New York theater critics have given mixed reviews to the Off-Broadway debut of the original musical Trevor, based on the 1994 Oscar-winning short directed by Peggy Rajski and written by Celeste Lecense, co-founders with Randy Stone of The Trevor Project, a crisis and suicide prevention helpline. The musical premiered in 2017 at Writers Theatre in Glencoe, Ill., and opened last night at Stage 42. The creative team includes Dan Collins (book, lyrics), Julianne Wick Davis (music), Donyale Werle (sets), Peter Kaczorowski (lights), Mara Blumenfeld (costumes), Tom Watson (hair & wigs), Brian Ronan and Cody Spencer (sound), Greg Pliska (orchestrations), Matt Deitchman (music direction), Josh Prince (choreography), and Marc Bruni (direction).
The cast features Holden Hagelberger (Trevor), Sammy Dell (Pinky), Yasmeen Sulieman (Diana Ross), Sally Wilfert (Mom / Mrs. Kerr), and Jarrod Zimmerman (Dad / Father Joe), with Aaron Alcaraz (Jack), Diego Lucano (Jason), Alyssa Emily Marvin (Cathy), Isabel Medina (Frannie), Echo Deva Picone (Mary), Aryan Simhadri (Walter), and ensemble members Mark Aguirre, Ava Briglia, Ellie Kim, Colin Konstanty, and Brigg Liberman. Below is Hagelberger singing “My Imagination.”
Deadline (Greg Evans): It doesn’t drop the burden of expectations, exactly, and it certainly doesn’t kick it off the stage when no one’s looking. Rather, the big-hearted pop musical widens itself to encompass its big-hearted message, persevering, like Trevor himself, over some rough patches with a blend of musical theater optimism, drama club earnestness and a delightfully catchy blend of new tunes mixed in with classics. … We can’t help wondering why more jukebox musicals, or jukebox-adjacent, can’t pull it off. Trevor: The Boy would no doubt love it, and that’s a pretty good recommendation for Trevor.
New York Stage Review (David Finkle): If the right inspired people apply themselves to a property, they can produce something memorable. Sorry to say that nowhere near enough inspiration came to Dan Collins and Julianne Wick Davis. … What they offer is consistent with the types of tunes frequently heard in today’s new musicals. They’re like Kleenex treating song-cue sneezes the plot gives out. … Perhaps it could be said in its favor, and as directed by Marc Bruni, Trevor is cute, but when at one point Trevor is called “cute,” he replies with some sophistication, “Cute is what delusional moms tell their children.” 3 out of 5 stars.
New York Stage Review (Elysa Gardner): A show that is at once breezily entertaining and genuinely heartwarming. … The creators and Bruni have retained the poignance with which Lecesne and the film’s director, Peggy Rajski, told their protagonist’s story … while reminding us that some lights burn too brightly to be easily extinguished, and that empathy and compassion can pop up in the most unlikely places. … Trevor may take us back to an era that had its own complications and injustices, but its positive spirit is so infectious that you end up feeling better about the future. 4 out of 5 stars.
New York Theatre Guide (Joe Dziemianowicz): Overstatement and dollar store cliches nag throughout the story, which has been expanded but not deepened. Trevor’s humiliation has transformed into a teen conspiracy. Flashy production numbers choreographed by Josh Prince are sharp and fun but also feel like padding. … The show’s saving grace is Trevor himself, a lovable and sympathetic survivor. … Trevor begins with Diana Ross inquisitively purring “Do you know where you’re going to?” In the end, Trevor may not know exactly where he’s headed, but he realizes that that’s okay. That’s something to sing about. 3 out of 5 stars.
New York Times (Jesse Green): I’d seldom encountered, outside of after-school specials, the cheesy-but-worthy combo. … The result is a bizarrely cheery and thus tonally incomprehensible show in which everything potentially painful is anesthetized. … The musical feels as if it were written for, or even by, suicide prevention experts worried about copycatting … but then why write a musical? You can’t keep saying that a show is not about what it’s obviously about. And yet … in the level of heaven reserved for works of the imagination that have saved real lives, Trevor, in 10 years, may be holding court on a special and I hope very fabulous cloud.
Stage Buddy (Erin Kahn): One of the charms of Trevor: The Musical … is that, while it touches on potentially tragic subjects, it never loses its cool for too long. … With delightful dance numbers, catchy songs, and a heavy dose of showbizzy pizazz, Trevor combines a modern sensitivity with a golden age musical style. The result is a big-hearted new show that’s entertaining, tender, and best of all, original. … It’s hard to imagine a more adorable show. … In today’s anxious, fear-ridden social and political climate, this unabashedly joyful, celebratory show is both a welcome reprieve and a saving grace.
Theater Mania (Pete Hempstead): There’s a lot to like about this toe-tapping version of Trevor’s story: The young cast is extraordinary, the music is catchy, and the message is simple — love yourself, be yourself, and screw what other people think. … Trevor does conclude with an ending that seems a little too tidy and unrealistic: People rarely change their thinking as quickly as the parents and students do here. But to stress that aspect of the story is to miss the larger point. … If this musical can get a parent or friend to reach out to someone who’s struggling … then that’s a big win for the theater.
Time Out (Adam Feldman): In turning the story into a full-length musical, librettist Dan Collins and composer Julianne Wick Davis have expanded its focus to a wider view of the social dynamics at play in the bullying that Trevor endures. But the appeal of Trevor still rests on the flouncing shoulders of its young title character, who is onstage for the whole show. … In the end, despite its painful corners and occasional missteps, Trevor is a joyful show — a show about finding joy enough where you can. 4 out of 5 stars.