| All In: Comedy About Love | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Simon Rich |
| Directed by | Alex Timbers |
| Date premiered | December 30, 2024 |
| Original language | English |
| Subject | Love, Romance |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Official site | |
All In: Comedy About Love is a show from Simon Rich which consists of live readings of previously published short stories from The New Yorker . The first production, directed by Alex Timbers, opened in previews on December 11, 2024, at the Hudson Theater in New York City on Broadway. The original Broadway cast includes John Mulaney, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Fred Armisen, and Richard Kind, with music by the Magnetic Fields. The show was directed by Alex Timbers and produced by Lorne Michaels.
The show consists of live readings of seven of Simon Rich's previously published short stories. [1]
| Title | Date published | Original publication |
|---|---|---|
| "Guy Walks Into a Bar" | November 10, 2013 | The New Yorker |
| "Dog Missed Connections" | January 22, 2013 | The Last Girlfriend on Earth book |
| "Learning the Ropes" | February 28, 2020 | The New Yorker |
| "Case Study" | July 27, 2021 | New Teeth book |
| "The Big Nap" | July 6, 2021 | The New Yorker |
| "New Client" | July 24, 2018 | Hits & Misses book |
| "History Report" | August 29, 2022 | The New Yorker |
The original cast starred John Mulaney, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Fred Armisen, and Richard Kind. [2]
The rotating cast lists as follows:
| Name | Dates |
|---|---|
| John Mulaney | December 11, 2024 – January 12, 2025 |
| Renée Elise Goldsberry | December 11, 2024 – December 30, 2024 |
| Fred Armisen | December 11, 2024 – January 12, 2025 |
| Richard Kind | December 11, 2024 – January 12, 2025 |
| Chloe Fineman | January 2, 2025 – January 12, 2025 |
| Lin-Manuel Miranda | January 14, 2025 – February 16, 2025 |
| Aidy Bryant | January 14, 2025 – February 2, 2025 |
| Nick Kroll | January 14, 2025 – February 2, 2025 |
| Andrew Rannells | January 14, 2025 – January 26, 2025 |
| Jimmy Fallon | January 28, 2025 – February 2, 2025 |
| Annaleigh Ashford | February 4, 2025 – February 16, 2025 |
| Tim Meadows | February 4, 2025 – February 16, 2025 |
| David Cross | February 4, 2025 – February 16, 2025 |
| Hank Azaria | February 11, 2025 – February 16, 2025 |
In September 2024, it was announced that John Mulaney would be starring in a comedic show entitled All In: Comedy About Love written by Simon Rich. The show would feature a rotating cast of four actors for 10 weeks with performances starting December 11, 2024. The original cast consisted of Mulaney, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Fred Armisen, and Richard Kind. Chloe Fineman was added, replacing Goldsberry as part of the original cast. On September 23, 2024, the rotating cast was announced as being Lin-Manuel Miranda, Nick Kroll, Andrew Rannells, Jimmy Fallon, Aidy Bryant, David Cross, Tim Meadows, and Hank Azaria. [3] On October 1, 2024, Annaleigh Ashford was announced as joining the cast. [4]
The show also included songs from the indie pop band the Magnetic Fields from their album 69 Love Songs . [5] The show was described as featuring a series of humorous stories about dating, heartbreak, marriage and more, adapted from short stories by Rich that had previously appeared in The New Yorker . The press release said: "Sometimes they will play pirates, sometimes they will play dogs, and there's one where we make them talk in British accents. But even though the show's kind of all over the place, it's meant to tell one simple story: that the most important part of life is who we share it with." Alex Timbers was announced as the shows director with Lorne Michaels producing. [6]
Sara Holden of Vulture wrote about the show's marketing, which confused audience members who expected a play with actors performing the short stories and not a live reading of the short stories. Holden explained, "it's not a good sign when your Broadway show has more than one Reddit thread asking if it's a scam", saying that "it's an expensive staged reading with a rotating cast of celebrities". She added: "The show's marketing team has been careful about their wording: All In, says its website, is 'a series of hilarious short stories ... read by some of the funniest people on the planet.'" [7] Greg Evans of Deadline Hollywood said the show was a "strange beast" on Broadway and noted, "judging by some audience reviews on various websites, there is indeed confusion – All In is a series of story readings, or performed readings rather", noting that the production consisted of the actors sitting in armchairs reading from scripts. [8]
All In received mixed reviews with critics with some critics praising its airy comedic quality and A-list cast while others criticized its slight material. Greg Evans of Deadline Hollywood wrote favorably about the production, comparing it to that of a "perfect holiday snickerdoodle, a light and tasty snack no less funny for its brevity and lack of splashy production values". [9] Adam Feldman of Time Out concurred, describing the show was a "live reading" and writing: "All In may not be a full dramatic meal, but it's a tasty treat for the run-up to Valentine's Day, sweet and tart as a candy heart." Feldman praised Mulaney and Kind as being "masterful" and compared the stories to that of Woody Allen's work. [10]
Elizabeth Vincentelli of The New York Times wrote: "It all adds up to a pleasantly innocuous evening, but it's also hard not to think that we're watching a bunch of Formula 1 cars being throttled at 25 mph." [11] In his mixed review, Pete Hemstead of Theatermania wrote that despite the fact that he was "smiling throughout", "All In feels like a joke that goes on for too long and it doesn't have the knee-slapping payoff to make it worth 90 minutes of your time". [12] Johnny Olenski of The New York Post wrote a negative review, declaring the show "a big waste of money". He added: "Each cutesy bit is more self-satisfied and twee than the next. And the entire night has the low boil of a long-winded intro that builds to nothing." [13]