West Side Story Revival Marquee-What are they thinking?- Page 2

[BJR]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 8:05am

I think this is some of the best marketing campaign art I've seen on Bway in ages.

Extremely contemporary and fresh, communicates this isn't your standard production, aggressive yet human, plaintive and sexy. 10/10.

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 8:30am

I’ve been loving their marketing. Like it or not, it’s putting us in the perfect headspace for the kind of production we can expect. Reflective of the diversity of what it means to actually be one vs. “other” in 2019, sparse visuals, the body in motion, stripped back instrumentals that blend with the sounds of the city, and an emphasis on what makes this story so specifically New York. It’s brilliant marketing that makes explicit that we will not be seeing West Side Story as we’re familiar with seeing it.

That said... the Broadway is a BARN and unless this sets critics on fire with praise, I really can’t see it filling seats. Fingers crossed I’m wrong.

[Pippin]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 8:49am

you Guys realize that, outside of broadway nerd circles, NO ONE knows who Ramasar is....... like NO ONE.

And if they hear of the disgusting ways he’s handled himself, they will most likely have already bought their tickets. They won’t care.

I agree that it’s not a good look if this production is trying to prove how woke they are, but that’s their issue and all will come out in the wash.

his casting will not affect the box office whatsoever.

[Will3700]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 9:04am

I love West Side Story and loved the last revival but I will not see this one with Ramasar in it.

[chewy5000]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 9:11am

Pippin said: "his casting will not affect the box office whatsoever."

 

So why cast him?

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 9:13am

What Pippin said. This has not permeated the public consciousness and it won’t. Nobody in this cast is selling a ticket, the box office will rely on the title, the production, and the reviews. 

Also, I’m in no way saying that what he did is ok, but on a “bad man scale” of Tom Schumacher (1) to Harvey Weinstein (10), he’s maybe a 2. (At least based on what was revealed in the NYT.)

Updated On: 8/23/19 at 09:13 AM

[little_sally]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 9:19am

Sorry, I think the marketing for this has been so boring. Looks like a Gap ad.

[YvanEhtNioj]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 11:22am

I like the marketing, it's fresh. I want the show to be fun and loud, but I dont wanna see the same WSS we've all seen 90 million times. 

And I agree with the above- outside of the Broadway community, no one knows or cares who Amar is. People who dont even know much about musical theatre, but love WSS will go see it regardless. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 11:27am

I think the art looks like a poster for a movie and not a Broadway show.

[DoTheDood]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 12:01pm

People outside the Broadway community will probably not care about Amar, very true, but I don't think people will then flock to this re-imagining of a classic. Like with the current OK!, they will want to see the WSS they know and love, which this will be very different from. Maybe it could get people in seats if it gets great press and wins awards like OK!, but this season is hot with revivals (Company and Caroline), so it's going to be hard for this to be a hit. The Amar backlash is just another set back this show probably doesn't need.

[YvanEhtNioj]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 12:07pm

Yeah, that's true. Now I'm having horrible flashbacks to all the old white women complaining during "Oklahoma!"..the horror..the horror. 

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 12:14pm

It looks like the cover art you'd see on one of those generic studio recordings of the score that you'd find in a bargain bin. 

[zainmax]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 12:15pm

little_sally said: "Sorry, I think the marketing for this has been so boring. Looks like a Gap ad."

100%

[joevitus]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 12:29pm

DoTheDood said: "People outside the Broadway community will probably not care about Amar, very true, but I don't think people will then flock to this re-imagining of a classic. Like with the current OK!, they will want to see the WSS they know and love, which this will be very different from. Maybe it could get people in seats if it gets great press and wins awards like OK!, but this season is hot with revivals (Company and Caroline), so it's going to be hard for this to be a hit. The Amar backlash is just another set back this show probably doesn't need."

Even most people inside the Broadway community won't care about Amar. It's a non-issue except for a few people with very intense feelings on the subject. If the current Oklahoma! is your idea of a comparison, then this show will do very well and be embraced by people who never gave it a shot before.

