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All In: Comedy About Love is a show from Simon Rich with consists of live readings of previously written short stories from The New Yorker. The first production, directed by Alex Timbers, opened in previews on 11 December 2024 at the Hudson Theater theatre in New York City on Broadway. The original Broadway cast includes John Mulaney, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Fred Armisen, and Richard Kind with music by The Magnetic Fields. The show was directed by Alex Timbers and produced by Lorne Michaels.

Summary

The show consists of live-readings of seven of Simon Rich's previously short stories.

Cast

The original cast starred John Mulaney, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Fred Armisen, and Richard Kind.

The following cast includes:

Production

In September 2024 it was announced that John Mulaney would be starring in a comedic show entitled All In: Comedy About Love written by Simon Rich. The show would feature a rotating cast of four actors for 10 weeks with performances starting December 11, 2024. The original cast comprised of Mulaney, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Fred Armisen, and Richard Kind. Chloe Fineman was added replacing Goldsberry as part of the original cast. The show included songs from the indie pop band The Magnetic Fields from their album 69 Love Songs.

The show was described as featuring a series of humorous stories about dating, heartbreak, marriage and more, adapted from short stories by Rich that had previously appeared in The New Yorker. The press release said, “Sometimes they will play pirates, sometimes they will play dogs, and there’s one where we make them talk in British accents. But even though the show’s kind of all over the place, it’s meant to tell one simple story: that the most important part of life is who we share it with". Alex Timbers was announced as the shows director with Lorne Michaels producing.

Marketing confusion

Sara Holden of Vulture wrote of the shows marketing which confused audience members which expected a play with actors performing the short stories and not a live reading of the short stories. Holden explained, "It's not a good sign when your Broadway show has more than one Reddit thread asking if it's a scam...instead it's an expensive staged reading with a rotating cast of celebrities". She added, "The show's marketing team has been careful about their wording: All In, says its website, is "a series of hilarious short stories...read by some of the funniest people on the planet". Greg Evans of Deadline Hollywood described show was a "strange beast" on Broadway and noted, "judging by some audience reviews on various websites, there is indeed confusion – All In is a series of story readings, or performed readings rather" noting that the production consisted of the actors sitting in armchairs reading from scripts.<.

Critical reception

All In received mixed reviews with critics with some critics praising it's airy comedic quality and A-list cast while others criticized it's overpriced tickets and slight material. Greg Evans of Deadline Hollywood wrote favorably to the production comparing it to that of a "perfect holiday snickerdoodle, a light and tasty snack no less funny for its brevity and lack of splashy production values." Adam Feldman of Time Out concurred describing the show was a "live reading" and writing " may not be a full dramatic meal, but it’s a tasty treat for the run-up to Valentine’s Day, sweet and tart as a candy heart". Feldman praised Mulaney and Kind as being "masterful" and compared the stories to that of Woody Allen's work.

Elizabeth Vincentelli of The New York Times wrote, "It all adds up to an pleasantly innocuous evening, but it's also hard not to think that we're watching a bunch of Formula 1 cars being throttled at 25 mph". In his mixed review Pete Hemstead of Theatermania wrote that despite the fact that he was "smiling throughout", " feels like a joke that goes on for too long and it doesn’t have the knee-slapping payoff to make it worth 90 minutes of your time." Johnny Olenski of The New York Post wrote a negative review declaring the show "A waste of money" adding "Each cutesy bit is more self-satisfied and twee than the next. And the entire night has the low boil of a long-winded intro that builds to nothing".

References

1. {{cite web|url= https://nystagereview.com/2024/12/22/all-in-comedy-about-love-by-simon-rich-hit-miss-revue/%7Ctitle= All In: Comedy About Love by Simon Rich — Hit & Miss Revue|website= New York Stage Review|accessdate= January 6, 2025}]
2. "John Mulaney Returns to Broadway With Fred Armisen, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Chloe Fineman". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
3. "All In: Comedy About Love by Simon Rich Will Bring the Songs of the Magnetic Fields to Broadway". TheaterMania. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
4. "John Mulaney Returning to Broadway in 'All In: Comedy About Love'". Variety. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
5. "The Sit Down Comedy of All In". Vulture. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
6. "'All In: Comedy About Love' Broadway Review: John Mulaney, Richard Kind, Fred Armisen & Renée Elise Goldsberry Give Voice To Comic Brilliance Of Simon Rich". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
7. "'All In: Comedy About Love' Broadway Review: John Mulaney, Richard Kind, Fred Armisen & Renée Elise Goldsberry Give Voice To Comic Brilliance Of Simon Rich". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
8. "All In: Comedy About Love". Time Out. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
9. "'All In' Review: A Slight Affair for John Mulaney-Led Comedy About Love". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
10. "Review: John Mulaney and Friends Read Us Stories by Simon Rich in All In: Comedy About Love on Broadway". TheaterMania. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
11. "'All In: Comedy About Love' review: Starry Broadway show's a big waste of money". The New York Post. Retrieved 6 January 2025.

• Broadway plays