West Side Story Revival Details - Page 4

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/29/19 at 11:56pm

JBroadway said: "And what about something more recent like Iceman Cometh? I was on this message board then, and I have no memory of some big uproar around the trimming of the script. Why get mad about West Side Story and not Iceman Cometh?

I realize a lot of what I'm saying in this post is conjecture based on my subjective impressions. But am I wrong about this? For those of you in this thread that are mad about the rumored changes to WSS: do you feel the same way about all the other examples I mentioned?"

You're ignoring a key difference. No one is an uproar over trimming, the current rumor is that the majority of the book/spoken dialogue is being cut. Whether true or not, it's not preposterous for fans to be concerned and upset over a major rumor like that. 

[scarlet721]

Posted: 10/30/19 at 12:08am

personally, i'm waiting until the show at least starts previews to make big statements about the show itself.

i will say that i disliked the mailer, and dislike the website.  

i skipped the newest production of Oklahoma because I have good memories of the Patrick Wilson one and didn't feel I needed to see it.

i enjoyed the "revised" Cinderella and Flower Drum Song, but felt that some of the interpolated issues didn't work.  

 

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/30/19 at 12:17am

Unless I just don’t like Hove’s directing decisions in this particular, I doubt any possible revisions will bother me much. I only have the movie to judge it against.

I saw the revival (revisal) of Porgy and Bess and loved it (I know, sacrilege to some here) because I had nothing to judge it against. At the time I was only vaguely aware of the uproar about the cuts to the book.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 10/30/19 at 12:35am

ljay889 said: "You're ignoring a key difference. No one is an uproar over trimming, the current rumor is that themajorityof the book/spoken dialogue is being cut. Whether true or not, it's notpreposterous for fans to be concerned and upset over a majorrumor like that."

 

Oh yikes. You're right, I did misunderstand that. 

While I doubt that it's actually true, I admit it would be pretty extreme. And in that case, you're right that it would be kind of a different animal from other shows with re-worked books.

And sure, if you LOVE the book scenes of WSS, and don't think you'll like the show without them, then fine. Those people are welcome to either not see the show, or see and it and rip the show to shreds. But ultimately, that comes down to taste - whether or not the person might LIKE the show with these changes. If a drastically reduced book to WSS sounds bad to you, then it sounds bad to you, and you're welcome to that opinion. I would argue that you should see it before making that conclusion, but I also understand that we know our own tastes better than anyone. And I do get that a really extreme change like that might be a red flag for someone that really loves the original book.

But what I strongly disagree with - and what has inspired all my rambling posts - is that many people condemn these changes on principal alone - independent of taste - especially if it's just because the changes weren't made by Laurents. And I stand by everything I said earlier on that topic. You're right that if Laurents were alive this revival might not be happening - but maybe we'll be better off for it. Maybe this revival will be amazing, and Laurents' pride would have prevented us from ever seeing it. Like I said earlier, I don't think the writers always know best. But even if you don't subscribe to that logic, this production won't make any changes that the Laurents estate doesn't approve of, and that's all you can ask for when an author has passed away. 

Updated On: 10/30/19 at 12:35 AM