Show & Tell Review: West Side Story

Yesterday I had three worries: I would be confused by the Spanish dialogue and lyrics, I would be distracted with my own preconceptions from the movie, and I would be disappointed with the execution of Jerome Robbins’ fantastic choreography, also danced by prestigious ballet companies from Paris to New York.  Today I have one worry: the cast of West Side Story will be in Newark, NJ before I manage to see the show again. 

Initially produced through collaboration by Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Jerome Robbins in 1957, West Side Story ran on Broadway for over 700 performances before touring the nation. The show was reintroduced on Broadway in 1980 and again in 2009, and although the production maintained the choreography, lighting, and design from the premiere, the language was tweaked to include Spanish. The final version traversing America today smoothly blends the more modern and culturally accurate dual languages with Jerome Robbins’ original choreography and Shakespeare’s iconic lovers’ tragedy: Romeo and Juliet.

Matthew Hydzik and Evy Ortiz, who play Tony and Maria respectively, effortlessly embodied these emotionally charged roles and beautifully performed the numerous songs that are so important to the success of the production.  Michelle Aravena radiated a perfectly cheeky wit as Anita and danced throughout the show with an equally impressionable spark. All of the classic songs from “I Feel Pretty” to “Tonight,” “America,” and “Jet Song” were presented without a hint of tiredness or cliché, providing a fresh performance for even those who have inadvertently memorized the show. The mischievous self-analysis by the Jets in “Gee, Officer Krupke” is purely hilarious and was one of my favorite numbers. Action, played by John Drake, leads the gang through euphemistically peppered possibilities of their non-traditional upbringings, and indulges the audience in a much-appreciated comedic break from the emotionally intense second act. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the soft images and lyrical dancing of “Somewhere” showcased the balletic background of many of the cast members, not to mention the power of Jerome Robbins’ incredible choreography. Set against an unadulterated white backdrop, the artistry of the voices and dancing controlled the stage sans messy mechanized machinery or elaborate distractions.

         
I loved the show, and as I already insinuated, all three of my worries were quickly quelled. While any and all Spanish beyond a simple “sí” seems esoteric to my decidedly non-Latin ears, the foreign dialogue and lyrics infused in the show added authenticity to the cultural struggle and didn’t detract from the storyline comprehension at all. Deliberate and well-timed mispronunciation of Spanish phrases by Tony and the Jets even provided a humorous aspect to the social division. 

         
My second fear of the evening, while technically obsolete as the stage version was made prior to the film adaption, was also eradicated after the first few scenes. As Maria twirled her way into “Dance at the Gym”, the image created by the lighting, costuming, set, and choreography eerily mimicked the slightly psychedelic graphic effect from the move. A minor detail, yes, but certainly worth commending in a world where each light and sound effect is agonized over and analyzed thoroughly. 

         
My final and most pressing fear was also entirely reversed from the very first scene. The Jets and Sharks established their territory and physical prowess with a balance of grace and athleticism only danced by those with classical training, and set a precedent for the energy and power of the rest of the show. Backed by the West Side Story Orchestra, the entire cast fulfilled Jerome Robbins’ timeless choreography and ameliorated all lingering worries from my mind. The orchestra, conducted by John O’Neil and composed of touring musicians as well as local musicians, was splendid, and contributed to the humor, drama, and tension of the show without ever uttering a single syllable.

           

The show is, in a word, spectacular. So take Riff’s advice, “play it cool,” and buy your gang a ticket. 

Show & Tell Review: West Side Story

Transport the classic romance and tragedy of Romeo and Juliet to 1950s New York amidst the rag-tag gangs who clashed over rights to their territory, and you find West Side Story. The association is purposeful, the original creators intended for their story to emulate Shakespeare’s beloved classic.

Last night, West Side Story made its way to the Fox Cities P.A.C. and was warmly welcomed by an eager audience. The cast was superb, the costumes and set were first-class, and the music was outstanding. The Fox Cities was privileged to be presented with an updated version of the classic musical, revived onstage in 2009. This adaptation was Arthur Laurents’ (the author of the book for the original 1957 production) attempt at making the story more modern and authentic. To do so, choreography was slightly modified and more of the script has been translated into Spanish.

The story’s tension was felt as soon as the curtain rose. The story of two conflicting gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, whose rivalry was born not just from wanting control of the same streets, but from the ignorance and racism between Puerto Ricans and Americans in New York at that time, was portrayed swiftly and effectively. The Center’s audience was immediately pulled into the clash and responded with a full range of emotions as well as enthusiastic applause.

Leonard Bernstein's and Stephen Sondheim’s original score is an absolute masterpiece.

