Broadway audiences just met a girl named Maria: The revival of West Side Story grossed over $1 million in its first week of preview performances. (The only show that grossed more that week was Wicked.) The bilingual revival, directed by the show’s librettist Arthur Laurents, opens March 19, and stars Matt Cavenaugh, Josefina Scaglione, Karen Olivo, Cody Green, and George Akram.
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I saw this revival of “West Side Story” on its last night in Washington, D.C. before moving on to Broadway. I understand that many improvements are made during a pre-Broadway tryout and during it’s B’way previews, but wow. It might have been the most spectacularly horrendous professional show I’ve ever seen. Josephina Scaglione as Maria, was delightful though, I will say. And I really enjoyed the parts translated into Spanish, as the Sharks really would have talked. But so much of the cast is AWFUL. “Tony” looks like a Boy Scout Leader, not a former gang member! I will say his voice is beautiful, but you don’t believe any of the conflict within him. The standout nightmare is “Riff”, a terrible actor and barely marginal singer.
I was also surprised to see that as a musical itself, “West Side Story” has MANY flaws that the film version fixed. “Gee, Officer Krupke” was wisely placed BEFORE the rumble in the film version. In the play, it’s AFTER the rumble, (to be continued)
and after their leader and so-called friend ’til the end, Riff dies. It’s ridiculous to have such a jovial, feel-good song placed there after the slayings. Also, in the stage version, “America” is sung by Anita and her girlfriends. In the film version, it’s sung between Anita and Bernardo, with their friends (Sharks and their girls) doing back-up dancing and singing. The film really had it right– without that number, you have very little time with Bernardo’s character. In the stage version, Bernardo has so little time, no song– it sets you up to care little when he dies at the end of Act I.
The “Somewhere” sequence in this revival might be the worst low. Tony and Maria holding hands and walking through a bare stage of the Sharks and Jets all playing, children all around. It was embarrassingly bad. And the end, when Maria weeps over Tony’s body, after claiming, “We all killed him!” — who’s we?? Director Laurents has hardly ANYONE onstage to witness this! In the film, and
stage versions I’ve previously seen, all of the Jets and Sharks come together, help carry Tony’s body out, Anybodies helps Anita (sick with what she was a part of a couple scenes earlier), a Jet covers Maria with her shawl… What used to be this bittersweet moment of clarity-come-too-late is now a what-was-the-point write-off?
Sorry I’ve written so much, other theatre lovers. But it really was terrible to brave the crowds on inaugural weekend in D.C., the bitingly cold weather, and pay $225 to see a poorly directed community theatre production masked as a “groundbreaking revival.” I hope it is massively re-worked during its time in previews, I really do. I was so excited when I heard about the prospect of a grittier, bi-lingual WSS. But it was a nightmare.
It would be a grave error to compare the original show to its cinematic namesake. Movies take a creative license that theater doesn’t allow.
I just saw the B’way revival of WSS and it is brilliantly revised. It dares to represent the purity of both hopelessly romantic love & the lethal impact of irrational hate.
The Spanish interpretation really adds dimension to the conflict. This is no easy feat as their no subtitles, just as in life.
The Somewhere segment is now an emotionally resonant beautiful ballet. It is the representation of how the world “should be” thru the naive escapist eyes of Maria and Tony. Remember, these are KIDS in love rationalizing murder.
Agreed, there are clear casting weaknesses in the show. However, for every casting weakness there is double the talent to cast your eye elsewhere.
The blunt trauma of the murders, sex assault, & racial hatred is not sanitized. In the end, everone is left raw, exposed, with blood on their hands. This ain’t Disney.
Matt Cavenaugh (along with some questionable directing)destroyed this beloved classic. The choreography was, however, impeccable, and were it not for that and the stellar performance of Josepfina Scaglione, I would have left long before intermission. Cavenaugh butchered the most passionate moments of the play. I’m sorry to say that I was relieved when he was shot at the final scene and sang no more. His rendition of “Maria” and “Tonight” was beyond dreadful. It would be a tragedy to let this timeless piece fold — but fold it no doubt will unless Cavenaugh is recast with a “Tony” who is authentic and passionate — a Tony who will join Maria to return the greatness of this classic masterpiece to Broadway!
After attending a performance of WSS on Bway last night, I was literally in shock. It was the worst professional production I’ve ever seen. The acting by the two gangs is atrocious. The energy was so low that I was actually bored by the phenomenal script. The dancing? Mediocre at best. Dancers were out of sync. They couldn’t even get the famous WSS snapping together. All of the leads except Anita have difficulty singing and acting. They carry a 2009 kind of swagger that doesn’t fit the piece. Even innocent Maria was kind of flippant. Shrank – not good.The two worst offenses were directorial blunders. Changing several scenes to Spanish for authenticity? OK, but entire songs!? So why would it switch back to English with only Sharks present? Finally, the famous ending where Maria now has hate and takes the gun is turned into a Dirty Harry moment where she actually grabs a jet from behind, caresses his face with the gun, then makes him kneel with the gun in the back of his head. Really Bad
Quelle Dommage is the only words to describe the revival of WSS. As a devoted fan of the show and movie I sat in horror as a masterpiece was destroyed. I didn’t mind the spanish additions but the acting was worse than high school performances. Anita had some moments and Maria had an ok voice but the acting truly atrocious! Look for a quick closing. Funniest moment was the nelliest gay guy trying to ‘act’ like a butch gang member of the jets. The ending where Maria takes the gun and threatens others was so not believable and what should be a sob fest at the end carries no emotion.
Did I mention that I hated it!
I took my two children to see the Broadway preview of WWS this past weekend. I was so so depressed by how bad it was. The acting was poor, Tony was esspecially bad, wrong voice, wrong type etc. The level of enthusiasm and magic from the cast was dim at best. The changing of the lyrics to Spainish was not necessary and unfair to novices of the show who could not understand what was going on. “America” was butchered by having Anita and one other girl arguing which place was better. That number was blah, when it should be so so exciting. The end was botched by taking out the two gangs from being there to help Maria. I can not believe in this “American Idol” world these were the best people you could find to cast this show? It was very amateurish and I felt ripped off. I also felt my kids got the worst impression of something that should have been great. Jerome Robbins is rolling over in his grave! I was expecting a South Pacific calliber revival and this was FAR from it.