WEST SIDE STORY reviews: opened Feb 20 2020- Page 4

[Sho-Tunes-R-Us]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 3:11am

A Director said: "The poster with only men looks like a Benetton ad. The photos posted by Robbie2 look like scenes from soft core porn."

With a BIG nod to Herb Ritts and Robert Mapplethorpe.

[WestEndGal]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 5:43am

I think the comments made by the Vulture reviewer specifically about Ramasar’s acting were pretty ott and petty and unnecessary. Feels like she was influenced by her opinion of him. I’m not happy with the situation by any means (as I’ve said in the main thread) but that’s a separate issue to critiquing his actual performance.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 9:06am

Ya gotta love the sting of Brantley;

"Here, Tony, the peace-loving former Jet is played by Isaac Powell, while Maria, the innocent young Shark girl he falls for, is portrayed by Shereen Pimentel. Both performers sing pleasantly."

"As such, those fatally rivalrous street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, have probably never loomed larger. Yet these disembodied Goliaths wind up upstaging their flesh-and-blood selves."

"And as the camera caresses each photogenic face, the men’s tattoos start to look less like don’t-mess-with-me emblems of tribal membership and more like fashion choices. We might have stumbled into a casting call for a Calvin Klein fragrance ad."

"Yet in this version, both gangs appear to be multiracial melting pots. Could this be van Hove’s point, that prejudice exists only in the mind’s eye? Maybe, but once these boys and girls start to rumble, you’ll wish they were wearing team uniforms."

"Their choreography has aggressive accents of taekwondo and boxing, along with an air-slicing assortment of somersaults. Yet generally, these dancers seem less like kamikaze street warriors than scampering puppies, who like nothing more than to run around in circles and wriggle on their backs."

Wow, he just kills them with these cutting comments -lol.

[joevitus]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 9:24am

The one element of the production I find suspect is the multi-racial makeup of both gangs. This is partly because the script clearly denotes one group as white, one as Puerto Rican, but also because in fact gangs do tend to form around racial lines. There aren't a whole lot of mixed race gangs among actual gang--though this is changing, apparently, so it doesn't even feel like an appropriate change for the sake of authenticity. 

Updated On: 2/21/20 at 09:24 AM

[Up In One]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 10:11am

PalJoey said: "Anyone else looking forward to the Steven Spielberg/Tony Kushner movie?"

No, clips I saw made it look like Grease 3

 

[Up In One]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 10:13am

joevitus said: "The one element of the production I find suspect is the multi-racial makeup of both gangs. This is partly because the script clearly denotes one group as white,one as Puerto Rican, but also because in fact gangs do tend to form around racial lines. There aren't a whole lot of mixed race gangs among actual gang--though this is changing, apparently,so it doesn't even feel like an appropriate change for the sake of authenticity."

 

So that’s a no for non- traditional casting when it comes to WSS? I noticed a reviewer said something to the effect he couldn’t tell them apart during the rumble. He needed more color coordination lol. 

 

[MVintheheartland]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 10:18am

Based on the reviews and the photos here, I am going to pass. I did not realize how much  video was involved, seems to overwhelming for me. Video seems to be this new thing directors are using to "reimagine" show, including Oklahoma. (I thought Oklahoma was terrible and the video misplaced.). In "Network" it was very effective and relevant, but it looks here like we are just watching a jumbotron instead of a show. 

And what's with the rain? I saw "View from a Bridge" and also thought that was weird weird weird. (I know, "get off my lawn"  Again, I loved "Network", but geez, put the damn video camera down for this. 

Want creativity? Go see Hadestown. (and there is no video in it). 

 

[Owen22]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 10:25am

joevitus said: "The one element of the production I find suspect is the multi-racial makeup of both gangs. This is partly because the script clearly denotes one group as white,one as Puerto Rican, but also because in fact gangs do tend to form around racial lines. There aren't a whole lot of mixed race gangs among actual gang--though this is changing, apparently,so it doesn't even feel like an appropriate change for the sake of authenticity."

Okay. The Jets ARE white and Puerto Ricans ARE Hispanic. Van Hove is employing colorblind casting, as the racial makeup is still part of the script and mentioned in the dialogue. Clearly. He is not employing colorblind casting to the service of star casting, the way we are used to it being used. He is using it as part of a metaphoric theme.

