#51
Posted: 8/6/07 at 3:56pm
"However, I think in doing that, they ofteend up with "jets" who are too soft and pretty. They are in a gang in NYC...not a playground in the midwest."
Well, what about Baby John? Isn't there a reason he's called "Baby John?"
I'm not sure I entirely agree. There's a limit, sure, on how...puny they should look, but that scene that takes place before Krupke, with A-Rab and Baby John...they're scared...the Jets have gotten in way too over their heads, I don't see them as this ultimate, tough NYC gang...unless you could somehow accomplish both, make them look all tough and **** in the beginning, and then make them look completely softened after the Rumble...which I guess is how it should be. But, I really can't envision them looking like a typical NYC gang--could you imagine them singing Krupke?
And while I agree that it's unlikely to find true triple threat teens, I do hope there's a limit--maybe performers in their high 20's, not high 30's.
And if Maria isn't going to be ethnically appropriate, please have the actress not use a stupid accent like Natalie Wood did in the movie.
But, I've always felt the two most important characters, and the one who's casting we should be most concerned about is Riff and Anita. I'll be very interested to see who's casted as Riff...and Bernardo, for that matter. Bernardo doesn't really sing, he just has to be a great actor and fantastic dancer. So that will be interesting.
Well, what about Baby John? Isn't there a reason he's called "Baby John?"
I'm not sure I entirely agree. There's a limit, sure, on how...puny they should look, but that scene that takes place before Krupke, with A-Rab and Baby John...they're scared...the Jets have gotten in way too over their heads, I don't see them as this ultimate, tough NYC gang...unless you could somehow accomplish both, make them look all tough and **** in the beginning, and then make them look completely softened after the Rumble...which I guess is how it should be. But, I really can't envision them looking like a typical NYC gang--could you imagine them singing Krupke?
And while I agree that it's unlikely to find true triple threat teens, I do hope there's a limit--maybe performers in their high 20's, not high 30's.
And if Maria isn't going to be ethnically appropriate, please have the actress not use a stupid accent like Natalie Wood did in the movie.
But, I've always felt the two most important characters, and the one who's casting we should be most concerned about is Riff and Anita. I'll be very interested to see who's casted as Riff...and Bernardo, for that matter. Bernardo doesn't really sing, he just has to be a great actor and fantastic dancer. So that will be interesting.
"If there was a Mount Rushmore for Broadway scores, "West Side Story" would be front and center. It snaps, it crackles it pops! It surges with a roar, its energy and sheer life undiminished by the years" - NYPost reviewer Elisabeth Vincentelli
