David: The Musical Reviews
Los Angeles Times- Not Recommended
"...Exceptions are Collins and old-school belter Electra Barakos, who provide sporadic vocal resuscitation. The production highlight is the onstage musical accompaniment by local four-piece band Pullman Standard, making the most of a gig from hell. Otherwise, the staging is a Dead Sea scroll from top to bottom."
Variety- Not Recommended
"...Appropriately opening just in time for the Day of Atonement is the stupefyingly inept "David the Musical." The saga of Goliath's killer, Saul's heir, Jonathan's – um – buddy and Bathsheba's adulterer is one of the ancient world's most provocative narratives, but the modern-dress pageant at the Hayworth Theater is a flat-as-the-desert travesty, perpetrated by four writing collaborators whose names it would be kindest to merely pass over."
LA Weekly- Not Recommended
"...Fully scored, booked and staged musicals take an almost astonishing amount of effort and audacity to execute - and this can be all the more upsetting when the outcome is as misbegotten as is this near-incoherent adaptation of the story of the Old Testament's King David, his seduction of the beautiful Bathsheba, and his despair over his wayward sons Absalom and Amnon. Or, at least, that appears to be what the musical is about: Director Adam T. Rosencrance's production is in modern dress, which is not necessarily an unimaginative idea, but the presentation of the story is utterly without context - the biblical incidents are merely strung together with little dramatic development, psychological subtext or convincing emotion."
Backstage- Somewhat Recommended
"...Things are further compounded by Rosencrance's decision to use the entire cast as an ensemble, each person playing multiple characters. This can work if it's done with clarity, but here we're often left in doubt as to who's who. The one performance that provides theatricality by is J.D. Driskill as David's lecherous son Amnon, who rapes his sister Tamar (Collins). He's flamboyant, dynamic, and somewhat over-the-top, but that's welcome in an otherwise limp production. The cast members are mostly able and hard-working, but they can't make much headway against a doubtful script. In the end, one feels more sympathy for the actors than for their characters."
StageHappenings.com- Somewhat Recommended
"...Adam Rosencrance's production of Craig Costanza, Tim Murner, Rich Lyle, and Michelle Holmes musical about the Biblical figure "David" does its best to keep audiences engaged through the use of loud and melodic rock n roll songs, but it can't escape from the lack of drama and psychological insight inherent in a topic about an Old Testament figure."