My review of West Side Story 12-30-08- Page 2

[H.Higgins]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 8:37pm

How discouraging.

I hope to hear of many positive changes between now and the Broadway opening.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 9:33pm

The addition of Kiddo makes no sense.
I saw him in one scene and then Tony and Maria lead him downstage as his sings the song.
I took him as a sign of hope, as poorly as he was included.
A young boy soprano's voice coming from an unknown source might have worked.
But that would give the production some hope and Laurents new staging of the end gives us none.
SPOILER:
I mean the original ending when the sharks and jets end up carrying Tony's body together, that always moved me, missed it.
Does anyone know if that was in the original?
I just always see it there.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 10:30pm

CPD, I was in a production of WSS many, many years ago. The ending with Tony being carried out is in the script. Believe me, I missed it too, as well as the dream ballet.

The only part of this production that moved me to tears was the truncated version of the dream ballet. It was beautiful. The Quintet gave me chills.

Updated On: 12/31/08 at 10:30 PM

[gypsy4]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 10:49pm

what is in place of the jets and sharks moving Tony off.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 10:53pm

A funeral pyre.

[karen24]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 11:14pm

Thanks, Dottie, for the explanation about the surtitles. I wonder if they might rethink the idea when they move to Broadway. Possibly they might be able to figure out a less distracting way to handle having them. I can see how screens on either side of the stage might not work, if it caused the audience to have to shift their attention from the action on stage to the translation. If they could have the translations projected above or below the stage somehow, that would be better.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 11:31pm

STOP SPOILER AHEAD.
Dead Tony, Maria, Chino, The cops come arrest Chino,
One or two sharks show up, Big Deal, (Eric Hatch) gets the money moment with Maria's shawl, but no one is there to see it, and it's slow.
Why would Laurents' rethink that great ending?
The moment when Tony's body slips and the gangs merge to save it, is classic.

[beltingbaritone]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 11:52pm

"well maybe they could have a young boy and a young girl sing it."

That probably wouldn't be very effective, because then you'd just have two children with no emotion singing a song. Unless they got a girl who could sing the song, but they could just as easily recast the boy.

[A Director]

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

Why would Laurents' rethink that great ending?

The unwritten subtitle of this production is MISS LAURENT'S REVENGE!

[allofmylife]

Posted: 1/1/09 at 1:28am

Sad.

I wasn't impressed with Flower Drum Song, Company, Sweeney Todd, Gypsy, Pal Joey...

And now this.

All these 're-imaginings" are killing the classics.

And yet South Pacific and Pajama Game are hits by basically respecting the source material and giving it new life.

It seems most Broadway just needs a transfusion, not a transplant.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 1/1/09 at 1:31am

As Dottie pointed out, the young boy doesn't deliver the song with emotion. That is the director's choice (which I don't understand, but....)

Anyway, the scene could be effective if the child were directed to project some emotion. (And even more so if the dream ballet were entirely restored!)

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 10:38am

if I didn't know the show already, or at all, then I would not have had any idea what was happening.

I've heard a bunch of people say this now. I'd like to hear from someone who DIDN'T already know the show.

Not to belittle your review. That aspect clearly needs work if everyone is saying it. I just want all these people that everyone is so concerned about who don't know WSS to speak for themselves.

I also think they might be working on getting proscenium surtitles for Broadway. We don't know that the surtitles were cut completely. We're assuming they were because the screens in D.C. are gone, but everyone said their placement was even more distracting than the Spanish. We don't know if they are working on a less-distracting solution.

Updated On: 1/2/09 at 10:38 AM

[SFJPS]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 11:03am

The official opening is next Wed. Jan. 7. Idon't know if it's an 8 p.m. curtain or earlier.

Anyone know if Laurents is still in DC working on this or leaving it to his assistants? (Would love to see him to have him sign my copy of his autobiography).

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 11:31am

I wasn't TOO familiar with this show when I saw it. I tried watching the movie, but I just couldn't get past the first few minutes for some reason, and so my first time ever seeing it was through a regional production this past summer. I ended up seeing it twice, since my friend was in it, but I have to say, other than that, I really didn't have exposure to WSS. This revival, for me, was ten million steps up from the regional production I saw, so, I guess that does make a difference on why I loved most of this. And I took my friend with me to see this, and she had NO clue what it was going to be about, but she loved the lotto idea so she came along, and she got everything just fine.

"They took the surtitles out? First I've heard of it. I'm surprised. I've found they work just fine during operas; I never expected they'd be a distraction here."

At the Opera's I have been too, they have had supertitles, and those aren't very distracting, but the surtitles weren't THAT distracting, imo. Maybe it is because i was slightly to the side in the center, so when they were used on the left, it was in the same view as the stage for me.

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 12:40pm

Laurents was in the audience when I saw the show on Tuesday.

