Posted: 5/14/19 at 7:43pm
Posted: 5/14/19 at 8:28pm
I caught this last week when I was in Chicago for a few days. The orchestra was gorgeous and sounded incredible. There is zero chemistry between the two leads, but I liked them with scenes with other people. Hated the actress playing Anita's interpretation of the role. The dancing was not as strong as it could have been. But, the orchestra was worth it for me. The discount code I used is valid for weekday performances only. "CONCIERGE"
Updated On: 5/14/19 at 08:28 PM
Posted: 5/14/19 at 8:28pm
Posted: 5/15/19 at 12:11am
I found it to be a pretty middling production worth it only for the production values the Lyric could provide. Maria had a gorgeous voice, but her acting was embarrassingly amateur. Tony was a good actor but his singing was far too contemporary--he punched the consonants, preventing him from letting any line feel legato, and he even sang some incorrect notes. Anita was a great dancer but a sub-par singer and actor. Yes, it's great to hear the score played by 43 musicians, but at least at the performance I attended, I felt that the conductor didn't really dig into the dynamics in the way I want to hear a Leonard Benstein score played. The dancing was mostly the original Robbins choreography, which it's always great to see, and I personally thought it was well-executed (it was certainly done better than the lackluster tour of the Arthur Laurents production). The set does have a cool trick revealed at the top of act two, but mostly it's just an open playing area. The costumes are contemporary, and that choice really doesn't add anything to the show.
Francesca Zambello's direction really didn't make the piece come alive. Most of the actors gave surface-level performances, and the staging reflected that. If anything, this production gave me a better appreciation for the ill-conceived Laurents production which at least understood what what happening in each scene.
If you want to hear the big orchestra and see the original choreography, then by all means go, but lower your exceptions in every other department. I was occasionally impressed but thoroughly unmoved.
Posted: 5/26/19 at 9:17pm
Posted: 5/26/19 at 9:44pm
"Thank you for the original code" is the actual response you should have typed. Now you expect people to do a search you can easily do yourself? Again?
Nah.
Posted: 5/27/19 at 12:07am
Posted: 5/27/19 at 12:14am
I saw this today and thought it was a fairly strong production that stuck pretty closely to what you’d expect. I was a bit confused by a few odd anachronisms. One character flossing near the beginning? A photo of Justice Sotomayor on the wall of Maria’s room? Anyone else notice things like that and understand why?
Updated On: 5/27/19 at 12:14 AM
Posted: 5/27/19 at 12:17am
Menken Fan said: "I saw this today and thought it was a fairly strong production that stuck pretty closely to what you’d expect. I was a bit confused by a few odd anachronisms. One character ?flossing’ near the beginning? A photo of Justice Sotomayor on the wall of Maria’s room? Anyone else notice things like that and understand why?"
The flossing was definitely and odd choice, I was too far back to make out anything on the walls of Maria’s bedroom.
Posted: 5/27/19 at 3:49pm
LuPita2 said: ""Thank you for the original code" is the actual response you should have typed. Now you expect people to do a search you can easily do yourself? Again?
Nah."
A belated, heartfelt thanks for the code you previously provided me with.
Posted: 5/27/19 at 4:16pm
You're quite welcome. I hope you enjoyed the show.
Posted: 5/27/19 at 6:52pm
I wouldn't say there were a few anachronisms, as it was clear to me that the whole production was set today. The costumes all felt modern, though mostly not distractingly so (apart from one character's bright red sneakers). Thankfully, they didn't have cell phones to drive this point in your face like you might see in a lot of modern-dress productions.
