All Out Might Want to Reel It In

All Out: Comedy About Ambition is a little too ambitious with its star-studded cast of comedians, musical performances by the band Lawrence, and a 1970s office set.

By Sabrina Oliveri

From the successful Broadway play All In: A Comedy About Love comes All Out: A Comedy About Ambition. Written by Simon Rich, All Out contains short stories about ego, envy, greed, and New Yorkers in general. Comedians perform these short stories with musical interludes performed by the band Lawrence, led by Gracie and Clyde Lawrence.

The cast of All Out is made up of four comedians, with a different cast each week. The show’s debut week featured performances by Ike Barinholtz, Eric Andre, Abbi Jacobson, and Jon Stewart. While hilarious individually, the quartet seemed mismatched.

For a group of accomplished comedians and performers, All Out fell flat. Humorous moments were undercut by bland monologues that bordered on absurd. With scattered stories, long musical interludes, and non-memorized scenes, the show felt like a Lawrence concert featuring a random assortment of comedians. In addition, the short stories had seemingly no connection to one another, making the entire production cumbersome to watch.

If you wait until the end of the show, your patience will be rewarded in the form of Abbi Jacobson’s final monologue. It reads as a tribute to New York City and those who have peed on its streets. While ridiculous by nature, the monologue provides poignant and hilarious commentary on what it truly means to be a New Yorker.

SNL and Lawrence fans alike will appreciate All Out, but the show’s glaring lack of any through line between the stories might be a hard no for some theatregoers. While the songs are meant to thematically transition between the monologues, only the keenest ears will be able to hear the lyrics with enough clarity to draw those connections. Overall, the show is a great option for a lighthearted night out or to see your favorite comedians live, but theatregoers should look elsewhere for plot or performance quality.