Something's Coming: A Closing For West Side Story RevivalOn the very day that the newly renamed
Stephen Sondheim Theatre is formally unveiled,
news comes that the current Broadway revival of
West Side Story -- the show for which
Sondheim earned his earliest lyrical credit -- is set to close January 2, 2011, after 748 regular performances.
In recent weeks, audiences have dwindled precipitously. Just
last week,
West Side Story had the dubious distinction of attracting the lowest capacity of any Broadway show: just 50.5%. So the handwriting was certainly on the wall. West Side Story opens up the Palace Theatre for the United States premiere of
Priscilla Queen Of The Desert in March 2011.
As I noted in my
SOB Review from April 2009, I genuinely adore the gorgeous score Sondheim wrote with
Leonard Bernstein. Yet I felt cheated by this revival's initial use of the Spanish language that came
without any sub or supertitles. It seemed to come as a surprise to director
Arthur Laurents that not everyone -- including a new generation of theatregoers -- were not familiar enough with
West Side Story for that conceit to work. Ultimately,
he relented and most of the Spanish language elements were reverted back to English.
In spite of that,
Karen Olivo earned a Tony Award for her sharp turn as Anita. The show itself garnered three other Tony nods, including for the affecting performance offered by
Josefina Scaglione as Maria. Olivo left the production back in May due to an
injury. Scaglione departs the production on September 19.
As a revival, this
West Side Story goes out a winner, having recouped nearly one year ago. Additionally, the show was honored with a
Grammy Award in January for its lush cast recording.
If you've missed
West Side Story on Broadway, at least you'll have your chance to see it
somewhere as the national tour kicks off September 30 in
Detroit.
This is
Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post. Labels: Arthur Laurents, Closing Notices, Josefina Scaglione, Karen Olivo, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, West Side Story
West Side Story (The SOB Review) - Palace Theatre, New York, NY
**1/2 (out of ****)When
Arthur Laurents' beautiful revival of
West Side Story soars, it flies so high that you practically can feel yourself being lifted out of your seat.
With
Leonard Bernstein and
Stephen Sondheim's timeless score and
Joey McKneely's lovingly recreated choreography from the show's original director
Jerome Robbins, how could it not?
I was practically moved to tears many times by the amazing vocal talent Laurents amassed. In particular,
Matt Cavenaugh's Tony was especially angelic. And the captivating
Josefina Scaglione as Maria makes for a most auspicious Broadway debut.
But the conceit of this revival, of course, is its ultimately frustrating use of Spanish language to tell the Sharks' tale. While I laud Laurents for daring to break new ground by having his Sharks speak their native tongue from Puerto Rico, so much was lost in translation -- or complete lack thereof -- that this conceit gnawed at me as highly arrogant. Had Laurents done for his audience what opera has done for years -- providing subtitles of some sort -- he would have had no bigger advocate of his otherwise sparkling revival than I.
Instead, I left feeling cheated and very disappointed that I only got one side of this story.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Arthur Laurents, Broadway, Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Matt Cavenaugh, Musicals, Stephen Sondheim, The SOB Review, West Side Story
Broadway Preview: West Side StoryAs if to prove that nonagenarians have more fun, or infinitely more insight into Broadway’s biggest and best classics,
Arthur Laurents is ready to take on his second major Broadway mounting in two years.
First, of course, came his definitive direction for the best musical of all time,
Gypsy -- an American original for which he wrote the timeless libretto. Now, he’s ready to recreate another musical that includes his book:
Stephen Sondheim and
Leonard Bernstein’s 1957 masterpiece
West Side Story, a show that was ahead of its time in terms of critical acceptance.
Technically only the second Great White Way revival of the modern New York update of
William Shakespeare's
Romeo And Juliet,
West Side Story will open at a Nederlander Theatre in March 2009 after beginning previews on February 23, shortly after its out-of-town tryout (December 16, 2008 – January 17, 2009) at Washington’s National Theatre.
While the new incarnation will recreate
Jerome Robbins’ original Tony-winning choreography, look for the
West Side Story revival to be bilingual for added authenticity, along with a cast of 37 and orchestra of 30. However, casting has yet to be announced.
Laurents has stated, “This show will be radically different from any other production of
West Side Story ever done. The musical theatre and cultural conventions of 1957 made it next to impossible for the characters to have authenticity. Every member of both gangs was always a potential killer even then. Now they actually will be. Only Tony and Maria try to live in a different world…"
The original 1957 production first played the
Winter Garden Theatre before moving to the
Broadway Theatre for a couple months in 1959, and then back to the Winter Garden, where it closed in June 1959. All totaled, the original
West Side Story enjoyed 732 performances.
But that “original” production didn’t simply end there. Less than one year later, a “return engagement” reopened at the Winter Garden Theatre for another 249 performances.
While a City Center version of the show came along just a few years later, it wasn’t until February 14, 1980, that the first and only full-fledged Broadway
revival opened at the
Minskoff Theatre, where it played through November of that year for 333 performances.
Will Laurents’ respected renaissance prove to be no fluke? After being mesmerized by
Gypsy, I have included this toward the top of my list of Broadway shows I’m most looking forwarding to seeing throughout this new Theatrical Season.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
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Labels: Arthur Laurents, Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Musical, Revival, Stephen Sondheim, West Side Story
