New York theater critics have given generally negative reviews to Paradise Square, based on the 2012 musical Hard Times by Larry Kirwan. The new musical premiered at Berkeley Rep in 2018, followed by a pre-Broadway run in Chicago last year. The creative team includes Larry Kirwan (concept, book, music, arrangements), Christina Anderson, Marcus Gardley, and Craig Lucas (book), Jason Howland (music, music direction, arrangements, orchestrations), Masi Asare and Nathan Tysen (lyrics), Moisés Kaufman (direction), Bill T. Jones (choreography), Alex Sanchez (musical staging), Allen Moyer (sets), Toni-Leslie James (costumes), Donald Holder (lights), Jon Weston (sound), Wendall K. Harrington (projections), and Matthew B. Armentrout (hair & wigs).
The cast includes Joaquina Kalukango (Nelly O’Brien), Matt Bogart (Willie O’Brien), Kevin Dennis (“Lucky” Mike Quinlan), John Dossett (Frederic Tiggens), Sidney DuPont (Washington Henry), Jacob Fishel (Milton Moore), Chilina Kennedy (Annie Lewis), Gabrielle McClinton (Angelina Baker), A.J. Shively (Owen Duignan), and Nathaniel Stampley (Rev. Samuel Jacob Lewis).
AM N.Y. (Matt Windman): Although well-meaning and filled with some striking visuals and pointed political commentary, Paradise Square is sappy, overstuffed, overlong, and tiresome. … Kaufman seems to have approached it more with a visual eye than a dramaturgical hand. Its best moments involve large, striking tableaux and full-bodied, expressive modern dance choreography by Bill T. Jones. On the other hand, the book (credited to no less than three writers) is a labored mess, and the score (credited to no less than four writers) is a strange amalgam. … If not much else, Paradise Square might be an ideal show for educators who want to take their students to a Broadway musical about U.S. history but can’t score tickets to Hamilton.
N.Y. Daily News (Chris Jones): Jaws clenched, limbs firing and hearts on the line: That’s what the admirable cast of the gutsy Paradise Square is delivering … led by a blockbuster lead performance from Joaquina Kalukango. … All of the writerly comings and goings can be felt at times … although far less than in Chicago, thanks to the unifying efforts of Howland’s growing suite of music, which is rich, earnest and emotionally potent. … The show genuinely wants to be entertaining, of course, and much of the time it succeeds. It movingly celebrates the power of love and of families we make for ourselves. But it does not want to offer the traditional cathartic comfort of musicals; rather, it seeks to reflect all the pain these struggling characters feel.
New York Times (Jesse Green): The show seems more interested in saying the right things than in telling a coherent story. Wait — I take that back: It does tell a coherent story, in two ways. One is in the dancing, which employs a kaleidoscopic crash of contextual styles. … The other source of coherence in Paradise Square is Kalukango, who somehow alchemizes the remarkable difficulties of the role into her characterization, making it incredible in the good way instead of the bad. … Nothing really prepares you for the moment when an actor brings everything she has to the stage and essentially writes what needs to be said while you watch. It makes you believe in making history.
Time Out (Adam Feldman): It’s a handsome production, with a talented and notably large cast; the exciting dance sequences … are among the show’s highlights. … The problem is that the writing doesn’t support the spectacle, yielding a ponderous hash of good intentions that often feels like a training-wheels version of Ragtime. … The thrilling exception that proves the rule is Nelly’s final number, “Let It Burn.” Like Cynthia Erivo in The Color Purple, Kalukango keeps her performance at a slow and steady smolder for most of Paradise Square, then flares out with deep emotional force. Her heat is infectious: The crowd rises up, finally inflamed. 3 out of 5 stars.
Variety (Naveen Kumar): The blunt and belabored history lesson of a new musical … purports to be a fable of American race relations. But while conflicts between the neighborhood’s Black and Irish residents at times come thrillingly to life through dance, Paradise Square is wrong-footed from the jump. … Paradise Square puts a host of stock characters in a broadly sketched historical setting, piles on the plot, and hopes for contemporary resonance. The result is a tiresome mess. … Amid its convoluted logic, Paradise Square has an invaluable asset in Joaquina Kalukango, who delivers an exhilarating, star-making performance as the iron-backed bar owner.