WEST SIDE STORY Reviews....

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/7/09 at 11:21pm

Post them here when they come out.
Updated On: 1/8/09 at 11:21 PM

[Renee2]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 1:23am

I was there tonight. I came in from NYC I have three cousins who live in the area and they bought me a ticket for my birthday. Was anyone else there? Interested in hearing your feedback. I thought Karen was ouitstanding-full of fire and passion. She stole the show from everyone else. Some great dancing, but the singing was, to be nice, quite subpar. The acting was quite uneven also. The Jets and the Sharks were hardly menacing. I don't think anyone of them would be accepted into any gang. My 5 year old nephew is scarier and more menacing than all of them combined. The Spanish added nothing, and I thing it took away from the joy of understanding and knowing the English lyrics. And there were scenes where Spanish was spoken all of the time and then one English sentence was spoken like "Tony shot Berrnardo!" just to keep the non-Spanish speaking audience from falling asleep. There will be a lot of youngsters coming to see the show who do not know Spanish, and they will be lost. The adults in the audience were lost and complained about it at intermission. You need subtitles Arthur! Put them back. Does anyone know if there will be some cast changes before it hits NYC? The producers better look closely at the lack of chemistry up there on the stage now. I heard a lot of unsatisfied theatre goers outside the theatre after the show.
Updated On: 1/8/09 at 01:23 AM

[hockeynut2]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 10:33am

I saw the show last night too and I thought Karen Olivo was sensational. She lit up the stage with fire everytime she stepped on the stage. She is a great talent. The dancing was also terrific and the lighting was gorgeous. Looking forward also to reading the reviews. Best of luck to the cast. I do agree with Renee that they should reconsider using subtitles because even though I knew the show, I don't speak Spanish, and it would have been nice to know what people were saying.
My Theatre Schmooze Column on DC Theatre

[allofmylife]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 11:29am

I just have one question: I know things can be tough when on the road, but did the truck with the costumes fail to show up in Washington? Tony looks like he walked in off the street and the Jets look like the guys who just serviced my car. Sssshhhhhesh!

Updated On: 1/8/09 at 11:29 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 11:30am

I think the Spanish dialog and lyrics idea has proven to be a mistake. It sounded great to them (I guess) in theory. In a Utopian, politically correct world. And even the idea of alienating the English-only members of the audience and making them feel a bit uncomfortable sounded good at the time, I'm sure. But they didn't alienate them so much as pull them entirely out of the story. In other words, they bored them.

Not exactly what was planned.

And now, they can't get rid of the Spanish. That would be terribly un-PC, and it would create its own stir. Something they really don't need now. So, as distracting as the subtitles (or supertitles) seemed to have been, I agree they are necessary for the majority of the theatre-goers.

Or they can just continue to pull them out of the story and bore them. Which is worse? A mild distraction of text vs. total lack of involvement from the majority of your audience?

The sad thing is that from its initial concept, this production of WSS was supposed to be more "real" than its predecessors. That was the reason for the language changes. Then with the casting choices, flags already were raised as to appropriate ages, and types. And believability as street gang members, etc.

Then the designs for the sets and costumes were unveiled, and suddenly we were looking at comic book Li'l Abner colors, anachronistic hemlines, inappropriate "boy band" attire and hairstyles, and freaky-confusing, surrealistic backdrops. So much for keeping it "real."

The problem is the failed, initial, singular vision. They started out with one bold new concept, and ended up with about six half-realized, stylized concepts. None of them clear. None of them fully fleshed-out.

A muddled mess.

West Side Sloppy.

I feel bad for all the talent that has gone into this production. It sounds like they have talent. They just lack that decisive and clear direction. A single, unique vision that Laurents was braying boldly about when the show was first announced. They're all doing their jobs (everyone in front of the curtain and behind the scenes), just not necessarily in the same production. Even though they all join together on the same stage for each performance.

So very frustrating for all involved. Including, and especially, the audience, so it seems.

