Gutenberg! The Musical! Broadway Reviews

I know we could all use a good laugh nowadays. But would you settle for a thousand chuckles? Because that’s what “Gutenberg! The Musical!” is offering. In the two-man, 20-character skit of a show that opened Thursday evening on Broadway, the jokes are abundant, interchangeable and lightweight: comedy as packing peanuts. If that suggests an inconsequential payload, well, perhaps consequential was not what the writers, Scott Brown and Anthony King, and the director, Alex Timbers, were after. Silliness crossed with satire seems to be their target, and with the help of two expert farceurs, Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells, they do hit the silliness bull’s-eye. The satire, I’m not so sure.

Rannells and Gad are wonderfully matched and, it appears, having a real blast with each other. Their comic timing is wetsuit tight, their chemistry indisputable, their energy manic but precise and, crucially, unflagging. It has to be — it’s them and no one but them (well, and the Middlesex Three) for two hours, plus intermission. Which is, frankly, too long. Gutenberg!’s origins as a one-act remain palpable, and in its current form the show feels padded. Its stars are almost able to disguise that fact by throwing buckets of geek charisma at it, but despite their agility and generosity as performers, Gutenberg! could still come home in a tight 90-to-100 and leave everyone with a little more pep in their step.

In the end, it’s not “Gutenberg” the show but rather this odd coupling of comedic pals, both on stage and off, that delights. Hats off to them.

The result suggests a cross between Christopher Guest’s Waiting for Guffman and the beloved cult musical [title of show], which also began at the New York Musical Festival in the 2000s. Affection is the key that opens the show’s comedy: As ridiculous as Doug and Bud may be, you feel for these guys and even root for them. As stupid as their historical musical may be, you can’t deny that they’ve got heart.

With Mr. Gad and Mr. Rannells pinballing around the stage under the direction of Alex Timbers (“Here Lies Love,” “Moulin Rouge!”), working up visible sweat as they dash between characters, “Gutenberg!” proffers much comic ingenuity. The silly accents are a delight. Cockney in 15th-century Germany? Why not? Still, even at a fairly pacey two hours the fun eventually turns to wheel-spinning, since the central gag—the ludicrous mismatch between content and form—is established from the start and then merely elaborated. The show will probably best please those who know the difference between a charm song, an “I Want” song and an 11 o’clock number, all of which are mentioned here. Which is to say besotted lovers of musical theater.

The musical that is “Gutenberg! The Musical” will never be mistaken for “West Side Story,” but that is really not the point. Brown and King have packed the show with numbers that manage to be both entertaining and as clunky as a ’67 station wagon. And composed a piece that might be a bit more fitting in a cabaret than a Broadway theater. That is, of course, until you secure the services of the cutest couple on Broadway.

When Gutenberg! The Musical! debuted Off Broadway 17 years ago, critics wondered whether it was ready for Broadway. Perhaps they should have asked whether Broadway was ready for Gutenberg! All these years later, the answer to both is yes. Not only has the musical been fine-tuned and shined-up, but a Shucked-era Broadway is clearly in the mood for some absurdly silly good fun.

Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells bring a great Oscar-and-Felix chemistry to the stage. They also work tirelessly and exert their considerable charm, but in the end, they’re asking us to be entertained by a two-hander staging of an absolutely dreadful musical. Yes, the songs and the book for this parody of a musical within a musical that is “Gutenberg!” are witless and relentlessly repetitive, which is to be expected from the team of Scott Brown and Anthony King, who gave us one of the worst Broadway musicals of this century, “Beetlejuice.” That show now has a companion piece in the Netherland.

Scenic designer Scott Pask simulates a disorganized backstage area with tables, technical gear and touches that suggest a Nutley yard sale (I see he bought the Star Wars bedsheets from my childhood on eBay) and costume designer Emily Rebholz gives the boys the perfect level of dweeby élan, down to Rannells’ tucked-in sweater. I don’t know if the bazillion trucker hats are sets, costumes, props or what, but give someone a Tony. Having staged much costlier and busier spectacles, it’s a treat to see Timbers work his signature blend of irony and ecstasy on a smaller scale with a tighter focus, while reserving a juicy reveal for the end. Gutenberg! is not designed to be anyone’s gateway musical or inspire a career in that impossible, flop-filled field, but it’s firmly imprinted on my heart, sans serif.

“Gutenberg! The Musical!” certainly knows how to structure narrative gags, replete with little bits of emotion immediately followed by jokes structured so as to cut the treacle. And it does have a little scenic climax that’s well worth waiting for, and that goes at least some way toward justifying those Broadway prices for this kind of off Broadway-style entertainment, familiar to anyone who enjoys improv and sketch comedy. But the reality here is that this is a show relying on two skilled comic actors and their contrasting relationship. These two stars could do this kind of thing in their sleep, should they so choose, and I suspect their challenge will come from messing with each other and keeping everything fresh. On most nights, and if they feel free to deviate a tad from the script, that will be fun for at least their fans to watch.

It’s been said “dying is easy, comedy is hard”. Well, anyone who’s seen Gutenberg! The Musical might challenge that little showbiz maxim because Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells—the entire cast of this hilarious two-hander—are making the comedy seem downright effortless. The two stars, appearing together on Broadway for the first time since their Tony nominated turns in the original company of The Book of Mormon, are simply divine delivering a master class in musical comedy and likely setting a land/speed record for laughs per minute.

Many years later, the show has now arrived on Broadway, where its thin charms and relentless meta-humor don’t prove quite as accessible in the large James Earl Jones Theatre with its commensurately extravagant ticket prices. Since the show is not widely known despite its many regional theater productions, the main selling point is its stars Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells, reuniting after their breakout turns in The Book of Mormon and seemingly aspiring to become the next hot Broadway comedy team after Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. How much you’ll enjoy the results will depend greatly on your tolerance for very silly jokes and your fondness for the two stars. The pair appear to be having a fine old time onstage, displaying the sort of chemistry that seems the result of their well-meshed comedic styles and warm rapport. They work beautifully together, garnering laughs not only from the wittier dialogue and bits of business but also from their jovial presences.

Rannells and Gad once again make a terrific pair of unlikely pals and earn many laughs. However, “Gutenberg!” was intended to be what the Polish theater theorist Jerzy Grotowski termed “Poor Theater,” built upon minimal production values and maximized imagination. On Broadway, it feels both overdone (with an elaborate set invoking an empty stage, instead of an actual empty stage, and a band instead of a single piano, losing its original charm) and undercooked (a slight, overextended, and rudimentary comic routine).

“Gutenberg! The Musical!” is deliberately bad – that’s the central joke of it – but much of what’s bad about it isn’t deliberate. The score is largely unmemorable. The premise makes little sense. There are some funny lines, but no more than an hour’s worth of laughs in a show that’s a two-hour, two-person vaudeville routine that becomes tedious. There is also one joke that is almost shockingly unfunny.

In the end, Gutenberg! presses beyond pure goofiness to deliver a sweet message about going for one’s dreams. Another idea emerges, too. Between the visible musicians, the brick wall, and the prominent door, the show’s set bears a bit of a resemblance to Saturday Night Live. There, like on Broadway, the best sketches leave you wanting more.