My Qualms With The WSS Revival

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 2:54am

I saw the last preview performance this evening (Wednesday March 18th) and I have to say I was disappointed. I figured I'd sum up my thoughts in a list format as I'm horrible at writing a review.

Complaints:

1. The Set. Awful. Laurents has been quoted saying he wanted to the show to have a darker, grittier feeling. Well, the first problem was the set. If you're trying to go for gritty realism, don't choose to do such a forced perspective. It works for shows like Legally Blonde, Hairspray, and All Shook Up because they were sort of whimsical and fun, but they absolutely do not work for this show. The Palace stage is quite large, and the sets were so dinky and purposeless. I mean, did we really need a door in Maria's room? Or did her room have to be at such a straight angle?

2. Casting. The casting is all wrong. Cavanaugh wasn't awful - his acting was pretty alright, but his vocals and "accent" are all wrong. I don't know if he's putting on an accent, or if he's got a stage voice, but he needs to drop it. It makes him sound way older than he probably is. Also, his vibrato is out of control. He sounded pretty on his falsetto notes, but when Tony and Maria sang together it just wasn't beautiful music. Cody Green was pretty awful as Riff in the acting department. I didn't any shred of "friendship" between him and Cavanaugh, so the fact that Tony would stab Riff's slayer just didn't seem justified. I can see why Green was cast - he's a great dancer - but his "Cool" was all wrong. He just get motioning the same gesture with his hands for a good 5 minutes. The rest of the cast was serviceable, or good. The two leading ladies were by far the standouts. Anita, of course, was wonderful. She just brought so much energy and passion to each scene. And Maria was pretty great - especially in her heavier acting scenes.

3. The direction. I just don't get the spanish. I mean, I understand why Laurents chose to do it, but I don't think it worked at all. Everyone around me was confused, and the scenes/songs didn't provoke much of a response. If you're going to have an extended scene done in a different dialect that 95% of the audience can't totally understand, then the actions the actors are doing - the blocking, their body language - should convey the scene. But most of the time the actors were just standing there, or sitting on a bed. It was just boring. I really want to hear "A Boy Like That" sung by Karen Olivio in English. She was giving it her all, but I had no clue what she was saying, so it didn't move me at all. Also, and this is a small qualm, but I hated that the police officer just entered Maria's apartment like that. Considering they are in her room, which must be up a few flights of stairs, it just doesn't make sense to me. One, why would this police officer just open a door and wander through Maria's apartment to get to her room. Wouldn't he knock? And two, why aren't Maria and/or Anita the least bit concerned that he just wandered through the apartment and randomly showed up in her room unannounced.

4. The Costumes. For the most part I thought the women's costumes were pretty spot on - they looked great and fitted great. But the Tony's costumes were awful. I felt like Cavanaugh just wandered in off the street. His long t-shirt and jeans did not fit with the rest of the characters. It just felt too jarringly modern compared to Maria's costumes. I mean, I understand the whole Urban Outfitters meets 50s wear, but his just didn't seem to gel with everyone else.

This isn't a qualm, per say, but more of a question. When the guy (I can't think of his name) comes out at the end and shoots Tony, is it normally that abrupt? Like, it just didn't make sense to me. Don't you think that the guy would have been like "Hey, who is this girl here in my line of sight. Oh wait, I know her" and paused for a second? It just seemed so staged. I wish they had staged it to where he could see Tony, but the guy shooting couldn't see Maria, then I would have bought that whole scene.

The whole show just lacked an emotional impact to me. I mean, sure, the story is awesome, and the choreography and the music are kick ass, but that's a given. I would expect that from any production of the show I saw. But the rest of the elements tossed into the mix just made it dull and lifeless. I wanted to see sparks and excitement, but it was just so one note. Even Action got on my nerves after awhile. Towards the end of the show I was more interested in Anybodys than any of the main characters.

That said. I think the Palace theater is gorgeous. It's so huge and vast and I wish they had extended the sets all the way up to the natural proscenium arch. It just would have made the show seem a lot bigger than it was. The show, in scale, was pretty tiny. Minimal sets, and lighting.

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 7:16am

"The guy"'s name is Chino, and that scene has been staged that way since the beginning of time.