When it was first being produced Bernstein was told that West Side Story was an impossible project, that no one would be able to sing the complicated rhythms and wide ranging songs. Not only has that supposition been disproved time and again over the decades, but last night in the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center the current cast of West Side Story demonstrated just how wrong those nay-sayers were. The difficult songs were played and sung masterfully, making it appear to an unsuspecting audience as if this musical’s score were easy and not the truth behind it: that they were performing musical acrobatics.

Tony and Maria, West Side Story’s Romeo and Juliet, portrayed their love story beautifully. During the scene depicting Tony (played by Matthew Hydzik) and Maria’s (played by Evy Ortiz) first meeting, the audience was spellbound, completely drawn into the young couple’s ignited love. As they sang the duet “Tonight” on Maria’s balcony, their immediate and consuming love for each other was practically palpable. Later in the show, when the two were reunited after the Jets and Sharks ill-fated rumble, a spell-binding ballet accompanied their beautiful exchange of “Somewhere”.

Other characters drew strong reactions from the audience as well. Officer Krupke and Lieutenant Schrank (Wally Dunn and Mike Boland) played their judgmental, bigoted parts so well; the audience hated them just as much as the Jets did. Anita (played by Michelle Aravena) on the other hand, pulled on viewer’s hearts as she displayed raw and real emotions when her character was pulled between love for Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks, and a more level-headed understanding of love and life than her cohorts. Anita kept many laughing and crying right along with her through her passionate dialogue and songs telling the tumultuous tale.

Every piece of West Side Story’s presentation enhanced their telling of the romance of Tony and Maria, fixed within the drama between the Jets and the Sharks. The sets effectively created the mood of each scene. The music, both performed to and as background, drew watchers into the emotion of every character. The choreography, most of it unchanged from the original production, was masterful and exact and successfully depicted the abundance of action.

**Spoiler Alert!**

As the musical reached its climax, you could almost feel the audience collectively holding their breath. When Tony sought out Bernardo’s assistant, Chino, in the streets, believing his beloved Maria to be dead, his passionate screams were heart-wrenching. A momentary sigh of relief was felt as Tony spotted Maria, and realized her being shot by Chino was all a lie. And as they ran to each other, the audience gasped as one being when Chino fired his gun, killing Tony in cold blood.

When the musical quickly came to its close on the final scene last night, it was as if the viewers were afraid to move from their seats. The beautiful love story of Tony and Maria, surrounded by tension, and ending in heartache for so many, seemed almost more than they could bear. If you love to be drawn into a story heart and soul, if you don’t mind your laughter being followed by tears; you will love West Side Story.

Parental Note:

Parents should be forewarned that, if this musical were a movie, it would have a PG-13 rating, due to suggestive lyrics, crude gestures, sensuality, and racist slurs. It is much more risqué and provocative than the film version.

West Side Story: The Making of a Classic

It was September 26, 1957, and something great was coming that evening: a Broadway musical unlike any that had come before. “I thought West Side Story was going to be a flop,” says Arthur Laurents, who wrote the book of the new show. “I thought maybe it would run for three months. I didn’t care. It was so not what a musical should be."

That was evident to audiences from the outset. West Side Story opened not with a song, not with a book scene, but with a thrilling danced “Prologue.” But this was not dance for dancing’s sake, not a lavish, showy production number designed to get the audience into an upbeat mood. The number featured two rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, conveying their hatred toward one another through movement.

           
The “Prologue” remains one of the most impressive, expressive starts to any musical. But it is probably impossible for modern audiences to understand just how startling and original that number, like the rest of West Side Story, was 50-plus years ago. For generations that have grown up on Company, Follies, A Chorus Line, Sweeney Todd, Dreamgirls, Rent, and Movin’ Out, there is nothing particularly surprising about a musical that tells much of its story through dance; a musical that integrates song, dance, drama and design into a seamless, cohesive whole; a musical without a conventional chorus; a musical in which two of the leading characters lie dead onstage at the end of the first act; a musical without an upbeat ending. But these were bold, revolutionary choices by Laurents, director/choreographer Jerome Robbins, composer Leonard Bernstein and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, when West Side Story premiered.

“Steve and I have always differed about what’s special about West Side Story,” says Laurents. “He says it’s the style. I think what’s different is it’s the first musical that showed anything can be a musical. We have death, we have murder, we have attempted rape, we have bigotry. None of that was in musicals. But they’re in this musical because that’s what the story is.”

