Press Reviews

THE DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT

La Fille du Régiment opened at Washington National Opera on November 12, 2016—4 days after Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton for President.  Months prior, Robert Longbottom had  lined up a surprise guest appearance, and his choice turned out to be just what the audience needed.  As The Washington Post reported its review for this “lovely" production, "In a fraught postelection week, the mere sight of Ginsburg was enough to spark a prolonged ovation."

“Robert Longbottom’s eager cast jumped into everything with theatrical flourish…dialogue sparkled.” Tim Smith: OPERA NEWS

“Robert Longbottom’s new production is solidly traditional, in the best way. A shift of setting or other directorial sleight of hand is a mistake in an opera this slight, as it was the last time WNO staged FILLE.” Charles T. Downey:  WASHINGTON CLASSICAL REVIEW

“Director Robert Longbottom turned in a warm, easy to digest outing of this chestnut, demonstrating admirable restraint with the farcical aspects (Act II free-for-all excepted, of course). Instead of trying to upstage the music with excessively broad or gimmicky bits, Longbottom generally relied on inventive, natural-feeling details that worked in the spirit of the gentle comedy rather than against it.” Alex Baker: PARTERRE BOX

“The Washington National Opera mounted Donizetti’s witty “La Fille du Régiment Staged by Robert Longbottom…the production married the talents of members of Broadway musical theater’s elite with the comic virtuosity of American opera stars.”

“Longbottom’s direction was fast-paced and original. (The second act attempt by the Marquise to transform Marie from her roughhouse army spirits to well-behaved nobility turned into a very funny war of wills between Marie and her dancing master.)” OPERA WARHORSES

“Looking like they are thoroughly enjoying themselves, the chorus aces the clever choreography and wit of director Longbottom and are a joy to watch as they work the visually-clever marches and the mimes. Throw in the scampering antics of Oropesa’s Marie and this is opera that shows musical theater how it’s done.” Kate Wingfield: METRO WEEKLY

“This opera is played with consummate skill and finesse by the entire ensemble and guided by the precise Directorial and Choreographic hand of Robert Longbottom. Mr. Longbottom wisely keeps things moving briskly and places the emphasis where it should be-on the thrilling music of Donizetti.”  David Friscic: DC METRO THEATER ARTS

“In trying to write about the opening night of Washington National Opera’s energetic and satisfyingly entertaining production of Donizetti’s operetta-like “The Daughter of the Regiment,” it’s hard to ignore, not so much the elephant in the room, but rather the Supreme Court Justice on the stage.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg arrived onstage after intermission and after a first act in which director Robert Longbottom, a Broadway veteran tackling his first opera — not to mention the dynamic duo of tenor Lawrence Brownlee and soprano Lisette Oropesa — had already set a high-spirited, champagne-with-bonbons pace.” Gary Tischler: THE GEORGETOWNER

INTO THE WOODS

“There's never much sunshine throughout Sondheim, but Into the Woods, revamped under director Robert Longbottom, has more than its share of dappled light and reflected shade. Take the children (maybe not the littlest tykes), but tweens would benefit from the adult sophistication. It will make them think, hum a little and maybe not be so in thrall to that student prince at the locker down the hallway. You, too, might also pick up a few parenting tips among the songs. You know what Sondheim says — “Children Will Listen.” D. L. Groover: THE HOUSTON PRESS

“Director Robert Longbottom gives us some added help in navigating these woods by literally framing them with giant, plain and ornate picture frames as well as a theatrical framing device at the beginning and end of the show.”

“I’m not sure if there’s a single word in the English language for an emotion that causes the eyes to tear up even as you smile. Whatever the name, it might be labeled hokey but it’s still a real and genuine feeling that this version of “ Children Will Listen” and its expanded cast of singers evoked in me, at least.” Tarra Gaines: CULTURE MAP HOUSTON

CAMELOT

“Directed by Robert Longbottom… this Lerner and Loewe chestnut offered bright whimsy, understated heartache and a string of good tunes, well sung and played.” Steve Smith: NY TIMES

“Let’s start with the director, Robert Longbottom. A Tony Award nominee, Longbottom had a vision for the show to succeed on the festival stage and in that 900-seat house, and then executed it perfectly…The show needed to have pomp and sparkle. At times it demanded pageant and precision… It required a spirit of fun and occasionally ferocity. Because Longbottom conveyed his vision to all those working with him to produce this show, it evidenced all those things.” Gale Martin: BACHTRACK

“All in all, there is elegance in every aspect of the Camelot production that helps elevate the musical to grand music-theatre and therefore constitutes such a successful choice for Glimmerglass and its operatic tradition.” Susan Galbraith: DC THEATER SCENE

