West Side Story Tour Begins Tonight

[suttonfoster]

Posted: 9/30/10 at 9:30am

If anyone is going, please report back!

[THEATRICAL100]

Posted: 9/30/10 at 6:00pm

no im not but i heard its gonna be good....i mightt

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 10/1/10 at 2:49pm

Good luck!

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/2/10 at 7:23pm

For those who went last night... how was it?

[edelweiss28]

Posted: 10/2/10 at 9:38pm

I went Thursday night and it was absolutely incredible!! I've never seen the play, just the movie, so I wasn't sure what to expect with the switching of "Cool", "Gee, Officer Krupke", and "I Feel Pretty". No worries- it worked even better in the play. "Cool" really did show Riff as a leader, while when Action took over after the rumble with "Krupke", his hotheaded style meant that the Jets were still out to finish the job they started. Plus beginning Act Two with "I Feel Pretty" is so sad because we all knew what happened at the rumble.
Kyle Harris and Ali Ewoldt were phenomenal - great voices, acting, and chemistry. "One Hand, One Heart" and "Somewhere" were absolutely heartbreaking, while you could feel the excitement of new love in "Tonight". My only minor complaint is that Kyle didn't go for the high note in the middle of Maria like Matt Cavanaugh did, but he gave such a great performance that it really didn't matter. "Somewhere" was actually sung by Anybodys, which I thought was a nice touch, because even though she's a minor character, she spends the whole play trying to belong. Michelle Aravena was great as Anita too - the change from the beginning of the second act to the end was so well acted - and the dancing in America was great too! Joseph Simeone and German Santiago were really charismatic, especially Santiago. The audience was dead silent at the end of Act One.
I read the Arthur Laurents wanted to show the gangs as actual killers instead of potential ones. He totally succeeded - Santiago came off as much more sexist and hard headed than George Chakiris, and Drew Foster as Action was positively sociopathic at times. Riff clearly missed Tony and still sought his approval, a nice tough by Simeone. A lot of scenes and songs would start out in English and then move to Spanish, which I really liked. I thought it was realistic, plus the audience could still understand what was going on. Honestly, it's my favorite movie to begin with, so I'd probably find any interpretation awesome, but I really highly recommend this one. I want to see it again =)

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/2/10 at 10:09pm

Thanks for the review! I'm bummed this isn't coming to my city!

[desiree armfeldt]

Posted: 10/3/10 at 11:59am

I went to the dress rehearsal on Wednesday night and thought the show was spectacular. I had seen the revival in NYC and had been really disappointed with the quality of the show. I thought it felt like there was no spark at all.

The tour cast, on the other hand, is simply electric. Every jet and shark is teeming with energy and the show is bursting with excitement. I love just about everyone in the cast. My only qualms were the occasional accent drops by Ali Ewoldt, who was otherwise simply beautiful, and I think Anita seems a little old(ish)....she needs new hair. pronto.

But, if you've seen the Bway production and are considering not going to see the tour when it comes to your city, think again! it's really beautiful.

also, did they put some of the spanish back in...? the show seemed chock full of spanish again.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/3/10 at 2:31pm

Are the sets exactly the same as they are on Broadway?

[desiree armfeldt]

Posted: 10/4/10 at 10:41am

yeah, more or less. they're definitely a little flimsier haha. there was one point when the jets were climbing through the building windows and the whole building was shaking a bit.

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 7/30/11 at 8:26pm

I just got back from seeing the matinee, and I have to say that I was quite disappointed. It was pretty well acted, but that is all I can say about it. The singing was not up to par with what West Side Story should sound like. Ali Ewoldt's head voice was incredibly weak and squeaky and often made her sound like a little kid. Kyle Harris lacked the power in his voice that Tony really needs, putting the last note of Something's Coming into his extremely quiet falsetto, creating a very anticlimactic ending to the song. He also has really annoying vowel formation. Both of them had nauseating amounts of vibrato. For some reason, Ali Ewoldt sounded pretty good in I Feel Pretty, but in everything else I couldn't stand her voice. Michelle Aravena was a decent singer, but nothing great.

