Carmen:
Clockwork Hearts has taken Broadway by storm — or rather, tick-tock, it’s slowly but surely wound itself into our hearts with meticulous precision. Opening last month at the Sterling Theatre, this revival of a ’90s rock musical is no mere retread. Director Marcus Grey has re-envisioned the story of time-traveling lovers so that every gear and cog clicks into place like a perfectly tuned clock.
The production is anchored by the extraordinary Erika Soto in the lead role of Amara, whose voice carries that quality that great musical theater voices have, where technique disappears. In her duet with Julian Mendoza’s Luca, their harmonies soar to heights rarely achieved even in full ensemble numbers. The staging of Act Two’s climactic scene, where they face each other at opposite ends of the stage, is a masterstroke — the tension between them so palpable that you can almost feel the gears grinding.
The audience was captivated from the first act drop, and by intermission folks were talking in hushed tones about Soto’s performance. She commands the stage with the kind of presence that makes the rest of the room invisible. The set design is another standout — a labyrinthine construction of shadowy nooks and crannies, punctuated by starkly modern clock faces that serve as both backdrop and metaphor.
Clockwork Hearts is not just a revival; it’s a reimagining. It’s about time to grab your tickets before this one winds down too soon. Ay, mija, if you care about theater — and if you care about good music and moving performances — Clockwork Hearts deserves your attention.
Priya:
Clockwork Hearts returns to Broadway with an ambitious structural overhaul that seeks to revitalize its ’90s rock roots. Director Marcus Grey has made a formal claim for this revival — not just to retell the story of Amara and Luca but to interrogate the mechanics of time itself, using every creak and tick as both narrative device and thematic exploration. The structure is deceptively simple: two acts divided by an intermission that serves as its own meta-commentary on how we measure out our lives in coffee spoons.
Erika Soto’s Amara delivers a performance that hews closely to the musical’s formal ambition, her singing a precise mechanism for conveying both the grandiosity and the quiet desperation of time travel. Julian Mendoza’s Luca complements this; their duet in Act One is not just a showcase but a structural fulcrum on which the rest of the production pivots.
The set design underscores this focus on form, with clock faces and gears creating a visual language that is both immersive and emblematic of the play’s themes. This isn’t a throwback to the ’90s simply for nostalgia’s sake; it’s a thoughtful reimagining that respects the tradition from which it springs while pushing at its boundaries.
Clockwork Hearts demonstrates that Broadway still has space for productions where form and function meet with such clear focus. The audience left last night buzzing about not just the performances but what they had seen, how it worked, and why it mattered. This is theater as puzzle and performance, clockwork as storytelling. It’s the kind of formal risk that should be celebrated — so see Clockwork Hearts to appreciate its gears in motion.
Imani:
Listen. Carmen and Priya have given us some serious insight into what’s making Clockwork Hearts tick this fall at the Sterling Theatre. But let me tell you where to be — because as a dancer and someone who sees things through that lens, I’ve found something special here.
The choreography by Nadia Osei is INCREDIBLE, especially in the ensemble numbers that fill Act Two. The way she uses formation shifts in “Time’s Rhythm” creates an almost visual metronome on stage — you can see time moving as dancers reconfigure around Luca and Amara. That precision is worth every ticket price alone.
But what stood out to me were those small moments, the ones that Priya talked about where form and function meet — like when Amara first appears in the opening scene and there’s a silence before her voice cuts in over pre-recorded tracks. It’s a calculated pause, one that gives you time to realize this woman is not just singing but embodying every second we’ve heard described.
Carmen’s right about Erika Soto commanding the stage — she does it with such ease and presence that even the diva in me says, “Yes.” And I have to say it: Julian Mendoza’s Luca? He has the ensemble beat. They are so in sync you can’t tell where he ends and they begin.
This production is about more than just reliving a ’90s rock musical. It’s about capturing time on stage with every creak, every tick of those clock faces. The set alone is worth the price of admission, providing a visual spectacle that complements the narrative perfectly.
Make sure you grab your tickets before this one ticks away — it’s not just a show; it’s an experience. So get ready to let the gears turn and hear what Clockwork Hearts has to say with its every tick and tock.
