Review Roundup: What Did Critics Think of MIRACLE at Royal George Theatre?

MIRACLE is up to bat at Royal George Theatre through July 14.

MIRACLE, a new musical 108 years in the making, holds its thrilling World Premiere at the Royal George Theatre.

Set against the backdrop of the Chicago Cubs 2016 Championship season, MIRACLE tells the story of a typical blue collar Chicago family and what it means to have faith, lose it and try to regain it again. The story chronicles the Delaney family, a tough North Side clan whose lives have been intrinsically linked to the Cubbies for generations. Each member of the family has their own story built around the dynamics of their lives and their love of the Cubs. As times change and the family business, a bar in Wrigleyville, faces the threat of a growing neighborhood, can they keep faith, not just in their team, but each other?

With a book by Jason Brett and music and lyrics by Jeff Award-winner Michael Mahler, this heartwarming musical is directed by Damon Kiely and produced by William Marovitz and Arny Granat.

For more information and tickets, please tap here.

Let's see what critics are thinking about the musical below.

Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune: What you get then is an often-witty if wildly sentimental book (Marovitz and Julian Frazin conceived the idea), stacked to the upper deck with Cubs gags, some fine songs in that Cubs-y tradition and enough heart to carry the night. You can see everything coming, but its fun when it arrives. And, crucially, the show has baked in footage of the actual World Series (and some of the games leading up to it), using sophisticated projections by Mike Tutaj.

Alex Huntsberger, Chicago Sun Times: "Miracle" relies a bit too much on the sizable charms and talents of its performers, and you can feel them pushing in many spots to sell the material. Still, a sale is a sale, and they close the deal. And while the show also leans heavily on Cubs nostalgia, it does so honestly. In addition to Mahler's songs, "Miracle" features a stirring tribute to Harry Caray titled "The Voice Above the Crowd" (music by Larry Novack, lyrics by Julian and Rhona Frazin), that mashes all the right emotional buttons.

Becky Sarwate, Broadway Blog: The real-life story - from Tinkers to Evers to Chance, to 1945, to the Curse of the Billy Goat, through 1969, 1984 and 2003, and until mercifully, 2016 - is one made for soaring opera: the tears of relief shed by fans old and young, for themselves and for the true believers long departed; the parade that welcomed millions of revelers to downtown Chicago on an unseasonably warm November day that seemed heaven-ordained. There's so much material and possibility for bringing recent history to vivid narrative life. Instead, the Royal George offers audiences thirsty to relive the impossible, a pedestrian, disappointing trifle. Miracle, with a book by Jason Brett (co-founder of Chicago's Apollo Theater), and music and lyrics by Jeff Award-winner Michael Mahler (Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story), makes a few stirring emotional connections. But the production ultimately strikes out by engaging in too much Disneyfication and deus ex machina. The result makes for a bland if well-sung production that perversely siphons away the emotional heft of those fateful events in November 2016.

Alan Bresloff, Around the Town Chicago: Mahler is , in my opinion, a musical genius and is able to create words that help to truly propel the story. Songs such as "Fly the W", "I'm Out", "Maggie's ", "What's The Pitch", ," Do The Superstition", "Break the Curse", "Look For A Miracle" among others along with the special song that was created by the Frazin's "The Voice Above The Crowd" all work towards telling us the story of a family that has lived a love of Cubs and then, when the going gets rough, and then rougher, tries to get out, only to find that the one thing they could truly use, a MIRACLE, takes place. Could it be? Yes, it could be" WOW!

Dan Zeff, Chicagoland Theater Reviews: For me, the star of the evening is 13-year old Amaris Sanchez, who sings and acts and dances with gusto and savvy, blessedly without those cutesy flourishes that can make child characters so irritating on stage. The lass seems poised to be a major player on the Chicagoland scene and beyond for decades ahead.

Ed Tracy, Conversations with Ed Tracy: Mahler's spirited and diverse music and lyrics are matched well with Kiely's terrific cast under the musical direction of Kory Danielson. Dahlquist's rich rendition of the anthem "I'm Out" and with Sill in "We Make a Damn Good Team" establish the family dynamics early on. Sill gives a warm rendition of "I Hate the Cold," and the company numbers "The Cubby Bear Blues," led by Butler-Duplessis, "#FLYTHEW," showcasing the explosive singing and dancing talents of Sanchez, and "Just Imagine," featuring Kingston, demonstrate the ensemble's broad range. You will want to lean in on Dahlquist and Weygandt's "Coulda Beens," "The Voice Above the Crowd," special material by Frazin and Larry Novak that is wistfully sung by Weygandt, and Sanchez's sweet performance of "Look for A Miracle," all dynamic moments in a show full of poignant memories.

To post a comment, you must register and login.