AmericanTheaterWeb Original News & Reviews

Additions, midday, April 30, 2009:

Bloomberg.com

Hyde Pierce Restores Comic Gem of Depression-Era Broadway: Jeremy Gerard
Like you, no doubt, I’d never heard of Samson Raphaelson. Until last night, when his 1934 “Accent on Youth” opened in a sparkling Broadway revival by the Manhattan Theater Club.

New York Daily News

'Accent on Youth' hasn't aged well
Evidence is the flaccid revival of the 75-year-old creaker, starring David Hyde Pierce, which whips up so little laughter it should carry a "lite" label

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AmericanTheaterWeb

Review: Accent on Youth
1930's Showbiz Comedy Mildly Amuses

New York Times

Too Old to Be Hot? Not This Guy
Age has not exactly withered this 1934 comedy about a May-December romance in the theater world. But it has not done it any great favors either.

amNY New York City Theater

Theater Review of Accent on Youth
What’s it like attending “Accent on Youth”? Well, the posh Manhattan apartment set design and Depression-era costumes are pretty. The cast is pretty charming. Some witty dialogue occasionally pops up. But it’s hard to not feel underwhelmed and bored by the Manhattan Theater Club’s well-meant but unnecessary and uninspired revival of what feels like a third-rate Noel Coward play.

Newsday

'Accent on Youth' starring David Hyde Pierce

New York Post

'Youth' is wasted
Only hard-core TCM geeks may recognize Samson Raphael son's name these days. A shame, since he wrote or adapted some of the best com edies of the 1930s and '40s for Ernst Lubitsch, including "Trouble in Paradise," "The Shop Around the Corner" and "Heaven Can Wait." Put any of these movies at the top of...

Hartford Courant

New York Stage: David Hyde Pierce Shines In 'Accent On Youth'
...With David Hyde Pierce giving a finely measured display of wit and sophistication as playwright Steven Gaye, Daniel Sullivan's production largely succeeds in restoring Raphaelson's reputation.

Bergen Record

’30s revival pushes nostalgia buttons
“Accent on Youth,” which opened in a revival Wednesday night at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, has something going for it that it didn’t have when it debuted on Broadway in 1934: It’s exotic.

Associated Press

'Youth' Examines a May-December Romance
Older man. Younger woman. Boy, have playwrights been here before.

Variety

Review: Accent on Youth
David Hyde Pierce's effortless timing makes this antiquated comedy tick by painlessly enough.

Hollywood Reporter

Theater Review: Accent on Youth
Bottom Line: This vintage drawing-room comedy is showing its age.

BackStage

Accent on Youth reviewed by Erik Haagensen
After 19 comedies, his latest play is a "tragedy," as it is all about an affair between an older man and a much younger woman.

TheaterMania

Review: Accent on Youth
David Hyde Pierce leads an adept cast in Samson Raphaelson's mildly entertaining if dated comedy about theater folk.

Talkin' Broadway

Review: Accent on Youth
Have you ever feared that someday you’d gain access to a time machine, use it, and discover the past isn’t all it’s cracked up to be? That’s the basic premise behind the Manhattan Theatre Club’s unfortunately faithful revival of Samson Raphaelson’s Accent on Youth, which just opened at the Friedman. .