Broadway Blogs - Review Roundup: Irena's Vow and More...

Following a triumphant sold-out engagement, four-time Tony Award nominee Tovah Feldshuh returns to Broadway in the critically acclaimed, tremendously moving new play, Irena's Vow. Featuring a cast of ten, Irena's Vow is the riveting, life-affirming story about one of the most courageous and unsung heroines of World War II. During the German occupation of Poland, Irena Gut Opdyke, a Polish Catholic, was forced to work as head housekeeper for a prominent German major. Over a two-year period of service, Irena would risk her own life in order to protect the lives of twelve Jewish refugees whom she secretly took under her care. Irena's Vow is the extraordinary true story of one woman's choice and the twelve lives that would ultimately be saved - or lost - by her decision.

David Rooney, Variety: "The conviction of Tovah Feldshuh's transformative performance drives "Irena's Vow," but it's the compelling true story of courage and heroism that makes Dan Gordon's by-the-numbers script so moving. Recounting the experiences of Irena Gut, a young Polish Catholic housekeeper who sheltered a dozen Jews in the basement of the German major for whom she worked during WWII, the play draws its power more from the nobility of its sentiments and the events it portrays than from the writer's over-explanatory treatment of them. Still, if the audible sobs in the theater at key moments are any indication, audiences may be willing to overlook the clunky dramaturgy."

Charles Isherwood, NY Times: "A little-known story of heroism is transformed into theatrical hokum in "Irena's Vow," a play by Dan Gordon about a young Polish woman who helped a dozen Jews survive the Holocaust. Susceptible audiences will want to practice their hisses and prime their tear ducts before attending this efficiently manipulative drama covering territory that is rather too frequently exploited for its undeniable emotional force."

Elysa Gardner, USA Today: "Feldshuh is also called on to speechify. Addressing a group of schoolchildren, the older Irena says, 'You are the last generation who will hear from a living witness to the Holocaust. You have a responsibility. Every time you meet hatred, you must stand up against it.' No one could argue that point. But it would have been nice if Irena's Vow made it in a less predictable, more compelling way."

John Simon, Bloomberg News: "In "Irena's Vow," astounding human heroism and the amazing Tovah Feldshuh triumph in the blend of a powerful true story, suspenseful dramatization and humorous leavening. The result should prove a sure-fire crowd pleaser on Broadway."

Tanner Stransky, Entertainment Weekly: "There are strong performances from the entire cast, but the play is truly Feldshuh's. The actress lends a gravity and fierce verve to her depiction of Irena that is utterly believable. 'I had to choose,' Feldshuh says as she begins relating Irena's story, 'between life and death.' That heavy, yet hopeful, sentiment is the crux of this heartrending production. A-"

Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press: "'Irena's Vow' may be melodramatic and occasionally manipulative, but the emotions this stage biography stirs in theatergoers are genuine, a testament to the bravery and tenacity of the woman whose real-life story is being told."

Robert Feldberg, Bergen Record: ""Irena's Vow," which opened Sunday at the Walter Kerr Theatre, has a powerful, inspiring story to tell. It's a real shame that the telling is so pedestrian."

Joe Dziemianowicz, NY Daily News: Re-reviewing a play brings a logical question: Did I get it right the first time? With "Irena's Vow," now open on Broadway after a run last fall at Baruch College, the answer's yes. Dan Gordon's play starring Tovah Feldshuh in the title role is still gripping and gets the tear ducts flooding; it's that kind of play. Or, better, that kind of docu-melodrama, the sort of real-life account that's launched countless films. And, yes, a movie version of this story is in the works."

Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Post: "The noble intentions of "Irena's Vow" -- which opened yesterday at the Walter Kerr after a successful off-Broadway run last fall -- and the emotional punch it packs are beyond question. Its achievements on purely theatrical grounds are not."

"Appeasers believe that if you keep on throwing steak to a tiger, the tiger will become a vegetarian."

-- Heywood Braun

The grosses are out for the week ending 3/29/2009 and we've got them all right here in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Up for the week was: GOD OF CARNAGE (19.3%), HEDDA GABLER (5.6%), MAMMA MIA! (0.6%),

Down for the week was: IMPRESSIONISM (-14.3%), AVENUE Q (-11.8%), IRENA'S VOW (-8.6%), THE LITTLE MERMAID (-8.3%), EXIT THE KING (-7.2%), THE 39 STEPS (-6.8%), JOE TURNER'S COME AND GONE (-6.0%), MARY POPPINS (-5.6%), AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (-5.6%), SHREK THE MUSICAL (-5.4%), GUYS AND DOLLS (-4.4%), 33 VARIATIONS (-3.9%), IN THE HEIGHTS (-2.8%), SOUTH PACIFIC (-1.7%), BILLY ELLIOT: THE MUSICAL (-1.4%), BLITHE SPIRIT (-1.3%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (-0.9%), JERSEY BOYS (-0.7%), REASONS TO BE PRETTY (-0.7%), CHICAGO (-0.6%), HAIR (-0.5%), WEST SIDE STORY (-0.4%),