Did New York Critics Savor Off-Broadway's Five Course Love?

The off-Broadway musicals just keep on coming. The latest one is Gregg Coffin's Five Course Love, which tells the tale of five couples in five different restaurants. The tuner opened October 16 at the Minetta Lane Theatre. Did critics find the production delectable?

Here is a sampling of what they had to say:

William Stevenson in his Broadway.com Review: "It's a cute, diverting, fast-paced little show, though the actors sometimes press too hard for laughs and high notes…. Five Course Love has as many moods as it does musical flavors. Running just 80 minutes, it's alternately silly and sweet, raunchy and romantic. Some of the songs are catchier than others, but each scene has enjoyable moments… Despite its inventiveness and comic high points, Five Course Love doesn't feel like a hearty meal of a musical. It's more like five tasty appetizers that whet the appetite for something more substantial."

Marilyn Stasio of Variety: "The curse of every brilliant idea is the necessity for its brilliant execution. Gregg Coffin's bright idea for Five Course Love was to set five revue sketches in five different restaurants and take his comic themes and musical cues from their distinctive ethnic cuisines. But the lyricist-composer-librettist falls short on execution, settling for easy caricature and obvious jokes, while expecting too much from his director and cast. Everyone works hard to be inventive, but they can't supply what Coffin really needs--a collaborator."

Peter Santilli of The Associated Press: "In Greg Coffin's farcical new musical, Five Course Love, which opened Sunday at off-Broadway's Minetta Lane Theatre, we're served heaping servings of silliness and a familiar coupling--food and romance. Thankfully, we're also treated to more meat and potatoes than is commonly found in the average silly musical, which so often can mean stale jokes and a vacuous score. While not without its share of painfully dumb humor, Coffin's musical under the direction of Emma Griffin and with choreography by Mindy Cooper is, for the most part, artfully silly and genuinely funny."