WEST SIDE STORY (2019 Revival) Preview Thread — Page 14

trpguyy said: "“ The only element that didn’t work for me was the orchestrations. It felt very out of the world of the play to have this swelling orchestra playing 50s musical theatre. Wish they had gone the OK! route and totally reworked it.”

Not for lack of trying - the Bernstein estate will not allow new orchestrations. "

Good. Tunick and Alexander Gemingnani’s participation has been very encouraging for me, as I’m a life long WSS fan who has some initial reservations about this production.

ljay889 said: "trpguyy said: "“ The only element that didn’t work for me was the orchestrations. It felt very out of the world of the play to have this swelling orchestra playing 50s musical theatre. Wish they had gone the OK! route and totally reworked it.”

Not for lack of trying - the Bernstein estate will not allow new orchestrations. "

Good. Tunick and Alexander Gemingnani’s participationhas been very encouraging for me, as I’m a life long WSS fan who has some initialreservations about this production."

I thought the orchestrations and music sounded so incredibly lush, beautiful, and thrilling in this production. My only previous experience with the seeing the show live was with community/ regional theatre productions and the national tour of the 2008 revival, which obviously didn't come close to the orchestrations I heard last week at the Broadway!

LuPita2 said: "Isaac is out of today's matinee. Jordan Dobson went on as Tony."

"Was he good?"

My friend in attendance said he was pretty good, and since this was his first time going on, was a little shaky at times, but had good chemistry with the cast. Huge applause on stage for him as well. I believe Jordan is on for him as well tonight since his only job is his understudy (listed on the website).

YvanEhtNioj said: "Here are my thoughts while the show is fresh in my head.

I really liked it and I recommend it to everyone, but I wouldn’t go see it again.

Someone mentioned they hated the costumes which kinda confuses me - the show is set in present day, and everything looks straight from H&M, Zara, or Forever 21 (in a good way).

I think the screens are a bit much at some points but they add to the feeling and story during the “when you’re jet” number and when everyone is getting ready for the rumble.

Jordan and Gabi were in for Anita and Tony - both did great but I wanted MORE Anita. Also, her “rape” scene isn’t as bad as people here made it out to be - no different from any other production.

I liked Amar’s performance.

My favorite thing about this show is all the diversity. Seeing everyone off so many different shades and hair textures on stage added a new element to this performance.

"

Would you see the new film adaptation?

YvanEhtNioj said: " I’m not sure. WSS was never one of my favorites, but I wouldn’t be opposed to checking it out"

It comes out Xmas 2020

inception said: "Tonight I saw Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades at the Met, & after everyone being all upset about a ballet being cut from WSS...well a lot of people consider Tchaikovsky a genius but this opera has a ballet (& plenty more) that desperately needs chopping out - may 30-45 minutes. I wonder if in another 50- 100 years people will say, "Surprisingly, at one time there actually was a ballet in WSS!"

II haven't seen the Met's Pique Dame, but ballets in many operas, especially in the 19th century repertory, are completely irrelevant to the works that contain them. When they're cut, and they often are, you might lose some gorgeous music, but, in general, the plot and characters remain intact. The ballet in WSS, on the other hand, does add dimension to the characters and plot, showing how the lives of these kids could be different if they lived in a world without prejudice and hate. That said, I adore the original WSS movie without the ballet, so I'm eager to see next week how this production fares also without it.

Saw the show last night. My thoughts...

THE GOOD: Shereen Pimentel was the best Maria I've ever seen, and understudy Jordan Dobson was an outstanding Tony, performing in what I guess was only his second performance. He sang gorgeously and acted like he'd been doing the role for weeks. The large orchestra also sounded great. Some of the orchestrations sounded different, and I guess those were contributed by Jonathan Tunick.

THE MEH: Understudy Gabi Campo didn't make much of an impression as Anita (and I've heard the same from friends about Yesenia Ayala, who normally plays Anita). This was the first WSS I've seen where Anita didn't steal the show, and I assume that was the intention of the director or choreographer. I also didn't think Amar Rammasar was an especially interesting Bernardo. I also thought the humor in the "Krupke" number fell flat because of grim video projections of police brutality being shown behind the actors. Oh, and the choreography? I thought it was serviceable. None of it was better than the Robbins originals.

THE BAD: I thought Ben Cook was a terrible Riff, with a whiny voice and hopelessly off-pitch singing. I actually winced while he sang in the "Tonight" quintet. And please, Ivo Van Hove, put down the video cameras! It's getting as tired as when John Doyle has his actors play musical instruments! I guess videos made sense for Network since that show was about TV and broadcasting, but I thought it was ludicrous to have a video cameraperson standing onstage filming the actors in the middle of the rumble. And the giant video projections shown on the back wall of the theater did no favor to the actors, revealing the microphones on top of their foreheads and the wires taped to their backs when they were shirtless. And having several scenes played out of view of the audience but projected as videos is NOT theater to me. I like to see LIVE actors onstage when I go to a show. Call me old-fashioned, I guess.

That said, I still enjoyed this production, and I give the creative team credit for trying to do something different.

Updated On: 12/22/19 at 02:06 PM

VotePeron said: "One thing I was wondering, is if having to perform in pouring rain for an hour each night will make the actors more prone to getting sick. The temperature changes, the wet/humidity, I can’t imagine it’s healthy. "

The rain is definitely going to contribute to injury and illness. Add in the long, grueling preview/rehearsal period, and they’re going to need a deep bench.

VotePeron said: "StageStruckLad said: "And having several scenes played out of view of the audience but projected as videos is NOT theater to me. I like to see LIVE actors onstage when I go to a show. Call me old-fashioned, I guess.

That said, I still enjoyed this production, and I give the creative team credit for trying to do something different."



To be fair, the actors were both live and on stage, you just couldn’t see them all the time. None of the scenes were preordered, which is where I would draw the line between theater and film. I personally found it thrilling, and loved how intimate they were able to be when out of sight of the audience. It elevated the evening to me, but I understand why people would get turned off by it.

"

I don’t really care if it’s filmed ahead or live... I come to the theatre to see actors on stage, not being filmed behind a set. I don’t pay $100+ for a movie.

poisonivy2 said: "Serious question here: do the actors sing the score in the classic MT style, or a more contemporary MT style? One of the things about WSS I think that is so hard to update is the very classic MT structure of the songs."

It's still the same orchestrations.

I really don’t care about the orchestrations or the video projections- how the hell is Mr. Isaac Powell? Two weeks into the show and the poor guy is injured already and missing performances? I hope he is OK and that the staging is being looked at. Extraordinary Risk Riders anyone?

trpguyy said: "VotePeron said: "One thing I was wondering, is if having to perform in pouring rain for an hour each night will make the actors more prone to getting sick. The temperature changes, the wet/humidity, I can’t imagine it’s healthy. "

The rain is definitely going to contribute to injury and illness. Add in the long, gruelingpreview/rehearsal period, and they’re going to need a deep bench."

The rain will definitely have to go.