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There’s no question West Side Story is a masterpiece of musical theater.
Arthur Laurents’ tautly compelling book, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s timelessly brilliant score and Jerome Robbins’ dazzling choreography see to that as surely today as when the ground-breaking show premiered in 1957.
The premise — a modern Romeo and Juliet set against the backdrop of warring street gangs in 1950s New York, with a fire escape duet for the balcony scene and a gang rumble for the duel — remains one of the pure-genius concepts of 20th-century theater.
The key question regarding the hit 2009 revival, whose touring edition is now at Hobby Center, is whether its modest changes enhance, detract from or make little difference in the core strengths.
With David Saint re-creating Laurents’ Broadway direction for the tour, the goal remains to punch up the familiar show — mainly with a grittier depiction of the gangs, but also by tightening here and there, dropping a few touches now considered too comedic, and translating some of the Puerto Rican characters’ lines and lyrics into Spanish for authenticity.
The changes rarely distract and, on the whole, they help. Depicting the hoodlums and the briefly glimpsed adults as angrier, more volatile and genuinely threatening adds to the intensity and immediacy, helping raise the stakes from the beginning. It sets off Tony and Maria’s tender, doomed romance even more starkly, especially since their love story is treated, as it must be, with utmost sincerity and simplicity.
Nor does it hurt to goose the comic number Gee, Officer Krupke with ruder gestures, asides and business. After all, the Jets in this scene are razzing authority figures and the number is an escape valve amid the show’s most tragic stretch.
Though purists may howl, trimming the Act 2 Somewhere ballet representing Tony and Maria’s dream of a conflict-free world is acceptable, too. The point is still made, poignantly.
The moments in Spanish translation, courtesy of In the Heights’ Lin-Manuel Miranda, add flavor. Even for those unfamiliar with the show (or with Spanish), hardly anything is not abundantly clear from the context and surrounding stage action.
What matters most is what hasn’t changed: the show’s great writing and dances — expertly rendered by a passionate young cast devoutly committed to every word, step and note.
As the doomed lovers at the heart of the show, Kyle Harris and Ali Ewoldt seem genuinely youthful, open and vulnerable. One believes they are swept away, first in giddiness, then as tragic events overtake them, in bewilderment. Both are accomplished vocalists, with range and suppleness, even if their light voices are occasionally taxed by the score’s outer reaches. But the character and truth of their singing proves more important, Harris bringing dynamism and fervor to all of Tony’s turns, Ewoldt maturing impressively as tragedy tests Maria in Act 2.
Michelle Aravena is all fire and spunk as tempestuous, warily sardonic Anita. She sings and dances up a storm at every opportunity, making every haughty rustle of her skirts count.
German Santiago cuts a striking figure as Bernardo, leader of the Sharks. An agile and angular dancer, he acts the role with the right anger and wounded pride.
Joseph J. Simeone plays Jets leader Riff with irrepressible verve and wise-guy cockiness. In another of this show’s big dance roles, he executes his moves with blazing style and precision.
With the choreography absolutely central to this show, it’s great that Robbins’ electrifying dances (re-created by Joey
McKneely) are superbly performed throughout, the ensemble melding technical expertise with exhilarating vigor and drive.
John O’Neill conducts with both fire and sensitivity. Crucially, he never rushes the most delicate, pianissimo passages of the lovers’ duets, letting them have full impact.
James Youmans’ production design conveys the gritty urban milieu, especially his impressive under-the-highway set for the rumble. David C. Woolard’s costumes are aptly lived-in to the point of being beat up. And Howell Binkley’s lighting creates striking effects, especially in the dance sequences.
“Something’s coming, something good,” Tony sings. In all, this West Side Story is a little something new, a lot something old, entirely something great.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
West Side Story
National tour presented by Broadway Across America
7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays, through Jan. 23
Hobby Center, 800 Bagby
Tickets: $35-$88; 800-982-2787
Seriously? People around me were snickering at Tony's inability to hit his notes; his voice broke numerous times,it was a horrible casting choice. I can't tell you how many seats around me were empty after intermission.
The choreography was the show's saving grace, although it was performed a bit sloppily when I saw it.
Attended with friends who were disgusted as was my husband and I with the numerous sexual references, hand gestures, and attempted rape scene. Before intermission I was thinking of possibly taking my young teen children, but no way....you have butchered a classic - and for what??
