‘Gutenberg! The Musical’ review: Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad wear many hats in two-hander show

Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad in the two-man show known as “Gutenberg! The Musical” on Broadway.

Photo by Matthew Murphy/Provided

“Gutenberg! The Musical” — a scrappy two-hander parody of mega Broadway shows, structured as a backers’ audition for the Broadway production of an imaginary musical — is finally receiving a high-profile Broadway production of its very own.

Frankly, it worked a lot better before it landed on Broadway.

The Broadway production of “Gutenberg!” serves as a star vehicle for Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad, who famously led the original cast of “The Book of Mormon.” Alex Timbers, who staged the original production before becoming a major Broadway director (“Moulin Rouge!,” “Beetlejuice”), has returned.

First seen almost two decades ago at the Upright Citizens Brigade and the now defunct New York Musical Theatre Festival, “Gutenberg! The Musical!” depicts Bud Davenport and Doug Simon, a pair of hapless musical theater writers (originally played by Christopher Fitzgerald and Jeremy Shamos, respectively), who share with the audience their ridiculous vision of a lavish Broadway musical based on the life story of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press, in medieval Germany, at least as imagined by them.

It is not unusual for a creative team to pitch a musical to prospective investors by narrating and singing through the show. (A quick search on YouTube turns up bootleg audio recordings of backers’ auditions for “Company” and “Sweeney Todd.” Stephen Sondheim allegedly did 33 backers’ auditions for the 1964 flop “Anyone Can Whistle.”)

Bud and Doug are clueless but well-meaning and dreamy-eyed writers. Their understanding of musical theater appears to be based solely on “Wicked,” “Phantom” and “Hamilton.”

For instance, they explain that every good musical needs to be based on a preexisting story (because no one…