WEST SIDE STORY (2019 Revival) Preview Thread — Page 26

persephone88 said: "I saw it earlier in the run and was not a fan of Okonedo's Elizabeth Proctor. But I still remember Saoirse Roman's Abigail staring down Mary Warren in the courtroom scene looking absolutely terrifying without saying a word. That was a very mixed production but it had some really good moments. Just not the flippin' wolf!"

I also saw it earlier in the run and Okonedo gave one of the worst performances I’ve ever seen in one of the worst productions I’ve ever seen.

I’ve seen many of his productions, some were torture to get through and some were more enjoyable. They are almost always baffling in some way, with the exception of Lazarus. His style of directing actually made sense with that bizarre and surreal piece.

I'm not even sure Isaac himself knows...

ACL2006 said: "it's odd that the show's website has removed Ben Cook but still lists Dharon Jones as Action."

My guess is that he hasn’t taken over the role yet. He probably needed time to rehearse and the production probably needed time to fix the video as well.

BJR said: "It's kinda wild this still has, what, 6 weeks of previews left? It's settling into fine shape and aside from a rotating cast and performances settling in, it's not changing too much."

Those day and time projections were in at least by Jan. 3, when I saw it.

And I'm so glad to hear that last week, when most shows traditionally take a tumble, its was SRO and taking in over 1 mil. I'm hoping this show has a huge and healthy (well maybe that's not the most appropriate word) so that I can see it a few more times.

"It's settling into fine shape and aside from a rotating cast and performances settling in, it's not changing too much."

So much for Roger Friedman's baseless and mean-spirited gossip. If any of his reporting about Sergio Trujillo replacing Keersmacker's choreography with the Robbins, or restoring "I Feel Pretty" or the "Somewhere" ballet was true, they would have begun implementing changes by now. His credibility (if he ever had any) is completely shot.

Updated On: 1/15/20 at 10:54 PM

Saw the 1/14 show and am negative about it. I didn’t connect with any of it emotionally. Other commenters have made interesting points about WSS casting generally needing to prioritize dancing above acting and this director focusing more on his non-colorful vision than acting. An earlier assessment of it being on the level of the acting being at a good but not great student level rang true to me.


Choosing broadcasting to a massive HD screen was a bold choice and allowed for the usage of the entire stage for sweeping dancing, or at least running around and rolling on the floor in large circles. I missed sets and feeling like I was in an alley or on a balcony. The two sets they do have are buried in the back behind/inside of the screen. I thought the tv shots were most effective when live broadcasting facial and dance closeups though it was also distracting, both the screen and the camera people. Disliked the pre-filmed background movements. The streetscapes move slowly and go on too long and show loading docks and scaffolding that feel like the mystery commercial areas of today’s far Midtown West or west of Lincoln Center instead of helping me feel I was in any sort of residential area. The shots could be much more compelling. The Puerto Rico b-roll during America was obvious, hurricanes blowing, boats you can get on and all. Officer Krupke clips were cheap; he’s wearing a Halloween-grade uniform and sporting a badge that says “special police” when most TV shows and movies are able to use realistic NYPD regalia. I would rather they used the money spent on the screen and video production, rain, and massive advertising budget that constantly blitzes the NYT with full page ad over full page ad, on sets and more interesting shots.

Jordan Dobson on as u/s Tony had a nice voice and performance. As u/s Riff, Ahmad Simmons was not fantastic.

Because my familiarity is with the film, the stage production threw me off a bit and I don’t know how much is because the order and other parts of the play differ from the film and how much is because this production differed from its original staging. The modern time setting feels a bit rocky too. A gang leader calling people “buddy boy.” A mixed-race gang in modern-day New York hating Puerto Ricans. Street gangs fighting for turf on the West Side is today’s Manhattan. Could overlook that stuff if more of the rest worked for me.

I can see the show being poorly reviewed, though the house was of course full and enthusiastic.

Content-wise, I can’t think of anything that would offend mom. Ivo van Hove hasn’t added lyrics or new dialogue; he has mainly cut a couple songs and added his own style. It’s not like he’s got them dancing in the nude or anything. Without changing lyrics or dialogue, “Officer Krupke” is definitely meant to be anti-police cruelty now. I thought it was genius. So unless the constant use of both live and pre-recorded video, the cutting of “I Feel Pretty” and the ballet, plus the new choreography and the one gang now comprised of both white and black gang members, plus any of the above would offend her, I say take her. I found it overall thrilling.

Of course, I never realized how much cussing or sexual references that were in something until I sat there watching it with my parents. I took them to see Jersey Boys because everyone told me that they would love the music and in fact they did but they complained much louder about the liberal use of the F word. And for some reason, one Christmas I brought home Jerry McGuire home on VHS to watch with my parents one evening. I’d seen if before, but the sex scenes never registered for me before. I was horrified when my dad had to explain to my mom what “pootie” was. I coulda died. If I could’ve faded into the sofa, I would have. Lol

Updated On: 1/16/20 at 07:18 PM

I saw this production a few days ago. While I feel quite mixed about it, I would still take it over any "traditional" production of WSS. As many have mentioned, it's brutal, bleak, harrowing, searing, and cinematic (probably a bit too cinematic). The projection is used very effectively in many scenes, yet in many other scenes I got the feeling that Ivo Van Hove intended to make a movie version of WSS but Spielberg got the rights. I think one of the major challenges the performers have to face is, besides the raw, intense choreography, how to switch between stage acting and screen acting seamlessly. I think some did pretty well, yet when some weren't so used to the switch of acting modes, it showed, especially on the screen. They do need this long preview period to settle in their roles since it's already half way through it.

If you have motion sickness, I would recommend you take precaution before seeing the show. It caught me a bit when the background started to move, but I got used to it eventually.

Also, if you can be easily triggered by rather graphic depiction of sexual assault or people being shot in the head (they prerecorded it in slow motion and even shows you the wound) on a big screen, you might reconsider whether you should see the show or not.