I don't expect the revival to do well, not because of Amar or the poster (which if fine, but no more than that). It won't do well because it's West Side Story, and West Side Story has never done well, except as a film. The original production closed when the national tour started; it lost money. Revivals haven't done well. There was a revival in--what, the 00's?--that didn't do well. It will win a Tony for Best Revival, die-hard fans of the show will collect another cast album, and it will close within a year.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 12:33pm

It's interesting but forgettable. And very millennial.

[FANtomFollies]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 12:35pm

I'm hoping (really counting on) this revival being ground breaking in some way that we don't know about yet. Ivo productions seem to always be 'radical' in one way or another, and I think this will be no exception. 

[DoTheDood]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 12:43pm

joevitus said: "Even most people inside the Broadway community won't care about Amar. It's a non-issue except for a few people with very intense feelings on the subject."

I'm not really sure about that. Every single time I've heard about this show being brought up after the cast went up, they have mentioned how disgusting Amar is. There are probably people here who don't care, but I can say a lot of people are still avoiding this production. Now what I am questioning is if that's going to be just a drop in the bucket and the show will do fine regardless of Amar, or if this already starts bad word of mouth before even previews start. Then again,

"It won't do well because it's West Side Story, and West Side Story has never done well"

That is true. If this production does fail, it could easily just be because it is West Side Story, not anything to do with Amar. We will just have to wait for February to find out. 

[kdogg36]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 1:07pm

EllieRose2 said: "Actually he was not, kdogg. I recall many posts being deleted within a few hours due to violating the standard rules."

Well, that's certainly possible - I probably wouldn't have seen those posts. I think my evaluation is fair based on the visible posts, but I acknowledge I may not have the whole story.

[joevitus]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 1:10pm

kdogg36 said: "EllieRose2 said: "Actually he was not, kdogg. I recall many posts being deleted within a few hours due to violating the standard rules."

Well, that's certainly possible - I probably wouldn't have seen those posts. I think my evaluation is fair based on the visible posts, but I acknowledge I may not have the whole story."

I appreciate your comments. Obviously if attacks on me were still up, and no attacks from me are there, reason says I never wrote any--because wouldn't both be in violation of the rules? So if attacks were left up, likely all you see is all that was there (I never noticed a comment of mine removed). 

They attacked me, I only stated my position (which really wasn't a defense of him--I called him a creep repeatedly). I never insulted anyone.

But notice that a thread has now been hijacked for political purposes. And my name was dragged in insultingly for no reason. I've contacted the mods over those comments.

Updated On: 8/23/19 at 01:10 PM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 1:20pm

joevitus said:  “Revivals  haven't done well. There was a revival in--what, the 00's?--that didn't do well. It will win a Tony for Best Revival, die-hard fans of the show will collect another cast album, and it will close within a year."

The most recent revival at the Palace did well in that recouped and had a successful national tour.

 

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 1:22pm

joevitus said: "I don't expect the revival to do well, not because of Amar or the poster (which if fine, but no more than that). It won't do well because it's West Side Story, and West Side Story has never donewell, except as a film. The original production closed when the nationaltour started; it lost money. Revivals haven't done well. There was a revival in--what, the 00's?--that didn't do well. It will win a Tony for Best Revival, die-hard fans of the show will collect another cast album, and it will close within a year."

The last revival actually did quite well for a revival that opened with no mainstream stars. It ran for over a year and a half and spent a good number of weeks during its first year either near or well above the million dollar mark. The original production also ran for almost two years at a time when a show could easily open and close within nine months and still be considered a big success. 

[SisterGeorge]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 1:24pm

VotePeron said: "I love the key art and the marquee. We’ve had a zillion revivals of WSS, including one this century - why not be open to a fresh interpretation of it?"

i haven't seen the marquee, but i love how it works on their website.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 1:42pm

I think it looks minimalist and sharp, which is exactly what I was expecting. I like it, but the Broadway is not a great theatre choice for this.

[FANtomFollies]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 2:05pm

GeorgeandDot said: ".... the Broadway is not a great theatre choice for this."

How do we know this?

[YvanEhtNioj]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 2:12pm

Just took my lunch break and walked over to see it. In person, it's not hard to read the wording. It looks very dynamic and bold.