I Saw West Side Story Today And Hated it

[Amy5]

Posted: 3/7/09 at 10:00pm

They absolutely ruined "I Feel Pretty" by singing it in Spanish. You have to be kidding! The women in line at the Ladies Room were all complaining about such an iconic song being sung in another language. We all wanted to walk out! Too much dialog was in Spanish.

And, the casting of Tony was horrific. The guy has no stage presence and cannot sing, let alone project. He blocked Maria's face on the balcony scene and gave a leaden performance. Please dump this guy. I felt like I was listening to a Michael Buble imitation. Please don't insult us like this.

And, when not dancing, the dancers just stood there. Hello, you are supposed to be actors, too. "Be" the part. Play the role.

Except for the actress who played Anita--fabulous--there was no emotional commitment by any of the cast. I felt I was watching a high school play. Gee, $130 downt he drain. BUT, you can salvage this by dumping the guy who plays Tony, forcing the participants to CARE about their roles and put the intermission in earlier. Everyone was squirming in their seats.

As we walked out a woman said to me, "What a bomb." So sad. Such a great musical.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 3/7/09 at 10:03pm

Hey there new best friend!

[DAME]

Posted: 3/7/09 at 10:03pm

PiraguaGuy2,
Were you that woman?

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 3/7/09 at 10:05pm

PiraguaGuy2,
Were you that woman?

...
PiraguaGuy2,


You just answered your own question.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 3/7/09 at 10:22pm

I think I'm glad I didn't win the lottery for this today.

Or...I don't think I did...you can't really hear the girl calling out because of the volume of the music they're blasting onto the sidewalk.

[matty159]

Posted: 3/7/09 at 10:25pm

You really should see it, jordangirl. Although it didn't set me on fire, there are some great things about it. If nothing else, see it so you can get to see what all the muss and fuss is all about!

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/7/09 at 10:33pm

Gee, the public is starting to really turn on this production.
Even if it does well at the Box Office, and it probably will for a while, an artistic failure has to hurt.
I don't see any TONYs coming their way.
Olivo has some fierce competition and I think she is very talented but she shines because she is surrounded by mostly muck, her lack of dancing skills will do her in.
Can she dance, sure, but that is not enough in this role.
And the comment about putting a comb thru her hair is spot on.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/7/09 at 10:36pm

They absolutely ruined "I Feel Pretty" by singing it in Spanish. You have to be kidding! The women in line at the Ladies Room were all complaining about such an iconic song being sung in another language. We all wanted to walk out!

Did you really see the show? "I Feel Pretty" is in the second act. It's customary to walk out after that.

[matty159]

Posted: 3/7/09 at 10:39pm

HAHA!!! I didn't even notice that!

And CPD, I agree with your comments about Olivo. Well put. But all the same, she turns in a wonderful performance that turned out to be the major high point of the evening for me.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/7/09 at 10:40pm

You joined to post this?

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 3/7/09 at 10:41pm

Karen Olivo would be the high point even if the rest of the production wasn't a disappointment. Her and Josefina are still locks for nominations, and she's still battlin' it out with Haydn and Stephanie.

[matty159]

Posted: 3/7/09 at 10:44pm

I still don't get all of the fuss about Josefina. She was alright. Everyone (including the media) is hyping her up so much, and I just didn't see a force of nature strike that stage. Don't get me wrong, she was one of the better parts of the show, but not mind blowing.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/7/09 at 10:53pm

I liked Josefina better than Karen.
She has a lovely voice, (not the best I've heard sing this score)
But her acting was simple and real.
I'm not hating Olivo, I just wanted the Kick Ass Dancing the role calls for.

[jordangirl]

Posted: 3/7/09 at 11:05pm

I'll probably try again at some point matty...just not making it a priority. :)

And cats, I can't say for sure as I was not the original poster, but generally there are lines at the bathrooms AFTER the show as well. I'm assuming that's what she was referring to.

[darwinsf]

Posted: 3/7/09 at 11:30pm

Hahaha! BUSTED! Good one.

[TheCharleston]

Posted: 3/7/09 at 11:57pm

Karen can't dance. She should be ashamed for taking on Anita.

[CSonBroadway]

Posted: 3/7/09 at 11:58pm

I really want to see her dance.

[??]

