WEST SIDE STORY reviews: opened Feb 20 2020 — Page 8

AlanB3 said: "The show has only been open a week, but it had a much, much longer preview period than almost every other recent musical. So it's not as if the cast has not been hard at work up until this point.

Concerns about work ethic, et al, here may very well pan out to be spot on, but seems like it might be worth holding off on final judgment until we have a few more data points as to how much of a pattern this may really be."

They went through the most grueling tech process since Spiderman. I'm surprised there aren't more absences now. It's also worth noting that there are nine swings. You don't cast that many unless you expect to use them.

Bettyboy72 said: "“Perhaps as it has been written it is all about the show and not who is singing in it. So maybe the producers don't really care. If people aren't buying tickets just to see a particular actor then they wouldn't care either.“

Isaac is getting a lot of press in many arenas about his star turn as Tony. TV profiles, magazine spreads and high profile fashion and lifestyle brands. People do want to see him and the WSS social media is scrubbing complaints about attendance and the perp stuff.

I hope the he heals fully and the attendance evens off. Producers could create an alternate schedule which would actually quell frustration. "

Oh Puh-Leez << insert huge eye roll >>

poisonivy2 said: "Another article about West Side Story in The Atlantic:

https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/03/ivo-van-hoves-west-side-story-steeped-stereotypes/607210/"

This is really interesting! I thought it was interesting that the production didn't let their Anita be interviewed for the piece. Is that something that normally happens with productions?

Also, I was wondering - how does this iteration of the show deal with the character of Anybodys?

Any word from this weekend's performance as to who was on/off for the 3 shows?

Is there another access point for this information? Is there another social media area that would discuss this? I am interested in this and hoping that the routine of the 8 shows a week will settle in to allow the actors to do as many shows as they wish to do.

Thanks for any updates.

I finally saw this today. Isaac was out as expected, but Dobson did an admirable job. The best thing on that stage was Shereen Pimentel. She has a stunning voice and a great stage presence, and it’s too bad Maria loses some of her time to shine in this production.


Yesenia Ayala can’t hold a candle to what Karen Olivo did in the last revival. She was just ok. Dharon Jones did a nice job as riff. Much of the ensemble acting could be seen on any high school or community theater stage across the country. The majority of the choreography didn’t bother me too much and some of it was quite inventive. But nothing will match Robbins’ iconic work. The screens were somewhat distracting and nauseating, and when you did want to see a moment on the screen, of course it wasn’t there.


The real star of the production is the stunning score. Thank you Alexander Gemignani and Johnathan Tunick for nurturing it, respecting it, and letting it shine. Most of the tempos are faster than normal, but this makes sense being that Van Hove is portraying a sense of urgency and a ticking clock. The score actually sounds quite lovely in these tempos. The one thing you can’t mess up is this beautiful score and orchestrations. The brisk pacing of the book scenes helps mask some of Laurent’s weaker moments.

Overall, this production wasn’t really for me, but I started enjoying it more in the second half of the show. The screens are distracting and overdone, and take away from the actors on the stage. I don’t think I will need to see this revival again.

Updated On: 3/4/20 at 05:28 PM

ljay889 said: "I finally saw this today. Isaac was out as expected, but Dobson did an admirable job. Thebest thing on that stage was Shereen Pimentel. She hasa stunning voice and a great stage presence, and it’s too bad Maria loses some of her time to shine in this production.


Yesenia Ayala can’t hold a candle to what Karen Olivo did in the last revival. She was just ok. Dharon Jones did a nice job as riff. Much of the ensemble acting could be seen on any high school or community theater stage across the country. The majority of the choreography didn’t bother me too much and some of it was quite inventive. But nothing will match Robbins’ iconic work. The screens were somewhat distracting and nauseating, and when you did want to see a moment on the screen, of course it wasn’t there.


The real star of the production is the stunning score. Thank you Alexander Gemignani and Johnathan Tunick for nurturing it, respecting it, and letting it shine. Most of the tempos are faster than normal, but this makes sense being that Van Hove is portraying a sense of urgency and a ticking clock. The score actually sounds quite lovely in these tempos. The one thing you can’t mess up is this beautiful score and orchestrations. The brisk pacing of the book scenes helps mask some of Laurent’s weaker moments.

Overall, this production wasn’t really for me, but I started enjoying it more in the second half of the show. The screens are distracting and overdone, and take away from the actors on the stage. I don’t think I will need to see this revival again."

I'm with you on many of those points, ljay889!

I wasn't a big fan of this revisal --but it was wonderful to just revisit that gorgeous Bernstein score. I saw the show last night without Powell, and give kudos to Shereen Pimental for being the sole performer to deliver a substantial vocal performance.

There was such a sense of community theatre to it all--the many Broadway debuts are certainly on display. Director Van Hove gives us more of an "ensemble experience," with himself taking the star slot. That, and De Keersmaeker's inarticulate and unmelodious flip, flop and roll movement.

The video surprisingly didn't bother me, but the lack of cohesive direction (both on stage and film) was glaringly deficient. The smartest thing Van Hove did was make this move fast and make it intermission-less.

Updated On: 3/4/20 at 09:21 PM

imeldasturn said: "Are people still protesting? I feel like this hasn't been brought up anymore ever since opening night"

I believe they still hold the protests. CNN has a new article about it today, but thankfully, much more factually accurate than the past publications.