WEST SIDE STORY (2019 Revival) Preview Thread- Page 33

[blaxx]

Posted: 2/19/20 at 7:37pm

Blue_Lotus said: "Dublin2 said: "You don't attend the theater clearly and have not been to West Side Story. For the past two weeks, Amar has been getting boos, confirmed by me and the others that have attended andmentioned it in this thread. Which makes sense because he sucks.

REAL News."

So much hatred. Such ugly behavior. What is the goal. What is trying to be accomplished by doing this?"

Seriously?  You can't tell what the goal of booing in this case is?

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 2/19/20 at 10:41pm

The ENTIRE cast was on tonight and dedicated the performance to Carol Lawrence, who sat front row center of the mezzanine. This production, while flawed, is nothing short of epic.

I imagine these poor kids are going to drop like flies after tomorrow night. This is a feast for all the senses and I’m not sure how they will be able to sustain their bodies, voices, and minds for this truly huge production.

[Harpz2006]

Posted: 2/19/20 at 10:44pm

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/19/theater/west-side-story-amar-ramasar.html

New article from NYT.

Updated On: 2/19/20 at 10:44 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/19/20 at 11:00pm

It was amazing to see Carol tonight.

And yeah I have a feeling tomorrow night (opening night) will be one of the very last times the ENTIRE cast will be on that stage together.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 2/19/20 at 11:18pm

Well, I hope they all stick around until after Friday night when I’m seeing it. I saw it last month but the leads were out.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 2/19/20 at 11:19pm

Double post 

Updated On: 2/19/20 at 11:19 PM

[broadway86]

Posted: 2/19/20 at 11:55pm

TotallyEffed said: "This production, while flawed, is nothing short of epic."

Well said. Just saw it tonight.

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 12:21am

Went tonight and agree that it was wonderful to see Carol Lawrence looking so great. A special moment. 
As for the show itself, I definitely believe that it has flaws, but I did enjoy it. The screens were a mixed bag depending upon the scene, and while some performances were electric, some were serviceable.  Some moments were heavy-handed, but some were electric. I do think the reviews will be positive, and my experience was largely positive, but I agree with the previous poster that it's also flawed.

P.S. My two biggest takeaways were my love of Tony's stuffed monkey (that's not a euphemism) and my inability to decipher what television shows were playing on Maria's TV. Not sure what that says about the production. Maybe it means that I just wanted a couple of lighter moments mixed in with all of that sad social commentary.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 12:39am

This is not an actor’s West Side Story. With the exception of Isaac Powell (who I can only imagine has done a lot of character work by himself or with a coach, and he might just win a Tony for this Tony) and the woman in the gym, no one is fully embodying the characters. They all do happen to be incredibly gorgeous with perfect bodies and everyone on stage is beautifully “styled.” Eat your heart out, Acne Studios. I’ve never seen street kids look this ready for the runway or an album cover.

Many of them are amazing dancers, but few performers on the stage are strong singers or actors, and none of them are true triple threats. Maria in particular is totally miscast. And I’ve never seen a West Side Story where Anita totally fades into the background.

The star is the production. It is overwhelming, thrilling, and truly epic. I am very familiar with all of Ivo’s tricks and despite this, I totally allowed myself to be seduced by them. The camera work (both pre shot and live) is remarkably well done. I mean jaw-droppingly phenomenal. Remarkably cinematic. This makes Network look like kiddie stuff. The lighting is fantastic. This doesn’t eclipse the original and iconic choreography and designs, but it truly takes you away for almost two hours. This is an unmissable production that I predict will be a massive hit and will be a bit legendary one day, years from now.

Updated On: 2/20/20 at 12:39 AM

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 12:49am

I went tonight with my mother, who absolutely hated it. I had major reservations as well:

https://humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com/2020/02/west-side-story-total-momsical-failure.html

[VotePeron]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 1:25am

poisonivy2 said: "I went tonight with my mother, who absolutely hated it. I had major reservations as well:

https://humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com/2020/02/west-side-story-total-momsical-failure.html"

Why would you take your mother...who wanted to see a classic, G-rated musical...to Ivo Van Hove's West Side Story? You set her up for failure there - did you just not think it through? Were you hoping to help expose her to a more dynamic side of musical theater? Oy...

Updated On: 2/20/20 at 01:25 AM

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 1:31am

She really wanted to see if after the 60 Minutes blurb ...

[Tag]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 2:07am

So do you think Ivo saw THIS VERSION in Berlin.  The similarities seem odd...

