West Side Story at LA Opera

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 10/9/25 at 4:21pm

For purists of WSS, perhaps the greatest show of Broadway's Golden Age, LA Opera is now providing a magical opportunity to behold the show in its original shape, with splendid singers and dancers reanimating Jerome Robbins original choreography (recreated by Josh Bergasse). Who wouldn't want to go back in time to see what 1957 audiences saw?

Some caveats here: you won't get Oliver Smith's '57 set designs with their abstract doodles of red fire escapes (Peter Davidson's hefty new unit set of steel-beamed facades works fine), or Irene Sharaff's costumes (here the aggressively contemporary street clothes by Jessica Jahn actively hurt your eyes). But you will get to hear every word of Arthur Laurents' brilliant and funky libretto. And you will get to experience a glorious 28-piece orchestra led by James Conlon, and a spectacular singing and dancing chorus that will bring goosebumps in numbers like the Prologue, or "Cool", or the (somewhat abbreviated) "Somewhere" Ballet.

Speaking of "Cool", how great to see it back in the Act I drugstore scene following a run of ballads and comedy numbers where it properly tightens the audience's sphincter ratcheting up the tension leading us toward the Act I climax. As for sticking the hilarious "Gee Officer Krupke" back in Act II, well the cast landed the hilarity a little too brightly for me. Why didn't we feel their freaking out at their buddy's death mixed with the comedy?

And speaking of the direction, Francesca Zambello's work had some wins and some losses: Most of Act I moved with confidence and efficiency, hitting each beat with gusto if not nuance. But the "Quartet" was a major loss, with the entire company directed to just stand there, and park and bark those gorgeous notes. The Rumble was underpowered; "I Feel Pretty" seemed puny and amateur; and oddest of all, the final beat of the play with the gangs uniting to carry off Tony's body was no more-- the cast scattered across the stage instead simply turned to face front (accusingly?), wait 4 beats, and fade to black as the curtain fell. Huh???

Zambello was lucky to have such a skilled cast papering over weak moments with ravishing singing. Taylor Harley made a terrific salt-of-the-earth Riff. Yurel Echezarreta was damn entertaining as Bernardo but was shortchanged any singing solos since "America" here reverted back to its all-female version. Amanda Castro nailed Anita's arc from comedy relief in Act I to the heart and soul of the story in Act II. And Tom Virtue's Doc was dynamite in a heartbreaking part.

There's no avoiding the fact that Gabriella Reyes is not a natural fit for the classic Maria, a big girl faking innocence but with a very mature operatic voice. Her sound made for some odd pairings on the love duets, but was absolutely ravishing on "Somewhere", here sung as a solo by Maria. No question the MVP of the night was Duke Kim as Tony, with a spectacular tenor voice that easily scaled the heights of "Maria" and "Tonight", and even made some of Laurents' cringiest dialogue ring true. Bravo to him!

I've run on way too long. For all the ways I wished it were better, it was still a magnificent night. Thank God there's still a place like LA Opera to show audiences why the Golden Age masterpieces were golden!

 

[nealb1]

Posted: 10/9/25 at 4:32pm

I saw the show on Sunday afternoon.  Your review is pretty spot on.  

Even though this production was from LA Opera, the subtitles displayed on the screens really weren't necessary.  It seemed as if the tempos of the songs were slowed down a bit, so that the audience could keep up with reading the subtitles.  

Updated On: 10/9/25 at 04:32 PM

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 10/9/25 at 4:42pm

Agreed that the song tempos seemed slower than we're used to from the classic OBC album. But I believe Sondheim has told the tale of attending the OBC recording in '57, where all the tempos were forcibly sped up -- to Lenny's utter horror-- in order to fit all the tracks on the LP. So maybe the timing we heard at the LA Opera is how the Broadway show originally sounded...?

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 10/9/25 at 6:06pm

Someone in a Tree2 said: "Agreed that the song tempos seemed slower than we're used to from the classic OBC album. But I believe Sondheim has told the tale of attending the OBC recording in '57, where all the tempos were forcibly sped up -- to Lenny's utter horror--in order to fit all the tracks on the LP. So maybe the timing we heard at the LA Opera is how the Broadway show originally sounded...?"