DREAMGIRLS

“Robert Longbottom's eye-popping, all-new, post-Hollywood production of "Dreamgirls" reinvents this 28-year-old title for an "American Idol" generation.  This is the kind of seamlessly conceived and superbly danced revival that could only have been created by a single director-choreographer. And aside from the remarkable achievement of making you feel like "Dreamgirls" was written yesterday, Longbottom clearly understands that this title was always, in essence, a non-stop concert with telegraphed conflicts and redemptions, and easy-to-digest emotional overlays. It almost plays here as a pop operetta, and if you've seen "Dreamgirls" on previous ragtag outings, you'll understand the huge scale of that accomplishment. “ Chris Jones: CHICAGO TRIBUNE

“Though originally directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett (“A Chorus Line”), this galvanic revival is the work of Robert Longbottom. Initially produced in South Korea (and headed to Tokyo), it is animated by a sophisticated, high-power media design, with Robin Wagner’s movable-panels set ingeniously lit by Ken Billington, and the elaborate LED enhancements of Howard Werner/Lightswitch giving it an intriguingly East-meets-West allure. Think ’60s and early ’70s Harlem and Motown as dreamed by “the new Asia,” with “Steppin’ to the Bad Side” now transformed into a breathtaking homage to Busby Berkeley’s 1930s-era kaleidoscope routines. Wow.”  Hedy Weiss: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

“Director and choreographer Robert Longbottom's high-energy new touring version of "Dreamgirls" - which began life late last year in the same place the story does, at Harlem's Apollo Theater- is in many respects as potent as director-choreographer Michael Bennett's 1981 original. More than the story, it's the songs, the electrifying choreography and the visuals that make this "Dreamgirls" soar.

The energy of Longbottom's staging almost transcends everything else. When Shepherd, Gregory and Trevon Davis shift into an invigorating ensemble "Steppin' to the Bad Side" - disappearing into, multiplied by and reappearing from their own digital shadows - the whole theater takes flight.” Robert Hurwitt: SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

“Director-choreographer Robert Longbottom's touring revival is a knockout, cast to perfection and blessed: with a stellar visual style and musical splendor.” Les Spindle: BACKSTAGE

“Under Robert Longbottom’s energetic direction and choreography (aided by Shane Sparks), this new version of Dreamgirls is every bit as remarkable as the original. It incorporates all the magic of live theater in ways that will leave audiences nearly paralyzed with admiration. I was so jazzed up from the performance that I couldn’t sleep for three hours after I got home from the theatre (and believe me, that doesn’t happen very often)” George Heymont: HUFFINGTON POST

BYE BYE BIRDIE

“Robert Longbottom’s brisk staging and clever choreography flow together seamlessly. Mr. Longbottom is an immensely gifted director-choreographer and there’s plenty to like about this production.” Terry Teachout: WALL STREET JOURNAL

“Your toes tap and your head bobs through the big production numbers which are fantastic. Robert Longbottom the director and choreographer, keeps his many dancers moving with sexy, witty ‘50’s-style steps.” Jesse Oxfeld: NY OBSERVER

“Nothing in Bye Bye Birdie—once again shaking its redoubtable hips on Broadway after a half-century of improbable restraint—is the least bit sincere. It’s as jubilantly vacant as the mid-century America it lampoons, a candy-colored abyss set all a-wiggle by decapitated sex-reflex and an insistent (if Broadway-ized) rock beat. Robert Longbottom’s colorfast, mostly wonderful new production doesn’t pollute this gorgeous void with anything fussily substantive or excessively self-aware. It upholds the cheeky emptiness of Charles Strouse, Lee Adams, and Michael Stewart’s ode to a new and invasive pop culture and the topsy-turvy sensuality it delivered to every American home.”

“Longbottom, expert reanimator of Flower Drum Song, makes a series of strong, simple choices, and backs them up with verve and precision. He casts actual kids as the “kids”—and we suddenly realize what really was the matter with them, in both of Birdie’s second-rate screen adaptations: They were played, with a creepy wink, by adults.”

“Just about every production number stops the show: “The Telephone Hour,” now a chipper elegy to a lost era of curly cords and chunky handsets, is a controlled high-energy reaction of supercollided cheese.” Scott Brown: NEW YORK MAGAZINE

CARNIVAL!

“No musical in recent years has looked or sounded better on a Kennedy Center stage than the revival of "Carnival!" the tender 1961 love story, set to Bob Merrill's score, that has been buffed to a ravishing sheen by director Robert Longbottom.

