Ledaero said: "Didn't have time to type up my thoughts last night, but I was also at first preview last night. I really hope the discourse around this production starts shifting from outrage to excitement because what Ivo Van Hove has created is one of the most thrilling nights of theatre that I've seen in a while. This is the strongest reinvention of a classic that I've seen to date (sorry Fish), and my favorite production of WSS that I've seen on stage, second only to Wise's film adaptation.
Firstly, I want to clear up cuts that we've all been shouting about for the past few months. Most of the book is indeed in tact. The major cuts that trim the piece are a shortened Prologue and the Somewhere Ballet.They have cut the scene prior to I Feel Pretty as well as the song, so it jumps from the end of The Rumble to Chino going to Maria. Other than that, it's just small dialogue cuts that aren't noticeable unless you know the libretto like the back of your hand. Doc is NOT cut, that rumor can be axed right now. And no, there are not extensive cuts to female material in the piece, it's just always been male heavy and remains male heavy. The only female material cut is I Feel Pretty, and America is adapted to resemble the film where it is men vs. women rather than all women. They've actually even added a female character by casting Glad Hand as female, and they've also added what I presume to be a trans actor into the Shark Girl ensemble, so please stop giving this production identity politics BSespecially when one hasn't seen it. There's a lot of fascinating representation going on in the piece and I hope people don't overlook it to be upset about what might not be there.
My thoughts on the production itself: it's currently on track for brilliance. There's still a lot that I think needs work and cleaning over the next two months, but the vision that Van Hove has created for the production is stunning. Setting it in contemporary times using a realistic approach makes the piece resonate. WSS has always been a dark piece and this exposes the real core of it incredibly well. It's a show about hate and the consequences of succumbing to it, and we get that all on full blast. Standout moments in relation to this are The Rumble, The Taunting, and The Finale. Van Hove also does really interesting work by including BLM and related movements into the piece by making Krupke abusively violent, incorporating cell phones appropriately into the show.
The video design is the best I've seen on stage. Everything projected onto the back wall is extremely effective. WSS is cinematic in scope and scale, and therefore it feels on point to do the work that Van Hove has done. He uses onstage live stream, offstage live stream, filmed scenic design, and video montage throughout. The angles and perspectives that he gets out of the cinematography are stunning and fuels the storytelling. Standout videos are the Tonight Quintet, A Boy Like That, Dance at the Gym, and everything in Doc's.
The choreography is also wonderful. Keersmaeker has done some beautiful new choreography for the piece. Speaking as one who thinks Robbins' original choreo is some of the best ever, I didn't miss it at all. This production is an entirely different vision than the original and I would think it would be quite awkward if they actually start reinstating it with Trujillo. I love my finger snaps, but I hope they leave them out. My favorite of the new choreo is in America and Dance at the Gym.
I think the biggest issue this production is fighting at the moment is actually the original material itself. WSS, for me, is the quintessential piece in the MT canon that exemplifies all aspects of production informing each other (text tied to song tied to dance tied to direction, etc), and because of that there is a very specific hyper-stylization that exists everywhere. Van Hove has done remarkable work overcoming it by setting it in modern reality, but there are definitely still some awkward aspects that need tuning. The Jets dialogue/slang doesn't feel natural yet, as well as some of the Tony/Maria material (I think the Balcony Scene mostly). I also think the music should be re-orchestrated because the original orchestrations are just too operatic for this production and often fights the tone that Van Hove is going for. Also with the intermission axed and with the idea that this is meant to feel like a race against time, I think they need to follow the film and flip the placements of Gee, Officer Krupke and Cool. The musical comedy of Krupke (though very very dark in this production) stops the momentum right now. For that same reason, they should NOT reinstate I Feel Pretty or the Somewhere Ballet into the piece.
Overall, this production is stunning and I encourage everyone to go see it with an open mind. I plan on going back after opening as I anticipate major changes throughout the preview process. But this production is a powerful one, and I felt more deeply affected by the ending than ever before.
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Thank you for this great review. I think I might be responsible for the rumor of Doc being cut because I sarcastically said "cut Doc entirely" the other day in this thread (and I'd be fine if they did). If I am responsible, sorry.
