March 20, 2009

'West Side Story' revival opens on Broadway

The much anticipated revival of “West Side Story” opened on Broadway last night and critics are fairly unanimous in the opinion that the re-creation of the music and dancing of the 1957 original is so fantastic that even Arthur Laurents’ imperfect staging doesn’t do too much damage.

The revival features Argentinian newcomer Josefina Scaglione as Maria, Matt Cavenaugh as Tony and Karen Olivo as Anita. It’s directed by Laurents, who wrote the original book. The original music was Leonard Bernstein’s with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, while Jerome Robbins was the original director and choreographer.

“West Side Story” has an open-ended run in the heart of Times Square at the Palace Theater, located at 1554 Broadway, map. Regular tickets are priced from $45 to $120. Premium seats are $300. Before each performance, there is a lottery at the box office for the 18 front-row seats priced at $26.50.

The “West Side Story” reviews:

Variety - “So it’s rewarding to report that after nearly three decades’ absence from Broadway, this masterwork has been given the revival it deserves. Under the knowing direction of Arthur Laurents, the 1957 show remains both a brilliant evocation of its period and a timeless tragedy of disharmony and hate.”

New York Times - “Mr. Cavenaugh aside, it’s the women who rule here. Ms. Olivo’s worldly Anita, the girlfriend of Bernardo (George Akram), Maria’s brother, is a stunner, full of citrusy zest and acerbity. The role of Anita (created on stage by Chita Rivera and on film by Rita Moreno) has always been the show’s most fully drawn, and the right actress can steal the show whenever she steps onstage. Ms. Olivo obliges, but without overdoing the Latin spitfire clichés. And leading her fellow Shark girls in the rousing “America,” that great sardonic hymn to living in the United States, she takes the production to a level of pure physical exhilaration it never quite achieves otherwise.”

Daily News - “Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s haunting score is played by a 30-piece orchestra. These elements are the stars of the show, and enough to make this revival something good.”

Post - “The work of Bernstein and lyricist Stephen Sondheim is 75 percent of the reason this often-frustrating revival gets three stars: You can’t underestimate the pleasure of hearing those songs played at full volume by a 30-piece orchestra.”

Bloomberg - ““West Side Story” is back! The Laurents-Bernstein-Sondheim-Robbins landmark musical returns in an important production to Broadway’s Palace Theatre, tweaked and directed by its indomitable 91-year-old librettist, Arthur Laurents. Whether you’ve seen several mountings of it or none, you will want to catch this one.”

New York magazine - “In fact, this production exposes too baldly the central flaw of the libretto: Tony and Maria, the Romeo and Juliet stand-ins (played here by Matt Cavenaugh and Josefina Scaglione), may be nice kids, but they’re also the show’s least interesting characters; Tony, in particular, is something of a drip. Cavenaugh and Scaglione transmit the required innocence and purity, but neither is charismatic enough to make the production feel fully alive.”

Newsday - “But except for the statuesque Karen Olivo as a spectacular space-eating Anita, the casting is just all right. The physical production is surprisingly conventional - modest in imagination if not in budget.”

Los Angeles Times - “The show’s indestructibility, if ever in doubt, is now beyond doubt. Laurents’ direction, while not a miscarriage, is extremely patchy, particularly when the plotting gets complicated.”

Associated Press - “”West Side Story” groupies who grew up lip-syncing to the show’s Broadway cast recording or movie soundtrack won’t have any trouble with the language change. Others may be a bit lost, particularly during the non-singing moments. Yet Maria’s delightful “Siento Hermosa” (“I Feel Pretty”) explains itself even to those who don’t know Spanish, particularly when paired with Bernstein’s lilting melody.”

USA Today - “The irony is that Laurents’ attempts to be inclusive and grittily realistic — the final scene in particular suffers for his insistence on technical accuracy — make the show seem no fresher, only a tiny bit less magical.”

Wall Street Journal - “. Mr. Laurents’s “West Side Story” is a spruced-up version of the show that took New York by storm 52 years ago, revised and reconfigured to appeal to a new generation of theatergoers. Nothing wrong with that — “West Side Story” is a musical, not a sacred text — but the results are disappointing, not just by comparison with the original “West Side Story” but in their own unconvincing right.”

amNewYork - ““West Side Story” is a dated but great show. Little else can compare with its incredible integration of song, movement and dialogue. And the ingredients and production values necessary to make an outstanding production were definitely present. Unfortunately, Arthur Laurents’ ego ruined it for everyone.”

Earlier: ‘West Side Story’ a hit at box office even in previews
‘West Side Story’ will do daily $26.50 front-row lottery
Laurents’ ‘West Side Story’ returns to Broadway in Feb.

March 20, 2009 8:13 AM in Broadway, Midtown, Romance

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