 

 

[AADA81]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 10:26am

Having read most of the reviews, they're obviously all over the place, which is often a sign of bad direction.  Even the positive ones seem to stress the staging and style of the production while barely mentioning the actual performances.  The choreography, which is being describe as gymnastic with a bit of break dancing thrown in, sounds like the calisthenics version of choreography we've been getting for decades now.  Some of the visuals, which several critics describe in glowing terms, sound ludicrous and straining to be contemporary to me.  The overall theme I hear, even in the good reviews, is style over substance.  Nothing I've read about this production makes me interested in seeing it.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 10:46am

Owen22 said: "joevitus said: "The one element of the production I find suspect is the multi-racial makeup of both gangs. This is partly because the script clearly denotes one group as white,one as Puerto Rican, but also because in fact gangs do tend to form around racial lines. There aren't a whole lot of mixed race gangs among actual gang--though this is changing, apparently,so it doesn't even feel like an appropriate change for the sake of authenticity."

Okay. The Jets AREwhite and Puerto Ricans ARE Hispanic. Van Hove is employing colorblind casting, as the racial makeup is still part of the script and mentioned in the dialogue. Clearly. He is not employing colorblind casting to the service of star casting, the way we are used to it being used. He is using it as part of a metaphoric theme.

"

Except only the Jets are "colorblind" in this production. The Sharks are Latinx actors and actresses. Gangs in NYC are segregated not just by race but by country of origin -- a Dominican could never join a Mexican gang and white kids would never be in the same gang as black kids. A more realistic update would to have the Jets be white nationalist gangs that are becoming more popular in NYC. Certainly they are in Long Island. Again, anyone who has worked in a NYC public school will know exactly which gangs a kid is in, their gang signs, their colors, and the requirements to join that gang. 

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 10:50am

I think more people will check out this show for the spectacle. I feel, like Oklahoma, once the novelty wears off, attendance will quickly dip. 

Some of the visual effects in this seem to fall in line with the current trend of theatre for the ADD generation. Make it loud, make it overstimulating, make it frenetic so people leave feeling they felt something. 

[Luminaire2]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 11:05am

Bettyboy72 said: "I think more people will check out this show for the spectacle. I feel, like Oklahoma, once the novelty wears off, attendance will quickly dip.

Some of thevisual effects in this seem to fall in line with the current trend of theatre for the ADD generation. Make it loud, make it overstimulating, make it frenetic so people leave feeling they felt something."

I too think it will fizzle out. The last WSS revival didn’t last that long. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 11:09am

Luminaire2 said: “I too think it will fizzle out. The last WSS revival didn’t last that long."

The 2009 revival ran just shy of 2 years (a great run for a revival), and recouped.

 

[Luminaire2]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 11:17am

bwayphreak234 said: "Luminaire2 said:“I too think it will fizzle out. The last WSS revival didn’tlast that long."

The 2009 revival ran just shy of 2 years (a great run for a revival), and recouped.

"
I was thinking around 2 years would be the max. 

 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 11:28am

I didn’t realize people were getting the gangs confused. I never had that problem when I saw the show. From the very start, we know exactly who’s who with the giant screens the critics have obviously noticed. It’s also obvious (or at least to me) that the gang divides are “Americans” versus Latinx immigrants.

Most reviews I read didn’t mention the LGBTQ+ presence in the show, which I thought was a great asset.

I do wish critics themselves were a more diverse group. I do wonder how women and people of color would respond to this in a critical, literary way. As if Ben Brantley’s review wasn’t one of the expected ways he could have reviewed the show, shady comments included.

[InTheBathroom1]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 11:44am

Well I can’t imagine many women being a fan of this production for a multitude of reasons

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 11:58am

HeyMrMusic said: "Most reviews I read didn’t mention the LGBTQ+ presence in the show, which I thought was a great asset. "

I don’t think I’ve heard anyone talking about this. What exactly is this presence. I’m guessing it relates to Anybodys.

[Georgeanddot2]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 12:03pm

The LGBTQ+ presence felt like tokenism.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 12:24pm

Owen22 said: "joevitus said: "The one element of the production I find suspect is the multi-racial makeup of both gangs. This is partly because the script clearly denotes one group as white,one as Puerto Rican, but also because in fact gangs do tend to form around racial lines. There aren't a whole lot of mixed race gangs among actual gang--though this is changing, apparently,so it doesn't even feel like an appropriate change for the sake of authenticity."

Okay. The Jets AREwhite and Puerto Ricans ARE Hispanic. Van Hove is employing colorblind casting, as the racial makeup is still part of the script and mentioned in the dialogue. Clearly. He is not employing colorblind casting to the service of star casting, the way we are used to it being used. He is using it as part of a metaphoric theme."