Posted: 3/8/09 at 12:01am

"and put the intermission in earlier. Everyone was squirming in their seats"

I'm sorry ... am I the only one who won't let this slide? Are you effing kidding me?

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/8/09 at 12:08am

It's not Olivo's fault, anyone offered the role would never turn it down.
I blame the casting by Laurents and the casting people.
She will be fine, her acting and singing will get her praise.

[cglaid]

Posted: 3/8/09 at 1:13am

I won the lottery for this this afternoon and I am glad I did not pay a penny more. Keep in mind that I am just merely someone who loves going to shows.

While I thought Karen Olivo was the saving grace of the show, even she couldn't save it. Josefina had a lovely voice but could not act. She was lifeless on the stage and her delivery was wooden and emotionless. Her crying scenes were kind of pitiful. I was so disappointed with the decision to have "I Feel Pretty" in Spanish. In many of the Spanish songs, they tried to mime some of the words, which I understand was to help the audience, but I found it so incredibly distracting. The music overpowered the production. There were so many times where I couldn't hear any of the lyrics because the music was just so loud... maybe it was because I was in the front row and the orchestra was right below me, but a woman from mid-orchestra came down during intermission and said the same thing to some of the pit members, so maybe it wasn't just me. "Officer Krupke," which is one of my favorite songs in the show, was just mediocre. I think that if anyone from the production other than Curtis Holbrook was leading that song, it would've been a complete waste. When I first saw the bridge and the chain link fence I kept thinking, wow, this will be amazing. But then it was just used as merely a prop. I was hoping they'd be all over that fence, but it might as well have not been there. The highlight of the show, "America." Those ladies are too funny.

Anyways, just a few thoughts. It's a real shame because I couldn't wait to see this. It was on the top of my list. Please don't bash me for not liking it, though.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/8/09 at 1:15am

Oh my God. Seriously, give me a break about Olivo's dancing. It's not that bad at all. She's without a doubt the best person in the show. She's no Chita but who is?!

She's at least giving a well-drawn and well-thought-out performance. And she's well-cast.

I'd rather see a well-cast, very strong performance vocally and acting-wise with a good but not great level of dancing than a poorly-cast, poorly thought-out performance in mostly all aspects. (COUGH menofwestsidestory COUGH)

Everyone is ragging on Olivo's dancing. She's a good dancer. The show has much bigger problems to worry about. How about the fact that Green can't act and isn't a very good singer? Or the fact that Cavenaugh is wildly miscast and hardly makes an impression? I mean seriously....

And PS: just because you love the material of WSS (and I do, it's probably my favorite show of all time) doesn't mean you need to love and be obsessed with every production that comes about and/or need to yell at or get snarky with anyone who disagrees with you. This production is flawed and ultimately doesn't do the material justice. Face it. It's a fine production but it's not God's gift to the world. It's got problems, the least of which are Olivo's dancing and the people on BroadwayWorld who care to recognize the show's faults. It will still be a hit. Updated On: 3/8/09 at 01:15 AM

[ldt]

Posted: 3/8/09 at 3:14am

you are a douche bag. she should be ashamed? go rot somewhere dude.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/8/09 at 5:08am

I, too, hated the intermission comment. There's a dramatic reason for placement of the intermission! The "whole audience" was restless?


Now we have NEGATIVE SCHILLS??? They join JUST to trash something?

I'm not begrudging anyone their opinion, and I have yet to see the show...but I wouldn't be surprised if this is already a regular poster.

Updated On: 3/8/09 at 05:08 AM

[Amy5]

Posted: 3/8/09 at 6:39am

I specifically looked for a board where I could, my first time, post my feelings about the WSS production. It is an icon and I am so sad to see what they've done to it.

The Ladies Room conversation was at the end of the production. Yes, more than one person in parting audience mentioned that the intermission was long overdue. Don't kill the messenger. These were collective thoughts. It's free world, last I checked.

"America" was the best part worth seeing and the rest was mediocre and quite upsetting because it was. The casting of Tony and Maria was weak. OK, now I am done and you can have your message board back to yourselves.

[Hahabimbi]

Posted: 3/8/09 at 8:30am

may I ask when´s the intermission? I thought it´s always after the Quintet, at least it was like that in the productions I´ve seen.