Score itScored!
74%
(139 Ratings)
Positive
77%
Mixed
17%
Negative
6%
Members say
Great singing, Entertaining, Delightful, Dated, Cliched
About the Show
Three women learn about how the world sees them, and how that colors their self-worth, over decades.
With a book by Jack Heifner, based on his 1976 play of the same name, and music and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum, Vanities is a sincere and funny chronicle of the lives of Joanne, Kathy, and Mary — following them from their late teenage years through their adulthood. They grow and change, pushing the limits of what they thought they knew about themselves, as well as the limiting views that society has encouraged about women.
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Show-Score Member Reviews(139)
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Vicki 14
121 Reviews | 23 Followers
95
Clever, Delightful, Enchanting, Entertaining
See it ifStory about 3 talented women Great musical with excellent singers Wonderful music The story the performance was great
Don't see it ifYou dont like musicalsRead more
95
Must see, Great staging, Great singing, Great acting
See it ifSee it if You enjoy minimalist staging very well done. Decades worth of friendship told in 90 minutes with a live orchestra and a talk back.
Don't see it ifDon't see it if You do not enjoy Powerful singing and complex relationships and historical content.
rob 7118
57 Reviews | 7 Followers
90
Delightful
See it ifyou want to check out a much improved version of an off-Broadway musical. Great singing, staging and design.
Don't see it ifyou don't like intimate period musicals
Crup_Crup
110 Reviews | 14 Followers
88
Relatable, Resonant, Great singing, Great acting
See it ifYou like slice-of-life narratives that take characters across the years, you enjoy character-focused explorations.
Don't see it ifYou don't like small productions, don't like musicals, prefer action-packed plotlines.Read more
stuontheaisle
141 Reviews | 19 Followers
88
Friends, indeed.
See it ifa heartfelt comedy with a pleasing score and a moderately feminist slant would appeal to you.
Don't see it ifa small cast show charting the lives of three young women, beginning with their years as high school cheerleaders, would turn you off.Read more
Laura 36
111 Reviews | 17 Followers
86
Refreshing, Intelligent, Absorbing
See it ifyou appreciate the journey from girls to women, the difficulties they faced in light of changing times from late sixties to early nineties
Don't see it ifyou think every show about this era has to be JC Superstar or Hair. This is about the people living that from the sidelines, opening up.Read more
Stagemaven
94 Reviews | 26 Followers
86
Great singing, Great acting, Entertaining, Clever
See it ifYou like short musicals with snappy scores.
Don't see it ifYou don't like small cast shows.
Member 0003b6ac
273 Reviews | 36 Followers
86
Great singing, Dated, Surprising, Thought-provoking, Edgy
See it ifYou want to see three friends sing their lives through three decades. The three actresses updated the stale plot and added great interest.
Don't see it ifOld show are not for you.
Critic Reviews (10)
March 30th, 2023
Hayley Levitt
"The material itself leans too much on cliché, with the entirety of our characters’ personal hurdles wrapped up in the show’s “vanity” metaphor"
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March 30th, 2023
Marc Miller
"You'll enjoy Kirshenbaum's pleasant melodies, perhaps identify with the uncomfortable pangs inherent in long-term friendships, and probably be mildly moved by the end. But 'Vanities–The Musical' ends where it does only because it has no place else to go."
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March 30th, 2023
David Finkle
"Watching 'Vanities–The Musical' today, a reviewer can’t be blamed for wondering whether a cultural sea change Heifner wouldn’t have envisioned in 1976 could cause questioning half a century on. "
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March 30th, 2023
Elysa Gardner
"Heifner’s play was never a searing piece of social commentary to begin with, and by continuing to brighten both the presentation and the resolution of this spinoff, he’s giving his nearly 50-year-old baby room to grow."
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April 5th, 2023
Victor Gluck
'Vanities - The Musical" is rather tame and dated as it doesn’t go past 1990 but extremely well-acted and staged. While it does not offer any new revelations or insights, it is a diverting musical and very entertaining. It will hold your interest even if you can see where it is going long before it gets there. The engaging and appealing cast is delightful company for the evening.
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April 4th, 2023
Samuel L. Leiter
I’m not convinced that musicalizing Vanities improves it. The 1990 extension notwithstanding, the material remains a time capsule from over half a century ago, its historical allusions (JFK, Vietnam, Hair, pot, flower children, etc.) deeply ingrained in the memories of the older spectators, who’ve seen countless stage, film, and TV reminders of them (what could be more triggering than to be told it’s November 22, 1963?). I suspect younger visitors couldn’t care less.
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March 30th, 2023
Holli Harms
"If beautiful singing and performances are all you wish for then this play will satisfy. Concentrate on the production values, the marvelous performers, the direction and choreography, the scenic design, the costumes, and the musicians, and you will leave full with a theatrical experience."
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T
April 3rd, 2023
David Sheward
"This new 'Sweeney' is probably the most perfect production of a Sondheim musical...A terrifyingly terrific cast for a horrifying great 'Sweeney Todd'."
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