West Side Story Revival Details

[SamanthaP]

Hi!! I know there’s another thread on this but I wanted to make a new one. Do you think the new West Side Story revival will be partially in Spanish? Also, is it true that I Feel Pretty will be cut and there will be no intermission? Thanks!!!!

[YvanEhtNioj]

I wish we knew more but I think everything is pretty much anyone’s guess at this point.

[JBC3]

SamanthaP said: "Hi!! I know there’s another thread on this but I wanted to make a new one. "

Because doing so accomplishes what exactly?

[SouthernCakes]

No one will know anything until rehearsal have started

[qolbinau]

My prediction is that they will have some Spanish flair in the language such as spoken language or the occasional verse - kind of like the democratic primary debates lol - but they won’t revert to full songs. They don’t want to lose the audience, and they tried it last time and if I recall correctly reverted back for this reason.

My other prediction is that there is a 0% chance that I Feel Pretty will be cut. The producers want to make money, and you don’t do that by throwing out one of the most iconic songs that the audience will enjoy - even if Sondheim is cringing from the side.

[GeorgeandDot]

Heard there's rain, video, and I Feel Pretty is cut.

[JSquared2]

The only thing that we can learn from this unnecessary thread is that nobody knows anything at this point.

[Call_me_jorge]

GeorgeandDot said: "Heard there's rain, video, and I Feel Pretty is cut."

Even if that’s what you heard.... all of this can change during previews. Don’t they have 8 weeks worth of previews? 

[nasty_khakis]

Someone I talked to in the cast had his first fitting this week and said both his normal role and the role he understudies have costumes with "no specific time period" so...the normal van Hove thing. He said he's heard nothing about concept/sets/rain/etc.

[Miles2Go2]

I found out there’s a chance that I’ll be in town the first week of previews so was looking at availability and it appears to be almost completely sold out except for three premium seats on the 12th and 13th. Unless I’m looking wrong. I know it’s a beloved property, but I was surprised that it’s selling this well during previews as most revivals seems to have a little more trouble attracting an audience unless they star someone akin to Bette or Hugh.

Update: Looks like the 12th is completely sold out now too. 

[ModernMillie3]

Details? It's selling horrible, Amar has impacted sales very negatively, their online presence is a disaster and will close in 6 months. There ya go. 

[ljay889]

I wouldn’t even give it 6 months.

[Miles2Go2]

ljay889 said: "I wouldn’t even give it 6 months. "

Most revivals don’t run that long (Kiss Me, Kate) or else run with low box office numbers (Once On This Island, Oklahoma!). Even Dolly only did phenomenal box office when Bette was in the show. Which is why I’m surprised that WSS is selling so well right out of the gate. 

[GreasedLightning]

ModernMillie3 said: "Details? It's selling horrible, Amar has impacted sales very negatively, their online presence is a disaster and will close in 6 months. There ya go."

Has he, though? Outside of the theater and arts community, do ticket buyers really know who he is? I’d agree that I give this production 6 months (or less) but I wouldn’t entirely blame it on Amar (and this is coming from someone who absolutely can’t stand him or his casting in this). 

As for the “selling well” argument, I’m sure hundreds (and I mean hundreds) of seats are being held back in that behemoth of a house. I say check back in a few weeks closer to the performance and I bet there will be availability. 

[Miles2Go2]

GreasedLightning said: "ModernMillie3 said: "Details? It's selling horrible, Amar has impacted sales very negatively, their online presence is a disaster and will close in 6 months. There ya go."

Has he, though? Outside of thetheater and arts community, do ticket buyers really know who he is? I’d agree that I give this production 6 months (or less) but I wouldn’t entirely blame it on Amar (and this is coming from someone who absolutely can’t stand him or his casting in this).

As for the “selling well” argument, I’m sure hundreds (and I meanhundreds) of seats are being held back in that behemoth of a house. I say check back in a few weeks closer to the performance and I bet there will be availability."

