West Side Story 12.26.09 Experience and Review

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 12/25/09 at 7:31pm

Tomorrow, I will be seeing the matinee performance of West Side Story. I am pretty excited. I really can't wait. In the this post, I will tell you everything from the beginning to end.

Expectations:
1. great dancing
2. a fun stage door experience
3. Karen Olivo

Anything else I should expect?
Updated On: 12/27/09 at 07:31 PM

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 12/25/09 at 7:39pm

This is a bashing thread in the making as this site HATES West Side Story. So expect a lot of mean comments.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 12/25/09 at 7:51pm

I've seen the show five times so far and I love it. I hope you have an amazing time.

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 12/25/09 at 7:52pm

I hope you have a wonderful time! Enjoy the classic that is West Side Story!!

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 12/25/09 at 7:55pm

I really enjoyed West Side Story. I hope you have great time. I will just say this, if Karen happens to be out tomorrow, you are in for a treat if Natalie Cortez is in, so don't be disappointed. I found the show very moving and Josefina is a wonder.

[jeffmiele]

Posted: 12/26/09 at 12:23am

havent seen natalie in WSS but she was INCREDIBLE and totally made 'A Chorus Line'

[mikem]

Posted: 12/26/09 at 10:01am

Just be prepared -- Karen Olivo apparently does not typically come out between shows on 2-show days. She did when I saw the show, but the extremely nice doorperson said that was really unusual.

She and the rest of the cast were very nice at the stage door.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/26/09 at 10:35am

Enjoy it! Give us a full report.

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 12/26/09 at 11:05am

Have fun! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on Matthew Hydzik.

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 12/26/09 at 7:26pm

Arrival: When I got out of Penn. Station, it was drizzling so I knew I had to get to the Palace Theatre pretty quick. I had my letter to the cast in my hand the whole time. When I got there, the door lady was glad to expect the letter and said she would give it to the cast. Unfortunately, half of it got wet by rain.

Seating: (Balcony Left) The usher lady said that it would be find if I could take a few extra Playbills from the pile during intermission. I really do prefer something in the center, but my view of the stage was very nice. The only down side was a man sitting in front of me who wouldn't lean back. I really wanted to ask but I didn't want to be rude.

Understudies/Alternates:
Kyle Brenn - Kiddo
Brendon Stimson - 4H
Michael Williams - Indio

MORE TO BE POSTED SOON!
Updated On: 12/26/09 at 07:26 PM

[Pgenre]

Posted: 12/26/09 at 7:29pm

Only 3 understudies on a Saturday night in this WSS?! That must be a record.

P

P.S. I like this production and love most of the cast.

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/26/09 at 7:43pm

And Kyle Brenn isn't an understudy. He's an alternate. So looks like 2 understudies!

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 12/26/09 at 11:02pm

Reviews For Leads:

Matthew Hydzik (Tony): He gave a very nice performance. After listening to Matt C. recordings, I was expecting him to be a little less than him. But after watching Matt H. live, he blew him right out of the water. His attempts at speaking Spanish were hilarious. There were times where his singing was a little awkward. Some times he would be in a low octive then in the reuglar octive. This happened mostly in Tonight (Quartet). 4 1/2 out of 5.

Josefina Scaglione (Maria): What a lovely voice! It's so heavenly and I love that she is from Argentina. It gives the show more authenticity. I know a lot of people say that, but it's the best way I can describe it. The innocence she put into her character completes her act. 4 1/2 out of 5.

Karen Olivo (Anita): She is pretty much a show stopper. All of her lines were delivered with such perfect comedic timing. When it comes to singing, I love how she has a lower type voice. It gives the Anita character more presence. As for dancing, it could have been a bit better. I heard that they had to "dumb down" the choreography for her to handle it. If she had a better high kick, I would have loved her performance even more. 4 out of 5.

George Akram (Bernardo): Out of all the SHarks, he is the best. Not just becuase he is the leader, but be cuase he has the best dancing. I give him a lot of recognition for doing this choreography every single day. I just wish that he had more singing in the show. *SPOILER* And I wish he didn't die. 4 1/2 out of 5

If there are any other leads I am missing then please tell me.
MORE TO BE POSTED SOON!

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 12/27/09 at 11:09am

Ensemble and Swing: What an amazing performance. Everything was on point. Their dancing was great and the blending of voices was so powerful. The last note of Tonight (Quartet) had me so musically high. I couldn't help but resort to cheering loudly to show how much I loved that number.

Spanish Dialouge: I do appriciate that the show uses Spanglish, but there were some times where I had a pretty bad time understanding what they were saying. That happened mostly during Chino and Maria's talk in her room. I think they should use a bit more common Spanish phrases to make others understand what's going on.

Choreography: The best dance number just has to be Dance At The Gym. I was so into the moment of the dance that I almost yelled "MAMBO!" in my seat. The dance that really got me into the story was the beginning number. But the dance fighting was a little unrealistic.

Musical Numbers: My favorite musical numbers had to be Cool and Tonight (Quartet.) Everything in those numbers made me more interested into the show even more. I had an expectation that America would be my favorite musical number. Maybe it was that I've watching videos of it so many times before I saw the show, that I had expectations that were too high.

Unnecessary: I could have done with Kiddo. I'm not entirely sure why he was written into the show. I guess he completed the idea of Somewhere.

MORE TO BE POSTED SOON!

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 12/27/09 at 11:27am

I found the Broadway WSS to be quite good. It didn't bowl me over because a few weeks earlier I had seen the production at the Stratford Festival here in Ontario and it was as close to a perfect WSS as I'll ever likely see. It was a 5-star production while the Broadway was worthy of 4-stars.

How was your view from the balcony? Dating myself but way back in August 1994 they were offering balcony seats to the original cast of LA CAGE AUX FOLLES for $10 each and we sat in the 2nd last row. I remember it being VERY steep but don't recall any major problems with the view.

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 12/27/09 at 11:54am

frontrowcentre2 - I was afraid of first walking down the stairs to my seat. The view was pretty good. I don't think there would be a bad seat in the house. The man sitting infront of me was my only bad view.

[alightinthedark23]

Posted: 12/27/09 at 11:59am

Rmusic, I agree with you about Somewhere. Every time I see WSS that point seems awkward and while I do get the symbol it shows, it just seems unnecessary.

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 12/27/09 at 12:03pm

Curtain Call: I didn't like how they played music AFTER the last curtain fall. But the loud applause made up for it. So I guess it's alright.

Stage Door: I didn't meet anybody. I kinda was expecting that becuase they might have wanted to rest for the next show. Also, the weather was pretty bad. And usually a fence would be set up for room and it wasn't there.

Personal Awards:
Best Jet - Riff
Best Shark - Bernardo
Best Adult - Doc

Favorite Song - Cool
Favorite Dance - Dance At The Gym
Favorite Line - "We are going to make dos circle-os..."

Recommendations: Every one who loves a classic. If you plan on bringing kids to the show, get ready for questions like "Mom, what's a spic and a puta?" Some kids and emotional peole might find the ending pretty sad. But the story does start of sad.


I think that is all I have to say. If you want me to explain anythng else, please feel free to tell me. I'd like to hear your thoughts on my review.


West Side Story on Broadway Updated On: 12/27/09 at 12:03 PM