Rocky On Broadway: Is It Still A Knockout?

How do you make a musical out of a story that everybody already knows?
A story that they've seen and seen again. A story that spawned a franchise of six blockbuster films over four decades. Films that were seen again and again worldwide to the tune of more than one billion dollars at the box-office.
How do you do it?
Well, it's not like it's never been done before. Cinderella, LesMiserables and the Phantom of the Opera are all blockbusters of one sort or another and they've been done in many forms and they're all running on Broadway right now. They're all big hits. And certainly Disney has perfected the art of remanufacturing movies into stage hits with three such entities on the Great White Way currently.
But now we're talking about Rocky.
Rocky, The Musical.
It's hard to imagine Rocky Balboa singing a ballad, right? In fact, it's hard to imagine the big galook even attempting to carry a tune. And pugilists who harmonize, like on Glee? C'mon!
You figure, this is near impossible to pull off. No way!
But when studly Andy Karl turns his warm inviting eyes to the audience at the top of the show in Broadway's new Rocky and he sings the awkwardly-titled My Nose Ain't Broken, you just know that this is gonna work. And you also know that Broadway has a fresh, new matinee idol -- a bright, new, hunky, certifiable star.
Because Andy Karl manages to be manly and tender at the same time. He exudes sensuality without forgetting sensitivity. When he finally welcomes Adrian to his gritty, rundown Fishtown apartment and takes off his shirt and says "Yo, Adrian 'ya know, it's hot in here",  it's hot. And when, at his request Adrian takes off her geeky glasses and hat, it's really hot.
When the two of them later sing of their love under a Christmas tree in Happiness, it's a heart-melter.
But Rocky, The Musical truly belongs to Andy Karl.
He's a Rocky for the new millennium and for those much-discussed millennials as well. This is a tenacious, tender testosterone we're talking about here. And of course much of Rocky's charm remains rooted in his aw shucks authenticity.
Yes, all the familiar elements of Rocky are still here in this big, high tech production at the Winter Garden Theater. Rocky still converses with his matched pet turtles, Cuff and Link. He still pummels those slabs of beef at the meat house where Adrian's brother, Paulie works. And he still runs through the Italian Market in South Philly and climbs those vaulted Art Museum steps. And the music includes both Rocky anthems, Eye of the Tiger and Gonna Fly Now. It's all here, just as you remember it.
But in many ways it's different as well. Karl isn't imitating Stallone and Margo Seibert who plays Adrian isn't imitating Talia Shire. And Paulie is slightly different from the character in the movie and Rocky's trainer Mickey is not quite the same as well. The roles have been tweaked a bit. So when Paulie flips out, it's that much more dramatic and just this side of dark. And when Mickey sings "In the Ring,"  reminiscing about his life and looking for one more chance, it's downright poignant.
This is a show anchored in the grimy urbaness of Philly, circa 1976. So, don't expect the traditional doses of Broadway flash. The only dazzle you're gonna find is when Apollo Creed and his entourage come on the scene. And then it's all hustle and show-biz. But that does provide a nice balance to the rest of it and it sets us up for the Big Fight.
Yes, we all know how Rocky ends.
But how do you pull off the Big Fight on a proscenium stage?
We're not gonna tell you how this challenge was approached. But we will tell you this: We've never seen anything on Broadway like the last 20 minutes of Rocky. Never! It's breathtaking.
So, yes -- see Rocky, The Musical.
See if for Andy Karl as Rocky and Margo Seibert as Adrian and Terence Archie as Apollo and Dakin Matthews as Mickey and Danny Mastrogiorgio as Paulie. They're wonderful together!
See it for the music by Stephen Flaherty and the lyrics by Lynn Ahrems. See it for the tight, sustained direction by Alex Timbers. See it even though you've seen it before.
You won't be disappointed.