West Side Story - Sequence of Events in Film vs. Stage Version — Page 2

^ For those who need it explicated, how the show would run in my hypothetical revival:

ACT ONE
Prologue: The Months Before
PROLOGUE . . . . . . . . . Danced by Jets and Sharks
5:00 P.M.: The Street
JET SONG . . . . . . . . . Riff and Jets
5:30 P.M.: A Back Yard
SOMETHING'S COMING . . . . . . . . . Tony
6:00 P.M.: A Bridal Shop
10:00 P.M.: The Gym
THE DANCE AT THE GYM . . . . . . . . . Danced by Company
MARIA . . . . . . . . . Tony
11:00 P.M.: A Back Alley
AMERICA . . . . . . . . . Anita, Bernardo, Sharks and Girls
TONIGHT . . . . . . . . . Tony and Maria
Midnight: The Drugstore
GEE, OFFICER KRUPKE . . . . . . . . . Riff and Jets
The Next Day, 5:30 P.M.: The Bridal Shop
I FEEL PRETTY . . . . . . . . . Maria, Rosalita, Teresita, Francisca
ONE HAND, ONE HEART . . . . . . . . . Tony and Maria
6:00 to 9:00 P.M.: The Neighborhood
TONIGHT (Quintet and Chorus) . . . . . . . . . Company

ACT TWO
9:00 P.M.: Under the Highway
THE RUMBLE . . . . . . . . . Riff, Bernardo, Jets and Sharks
9:15 P.M.: A Bedroom
SOMEWHERE . . . . . . . . . Danced by Company; Sung by (whoever)
10:00 P.M.: Another Alley
COOL . . . . . . . . . Diesel and Jets
11:30 P.M.: The Bedroom
A BOY LIKE THAT . . . . . . . . . Anita and Maria
I HAVE A LOVE . . . . . . . . . Anita and Maria
11:40 P.M.: The Drugstore
TAUNTING . . . . . . . . . Anita and Jets
11:50 P.M.: The Cellar
Midnight: The Street
FINALE . . . . . . . . . Company

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Updated On: 5/24/13 at 03:32 PM

g.d.e.l.g.i., your rundown confirms for me what I'd dread about your version of the show: Act I is an endless parade of happy; Act II is an endless parade of sad.

Moving "I Feel Pretty" to the middle of Act I repeats your desire for uncomplicated cheerfulness by taking away all the tension of Maria singing "Pretty" while the audience knows her brother is dead, as is the case in the original.

I say give the audience more credit as thinking adults and let them process two competing emotions at once-- that's what makes the original so smart.

^ You're inviting us into a really interesting discussion here, thinking about shows that play their emotions out on their sleeves without ambiguity or irony, where in your words, a "'parade of sad' is going to leave the audience thinking about the morals of the show long after it's over". I'd put Les Miz, Phantom and Miss Saigon in that camp.

I prefer my morals served to me with a side of complexity, with competing layers and contradictions intact. Kander and Ebb's "Kiss of the Spiderwoman" or Scottsboro Boys", or virtually anything out of Sondheim's catalogue would qualify. Obviously I want my dark songs tinged with joy, and my joyous songs tinged with tragedy -- hence my preference that "Cool", "I Feel Pretty" and "Krupke" remain where Laurents, Sondheim and Bernstein first stuck 'em.

Updated On: 5/20/13 at 05:30 PM

I've seen them both, and the film placement works much better dramatically.

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I prefer film's structure, but I must admit that was my first exposure with the piece.

As to film adaptations which were superior to the stage, I'd throw Dreamgirls in there. Talking dramatic structure, not OBC vs film cast.

Even with its flaws, the Godspell film's use of New York was wonderful.

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Updated On: 5/23/13 at 09:22 PM

^ But the deaths of Riff and Bernardo are the whole reason to end the act. It's the big "cliffhanger." Sirens are heard, and Tony leaves the scene, as the two lifeless bodies lay there while the curtain falls.
You wouldn't start act 2 with such a climactic moment like that.

This is one of the biggest "no right answer" questions in musical theatre, up there with the variant versions of "Cabaret."

THIS! I feel like it's discussed here several times a year.

Updated On: 5/23/13 at 10:04 PM

This is one of the biggest "no right answer" questions in musical theatre, up there with the variant versions of "Cabaret."

And where to put the intermission in Follies, or if you have to put an intermission in Follies at all.

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But the deaths of Riff and Bernardo are the whole reason to end the act. It's the big "cliffhanger." Sirens are heard, and Tony leaves the scene, as the two lifeless bodies lay there while the curtain falls.
You wouldn't start act 2 with such a climactic moment like that.

As I've just made clear in the thread, I absolutely would start Act 2 with it. The big "cliffhanger," to me, is: Will Tony stop the rumble? Will the rumble be a real rumble, or will these street kids who've maybe gotten in a few scuffles and aren't prepared for murder chicken out?* Will the cops find them before anything gets serious? (And any number of other questions.) The quintet is a fantastic build to a first act closer.

* That's one thing Arthur got wrong in every interview about the 2009 revival... these boys aren't hardened gang members, and no that's not a joke about Jerry's choreography. The book strongly indicates they were angsty, immature kids looking to belong, to have some sense of control of their lives. They weren't prepared for anybody to die that night. I don't think they were ever prepared to kill anyone. They are not "hardened, vicious killers," as I believe he characterized them. They're not innocent by any means, but they're not on the fast track to "fifteen to life" either. My personal theory is that Arthur, in his advancing years, was given a copy of Irving Shulman's novelization of the film, which considerably toughens up the characters, and decided to pretend it was his idea...

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Updated On: 5/24/13 at 08:44 AM

Now that Steven Spielberg's film adaptation has been out since last December, I thought I'd give this thread a bump. Some of what's been discussed here were brought up during Next Best Picture's podcast review of it. Matt Neglia mentioned that while he very much adored Spielberg's iteration, he still had some problems. Among them were the placement of 'I Feel Pretty' as he felt it slowed down the momentum of the film. Plus, the story to him always felt like it was building up to the rumble, but it surprisingly doesn't happen at the very end.
https://www.nextbestpicture.com/west-side-story.html