Ivo van Hove Will Direct 2020 Broadway Revival of WEST SIDE STORY — Page 3

adamgreer said: "This is intriguing, for sure, but I'm shocked the Robbins Estate agreed to allow new choreography. I was always under the impression that the Robbins choreography had to be replicated in all productions."

Well the 2015 Fiddler broke free and Hofesh Shechter was allowed re-imagine the choreo. I am hoping something similar can happen here.

Tag said: "Arthur would have never allowed this."

For me, that's a great recommendation for this production. Laurents was an amazing creator, but was extraordinarily hidebound regarding the interpretation of his creations.

newintown, I hear you, and if this production does those things, I'll be the first to howl about it.

Updated On: 7/12/18 at 03:37 PM

Theatre community: "Wow, Glenda Jackson's playing King Lear on Broadway! This is the most unexpected news of the month!"

Ivo van Hove: "Hold my beer."

I can't wait for this! I loved his Crucible even more so than A View From the Bridge. That last revival was horrid. We need to move away from replicating revivals just because they are "classics."

I was always disappointed the production that Signature Theatre (Virginia) did couldn't move to Broadway - maybe in Circle in the Square. It was brilliant and the best production of this show I have seen, including the last two Broadway revivals.

One of my least favorite shows. So boring. I wonder what route he'd go for casting actors/singers? It seems like someone who would rather have a great actor - like the current MFL - but maybe not the BEST singers. Just kind of curious how he will make these rather bland characters entertaining.

Tag said: "Arthur would have never allowed this."

I don't know. My impression was that Arthur became far more concerned with protecting his own legacy and contribution to the show. He certainly didn't make an effort to make sure that the Robbins choreography was presented super faithfully in the last revival.

Sondheim is the least likely of the parties involved to demand adherence to the text as originally written.

"Van Hove is known for tinkering with the text of his revivals (and sometimes his directorial choices just flat-out ignore the text)."

This! I don't see how anyone can defend the choice in "The Crucible," a play specifically about accusing innocent people and creating false hysteria, to have the witches be literal and real by having them fly and perform "magic." It destroys the tragedy of it all when the accusers are actually right.

Other than Lin-Manuel Miranda, the majority of Puerto Ricans I know personally (as the son of a Hispanic immigrant) have an instinctive dislike towards West Side Story as the well-meaning pop culture source of many enduring prejudices and slurs against them. I suspect many Puerto Rican artists would say something like "must we rehash this bugbear of old-timey racism, instead of creating new Puerto Rican-American art authentically?"

Is "West Side Story" the greatest fusion of musical theatre, ballet, opera, Latin jazz and 20th century classical music ever created? Yes, but it's also a show full of slurs being thrown at Puerto Ricans, who don't get off many cracks in return, and who speak a white Jew's distant idea of Spanglish (the infamous "kiddando" nickname, where Laurents appears to have tried to fuse "kiddo" with the Spanish diminutive "ito," but instead fused it entirely nonsensically to a verb tense).

As an Ecuadorian-American, I have no dog in this fight, I'm only reporting what I've heard from the people the show refers to as "the Porta Rickins" and "Pee-Ahs."