Grand Hotel Reviews
DC Theater Arts- Highly Recommended
"...Under Eric Schaeffer's well-honed theatrical instincts, the production is no depressive tale of lost souls coping with life after the slaughter of WWI. Schaeffer's Grand Hotel certainly has its darker elements, yet overall it bursts forth with the hopes and dreams of a life boat of stray souls unexpectedly finding one another in a hotel lobby."
MetroWeekly- Somewhat Recommended
"...A feast for the eyes, and often for the ears, Eric Schaeffer's new production of Grand Hotel, the Musical at Signature sets an intriguing table, boasting an abundance of glamorous and alluring characters. But intrigue and glamour aren't enough to overcome a book by Luther Davis that's overall too stingy in providing many of these characters with meaty storylines."
DCTheatreScene- Recommended
"...While its excellent cast does much credit to Grand Hotel, the show itself still suffers from its long history of “renovations.” Based on a 1929 Austrian novel, the story was first adapted to a stage play, then a 1932 Academy award winning film (starring Greta Garbo, John Barrymore and Joan Crawford), and a 1958 musical (At the Grand) that never quite made it to Broadway. Nearly 30 years later, director-choreographer Tommy Tune dug up the “fixer upper” and transformed it into a one-act musical comprised of non-stop dance numbers. Retaining only five songs from the original musical (music and lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest), Tune brought in Maury Yeston (Nine) to write six new songs and add additional lyrics to several of Wright and Forrest’s songs."
BroadwayWorld- Somewhat Recommended
"...Here we have a show in which the original staging (under Tommy Tune) featured tons of style and tension. There is plenty of style in Paul Tate Depoo III's set depicting the grandest of the grand hotels in Berlin, Germany. Complete with two staircases and an elegant lobby, the production looks great. However, there is more to any theatrical presentation than just the set."