To put on a show that is all about illusions -- the creating of them as well as the dashing of them -- the Kennedy Center has come to the right man. Longbottom, who has ample experience in the spectacle genre, both as a director at Radio City Music Hall and with the 1997 Broadway musical "Side Show," brings a gimlet eye to this fragile and peculiar romantic fable of a despairing puppeteer and the naive gamine who restores him.”

“Jacquot also gets a production number, the fantasy song "Grand Imperial Cirque de Paris," and it's choreographed with aplomb by Longbottom. (His dances for Marco's earlier, elaborate number, "A Sword and a Rose and a Cape," evoke the old-Broadway panache of Jerome Robbins.)” Peter Marks: WASHINGTON POST

FLOWER DRUM SONG

“Director-choreographer Robert Longbottom makes extremely amusing use of Asian fans for the rollicking version of “Fan Tan Fannie,” the visual highlight of the night. And in an inspired touch, the bamboo poles that served as swords in an earlier demonstration of Chinese opera are used as oversized chopsticks in “Chop Suey,” which opens Act II.” Steven Oxman: VARIETY

“Enter David Henry Hwang whose wised up book fits perfectly into Robert Longbottom’s seductive and opulent production.” David Cote: TIME OUT NY

“Robert Longbottom’s direction and choreography-like Robin Wagner’s décor, Gregg Barnes’s costumes and Natasha Katz’s lighting-do not stint on the razzmatazz, and most of the songs, even wrenched out of context are not without charm.” John Simon: NEW YORK MAGAZINE

“Flower Drum Song” ‘s intelligence may be rooted in Asian-American cultural contradictions, but it’s heart belongs to Broadway. Certainly the snazzy direction and choreography of Robert Longbottom do. Longbottom doesn’t just verge on camp; with the help of Gregg Barnes’s sensational costumes, he wallows in it. “Chop Suey”, a song that satirizes the Asian impulse to pander to Western tastes, offers the memorably craven spectacle of chorines parading as take-out containers. “We deliver” they squeal, as the insides of their white boxes light up to reveal their breasts.”

“Longbottom tops himself with “Fan Tan Fannie”, in which the leggy Sandra Allen bumps and grinds her Asian-American heart out as a bevy of disembodied red and black fans keep time behind her.” John Lahr: THE NEW YORKER

“Robert Longbottom's production has much to admire. It is visually stunning; the opening sequence is particularly breathtaking, as a quartet of actors use a long, jointed bamboo pole to create Mei-Li's escape over ravines and in the hulls of ships. The superb choreography also complements the lovely score.” Edward Karam: THE GUARDIAN

ANYTHING GOES

“It was one of those electrifying, all-too rare moments that only the musical theatre can provide. As a packed house thunderously applauded Patti LuPone's thrilling re-creation of her second-act Anything Goes show stopper, "Blow, Gabriel, Blow," LuPone turned her back to the audience and gestured to the conductor. As the orchestra furiously turned its music back a few pages — and the trumpet soloist rushed back to his seat — LuPone bellowed, "Brothers and sisters. We are here tonight to fight the devil!"

The evening was a one-night-only concert of Cole Porter's classic Anything Goes to benefit New York's Lincoln Center Theater. The concert reunited three of the stars from the 1987-88 Tony-winning revival: Patti LuPone (Reno Sweeney), Howard McGillin (Billy Crocker) and Linda Hart (Erma). Of the supporting cast, the standout was Contact's Boyd Gaines as Hope Harcourt's too-too British Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Michael McGrath drew laughs as Moonface Martin, the role that won the late Bill McCutcheon a Tony.

The first-act finale, the musical's title tune, was another exhilarating moment. LuPone delivered the show's anthem with the requisite panache, and director-choreographer Robert Longbottom of Side Show fame wisely built in an instant encore of the final verse. Longbottom, in fact, added several nice touches to the evening. During "All Through the Night," which is set in the ship's brig, Billy and Moonface were surrounded by movable jail cells designed by Tony Walton. While Billy (McGillin) sang "All Through the Night," he gently pushed aside two of the jail cells and walked through, creating one of the more moving moments of the night. Longbottom also supplied some wonderful choreography, and his staging of "Blow, Gabriel, Blow" seemed sexier than ever. The singing and dancing sailors were also in fine form and looked as if they've spent these last few years buffing up in the gym!” Andrew Gans: PLAYBILL

THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL

“It's alive! Victor Frankenstein isn't the only creator, it turns out, who can make a breathing organism out of dead body parts. That corpse of a musical known as ''The Scarlet Pimpernel,'' which opened a year ago at the Minskoff Theater, is suddenly showing startling signs of animation.

