WEST SIDE STORY Reviews- Page 6

[yankees1253]

Posted: 3/21/09 at 1:25pm

Seems like Karen will be considered for best supporting actress.

Heres one from the rockland journal news(they are loving Karen,Joesefina):
Dancing With Gangs

http://www.lohud.com/article/20090320/ENTERTAINMENT/903200321/1186/Entertainment0801

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 3/21/09 at 1:44pm

Well, Anita is a featured role.
Karen is the nicest, she's just really shy and uncomfortable when people treat her like a "celebrity."

[yankees1253]

Posted: 3/21/09 at 1:58pm

thanks allthatjazz for that correction for me. i agree shes sweet and they are like us after the show ends. sorry for spelling josefina wrong. i wont be surprised if josefina is considered for feature actress too with her reviews. feature actress will be a tough one this year.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 3/21/09 at 2:05pm

This production is centered on Maria and Tony. I have no doubt the producers will petition both Josefina and Matt for the Leading categories.

I can't imagine the producers wanting their two raved about women competing against one another.

[Eagleman]

Posted: 3/21/09 at 2:51pm

In this economy mixed won't cut it. I suppose it could squeak out a run of a year or two but theater owners are not in the pro-bono business for theater nostalgia.

If one or two really solid musicals are in the pipeline WSS is headed for the shoals.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/21/09 at 4:15pm

^ you must be kidding. The show has a 14 million plus advance. And they're predicting it will be the biggest hit of this season.

[A Director]

Posted: 3/21/09 at 5:18pm

It may be a financial hit, but it won't be an artistic one.

Laurents wanted the revival to be all about ME. Funny thing, Bernstein and Robbins dead got better reviews than Laurents alive.

The show will probably run through the fall, but could be gone by the new year.

[CSonBroadway]

Posted: 3/21/09 at 5:21pm

I don't think this show will be out by the fall...it's making tons of money and has a huge advance.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/21/09 at 6:36pm

When I say Arthur has a deal with the devil, you all don't believe me but it's true.

Apart from Robbins/Bernstein/Sondheim, he does things that are merely mediocre but then somehow has tremendous success with them, to the consternation of all the shaking heads around him, who say "How does he do it?"

His answer is a cliche turned into a line turned into a Sondheim lyric: "You either got it--or you don't, and, boys, I've got it!"

Everyone thinks the "it" in question is Talent. But it's not. That's not the "it" that Arthur's got.

Arthur's got the Luck that only the Truly, Deeply Evil fall into.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/21/09 at 6:39pm

A Director is absolutely clueless he believes the revival will be gone by the new year. Let's not forget his prediction that the GYPSY revival wouldn't make through Tony time.

They ARE predicting it will be the biggest of this season.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090311/FREE/903119967


The funniest part to me is, if Arthur kept it as a museum piece...he would still be torn to pieces by those who dislike him.
Updated On: 3/21/09 at 06:39 PM

[Testing1232]

Posted: 3/21/09 at 7:16pm

Heard the advance is $17.5 mill. Nice !

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/21/09 at 7:20pm

The advance probably IS that high! And that's amazing.





PS. I am saving this quote.


The show will probably run through the fall, but could be gone by the new year.- A Director

I wish I saved all his GYPSY "predictions."

Updated On: 3/21/09 at 07:20 PM

[Testing1232]

Posted: 3/21/09 at 7:29pm

<< The advance probably IS that high! And that's amazing.

>>

Yep... and that came from a castmember, so probably accurate.

Amazing.. oh yeah ! :))

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 3/21/09 at 7:48pm

The sun's in my heart and I'm ready for love!

---

"Be on your guard! Jerks on the loose!"

http://www.roches.com/television/ss83kod.html

**********

"If any relationship involves a flow chart, get out of it...FAST!"

~ Best12Bars

[A Director]

Posted: 3/23/09 at 2:03am

Apart from Robbins/Bernstein/Sondheim, he does things that are merely mediocre but then somehow has tremendous success with them, to the consternation of all the shaking heads around him, who say "How does he do it?"

His answer is a cliche turned into a line turned into a Sondheim lyric: "You either got it--or you don't, and, boys, I've got it!"

