#1
Posted: 3/6/09 at 1:14am
I think this production will garner good reviews and have a long run, even in this shaky world economy, but it was a profound disappointment to me. In a nutshell:
* Arthur cast a Tony who can't sing the part, an Anita who can't dance the part and a Riff who can't act the part. (And I am a fan of all three of them!) If Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein were alive, they would have vetoed those three performers. Karen Olivo will fare better than the two men, because she has the two dramatic scenes in the second act that help us forget about her lackluster dancing in the first act.
* The Jet dialogue was always--and is now more than ever--the weakest link in the writing. "Cut the frabba-jabba" should have been cut long ago. And "womb to tomb" and "sperm to worm" have NEVER worked.
* The reproduction of the choreography lacks the qualities of character, emotion and dynamics that are the hallmarks of Jerome Robbins's theater and ballet choreography. The dancers, for the most part, seem to be going through the moves as if no one bothered to explain to them what the movements mean. And, in Robbins's work, every movement has a very definite psychological meaning.
* The fight scenes at the beginning and end of the first act are simply not menacing enough. They lack the precision and drama that Jerome Robbins would drill into them.
* The direction seemed to miss out on every moment of dramatic tension in the first act and the first half of the second act. Only in the scenes in the second act between Maria and Anita and with Anita and the Jets did Arthur find any real drama--he seems to do his best with scenes of women yelling.
* Anita is supposed to be the best female dancer at the Dance at the Gym. In this production, Graziella (Riff's girlfriend) is the one that makes the audience go "Wow!"
* Anita is supposed to be the best dancer in "America." In this production she is outshone by the rest of the Shark girls.
* I said about the Quintet, "Well, at least Arthur can't mess this up." But then he did.
* "Siento Hermosa" works the best of the Spanish scenes and songs, although it simply calls into question the notion of having them speak in Spanish sometimes and not others. See below.
* When Tony climbs into Maria's room after "I Feel Pretty," Arthur has Maria just stand there and repeat "Killer! Killer! Killer!" over and over again. In Robbins's staging, she lifts her fists and pounds him on the chest while she repeats it in anger, until her she exhausts herself and her anger turns to sorrow and she realizes he is not a killer and she collapses in his arms. THAT is what is supposed to motivate him to start singing "Somewhere" to her and to take her away, far far away...
* The ballet, as reduced to tatters in this production, is a desecration of a work of art, made laughable by the American Apparel or Gap costumes and the unimaginative lighting. To do the dream ballet without the Nightmare renders it sappy and uninvolving. And as choreographed, the dancers seem to have no idea what the movements of the Scherzo and the "Breathing" mean. What was once a breathtaking centerpiece of the production is now what Arthur always accused it of being: a distracting diversion. It really is Arthur's Revenge.
* The Spanish was a directorial notion that was poorly thought-out and executed ineptly. It was one of many directorial conceits that would have received a cease-and-desist notice if any other director had been caught doing it. How odd that the author himself has such bad ideas. Again, if those two collaborators were alive, they would have argued--and won.
* Note to everyone who thinks the "Rape scene" is so revolutionary. Nothing is done to Karen Olivo that was not done to Debbie Allen, Rita Moreno and Chita Rivera. I repeat: Nothing is done to Karen Olivo that was not done to Debbie Allen, Rita Moreno and Chita Rivera. Got it?
* Maria's final scene lacks the dramatic twists that are written into the script. Whether it is her acting, Arthur's directing or her having to switch between languages, the emotional journey from shock at Tony's death to sorrow to anger ("I can kill now because I hate now") to despair ("...and still have one bullet left for me") just doesn't happen.
* The sets by James Youmans are fine, particularly the Rumble, which is very Mad Max. Okay, fine. Why not? But this is 2009--why must creaky balconies still rumble on during the quiet cadence of "Maria," drowning out the end of the song? And where in New York is there ever a fire escape that big?
* The costumes are the most poorly conceived and executed costumes for a Broadway musical since Merrily We Roll Along. If the intention was to make the jets "tougher than ever before" (probably an impossible task), then what's with the pastel colors? And what's with the Jet girls' miniskirts. Is this 1957? '67? '77? '87? '97? Or are the costumes supposed to be "timeless"? In which case, consider it another bad directorial notion.
* The lighting design is also inept: It seems to have two looks: "on" and "off."
Obviously I'm biased toward the 1980 revival, which even I admit was weak. This one, I'm afraid, is weaker.
I heard the ghosts of Lenny and Jerry whispering exasperatedly in my ear frequently throughout the show. Only once did I laugh out loud: When the Jets missed the rhyme (and the meaning) of the lyric "Every Puerto Rican's a lousy chicken"--they pronounced it with 2009 political correctness "Ree-kan." Well, Noo Yawkers in the 1950s called Puerto Ricans, somewhat insultingly, "Porto Rickens."
I could hear the ghost of Leonard Bernstein sighing loudly, "Not Ree-kan! Ricken! RICKEN! It rhymes with CHICKEN!"
I love this show, and I think it will get good reviews and a long run, despite my criticisms. There, as Arthur is fond of saying, you have it. Take this for what it's worth and move on.
