WEST SIDE STORY revival scenic designs...

Yeah, not quite sure what's going on with that zodiac/sun dial drop, though I've always liked the idea of wiping out everything around them for "Tonight." I designed the show for a class project way back when and actually set the balcony scene further upstage than normal so that the balcony unit could then travel downstage during "Tonight" while star drops came in behind it wiping out the neighborhood and keeping the focus entirely on the young lovers.

Are they still doing the spanish lyrics? It doesn't mention it on the site, and Lin isn't credited for translations.

This is all it says.
groundbreaking new production, directed by the legendary Mr. Laurents, will offer a bold new design that builds on the show’s raw power and emotion to create a fresh experience unlike any that came before it. Don't miss this thrilling presentation of a matchless work of art.

I wonder if they dropped the idea.

Josefina Scaglione is beautiful.

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Yeah, that whole zodiac motif confuses me too.

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Best12bars: Thats exactly what I thought when I saw that picture!

Updated On: 12/11/08 at 09:29 PM

"The only thing I can think of to explain that is that it represents fate/predestination."

That was my very first thought as well.

I thought it was interesting for the picture of the gym Tony and Maria are "fake" while everyone else is "fake". I know it has no meaning but it caught my eye and I laughed.

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And that first one for Tonight looks like the giant clock background in Wicked.
That was my first thought as well.

I wonder if the zodiac drop will be gone by the time the show reaches Broadway. The other designs are blah.

RentBoy86: Those are flowers. It's interesting, but still very unusual.

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Updated On: 12/11/08 at 10:18 PM

i know it's a dead horse, but it's interesting to revisit the age issue now that there is more information about the rest of the cast. actually, it seems like many of the swings/understudies are in their low 20s... in fact, it looks like one of the swings just turned 18. and frankly, the "older" folks don't look like they stick out (for instance, in the "cool" photo, the gentleman on the far left, sam rogers, is not yet 21, i believe, but riff doesn't look like he's almost 10 years older).

actually, just speculating, but i believe curtis was cast very early. so it wouldn't have worked to have cast a tony younger than him (which many of the candidates other than cavenaugh were, i believe).

If the dancing is as good as it looks in these stills, I am not going to care about the background.

"Why are they so big? Isn't WSS supposed to be simple?"

You think a show filled with gang violence, dance, interracial relationships, and directed/with a book by Arthur Laruents is simple?

It's theme is simple, as is the theme in any show. The story itself, can be seen either way.

And the design is complex, but looks simple. That's the key for this show.

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Updated On: 12/11/08 at 10:51 PM