[Tom's Cat]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 8:31am

Unfortunately your disbelief in the cops just walking into Maria's apartment/room without knocking is a sign of your youth. That wouldn't have been at all unusual in those days.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 9:11am

I agree with most of your thoughts. They should have gotten rid of Green and Cavenaugh out of town.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 9:19am

There was no response to the scenes in Spanish? Every time I've seen it, Me Siento Hermosa has received the biggest applause of any number. I find it hard to believe the one night you went, the audience had a polar opposite reaction.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 11:58am

I found when I went the songs in Spanish gave the elderly folks around me, who didn't understand Spanish, a time to discuss the show. The biggest applause if the night came during AMERICA.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 2:47pm

Yeah, "America" got a huge round of applause, and the show has a whole got a tepid response at the curtain call. It looked like the orchestra stood up, and a few people in the mezz, but for the most part, everyone stayed seated. It just wasn't an electric show where you feel the need to stand up as soon as the curtain goes down.

And, what about the cop? So people "back in the day" just let people wander through their houses? Please enlighten me.

[CSonBroadway]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 3:04pm

This show will obviously run for a long time...so the show might be 100 times better once there are replacements.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 3:47pm

Oh, the show will run for a long time on name recognition alone even if the critics pan it.
At the performance I was at the audience sort of didn't know when to applaud. Without the Procession the show seems to have no wrap up emotionally. It kind of ends with much of the audience ( myself included) going, huh? There was little standing during the curtain call (except for those who wanted to be the first out of the theatre.
There is just no emotion in the whole revival (except for maybe the rape scene) but that is too little too late.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 4:18pm

The show got very tepid response from the audience when I went as well. 50-60% of the theater gave a standing ovation (does a standing O really even mean anything anymore?) and the applause wasn't roaring or even particularly enthusiastic at the bows. The loudest time they applauded throughout the entire evening was at Karen Olivo's curtain call.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 4:33pm

"And, what about the cop? So people "back in the day" just let people wander through their houses? Please enlighten me."

As far as the officer is concerned she doesn't deserve his respect. She's just another immigrant dirtying up his city. What does he care if he's infringing on her rights? She's not an American citizen.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 4:48pm

And, what about the cop? So people "back in the day" just let people wander through their houses? Please enlighten me.

A Puerto Rican family and a white New York cop in the 50s? Probably, yes.

Updated On: 3/19/09 at 04:48 PM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 5:41pm

No, I mean, I totally understand it from the cops angle, but - at least the performance I saw - Maria and Anita didn't seem the least bit concerned. I mean, I guess it can be said that they were wrapped up emotionally in their own problems, but still.

[Amaranth9]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 5:49pm

Eris0303, I agree that was probably the sentiment from the cop's point of view, but just to clarify, Puerto Ricans have been American citizens since 1917 through the Jones Act.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 5:58pm

Rentboy, then your qualms are with the show itself, because it's always been done like that.

[BNN]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 6:03pm

>>She was giving it her all, but I had no clue what she was saying, so it didn't move me at all.<<

I would just like to point out, and I'm not targeting the original poster, they just happened to put into words something I love about the Spanish language being put in West Side Story. Isn't the fact that the Sharks are new and different something that makes the Jets not like them? Aren't they ignorant of the Sharks and their feelings because most of the time they quite literally can't understand them/their language/their culture? That is why I think I Have a Love belongs in English, it shows how serious Maria is number one, and shows that she has transcended the language/culture/xenophobic barrier and fallen in love with someone she might not normally understand by giving him a chance, and finding that she has fallen in love. This is even apparent in Officer Krupke, the Jets families may not understand them, and vice versa, so they completely tune out and begin to hate/discriminate against them. I personally think its a brilliant idea, but feel free to disagree.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 6:49pm

According to Laurents theory, except during AMERICA, which should be half/English Half Spanish. whenever the Sharks are alone onstage they should be speaking and singing in Spanish.
But the theory doesn't really work anyway.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 3/19/09 at 6:55pm

I guess that's what happens when you make a creative decision based on your belief that the ghost of your boyfriend wrote spanish words in a book you found.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 4:22pm

According to Laurents theory, whenever the Sharks are alone onstage they should be speaking and singing in Spanish.
But the theory doesn't really work

Agreed. I saw the show at last Wednesday's matinee, and until now tried to avoid reading everyone's comments so I could keep an open mind. We also have had a first rate 5-star production of WSS on stage here in Ontario at the Stratford Festival (until Nov 8 ) that will remain the benchmark by which I will judge all future productions.