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 7:29am

Is it me or the people who give it bad reviews are the same that have been campaigning against it for months

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 7:46am

Tag said: "So do you think Ivo sawTHIS VERSION in Berlin. The similarities seem odd..."

There are almost zero similarities. Other than a mostly bare stage, they look and feel nothing alike. Also, you wanna talk about an ugly production... yikes.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 7:48am

imeldasturn said: "Is it me or the people who give it bad reviews are the same that have been campaigning against it for months"

Oh it's not you.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 7:56am

Tag said: "So do you think Ivo sawTHIS VERSION in Berlin. The similarities seem odd..."


This was already discussed on page 13 of this thread. Here is a copy-and-paste of my response: 

 

I think what some people may not realize is that European directors often have very similar approaches to theatre as each other - at least compared to more traditional American theatre. Things like modern dress, live-stream video, stripped down staging, drastic re-interpretations of texts etc. are all trends that are very common in European theatre. I find that a lot of productions I see from European directors - including Van Hove - often feel kind of the same as each other. And I actually don’t think Van Hove is particularly special, he’s just only of the only European directors who has gained popularity in the US. 

The real test, IMO, is not what European directors will do with certain material, but rather, how well does the material lend itself to the European approach to theatre. In this case, I think Van Hove picked material that worked well with his style to make for an interesting production. But I’m not at all surprised that someone else in Europe has already directed WSS in similar, non-traditional style, and I don’t necessarily think that means Ivo lifted anything. Because that’s just often how European productions are.

 

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 8:38am

imeldasturn said: "Is it me or the people who give it bad reviews are the same that have been campaigning against it for months"

Uh ... I actually don’t think Amar should be fired and I think he’s one of the best things about this production. I just liked trolling the MAGA crowd in the old deleted thread.

Updated On: 2/20/20 at 08:38 AM

[BenElliott]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 9:07am

imeldasturn said: "Is it me or the people who give it bad reviews are the same that have been campaigning against it for months "

Can't speak for others, but that's not the case for me.  I was actually fully expecting to love this after Oklahoma! and the Doyle revivals, but found it a complete and total half-baked mess.  This is more along the lines of Rudin's Carousel, but worse.  I have always been against the casting of Amar and it's not like his presence caused anything other than a distraction during the show.  Just a complete and total mess.  I don't see how the reviews for this could be anything less than mixed to negative.  Oddly enough, this board is the only place where I'm hearing anything positive about this production.  Half of my friends won't go see it because of the controversy and the other half saw it and hated it.

Oh, well.  At least we have Company coming out soon.

 

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 9:15am

Jordan Catalano said: "It was amazing to see Carol tonight.

And yeah I have a feeling tomorrow night (opening night) will be one of the very last times the ENTIRE cast will be on that stage together."

What do you mean? What do you think is going to happen with the cast?

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 9:30am

Tag said: "So do you think Ivo sawTHIS VERSION in Berlin. The similarities seem odd..."

What part of this seems similar to Ivo’s version that’s not already included in other versions? The big, bare stage? This is a reach...... 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 9:53am

"Jordan Catalano said: "And yeah I have a feeling tomorrow night (opening night) will be one of the very last times the ENTIRE cast will be on that stage together."

What do you mean? What do you think is going to happen with the cast?"

They’re going to start missing a lot of shows. Sorry if that was (somehow) unclear.

[joevitus]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 9:58am

poisonivy2 said: "imeldasturn said: "Is it me or the people who give it bad reviews are the same that have been campaigning against it for months"

Uh ... I actually don’t think Amar should be fired and I think he’s one of the best things about this production. I just liked trolling the MAGA crowd in the old deleted thread."

That actually makes you worse than the MAGAs (assuming there really were any). Congratulations? 

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 10:06am

joevitus said: "poisonivy2 said: "imeldasturn said: "Is it me or the people who give it bad reviews are the same that have been campaigning against it for months"

Uh ... I actually don’t think Amar should be fired and I think he’s one of the best things about this production. I just liked trolling the MAGA crowd in the old deleted thread."

That actually makes you worse than the MAGAs (assuming there really were any). Congratulations?"

Why? I am a serious theater enthusiast. When I go see something I give the performers the respect they deserve. Online I like adopting another persona that is not me in real life. What’s wrong with that? 

[FranklinDickson2018]

Posted: 2/20/20 at 10:09am

Dear Poisonivy2, I can't thank you enough for your brilliant review.  I have read it and re-read it and I think you brilliantly convey what is wrong with this production.  

I am a huge fan of your writing and again thank you.

It is your review I will be reading again after the predictably laudatory raves come out from the usual media suspects.