Yes--Godard Lieberson of course basically created the modern cast album, and one thing he also started doing was speeding up music for the recording (mostly the instrumental music) because he felt without the visuals you needed to convey the excitement more in the music.  I believe with WSS this was the reason for the tempos on the cast album and it wasn't to squeeze more music on the disc--there's one WSS book that prints a long letter Sondheim wrote to Bernstein (who was overseas conducting) about how the session had went where he says exactly this, and says that ultimately he thinks it was the right decision.  I don't think Lenny actually ever said if he was horrified (Sondheim does joke in the letter that he will be) though we know when he conducted his own recording he took the music at a turgid pace, but that was true of all his later recordings of his own music.

And checking the book again, they seem to say that this WAS only done for the dance music, so shouldn't affect the tempo of the songs.  And in the best (IMHO) recording of the complete score, the 2013 SF Symphony Orchestra recording,  Michael Tilson Thomas conducts the score--he's a huge Bernstein nerd and always works hard to get the tempo just right, and the songs do seem to go at the same clip at the OBCR, though the dance music indeed is slower.

And I hope you haven't all stopped reading by this point.  ;)

Thanks for such a great review!   Francesca Zambello's opera production has been knocking around various opera houses for a while now, and though I haven't seen it, it always gets slightly mixed reviews (out of her several "musicals for opera houses" productions I've only seen her Show Boat which I find to be... perfectly fine, but nothing more.)   A few years back I saw a Vancouver Opera production that wasn't by her but doesn't sound too different--it was worth seeing for the orchestra and for how well the Robbins choreography was recreated, which seem like two of the selling points here.

I will say, I know people argue against theatre as museum pieces, but I still remember seeing the anniversary production in the 90s.  I was a teen and it was ages ago, but it did use the original set and costume designs and I thought they were still very effective.  Certainly I don't think any designs I've seen in various productions since have topped them, but I get that for these companies a selling point is to have new designs (from video of this production I see the modern costumes and I have to admit... why?  especially when doing the Robbins choreo.)

How was the Somewhere Ballet abbreviated?  Did they pull an Arthur Laurents and cut the Nightmare section like in his revival?  That change in the famous ending tableaux is odd...  (You do mention that they used the all female America--has any major stage version actually used the movie version?)  All in all, though, it sounds like a production well worth seeing.

(I always find it funny that when opera companies do these musicals they still use surtitles but I guess it's just now something they're expected to do...)

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 10/9/25 at 6:35pm

Cool insight into the details of the OBC recording, Eric. Thanks for that.

And your guess is correct about the shortening of the "Somewhere" ballet-- no nightmare section, either in the choreo or the score. The staging in LA was pretty effective: Maria and Tony move from her bedroom set (one floor up from the stage) to the fire escape. From up there they watch the ballet dancers in the street below as Maria sings all of "Somewhere". Simple and effective, but just the happy, love-y parts of the ballet.

Re: "America", I'm pretty sure the Ivo Van Hove 2020 revival that I saw just before the shutdown used the men vs women version of the song like we saw in both movies of WSS. I know it's heresy to say, but honestly I prefer that version since it gives Bernardo and the Sharks a real song to sing, and having men vs women gives way more hot sexiness to the number than the insipid all-girls staging. (If I remember correctly, Sondheim and Bernstein originally wrote the song as guys vs girls, but changed it in rehearsals to accommodate Jerry's need to have an all-girl number. And I believe Jerry was already fired from the '62 film when they staged the guy/girl version that worked so well there.) Off into the weeds again...

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 10/9/25 at 8:16pm

I have to admit, I don't get the cutting of the "nightmare" part of the ballet as it seems part of the point of it, but...

You are right--I just checked and the Ivo production did use the movie America.  Good catch.  I don't think it's heresy to prefer the movie version--certainly lyrically I think it's much better.  They have always said it was originally going to be written for both genders, but, as you say, Jerry thought the girls needed their own number (I've heard others say it was to give the men a break but this doesn't make too much since as their next big movement number, The Rumble, is a ways off.)  At any rate of course it's mostly the work of Peter Gennaro, like most of the Sharks choreography.  But I DO think Jerry was on board to do the men/women version for the movie as I know he had rehearsed their choreography for them, using elements of Gennaro's original (though you're right he wasn't there for the filming.)