I agree that the book for Gypsy is very good. The book for WSS is the weakest part of the show. On the other hand, apart from his work with Robbins/Bernstein/Sondheim and perhaps Styne, his Broadway work is mostly mediocre. Here are the numbers:

Home of the Brave - 69 performances
The Bird Gage - 21
The Time of the Cuckoo - 263 - his longest running play
A Clearing in the Woods - 36
West Side Story - 732
Gypsy - 702
Invitation to a March(1960) - 113 His last original play the open on Broadway.
I Can Get It for You Wholesale (director) - 300
Anyone Can Whistle - 9 The book is a mess.
Do I Hear a Waltz? - 220
Hallelujah, Baby - 293
La Cage aux Folles (director) 1761
Nick and Nora (book) - 9

Off Broadway
The Enclave (1973) - 22
The Radical Mystique (1995) - 56

Mr. Laurents has "it" when it comes to directing Gypsy and La Cage; that is all.

I thought Laurents was the Devil, so I guess he made a deal with himself.

To borrow a song from City of Angels, Jerry, Lenny, Steve, and Jule could sing to Arthur, "You're Nothing Without Us."

WSS could run a year. The big advance has little to do with Laurents; it's more to do with the fact WSS hasn't been done on Broadway in 29 years.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/23/09 at 8:28am

There, as Arthur likes to say, you have it.

Thanks for the statistics.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 3/23/09 at 9:40am

I can't believe Brantley actually has this as one of his two shows under "Ben Brantley Recommends..." on the NY Times Theater Home Page.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/23/09 at 9:44am

Agreed.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/23/09 at 9:49am

Hmmm. Maybe he liked it? Just because it's the "cool" trend to hate and bash the revival here doesn't mean that all the critics hated it. As Smaxie pointed out in another thread, the critic's reception was a lot gentler and in my opinion more positive than the "word of mouth" on this board.

If the revival was directed by anyone else besides Laurents, there would not be this much hatred.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 3/23/09 at 9:58am

ljay, my comment had nothing to do with his reception of the show, which was mixed to positive.

I always viewed the two shows he and Isherwood each list on the homepage as the raved about shows that often go under the radar of the public. Isherwood had XANADU on there. Right now he has GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS on there. Brantley raved about RUINED, an OFF-BROADWAY show that will be a likely contender for the Pulitzer, and nobody has heard of it. EVERYONE knows WEST SIDE STORY. The production has a 17.5 million dollar advance. It doesn't need an extra boost as one of the only two shows he selects to highlight on the homepage. That was my point. People are going to see WEST SIDE STORY no matter what.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 3/23/09 at 10:02am

If the revival was directed by anyone else with the same results as the one I saw onstage last week , my opinion would be the same. Mediocre, emotionless, miscast and a Tony who sings like he stuck a paperclip in an electrical socket.
I have no ill will toward Laurents at all. I just felt that after the rumble I could have left and not missed too much.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 3/23/09 at 10:03am

"If the revival was directed by anyone else besides Laurents, there would not be this much hatred."

Only if the other director did a better job of directing. If the exact same production resulted, even if it was directed by Stephen Spielberg, the issues people have with the production should be the same.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/23/09 at 10:24am

If the revival had been directed by anyone else besides Laurents, it might have been better.

A new generation of theatergoers would have seen the true brilliance of the collaboration between Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins instead of this lukewarm reduction.

[goodmanK]

Posted: 3/27/09 at 9:56am

I saw it the other night and loved it. I did think Matt was a little too over confident and self indulgent as Tony. I felt like he was "Matt Cavenaugh" strutting his tight body around playing the role of Tony. It seemed to be just a little too much of "Matt" and not enough "Tony". i never felt that he was struggling with the fear, love, passion, that Tony should be feeling. Otherwise, loved the production, Josephina is unbelievable as Maria as well as the powerful Karen Olivo. The choreography is still looking fresh for 2009 and loved the set design. Go see West Side Story!!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/27/09 at 10:26am

I have no love or hate for Laurents (sp?). I just thought the show was weak, disappointing and not worth my time or money. I was saddened at this a great deal....for the new generation that could have fallen in love with it again.


I have no predictions as to how long it will run....worse things have lasted long with no rhyme or reason.