[Christoph]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 1:52pm

The young boy singing "Somewhere" is a bit bizarre and there were a few moments in Act I where I thought the pace could be picked up a bit (i.e., some over-exaggerated pauses). Also, I saw it with the understudy for Tony, who was not in the same league as the rest of the cast. Barring those issues, the production itself was incredibly powerful and I was seeing/hearing a load of people sniffling and searching out the hankies at the end - I myself teared up in the final moments which I quite frankly never do at stage shows. I am at a bit at a loss to understand what exactly the major issue is with some of the posters who keep saying this production is lacking or a "disaster". Some comments make a certain degree of constructive sense, but others seem to be concentrating on minute aspects that only die-hard purists might even notice (and even that is debatable) and acting like where an actor places his toe in Act I or a minor vocal inflection in dialog in Act II totally derails the production. I realize that the show is changing in try-outs, but I have no idea what production they saw as their reactions seem so completely far-flung from the show playing at the National recently. I assume with the leading man returning that the production has only gained in quality from when I saw it. I mean seriously, if it gets much more "emotional" or "powerful", particularly in the concluding moments, members of the audience may have cardiac arrest or breakdowns.

Also, allofmylife, makes an interesting point about the revivals, but I hope people are actually taking a chance and seeing them if they want to and not letting the board feedback scare them away. I cannot count the emotional ups-and-downs I have experienced after purchasing tickets and then coming to the board to see feedback and wondering "what I have done!" Only to truly enjoy the show when I saw it. Sometimes the feedback is right, but not always. Feedback is great to see what you may or may not expect, but nothing compensates for your own personal opinion from viewing it. Of the two successful revivals that are mentioned above(The Pajama Game and South Pacific), it is good to remember that the former was largely dismissed on these boards because posters were too busy inventing superlatives for the concurrently running re-imagining of Sweeney Todd from John Doyle. As for the latter, I truly thought I made a mistake buying tickets for South Pacific because initally for every poster that loved it, there was one that was picking it apart for some reason(i.e., they hated Kelli, they hated Paulo, they hated them together, they hated the staging, they hated the costumes, they hated the "dated" book, they hated the brief nudity, they hated the fact that they were born at the wrong place and time and missed Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza in it, etc.). Yet it turned out to be one of the toasts of the season. In short, don't make your decision to see or not see something based solely on other people's feedback, if it appeals to you then go for it. Or at least that is my personal philosophy. Updated On: 1/2/09 at 01:52 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 4:02pm

Why would Laurents' rethink that great ending?
The moment when Tony's body slips and the gangs merge to save it, is classic.

The answer, by now, should be obvious: Tony's body slipping and the gangs merging to to save it was a moment created by the staging of Jerome Robbins, not a moment written into the initial script.

In Arthur's mind (if I read it correctly), the moment Jerry created was "sentimental" and "unrealistic," so he replaced it with a Arthur-created moment, harsher and more "realistic."

Robbins, for all his problems relating to others 1-on-1, could create stage pictures that evoked emotional responses in the audience, something he learned to do in the dance world.

Arthur's idea of direction is conflict. He thinks that by removing the healing moment at the end, he is making the musical truer to life, as he did in Gypsy. He doesn't understand that he diminishes the work in doing so. He has never understood that West Side is truly transcendent ONLY in the work of his colleagues: in its music and in its dance.

Updated On: 1/2/09 at 04:02 PM

[Eagleman]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 4:11pm

If someone who adores the show came away with disappointment itdoesn't matter whether the show launched in D.C. or the Imperial--it's bad news. There's nothing magical about taking a show out of town to work on it. That concept is a relic from a time when bad news travelled at the speed of a glacier. Thirty years ago, bad news died out of town. Today it orbits the world faster than the space shuttle.

It could be the author of this post is on to something. Laurents vision of his own work may not quite work.

The larger problem, though, is that a devoted fan of the show came away with a jaundiced opinion. In all likelihood critics who feted the show 40 years ago or who grew up with it as a legend will enter the theater with the same expectations. i imagine quite a few remember the incredible energy and tragedy of the piece from its abbreviated part in "Jerome Robbins Broadway". "Fiddler on the Roof" also came off looking timeless in that tribute to Robbins but did not come anywhere near approaching the exerpts performed in JRB.

The same problem may sink West Side Story.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 1/2/09 at 4:59pm

Good comments eagleman.
I am one of those lovers of the show who was dissapointed with this revival. There are others who know the show and some newcomers who seem to like it a lot, by all means I suggest you should see it for yourself and decide. It is still one of the best musicals, ever.

I hear ya Joey and I was thinking that that ending must have been Robbins, he knew how to use movement as emotion with the simplest gestures.
As far as this being an out of town "Tryout".
I feel there will be very few changes, since the main problems (acting and rewritings) are Lauirents decisions so he has got to believe in them.
And they are doing the show in a very high profile, prestigious theatre easily reachable from NYC and at top ticket prices.
Updated On: 1/3/09 at 04:59 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 7:38pm

By now Arthur has made whatever changes he's going to make, all of which undoubtedly involve someone else's work not his own, like cutting the Zodiac drop.