Here's my thoughts....

1. Karen Olivio was out. (Is she still with the production? When did she last appear?)At this performance Natalie Cortez joins the company, and gave a fine performance overall, although "America" did not really galvanize the audience as it should have.

2. Wes Hart was on as Riff. He was VERY very good.

3. Spanish. I don't speak Spanish. I do know the stage script very very well, and yet even knowing what was going on I found the extended Spanish dialogue scenes very distracting. It added nothing to the proceedings.

4. Changes to text. In the 3rd scene (Anita and Maria arguing about Maria's dress) Maria is already wearing teh dress. WHY? The script calls for her to complain about it until she tries it on and sees her refection in the mirror. Here, her sudden change of heart makes little sense. It's minor but still irritating as I can see no reason for the change.

5. Matt Cavenaugh - I think I understand why some people have reservations about his voice. There is a nasal quality that is not easy on the ears. But, his top notes were certainly there. The staging of "Maria" was static. (Stratford got this right having Tony roam around the stage repeating "Maria" and it communicated his sudden overwhelming feelings very effectively. But I am trying so hard not to compare the two.) I very much liked Josefina and felt the two had very good chemistry.

6. Tech problem. Sound cues throughout the first act until "Tonight" seemed off. After the scene the show was paused for 5 minutes then resumed. Sound was better but still off at times. (My friend was told at intermission that the computer running the sound had a malfunction just as the show started.) Act Two went better.

7. The Rumble. WHY is there a fence downstage? VERY distracting. Also the choreography seemed too planned and not spontaneous which robbed the scene of its electricity.

8. Ballet. Whose boneheaded idea was it to cut the nightmare section? Not only does it rob the ending of the section of its power it undercuts the "dance in the sunlight" segment that comes before the vocal. AND the boy soprano is a great idea that ultimately adds nothing. (Has anyone thought of borrowing from the film and allowing Tony and Maria to sing the song to each other? I'm not sure how well it would work but would love to see someone at least try it.)

9. A Boy Like That - If any number needs to be in English it is this one. It's not just the text, it is the sound of the English lyrics as they mesh. I had hoped this would be one of the segments reverted to English by the time I saw the show.

10. Final scene. I know logically the police would NEVER allow the gang members to carry Tony's body off but there is also dramatic logic and the punch of that final exit with the rival gangs finally coming together is lost.

11. Direction. My feeling is that Laurents was the wrong choice to direct this production. He obviously has no perspective on the piece and the changes he incorporated did not enhance the show and in some cases seriously undermined it.

12. Design. If this were a National tour I could have perhaps tolerated the flimsy looking sets, but they look cheap and unattractive. The costumes (especially the gangs) were wrong for the period. Late 1950s? Blue jeans and white T-shirts. (Black for the PR's) And Tony should not be in boxer briefs! The lighting was all right but could have been better.


The show still packs a punch and the score only gets better with time, but these minor details get in the way of this becoming the definitive WEST SIDE STORY for our time.

It was interesting seeing both WSS and HAIR the same day. WSS is the stronger show, but is let down by a problematic production. HAIR has a weaker script but is offset by a really well thought out staging.

Updated On: 10/7/09 at 04:22 PM

[blaxx]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 4:39pm

Whose boneheaded idea was it to cut the nightmare section?

Take a guess! C'mon!

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 4:40pm

Has anyone thought of borrowing from the film and allowing Tony and Maria to sing the song to each other? I'm not sure how well it would work but would love to see someone at least try it.

I'm sure people have. I'm sure it's illegal.

Laurents was the wrong choice to direct this production.

Unfortunately, the whole production was Laurents's idea, so there was never a choice at all.

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 4:45pm

Karen Olivo was sick this weekend.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 4:53pm

Hasn't she been "sick" a lot?

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 5:12pm

Has anyone thought of borrowing from the film and allowing Tony and Maria to sing the song to each other? I'm not sure how well it would work but would love to see someone at least try it.

I'm sure people have. I'm sure it's illegal.

I'm not so sure. As long as no actual dialogue is lifted from Lehman's script, there is nothing to stop a director (In this case also the author) from re-assigning the vocal.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 10/7/09 at 5:15pm

Hasn't she been "sick" a lot?

That's what I was thinking and others I talked to in New York told me she has missed a lot of performances. Anyone know what is going on there?