The dancing, which I was really looking forward to, just felt off. It felt like they weren't all together in the sense of unity that a gang should have. Maybe it was an off performance, but it really lacked energy and power and mostly fell flat.

The use of Spanish really bothered me. If I hadn't seen the show before, I would have been even more annoyed. I understand the purpose, and I'm sure I would have liked it if I were able to speak Spanish, but I'm not, and I don't think all that many people in the audience were, either. It's like they're wasting our time with the Spanish because nobody is understanding what is being said.

What annoyed me most was in the end when nobody carried Tony's body off. Replacing it with a Jet bringing Maria her scarf thing really took out the power behind the moment. The finale of the show is supposed to show them putting their differences after seeing the tragedy, but none of that played. For all we know, the Sharks could still hate the Jets, and Action could be the only one who felt bad about what happened. Changing that moment really took out the whole meaning of the show.

All in all, I have to say that it's a wiser choice to just skip the show. It's not worth it. Some of the group singing was atrocious, and West Side Story is one of those scores you want to hear sung well. I was never a fan of Matt Cavenaugh's voice, but in light of this production, I was missing it so much. Don't waste your time seeing this production.

[Marlothom]

Posted: 7/31/11 at 1:17am

I just got back - kinda spitting my thoughts out so apologies to those that like neat reviews. I have seen and performed this show probably a dozen times, and read all about the revival (probably since it was announced) from all the peeps on this board. So, I came prepared for the Spanish (thankfully I speak it), for all the changes, etc. I give it a B-.

The production value was pretty good - good size cast, and the ensemble works hard. Sat front row, so not able to see all of the big pictures, but really enjoyed the choreography and a lot of the direction. I felt I was seeing "new" things in a lot of these numbers I have seen so many times. Specifically, "I Feel Pretty," "America," and "Krupke."

CAST: Kyle Harris was great in the acting dept., but the voice felt weak. I agree with the vowel formation comment above, he made very uncomfortable faces during Something's Coming. But he was a convincing Tony, not very exciting but I think this part is tough to play and please everyone; thankfully, the singing got better from the first number.

Maria- I am fairly sure I will die never having seen Puerto Rican-looking Maria on stage. The poor girl should not be forced to speak Spanish if she cannot speak Spanish - she slurs her words, goes for the Italian accent at times ("coming papa" at the balcony for example). That said, I kinda dug her going crazy at the end; instead of crying through the last monologue - she played it slightly demented which makes sense for a 17 year old who has lost her brother and lover on the same day.

Riff was probably my favorite - such an effective triple threat - He is not the biggest guy in the show, but still establishes himself as a leader. I was kinda sad knowing he wouldn't be in Act 2.

Anita was a snooze- she was half Stephanie J. Block/half Reba. While the rest of the cast was directed to play it "Real" (I think), she was serving the fictional character "Spanish Rose" sung about in Bye Bye Birdie. She also should not be forced to speak Spanish - she can't do it. A Boy Like That/I Have a Love had more than a few words that do not exist.

Thankfully the Sharks ensemble WERE Latino and can speak Spanish and thankfully saved a lot of the scenes where they have to switch back and forth.

[Nettik]

Posted: 8/20/11 at 7:21pm

I just saw the matinee production at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady, NY today (8/20).

Overall, I enjoyed the show, although I was disappointed by a few aspects.

The dancing at times was sloppy, and a lot of the lines were lost but I don't know if that was due to the sound system or due to poor diction. I thought that the Spanish was overused and wasn't particularly consistent.

It's definitely more vulgar than the movie version, which didn't bother me in the slightest, but it offended a few audience members. (One of the people behind me kept saying nervously to the person he was with, "Did you see that?" "Did you hear that?")

The set design was fantastic for a touring set. My favorite part was the chain link fence that came down for the rumble. All of the set changes were smooth, the longest one taking only about 10-15 seconds.

