Well, guess what. Since I'm still catching up on the TV I missed this week at the beach, I thought I'd distract you all with some extremely missing reviews I had promised. As I was in NYC for the summer, and am a long time musical fan, I just had to be all cultured in my free time and pick up a few shows. So here's the run down, chopped into nice easy to handle pieces.
And, duh, there are spoilers. I'm going to talk about plot, characters, all that good stuff. But I'll post a mini review bite up here above the "read more" line..
West Side Story
Music and Lyrics by: Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim
Music and Lyrics by: Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim
Basic Story: Romeo and Juliet between two gangs in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, back when that was not a nice part of town.
Score: B+
Top Songs: "I Feel Pretty" and "Gee Officer Krupke"
Actor to See: Karen Olivo as Anita
Cons: To be more true to its roots, the revival has the Puerto Rican characters more often speak and sing in Spanish. This isn't a con for me, as I've taken 4 years of Spanish; in fact, it enhanced the performance. But if you aren't familiar with Spanish like my viewing buddy at the time, you might feel a little out of place and confused. However, fluency is most certainly not required.
So, for a more thorough review, I'm breaking it up into tinier pieces. (all photos courtesy of the show's website)
The Acting
- The use of Spanish permeates the whole show, and really immerses you into a world that can sometimes feel a bit fake with the old-style dance and Shakespearian-level teen melodrama. And yes, I know it can alienate people who aren't familiar with the language. But don't worry, you understand what's going on. You don't need to know that "puta" means bitch to know that the Sharks don't think too highly of the Jet's girls during the meet in Doc's cafe.
- Karen Olivio (above and below) is absolutely mind-blowing as Anita. At first, simply delightfully snarky and far more worldly than Maria, her dancing and singing lights up the stage in "America" and the high school dance. But after the tragic turns of the second half, culminating in her proclamation to the Jets that Maria is dead, she is heartbreakingly earnest in her desire to have a simple, good life for herself and Maria.
- Speaking of the Jets, the most dramatic moment of the show is the attempted rape of Anita. I don't remember quite how far the original went, but the revival is extremely dark, and they take that scene in particular quite far. I had to remind myself to breathe afterwards, and seeing as how I grew up on the dark and twisty minds of Sondheim and Burton, I'll say that means something.
The Score
- "I Feel Pretty" is finally redeemed by being performed entirely in Spanish. The acting in the scene transcends any language; it's very clear what's going on, and there's a funny new vocal twist at the end which makes you giggle without meaning too. "Gee Officer Krupke" will be stuck in your head for days and make you laugh at inopportune moments.
The Dancing
- Let's face it. R&J is a melodramatic teen angstfest. I disliked studying it in high school, and it's "moral" is well, pathetic. Somehow, the very "classic" style of dance used in West Side Story accounts and moderates this modern day version. As the whole thing is danced dramatically, we can step back and watch the story as just that, a beautiful story. Then, in dialogue scenes we actually see the characters and relate and get all those feelings out. Somehow, Tony and Maria falling in love by meeting eyes from across the gym is painful, but made so much better by their simple and slow first dance. Dip, snap. Dip, snap snap. Done.
The Audience
- G-d, I hated my audience. The end of the show came to a screeching crash about 10 seconds after Tony's death. Ok, here's how the scene goes: Tony and Maria see each other and run to each others arms. Chino steps from the darkness offstage. A shot rings out. The audience screams. Tony falls.
And the audience BURST INTO NERVOUS LAUGHTER.
I'm not kidding. They laughed. I cried. They laughed. I left the theatre silently fuming at the whole lot of them, thinking horrible things about the nature of society where we laugh away tough emotions rather than embracing them and other such deep thoughts.
But to leave you with a happy note, the truth is, it's a wonderful, and most importantly CLASSIC show. Many of it's flaws are the result of the passage of time. Underneath it all, it's a beautifully told tragedy, full of gorgeous technical dance and demanding singing. I recommend it when you have time, but if you're in NY for only one show, maybe pass unless you're a huge Bernstein (music) & Sondheim (lyrics) fan.
~ Sarah
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