They produce flashes of genuine wit, occasional, sweetly bitter chords and energetic melodic phrases, but they can't seem to distinguish them from clichés or keep from spoiling them with dunderheaded sentiments.

Ben Brantley, in The New York Times, deemed the show "encouragingly ambitious and discouragingly unfulfilled... the production comes into its own only in the sweetly bitter maternal regrets and dreams of Margaret Johnson."

But the production comes into its own only in the sweetly bitter maternal regrets and dreams of Margaret Johnson.

The show soars only in the sweetly bitter songs performed by Victoria Clark, as an American abroad (2:15).

The progression of flavors from tart-sweet to sweetly bitter to earthy made quite a little voyage.