Restructured, rewritten, restaged and significantly recast under the supervision of its new executive producer, Tim Hawkins, and its new director and choreographer, Robert Longbottom (of ''Sideshow''), what was once a frozen lump of a production is on its feet and moving. And not with the lumbering tread of Frankenstein's monster but with a light and springy step. Heck, it has even learned to dance a little.”

“This kind of metamorphosis is commonplace during out-of-town tryouts for Broadway shows. But for it to occur well into a New York run is astonishing and what makes this revitalized ''Pimpernel'' news. It also gives anyone who suffered through the first version a fascinating opportunity to see how the same set of ingredients can be used to such radically different effect.”

“The succeeding wholesale revision of ''Pimpernel'' is all the more remarkable when you realize the full company had only a week of rehearsals while the Minskoff went dark. From the new production's first minutes, it declares its differences from its predecessor. The most significant of these is its confident sense of identity: it obviously knows what it wants to do and how to achieve it.” Ben Brantley: NY TIMES

“Finally, a Dandy of a 'Pimpernel'!  Not in my memory has Broadway witnessed a resurrection comparable to the one on view at the 1,700-seat Minskoff Theater where, one year ago, the critical consensus was that the musical adaptation of ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' was DOA. You might have expected that the show, with book and lyrics by Nan Knighton and music by Frank Wildhorn, would have been interred with dignity, then forgotten. But no.

The result is a virtually different show, still headed by Mr. Sills, but with two new co-stars, Rex Smith and Rachel York. It has been assembled mostly out of material that was already there, a lot of it rewritten, pared down and rearranged by Ms. Knighton and reimagined by Robert Longbottom, the new director and choreographer. You should remember Mr. Longbottom as a member of the team responsible for last season's haunting succes d'estime, ''Side Show.'' He has also been directing and choreographing the annual ''Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular'' since 1994, which may have given him a special insight into the kind of show ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' was meant to be.” Vincent Canby: NY TIMES

“Longbottom has given Percy’s courtiers far more dignity and stylish silliness than did the original’s klutzy, mincing cartoons. The show has been effectively rearranged so that the scenes build, the scenic elevator gets plenty of work and Frank Wildhorn’s vanilla pudding ballads-many with new reprises-occasionally even fit the dramatic situations.” Linda Winer: NEWSDAY  

“The cleverly staged spectacle enables director Robert Longbottom to establish the tone of the show from the get-go —the stakes here are life and death, but don’t take it too seriously." Steven Oxman: VARIETY

SIDE SHOW

“Then, too, there are the contributions of Mr. Longbottom, as director and choreographer, who, I assume, also conceived (or, at least, realized) the show's overall concept. ''Side Show,'' gorgeously designed by Robin Wagner, moves out of darkness into light and back again with often breathtaking effect. It looks lean, though it can suddenly erupt into a hilarious, elaborately dressed production number like ''We Share Everything.''

“Ms. Skinner and Ms. Ripley are an amazement. They not only look alike, as costumed by Gregg Barnes and lighted by Brian MacDevitt, but without any sort of harness, they also move, walk and, most spectacularly, dance together with the ease of creatures that a befuddled old God forgot to untie. Each clearly defines her own personality, and they sing with the zest of Broadway sweethearts.

''Side Show'' has its own original mind but it never pushes too hard. It doesn't alienate the audience, though as often as we're moved we are kept at a cool distance. It is less Brechtian than old-fashioned Broadway informed by a sharp, contemporary sensibility. Not in a long time has a new season begun with such promise.” Vincent Canby: NY TIMES

“Side Show, which has been directed with stylish confidence by Robert Longbottom, has its flaws, for sure. But a lack of heart-felt conviction is not among them.”

...“Mr. Longbottom's poetic staging includes stark, dreamlike images in which the twins are seen as separate individuals, gazing into each other's eyes.”

...“Mr. Longbottom's impeccably synchronized dancing for Ms. Ripley and Ms. Skinner, which miraculously avoids cheap camp, is beyond fault in the period-piece routines.”

...“Robin Wagner's masterly set, enriched by Brian MacDevitt's lighting, makes an eloquent case for understatement in big musicals. Its central element is a set of bleachers that are reconfigured throughout the show and are seen by the audience upon entering the theater. Thus the line between the observer and the observed is immediately blurred. And the opening number, in which the members of the freak show take their places wearing only impassive expressions and somber street clothes, is a quiet stunner.”

