New Broadway version of West Side Story

[bcla]

I heard about this new version aiming to be grittier and more realistic. Also a more diverse cast with one of the Sharks being Indian American and a lot of African-American cast members representing both the Sharks and Jets. Perhaps more modern with a choreography that's more modern dance than the Jerome Robbins ballet-style choreography. And they left out I Feel Pretty? That seems a bit of an odd choice.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/20/theater/west-side-story-review-sharks-vs-jets-vs-video.html
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/01/06/a-radical-restaging-of-west-side-story
https://variety.com/2020/legit/reviews/west-side-story-review-broadway-ivo-van-hove-1203507979/
Not all the reviews are good.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/02/a-grim-take-on-west-side-story

 

[Navisongtalker]

Aw dang thats a shame. When I got to see phantom in my local pac our phantom 1. Had an amazing voice of course 2. Was a phantom of colour and 3. Also was the voice of mufasa in the lion king traveling broadway troupe.

I was so excited to have a phantom of colour. He did an amazing job. So its a shame when praise isnt given for modernizing/ or altering a classic slightly.

But im not a theatre critic, so what do i know

 

[JiminyCricket!]

I saw it tonight and loved it. One of the best broadway shows I’ve seen in a long time. Kind of shocking and fresh and powerful.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I was so excited to have a phantom of colour.

It's been done before. Robert Guillaume did it in 1990.

 

[L&Lfan]

No thanks! I’ll stick with the classic original from 1957 and the best picture of 1961 film adaptation. I saw the previous Broadway revival maybe 15 years ago and that sucked.

 

[superme80]

As your typical Broadway snob, I am not a fan of the restaging of West Side Story. It is one of my favorite shows. In my 20s, I saw a local production about 5 times, and was a fill in tech because I loved it so much. I honestly adore the song "I Feel Pretty", so omitting it is a huge problem for me. I am not a fan of "grittier" and "more realistic" versions of classics. I t will be interesting to see how this does. I hope this is not the norm for classics. Just write new shoes. While I do not like Hamilton, I do give the creator credit for working on original projects.

 

[jdb in AZ]

The old movie had choreography with gang bangers snapping their fingers to the music. I won't miss that. The gangs in the revival are more ethnically diverse -- fine with me. Fifty years ago the movie thugs looked so tough -- now they look like Sunday school children. It needed updating. I've heard good things about the revival -- guess I'll keep an open mind til i hear more.

 

[travelmomof3]

We saw it last week in NYC. It was good, powerful. But yes, shocking. I really think the rape scene was unnecessary and could have been toned down. The implication of her being harassed would have been enough.

 

[Navisongtalker]

It's been done before. Robert Guillaume did it in 1990.

Yeah, isnt he THE FIRST?
I guess i was just surprised because our venue is still sorta plonked in the middle of pasty white no diversity midwest. Its hard enough for me to find a synagogue that isnt a 2 hr drive away! XDxD

 

[kashzan]

Saw it a few weeks ago and loved it.