of Ages\u201d seems eons away.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The set-up goes on and on. We don\u2019t go back to the future for nearly an hour, and the girls finally hop into the Jaguar convertible moments before intermission.<\/p>\n<p>In Act Two, when they head to Arizona, that Jag glides like a dump truck on the 405.<\/p>\n<p>As soon as we get a taste of Gwendolyn Sanford and Brandon Jay\u2019s score, we\u2019re inclined to send it back to the kitchen. Its overabundance of songs are the sort of generic, exclamation-point Broadway pop that sounds like a cheap parody of \u201cLegally Blonde.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>In Act Two, the ladies head to Arizona for their reunion. <span class=\"credit\">Valerie Terranova<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Why even compose a new score? While normally I\u2019m pro-originality, \u201cRomy and Michele\u201d would be better off as, well, staying a movie, but also a jukebox musical. The hits of No Doubt, Cyndi Lauper, The Go-Gos and Bananarama are firmly baked into the story\u2019s identity. They linger here like phantom limbs.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s easy to understand why book writer Robin Schiff, who also wrote the film, thought her creation could work as a musical. The characters first debuted in a sketch onstage at the Groundlings. Perhaps she saw it as coming full circle.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cRomy and Michele\u201d is a difficult film to translate into song and dance. <span class=\"credit\">Valerie Terranova<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Musicals, be they hilarious or weepy, are emotional creatures, though. Romy and Michele are not. They are bone-dry, pathetic, easy-to-love, Gen X snark machines.\u00a0Big exuberant songs butt heads with their monotone essence. There is no way to sing well while being detached or with sarcasm. \u201cBusiness Woman\u2019s Special\u201d should not be a full-blown production number.<\/p>\n<p>Alas.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Jot this down on a Post-It note: Skip \u201cRomy and Michele: The Musical.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Theater review ROMY AND MICHELE: THE MUSICAL Two hours and 30 minutes with one intermission. At Stage 42. The off-Broadway show \u201cRomy and Michele: The Musical\u201d cuts out \u201cHigh School Reunion\u201d from the title.\u00a0\u00a0 Punchier, I guess. If only that eraser was put to better use.\u00a0 The sorry excuse for a stage adaptation, which opened [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2121531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[21741,383632,24047,345886],"class_list":["post-2121530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-entertainment","tag-off-broadway","tag-theater","tag-theater-reviews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/An-awful-reunion-nobody-asked-for.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2121530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2121530"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2121530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2121532,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2121530\/revisions\/2121532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2121531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2121530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2121530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2121530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}