WSS CD — Page 2

I don't mind the Spanish.

It's a horrible CD though.. Anyone want to buy my copy? I thought not.

There's not one song on it that I would be willing to listen to again.

Karen is giving an incredible performance in the show and I hope she wins the Tony. I loved Haydn Gwyne but if she wins, it'll just be part of the BILLY sweep.

Karen is the rightful winner of the Tony this year, IMO.

I have no idea what you're talking about. Karen's version is NOT angry. That has been made very clear. Her interpretation is a plead of desperation. That is the vision she and Laurents came up with.

Updated On: 5/30/09 at 01:40 AM

^ I think you went into the production not wanting to like Karen. You've made it very clear that you want Haydn to win.

Actually, I went in with an open mind. West Side Story is one of my favorite musicals of all time and Anita is my favorite character in musical theatre. I wanted to love everything about the production, including Karen. I wanted to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but Matt lived up to his blandness, there were a few understudies on in the Jet gang so they didn't quite mesh well (Cody Green and Curtis Holbrook were out)... The dancing is well executed, but there was no intent behind it for the most part (the truncated ballet was well performed). But there were many things wrong with the production. I went with my entire family. My dad said it was the worst thing he's seen on Broadway and absolutely hated Karen Olivo. He doesn't follow theatre or see a lot of it, but at the same time he knows good theatre and good acting when he sees it, so that kind of critique is an honest one. I really wanted to like this one and I was excited about it. It's a shame because, as I said, it's one of my favorite musicals of all time if not my top choice. I honestly don't blame anyone else but Arthur Laurents. I will still give Karen the benefit of the doubt. She, and everyone else involved, was just directed poorly.

I'm not shy about rooting for Billy since I loved it, but if I think something else is deserving, I will acknowledge that. If Karen blew me away, I certainly would not be upset if she won the Tony. In fact, I would be happy if I thought she was deserving. Now that I've seen the performance, you can count me in that group who just does not get the hype about her performance. She stood out, but not exactly in a good way. Who knows, maybe I saw her on an off night. I'd give her a second chance, but based on what I saw tonight, it's not a Tony-worthy performance in my opinion.

~Steven

Is Cody Green injured? He's been out for like 2 weeks.

Question: If itunes is going to have a version of A Boy Like That in English, will it be one of those Album only songs where you have to buy the entire album just to get that version. I love having hard copies of cds but desperately want the english version as well.

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True. He was semi-threatening, as opposed to the others. (Holbrook, I mean).

Having heard nothing of this show until now, I really do like Karen Olivo's vocals as Anita... although I almost feel she sounds a bit too "American Idol" on the song "America". However, she's a million and ten times better than the Anita on my CD, which is the British concert cast featuring some disgusting opera lady attempting to sing low and sounding like a wheezing old man.

In contrast, the Sharks and Jets sound like a bad high school ensemble with no energy at all compared to the British concert cast (which I thought was bad until I heard these guys)... and obviously, I am really underwhelmed by Matt Cavenaugh, especially since my first and favorite Tony is Michael Ball and I'm slightly obsessed with him-- though Matt's prolonged high note was a nice surprise. Josefina is adorable and her voice is beautiful, but she sometimes sounds a bit too lightweight. I do think the Spanish messes up the Tonight Quintet.

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Matt sang the high B-flat when I saw it last night. I guess it depends on the performance.

~Steven

It's VERY underwhelming. I can't stand Matt's Tony--the accent is ridiculous. The gang members don't sound remotely threatening. The Spanish is too random to be effective for me except for how it's used in the Finale (and I speak Spanish, so it's not a problem of not understanding it). I didn't like the changes to "Hoy me siento tan hermosa" (not the Spanish, but the parts that Maria's friends sing). Finally, I don't think the boy soprano is very good; I've heard much better.

Oh... I don't like Karen Olivo's vocals as Anita. She sounds strained to me. I'm sorry, I know everyone will disagree, but yeah.

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Updated On: 5/30/09 at 09:22 PM

Well now I'll have to download it to hear Matt's "B flat." I didn't know he had that range either. I'm a little bummed he didn't do it at my performance because the song lacked any sort of emotion or climaxed and pretty much just fizzled.