Review Roundup: THE LIFE at City Center Encores!

The Life, directed and adapted by Billy Porter, began performances at City Center Encores! last night, March 16 and will run through March 20, 2022. The production stars Jelani Alladin as Lou, Alexandra Grey as Queen, Antwayn Hopper as Memphis, Grammy nominee Mykal Kilgore as Young JoJo, Grammy Award winner Ledisi as Sonja, Erika Olson as Mary, Destan Owens as Old Jojo, and Ken Robinson as Fleetwood.

Nominated for 12 Tony Awards (including Best Musical) The Life tells the story of Queen, and her fellow sex workers, who strive for a better life against oppressive forces in post-disco Times Square. Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award-winning artist Billy Porter (Pose, Kinky Boots) reinvents this musical for a whole new generation to bring forth the gritty, dangerous, and exciting decadence of New York City in 1980.

As concert adapter and director, Porter has received the full blessing of the Cy Coleman, Ira Gasman, and David Newman estates to reshape a classic music-comedy into a powerful musical drama, humanizing the production's Black characters in their struggles, passions, and desperate bids for success. Featuring new, funk-infused arrangements and orchestrations by James Sampliner and new vocal arrangements by Michael McElroy, this bold revival reclaims The Life through Porter's singular lens.

See what the critics are saying...

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Elisabeth Vincentelli, The New York Times: Unfortunately the memory-musical format only takes us out of the plot and, most crucially, the emotional impact. Every time we get absorbed in the 1980s goings-on, the older Jojo pops up with explainy back stories, ham-handed editorializing and numbing lectures. The original show let us progressively discover the characters' distinct personalities through actions, words and songs; now they are archetypal pawns in an op-ed. One can agree with a message and still find its form lacking.

Juan A. Ramirez, Theatrely: Remember the first season of FX's Pose? How bold, joyous, almost transgressive it felt, before the series went the way of most Ryan Murphy projects (i.e. completely off the rails)? I imagine that's how the original off- (1990) and Broadway (1997) productions of The Life, David Newman, Ira Gasman, and Cy Coleman's musical might have felt, but the Encores! Production which opened Wednesday night at New York City Center is giving more series finale.

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Check this space for more reviews as they come in.

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