The show opened Wednesday, and the first audio of its contents has been made available on YouTube.
In it, the cast sings "Our Man Rush" in a "Rent" motif just before Mark Sutton in the leading role asks, "God, give me a sign that America is ready to follow the conservative doctrine" (YouTube audio embedded below the fold with transcript followed by early reviews of the show):
CHORUS: What's he gonna say? What's he gonna say? What's he gonna say? Our man Rush. Your man Rush. Points the Rush. Rush, Rush, Rush, Rush, Rush, Rush. You're our leader, Rush. Cause everyone loves...
MARK SUTTON AS RUSH LIMBAUGH: Baby Jesus, I know we haven't spoken since you loaned me my talent. But I need you now. I need you to let me know it's my time to lead the conservative party. Please, God, give me a sign that America is ready to follow the conservative doctrine.
Time Out Chicago raved Thursday:
I walked into the Second City's newest musical parody a typical left-of-center kind of guy. But judging by how much I thoroughly relished its total obliteration of Limbaugh and his right-wing cronies, I walked out of the theater beaming the bluest shade of blue. Rush Limbaugh! The Musical is at times offensive, cheap and one-sided-not unlike Limbaugh himself. In other words, it does what doey-eyed liberals (and moderate conservatives) have feared to do for decades, fills its arsenal with slanderous vitriol and aims it straight back at the conservative machine. Except that it's far smarter and funnier than anything the right could ever throw our way (thank God entertainers are on our side!). [...]
In the end, Rush Limbaugh! The Musical showcases just how sharp the Second City's claws are when it actually takes its gloves off. Yes, it takes plenty of aim at the left, but this is a tried and true liberal joyride-and a very funny one at that. By the time it reaches its show-stopping finale, the faces of the few conservatives in the audience were, dare we say it-red.
Dining Chicago wrote Friday:
"Does Fox News have a theater critic?" I wondered, after viewing Second City Theatricals' "Rush Limbaugh! The Musical." Probably not. Live theater may be deemed too effete for their NASCAR- and gun sports-loving audiences.
If they had, I'm sure he'd have panned this show. As a card-carrying member of the Big-City, Blue-State, Liberal Press, though, I found it mostly funny but uneven. [...]
Mirroring present-day Washington's misguided and ineffectual efforts at bipartisanship, the musical takes as many cracks at the left as at the right, with jibes about liberals' wimpiness ("Democrats are F-ed"); vulgar, gay-baiting double entendres mouthed by Frank; and increasingly strident depictions of a flouted, power-hungry Hillary Clinton.
That's another trouble with the show: We've heard many of these jokes before.
Still, if you have any interest in current events at all, there's plenty to enjoy, and two songs alone are worth the price of admission, the "Oxycontin" calypso and "La Vie Conservative," a parody of "Rent's" "La Vie Boheme" that recounts conservative bywords from Terri Schiavo to Joe the Plumber.
Playbill.com included a song list Wednesday:
Playbill.com has learned that the original songs include "Holding Onto the '50s" (in the style of "Greased Lightning" from Grease), "They Can't Argue With Jesus" (in the style of "Razzle Dazzle" from Chicago), "Do You Hear Conservatives" (in the style of "Do You Hear the People Sing?" from Les Miz), "Our Man Rush" (in the style of "Rent" from Rent), "Democrats Are Fucked" (in the style of "Totally Fucked" from Spring Awakening), "Oxycontin" (in the style of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls), "Take Me Seriously" (in the style of "Popular" from Wicked), "Rule the Land" (in the style of "I Am What I Am" from La Cage aux Folles), Bows - "La Vie Conservative" (after "La Vie Boheme" from Rent).
Seems destined to be loved by liberal media elites from coast to coast.
