West Side Story revival?

[jpiedrafite]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/west-side-story-broadway-revival-cast-unveiled-1223044

Casting article is back up. Previews start on 12/10 at the Broadway.

[LuPita2]

Wow. 23 Broadway debuts. This is either going to be amazing or absolutely terrible. Interesting that the actors' playing Bernardo and Anita were both in Carousel last year.  

[VotePeron]

Ahmad Simmons leaving Hadestown must've been a tough move. He has guaranteed work in Hadestown for as long as he'd want, but a speaking/featured role in WSS is definitely a good move for the resume. Good for him, and the entire cast. This show is going to be wild.

[QueenAlice]

ACL2006 said: "If this is going into the Broadway with no names, it won't last longer than 6-9 months."

When has there ever been a stage production of West Side Story that cast bankable names in it? 

 

[Fetus]

Amar Ramasar is a stain on an otherwise exciting cast of new talent. A poor actor with a disgusting past.

[IdinaBellFoster]

They had my attention at Isaac Powell.

[FlyHigh523]

Fetus said: "Amar Ramasar is a stain on an otherwiseexciting cast of new talent. A poor actor with a disgusting past."

Absolutely agreed. Such a shame.

[InTheBathroom1]

I thought Isaac was the weak link in Once On This Island so I’m not really feeling too excited by this.

[Mike Barrett]

Someone mind brushing me up on the history of Amar? Otherwise, I’m thrilled this will be my first cast for a professional production of West Side Story

[joevitus]

Another male sent him naked pics of a female dancer (that she apparently had sent or at least let be taken). He sent back a topless pic of another female dancer (presumably gotten in similar circumstances. There was a third male dancer also trading such pics with them. One of the women found out and pressed for reprisal. He and the others were fired from their dance company for their actions, they in turn sued, and the decision was--as it was not a work-related incident--that while a suspension would have been acceptable, firing was unjust. He was reinstated in the company. Now he's doing Broadway, and the incident is shadowing him. 

[Sauja]

Mike Barrett said: "Someone mind brushing me up on the history of Amar? Otherwise, I’m thrilled this will be my first cast for a professional production of West Side Story"

Amar was fired by the NYC Ballet for harassing another dancer by sharing videos of her having sex with...him? Another dancer? I can't remember exactly who did what sharing and who was involved, but it was a really icky story that made him sound dreadful. I  don't love that he's included. But I'm especially baffled by his inclusion because he was TERRIBLE in Carousel. 

 

Morally repugnant AND a bad actor? What are you doing, Ivo?

[bwayphreak234]

InTheBathroom1 said: "I thought Isaac was the weak link in Once On This Island so I’m not really feeling too excited by this."

100% agreed. I just can't see him as Tony. The inclusion of Amar in the cast is baffling considering his past behavior and atrocious acting. I am fully expecting another self-indulgent and pretentious production from Ivo Van Hove for this. I hope I am wrong.

 

[ljay889]

^ I agree. I’m smelling a huge flop.

[joevitus]

Pics, not sex, and sharing a pic shared with you isn't harassment. It's cretinous behavior, but not harassment.  He's a jerk, not a predator. And the person allowed the pic (or even the video of sex, if you like) to be taken. Pro tip: don't do that if you don't trust the person who will have the image.

[LuPita2]

Morally repugnant AND a bad actor? What are you doing, Ivo?

I love that. Almost as much as seeing the posters here defending him for obvious reasons. But, that bro rape culture has to stick together!

[bwaylyric]

A bunch of who? who? and who?  I can't get excited about this one either.

I didn't find Isaac Powell convincing as TiMoune's love interest in OOTI.  I hope that changes with Maria.  

[joevitus]

Sharing a picture is rape? It's bad behavior, but rape????

I'm a gay man, not part of any bro culture. I have no idea how many people I've shared pics with. If they share those pics with others, that's more on me than on them. Personal responsibility isn't a trait just for others to adopt. It starts with the decisions we make ourselves.

[FlyHigh523]

joevitus said: "Pics, not sex, and sharing a pic shared with you isn't harassment. It's cretinous behavior, but not harassment. He's a jerk, not a predator. And the person allowed the pic (or even the video of sex, if you like) to be taken. Pro tip: don't do that if you don't trust the person who will havethe image."

If you don’t think that sharing a naked picture with another person constitutes as harassment, you’ve got a lot of soul searching to do, friend. It is absolutely harassment. I smell a lot of victim blaming here, but we won’t get into that. 

[AC126748]

Ramasar was awful in Carousel. Then he weaseled his way out of accountability for his bad actions on a technicality. This stinks any way you scratch it.

[Fetus]

joevitus said: "Pics, not sex, and sharing a pic shared with you isn't harassment. It's cretinous behavior, but not harassment. He's a jerk, not a predator. And the person allowed the pic (or even the video of sex, if you like) to be taken. Pro tip: don't do that if you don't trust the person who will havethe image."

This is victim shaming. Taking any focus away from how disgusting this action is and trying to pass it off on the victim who had their photos distributed without consent is just morally repugnant.

[natashalost]

Fetus said: "Amar Ramasar is a stain on an otherwise exciting cast of new talent. A poor actor with a disgusting past."
Couldn't have said it better myself.

I can think of at least twelve actors off the top of my head who would play this role better than Amar, so I can't even imagine the number of actors someone with the reach of Scott Rudin could find. It's absolutely baffling to me why they had him fill this role. There was nobody better? I don't believe it.

[\_(•_•)_/]

Really wanted to check this one out, but totally just lost all interest I had when reading Amar was cast. Wtf Rudin.

[dphibbs94]

I don't know why there are so many preconceived notions that this is going to be a bad production. When they announced it back in 2017 it was billed as a completely reimagined piece. Yes, the Broadway is huge, but maybe it's going to be that big of a production. No one knows anything about it and I don't think it's fair to just assume that it's going to be bad. 

[Call_me_jorge]

FlyHigh523 said: "joevitus said: "Pics, not sex, and sharing a pic shared with you isn't harassment. It's cretinous behavior, but not harassment. He's a jerk, not a predator. And the person allowed the pic (or even the video of sex, if you like) to be taken. Pro tip: don't do that if you don't trust the person who will havethe image."

If you don’t think that sharing a naked picture with another person constitutes as harassment, you’ve got a lot of soul searching to do, friend. It is absolutely harassment. I smell a lot of victim blaming here, but we won’t get into that."

 

[\_(•_•)_/]

The broadway has well over 1,000 seats. There are 23 broadway debuts. You do the math.