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Early Reviews Weigh Night Side Songs, a Singalong Musical on Illness at LCT3

Reviews highlight compelling performances, with reservations about the show’s cohesion.

Overview

  • The Lazour brothers’ 95-minute work opened March 1 at Lincoln Center’s Claire Tow Theater and is scheduled to run through March 29.
  • Audience participation is central, with patrons given a printed songbook and Robin de Jesús conducting the crowd in recurring refrains.
  • The production mixes original songs and vignette-style experiments to explore experiences of illness, drawing on interviews and a Susan Sontag quotation.
  • Brooke Ishibashi, Mary Testa, Robin de Jesús, Jonathan Raviv and Kris Saint‑Louis lead the cast under Taibi Magar’s direction with music direction by Alex Bechtel.
  • Critics commend standout moments and performances (including Testa and “Miracle Song”) while noting an uneven score and a form that can dilute emotional impact.