BLT III - clip from 1980 WEST SIDE STORY Revival

[rlbgbc]

Tivo'd BROADWAY'S LOST TREASURES III Sunday night. To me, the gem of that compilation is Allen doing "America" from the WSS revival in 1980. She was a lean, mean dancing machine back then, huh? I remember seeing that on the Tonys that year, and being completely blown away. Thanks, whoever you are, for digging that clip up.

[PalJoey]

I worked on that revival. While it wasn't perfect, there were certain moments that were astonishing, like Debbie and the girls in that number, the scherzo in the ballet and Josie De Guzman's acting in the final scene.

There's a lot of talent in that clip of the Shark girls: look for Yamil Borges singing the "lovely island" lyrics; Marlene Danielle, who went on to play in Cats for the entire run; and a very young Harolyn Blackwell, opera-star-to-be.

[rlbgbc]

I recognized Yamil and Marlene -- but I sure didn't notice Harolyn! Is she one of the dancing Shark girls? If so, I had no idea she had dancing chops, as well.

[PalJoey]

No, she's the singing Shark girl who stands by Yaya's side. Jerome Robbins kept complaining that her dress-swishing was stealing focus.

She was also the pit voice singing "Somewhere" during the ballet. Heavenly...

[South Fl Marc]

I thought Debbie Allens performance in WSS was incredible. Too bad she went from that to choreographing and acting in Fame the TV series. While Fame the movie was wonderful , the TV series became cheesy music videos with horrible choreograhy. Of course she topped that by setting a new level in bad dancing by doing the Acadamy Awards for a few years followed by her horrible work choreographing Carrie the Musical.

[magruder]

Allen was pretty great in the '86 Sweet Charity too. After that... el stinko.

[wildcat]

Debbie was extraordinary in that production of WSS. I thought it was the guys who let that production down, particularly Ken Marshall as Tony and James J. Mellon as Riff. Talk about bland.

[South Fl Marc]

I saw the show twice - someone took me the second time. Luckily , the understudy went on for Tony the second time I saw it and it made all the difference in the world. Unfortunately I can't remeber his name.

[midtowngym]

I saw that show last night and my jaw dropped. Debbie in her prime was good stuff.
Then Ethel Merman sang and i got goose pimples (and had to lower the volume!)

[magruder]

Stephen Bogardus was the understudy for Tony.

[wildcat]

And wasn't Brent Barrett in there somewhere?

[melissa errico fan]

Brent Barrett played Diesel. It was his Broadway debut.

I saw the 1980 revival. Debbie Allen was incredible. The revival itself....wasn't.

[magruder]

Yes. He was a Jet, and I think understudied someone else. I saw the production, remember liking it, but all I really remember was Debbie Allen.

[PalJoey]

Ah yes, but Hector Mercado as Bernardo was anything but bland!

And the two Tony understudies have gone on to distinguish themselves brilliantly: Steven Bogardus (pre-Falsettos) and Brent Barrett (pre-hunkiness).

One of the Shark boys was Michael De Lorenzo who went on to be a TV star.

We lost several of the Jet boys during the Awful Years, including the beautiful and talented Mark Fotopolous and the effervescent Reed Jones. Reed went on to create the role of Skimbleshanks in the Broadway Cats, and his memorial service--onstage at the Winter Garden--served as the inspiration for the memorial service in Paul Rudnick's Jeffrey.

[melissa errico fan]

Did Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio ever go on as Maria? I would have LOVED to have seen that!

[rlbgbc]

I think it's amazing that a Broadway production of WSS could be less-than-memorable. I'm not doubting anyone's opinions on here, but with that material, how could you go wrong? I guess you could if the wrong people were cast in some of the lead roles -- which is what it sounds like.

Incredible. With all the available talent in NYC, the casting folks couldn't find the right fit(s) for the roles? I guess it IS all in the casting...

[magruder]

It was one of a series of faithful revivals at the time. The score and choreography are of course, unimpeachable, but that production was perhaps a little too dutiful. It just felt a little stale, for some strange reason, but I was grateful to see it.

[melissa errico fan]

I think West Side Story is overdue for a revival. Laura Benanti has Maria written all over her.

ETA: Agreed, Magruder.

[magruder]

What about Marcy Harriell?

[melissa errico fan]

Marcy would make a fierce Anita.

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Question is, would Laura Benanti do WSS? I was shocked that she said she felt to old to do Wonderful Town, and Maria is supposed to be very young. I think she would be amazing as Maria. She has this ethereal voice that would be a perfect fit for the role.

[PalJoey]

Jerome Robbins had final say over the casting and--genius though he was--some of his ideas were peculiar, to say the least.

He wanted to the Jets to be "all-American," which ended up making them look like a midwestern Boy Scout troupe. (A gay midwestern boy scout troupe.) One of the Jets, the very clever Brian Kaman who played Baby John, made up a parody lyric that went "When you're a Jet, / You're a Jet all the way, / From your first pirouette / To your last grand jete."

Robbins and Bernstein fought over the casting. Laurents and Robbins fought over the acting. Sondheim paced. Peter Gennaro, Gerald Freedman, Lee Theodore and Tommy Abbott carried out Jerome Robbins's directions. Ruth Mitchell carried her stage manager's book from the 1957 production and would say to Debbie, Josie and Ken: "Chita, you move stage left. Carol, stage right. Larry, stay where you are."

One day Peter Gennaro actually brought Chita in to show Debbie how to do some of the flourishes he had forgotten. Chita remembered them ALL. By the end of the day, Chita and Debbie were dancing "America" together.

Me? I was someone in a tree. I saw EVERYTHING.

[magruder]

It would be nice to hear a Broadway Maria sing the hell out of the role. Carol Lawrence (who is LOVELY when you can watch her in that Sullivan Show segment), is still a little thin of voice on record. I don't remember Josie de Guzman well in the role, but on Carmelina (recorded a year or so before West Side Story), her voice is not as strong as it later became. I see that Julia Migenes did it at City Center in the early '60s, and THAT I would have liked to have heard.

[Hanna from Hamburg]

I would love to see Audra McDonald play Maria.

[magruder]

At 35, Audra is getting a little mature for Maria...

[best12bars]

PalJoey--thanks so much for sharing your stories! I felt like I was right there with you in that tree... I wish I could have seen Ms. Allen, Hector et al.

I did get to see Debbie in the Sweet Charity revival, and she was amazing there as well. By that point, she was "Miss Fame" and la Diva, so I went to the theatre expecting a somewhat compromised performance. I was very surprised that she could nail Charity as a character. I knew the hard edge would come easy for her, but I didn't guess the vulnerability and humor would shine through. Her acting was great, and her dancing was some of the best I'd seen on Broadway up to that point (which is saying a lot). She surprised me in the "Ragtime" movie as well a few years before that, in the minor role of Sarah. Very touching.

Careers and career choices are strange things when you look back on them!