THEATERMANIA, JANUARY 23, 2004:

"Twenty years ago, a young man named Fred Barton became the toast of the town in a one-man/woman musical he wrote called Miss Gulch Returns!  An endearingly demented look at the woman on the bicycle who tormented little Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, it was clearly a show for the ages.  Now it's back and, despite the passage of those 20 years, we laughed ourselves stupid when we attended a recent performance at Dillon's.

"You're The Woman I'd Wanna Be" – Fred Barton addresses Miss Gulch (2004)

"In this little treasure of a show, Barton plays Almira Gulch as a cabaret singer.  Falling somewhere between winsome and wacky, Gulch has a score full of sophisticated comedy numbers that would make Cole Porter proud.  The music is partly pastiche but the lyrics are so cleverly constructed, the rhyme schemes so elegantly intricate, and, finally, the messages so rich and ripe that they make a mockery of most of today's Broadway show scores. Take for example "Pour Me a Man," a number that the lonely, needy, and surprisingly randy Almira sings in her cabaret act; there are precious few works of double entendre as hilariously suggestive as this Barton classic.

"The songs are character pieces, and Barton sings them that way.  The score doesn't call for a pretty voice (which he doesn't have anyway) but it does call for an actor who can bring nuance to bear, and this he does wonderfully well.  Barton begins the show as a young man trying to pick up Almira at a bar and eventually, in a bit of costume legerdemain, he becomes her.  After you see this show, you'll never think of the Wicked Witch of the West in the same way again – and remember that it was written and first performed 20 years before Wicked arrived on Broadway.

"By the way, you can also experience the show via its recording on the Original Cast label.  Better by far, however, to see the show live and then listen to the CD, so you can savor the brilliant lyrics with the visual memory of Almira fresh in your mind." – Barbara & Scott Siegel.

NEXT MAGAZINE, JANUARY 16, 2004:

"If your cup of tea is celebrity autobiographies, especially the ridiculous, self-aggrandizing ones, what is made up (and deliriously so) is Fred Barton's acclaimed one-man show, Miss Gulch Returns!, which has itself returned for a 20th anniversary celebration.  Barton's flair for zesty melodies and tongue-twisting lyrical machinations is brilliant, as is his droll and sympathetic portrayal of Almira Gulch.  It's smart, it's funny, and it's a blueprint for how to fashion a clever evening of campy fun.  And who doesn't love Almira?  On her bike or at the keyboard, she's a treasure." – David Hurst

MAC CRITIC ROY SANDER, JANUARY 9, 2004:

"A marvelously inventive and very funny confection that should delight every fan of showbiz humor.  But don't expect an evening of mere camp, for Miss Gulch Returns! is far more.  The show is beautifully crafted, Barton's acting is subtle and always true, and beneath the humor lie considerable intelligence and poignant honesty.  Quite extraordinary, actually."

CABARET SCENES, MARCH 2004:

"I'm A Bitch" (2004)

"Why go see a 20-year-old cabaret show based on a 50-year-old movie? Because, if it's Fred Barton's Miss Gulch Returns!, it's novel, witty, and delightfully entertaining. The '20th anniversary encore edition' of Barton's 1983 cabaret success, the show is truly timeless.

"In it, he plays two characters:  a piano bar entertainer with the unlikely name of Fred Barton, and a bicycle-riding, dog-snatching old maid from Kansas (suspiciously resembling the Wicked Witch of the West) named Almira Gulch.  Beginning as Barton, he tells of meeting Gulch in a bar – then, on stage, morphs into her. From then on, it's her show, as she relays her unfulfilled passion to become a torch singer. Moreover, she demonstrates with some dozen songs such as 'Born On A Bike,' a bow to Judy Garland's 'other' theme song; 'I Can Be An Icon Too,' with references to Garland, Bette Middler, and even Janet Jackson; 'Pour Me A Man,' a desire to get drunk on a hunk; and the poignant 'Everyone Worth Taking.' Between the laughs, don't fail to catch Barton's fine pianoship and cleverly crafted lyrics." – Peter Haas

"Miss Gulch Returns! operates on so many levels, it's positively mind-boggling.  It's deliciously, wickedly funny for its own sake, but it's also wonderfully insightful satire.  The show is a delightful treasure trove of subtle references, double entendres, and the wisdom of Miss Gulch.  Each song has something to say, even while it makes you laugh, and the whole revue is built with architectural accuracy.  Every line, phrase and word works; there's real depth and character development here, and more than a little poignancy as well.  It's an all-around triumph for Barton and one show you really don't want to miss."

Bob Harrington, Back Stage

"Mr. Barton plays Miss Gulch with animated, pop-eyed, energetic verve."

John Wilson, N.Y. Times

"Offered in a spirit of gleeful malice – the wit and wisdom of Almira Gulch as interpreted by Fred Barton, a talented writer of mainstream theatre songs that burst with internal rhymes and insiders' show-business jokes."

Stephen Holden, N. Y. Times

"Fred Barton, among his other achievements, has his own views of this character viewed by the young as villainous.  Miss Gulch Returns! includes songs that place the maligned woman in, if not a more favorable, at least a more understandable light."

Richard F. Shepard, N.Y. Times

"Fred Barton is a ten-fingered orchestra."