I actually had forgotten he was in this. I certainly gives me pause, but I’ll probably still try to see it. And thanks for the advice. I’ll keep checking. I do agree that the majority of people who are buying and will buy tickets for this have no idea who he is. This story didn’t reverberate much outside of  the ballet/theater community, at least not enough to register in the general theater goers mind. I had actually forgotten the offenders’ names.  

[JBroadway]

The suggestion that Ramasar’s casting has had any noticeable effect on ticket sales is borderline delusional. The average ticket-buyer has absolutely no idea who who is, or that this scandal even happened.

[FANtomFollies]

If I didn't frequent BWW forums I would never have heard of Amar.

[ColorTheHours048]

There will be video. Equity had to issue contracts to onstage camera ops because they’re onstage so often, they’re deemed performers.

[JBroadway]

ColorTheHours048 said: “ Equity had to issue contracts to onstage camera ops because they’re onstage so often, they’re deemed performers."

 

Thats very interesting. Is that common? I’ve seen other shows with onstage camera ops (including several other Van Hove shows) but never bothered to check what kind of contract they were on.

I know crew members are allowed to go onstage to move sets and such, so is there some sort of time limit to how long a crew member can be onstage before they have to be given a performer contract? What about shows where the band is onstage? They aren’t given actor contracts, are they? 

 

[Call_me_jorge]

JBroadway said: "ColorTheHours048 said: “Equity had to issue contracts to onstage camera ops because they’re onstage so often, they’re deemed performers."



Thats very interesting. Is that common? I’ve seen other shows with onstage camera ops (including several other Van Hove shows) but never bothered to check what kind of contract they were on.

I know crew members are allowed to go onstage to move sets and such, so is there some sort of time limit to how long a crew member can be onstage before they have to be given a performer contract? What about shows where the band is onstage? They aren’t given actor contracts, are they?

"

If I recall, Network had the same thing. It’s probably due to how much choreography that the camera operators have to learn. Band members on stage just sit in one place.

[ModernMillie3]

I’d agree that I give this production 6 months (or less) but I wouldn’t entirely blame it on Amar (and this is coming from someone who absolutely can’t stand him or his casting in this). 

No, I am not entirely blaming it on him. I think it's a whole lot of things. The secrecy behind the entire show, the lack of awareness of the production's part in thinking anyone would care about his casting, the fact that all the ads/commercials have only males in it (despite the fact that there are many women in the cast), the fact that most of the comments on social media are about him and no one from the production has ever said a thing, the very bizarre choreography that has been show so far, no stars are attached, and the list goes on and on. A lot of people have voiced the opinion that this will be a flop and close quickly. I just think it's so many things. 

Which is why I’m surprised that WSS is selling so well right out of the gate.

Except it's not. Tickets have been on sale since June, and after December it's not selling all that well. But, I imagine time will tell.

[bwaylyric]

I wonder if there will be protesters in front of the theatre

[Call_me_jorge]

I do not think there will be protesters, but I do think the industry might not view the production too fondly. I could see it being boycotted by certain members of the industry.

[msmp]

FANtomFollies said: "If I didn't frequent BWW forums I would never have heard of Amar."

I've seen quite a bit of (highly justified) brouhaha over Ramasar's casting on twitter, so I think it's safe to say that the audience who knows about it are either a) super-devoted theatregoers (people likely to post on the board, like us!), b) industry insiders who were around for the behavior in question, or c) young people on twitter who tend to latch on to scandal in the industry. Is it enough to tank the show? No. But in the #MeToo era, I don't think the "all publicity is good publicity" rule really still rings true. Like I said, it's not gonna kill the grosses, but it won't help much either.

[BJR]

Is every thread on this going to turn into an Amar thread? We get it, you're unhappy about it. Don't go.

I wondered about the sales being so strong early on and if they were indeed holding back tickets. I might want to catch a first preview of this one, just to see where this begins and where this lands.

They have 2 months (!) of previews, which says to me either they think they really need twice as much time to figure out this new interpretation (not implausible), or they want to take in as much as possible before reviews (ditto). Speaking practically, it's likely the former with the latter being a welcome bonus.