Updated On: 1/8/09 at 11:30 AM

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 12:18pm

total lack of involvement from the majority of your audience

I think this, as well as Renee's post about the overall audience reaction is an exaggeration. If not understanding Spanish alienated and bored the majority of the audience, Siento Hermosa wouldn't get the biggest applause of the night. The problem isn't that it's in Spanish, it's the way the Spanish is handled- by the director and by the audience members.

If adult audience members get so lost they risk falling asleep during the "lengthy", "detatching" exchanges in Spanish last all of about 20 seconds, they should be home in bed instead of at the theatre and blaming the production.

[Usnavi]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 12:30pm

mr. laurents certainly failed to deliver on a "grittier", "darker", "edgier" WSS.

the costumes are all in pastels! bright blues, teal, purple, lavender?!! more appropriate for a revival of BYE BYE BIRDIE if you ask me.

the gang members do not look menacing at all. according to laurents they are supposed to be killers. they look like the would convene at the local bally's and do each other in the shower stalls.
Updated On: 1/8/09 at 12:30 PM

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 12:32pm

The first official review: http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/performing-arts/west-side-story,1152610.html#editorial-review

It's pretty positive, and says quite the opposite of most of the comments here.

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 12:34pm

I just think everyone needs the chill the F out. I am trying to remain optimistic that Arthur will make some needed changed for the Broadway run. We haven't even seen the DC reviews yet, and some are already calling it a disaster.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 12:39pm

orangeskittles---The detachment seems to be happening. That's what my comments were about. The consensus of reactions since previews began.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 12:40pm

It's funny, because most of the comments disagree with that review, which doesn't really review much at all.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 12:40pm

I disagree. The comments here seem to be pretty split. The ones who hated it are just louder about it.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 12:41pm

That's not really a review.
And someone tell him the play does not take place in Hell's Kitchen.

[Brick]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 12:42pm

ljay889, you rock my world.

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 12:46pm

Yeah, that is not the Washington Post review. That was an article about the Spanish from a few days ago.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 12:48pm

It says it's an "Editorial Review." What the hell is that? It's an editorial on the show, not a review at all.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 12:52pm

It's the closest thing we have to a review at this point, anyway. It's a somewhat official opinion from a journalist who has seen the show.

And someone tell him the play does not take place in Hell's Kitchen.

Doesn't it? Hell's Kitchen is on the west side. The movie was filmed in a dilapidated neighborhood a few blocks north of Hell's Kitchen.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 12:54pm

A few blocks? Try 25-30. Or even more.

[mikem]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 12:55pm

I have not seen the show, but I agree with best12bars that, based on the comments on this board, the Spanish additions were an interesting idea in theory but don't really seem to be working. I don't think that it's too late for them to can the idea completely, and I hope they do.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 12:58pm

The area known as Hell's Kitchen goes up to 59th Street. The area used for filming was the soon-to-be Lincoln Center, approximately 60th-68th Streets.

I don't think that it's too late for them to can the idea completely, and I hope they do.

Of course they won't. The entire reason this revival is happening is because of the Spanish idea.

Updated On: 1/8/09 at 12:58 PM

Posted: 1/8/09 at 1:02pm

just read that "review.."
does anyone else think that this production never would have happened without the magnificent Light in the Piazza? And that the "brilliant new concept" is just the Piazza concept on crack?

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 1:19pm

I really don't know why they called that a review. Here is the original article from Jan 3.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/02/AR2009010202107.html?hpid=topnews

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 1:25pm

The detachment seems to be happening. That's what my comments were about. The consensus of reactions since previews began.

The reactions have been more mixed- most have said the problem is lack of subtitles. But again if it's so detatching, why does the scene entirely in Spanish get more applause than any of the English songs? According to Renee, they should be asleep, not shouting "Bravo!" as I heard in the same audience she was in last night. I suppose those people were just celebrating that the horrible alienating Spanish was over?

It's not as black and white as you're implying.

Updated On: 1/8/09 at 01:25 PM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 1:25pm

does anyone else think that this production never would have happened without the magnificent Light in the Piazza?

Yes.

[FrontRowCenter2]

Posted: 1/8/09 at 1:27pm

Again, that is NOT a review. The author even states that the official opening hasn't yet occured when the article was written.