With its wildly offbeat humor and sharp satire of a male-dominated society, ‘The King’s Critique’ is a musical for actors and anyone who loves theater.
Creators Eric Holmes and Nat Zegree turn their affection for the stage into a wholly original show packed with songs and jokes. The longtime collaborators have created three musicals, including Fly More than You Fall, which won nine regional Broadway World Awards, including Best New Work and Best Musical. Holmes wrote the book for The King’s Critique, while Zegree composed the music and co-wrote the lyrics. Together, they celebrate actors as a “sub-species who change the course of the world.”
Taylor Iman Jones brings powerful vocals and impeccable comedic timing to Josephine, the heroine who challenges the king’s ban on women performing onstage. Known for her Broadway performances in Six, Head Over Heels, and Groundhog Day, Jones anchors the rebellion. Josephine recruits a tenor, Sebastian, to help fight the ban. Sky Lakota-Lynch, known for originating the role of Johnny Cade in The Outsiders, plays this irreverent playboy and fuels the backstage chaos.
King Benjamin’s ban sets the plot in motion. Justin Collette, an award-winning actor, writer, and musician whose comedic experience includes starring in Beetlejuice, brings a commanding stage presence and pointed humor to the king, both an obstacle and a comic foil. Matthew Patrick Quinn, best known for playing Hades in Hadestown, takes on another villainous role as Horace, the king’s adviser. Gabi Carrubba, whose career spans television and theater, plays Isabella, the king’s lover. Her place in the royal court helps sustain Benjamin’s decree, while Carrubba adds to the comic tension.
Although Josephine’s rebellion drives the story, Cora is another formidable presence. Her ambition to seize the kingdom shapes the forces Josephine must confront. Donna Lynne Champlin draws on an extensive Broadway background—including Sweeney Todd, Billy Elliot, and By Jeeves—to command the stage as Cora, balancing satire with sincerity.
Photo Credit: Russ Rowland
The cast works together flawlessly, propelling this hilarious ode to musicals while turning some of its sharpest jokes on the audience. Josephine sets out to produce the worst play in the world: an empty chair in the middle of the stage. The spectators sit staring at it, portrayed as “happy little sheep” simply because the curtain has risen. When the king declares the production majestic and entirely new, they eagerly agree. The scene offers a pointed warning: trust your own judgment, rather than surrendering it to critics—or anyone else.
The King’s Critique runs two hours and thirty minutes, with a fifteen-minute intermission, but its impact reaches beyond the laughter. When Cora, now queen, declares theater funding fiscally unviable, an actor responds with a passionate defense of an art form that educates and brings people together. That argument gives this chaotic, hilarious musical its heart. At its best, comedy does more than amuse: it makes us think. The King’s Critique does both. Do not miss it.
