# ‘Wanted’ Broadway Review: Historical Musical Plays With Gospel Truth

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/wanted-broadway-review-historical-musical-plays-with-gospel-truth/
- Published: 2026-11-09T03:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-09T03:22:19+00:00
- Original publisher: Deadline
- Original article: https://deadline.com/2026/11/wanted-musical-broadway-review-1237214464/
- Topics: Film

## Key points

- *Wanted* follows two sisters who rob to help their mother buy land.
- The review praises the cast’s singing but faults the plot and characterisation.
- Its shift from comedy to historical revenge feels unconvincing.

## Summary

The Broadway musical *Wanted* tells a fictionalised version of the story of Mary and Martha Clarke, sisters who passed as white in 1890s Texas and robbed people to raise money for their mother’s land. The review describes the production as spirited but uneven: its cast’s powerful singing and gospel-influenced music are not enough to overcome a muddled plot and thin characterisations.

The sisters’ crimes begin after a white landowner humiliates their mother, Tallulah, when she tries to buy the cotton-producing land she has worked. Mary is drawn to wealth and falls for Jesse, while Martha pursues a relationship with his Black servant, Elijah; both romances put their concealed identities at risk. The show shifts from a lighthearted crime story towards historical revenge, but the review finds that turn unconvincing and criticises the late addition of comic maid characters.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.