WEST SIDE STORY (2019 Revival) Preview Thread- Page 22

[joevitus]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 12:04pm

I suspect the lack of intermission--even with the cuts to the show--is a greater cause. There are of course a number of famous shows that run without intermission, but they don't have the same furious pacing and continued use of almost the entire cast singing and dancing for almost the entire duration of the show. 

I wonder if maybe creating an alternate cast is the way to go, if Hove wants to retain his vision.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 12:04pm

ljay889 said: "But this isn't a troubled preview period, right?


https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Dharon-E-Jones-Replaces-Ben-Cook-in-WEST-SIDE-STORY-20200109"

 

I believe it was you and I who got into a debate a few weeks ago about whether or not this could be considered a "troubled preview period." Back then, I basically said if things continued to go wrong, I would be happy to change my opinion. Well, I'll admit that with two of the leads sustaining major injuries, we're definitely heading into "troubled" territory. 

However, I still maintain that this is not even remotely close to the ****-show that Spider-Man was from a "troubled preview period" standpoint. 

Consider that with Spider-Man we had several more major injuries, particularly the Chris Tierney one, which was among the worst we've seen in recent Broadway history. Plus constant mid-show stops, drama between the creatives, a hiatus to overhaul the book, the director getting fired and suing the production, and an unprecedented 7-month preview period.  

 

[two ladies tickets]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 12:11pm

Well Cher played ALL the parts in her version and didn’t seem to have any problems! Maybe we can do that instead?

[BroadwayBen]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 12:40pm

In the midst of all this, are there any updates on what work they're doing on the show?   There were rumors of putting some of the original Robbins work back in, or changing some of the staging/video?  Is any of this true?  Fascinated to know where they are headed based on what I saw...

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 1:08pm

I did not notice any Robbins choreography last night.

[Hank3]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 1:12pm

I suspect that the rumors were false. Nobody has reported any significant changes in the choreography, or the restoration of "I Feel Pretty" and "Somewhere Ballet" which were "reported" (gossiped about) and they would have begun implementing those things if the rumors were true.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 1:34pm

That one gossip site that reported the Robbins' stuff coming back is some guy that I think was fired from Fox News, so I take anything he says with a grain of salt. 

[ModernMillie3]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 2:12pm

Wow, so Ben is just gone. Not "he will come back to the production at a later date", but just done after less than a month of previews. Wow, this is all so unfortunate. In terms of understudies, I think it's a combination of the rain and as someone else mentioned, most of the newbies in the cast not understanding the rigors of 8 shows a week, so their bodies are not used to this. 

Sh*tshow. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 3:56pm

Sad to see that Ben has had to leave the production permanently. Hope he’s able to recover quickly and find more work soon.

[persephone88]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 4:11pm

Very sorry for Ben Cook, who is quite a dancer, as this has to be terribly disappointing for him.

That being said, I thought Dharon Jones was terrific as Action and would LOVE to see his take on Riff. I may need to go see this again, post opening!

[VotePeron]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 4:22pm

Ben’s been involved with these labs forever, this is heartbreaking.

Very reminiscent of Groundhog Day - nothing seemed to go right from day 1, even though both shows are stellar. The universe works in the strangest and often disappointing ways.

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 4:29pm

It is a heartbreaking shame for Ben to have to depart the show, but come on people. *Things were much worse over at Spiderman. Let’s not compare this to that.
 

*Edited for error. I was thinking of another incident. 

Updated On: 1/9/20 at 04:29 PM

[JSquared2]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 4:31pm

GreasedLightning said: "It is a heartbreaking shame for Ben to have to depart the show, but come on people. Someone literally lost their life over at Spiderman. Let’s not compare this to that."

Who literally lost their life?

 

[BJR]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 4:41pm

Don’t forget XANADU lost its leading man in rehearsals when he broke his foot.

Cheyenne jumped into very late (was it during tech?).

[JBroadway]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 4:42pm

GreasedLightning said: "It is a heartbreaking shame for Ben to have to depart the show, but come on people. Someone literally lost their life over at Spiderman. Let’s not compare this to that. "


Common misconception fueled by the malicious exaggerations about Spider-Man. Not a single person died. 


As I said earlier, I think the Spider-Man situation was much worse that this. But as bad as that situation was, it wasn’t nearly as bad as all the widespread exaggerations about it suggested. To this day, we still see people (like in this case) talking about how people died during the Spider-Man fiasco, and recently someone asked me (not jokingly) how many YEARS the preview process lasted for. 

Updated On: 1/9/20 at 04:42 PM

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 4:45pm

Adrienne Warren hurt her ankle in Tina. Should we say ...Spider-Man !!!?

[jonah3500]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 5:02pm

VotePeron said: "Ben’s been involved with these labs forever, this is heartbreaking.

Very reminiscent of Groundhog Day - nothing seemed to go right from day 1, even though both shows are stellar. The universe works in the strangest and often disappointing ways."

What happened with Groundhog Day?? I wasn't really paying attention at that time.

[MollyJeanneMusic]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 5:22pm

WldKingdomHM said: "Adrienne Warren hurt her ankle in Tina. Should we say ...Spider-Man !!!?"

Injuries happen all the time - Amber Gray just broke her arm, but we're not calling Hadestown the next Spider-Man (although of all the shows to call the next Spider-Man, Hadestown is definitely the most fitting).  The thing with this show is that it's already been under scrutiny for the cutting of songs, Isaac's recent injury, and the casting of Amar.  This is just one more thing to add to the list.  (And keep in mind, this show had an abnormally long preview period, even before the extension.)  Adrienne Warren is a fabulous performer who has done the role both on the West End and Broadway - it's just the multiple injuries in quick succession, during the same song, in an already heavily-publicized production, that are making this major news and are drawing comparisons.

[ModernMillie3]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 5:26pm

Yeah, it's not one thing, it's many things and probably more problems to come. 

[SisterGeorge]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 5:34pm

Hank3 said: "Nobody has reported any significant changes in the choreography, or the restoration of "I Feel Pretty" and "Somewhere Ballet" which were "reported" (gossiped about) and they would have begun implementing those things if therumors were true."

The "Somewhere Ballet" as we know it is gone, but the corps movement and stage picture directed/choreographed for this number, although brief, are gorgeous and moving. I adore the Robbins choreography/staging, but I have to say I missed "I Feel Pretty" more than the iconic choreography, most likely because the missing song just leaves a hole, while the classic dances have been replaced by something breathtakingly wonderful and wholly new.

 

[joevitus]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 5:39pm

ModernMillie3 said: "Yeah, it's not one thing, it's many things and probably more problems to come."

From the person who has gleefully predicted gloom and failure since the casting was announced...

[copathetiic]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 5:44pm

HeyMrMusic said: "I assume this shift in cast means they have to reshoot/re-edit some videos without Ben Cook."

Not to mention his face is on the marquee as well as all the signage outside the theatre

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 5:51pm

GreasedLightning, thanks for updating me! My program had no slips and I forgot to take a picture of the board, so it was my error!

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 5:54pm

I too found the rain unnerving. I was worried for all involved.

As for Maria’s US, she’s been on a bit... She is TERRIFIC.

I’d heard from many people that Ben Cook was dreadful in the role. Is it possible there’s more to the story?

[ACL2006]

Posted: 1/9/20 at 6:12pm

so many injuries early on and it's still in previews. They're going to have a bigger u/s board than the last revival. Curious who plays Action now or are they just rotating the swings?

Updated On: 1/9/20 at 06:12 PM