In Transit BROADWAY REVIEWS

• NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW OF In Transit

  

  ‘In Transit’ Goes on an a Cappella Ride

  Ben Brantley

  December 11, 2016: Every now and then, as yet another peppy cliché prances across the stage of the Circle in the Square Theater, you may pause to ponder the pioneering achievement of “In Transit,” the singing portrait of New York City subway travelers, which opened on Sunday night. After all, what you’re listening to often gleams with the blended polyphony of a good-size band. Yet not an instrument has been used in the performance of this a cappella musical, staged by the Tony-winning director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall. Everything we hear, as we are told in a (sung) preshow announcement, is created by human voices.

  READ THE REVIEW

• TIME OUT NEW YORK REVIEW OF In Transit

  

  In Transit is a cute but unmemorable a cappella journey

  David Cote

  December 11, 2016: Six years ago I reviewed In Transit Off Broadway and immediately forgot it. It’s an occupational hazard: You give a show focused attention, translate feelings into words and then move on to the next thing. My semi-amnesia could also be attributed to the material: an a cappella musical about stereotypical New Yorkers (aspiring stage diva, unemployed businessman, gay professional who won’t come out to his mother) on the subway, chasing their dreams, traveling fast but unsure if they’re going anywhere. Accompanying them and offering pearls of chill wisdom is a busking beatbox artist (Steven “Heaven” Cantor, who spits out prodigious vocal tracks).

  READ THE REVIEW

• AM NEW YORK REVIEW OF In Transit

  

  Broadway’s first a cappella musical falls short

  Matt Windman

  December 11, 2016: What’s the appeal of a musical set on and around the New York City subway system? Don’t we all spend enough time on the subway each and every day? Who wants to spend even more time staring at a gritty-looking train platform, being reminded of the delays, overcrowding and countless other frustrations there?

  READ THE REVIEW

• NBC NEW YORK REVIEW OF In Transit

  

  'In Transit' Cast Sees Something, Sings Something

  Robert Kahn

  December 11, 2016: If “Swipe Again” messages and surly token clerks have taken their toll on your daily commute, perhaps an elixir can be found at the Circle in the Square Theatre, where “In Transit,” an all-a capella, electronically amplified musical, has just pulled into the station.

  READ THE REVIEW

• ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY REVIEW OF In Transit

  

  In Transit: EW stage review

  Breanne L. Heldman

  December 11, 2016: If Love Actually were a musical set in the New York City subway system (and minus the Maroon 5), the result would come pretty close to Broadway’s In Transit. The new entry, touted as “Broadway’s first a cappella musical,” features a series of characters and stories that occasionally intersect and superficially connect. Jane (Margo Seibert) is a thirtysomething aspiring actress temping in an office and going to auditions on her lunch break; Ali (Erin Mackey) is a newly single runner; Nate (James Snyder) is broke after losing his high-paying job; and Trent (Justin Guarini) and Steven (Telly Leung) are getting ready to get married — if only Trent would come out to his born-again Christian mother. And then there’s Boxman, played by Chesney Snow, the conductor of this train in every sense. The beatboxer kept the story going, the heart pumping, and the drums ticking. He is also the show’s biggest wow factor, kicking it off with a solo that sets the tone for the mouth-instruments musical and then makes you crave another one (it comes much later, though it’s not used quite as effectively).

  READ THE REVIEW