Jack Kroll, Newsweek

"It's a witty piece of Fredfoolery, but what Barton does unexpectedly well is create a fully fleshed character. We do care about Almira Gulch's loneliness and career frustration, after a point, and that's a very nice thing.  Barton's got razzle-dazzle sell and equally amusing material.  Miss Gulch Lives! is a quick, neat package of a clever idea."

Curt Davis, N.Y. Post

"A neat little revue."

New York Magazine

"Kindly be advised that Miss Gulch Returns! isn't cabaret.  It's theatre. Fine theatre, too. It's one of the best shows I've seen in a long time.  With its riotous lyrics and smart tunes, a genuine poignancy underlies the wicked laughter.  Miss Gulch Returns! is a marvel, and so's Fred Barton.  Pay them both a visit as soon as you can.

Michael Sommers, N.Y. Native

"Bawdy, brassy and funny as can be."

Patti Hartigan, Boston Globe

"Barton is one of a handful of songwriters singlehandedly reviving the dying art of composing 'special material' – comic songs that delineate character as much as convulse an audience. He's a whiz when it comes to a salty lyric, but is equally adept at creating a more contemplative mood.  This combination of mirth and melancholy is what gives Miss Gulch Returns! its special appeal and what makes us perceive this character as more than just a Hollywood stereotype.  With a trunkful of songs, a quick change from a tuxedo to spinster duds, Fred Barton manages to find the beauty beneath the bitch – an absurdly charming transformation."

Thomas Lee, Boston South End News

"Late nights at Palssons' rock with Fred Barton's loving tribute to The Wizard Of Oz, Miss Gulch Lives!"

Austin Kane, N.Y. Theatre Review

"Barton's melodies are wide-ranging in tempo, often complex, but intriguing and eminently singable. Barton, a writer and an intense performer of unusual gifts, without ever shedding his masculine voice or appearance, so endows himself with the attributes and emotional life of Miss Gulch that a fully rounded, touchingly believable figure emerges – a remarkable accomplishment."

Michael Sander, Dramalogue

"The genius of Fred Barton's Miss Gulch Returns! – besides his incredible performance, which is both roaringly funny and quite touching – is the ease with which he bridges the gap between gay sensibility and mainstream heterosexual life in a way that no one has done before.  A perfect blend of sensibilities and subtleties and a perfect jewel of a show."

Michael Bronski, Boston South End News

"Fred Barton has delved into the character from The Wizard of Oz to come up with a funny, entertaining, off-beat and risqué show."

Dick Miller, Broadway Bill of Fare

"Miss Gulch Returns! is original, sophisticated, and exhibits a fine sense of satire.  The songs exhibit a fine schooling in music and lyrics, with the lyrics especially clever, replete with internal rhymes and allusions cinematic and musical-past subjects.  Barton performs with style; this is a young performer who should go places."

Michael Shepherd, N.Y. Native

"Fred Barton excels in the humor of his lyrics."

Ira Eaker, Back Stage

"Top notch and deliciously witty. Barton's wonderfully wicked lyrics are sure to help you laugh off the winter's cold.  A clever composer and excellent pianist, Barton uses the plight of the Miss Gulches of this world as a starting point for a hilarious whimsical revue.  Most of the songs are just plain funny.  Others make some rather significant points about the way we view love and courtship; beneath all the silliness lurk some first-class ballads."

Bob Harrington, Long Island's Nightlife

"Judy Garland's memory is ingeniously and warmly conjured, and Barton's own sly wickedness slips out in the form of wicked puns and double entendres."

Elizabeth Pincus, Boston Phoenix

"This one-man show has developed a huge cult following among gay men all around the country. Barton's parody is wonderfully devised and performed, complete with costume and amazing fabricated and humorous history."

Lambda Rising News

"The recording can certainly be recommended as a fine souvenir of the production; highly creative, always witty, and alternately touching or campy characterization and interpretation."

John Fricke, The Baum Bugle

"A delightful musical revue written and performed by Fred Barton, who effects an astonishing change on stage to resemble the character Margaret Hamilton immortalized in The Wizard Of Oz."

The Advocate

"A very funny, mildly raunchy one-man show.  Mr. Barton also manages to make some telling and touching points about loneliness, and his Miss Gulch ends up a complete person instead of a just a cartoon cutout."

Max Preeo, Show Music

"Fred Barton provides his tribute to Miss Gulch of The Wizard of Oz with a gleam in his eye and a 20-piece orchestra in his fingers. Singing his wickedly funny songs, that gleam in his eye flowers into full lunacy.  He is a delight."

Gerry Geddes, Topman

"In a dozen wonderfully rhymed and lyrical songs, Fred Barton has dug into our cultural past to recreate Miss Gulch and explore her psyche, and I, for one, am delighted that he did so."

Carolyn Albert, Greenpoint Gazette

"A witty show, using Barton's considerable talents as a composer, lyricist and performer.  His lyrics are amusing and extremely clever."

Charles Gross, Press Journal

"Fred Barton may be one of the most promising of a new generation of composer/performers.  His lyrics are witty, exhibiting clever internal rhymes, while his music possesses an almost Sondheim quality.  There's a devil-may-care naughtiness to his material which tickles us while sophisticated allusions to cinematic history and musical folklore tickle our memory banks.  Barton is also a first-rate performer, managing to both poke fun at his creation and yet inspire a certain fondness for her."

Martin Schaeffer, Michael's Thing