What a gem...I was listening to the recording and it simply is perfection. What a thrilling production. Josefina, Matt and Karen were perfectly cast. Any other fans of this production?
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
I LOVE this revival. I'm latino so I loved the new spanish lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It's my favorite WSS cast recording. I hear it all the time. I love 'Un Hombre Así/I Have a Love' and the new 'Tonight (Quintet)'.. I got to see it on broadway (youtube) and on tour. It's one of my favorite theatrical experiences I've ever had.. well on the list lol
It was electric, the chemistry between Josefina and Karen when they sang that number you can't see on youtube. Glad you saw the tour though.
For the ones complaining...this board is to talk about theatre...and that's exactly what I'm doing...so darlings...that's all!
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
I am not a fan of this revival. Arthur Laurents disrespected the memory of Jerome Robbins' original choreography by dumbing it down. The costumes were "off": The Jet girls wearing tight mini skirts? Teenage girls did not dress like that in the late '50s. The gang members looked like they stepped out of the 2009 Abercrombie & Fitch catalog. Matthew Cavenaugh was miscast as "Tony". His performance was lacking and his line readings on the cast recording make me cringe.
Karen Olivo's performance as "Anita" was a highlight. Her acting more than made up for the revised choreography. Josefina Scaglione was wonderful as "Maria" and I really liked George Akram as "Bernardo".
I found the inclusion of Spanish totally unnecessary.
I'm not a fan of the Spanish lyrics on the cast recording. I saw the tour which took out most of Spanish lyrics. I enjoyed it, but it was far from the best thing I have ever seen. It had a polished community theatre production feel to it.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
I had to go back a 2nd time to appreciate it. The 1st time had horrible understudies and cast members who should have never been given the role to begin with. My 2nd time, the dancing seemed a little sharper. And Jeremy Jordan was on as Tony. It's such a shame we had to suffer through Matter Cavanaugh at all. I know Jeremy was the alternate for whoever took over for Matt. But, he was so much better. Finally got to see Karen Olivo and why she got the Tony Award. And Josefina Scaglione was always fine.
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The Spanish lyrics were removed a few months into the run.
I liked the production for what it was. Hated the dumbed down choreography, wish we hadn't had to sit through Cavenaugh's Tony, but I enjoyed myself.
the artist formerly known as dancingthrulife04
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I was probably the production's biggest champion on this board. There was a lot of negativity and hate spewed at the production and Tony winner Karen Olivo when she had attendance problems.
Also, the Spanish lyrics were not completely removed. They were changed to a Spanglish mix which worked much better with "A Boy Like That/I Have a Love."
Many on here didn't like it. Usually because of one of these reasons:
1. Spanish dialogue
2. Didn't recreate the energy of the original show
3. Karen Olivo apparently is a terrible dancer and she got attacked on here after missing performances because of an injury she was going through.
I saw the tour and really loved it. It was my first time seeing a professional production of WSS and I really enjoyed myself. I actually liked the Spanish dialogue.
Countdown til Jordan comes on raging about how much loves me! 3..2..1...
Karen Olivo is not a terrible dancer. She's a fine dancer, but the original Anita choreography needs a more skilled dancer to execute it. She acted the hell out of that part though, in that respect she totally deserved the Tony Award she won. For the record she is the only actress or actor to have won a Tony for West Side Story.
Olivo was not "a terrible dancer." She's not Chita Rivera or Debbie Allen, either, and didn't do as much of that complex choreography, which annoyed a lot of people. I found her acting to be outstanding, and a highlight of the production. Her attendance was atrocious, which didn't endear her to anyone. They had a really difficult time finding effective covers for that role, and went through a bunch of them (Yanira Marin, Elena Watters, Jennifer Sanchez) before settling on the (wonderful) Natalie Cortez, who eventually assumed the role full-time.
The production's greatest liability was Matt Cavenaugh, who was simply horrendous as Tony. He was miscast and looked completely lost onstage. I remember one afternoon at intermission, the woman next to me remarking, "I can't wait for his character to die already." His replacement, Matthew Hydzik, was only marginally better. Honestly, the two best Tonys were the alternates: Jeremy Jordan and later Matt Shingledecker, both of whom were actually believable in that role, compared to Matt "Joe Kennedy" Cavenaugh.
Olivo was far from a terrible dancer. She's not, in the strictest sense of the word, a dancer. The role needed someone with more of a dance background. I would've loved to see the original choreography back in when Natalie Cortez took over.
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I believe what was said by some when it opened was that, Anita should be played by a triple threat and Karen apparently was not that. Many disliked that during the "dance at the gym" Riff's girlfriend was dancing circles around Karen. I believe some others said Karen was the worst Anita to ever play Broadway.
Countdown til Jordan comes on raging about how much loves me! 3..2..1...
I believe some others said Karen was the worst Anita to ever play Broadway.
Not sure if that really was said. It was a nasty time around here, but not sure how one could make that assertion without having seen every Anita on Broadway. Even Karen's biggest critic, Pal Joey, noted that she is a very talented woman, just not what he expects from an Anita. Plus most posters here haven't even seen every Anita on Broadway, given that the original production was in 1957. Some members of ATC probably saw Chita.
Not sure if that really was said. It was a nasty time around here, but not sure how one could make that assertion without having seen every Anita on Broadway
It was definitely said. I doubt that statement was shared by everyone of her naysyers but it was definitely said. It was something along the lines of " She may have won the tony but she is the worst Anita to be on Broadway"
And yeah I agree, you can't really make that statement without seeing the original.
Countdown til Jordan comes on raging about how much loves me! 3..2..1...
They weren't wearing mini skirts. They were wearing skirts, you make it sound like it was "girls gone wild" or something.
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
For fifty years, people referred to West Side story as "Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story" or "Jerome Robbins's crowning achievement." But of the four men who created the show, Arthur was the only one who was never considered a "genius." Sondheim's lyrics for the show are not necessarily considered genius, but his later achievements have certainly put him on the level of Bernstein and Robbins. (Perhaps even higher.)
The 2009 revival was Arthur Laurents's revenge on his collaborators. Arthur waited fifty years for them to die so that he could do a Broadway production in which their musical and choreographic contributions were minimized and his own contribution enhanced. Having accomplished this, he could finally rest.
I believe what PalJoey says, because this was my first exposure to the show and I absolutely did not understand what the big deal was. It seemed surprisingly stagnant and talky. I was 19 at the time. The music and dancing were not terribly exciting, the performances were bland. Am I remembering correctly that Laurents said that he wanted some of the scenes in Spanish because of margin notes scribbled in a paperback at a used bookstore that he thought were sent by a dead lover, or something?
Anyway, I later got to see the movie in 70mm with gorgeous sound on a huge screen. Then I got it.
Also, SantanaLopez, agreed on the costumes. That's actually one of the things I remember vividly. They were such weirdly colored, off-the-mannequin clothes for these characters to be wearing. I think it's fine to make it less 1950s and just set in a timeless musical idea of New York, but respect the show's character and grit!