WEST SIDE STORY (2019 Revival) Preview Thread- Page 19

[persephone88]

Posted: 12/31/19 at 3:17pm

Not sure if Isaac Powell will be back, but his understudy Jordan Dobson is wonderful, so don't worry if you get him.

[persephone88]

Posted: 12/31/19 at 3:17pm

Not sure if Isaac Powell will be back, but his understudy Jordan Dobson is wonderful, so don't worry if you get him.

[Californian]

Posted: 1/2/20 at 11:43am

Does anyone know the running time?  I know that there's no intermission, but haven't seen any reference to running time....

I'm seeing a 5:30 David Byrne/American Utopia, and trying to gauge whether I'll have time to see a 2p WSS matinee....

thanks in advance.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 1/2/20 at 11:57am

Californian said: "Does anyone know the running time? I know that there's no intermission, but haven't seen any reference to running time....

I'm seeing a 5:30 David Byrne/American Utopia, and trying to gauge whether I'll have time to see a 2p WSS matinee....

thanks in advance."

 

WSS is a little under 2 hours. You won’t have a problem making it to the 5:30 curtain. 

 

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 1/2/20 at 1:36pm

Any updates on Isaac? It looks like he’s deactivated all of his social media

[Impossible2]

Posted: 1/2/20 at 5:42pm

haterobics said: "Wow, people are really turning out to boo Amar at curtain call?!

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/WEST-SIDE-STORY-Has-Broken-All-Time-Broadway-Theatre-House-Record-20191230"

[benfox2]

Posted: 1/2/20 at 7:25pm

GreasedLightning said: "Any updates on Isaac? It looks like he’s deactivated all of his social media "

I’m in the lobby for tonight’s show and asked an usher if he knew anything, he says Isaac won’t be back in until mid February, and that he indeed injured himself during ‘the rumble’. He doesn’t know for sure but it sounds like he really ****ed his knee up, usher says he saw Isaac at a holiday party and that he has crutches but is able to walk. I’m not a medical expert but from my years of watching football that sounds like an ACL tear.

[ModernMillie3]

Posted: 1/2/20 at 7:41pm

Yeah, figured it wasn't going to be something he could come back from after two weeks. What a shame. 

Updated On: 1/2/20 at 07:41 PM

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 1/2/20 at 7:52pm

benfox2 said: "GreasedLightning said: "Any updates on Isaac? It looks like he’s deactivated all of his social media "

I’m in the lobby for tonight’s show and asked an usher if he knew anything, he says Isaac won’t be back in until mid February, and that he indeed injured himself during ‘the rumble’. He doesn’t know for sure but it sounds like he really ****ed his knee up, usher says he saw Isaac at a holiday party and that hehas crutches but is able to walk. I’m not a medical expert but from my years of watching football that sounds like an ACL tear."

They’re scheduled to open February 20th. Him rejoining the show mid-February doesn’t give him much time before opening. 

[benfox2]

Posted: 1/2/20 at 7:59pm

Miles2Go2 said: "They’re scheduled to open February 20th. Him rejoining the show mid-February doesn’t give him much time before opening."

I’d assume that’s why they moved back opening, to give him any time.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 1/2/20 at 8:25pm

I'll repeat the comment of some posters above to say that we are huge fans of Isaac Powell after loving him in ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, but man, does Jordan Dobson do a phenomenal job as Tony until Isaac comes back in the show. No-one should avoid the next month of performances while Jordan is in the role. He's thrilling onstage as an actor, dancer and especially as a singer scaling the heights of the Bernstein score with ease. And frankly he's as beautiful to look at as Isaac. (Am I forbidden from saying that?)

As for the show itself, it's pretty close to a winner in our books, despite our misgivings with past Van Hove stagings. This production creates a new stageplay/video hybrid that for the most part works gangbusters with the material. The translation to contemporary times is thoughtful and legit. The dance movement is kinetic and tells a clear story, if not nearly as varied and nuanced as the Robbins original. The show really knows what it's doing: the music-making, the racial casting (the Jets here are the NATIVE-born gang containing black and white members), the feeling of being in a dream/nightmare you can't wake up from, even the RAIN, are all thrilling choices executed with topnotch talent.

