The best way to enjoy the new, star-studded affair at the Hudson Theatre is to know what you’re in for before seeing it. The first clue is in the title — notice there’s no “A” prefacing the subtitle of All In: Comedy About Love by Simon Rich. The second clue is, well, for that all you have to do is glance at the photo accompanying this review.
Yes, the show is not “a” comedy, meaning an actual play, but rather a collection of short humorous pieces written by Simon Rich (son of former New York Times theater critic Frank), read by a rotating quartet of well-known performers. The current stars are comedian John Mulaney (certainly the show’s biggest draw), veteran character actor Richard Kind, Tony-winner Renee Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton), and actor-writer-musician Fred Armisen, who, like Mulaney and Rich, is a Saturday Night Live veteran. Among the stars appearing later in the limited run for stints of varying lengths are Lin-Manuel Miranda, Annaleigh Ashford, Hank Azaria, Jimmy Fallon, Aidy Bryant, and Nick Kroll.
With the exception of an opening monologue by Mulaney in which he tells a very funny story involving a man who walks into a bar and encounters a genie who grants wishes, the performers spend the evening sitting in comfortable chairs, scripts in hand, the stage adorned by multiple chandeliers. It’s all very cozy, like a reading at your favorite independent bookstore, except that the Hudson is a large theater and, with the exception of benefits, audiences don’t generally pay hundreds of dollars to attend readings.
[Read David Finkle’s ★★☆☆☆ review here.]
Your mileage will necessarily vary on the experience, depending on your level of fandom for the performers (Mulaney can sell out arenas with his stand-up shows) and your taste for Rich’s whimsically witty but slight brand of humor. There are certainly plenty of laughs in the material, especially the shorter pieces, like the “Dog Missed Connection” personal ads that are hilariously vulgar. But the longer segments tend to lose steam despite their funny moments, including “Learning the Ropes,” about two pirates who improbably find themselves caring for a little girl (Mulaney and Armisen have a ball with the accents), and “The Big Nap,” a film noir parody in which Mulaney plays a two-year-old detective investigating his sister’s missing unicorn doll.
More effective is “Case Study,” in which the Elephant Man’s doctor becomes insanely jealous over his wife’s “emotional affair” with his patient, and “New Client,” in which a low-level talent agent is visited by Death and manages to avoid his fate by persuading the Grim Reaper to try his hand at being an actor.
The performers vary in their level of dependence on the script, with Mulaney and Armisen largely off-book. But they’re all very effective: Mulaney, one of the best stand-ups working today, has pitch-perfect timing and delivery; Kind, one of our most reliable comic actors, makes everything he says funny; Goldsberry uses her actorly skills to play roles ranging from toddlers to British ladies; and Armisen is a hoot as the Elephant Man and Death, the latter role enhanced by a booming voice-altering device.
As if acknowledging the static nature of the proceedings, the show also features musical interludes by a 5-piece band led by The Bengsons playing tuneful songs by Stephen Merritt of The Magnetic Fields, among them selections from, appropriately enough, the band’s landmark album 69 Love Songs. There are also projections of amusing illustrations by New Yorker cartoonist Emily Flake.
But despite the efforts of director Alex Timbers to lend theatricality to the evening via atmospheric sound and lighting effects, All In: Comedy About Love wears out its welcome before its conclusion despite its brief 90-minute running time. What would have been a special event as presented by Audible at the Minetta Lane Theatre (albeit an impossible ticket with this cast) feels a bit shameless as a commercial Broadway venture.
All In: Comedy About Love by Simon Rich opened December 22, 2024, at the Hudson Theatre and runs through February 16, 2025. Tickets and information: allinbroadway.com
