February 6, 2009

Critics rave, cringe, yawn at Ferrell's Bush on Broadway

Will Ferrell opened on Broadway last night, turning his “Saturday Night Live” presidential parody into a raunchier take on the ex-commander-in-chief in a move that left the critics divided, ranging from “unflinchingly funny” to “toothless.”

Even ex-castmate Jimmy Fallon offered his own review over Twitter last night: “Just saw You’re Welcome America. Will is a genius.”

You’re Welcome America. A Final Night with George W Bush is scheduled to play through March 15 only but the Post has reported the show will likely extend by two weeks.

HBO will air the the show March 14.

‘You’re Welcome America,” plays the Cort Theatre, located at 138 W. 48th St., map. Regular tickets are priced from $61.50 to $116.50 with premium seats at $251.50, rising to an exceptionally high $301.50 on Friday and Saturday nights. Even in previews, the show has been at 95 percent capacity with few discounts as audience members last week paid an average of $95.35 per ticket.

Student rush tickets are sold for $31 on the day of the show at the box office with Student ID, according to the show’s official website.

The reviews:
New York Times - “But ultimately this production is less about the legacy of George W. Bush than it is about the comic persona that has been perfected by Will Ferrell. “You’re Welcome America” is a lot like Mr. Ferrell’s more middling movies, not quite on a level with “Blades of Glory” or “Talladega Nights.” Sometimes it’s really funny, and sometimes it sort of sags. I laughed, I yawned.”

Variety - “In the wake of so many angry rants about the Bush government’s litany of disgraces, the key to Ferrell’s success in making the impersonation work for an entire show is his refusal to demonize the man. Instead, he finds the sweetness in a character who’s just a big, brash dolt and simply in way over his head.”

USA Today - “Essentially a one-man show, with a few other players turning up in silent cameos (brother Patrick Ferrell is a constant presence, standing by as a brawny Secret Service agent), You’re Welcome America offers fresh ammunition to those who would cast Bush’s detractors as petty, snooty and redundant.”

Newsday - “Ferrell is terrific - sly and subtle, even brave. And “You’re Welcome America. A Final Night With George W Bush” has arrived right on time for both silly fun and smart summing-up of an epoch the country just voted overwhelmingly to change.”

Associated Press - “You can relive those eight years — and more — in “You’re Welcome America. A Final Night With George W. Bush,” Will Ferrell’s merciless and often blisteringly funny raunch roast of the former chief executive who left the Oval Office less than three weeks ago.”

Daily News - “Getting to see this comic whiz in the flesh is a big treat, and the fact that Ferrell has been able to squeeze so many fresh yuks from the beleaguered Bush legacy speaks to his always off-kilter, sometimes raunchy, imagination.”

Bloomberg - “As satire, “You’re Welcome, America” is toothless. What comes across as pointed and funny in 90 seconds on “Saturday Night Live” flops as a Bush-era postmortem.”

Post - “Basically a (nearly) solo extended sketch, it’s theatrical comfort food for Broadway audiences who want to see one of their favorite comic actors live.”

Washington Post - “Mind you, not all the bits in Ferrell’s bag of riffs hold on to freshness. Dick Cheney as dark puppet master feels like very old comedy news. And freed of the constraints on “Saturday Night Live,” the actor resorts to some really juvenile sight gags, with one particularly gross-out moment getting stuck uncomfortably in the memory.”

amNewYork - “And it’s a good bet that in addition to laughing uncontrollably, thousands of New Yorkers will also find “You’re Welcome America: A Final Night with George W. Bush” to be an absurdist, tragicomic and perhaps even cathartic experience.”

Earlier: Ferrell website launches; HBO to air ‘You’re Welcome’

February 6, 2009 7:12 AM in Broadway, Midtown

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