Gutenberg! The Musical, was originally written and first performed by Scott Brown and Anthony King in 2006, and has now fully been adapted to broadway, directed by Alex Timbers, and stars the duo who originally gained their fame from the Book of Mormon in 2011, Josh Gad, and Andrew Rannells.
The show follows the pair of Bud and Doug, trying to write, direct, and perform their very own Broadway show, based “the life of ” on Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press. The show is largely based on improv/scripted comedy, and entirely relies on the chemistry and acting chops of the duo performing. It has a very meta-textual kind of humor, and is extremely self aware, which only adds to the humor.
The show is extremely unique because not only is it a two man show, but also has no orchestra, only a small band consisting of a keyboardist, pianist, and drummer, the duo playing every character (portrayed by hats), and of course, the style of humor. The show is solely a comedy, with a few emotional beats here and there, but it really just aims to be funny.
To add to the world-building of the show, there are very few props that are used. Objects like cardboard boxes, common household utensils, paper with text on it, etc. all are used to help create the illusion of the pair having little to no budget for the show they’re trying to put on, and it works to a great effect.
When watching the show, personally having seen a lot of material that Andrew and Josh have been in, it really just felt like them playing themselves in the end. There are a ton of moments where they just talk directly to the audience and pause the show to do so, and again, make many self aware jokes like “We want Gutenberg to have the same effect as Hamilton did, but it probably won’t” or “We did our research on Gutenberg on Google.” Another recurring joke in the show was the duo saying “so you’re probably wondering..” doing a little dance, and skipping to different places on stage, along with Gad asking “but what is..?” constantly, and doing a little leg raise.
This is not only making jokes about “stage lingo”, but again, adding to the meta-textual humor in the show.
The music was also stellar. The duo both have very dynamic range and amazing voices, and they paired very well together. With the limited “pit” that they had, the instrumentals were very solid, and it had a lively, minimalist style to it. But again, for being such a small pit, the range was also dynamic. The songs shifted in tone a lot, but were all very catchy and memorable.
Overall, the show was wonderful, and for sure has cemented itself as one of my favorite shows that I’ve ever seen. If you get the chance, I 100% recommended seeing it, and you won’t be disappointed. Every part of the show is great, and is only elevated by the performances of Gad and Rannells.
