Told through the lens of three generations of dreamers and doers spanning New York City in the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and the Bicentennial Year of 1976, this original story shines new light on one of history’s greatest feats of will and desire. With a desperate city pinning its hopes on this seemingly impossible project, only skyscraper-high levels of grit and determination can keep it climbing. Discover the dramatic tales of derring-do through spectacular choreography, foot-tapping music, and colorful, timeless characters. Take the thrilling ride to the sky with the brave Mohawk Skywalkers, industrialist visionaries, and can-do immigrants, all of whom had the guts to go up when everyone else was down. Witness the extraordinary resilience and optimism that built a landmark that still inspires today.
The construction of the Empire State Building, flaws and all, makes for great theatrical material so long as the show knows how to handle the scale of the effort. Empire: The Musical attempts to memorialize the five workers’ lives lost during construction, while also highlighting the Indigenous Americans on the job, but it lacks precision and fun. Too many characters don’t get fleshed out, and the show's preoccupation with making secretary “Wally” Wolodsky a proto-feminist manager for architect Charles Kinney (Albert Guerzon) and politician Al Smith (Paul Savatoriello) sinks when Wally’s actual role is revealed in the last act.
But even as the Empire book might well be beneficially tightened, the strong-voiced, energetic actors jauntily go about the tuneful songs and occasional songlets, as tidily directed by Cady Huffman and choreographed by Lorna Ventura in this year’s hyper-athletic trend. Stand-out numbers are “Never Say Never,” a proto-feminist pledge for Wally and cohorts, and the spirited “Moxie” for Smith, Raskob, and Kinney, as well as “Lookahee,” with the steelworkers lustily shouting at female passersby. (From as high as floor 102?) These click as well as a ballad fittingly called “Castles in the Air.” Shortly before closing, Sylvie and Wally maintain “We Were Here,” an anthem celebrating the many-races workers. No one leaving Empire will forget them soon. In that appropriately soaring manner, Sherman and Hull rivet their strong dramatic point
2024 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway Premiere Off-Broadway |
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