* Arthur cast a Tony who can't sing the part, an Anita who can't dance the part and a Riff who can't act the part. (And I am a fan of all three of them!) If Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein were alive, they would have vetoed those three performers. Karen Olivo will fare better than the two men, because she has the two dramatic scenes in the second act that help us forget about her lackluster dancing in the first act.
* The Jet dialogue was always--and is now more than ever--the weakest link in the writing. "Cut the frabba-jabba" should have been cut long ago. And "womb to tomb" and "sperm to worm" have NEVER worked.
* The reproduction of the choreography lacks the qualities of character, emotion and dynamics that are the hallmarks of Jerome Robbins's theater and ballet choreography. The dancers, for the most part, seem to be going through the moves as if no one bothered to explain to them what the movements mean. And, in Robbins's work, every movement has a very definite psychological meaning.
* The fight scenes at the beginning and end of the first act are simply not menacing enough. They lack the precision and drama that Jerome Robbins would drill into them.
* The direction seemed to miss out on every moment of dramatic tension in the first act and the first half of the second act. Only in the scenes in the second act between Maria and Anita and with Anita and the Jets did Arthur find any real drama--he seems to do his best with scenes of women yelling.
* Anita is supposed to be the best female dancer at the Dance at the Gym. In this production, Graziella (Riff's girlfriend) is the one that makes the audience go "Wow!"
* Anita is supposed to be the best dancer in "America." In this production she is outshone by the rest of the Shark girls.
* I said about the Quintet, "Well, at least Arthur can't mess this up." But then he did.
* "Siento Hermosa" works the best of the Spanish scenes and songs, although it simply calls into question the notion of having them speak in Spanish sometimes and not others. See below.
* When Tony climbs into Maria's room after "I Feel Pretty," Arthur has Maria just stand there and repeat "Killer! Killer! Killer!" over and over again. In Robbins's staging, she lifts her fists and pounds him on the chest while she repeats it in anger, until her she exhausts herself and her anger turns to sorrow and she realizes he is not a killer and she collapses in his arms. THAT is what is supposed to motivate him to start singing "Somewhere" to her and to take her away, far far away...
* The ballet, as reduced to tatters in this production, is a desecration of a work of art, made laughable by the American Apparel or Gap costumes and the unimaginative lighting. To do the dream ballet without the Nightmare renders it sappy and uninvolving. And as choreographed, the dancers seem to have no idea what the movements of the Scherzo and the "Breathing" mean. What was once a breathtaking centerpiece of the production is now what Arthur always accused it of being: a distracting diversion. It really is Arthur's Revenge.
* The Spanish was a directorial notion that was poorly thought-out and executed ineptly. It was one of many directorial conceits that would have received a cease-and-desist notice if any other director had been caught doing it. How odd that the author himself has such bad ideas. Again, if those two collaborators were alive, they would have argued--and won.
* Note to everyone who thinks the "Rape scene" is so revolutionary. Nothing is done to Karen Olivo that was not done to Debbie Allen, Rita Moreno and Chita Rivera. I repeat: Nothing is done to Karen Olivo that was not done to Debbie Allen, Rita Moreno and Chita Rivera. Got it?
* Maria's final scene lacks the dramatic twists that are written into the script. Whether it is her acting, Arthur's directing or her having to switch between languages, the emotional journey from shock at Tony's death to sorrow to anger ("I can kill now because I hate now") to despair ("...and still have one bullet left for me") just doesn't happen.
* The sets by James Youmans are fine, particularly the Rumble, which is very Mad Max. Okay, fine. Why not? But this is 2009--why must creaky balconies still rumble on during the quiet cadence of "Maria," drowning out the end of the song? And where in New York is there ever a fire escape that big?
* The costumes are the most poorly conceived and executed costumes for a Broadway musical since Merrily We Roll Along. If the intention was to make the jets "tougher than ever before" (probably an impossible task), then what's with the pastel colors? And what's with the Jet girls' miniskirts. Is this 1957? '67? '77? '87? '97? Or are the costumes supposed to be "timeless"? In which case, consider it another bad directorial notion.
* The lighting design is also inept: It seems to have two looks: "on" and "off."
Obviously I'm biased toward the 1980 revival, which even I admit was weak. This one, I'm afraid, is weaker.
I heard the ghosts of Lenny and Jerry whispering exasperatedly in my ear frequently throughout the show. Only once did I laugh out loud: When the Jets missed the rhyme (and the meaning) of the lyric "Every Puerto Rican's a lousy chicken"--they pronounced it with 2009 political correctness "Ree-kan." Well, Noo Yawkers in the 1950s called Puerto Ricans, somewhat insultingly, "Porto Rickens."
I could hear the ghost of Leonard Bernstein sighing loudly, "Not Ree-kan! Ricken! RICKEN! It rhymes with CHICKEN!"
I love this show, and I think it will get good reviews and a long run, despite my criticisms. There, as Arthur is fond of saying, you have it. Take this for what it's worth and move on.
Updated On: 3/6/09 at 01:14 AM
.gif?width=300)