Actually, both Sondheim and Laurents are correct: the show was different in both style and content. Together with Bernstein and Robbins, they pushed the boundaries of the Broadway musical, and in so doing, redefined an art form. The current production, directed and reconsidered by Laurents, provides audiences with an opportunity to discover – or rediscover – what all the excitement was about.

           
The seeds for West Side Story were sown in 1949 when Robbins became intrigued with the notion of updating and musicalizing Romeo and Juliet. He contacted Bernstein and Laurents, and told them of his idea for a show about a pair of star-crossed lovers doomed by the enmity between their people. The girl was to be Jewish, the boy Catholic, and the setting would be the East Side of Manhattan during Easter and Passover. Bernstein often said that the idea intrigued him; Laurents has long said that the idea did not interest him because it reminded him of Abie’s Irish Rose, a popular 1922 light comedy with a similar interfaith theme. 

           
Several years later, Bernstein and Laurents ran into each other at the pool of the Beverly Hills Hotel, when they noticed a newspaper headline about Los Angeles gang fights between Mexicans and what Bernstein referred to as “self-styled” Americans. Similar hostilities were being played out on the streets of New York, including the West Side of Manhattan. It occurred to them that the clash of cultures between Puerto Ricans and “white” boys would provide more substantial subject matter for a modern-day Romeo and Juliet musical than Robbins’ earlier idea. When they contacted Robbins, he eagerly agreed.

           
Bernstein had originally intended to write the lyrics himself, but he soon realized that it wasn’t feasible. The artistic team then contacted Betty Comden and Adolph Green, who were out in Hollywood working on a movie musical and unavailable. Sondheim, who had yet to break through on Broadway, was the next choice, but he didn’t want the job. He was trying to establish himself as a composer, and was fearful of being pigeonholed solely as a lyricist if he took West Side Story. But Oscar Hammerstein II, his mentor, convinced the reluctant Sondheim that working with three distinguished talents would be an invaluable experience.

           
Laurents was already a successful playwright and screenwriter, but this was his first time working on a musical. “When I was a kid, there was a stock company near where we lived in Brooklyn and my cousins and I would go on Saturday afternoons,” he says. “I remember seeing No, No, Nanette, and I thought it was so exciting. I’ve always had a love for musicals, and I wanted to do one.”

           
The book he wrote is among the shortest – if not the shortest – ever written for Broadway. “I wrote for radio, and when you write for radio, you really learn economy,” he says. In West Side Story, the narrative is conveyed mostly through music and movement. But Laurents’ prose is the glue that holds all the elements together and the springboard for the poetry of Robbins, Bernstein, and Sondheim.

       
 Given the harrowing nature of the show, its bleak depiction of urban life, it is not surprising that West Side Story was deemed a huge commercial risk. Numerous producers spurned the project until Cheryl Crawford and Roger L. Stevens got behind it. Six weeks before rehearsals were to begin, Crawford organized a backers audition to raise money for the show. “It was at an apartment on the East Side,” says Laurents. “There was no air conditioning, and you could hear the tugboats. She didn’t raise one penny.” A few days later, she pulled out. “Except for Roger, everybody thought the show was terrible. In fact, Roger had a great friend who owned a Broadway theater. And he said, ‘I’m not giving that theater to any opera.’”  In the end, Harold Prince, who had originally turned down the show, took on the project along with his partner, Robert E. Griffith, in arrangement with Stevens.

           
Rehearsals of West Side Story were invigorating, inspiring, and emotionally draining. Robbins was known as a perfectionist and a taskmaster, and he goaded, cajoled and browbeat the cast until he got what he was after. He wanted the actors to look like real people dancing, as opposed to dancers playing real people. He strove for a sense of naturalism, not only in the acting but in the choreography.

             
West Side Story was the first musical propelled by dance, by choreography that moved the plot forward and conveyed emotions that the Jets and Sharks were incapable of verbalizing. It was the first show in which every member of the chorus had a name and a clearly defined character, the first musical in which every chorus person was an individual. Robbins saw to it that each actor created a history for his or her character. He also gave the cast a great deal of material to work with. Part of the show’s authenticity stemmed from the fact that he spent time observing gang members in Spanish Harlem and Greenwich Village. He befriended some of the captains of the gangs, and some social workers. He read anything he could find about gang warfare, and posted articles on the subject all over the walls of the rehearsal studio, so that the cast would better understand what these groups were fighting about. Robbins also insisted that the actors playing the Jets and the Sharks be kept apart during rehearsals. He got the results he was after: members within a “gang” bonded with each other, and became somewhat alienated from the actors in the rival gang. Those feelings helped fuel their performances.