What were my disappointments? I have three. The set is a defiantly bare stage backed by a stage-wide jumbotron. (Really an HD movie screen, but still.) There are some spectacularly detailed sets 30' upstage of Doc's Store and Anita's sweatshop (along with a red bedroom seen only in video) but why oh why couldn't they winch those rooms downstage so we all could appreciate the filmic realism there. Just baffling.

I'm sorry but I love these characters so much that I really want to live with them for a full 2 1/2 hours, not the hour and 3/4 or so that we're given. We landed on the final scene simply too soon to care as much as the full length show would have given us.

And finally, those extreme closeups projected on the jumbotron during songs make those moments absolutely thrilling and visceral. And that's a real problem. Why? Because as soon as Tony or Maria walks OUT of their closeup to move downstage and continue singing, the thrill is gone. It just can't compete with the moments when their faces are projected 30' high. The movie making before your eyes is at war with the live stage show and I gotta say, for the most part the movie wins.

 

 

 

Updated On: 1/2/20 at 08:25 PM

[joevitus]

Posted: 1/2/20 at 8:46pm

Someone in a Tree, you seem a good person to ask this. Sondheim has famously said the show isn't really about gangs or juvenile delinquency, it's about theater (he says just this on an extra feature for the WSS DVD/Blu-ray). To him it was always just about the effects: dance, song, set coming together in thrilling ways at specific moments that don't have a lot to do with ideas or characters. In fact, I'm pretty sure he's said there are no characters in WSS (in the chapter on it in Sondheim and Co.). 

Do you think this production--which so radically rejects the traditional staging and makes sure to have the gangs reflect actual gangs of our present day--effectively refutes his premise? I mean, I'm sure you've always disagreed with Sondheim's verdict, but I wonder as someone with a rich theatergoing experience, if for you this version makes for a decisive illustration where we can say "it isn't just about theatrical dazzle--it's about the people on the stage and the world they represent; it's about the reality of what they experience." 

[trpguyy]

Posted: 1/2/20 at 8:46pm

Someone in a Tree2 said: "There are some spectacularly detailed sets 30'upstage of Doc's Store and Anita's sweatshop (along with a red bedroom seen onlyin video)but why oh why couldn't they winchthose rooms downstage so we all could appreciate the filmic realism there. Just baffling."

2 reasons - the sprung deck (for the dancing) and the rain/drainage. 

[EvanHansen]

Posted: 1/3/20 at 12:55pm

I posted in the TO SELL board as well, but I have one ticket for next Thursday (the 9th) at 8pm i'm selling for $80. Orch Row K. PM if interested!

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 1/3/20 at 2:11pm

To answer Joevitus above, I feel like the new production is focused just as much on theatrical effects as the original show. Only in this case, those theatrical effects are all borrowed from the cinema. (So I guess I agree with Sondheim about what's most effective in the show.) I cared plenty about Tony and Riff thanks to strong acting or dancing (in Riff's case), considerably less so for Maria, Anita and Bernardo, who seem to have much less personal stage time to make an impression.

 
Re trpguyy's reason that the interiors can't winch downstage: "2 reasons - the sprung deck (for the dancing) and the rain/drainage."

Maybe you're right, but the result for me was a shockingly inert set design for a show that should be constantly in motion.

 

Updated On: 1/3/20 at 02:11 PM

[schubox]

Posted: 1/3/20 at 9:56pm

So I’ve never been a huge fan of the original, I like it but it’s not one of my favorites. Just got out of this tonight and I thought it was incredible. Moving and powerful.

[Globefan]

Posted: 1/3/20 at 10:26pm

I'm not sure to see it in previews or to wait until after opening after all the kinks have been sorted out. 

[Eddie3]

Posted: 1/4/20 at 12:40pm

[joevitus said: "Someone in a Tree, you seem a good person to ask this. Sondheim has famously said the show isn't really about gangs or juvenile delinquency,it's about theater (he says just this on an extra feature for the WSS DVD/Blu-ray).] 

Sondheim might not be the best person to rely on. He was very young when West Side was produced and was, I believe, brought in after Arthur and Jerry Robbins had developed their conception.  I think his quotes today might be more revisionist, to fit in with his evolved philosophy of musical theater. I wish Arthur Laurents were alive, to talk about the gestation period of the work. He has written and lectured about it.

