West Side Story is the Best Show Currently on Broadway — Page 3

Oh Jesus. I....I.....I need to go pray

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spider - Step away from the wax...

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For you Spidey:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVPd62qYp8w&feature=PlayList&p=C98DA11B27093A30&index=0

Oh darling it's better than Carrie. Watch it when you get home. It's like a gift from the Baby Jesus.

Did that guy hire Barbara Walters' speech therapist?

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Dude needs to enunciate. Amewica?

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But yet, majority of pedophiles claim to be straight. Hmm...

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Well, I have no clue how this wound up being a thread about pedophilia!? LOL

Everything I gotta say is that if you haven't seen WSS, don't listen to the negativity on this board and run to see it. It's wonderful! I tend to get bored at shows, but this kept me engaged all along. Fantastic!

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My friend who is very familiar with the choreography, or so he says. Told me they changed the choreography only in 1 number.

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They changed the choreography in EVERY number that had Robbins's signature on it (or Peter Gennaro's): the Prologue, the Dance at the Gym, America, the Rumble and the Somewhere Ballet, as well as Robbins's staging of the Finale.

Muscle, please read this, which I've posted numerous times. It was written by a dancer friend of mine, who had been Dance Captain on a production that used the original Jerome Robbins choreography, and it details the changes in America and Dance at the Gym.

Please forward it to your "friend who is very familiar with the choreography, or so he says":

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First, Anita and Bernado's variation in the dance at the gym is way simplified: Karen basically shimmies and he dips her. She gives a small kick over his head while he kneels, but this is supposed to be a huge fan kick, followed by a flick into a double partner-turn to the floor with a partnered layout at the end, featuring HER, not Bernardo. They don't do any of that.

Then in America, Anita's first variation was previously solo, but Karen is immediately joined by two girls. This particular variation was always supposed to be Anita's technical specialty, but it is severely toned down for Karen.

Not one single ounce of the ballet/theater synthesis Robbins was so adept at remains.

Some of the more charming, quirky sections that are fast enough to mask her technical shortcomings are partially intact, but only in bits and pieces.

Finally, the most iconic part of the dance--the huge jumps at the end that mirror the huge crescendo in music--are replaced by single turns and are completely anticlimactic.

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I'm not a dancer so I can't describe the difference in the steps, some of which result from the different "geography" of a different set design, but from the opening beats of Riff alone to the gradual accumulation of the Jets, there is substantial difference in the drama and emotional impact of the "sailing" moves they do together. Also, the Sharks don't do the iconic choreography that you can see them do in the movie (which was also created by Peter Gennaro).

It seemed clear to me that Arthur and Joey wanted to use the music and the spirit of the choreography without duplicating Robbins's Prologue.

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Updated On: 9/21/09 at 12:50 AM

Eris.....I was just about to post likewise.

Since OBVIOUSLY theater is not your thing, why do you keep going? If most "bores" you, then perhaps you shouldn't be making statements about anything.

"Food usually makes me vomit, but this I could stomach" Not really a rousing endorsement.

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Updated On: 9/21/09 at 04:12 AM

"Since OBVIOUSLY theater is not your thing, why do you keep going? If most "bores" you, then perhaps you shouldn't be making statements about anything"

Hahaha, thanks for telling me what I am supposed to do, and for stating that "most theatre bores me" for me. Well guess what? I don't care for advice I don't ask for.

"I tend to get bored at shows"

Let me rephrase it, I didn't express myself well, "I was afraid of getting bored because the WSS movie dragged a little for me, and I have gotten bored at shows several times". Yet theatre is my passion like most people on this board(obviously)
I am in a constant search for excellence when it comes to Broadway shows, movies, concerts, etc.
I try to see as much as I can. I give most stuff out there a chance, and I love it, when I am surprised with entertainment I had never thought I'd enjoy.

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