Monday, August 18, 2025
Legendary comic Jeff Ross returns home for his long-awaited Broadway debut in TAKE A BANANA FOR THE RIDE — a hilarious, heartfelt one-man show about laughing through the pain, the importan…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 10:56PM“Take a Banana” is, however, a willfully upbeat show; whenever it gets too dark, Ross detonates another joke. In his banana-yellow suit (by Toni-Leslie James), he takes us on a tour of h…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 10:56PMThis deeply personal, moving, and undeniably funny show is first and foremost a love letter to the chaotic people (and pets) that made Ross who he is. The experience of losing them is what h…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 10:54PMHere, though, laughs are not the final goal. Vicious comedy may be Ross’s superpower, but this show aims to reveal his secret identity as the nicest of guys: an über-mensch.
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SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 10:54PMDeath does not become him. Frankly, it’s a bore, as is his fixation on his own health, which went bad from the get-go.
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SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 10:54PMIt doesn’t take long before the evening begins to feel like an interminable evening with an elderly relative who insists on making you look through their photo albums. Ross can be a very f…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 10:54PMFor all of its appeal, the 90-minute attraction somehow seems a smidge overlong; perhaps Ross’ dog stories might be curtailed. Fans familiar with Ross’ skill at insult humor likely will …
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 10:54PMHere and throughout, Mr. Ross is, for the most part, careful to balance his gushing with the gleefully impolite humor that is his bread and butter.
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SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 10:54PMBut he threads, or at least punctuates, each of these downer stories with one-liners, some of them funny, some of them just in bad taste. (About his baldness, he says: “I know I look like …
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 10:54PMThus, it is pleasantly surprising that Ross’s new solo show Jeff Ross: Take a Banana for the Ride is very silly, disarmingly sweet, and engagingly straightforward. To have built a reputati…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 10:54PMFriday, August 15, 2025
Despite being slightly downscaled for the road — most notably in a set that feels a little flimsy — this is a fine iteration of “Mamma Mia!” It certainly is sprightlier than it was t…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 08:04PMThursday, August 14, 2025
The story-telling magic of ABBA’s timeless songs propels this enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship, creating an unforgettable show. A large cast, non-stop laughs and explosive …
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 09:47PMThis is not a dark Brechtian take on a well-known musical, nor a queer reclamation of mainstream pop culture—but I’m not sure anyone needs that from Mamma Mia!, a show that knows what it…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 09:47PMYet “Mamma Mia!” remains what it always was: a feast for your pleasure centers. It’s a show that almost invites us to roll our eyes at it — until that moment or two later when we’r…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 09:47PMUnlike most of the jukebox musicals that have tried to replicate its formula, Mamma Mia! keeps its balance: It draws you just enough in while maintaining an amused sense of itself. It never …
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 09:47PMThe current “Mamma Mia!” remains under the control of its original director, Phyllida Lloyd; production designer, Mark Thompson; and other creatives. Frankly, the show looks so tacky tha…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 09:47PMThe title still carries that big old exclamation point, but the fantasy is more than a little long in the tooth. Maybe it should be styled with a question mark, or just an ellipsis. Mamma mi…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 09:47PMIt’s been over 25 years since Mamma! Mia first took to the stage, and it’s abundantly clear that the fervor surrounding it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. And it’s easy to see why…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 09:47PMBut the fact that it’s become such a beloved property anyway, spawning two (possibly three) movies and endless themed karaoke parties, feels like hope that art that’s imperfect yet earne…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 09:47PMOkay, you millions (billions?) of ABBA–Mamma Mia! devotees, your fave-rave musical gift is back on Broadway in a first local revival at, appropriately, the Winter Garden. It would be a ple…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 09:47PMThursday, June 12, 2025
Six-time Emmy® Award winner and Tony Award® nominee Jean Smart is back on Broadway for a limited time only, in a tour-de-force portrayal of a writer whose words are her greatest gift, her …
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 11:49PMReturning to Broadway after 25 years in “Call Me Izzy,” which opened Thursday at Studio 54, Jean Smart crushes it in the good way.
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SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 11:48PMThe first production of the new Broadway season, Call Me Izzy blesses 2025-2026 with a terrific beginning. One only hopes Tony voters have very, very long memories.
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SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 11:48PMThese swerves of impulses could easily go off the tracks but the combination of the steady direction of Sarna Lapine (“Sunday in the Park With George“) and Smart’s riveting performance…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 11:48PMJean Smart, heading back to Broadway after a career revival on television, has plenty of talent. The trouble is she’s stuck in a production that has little idea what to do with it, other t…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 11:48PMSo, it all comes down to her, and Smart delivers the kind of once-in-a-lifetime performance that lingers long after the play ends. So raw, so shattering, the distance is vast between Izzy an…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 11:47PMThe play is dull and unchallenging. Outside of a surprise run-in with a professor — the show’s one hearty laugh that then gets overused — the story unfurls in the most obvious, stay-on…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 11:46PMAfter a mawkish beginning, the play somewhat redeems itself through earned emotions and an ambiguous ending that begs discussion. It’s never wise to bet against Smart, who ultimately deser…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 11:46PMFresh off the success of the fourth season of Hacks, Jean Smart is vibrant, tough, and matter-of-factly, darkly funny as Izzy in a way that has the audience alternating laughs and gasps of h…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 11:46PMSmart, returning to Broadway after some 25 years, brings astonishing clarity and depth to the part. Spinning an enticing yarn from shopworn material — the action is set in 1989, when it ma…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 11:46PMSunday, April 27, 2025
Ana García dreams of flying away. But when her family’s East Los Angeles garment business receives a make-or-break order for 200 dresses, Ana finds herself juggling her own ambitions, her…
SOURCE: Did They Like It? at 10:27PM 
