Review Roundup: RATATOUILLE: THE TIKTOK MUSICAL - What Did the Critics Think?

The premiere of the virtual benefit performance of Ratatouille: the TikTok Musical took place on Friday, January 1 at 7pm ET and will stream for 72 hours only through TodayTix.

The Actors Fund has confirmed that, on its premiere night, the production has generated more than $1 million in ticket sales, to benefit The Actors Fund.

The cast of Ratatouille includes Wayne Brady (Django), Tituss Burgess (Remy), Kevin Chamberlin (Gusteau), Tony Award winner André De Shields (Ego), Andrew Barth Feldman (Linguini), Grammy Award nominee Adam Lambert (Emile), Tony winner Priscilla Lopez (Mabel), Tony nominee Ashley Park (Colette), Owen Tabaka (Young Ego), and three-time Tony nominee Mary Testa (Skinner), with Cori Jaskier, Talia Suskauer, Nikisha Williams, JJ Niemann, John Michael Lyles, Raymond J. Lee, and Joy Woods as the ensemble.

Let's see what the critics are saying...

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Jesse Green, The New York Times: The tone of deflationary tribute nevertheless feels timely and instructive. By calling to mind similar elements in actual Disney musicals, "Ratatouille" forces you to think differently about its models. A big rat anthem like "Remember My Name" is a hilariously silly idea, but not, after all, very different from one for a mermaid or a hunchback. Disney itself was built on a mouse.

So maybe the hive mind is on to something. Certainly it would be healthier for the theater if Broadway musicals could be built, like "Ratatouille," in just a few months, by individuals, not conglomerates.

Chloe Rabinowitz, BroadwayWorld: The end result of Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical was a satisfying and strangely emotional experience. The virtual event has so far raised more than $1 million for The Actors Fund, providing not only a connection to theatre when we need it most, but tangible aid for the currently struggling industry that we love so much. Theatre has, and always will be, adaptable and resilient. Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical was a ridiculously enjoyable reminder of theatre's best qualities, brought to us in a way that broke the mold, and allowed people to become for the first time ever, not just viewers of a fantastic show, but active participants in musical theatre history.

Peter Marks, The Washington Post: At a running time of 51 minutes, and with perhaps only half the numbers required for a full adaptation of the 2007 animated Oscar-winner, this "Ratatouille" is a mere appetizer. But with a winning Tituss Burgess as the human embodiment of Remy, the Parisian rodent who can stir up a mean beef bourguignon, it is a promising first course. And the harbinger of a future property on the school circuit or maybe even in some professional incarnation.

Ashley Lee, Los Angeles Times: The quality of a dish like this is only as good as its ingredients - in this case, the songs, which genuinely celebrate the compositional conventions of musical theater and animated Disney movies, and which feel as if they're written by those who truly love them. They are each earnest and delightful, and brimming with character, humor and emotion - the winning combination on which the most established composers have built their careers.

Bob Verini, New York Stage Review: Two questions haunt one throughout. Does this Ratatouille have a stage future? And what if anything do Tik Tok and social media generally have to contribute to the art form? Assuming it's OK with Disney, which it may very well not be, the former is in my opinion a definite yes. Visually and emotionally, the material has a lot more to offer than many another previously adapted animated epic.

Alex Reif, Laughing Place: The songs are also so much better than they have any right to be. The standout hit is definitely the opening number, "Anyone Can Cook," but most impressively, each song comes from a different writer, yet feels like a cohesive setlist that could've come from the same mind. If a cast recording isn't produced, a big opportunity will have been missed.

Suzannah Claire Perry and Elizabeth Egan, The Daily Tar Heel: Despite its comical nature, the musical manages to bring a tender sweetness to the table, especially toward the end when famed food critic Ego is brought back to childhood by the tastes of Remy and Linguini's take on the title dish, ratatouille.

Jonathan Mandell, New York Theatre: There are people who will love "Ratatouille The TikTok Musical" because of the validation it gives TikTok; others because they loved the animated film and its characters. But I'm a newcomer to TikTok, and, for the record, I was almost as baffled by the outpouring for "Ratatouille" the cartoon as I was for "Anastasia" the cartoon. Some of the movie was cute, yes, but I couldn't get past the scenes of the rats scampering through the sewer with ratlike movement that was WAY too realistic. No, I love "Ratatouille The TikTok Musical" because I love theater - or more precisely, in this case, the hope and the promise of theater.

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