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 1/4/20 at 12:52pm

Globefan said: "I'm not sure to see it in previews or to wait until after opening after all the kinks have been sorted out."

With Ivo, I generally wait until the very end of the preview period or right after the show opens. His shows do take time to work everything out and he does make changes during previews.

[joevitus]

Posted: 1/4/20 at 7:07pm

Eddie3 said: "[joevitus said: "Someone in a Tree, you seem a good person to ask this. Sondheim has famously said the show isn't really about gangs or juvenile delinquency,it's about theater (he says just this on an extra feature for the WSS DVD/Blu-ray).]

Sondheim might not be the best person to rely on. He was very young when West Side was produced and was, I believe, brought in after Arthur and Jerry Robbins had developed their conception.I think his quotes today might be more revisionist, to fit in with his evolved philosophy of musical theater. I wish Arthur Laurents were alive, to talk about the gestation period of the work. He has written and lecturedabout it."

You could be right, though since Bernstein brought him in to give an opinion on Candide to help fix it (this was during the run of the original production, not the 70's revival he provided lyrics for), it seems he was respected as an equal at least by Bernstein almost from the start. 

I don't know if I agree or disagree with Sondheim's assessment. I think he's right that the show is very much about theater, but I don't know that that means it doesn't have anything to do with the issue of street gangs, I do think the characters are pretty flat, and that this is probably by design. This shouldn't be read as a put down. I've probably never literally seen the ending of the film because my eyes are always full of tears. Gets to me every time.

[Sfcp]

Posted: 1/5/20 at 10:31am

New here. Saw the show yesterday - the matinee. Good points - Maria’s voice was lovely. Most of the musical numbers were great. I loved the choreography and the execution of the legendary score was spot on. Most of the acting and singing was wine, but Riff was very disappointing. His dancing was great, but Riff needs to be more than that.

The video was distracting and, while somewhat effective, I would rather have seen set changes. My seat was 2nd row mezzanine, all the way on the right. So much of the stage action and video was so far to the right that we saw nothing. And our seats were not obstructed view. That was disappointing.

Finally, there is no way that gang members in the present would use words like “buddy boy” and “daddy-o”. Anachronisms really bug me and thus was no exception.

So overall, I liked, it but this is such a beloved musical that it fell short on many levels.

Oh, and I missed I Feel Pretty.

[Rosette3]

Posted: 1/5/20 at 12:58pm

Sfcp said: "The video was distracting and, while somewhat effective, I would rather have seen set changes. My seat was 2nd row mezzanine, all the way on the right. So much of the stage action and video was so far to the right that we saw nothing. And our seats were not obstructed view. That was disappointing." 

You mean you were sitting house right and most action was stage left? Which seat did you have specifically?  I'll be in seat 11 rear mezz (what my budget allowed for & was left available) and wondering if it's too off to the side. 

[Sfcp]

Posted: 1/5/20 at 1:53pm

We were seats 13, 15 and 17. None of us could see.

[Peter2]

Posted: 1/5/20 at 2:01pm

Sfcp said: "Finally, there is no way that gang members in the present would use words like “buddy boy” and “daddy-o”. Anachronisms really bug me and thus was no exception."

Gang members in the 1950s didn’t say those things either. As Sondheim has written, it’s not a street gang, it’s a musical theater gang. No way to fix it.

 

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 1/5/20 at 2:31pm

Rosette3 said: "Sfcp said: "The video was distracting and, while somewhat effective, I would rather have seen set changes. My seat was 2nd row mezzanine, all the way on the right. So much of the stage action and video was so far to the right that we saw nothing. And our seats were not obstructed view. That was disappointing."

You mean you were sitting house right and most action was stage left? Which seat did you have specifically? I'll be in seat 11 rear mezz (what my budget allowed for & was left available) and wondering if it's too off to the side."

Seat 11 in the rear mezzanine is relatively centered. I'm not quite sure why Telecharge has the sections labeled and numbered the way they are, but there's only 1 true center section (seats 101-119), which is labeled "Right Center," with the "Left Center" (seats 102-124) and "Right" (seats 1-23) sections equally centered on either side. "Rear Mezzanine Left" (seats 2-10) is the only section which is far off to the side. There used to be a far right section as well, but it's no longer there. 

Updated On: 1/5/20 at 02:31 PM