West Side Story Revival To Bow in DC prior to Broadway- Page 2

[bwayguy22089]

Posted: 3/4/08 at 11:23pm

Sondeim was still young too. I'm not a big fan of his music, but no one writes lyrics like him. He was still great back then in my opinion. The whole show is perfection.

[Boq101]

Posted: 3/4/08 at 11:44pm

Somewhere is still amazing, in my honest opinion Grist should sing it in the revival, just like she did when it first opened.

How's that for revolutionary!? The same cast! no one dances, but they can still snap.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 3/4/08 at 11:57pm

What about Daphne Rubin-Vega for Anita?




















KIDDING!

[DickonDefysGravity]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 12:16am

DAMN!
Was hoping for Seattle.

[WonderBoy]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 11:31am

wanna be a foster...ya had me going for a hot second!

[lildogs]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 12:36pm

Joey directed and choreographed that European tour as well...

[DrTheatre]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 1:22pm

J. Lo for Anita and Marc Anthony Tony...LOL

[keen on kean]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 1:58pm

Looks like Arthur Laurents is trying to give George Abbott a run for the geriatric director crown.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 2:02pm

Exciting news

Natalie Cortez would be fabulous in this!!!

Put Mario in this and not ALC *lol*

[lildogs]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 2:42pm

Mario playing Anita? His arms would look kinda bulky in cap sleeves...

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 3:06pm

I believe I read that the gimmick will be that the Jets and Sharks will speak in their native tongues. Or at least 1 of each will.

[Ole Chum]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 3:18pm

I actually think Daphne Rubin Vega would be brilliant as Anita, if not a little old and maybe rusty in the dance numbers.

Her voice is well suited for Anita's songs and shes just such a terrific actress. Its not so far-fetched.

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 3:45pm

I'm no math major, but doesn't this make Arthur Laurents about 117 years old???

Seriously...who's gonna do the CONTEMPORARY part of it???
Just think of your great grandparents, kids.

I'm nervous!

[lildogs]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 3:52pm

Daphne can certainly sing the role, but it's really intended for a dancer-actress-singer rather than a singer-actress-dancer--hence Chita, Rita...Debbie Allen (gasp!) It's not far-fetched but I SERIOUSLY doubt her dancing ability is on par with a company of highly trained dancers as they are certain to be.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 3:58pm

Daphne would have made a great Anita on a studio cast recording around the time she did RENT. She would have never been right for the part on stage since she is not a dancer and Anita is a dancing role. And by now she might as well play Doc.
I think Laurent's idea is that Maria will not speak English to make the barrier even stronger. I hope it's not like the WEST SIDE STORY I saw at the University of Florida where Maria would say a phrase in Spanish and then repeat it in English right away "Chino, cuando veo a Chino nada pasa, when I look at Chino nothing happens." It gets old reeeeaaal fast.

[lildogs]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 4:00pm

God--it's already a 3-hour show...they should call it THE WEST SIDE CYCLE...

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 5:05pm

One of the few times I am happy to live in DC...

[teka21]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 10:53pm

Karen Olivo, who I love in ITH, is seems much too mature for Maria. The absolutely perfect Maria is Krysta Rodriguez, who although in her early 20's can look much more like a younger, innocent teen. Krysta is a triple threat who can dance, sing and act.

[FosseBoi]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 11:16pm

As much as I LOVE Daphne, I must say I flipped out alittle when I read the suggestion of Natalie Cortez. I would LOVE to see that.

[Ole Chum]

Posted: 3/5/08 at 11:26pm

i guess thats true about Karen being older- in my head shes still understudying Mimi 10 years ago. i think her voice is radically different than standard Maria but it would work- its so powerful.

anyway i love this show and i cant wait for it to come to bway

[theaterguy11]

Posted: 3/6/08 at 1:50am

I'm a little sick of the Robbins Choreography. Don't get me wrong, I think it's fantastic. But it's been seen SO many times and is preserved on film. The art of dance has evolved so much, I think it would be more interesting to use new choreography with the feel of Jerome Robbins. Does that make sense?

It just seems impossible to have a "radically different" production with the same old choreography...

just my opinion.

look forward to seeing it though.

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 3/6/08 at 2:00am

Hm, I've never heard Karen Olivo's upper register, that would be interesting casting to say the least.

[westcoast_wannabe]

Posted: 3/6/08 at 5:58am

I understand that the Robbins choreography is as much a part of West Side Story as the score, it truly is iconic, but I would like to see new choreography for a new production. I’ve always thought Mark Morris would be an interesting choreographer for WSS.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 3/6/08 at 6:00am

I have always thought Sondheim was being a little overly harsh in his assessment of his lyrics in WSS. THe "alarming how charming" line sits nicely on the notes and zips by so quickly that I doubt anyone ever really stops and says "hey isn't that a little too sophisticated for her to say?" I mean, after all, it is a fairly simple interior rhyme and if Maria had studied English (with professor Higgins? LOL!) she no doubt would have been taught a phrase like that.

It was Sheldon Harnick who criticized Sondheim for that line after an early performance. Harnick was right, of course, but it really is a minor flaw.

"Today the World was just an address" (I originally thought that line was "...an ATLAS") is more problematic but again it soars with the music, and it doesn't seem to have hurt the song's popularity. Even the awkward way "for a small fee in America" sits on the notes hasn't stopped the "America" numbber from becoming a showstopper.

I recently re-listened to the cast album and was again reminded how vibrant and exciting this show was when it was new.

I do wonder if for the revival, the revised "movie" lyrics for America will be used, and will they swap "Cool" with "Gee Officer Kupke?"

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 3/6/08 at 8:13am

Karen Olivo reads too old.

Krysta Rodriguez reads the perfect age.