           
Robbins created a dance language unique to the show: much of the choreography is based more on street movement than on familiar dance steps, and there was a reason or emotion behind every movement, every gesture. And Laurents invented words and phrases for the gangs as a way of indicating their inarticulateness and as a substitute for four-letter words, which simply weren’t spoken onstage back then. “I don’t even think the audience is aware of it,” he says. 

           
The premiere of West Side Story was generally well-received, although some critics respected the show more than they enjoyed it. The original production ran for 21 months, went out on tour, then returned to Broadway for an additional seven and a half months; in all, a decent, unexceptional run. But the show has had a remarkable afterlife. The 1961 movie – which Laurents dislikes – was a critical and commercial success, the recipient of 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film also brought widespread popularity to the score: the Grammy Award-winning soundtrack was No. 1 on Billboard’s album charts for an astonishing 54 weeks.

           
Over the years, the show has taken on legendary status, as it has influenced generations of choreographers, directors, composers, and lyricists to dare to be different. That was a byproduct, not the intention, of Laurents, Bernstein, Sondheim and Robbins. “If you’re going to tell a story with any degree of truth, you’ve got to go where the story takes you,” says Laurents. “And this is where the story took us. We weren’t thinking about changing anything. We just wanted to be good.”

West Side Story will be playing April 24-29 at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in downtown Appleton. Tickets are on sale now at foxcitiespac.com.

© 2010 West Side Story National Tour.

An Interview with the Late Arthur Laurents

 An Interview with the Late Arthur Laurents
(1917 - 2011)

Original Book and Director of West Side Story on Broadway

In the opening moments of the revival of West Side Story, before a note is played, before a word is said, before a step is danced, before a finger is snapped, Riff, the leader of the Jets stands center stage and glares out at the audience. The look is sullen, menacing. He’s joined by other members of his gang, who project that same intimidating look. Then Riff snaps his fingers and the Prologue begins. But the effect of the Jets staring down the audience remains unsettling. And that’s precisely what director Arthur Laurents had in mind.

“I felt the gangs in the original production were sweet little things,” said Laurents, the director of the Broadway revival that the national tour is based on. “And the truth is, they’re all killers – every one of them. I wanted to do a much tougher West Side Story.” 

He’s entitled: he created those characters, together with composer Leonard Bernstein, lyricist Stephen Sondheim, and director/choreographer Jerome Robbins. Laurents wrote the book for the landmark 1957 musical, and over the course of more than a half century, his views about the material have evolved. In the published version of the original script, he used the word “nice” to describe one member of the Jets, and “slightly whacky” to describe Riff – hardly adjectives associated with killers. “I don’t think any of them are nice,” said Laurents. “What I thought 50 years ago, I certainly don’t think today. If you never change the way you think, if you stand still, you’re dead. A lot of my ideas have changed, and this whole production is radically different from what it was back then. It would have to be.”

Laurents has directed a West Side Story for the twenty-first century. It’s not that the show has been updated; rather, it’s been infused with a contemporary sensibility and the knowledge of what has and has not changed in this country over the past 50-plus years. Maria and Tony still fall in love and are still doomed, unable to escape the warring factions that circumscribe their lives. Maria is the sister of Bernardo, leader of the Sharks, a Puerto Rican gang fighting a turf war with the Jets. And Tony, a former Jet who has left the gang but cannot break free of its hold, is propelled into the battle in spite of himself. Bernstein’s gorgeous music still soars; Robbins’ dynamic choreography, reproduced by Joey McKneely, remains invigorating. But Laurents has added more grit to an already gritty show, and heightened the romance. He also has the Puerto Rican characters sometimes sing and speak in Spanish, which not only gives them a bit more authenticity, but reflects the sounds of New York City today.

In fact, the initial impetus for this revival was Laurents’ desire to explore how the dynamics of the piece would shift if the Puerto Rican characters spoke in their native language. He believes that in this country, most audiences view the Jets as the good guys and the Sharks as the bad guys. But when his life partner, the late Tom Hatcher, saw a production of the show in Bogotá, the reaction was very different. “Tom told me that when Spanish is the hometown language, the Sharks become the heroes and the Jets become the villains,” said Laurents. “That interested me, although I think both gangs are the villains. I said to Tom, ‘What if there was some way to equalize the gangs?’ And Tom said, ‘What if the Sharks spoke and sang in Spanish at those moments when they would in life?’ And that was it. That’s when I became interested in directing the show.”

