WEST SIDE STORY (2019 Revival) Preview Thread

[JBC3]

In your dreams.

[ModernMillie3]

Playbill

[GeorgeandDot]

Not thrilled about the original choreography being reinstated. Big yawn. Those dances are super stale, I don't care how many feudal theatre queens tell me otherwise.

[Sauja]

I really believe that if Danel Fish's Oklahoma had opened on Broadway cold, it would have been decimated on the boards. I'm very interested to see what Ivo does. He's a director whose work I often love (View from the Bridge, Little Foxes, Crucible) but have utterly despised (Angels in America, All about Eve). What I truly worry about is that audiences will rebel, producers will force more traditional choices, and by the time it opens, this could be in no man's land stuck between what was intended and what is safe.

 

I sincerely hope no Robbins choreography is added back in. That work is 62 years old, is captured on film, and was recreated on Broadway less than ten years ago. Let someone else's work have a chance.Good or bad, let's see something NEW.

[QueenAlice]

I think the gossip column bate is likely far-fetched. I find it hard to believe after months of development and workshops and rehearsals, Scott Rudin is simply going to dump Ivo Van Hove's concept and his team and reinstate the Jerome Robbins vision for the work before there has even been one preview.   At least I hope its far fetched. I was looking forward to seeing new and different.

 And I agree about OKLAHOMA. Daniel Fish's OKLAHOMA had years of development and shocking purists before it made it to Broadway. Maybe this WEST SIDE should have started in Europe.

[BJR]

Again, they built in 2 months of previews. That tells me they all were prepared to have a lot of work to do.

Whether it was Rudin building insurance to move things more traditionally or Ivo knowing he needed weeks of time shaping it with full tech, they built it in.

[JBroadway]

For the record:

Van Hove has revealed in past interviews that, as much as he can, he rehearses his productions in chronological order of the text. He has the actors come to the first rehearsal already off-book, and then he starts with the first scene and so on. And he times it in such a way that he does not stage the ending or run the show until right before performances begin. And then he uses previews to really work the show, and allow the actors to get into the rhythm of it. That’s likely why the preview period is so long.

[Mercades]

I don’t believe that they are reinstating the original choreography. I think they attempting to make the choreography support the Text and story in a non laughable way. There were LAUGH OUT LOUD moments.

It was a dance concert of some contemporary student that was making a dance to make a dance. No reason or story behind anything . No focus .

[BroadwayBaby6]

I am breathlessly awaiting the reports. I'm NOT a big fan of Van Der Hove but you never know.

 

[Boq101]

I know revivals are all about reimagining things and I get that but if the shows you're trying to create has nothing to do with the show you want to revive then why not just make a new show? There's a post-racial context I'm feeling here which confuses me. As a Hispanic person, this show has always been about race. It was always been about tensions between the Latin and white communities in new york. I can see if this is being ignored why you'd need to gut the book. So what is the show about now? Just two gangs, one of which is Puerto Rican and one which is everyone else? I'm honestly just confused. 

[JBroadway]

Boq101

The fact that you haven’t seen the production yet is probably contributing to your confusion.

[Boq101]

JBroadway said: "Boq101

The fact that you haven’t seen the production yet is probably contributing to your confusion."

 

Right, but I know the show. I'm just trying to figure out what the old european white guy needs to tell me about racism that I don't already know. But sure, be rude. 

 

[JSquared2]

Boq101 said: "JBroadway said: "Boq101

The fact that you haven’t seen the production yet is probably contributing to your confusion."



Right, but I know the show. I'm just trying to figure out what the old european white guy needs to tell me about racism that I don't already know. 

I think you just answered your own question...

 

[bk]

Yes, lots of jumping to conclusions based on WHAT exactly? Has anyone connected to the production categorically stated that Mr. Robbins' choreography is being reinstated, because I have seen nothing that stated that. Do link me to something definitive, won't you?

[Call_me_jorge]

I believe it was an NPR interview where I heard Rudin say Van Hove doesn’t let producers of his shows into his rehearsals, so Rudin can only hear how a show is through his associates and when the preview happens. I really can’t see Rudin firing Van Hove. This interview was taken around 2017, I believe, so things may have changed. But I thought it was interesting how Van Hove liked to keep his shows under wraps. Even from his bosses.

[PalJoey]

Their mistake was thinking that the Jerry Robbins choreography was just some dances someone came up with. How could they NOT have understood that Jerry Robbins was more than a choreographer in this particular case. He was one of the AUTHORS of West Side Story and his movement is every bit as integral IN THIS CASE as the words and music.

Also stupid was not understanding that the collaboration between Bernstein and Robbins on this particular show is one of the great achievements of twentieth-century American theater.

[joevitus]

Oh, the hubris!

I'm being sarcastic. Yes, the dance music was written to Robbins' choreography, but to say he was one of the authors is a bit like saying Michael Bennett was one of the authors of Follies. You can do WSS without using Robbins' choreography. Not saying it will be as good, but the show can easily be done without it. 

I still don't get why people are so up in arms about one single production. You can watch the movie. You probably saw the last revival. You'll probably see the next. This one incarnation choosing to be different doesn't banish any of the traditional stuff from the work forever.

[Play Esq.]

^^^

I really couldn’t agree more. I’ve seen quite wonderful revivals of WSS, the most recent at the Lyric in Chicago, and I enjoyed them all throughly.

With that said, I’ve never been so excited to see a WSS as I am with this production.

[everythingtaboo]

joevitus said: "Oh, the hubris!

I'm being sarcastic. Yes, the dance music was written to Robbins' choreography, but to say he was one of the authors is a bit like saying Michael Bennett was one of the authors of Follies. You can do WSS without using Robbins' choreography. Not saying it will be as good, but the show can easily be done without it.

I still don't get why people are so up in arms about one single production. You can watch the movie. You probably saw the last revival. You'll probably see the next. This one incarnation choosing to be different doesn't banish any of the traditional stuff from the work forever."

My main concern is not for us regular Broadway theatregoers/followers, but for the folks that are buying tons of tickets (individuals, groups) to this in advance of hearing all these changes, and likely still don't have an idea these changes are happening. Like it or not, there's a certain expectation among "civilians" of a revival having most of the key ingredients that make the show so adored. And when they're met with something else, you can hope they love it - but then you end up like with Oklahoma! where have the audience loves it (including me) and the other half is furious (like almost everyone over 60 I know). 

[Luminaire2]

First preview is today. So here’s a New York Post article from today, with words from the Ballet dancer at the forefront of what Amar and his colleagues did to women in their company.

https://nypost.com/2019/12/10/city-ballerina-alexandra-waterbury-blasts-amar-ramasars-west-side-story-debut/amp/

Happy first preview.

[Dublin2]

[Dublin2]

[laurensambrose]

That merch looks incredibly cheaply made. 

[Globefan]

PalJoey said: "Their mistake was thinking that the Jerry Robbins choreography was just some dances someone came up with. How could they NOT have understood that Jerry Robbins was more than a choreographer in this particular case. He was one of the AUTHORS of West Side Story and his movement is every bit as integral IN THIS CASE as the words and music.

Also stupid was not understanding that the collaboration between Bernstein and Robbins on this particular show is one of the great achievements of twentieth-century American theater."

Jerry Robbins came up with the original concept in 1947! 

[uncageg]

laurensambrose said: "That merch looks incredibly cheaply made."

 

Really?! I think it is pretty hard to tell that just from a pic! I actually like the design.