BLT III - clip from 1980 WEST SIDE STORY Revival

I worked on that revival. While it wasn't perfect, there were certain moments that were astonishing, like Debbie and the girls in that number, the scherzo in the ballet and Josie De Guzman's acting in the final scene.

There's a lot of talent in that clip of the Shark girls: look for Yamil Borges singing the "lovely island" lyrics; Marlene Danielle, who went on to play in Cats for the entire run; and a very young Harolyn Blackwell, opera-star-to-be.

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No, she's the singing Shark girl who stands by Yaya's side. Jerome Robbins kept complaining that her dress-swishing was stealing focus.

 

She was also the pit voice singing "Somewhere" during the ballet. Heavenly...

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Updated On: 7/15/18 at 09:33 AM

Allen was pretty great in the '86 Sweet Charity too. After that... el stinko.

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I saw the show twice - someone took me the second time. Luckily , the understudy went on for Tony the second time I saw it and it made all the difference in the world. Unfortunately I can't remeber his name.

Updated On: 8/9/05 at 10:24 AM

Stephen Bogardus was the understudy for Tony.

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Brent Barrett played Diesel. It was his Broadway debut.

I saw the 1980 revival. Debbie Allen was incredible. The revival itself....wasn't.

Ah yes, but Hector Mercado as Bernardo was anything but bland!

And the two Tony understudies have gone on to distinguish themselves brilliantly: Steven Bogardus (pre-Falsettos) and Brent Barrett (pre-hunkiness).

One of the Shark boys was Michael De Lorenzo who went on to be a TV star.

We lost several of the Jet boys during the Awful Years, including the beautiful and talented Mark Fotopolous and the effervescent Reed Jones. Reed went on to create the role of Skimbleshanks in the Broadway Cats, and his memorial service--onstage at the Winter Garden--served as the inspiration for the memorial service in Paul Rudnick's Jeffrey.

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I think it's amazing that a Broadway production of WSS could be less-than-memorable. I'm not doubting anyone's opinions on here, but with that material, how could you go wrong? I guess you could if the wrong people were cast in some of the lead roles -- which is what it sounds like.

Incredible. With all the available talent in NYC, the casting folks couldn't find the right fit(s) for the roles? I guess it IS all in the casting...

I think West Side Story is overdue for a revival. Laura Benanti has Maria written all over her.

ETA: Agreed, Magruder.

Updated On: 8/9/05 at 10:50 AM

Marcy would make a fierce Anita.

Jerome Robbins had final say over the casting and--genius though he was--some of his ideas were peculiar, to say the least.

He wanted to the Jets to be "all-American," which ended up making them look like a midwestern Boy Scout troupe. (A gay midwestern boy scout troupe.) One of the Jets, the very clever Brian Kaman who played Baby John, made up a parody lyric that went "When you're a Jet, / You're a Jet all the way, / From your first pirouette / To your last grand jete."

Robbins and Bernstein fought over the casting. Laurents and Robbins fought over the acting. Sondheim paced. Peter Gennaro, Gerald Freedman, Lee Theodore and Tommy Abbott carried out Jerome Robbins's directions. Ruth Mitchell carried her stage manager's book from the 1957 production and would say to Debbie, Josie and Ken: "Chita, you move stage left. Carol, stage right. Larry, stay where you are."

One day Peter Gennaro actually brought Chita in to show Debbie how to do some of the flourishes he had forgotten. Chita remembered them ALL. By the end of the day, Chita and Debbie were dancing "America" together.

Me? I was someone in a tree. I saw EVERYTHING.

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I would love to see Audra McDonald play Maria.

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