...“Then there are Ms. Ripley and Ms. Skinner, who are simply astonishing. Their characters could so easily have become tiresome walking metaphors for the divided self or, worse, a grotesque joke. Yet their Violet and Daisy, while nearly identical in appearance, emerge as autonomous, fully defined individuals who have made a science of moving as one person. There is something infinitely touching about the contrasting sets of their heads, of their expressions as they navigate the show's obstacle course of love and fame.

These are two richly realized performances. Yet you can't imagine them having the same affecting strength apart. While this may pose an entirely new problem for the Tony nominating committee, the combination here is indeed more than the sum of its parts. The same can be said of the entire show.” Ben Brantley: NY TIMES

“Double joy. Double dazzle. SIDE SHOW is the musical with two of everything. Including twice the entertainment value of almost anything else in town. When they dance, they’re cleverly choreographed by Robert Longbottom, who also directed brilliantly, to move in place doing awesome, expressive things with their arms and legs while their hips remain touching. It’s a challenge no Broadway stars have ever faced. They are quite literally and figuratively, joined at the hip. This is especially thrilling to see in a big Egyptian number called “We Share Everything”-double-digit Cleopatras surrounded by eight prancing pharaohs. Side Show is riveting, hypnotic and pulsing with artistry. It is, quite lavishly but honestly, nothing less than electrifying.” Rex Reed: THE NY OBSERVER

THE RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR

“No blast of sheer pleasure could be more welcome after a year of pondering the verities of art and music. The precision and swiftness of this two-hour review are astonishing, and I am afraid the Rockettes have snatched my heart forever. Note, especially, the small army of dancing Santas. This will be on my list next year as well.

It’s nine scenes fly like the wind. Everything is touched on (from “Swan Lake” and the “Nutcracker” to the “Hallelujah” chorus); nothing is dwelt upon. This show is not about spiritual growth or serious attention spans; it’s about having a good time, about feeding one’s eyes and ears with the bounty of harvest safely stowed away. It is also immensely clever and carried off with astonishing precision. Given how much is going on, the coordination of music and dance should be the envy of any stage enterprise anywhere.” Bernard Holland: NEW YORK TIMES

“Radio City Music Hall isn’t alone in undergoing a refurbishing this year. So has its “Christmas Spectacular”. Under the direction of Robert Longbottom, this generous 90-minute entertainment trots along at a merry clip, with a sharpened arrival of Santa in New York, a refreshed “Santa’s Gonna Rock ‘n’ Roll”, a revised “White Christmas In New York” and a redone visit to the North Pole and Santa’s workshop, where the Rockettes as reindeer in furry finery show off much sleeker lines than Donner and Blitzen. Lawrence Van Gelder: NEW YORK TIMES

“Robert Longbottom, the production's director and choreographer, knows that variety is what variety shows were about. The "Nutcracker" entry, for instance, recalls that in the 1930's, Florence Rogge's choreography to the suite from Tchaikovsky's full score was the only ballet version around. The decor was by Serge Sudeikine, a Diaghilev collaborator. Even Mr. Longbottom's current and affectionate parody requires professional ballet training from its teddy-bear cast on toe and its young heroine, danced alternately by Zoe Block and Lisa Rowe. As usual, their spectacular quality is founded on a paradox. Jettisoning their individuality, the Rockettes, in their totality, remain unique.” Anna Kisselgoff :NEW YORK TIMES

PAGEANT

“Delirious! A mad & merry musical!” David Richards: NY TIMES

“Without a doubt, the funniest show in town!” Michael Kuchwara: ASSOCIATED PRESS

“Hilarious! Incredible! 90 minutes of the kind of laughter that makes tears run down your face.” GANNETT NEWSPAPERS

“There has never been a beauty contest quite like the Miss Glamouresse competition, a fake television special being held nightly at the Blue Angel under the title "Pageant." At each performance, a panel of judges selected from the audience chooses between the same six finalists who compete in the traditional categories and hawk such Glamouresse beauty products as Smooth-as-Marble Facial Spackle and a nutritious lipstick called Lip Snack that comes in 27 shades and flavors.

"Pageant," which was conceived, directed and choreographed by Robert Longbottom and written by Bill Russell and Frank Kelly, belongs to the same camp genre as the popular musical revue "Forever Plaid". "Pageant" also celebrates and ridicules kitsch American culture with the same sense of enjoyment.

It is also one drag show that is not at all misogynistic. The contestants are portrayed as a lovable bunch of big-boned gals. It is the ritual itself, which forces the contestants to behave like obsequious wind-up toys, that is under hilarious attack. Indeed, the roles could have been played by women. Having them played by men, however, carries the whole charade to another level of zaniness…screamingly funny!” Stephen Holden: NEW YORK TIMES