The highlights of the show were "Dance at the Gym," "America," "Cool," "Tonight (quintet)" and especially "Gee, Officer Krupke." The latter had the entire audience rolling, and was easily the standout number of the show.

I was disappointed in Ali Ewoldt (Maria)'s voice. It was shrill at times and far too vibrato-y. I thought she did a fine job acting out the role, and she did hit all of her notes, but the tone of it wasn't always pleasant.

Kyle Harris (Tony)'s acting was great, but I was let down by him not going for the high note in "Maria." His voice reminded me a lot of Kyle Dean Massey's. Overall, both Ewoldt and Harris were strong acting-wise, but singing-wise, I was a little let down.

Michelle Aravena (Anita) was incredible. Her dancing in "America" was fantastic. Another poster said that she came across as too old, I didn't get that at all. I thought she looked to be in her 20s.

Stephen DeRosa (Glad Hand) stole the show during the book scene at the "Dance at the Gym."

!!!Spoilers ahead for the current tour!!!

The best part of the show for me personally was Alexandra Frohlinger (Anybodys). I love how this production of the show really beefed up Anybodys' part. I was moved to tears during the "Somewhere" ballet because of the surprise of Anybodys being the one to sing. I don't know if they changed that for the revival or if that's tour-only, but I found it incredibly moving.

[Wishing Only Wounds]

Posted: 8/20/11 at 8:03pm

I saw it back in Boston on July 2nd... long story short: terrible.

If I can find the Playbill, I'll post details. But, I believe Maria was the only lead who wasn't an understudy (but that's not why the show was bad) and it was just so unpleasant. I will say, the stage manager was excellent. The cues were superb.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 8/20/11 at 11:04pm

^ How was the set?

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 9/30/11 at 3:47am

Just saw the show. I loved it. It was a terrific production, and the cast was stellar. I would go through each cast member, but the bottom line is that I thought they were all great. The orchestra sounded phenomenal and lush, especially during the Dance at the Gym/ Mambo and the Tonight quintet. The choreography was mind blowing. The set and lighting were perfect (I loved how the rumble was seen through a mesh fence, and the forced perspective of the highway bridge was beautiful).

My only complaint is.... the Spanish dialogue. I absolutely hated it. And I mean HATED it. Luckily they have trimmed it way back from the Broadway production, but I just could not stand it. I felt like it did nothing to enhance the book or score, and flawed the otherwise near perfect production.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 9/30/11 at 8:57am

is this a non-eq tour?

[AC126748]

Posted: 9/30/11 at 9:07am

^ Nope.

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 9/30/11 at 9:22am

It WILL be, though. Yay for tidbits from the sites of touring producers, WSS goes non-Eq under Troika in the fall of 2012.

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 9/30/11 at 9:24am

(My edit button seems to have disappeared, don't know if that's going on for anyone else.)

Oddly enough, "Hair," that other musical about disaffected teenagers, is also going non-Eq with Troika that season.

[bwayrose7]

Posted: 9/30/11 at 1:12pm

Glad you enjoyed it bwayphreak. I'm seeing it Sunday and I'm really excited! I'll post my thoughts here after.

[bwayrose7]

Posted: 10/3/11 at 12:22pm

Saw the show yesterday and absolutely loved it. The sets and choreography were just stunning. This is one of my personal favorite scores, and the cast did it justice. Ali Ewoldt was a lovely Maria. Her voice started to give out at the end of Act 1 but she seemed fine by the time I Feel Pretty started. She and Kyle Harris had electric and believable chemistry. His voice, while a bit weird whenever he had to sing an "ee" sound, was quite good too. Somewhere was re highlight for me- the empty sets and neutral costumes, as well as Anybodys' voice, had me tearing up more than I did when Tony died. Overall a lovely show.
On a side note it was the last day for some of the cast including Kyle, which made the show even more emotional. When I talked to him at the stage door he mentioned he's going on to the TV show Pan Am, which is awesome and wish him the best.