Huh? To cast color-blind when color is a key plot point, is madness. More diversity on Broadway, please, yes, long overdue. But this is woke gone haywire: multicultural Jets yelling at Sharks to go back to where they came from. Its not only hard to follow, it rings hollow. 

 

[WestEndGal]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 12:41pm

Laughing at this tweet!

https://twitter.com/whattowatch100/status/1230894877518503945?s=21

[MollyJeanneMusic]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 1:06pm

JDonaghy4 said: "Owen22 said: "joevitus said: "The one element of the production I find suspect is the multi-racial makeup of both gangs. This is partly because the script clearly denotes one group as white,one as Puerto Rican, but also because in fact gangs do tend to form around racial lines. There aren't a whole lot of mixed race gangs among actual gang--though this is changing, apparently,so it doesn't even feel like an appropriate change for the sake of authenticity."

Okay. The Jets AREwhite and Puerto Ricans ARE Hispanic. Van Hove is employing colorblind casting, as the racial makeup is still part of the script and mentioned in the dialogue. Clearly. He is not employing colorblind casting to the service of star casting, the way we are used to it being used. He is using it as part of a metaphoric theme."

Huh? To cast color-blind when color is a key plot point, is madness. More diversity on Broadway, please, yes, long overdue. But this is woke gone haywire: multicultural Jets yelling at Sharks to go back to where they came from. Its not only hard to follow, it rings hollow.

"

I always think of it this way: if it makes sense story-wise to have color-conscious casting, go ahead.  If it doesn’t, don’t do it.  You couldn’t cast an African American woman as Carole King - besides the fact that she wasn’t African American, part of the show is her learning how to write songs for another culture.

[imissthemusic2]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 1:16pm

Bettyboy72 said: "Some of thevisual effects in this seem to fall in line with the current trend of theatre for the ADD generation. Make it loud, make it overstimulating, make it frenetic so people leave feeling they felt something."

"ADD Generation" feels like a misnomer for the phenomenon. People with ADD usually try but ultimately fail to pay attention to things due to their disorder. The current trend seems to be an issue of people not trying to pay attention in the first place, which I think is even worse. 

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 1:19pm

WestEndGal said: "I think the comments made by the Vulture reviewer specifically about Ramasar’s acting were pretty ott and petty and unnecessary. Feels like she was influenced by her opinion of him. I’m not happy with the situation by any means (as I’ve said in the main thread) but that’s a separate issue to critiquing his actual performance."

She said she felt he was bad, which I’ve also heard from others. I’m not sure how that is petty. 

 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 1:23pm

JDonaghy4 said: "Owen22 said: "joevitus said: "The one element of the production I find suspect is the multi-racial makeup of both gangs. This is partly because the script clearly denotes one group as white,one as Puerto Rican, but also because in fact gangs do tend to form around racial lines. There aren't a whole lot of mixed race gangs among actual gang--though this is changing, apparently,so it doesn't even feel like an appropriate change for the sake of authenticity."

Okay. The Jets AREwhite and Puerto Ricans ARE Hispanic. Van Hove is employing colorblind casting, as the racial makeup is still part of the script and mentioned in the dialogue. Clearly. He is not employing colorblind casting to the service of star casting, the way we are used to it being used. He is using it as part of a metaphoric theme."

Huh? To cast color-blind when color is a key plot point, is madness. More diversity on Broadway, please, yes, long overdue. But this is woke gone haywire: multicultural Jets yelling at Sharks to go back to where they came from. Its not only hard to follow, it rings hollow.

van Hove has said in multiple interviews that the Jets, even though they are not all "white", are "established" US citizens, whereas the Sharks are recent immigrants (many of whom are probably here "illegaly" or through DACA.  The fact that the Jets would hate the Sharks is in perfect tune with the current social and political climate in the USA and its barbaric immigration policies.  If you look on social media, some of the most fervent supporters of "keeping out the illegals" are US citizens of Latin descent who feel that new immigrants shouldn't be shown any compassion.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 2/21/20 at 1:27pm

And I mean, great, good for you, Ivo, but people are not going to stop to think about that deeper meaning, by and large, hence the word of mouth here. Theater is a broad art form, and sometimes you have to paint with broad strokes. It's not very subtle, but theater doesn't have a hell of a lot of room to work with when it comes to subtle. You can understand what he was doing with the Jets and still think it was a mistake; I definitely do.

Updated On: 2/21/20 at 01:27 PM