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!)
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mamie4 5/14/03
Updated On: 1/3/09 at 08:33 PM
