West Side Story at Drury Lane - Yikes!- Page 2

[SweetLips]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 3:21pm

Your new avatar gives ME life, Carlos.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 3:40pm

Nice review, Drury Lane.

Not here. In an ideal example of how Rockwell can get beyond stereotypes, his final, wordless moments in the show are beyond devastating.

Does anyone know if she's using the classic Robbins scenario for the final processional or the one Arthur changed it to for the recent revival?

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 3:51pm

Glad you like it SweetLips.

[jon5202]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 6:23pm

Chris Jones review in the Chicago Tribune - 3.5 stars

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/reviews/ct-west-side-review-20150123-column.html

Posted: 1/23/15 at 7:13pm

Wow- can't imagine anyone tossing aside Rachel Rockwell as the director that rips off the last Broadway production. I haven't seen WSS (can't stand the show)but everything I've seen her do has been excellent. Her production of Ragtime at Drury Lane was without a doubt the best production of that show I've ever seen- and yes, I saw it on Broadway. Her re-imagining of Brigadoon at Goodman was a smash and this production of WSS was just recently extended- a real rarity at this heavily subscribed theater.

[ZannaDo]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 9:39pm

Not surprising to see the attitude on this board though. Many here don't look beyond the Broadway "blinders" or give appropriate credit to the many wonderful regional theatres in this country. Chicago has always been a fantastic theatre town, which is why so many highly regarded Broadway productions and actors are transplanted from here. :)

[gypsy101]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 10:13pm

I also liked Lillian Castillo, but the man third from the left at the end of the clip made me laugh out loud simply because he clearly is not a dancer and wasn't sure of what the choreography was.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 1/24/15 at 4:16am

Drury Lane is not a regional theater but rather a dinner theater-conference center, and a darned good one at that. Just because a theater is in the "regions" does not qualify it as a regional theater. I always chuckle when I see a community theater on a resume listed under Regional Theater credits. There's no shame in community and dinner theater credits unless you position them as something they aren't.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/24/15 at 8:47am

Many here don't look beyond the Broadway "blinders" or give appropriate credit to the many wonderful regional theatres in this country.

Actually, I find the opposite to be true. I find that most people here take great joy in discovering the many wonderful regional theaters across the country, whether it is posters like JoeKv who live in cities like Chicago and post about exciting productions and performances in their home towns--often making us jealous!--or people like me, who like travel to different cities when we hear about something of particular interest and then tell others on the board about what we've seen.

The accusation of "anti-regional bias" is lobbed by people like you ONLY when the reaction on the board is less-than-positive, as it was, deservedly, to the lackluster promo video.

I'm sure this production is much better than the promo video.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 1/24/15 at 1:48pm

Wait, what? Drury Lane Oakbrook is a top-tier Equity regional theater. It's not a dinner theater (yes, you can get dinner there - in a different part of the building, as the theater is part of a very large complex), but I've seen three shows there and they were all Broadway-quality. It is one of the most prestigious theaters in the country's best regional theatre city. Do your research.

[ZannaDo]

Posted: 1/24/15 at 2:38pm

PalJoey, as evidenced by the existence of this thread at all, some posters do not seem to know much of anything about some of the major regional theaters in this country or the general high standard of quality in their productions. Let alone people mistaking it for a "community theatre". I'm sure you and many other posters have admiration for regional work but I've seen plenty of posts here that come along with a very snobbish attitude and a very NY-centric view of the theatre world. Glad to hear, since you have certainly posted here longer than I, that you have found a more positive reception to some of the wonderful regional shows out there.

I've never "hurled" that accusation at anyone before and tend not to post too frequently, so maybe the attacks and sensitivity are something you've noticed elsewhere or from others. As for the promo video...meh, I've seen plenty of Broadway promo videos that do no service to the productions either so I tend not to base my decision to see a show on them.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/24/15 at 3:22pm

I don't see any NY-centric attitude on this board at all. It's a simple matter of fact that pretty much everything on Broadway comes from somewhere else. Like New York itself, Broadway is a melting pot. So you're entirely off base to make that accusation. You were obviously reacting defensively.

As a matter of fact, of the two shows I've posted about with the been most excitement recently, one started out at the Hartford Stage and then went to the Old Globe before coming to NY and the other started out at the Barrington Stage. It would be impossible to tell you how man of my New York theater experiences were from regional theaters because I don't judge them that way.

And not everyone on this board loves in New York. Most, I would imagine, don't.

But back to this video, theater companies should know that a hastily assembled video does them more of a disservice then they can possibly imagine: The Internet is global not local, and it is up there for all to see.

It's entirely unreasonable of you to expect the denizens of a website to refrain from reacting to a video advertisement. Once something like that is posted, it INVITES reactions automatically, whether those reactions are good or bad.

You can't stop the Internet or scold the people who react. I know because I've tried in vain to get posters to stop posting "reviews" of first and early previews. But the Internet is a brave new world, made up by opinions.

[SweetLips]

Posted: 1/24/15 at 3:24pm

This is a genuine question and I suppose I could research the answer somewhere but would prefer a response here.
In Australia, as far as I know, there is professional theatre employing actors who are members of Equity [don't know if compulsory but I joined], then there is pro am[ateur] where maybe a lead is paid basic and the rest amateurs[non paid] then there is the suburban[regional] amateur theater groups where people perform for the love of it all.

This thread prompted me to ask as I have long been confused by the terms used here[in America] for the different category of or types of shows that tour in America.
Purely for self-interest as some here seem stongly against certain types of anti-union{?} type of theatrical employment.
Thanks in advance.

Added as another confusion--tickets. We buy a ticket-end of story-for list price. There can be pensioner/student discount and that's it.
Very, very occasionally 1/2 tik. and all have approx.A$6.20 booking fee.


Updated On: 1/24/15 at 03:24 PM

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 1/24/15 at 3:35pm

Rachel Rockwell's shows are always very well directed, they also crib very heavily from previous productions. As I said in my first comment, this is mainly a physical production issue. This production looks very, very, very similar... down to the color of Anita's dress. My comment, and it appears that's what you were responding to, was meant to express frustration that she doesn't take more risks with reinvention. When she does take a new look (Sweeney Todd, Brigadoon, Shrek, and more) she excels.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 1/24/15 at 3:44pm

KJ,
I would suggest taking a look at the economics.
You point out Anita's dress as being the same in color. Check the creative team credits. For matters of economics, many of the costumes in this production ARE from the revival, designed by David Woolard, coordinated and augmented by an in house costume coordinator.
I don't find that to be a fair criticism of the director, but a question of the economics. Rockwell also rented costumes from Ragtime for her production.. Again, economically, that is incredibly understandable and I don't see the issue.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 1/24/15 at 5:26pm

SweetLips,

If a member of American Equity works at a non-Equity theatre, it must be on what's called a Guest Artist contract. This can be used for them to appear at professional non-Equity theatres, community theatres, and even school productions (as a teaching artist or whatever). The pay is not really a living wage (usually around $200 a week or so), but it allows members of Equity flexibility to work outside the parameters of the union.

Drury Lane Oakbrook is a full-scale Equity theatre, though. The majority of their casts are Equity and I believe are on either a LORT or CAT (Chicago Area Theatre) contract.

[SweetLips]

Posted: 1/24/15 at 6:38pm

Thank you TDB for helping me unscramble my confusion.