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West Side
Story
Book
by Arthur Laurents
Music
by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics
by Stephen Sondheim
Directed
by David Saint
Review by Kathi E.B. Ellis
Entire
contents are copyright © 2013 Kathi E.B. Ellis. All rights reserved.
West Side Story is about as iconic an American
musical as one can get. The current national tour opened at The Kentucky Center
on Tuesday, bringing a “based on” the 2009 revival version to Louisville
audiences.
The
2009 Broadway revival, which I saw, generated much interest with original
producer Arthur Laurents’ declared intent to integrate more Spanish language
into the script (undertaken by In the Heights’
creator Lin-Manuel Miranda), which he also directed this time around. Since
then, many of the lyrics have reverted to English; e.g., “Un Hombre Asi” is
now, again, “A Boy Like That.” Nonetheless, a sprinkling of Spanish dialogue in
this iteration of the revival serves its purpose to emphasize the cultural
difference between the young men and women of the Jets and the Sharks.
I
should come clean and make clear that I consider West Side Story an almost-perfect musical. There is an overwhelming
sense from the first iconic notes of the prologue to the final silence that
everything that happens is absolutely inevitable. The original creators
(Laurents, Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein and newcomer Stephen Sondheim)
seamlessly blended all musical theater elements together to drive the essence
of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
into a compelling production – one that has survived more than a half century
of productions, at all levels of theatre, throughout this country and across
the world. I’ve seen both the stage and movie versions many times and have
worked on productions. It’s a musical I love.
So
I stand firmly ambivalent about this version, and what, for me, works and does
not work.
In
principle, the integration of more Spanish dialogue and lyrics is a great idea
– indeed almost too self evident for it to have taken fifty years to
incorporate. However, the application of the concept is inconsistent. The
addition of high school dance chaperone Glad Hand (Matthew Krob) blundering
through some hilariously incorrect (and politically incorrect) translations of
his dance instructions is spot-on. The Jets, including Tony (Addison Reid Coe),
now have more freedom to speak the language badly because the audience hears
the Sharks speak it authentically. “I Feel Pretty” veers between English and
Spanish – possibly because the lyrics are repeated – so there’s little fear a
predominantly English-speaking audience will miss much. Yet the passionate “A
Boy Like That”/“I Have a Love” (Anita, Michelle Alves and Maria, understudy
Carolina Sanchez) have reverted to English, an illogical decision in a
putatively bi-lingual production, because at an extreme of emotion we typically
revert to our earliest way of speaking – in this case Spanish. And yet, Chino
(Juan Torres-Falcon) bringing the news of Bernardo’s death to Maria has a whole
scene – in which a major plot point is delivered – in Spanish. And Rosalia, who
yearns for Puerto Rico, is left to yearn in English.
James
Youmans’ set simply and effectively captures both the immenseness of New York
buildings and the crampedness of the mid-twentieth century Upper West Side.
Continuing with the bridges link in this season’s PNC Broadway in Louisville
series (Flashdance, Memphis), New York’s characteristic
bridges and overpasses hover and loom over the action. The Act One finale
overpass is less impressive than in the Broadway production but, together with the
chain link fence curtain, creates an environment of danger and tension for “The
Rumble.” Howell Binkley’s evocative lighting supports the emotional content of
the production, while David C. Woolard’s costumes recreate the 1950s’ styles in
a vibrantly contemporary palette.
There
is much energy in this production, directed by David Saint. The Jets and the
Sharks hit their marks with precision; but the passion seems technical, down to
the obvious make-up bruises they sport throughout. These are rougher crews than
in the Broadway version (New York reviews found the gangs a trifle too nice). But
there’s little vulnerability under that street toughness to generate sufficient
empathy in the audience to carry the tragedy. Indeed, on opening night there
were titters from multiple places in the Whitney auditorium when Chino shot
Tony. This is not a great response to a moment that should have some of the
most weighted emotion – on stage and off.
Another
moment that does not deliver for me is the frantic end of this Act One. The rumble
itself continues to compel. Robbins’ original staging (reproduced by Joel
McKneely) and Bernstein’s music set the scene for the inevitable violence and death.
In the original script, after Tony has killed Bernardo, it is over Riff’s body
that he mourns: his best friend, his second in command and the one to whom he
pledged “from womb to tomb.” In this version, Riff is left comfortless while
Tony dithers over Bernardo’s body.
The
underwritten role of Tony is a challenging one. Mr. Coe handles both the
romantic and erstwhile-gangleader aspects of it with effectiveness. His “Something’s
Coming” is one of the most active interpretations I’ve seen of this song. On
Tuesday there were a couple of strained notes in his upper register, which
marred both this and “Maria.” Mr. Acosta and Mr. Lencicki bring appropriate
gusto in their respective roles. Their dance duets (with Anita and Graziella)
in the gym dance were powerfully energetic and precise.
For
me, the outstanding performer is Ms. Alves as Anita, admittedly the most
dynamically-written character in the script. Whether she was with Bernardo or
merely imagining being with him, she exuded sensuality. “America” – as with the
original stage version all-female, unlike the more well-known movie version with
Shark guys as well as girls – was an energetic parody and paean to this
country. An unfortunate staging choice during “Quintet” meant that, although
she is upstage center, the lighting choices illumine the other four entities
more effectively than her. Ms. Sanchez’s Maria was charming. The Rider
University student has a lovely voice that serves her character and the
relationship with Tony well. In the Bridal Shop, at the end of “One Hand, One
Heart,” there was an unexpected moment of almost-uncertainty that stilled the
audience as Maria and Tony took in the enormity of the vows they’d just enacted.
One could have wished that Mr. Saint had found more such moments to engage the
audience’s emotions.
My
biggest obstacle to liking this version is dramaturgical. I understand neither
now, nor when I saw it four years ago, why the Act Two dream sequence is
truncated into only the “happy” half. The absence of the “nightmare” leaves Act
Two without the needed gravitas to lead into “A Boy Like That,” which leads to
Maria’s lie to Lieutenant Schrank (Konrad Case) and the rape of Anita, and thus
Anita’s lie to the Jets, and finally Tony’s decision to go back out into the
streets, and Chino’s action. This absence means that the hardworking cast has
to work harder to make the second half of the production work (and both Riff,
Theo Lencicki and Bernardo, Andres Acosta, get to spend all of Act Two in the
green room…).
A
nod must be given to the unlisted (neither in the program nor on the Troika website)
understudy Melanie Wildman who played Anybodys on opening night.
Opening
night jitters may have been responsible for an unfortunately premature light
cue in Act Two that took the audience out of a key scene and meant that the
effect had been previewed in a way that undercut its impact in the following
scene.
The
ultimate testament to West Side Story
is that it continues to survive, that the universal aspects of the story
transcend a particular time and place, and that moments of power and passion
transcend individual production choices. For those of us who are passionate
about this story, we’ll continue to go see productions and we’ll continue to
debate the relative merits of each production we see – with passion.
West Side
Story
May
14-19, 2013
PNC
Broadway in Louisville
The
Kentucky Center
501
West Main Street
Louisville,
KY, 40202
502-589-7777
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