That's strange because I was at the same performance seated in the orchestra and I thought he sang and acted beautifully and frankly when he sang the final "Maria" there was almost a religious silence. I can't speak if the dancing was sloppy but I found the choreography and the music thrilling. Definitely worth it.
Overall, I enjoyed the show, but would not have given it the rave that the Chron reviewer did. Makes me wonder if we went to different performances. We had tickets to the opening performance, so perhaps the minor bugs we saw were ironed out by the next show.
Much has been made of the fact that this version is supposed to be darker, grittier. The scene in Act 2 where Anita is attacked by the Jets certainly qualified -- it was very disturbing, and conveyed the sense of why she turned on Maria more accurately than the movie did. Other than that, I'm not sure I saw too many differences. The intermingling of Spanish was new, and didn't bother me at first. I would say it even added to the story, but as the show progressed, it got on my nerves. I Feel Pretty -- either sing it all in Spanish or English, but it was jarring switching back and forth. I guess I would say it added in the language sequences, but I wanted the songs to stay true to the original. Might be illogical, but that's how I felt.
I really liked Tony, although in the first act, he did miss the highest notes. His voice definitely broke on the iconic "Mar - i - a" at the end of that song, but other than that, I thought he had a beautiful voice.
It was Maria that killed the first half for me. Her voice is very heavy with vibrato, and while she toned it down in the second half, in the first half, she drowned everyone else out. So, in the touching duet "Tonight", whenever the both of them were singing, all you could hear was Maria. The same was true for the group sing near the end of Act 1 - the Jets and Sharks and Anita were drowned out by Maria. She was better in the second half about tempering down her voice so that the duet with Anita "I Have a Love" was beautifully done. The acting itself was artfully done so that you believed in the instant love/chemistry between the two leads.
The orchestra played too loudly at times and became intrusive, so I"m guessing from this review that they were able to fix the volume issue.
I recommend seeing this, but go with lower expectations than what you would have after reading Evans's review.
I saw it Saturday night, 1/15. It was a treat to see the Jerome Robbins choreagraphy and hear the wonderful score and the cast had great energy. I thought the addition of the Spanish within the Sharks added flavor and worked well in Act I. Bernardo was particularly effective. But there was too much Spanish in Act II. I speak Spanish but at times wondered how someone who did not--and who did not know the show--would understand what was happening. I felt robbed with the loss of "I Feel Pretty". In general the young lovers were fresh and charming, but when the scene required more, Maria in particular could not deliver. That was painfully obvious in Tony's death scene, when Maria started to sing and the audience laughed. Granted the Saturday night audience in the Gallery could have used a lecture from the assistant principal (no cell phones; no conversations with your neighbor) but even an unsophisticated audience should not have the impulse to guffaw at that point. The show disintegrated after that--people crawling over eachother to get to the exits instead of the standard Houston Standing Ovation. If you love WSS, go for the music and dance and buy the most expensive seats you can afford.
I have seen many Broadway shows in New York, including Les Miserables, Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, Avenue Q, and Rent. In Houston I've seen Wicked (which was wonderful - on par with the New York performance)and now West Side Story. I have to say, this play was highly disappointing - the casting was poor, the singing was mediocre, and the acting was wanting. The dancing was the only aspect I could put on par with the other shows I've seen. I questioned if I was the only one who felt this way...when I looked over at my husband and he had fallen asleep, I knew I was not alone. We left at intermission, which was difficult to do given how much we paid for the tickets. Save your money and wait for another show. I truly hope this isn't the caliber of performance we can expect with the traveling groups that come to Houston.
Saw the Sunday Final Performance. Left at intermission.
Terrible. The understudy for Tony reminded me of Clay Aiken.
This is second production I had hoped to like..hated the early one at the Hobby a few year back.
When I need a WSS fix i"ll pop in the DVD of the 1961 Classic
We saw last Saturday night's performance, and it was terrible. The part of Tony was played by the understudy, and neither his singing or acting were very good. He had zero chemistry with the actress playing Maria. No one sitting by us enjoyed it. Maria had a nice voice, but it was very operatic and drowned out anyone she was singing with. The second act was definitely better than the first, but many people around me left during intermission. I am really looking forward to "Billy Elliot" and "Mama Mia" and liked both "Shrek" and "Burn the Floor", the two previous shows of this season.
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