[Mamie]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 8:33pm

I saw the matinee performance today. I'll offer a few disjointed comments as they occur to me. It helps to know that I've never seen WSS on stage before. I only know it from the film. From the film I adored the music and the dance, so I was excited to see this show. I do not speak Spanish.

- The choreography and dancing (as expected) was fabulous. The opening with the Jets and Sharks almost brought me to tears. Bravo all.

- The acting by WAY too many was stilted and the dialogue felt forced. I expect good, clear enunciation from a professional presentation but these guys (the Jets) reminded me of the nuns at Catholic grade school. It sounded completely artificial and forced. As a result I never felt like they were a real 'gang'. I wanted to scream at somebody to let them take the restraints off and loosen up. Out of the entire show, this was my biggest complaint. It negatively impacted my impression of Riff and the other Jets. I never believed a word coming out of any of them. And not just the Jets - the two cops were just as bad. In fact, Doc (Greg Vinkler)was the only believable adult character in the show. I never got the impression that they COULDN'T act, but more that they were directed to act that way. Otherwise why was I getting this impression from all of them? Thus I agree completely with those who blame the direction.

- I thought Matt was just terrific in a not-so-terrific part. I'm not a big fan of his singing but I warmed up to his performance as the show progressed.

- Josefina was a sweet and very believable Maria. For someone with relatively little acting background, she was just fine.

- The sets were terrific. Of special mention was the set for the rumble, under the highway. BRAVO!

- The ballet (Somewhere) was completely new to me. It was lovely and the boy who sang had an incredible voice and I didn't understand any of it. The whole scene felt as out of place as the giant dresses in Billy Elliot.

- Moving the positions of Gee, Officer Krupke and Cool wasn't as jarring as I expected. I still believe they're better reversed though.

- The Jet girls look like they came right out of a Beatles concert in the 60's. Not only are their costumes totally wrong - so is their hair styles. The three who dance in "Cool" are all wearing styles worn when I was in high school. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

- The true star of this entire production is Karen Olivo. Her acting is perfection. The near-rape scene is horrible for one reason - Karen makes you feel her terror.

- The Spanish scenes were no problem at all for me and I didn't understand a word. I AM (however) familiar with the film so I knew what was going on. The two biggest scenes were "I Feel Pretty" (which the audience ate up. It received the biggest applause.) and the scene in Maria's bedroom (A Boy Like That). Any non-Spanish speakers who were completely unfamiliar with the show would have been lost during that scene. They would never have understood why Anita went to Doc's. I don't know if this makes it necessary to change it or not. Personally I'm glad there were no translations going on to disrupt the mood of the scene.

- (EDITED TO ADD) One thing I forgot to mention. One place where the Spanish didn't work at all was during the Tonight Quintet. Having the Jets and the Sharks singing the same song, at the same time, in two different languages, made the whole thing sound like mush. You couldn't understand a single word from either group. Fortunately Anita, Maria, and Tony sang louder or the whole thing would have been a mess.

Looking back on all this makes it sound like its nothing but a big loser. It isn't at all. In fact, if I could, I would go back and see it again. I think it stands a real chance on B'way, if the people don't let the advance reviews stop them from seeing it. (It stands an even better chance if Laurents reads his reviews and acts on them!)

Updated On: 1/3/09 at 08:33 PM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 9:23pm

Mamie, who's the cute baby?

Stilted is exactly the word for the acting and I agree it seems they have been directed that way.

The switching of KRUPKE and COOL has always been a problem for me.
I wanted to be faithfull to the original Broadway version but I always thought it made more sense in the movie.
I think KRUPKE coming before any deaths makes sense, doing that number after you have just seen one of your best friends get killed, jars. I know they thought the second act needed some humour but I'd rather have the tension of COOL there, because the Jets have more to be stressed from at that point.

And I agree mamie, the Adult actors are scathingly awfull.

[Mamie]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 9:30pm

Thanks CPD. That's the newest member of the family - grand niece Sam. She's practicing 'the crawl'. She hasn't quite figured out how to coordinate the hand/knee movement yet, but she has the form down pat!

(btw - she now has a new name. She's Cindy Lou Who 2. Believe me - she's got the look!)

Updated On: 1/3/09 at 09:30 PM

[raker]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 11:07pm

I liked WSS in Washington but hated the Spanish. The more I think about it, the more it bugs me. It seems like Laurents is taking the audience's affection for WSS for granted. Did anyone ever really see WSS and wonder "why aren't they speaking Spanish?" Of course not. What's next, Hedda Gabler in Norwegian? Fiddler in Yiddish?

I love Miss Laurents's Revenge. Watching the show I thought that there was a bit of Laurents saying Krup you! to Robbins and his box.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 1/3/09 at 11:38pm

Norwegian and Yiddish aren't the second most common language in America.