Lin-Manuel Miranda, who conceived, composed and wrote the lyrics for In the Heights, was asked to translate some lyrics, and parts of the dialogue were also translated into Spanish. Laurents said that, from the start, the use of Spanish was “an experiment”; when he felt that audiences did not understand what a song was about, he restored at least some of the English lyrics. “‘A Boy Like That’ was originally in Spanish and it was very effective – for people who knew the show,” he said. “But once you got past that audience, people had no idea what was being sung. So now the song is in both languages, first in English then in Spanish. We did the same thing with ‘I Feel Pretty.’”

Laurents said he “directed the musical as though it were a play,” emphasizing the acting as much as the singing and dancing. He cast very young actors, both on Broadway and on tour, which adds an additional level of poignancy: it not only makes Tony and Maria’s situation more heartbreaking, but is a constant reminder to the audience that the simmering hatred, the violence, is being perpetrated by kids, by lost youths on the verge of wasted lives. Every member of the cast, regardless of the size of his or her role, had to create a full-blown character. “On the first day of rehearsals, I told them, ‘I want every one of you to know why you have ended up in a gang,’” he said. “‘Don’t tell me what you’re thinking. Don’t show me what you’re thinking. Just think it, and I will get it.’ And that’s what’s happened.” 

George Akram, who originated the role of Bernardo on Broadway, says that Laurents trusted the actors     to find their way into their parts on their own, but willingly provided as much or as little guidance as each individual needs. “It’s so important to have a director that gives you the freedom to bring something to the table,” says Akram. “I’m really grateful for that. When I had questions – and this was true for everybody – Arthur would explain why the character does what he does. He once gave me a note about the first scene, when Lt. Schrank comes in and yells my name. I’m not paying attention to him, because I’m talking to the Sharks. The way I reacted was very aggressive. Arthur said that in the ’50s, I couldn’t be so aggressive or sarcastic to the police, because they would just grab me and put me in jail.”

While always mindful of the period in which the show was created and originally took place, Laurents added some new details that give the piece more of an immediacy, that underscore the musical’s timelessness. Early on, a policeman brandishes a gun, an action not in the original version. “I was heightening the violence,” said Laurents. “I wanted you to be aware, right from the beginning that this isn’t kidding.” The very topical word “abstinence” is uttered, pointedly and sarcastically. The costumes by David C. Woolard are purposely independent of any particular decade.

“Arthur told us that we’re not pretty boys, like in the movie” says Akram, who has been enthralled by West Side Story since seeing the film as a youngster in his native Venezuela. “He told us that the way the Jets and Sharks look when the movie ends is the way we have to look at the beginning of the show. We have to look tired, we have to look like gang members. And gang members don’t wear gel in their hair, their hair isn’t slicked back. From the start, we are screwed up in our bodies, and that’s something we have to project.”

If something didn’t ring true to Laurents, it was changed or cut, like the “yeah” that usually punctuates the end of the “Jet Song.” The ballet has been tweaked and truncated. He restaged the show’s closing moments, eliminating the processional in which the Jets and Sharks come together to carry off Tony’s body. “I never believed that ending for a minute,” he said. “They all have this great epiphany and everybody’s happy? This new ending gives a little hope, but that’s it. I also think it’s smaller and more personal.”

The evocative set by James Youmans suggests an airless, claustrophobic neighborhood that engulfs its inhabitants. “I wanted the set to suggest that the characters are trapped,” said Laurents. “These people live in a black-gray world of nothing, but it’s all they have. And my staging of the opening is totally different, because I want it to reflect that. I told the cast, ‘You have nothing but this piece of street, and you’re not going to let anyone take it away from you. You’re fighting over something undesirable.’”  

Laurents’ changes may make the show speak more clearly, more truthfully, to contemporary audiences, but even without them, the material remains evergreen. Falling in love with the “wrong” person has led to bloodshed for centuries, long before Shakespeare wrote about it in Romeo and Juliet, the play that inspired West Side Story. Hatred and prejudice and suspicion of other cultures has always been, and continues to be, one of the main reasons wars are fought – not just gang wars. It’s impossible not to think of the great divide in this country when Lt. Schrank orders the Sharks to leave Doc’s drugstore. He says, “Sure; it’s a free country and I ain’t got the right. But it’s a country with laws: and I can find the right. I got the badge, you got the skin. It’s tough all over.” 

“I think people kid themselves how much better things are today,” said Laurents. “It’s better, but not all that much. I’ve received hate letters because of the Spanish in this production. Underneath, the prejudice remains, and I think most people know that. So you hear a couple of these lines in West Side Story, and the show seems more contemporary now than ever before.”

West Side Story will play at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center April 24-29.
Tickets start at $53 and are on sale now at foxcitiespac.com.

 Article provided by West Side Story