Checking in with West Side Story...

Saw the matinee this afternoon. A few thoughts:

-What the heck did Matt Cavenaugh do to get cast in this? Bland, bland, bland. He has ZERO presence, ZERO charm, ZERO charisma, and ZERO chemistry with Josefina. I felt nothing between the two of them. No connection. Nada. Nothing. The man behind me said he couldn't wait for him to get shot. I was hoping the understudy would do act 2, but no such luck.

-Josefina Scaglione is wonderful. Beautiful voice, lovely performance. It's a shame her Tony was so wooden.

-Karen Olivo steals this production. What a performance. I really hope she wins the Tony this year, because she absolutely deserves it. It would be a travesty if Haydn Gwynne wins the Tony over Olivo.

-The decision to stage the two most crucial scenes in the second act in spanish is puzzling, foolish, and downright bizarre. What was Laurents thinking? That was absolutely his biggest directorial blunder in this production. They add nothing to the show, and only confuse many members of the audience. Not everyone knows the dialogue already in these scenes!

-It was wonderful to hear that score played by a 30 piece orchestra.

-Ultimately, this is still WSS, and it's hard to screw it up. However, this production doesn't really measure up, given the fact that one of the leads is awful, the two lovers have no chemistry, and the most important scenes are in a foreign language.

Updated On: 5/23/09 at 11:48 PM

Anita returns to her native tongue in act 2 because of Bernardo's death. Her dreams in America have been destroyed. She has no use to speak english anymore. That's why her scenes and "A Boy Like That" are in spanish during act 2. In DC, even "I Have a Love" was in spanish, but they changed that after the critics noted how that sequence was not landing.


I have a feeling this production may fare better with replacements, mainly the males. Karen and Josefina are fantastic.

I really will not understand Haydn winning the award over Karen, if that happens. Karen absolutely deserves it. Her portrayal of Anita is devastating. If Haydn wins, it will obviously be to keep a "Billy sweep."

Updated On: 5/23/09 at 11:54 PM

Haydn so does not deserve that Tony. I fail to see what's so special about her performance, at all. I'll be very disappointed if Karen doesn't win.

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I also don't get the love for Haydn Gwynne. The only way she wins is if there is a Billy sweep and she benefits from it. Quite frankly, if Karen doesn't win, than I hope Jennifer Damiano does.

Margot Serena Pilar doesn't know what all the hubbub is about anyway -- we all know Best Featured Actress belongs to Carole Shelley.

I think the Tony voters are going to give it to Martha Plimpton. This is her third nomination in a row. She surprised everyone with her singing, her comedic abilities, and her musical stage presence. This is her year.

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The BILLY sweep is almost inevitable, IMO.

But I agree with most of your comments, adamgreer.

I too hope Karen wins the Tony. She certainly deserves it and is really the only aspect of this WSS that is worth awarding. She's wonderful.

I'd be shocked if anyone other than Gwynne wins.

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Anita is a dancing role, in addition to acting and singing. In that regard, Karen is the worst Anita of the three Broadway Anitas. Chita Rivera, the role's originator, didn't even receive a nomination for her performance. I doubt the worst Anita, who can't even spectacularly dance the role, would win the Tony for it.

Foster, I had no idea you were around and seeing shows in 1957 and 1980 to judge the previous Broadway Anitas. Interesting.

Can some people just get over the dancing? This isn't an astaire award. Best Featured Actress in a musical, not best featured dancer. Olivo acts the crap out of the role and nails it. She deserves the Tony. Hadyn's role is boring and it didn't really touch me at all.

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LMAO about the audience member wanting Tony dead...I said the same thing to my friend. I think the only reason Karen shines so much is because she is in a horrible production and is the only beacon of light there is in the show. If there was a better suited Bernardo, Tony, and Riff, I feel she wouldn't shine so much. The females in the show honestly do steal the show but again Karen's lack of dancing in a major dancing role is sad.

I can't really comment on Haydn Gwynne performance because the day I saw the show she was out but if she were half as good as her understudy then she dersevers the Tony!

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I never really understood why people were saying she couldn't dance. I'm a trained dancer myself, and I was surprised when I heard that she's more of a "mover." If she can't dance, she sure fooled me.

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She CAN dance. And she took intensive ballet training 2 hours before each rehearsal. People are mad because Joey McKneely had to alter some of Anita's moves for her.

Would I have liked to see Anita and the girls do the leaps at the end of America? Yes. But I'm not going to hang myself over it, like some others on this board.

Updated On: 5/24/09 at 12:28 PM