You Never Know (musical) - Critical Response

Critical Response

Critical reception was generally poor for the original production, and the show closed after 78 performances and after a salary cut for the cast. Variety had noted, "a limited stay is indicated," and The New Yorker wrote, "it is sad to see so many handsome and talented people wandering helplessly around a stage." In the Times, Brooks Atkinson wrote that Clifton Webb "has a whole bookcase stacked against him...handfuls of bad jokes innuendoes with the delicacy of an elephant stampede."

Sylvie Drake of the Los Angeles Times said of the 1991 production, " What we do know is that (Paul) Lazarus has created a pleasant surprise: a chamber musical that's something of a mix of Porter, Moliere and Georges Feydeau, based on an urbane drawing-room farce with a French-Viennese flavor...It is classy, intimate, happy, with terrific music and a cast of six."

Alvin Klein of the New York Times said of the 1996 Papermill show, "Theatre buffs get a kick out of making wish lists of lost musicals, ripe for revival. But not You Never Know. To see the show...is to know why a justly disregarded Cole Porter fiasco of 1938 is unlikely to survive the enlightened scrutiny – even the escapist fantasies – of modern sensibilities."

Howard Kissel of the Daily News said of the 1996 production, "The sets and costumes are gorgeous, and the tap-dancing is extremely jolly. Whatever its shortcomings, "You Never Know" gives you a wonderful sense of discovery."

Robert L. Daniels of Variety said of the 1996 production, "It is frightfully simple as staged and acted, completely lacking in wit and barren of comic inspiration, a chamber musical built on straw. What does survive, however, are the songs by Cole Porter, although the composer often publicly stated his own intense dislike of the musical, telling his biographer it was the worst show he was ever associated with...Director Charles Repole, a past master at period excavations, moves the action swiftly from song to song, but fails to harness the fun. Gregg Barnes' costumes are nothing short of divine, and Anania's set makes it all so very luscious. " He did praise KT Sullivan though, calling her "Manhattan's bright-eyed cabaret star" and goes on to say she was "Jilted by a rich beau, Sullivan whips a lethal fur boa, smashes champagne flutes and precious vases to announce that she is "Back in Circulation." It's a first act highlight, spiced by her golden pizzazz and kewpie-doll charm."